The community of Blomkest gathered on Main Street Tuesday night to show its appreciation and respect for Ryan Leif Erickson as the Blomkest Fire Department and Rescue Squad escorted his body back to Kandiyohi County. Erickson, 63, of rural Blomkest, was killed Thursday on duty, en route to his storm spotter role when an empty grain bin was blown onto him by straight-line winds in the May 12 storm.
The Erickson escort traveled from St. Cloud via Minnesota Highway 23, then south on U.S. Highway 71, east on Minnesota Highway 7 and north through Main Street of Blomkest and back to Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.