A thistle of the softest lavender
A smaller variety. Not very prickly or invasive. Starting to bloom along East Burns Valley Road. Image: Andy Frank
Lewiston police officer moves to chief
LEWISTON, Minn. — A seven-year veteran with the Lewiston police force, Ben Coop, age 56, as been sworn in as chief. The position is full time and pays $54,000. Besides the chief, the department has four part-time time officers. The department relies on Winona County sheriff’s deputies when short-handed. The city population: 1,500.
Winona aviation hobbyist dead in crash
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona aviation enthusiast, Wayne William Ledebuhr, died when his self-built ultra-light aircraft crashed beside a runway at the Winona airport. Ledebuhr, age 74, was president of the Winona chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Witnesses said Ledebuhr was landing when something went wrong. The aircraft was a 200-pound T-Light manufactured by Airborne Windsports Australia and sold as a kit. The T-Lite is designed to be quickly disassembled for ground transport. It is designed as both a cross-country powered aircraft and self-launching motoried glider for soaring.. It meets U.S. and international flight-worthiness standards as an ultra-light.
Ledebuhr. His second home was Max Conrad Field, where he died.
Emergency response
The crash occurred about 8 p.m. Emergency responders included four Winona offcers, rwo Goodview officers, two sheriff’s deputies, and fire and paramedic teams. Ledebuhr was dead at the scene.
T-Lite profile
Basically the T-Lite has a cable-braced hang-glider with a high wing, a single-seat open cockpit, tricycle landing gear, and a single engine behind the pilot. The propeller is a two-blade pusher, also behind the pilot. The aircraft is made of bolted-together aluminum tubing. The wing fabric is double-surface Dacron sail cloth finished with mylar. The wing is supported by a single tube. Control is by an A-frame weight-shift bar. The powerplant is a single cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke designed for the craft. The fuel tank is 2.6 gallons behind the pilot. The tank can be disconnected quickly for refueling
> Specs: Wingspan: 31 feet. Max weight with pilot: 460 pounds.
> Performance: Cruise speed: 36 mph. Stall speed: 32 mph. Max speed: 53 mph.
> Record: The T-Lite is one model among the company’s 10 gliders and ultralights. A basic T-Lite costs from $1,500 to $3,000. Options can add another $1,500. Shipping rages from $100 to $300.
No insurance on vandalized school solar units
LEWISTON, Minn. — Replacing solar panels that were vandalized beyond repair at the Lewiston High School will cost $17,000, school leaders said in revising a preliminary estimate of $100.000. Even so, the expense constitutes a significant dent in the school budget. Because the solar array is in a field on the edge of campus, the school’s insurance carrier defines hem as “exterior property” and not covered.
Earlier: $100,000 damage to Lewiston solar array
Earlier: Charge ahead: Lewiston schools go solar
Pilot dead in crash at Winona airport
WINONA, Minn. — A pilot was killed when his light airplane crashed at dusk at the Winona airport. Details initially were sketchy. It was understood that the victim was a male in his 70s or 80s. He was alone in the plane. First-responders were unable to revive him. The crash occurred about 8 p.m.
Max Conrad Field. Sandwiched between Prairie Island to the north and Winona suburb of Goodview on the south. Area pocked with abandoned gravel pits.
Single runway. Asphalt runway is 5,100 feet. Has medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment indicator lights.
Airfield profile
Opened in 1942 on former Mississippi River backwaters. Used for military training during World War II. Bears the name of record-setting early Winona aviator. Formally known as Winona Municipal Airport or “ONA” in airtalk. No schedule airline sevice since 1970. Home now to 30 hangared aircraft — 26 single-engine, 2 multi-engine, one jet and one glider. About 30 operations a day.
Winona boater rescues semi-conscious man
WINONA, Minn. – A boater pulled a semi-conscious man from the Mississippi River main channel off Laird Street. The boater steered into the Winona Marina. An ambulance took the man to the hospital. He was expected to survive. This was about 7 p.m. Police surmised the man, who was heavily intoxicated, fell into river at Levee Park and floated about eight blocks downriver before the boater spotted him Police were familiar with the man for hanging out a lot at the levee.
Minneapolis to end homphobic ban on baths
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council voted 9-2 to rescind a 38-year-old ban on adult bathhouses. The ban had been in effect as a public health precaution when AIDS was a crisis epidemic, especially among gay men. Since then ghde disease has been tamed by vaccines. Council member Robin Wonsley called the bathhouse ban “a very repressive, ignorant and fear-based policy.” If Mayor Jacob Frey approves revising the policy, as expected, there will begin a zoning process to designate where baths can be located
Multifold needs seen for Pickwick repairs
PICKWICK, Minn. — A $400,000 state grant to repair the 190-year-old Pickwick Mill has purposes beyond merely satisfying preservationists tourists, said the president of the Pickwick Mill Board president. Beth Turner said mill is integral with the original mill pond, now called Lake Labelle, which help with flood control Big Trout Creek through the community and downstream to the Mississippi River. The lake also serves as a water source for the Pickwick fire department, Turner said. She called the pending repairs imperative. Through the summer the mill receives visitors Wednesdays through Sundays 12 to 5 p.m. Admission $3 to $10. Group tours can be arranged on non-milling days.
