A Jordan man died Thursday when the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a train near the intersection of County Road 9 and Highway 169 in Jordan.

Walter L. Cobb, 36, was traveling along County Road 9 toward Jordan at about 3:30 p.m. while the train was traveling south toward Belle Plaine. Cobb was pronounced dead on the scene. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the Minnesota State Patrol, who wrote the report on the accident.

Severe Weather Awareness Week takes place April 21-25 this year, with the statewide tornado drills next Thursday.

At 1:45 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service will issue a simulated tornado warning, and outdoor warning sirens will be activated. At 6:55 p.m., a second drill will take place in Scott County for families and second-shift workers.

Here's what's been going on in and around Belle Plaine lately, according to the Belle Plaine Herald:

Seventy years ago, 600 chicks died in a fire at the St. Benedict farm of Andrew Busch.

For more information, read the Looking Back column in the April 24 issue of the Jordan Independent. Read it online in the Print Edition section, or subscribe by going to www.jordannews.com/subscribe.

With a proposal for the state to borrow $960 million this year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty line-item vetoed $243 million of projects suggested by the legislature. The regional public safety training facility in Sand Creek Township received a pledge of $1 million. 

Here's what state Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, said about the results of the bonding bill, how the historic building made the governor's list of funded projects, and the county's willingness to decrease its original request of $3.2 million: