The cold has claimed a life. A 54 year old newspaper deliveryman was found outside his car which got stuck in a snow bank near Monticello early Sunday morning. Donald Blum died of hypothermia this morning. Authorities believe he attempted to walk for help, then returned to his car and collapsed. He had been delivering the Wisconsin State Journal in the Monticello area since 2003.
Jack Stenbroten, a friend and neighbor of Blum's, says the back roads are a pretty brutal place to be stuck. Blum was found next to his vehicle by a snow plow driver. He was taken to the Monroe Clinic Hospital, then transferred to UW Hospital, where he died. He had been a delivery man for the State Journal for the last five years. Stenbroten says “Donny was a good guy,” was single and lived all his life in the area.