100 reported UFO sightings in Minnesota every year, local group says

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - TV shows like "The X-Files" have explored the possibility of UFOs. And while there have been reported sightings all over the world, some say they continue to land right in Minnesota.

A local UFO group said there are about 100 reported sightings a year in the state. Although nearly 90 percent turn out to be something like a meteor or a plane, the others remain a mystery.

“In general, we've had a steady stream of sightings for decades,” Bill McNeff, Chief Investigator for the Minnesota chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, said. “I think the general public should be fascinated by the possibility of life from other plants from other star systems.”

Last month, the CIA released a picture of an unidentified flying object over Minneapolis in 1960 from its own so-called "X-files" – a group of UFO documents declassified in 1978.

McNeff said he investigated a claim by a Prior Lake couple who saw a reddish-orange glowing sphere about 6-feet wide hovering over a swamp behind their condo last fall – “As it rose up, it emitted two other red-orange spheres that were smaller. They were one and a half feet in diameter. These three objects flew in formation until they were out of sight."

Minnesota sheriff's deputy reports UFO sighting

But the most famous UFO sighting in Minnesota was a close encounter between a Marshall County Sheriff's deputy and a beam of light outside the town of Stephen back in 1979. Val Johnson said it came right at him, shattering his windshield and bending the antennae on his patrol car 90 degrees.

Johnson woke up 39 minutes later with burns around his eyes. And the clock on his dashboard and watch had both stopped for 14 minutes – “There was a lot of physical evidence, and it was a law officer. A respected law officer,” McNeff said.

It even inspired several scenes on the latest season of the "Fargo" TV show. Whether you believe UFOs are real or not, they seem to be more mainstream than ever.

"I think the younger generation believes there is other intelligence out there and that this is to be expected,” McNeff said.

McNeff said he will keep investigating UFOs until he gets some answers because he believes the truth is out there.