Canoeist drowns

MILACA -- One person drowned after the canoe he was in overturned on Mille Lacs Lake Thursday, the Mille Lacs County Sheriff' Department reported.

Harvey Degerness, 71, Eagan, was pronounced dead at Mille Lacs hospital in Onamia.

Degerness and Caralyne Fairchild, 69, Eagan, were canoeing off the south shore of Mille Lacs Lake when the canoe overturned, the sheriff's department reported. Both were wearing life jackets.

Fairchild was transported to Mille Lacs hospital in Onamia Thursday, and was released today.

The Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Department dispatch received a 911 call at 1:14 p.m. Thursday about two people in the water. Fairchild was helped from the water by anglers and a nearby homeowner. The anglers returned with a sheriff's deputy to retrieve the body of Degerness.