Tornado warning sends Chiefs to basement

Wednesday, July 26th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP) -- Players and coaches for the Kansas City Chiefs were herded briefly into dormitory basements Wednesday when a tornado was spotted near their training camp.

The all-clear was sounded about 45 minutes after the twister was spotted in the air about four miles north of the western Wisconsin town. A police spokeswoman said the tornado did not touch down and there were no injuries or damage.

Many of the Chiefs players were not in their dorm rooms since afternoon practice had already been canceled. Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham had decided to give the team the afternoon off after a series of rigorous practices.

Players who were in their rooms on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls heard the sirens begin blaring about 12:45p.m. A large tornado Tuesday night caused millions of dollars in damage and took the life of a man in Granite Falls, Minn., about140 miles west of River Falls.

In another campus building, team officials and media covering the Chiefs' training camp were ordered into a hall, along with several hundred people attending a conference of the Midwest chapter of the International Institute of Human Sciences and Spiritual Sciences Fellowship.