GOP: We treated all candidates fairly
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The state Republican chair, Alex Plechash, denied charges of rigging the party endorsement process against gubernatorial candidate Peggy Bennett. ‘Every candidate but Bennett was able to meet the basic requirements to address the convention,” Plechash said in a prepared statement. Bennett, a five-term state legislator from Albert Lea, claimed the top party leadership, had pre-selected favorites and for endorsement. In effect, Bennett said, party bigwigs pre-empted the role of the 1,800 locally elected delegates at the state endorsement convention from hearing from all candidates. At one point 13 Republicans had announced for governor. In responding to Bennett’s criticism, Plechash sidestepped her detailed claims of organizational incompetence and dysfunction. He focused on Bennett’s main of favoritism. Bennett’s charge of top-down and undemocratic had resonance with GOP critics. They pointed to the era of irregularities under Jennifer Carnahan as recently as 2022, among others
Earlier: Governor hopeful: GOP top brass squeezed me out
Earlier: Premature though it is, Repinski gets GOP nod
Earlier: Minnesota GOP promises post-scandal clean slate
Plechash. Chair of Minnesota Republican Party.
Trucks sideswipe on I-90; one driver injured
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Wisconsin driver suffered sustainable injuries when two vehicles collided side-by-side on Interstate 90 near the Marion off-ramps to Rochester and Chatfield. Matthew Larence Wolf, 70, of La Crosse, was taken eight miles to a Rochester hospital for evaluation. The other driver, Gary Wayne Rogers, 75, of Rochester, was unhurt. The accident was about 10:50 a.m. Wolf was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado. Rogers was driving a 2023 Chevrolet tow truck. Both were headed east toward Wisconsin.
News summary at mid-week: June 24, 2026
POLITICS: Governor hopeful: GOP top brass squeezed me out
GOVERNANCE: Walz on judge ordering Trump to stand down
GOVERNANCE: Judge damns Trump’s Minnesota Meanness
GOVERNANCE: Embarrassed city agency sets SMU as swim option
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: On Trump war powers /2
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: On more housing /2
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: On more housing /1
CRIME: Boozed-up crowd gangs up on Winona cops
CRIME: Police post-mortem on Steamboat Days: Mostly OK
CRIME: Weekend street riot: Police probe proceeds
CRIME: $100,000 damage to Lewiston solar array
CRIME: Traveler in odd downtown mini-dramas
Save CRIME: Cops: Biker’s own camera recorded misdeeds
OUTDOORS: Fungus among us in decaying wood
WILDLIFE: Sauntering to class at Clarke University
Driver hurt in crash at Winona’s Vila Street
WINONA, Minn. — A Wisconsin driver in town from Cochrane suffered sustainable injuries in a collision on Highway 61 in front of the Gundersen Clinic on Vila Street. An ambulance took Gary F Marquard, 87, two miles to the Winona hospital to be checked over. Marquard was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox south on Highway 61. The other driver, Julia Caroline Driscoll, 19, of Winona, was northbound in a 2009 Nissan Murano. She was unhurt. This was about 7:55 p.m.
Weekend street riot: Police probe procedes
WINONA, Minn. — Police continued their investigation into a mob that threateningly surrounded a lone pair of officers at the downtown bar Port 507 over the weekend. Two persons were arrested outside the bar as ring-leaders. Only after the surrounded officers sent a distress call for help and eight additional officers came to their rescue from patrols elsewhere. More arrests remain possible, police said.
