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Article: Personal watercraft boom is making waves; Noise and safety among the concerns.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- July 23, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Personal watercraft sales are booming in Minnesota, and so are complaints about the associated noise and high accident rates. With the state's first personal watercraft fatality of 1996 occurring last week, the controversy is not likely to subside.
Lake Bertha resident Mary Jo Schneider, who likens the sound of a personal watercraft to "a mosquito in your ear," says the water near her home is now abuzz with scooters.
Traffic on the lake, one of 14 in the Whitefish chain near Brainerd, Minn., has "increased dramatically from two years ago," Schneider said, with "easily 100" personal watercraft in her sightlines at any point during recent weekends.