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• Crash sends seven to hospital
• More than 100 barges stuck in Winona, Minn.

Four adults and three children were taken to River Falls Area Hospital at around 1:40 p.m. Sunday after they were involved in a two-car accident in Pierce County.

Officials with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reported that Amanda Webster, 27, Spring Valley, was driving a 2007 Pontiac south on Pierce County J when she lost control of the vehicle.

The vehicle crossed the centerline and then collided with a northbound 2003 Chevrolet pickup driven by Brian Westenberg, 53, Apple Valley, Minn.

Webster's car spun around and then stopped crosswise in the middle of the road and the pickup rolled upside down on the south side of the road.

Also in Webster's car were her two daughters Samantha 8, and Sierra, 6.

Along with Westenberg in his pickup were his son Andrew Westenberg, 25, Amery, his grandson Bryon Westenberg, 15, Apple Valley and Steven Boyer, 50, Spring Valley.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is continuing its investigation into the accident.

Assisting on the scene were the Ellsworth area fire and ambulance service along with the River Falls ambulance.

No information was available on the condition of the injured.

By Wheeler News Service

Barge traffic slowest start in 20 years; locks and dams may open Saturday

Folks in southwest Wisconsin are not seeing the usual barges float down the Mississippi River.

More than 100 shipping boats are stranded in the commercial harbor at Winona, Minn., because the locks and dams have been closed downstream due to flooding in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

It's the third major blow to businesses in Wisconsin and Minnesota that ship grain down the Mississippi.

They've also had to deal with a long winter and this month's closing of Winona's only highway bridge from Wisconsin.

It adds up to a 36 percent drop in barge traffic from the same time a year ago.

Grain-shipping manager Larry Laber calls it the slowest start in 20 years.

The locks and dams are tentatively scheduled to reopen on Saturday, but Laber says it might cause a traffic jam on the upper part of the Mississippi and there could be a shortage of barges for loading grain.