Shoppers pack local stores on "Black Friday"
Black Friday shoppers are lining up outside stores in Winona this morning in the unofficial first day of holiday shopping. Bargin hunters were reportedly lined up outside the doors of Shopko, Menards, Target and other local retailers early this morning waiting for the doors to open and get a jump on gift purchasing for Christmas. Yet many avoided a shopping excursion today in hopes retailers will make deeper price cuts in the coming days and weeks. Black Friday received its name because it historically was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year. The day began on a tragic note. Police Nassau County, New York say a Wal–Mart worker has died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers shortly after the Long Island store opened Friday. Police say the 34–year–old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. Police also say a 28–year–old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation. Wal–Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede during the day–after–Thanksgiving bargain hunting, but said a "medical emergency" caused them to close the store.
