Court Date Set for Man Charged in Scuffle With Legislators

     PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A Minnesota man charged with assault for an
alleged barroom scuffle with South Dakota lawmakers is set to
appear in court on Jan. 31.
     Forty-one-year-old Mark Bardwell of Zimmerman, Minn., is charged
with simple and aggravated assault for the alleged fight in a Fort
Pierre bar on Nov. 4.
     A group of state lawmakers say Bardwell made comments that made
no sense, briefly pulled out a knife, and then put it back in a
sheath. The lawmakers say Bardwell then tried to punch House
Speaker Val Rausch of Big Stone City. Legislators wrestled Bardwell
to the floor and restrained him until law officers arrived.
     One lawmaker got a small cut on a finger when he tried to remove
the knife from the sheath during the struggle.