Troopers: 800 motorists rescued after ND blizzard

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Highway Patrol says about 800 people have been rescued from vehicles stuck on ice-slicked roads and in drifting snow after a blizzard struck the state, creating white-out conditions.

Lt. Jody Skogen says only minor injuries have been reported after pileups and crashes that left more than 500 cars abandoned on roads.

The town of Medina has seen its population of 335 double with 400 stranded drivers who were brought to a church and school there.

North Dakota National Guard spokesman Capt. Dan Murphy says 70 soldiers used military trucks that could plow through huge snow drifts to collect scores of stranded drivers and take them "to any warm building that was available."

He says the rescue effort has ended but soldiers remain on duty, patrolling highway entrances.