Emergency, fire crews make 38 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 31 emergency medical calls plus 87fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, June 16: 4 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Monday, June 22: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Sunday, June 21: 3 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Saturday, June 20: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Friday, June 19: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Thursday, June 18: 3 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, June 17: No medical calls plus no fire calls
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 55 calls
Fungus among us in decaying wood
Ready soon for sporing. Mushrooms and fungus feed on fallen wood. Soon this white fungus will release spores from the gills on its underside to reproduce. Except for feasting on distinctive morels in the spring, never taste-test any you find out in the woods. Many are poisonous. Image: Andy Frank
How they voted: On more housing /2
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted 358-32 to ease the nation’s housing shortage and to make home ownership possibile for more people. The Senate earlier approved the bill. Here is how Minnesota and Wisconsin’s House delegates voted:
To expand housing
> Angie Craig, D-Mn2 (south suburbs)
> Tom Emmer, R-Mn6 (north suburbs)
> Brad Finstad, R-MN1 (southern counties)
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west)
> Betty McCollum, D-Mn4 (St. Paul)
> Kelly Morrison, D-Mn3 (west suburbs)
> Ilhan Omar, D-Mn5 (Minneapolis)
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn8 (Iron Range)
—
> Scott Fitzgerald, R-Mn8 (Clyman)
> Glen Grothman, R-Wi6 (Campbellsport)
> Gwen Moore, D-Wi4 (Milwaukee)
> Mark Pocan, D-Wi2 (Madison)
> Bryan Steil, R-Wi-1 (Janesville)
> Derrick Van Orden, R-Wi3 (Prairie du Chien)
> Tony Wied, R-Wi8 (DePere)
Against
None
Earlier: How they voted: On more housing /1
How they voted: On Trump war powers /2
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to block President Trump from further military aggression against Iran unless he has Congressional consent. Trump ordered massive attacks in March without constitutionally required approval from Congress. He did so by proclaiming the United States was in imminent danger of attack, although he has offered no evidence that such was true. Here is how Minnesota and Wisconsin senators voted:
To curb Trump
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
> Amy Klobchar, D-Minnesota
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
Against
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin (R-WI)
Walz on judge ordering Trump to stand down
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Governor Tim Walz welcomed a federal judge’s rejection of President Trump’s push for a criminal investigation into Minnesota officialdom’s resistance to a federal military occupation last winter. Walz called the judge’s ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.” In effect, Minneapolis-based U.S. Judge Patrick Schiltz’s ruling dead-ended Trump’s claim that the Minnesota resistance was a criminal insult to federal authority over state sovereignty. The judge found Trump’’s position as petty politics and unsustainable in court. Said Walz:
“This case was just one example of the U.S. Justice Department pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents. We are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness — in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”
Trump never forgave Walz for an energetic campaign against him as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2o24. Even though Trump won the presidency, he is notoriously thin-skinned and has incessantly ramped up a retaliation against Walz. Trump’s bitterness grew beyond Walz and culminated last winter in a 2-1/2 month military siege of Minnesota, supposedly to end a crisis of lawlessness in the streets when in fact there was no crisis. Trump’s antagonism to Walz deepened when citizen resistance to the military occupation forced Trump into an embarrassing withdrawal of his troops. His seething, unabated, eventually morphed into the now-defeated attack on Walz and other Minnesotans as criminals. Here are responses from other Minnesota leaders whom Trump had wanted to lock up:
State attorney general
Keith Ellison: “It should disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”
Minneapolis mayor
Jacob Frey: He said that criticizing government action is not a crime: “One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve. Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency.”
St. Paul mayor
Kaohly Her: She called Trump’s subpoenas “a politically motivated retaliation against our city for lawfully standing up to ICE and fighting for our residents.”
Sauntering to class at Clarke University
DUBUQUE, Iowa — A small black bear wandered through campus at Clarke University overlooking downtown Dubuque. Although not everyday visitors, bears are not uncommon in eastern Iowa. Most this far south are young males that have been bullied away by older males Up North after hibernation. They drift alone south from Minnesota. More than 20 sightings have been reported this spring in southeast Minnesota counties— a few more than usual. A Minnesota state wildlife expert in Rochester,, Todd Proberg, said that humans and bears coexist easily. Be cautioned, however: Leave them unprovoked, especially while foraging for food from trash can to trash can. They don’t like being djsturbed at dinner
Earlier: Bear invasion? Numerous sightings in northeast Rochester
Caution: Don’t pet. Clarke students were advised to stay clear. Bears rarely attack if left to be. Even so, they have oversize jaws and five-inch to seven-inch claws, Alao: They can chase you faster than you can run.
How they voted: On more housing /1
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 85-5 to expand the nation’s housing supply and to open home ownership to more people. The bill next goes to the U.S. House. Here is how Minnesota and Wisconsin senators voted:
To expand housing
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
> Amy Klobchar, D-Minnesota
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
Against
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
How they voted: On more housing /1
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 85-5 to expand the nation’s housing supply and to open home ownership to more people. The bill next goes to the U.S. House. Here is how Minnesota and Wisconsin senators voted:
To expand housing
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
> Amy Klobchar, D-Minnesota
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
Against
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
Hanny’s closing: “The place” for men’s suits, ties
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The premier clothier for men’s suits in Rochester for 87 years, Hanny’s in the downtown pedestrian subway, is closing its doors. Business attire in once button-down down Rochester has shifted. Incrementally the city’s coat-and-tie regimen has faded. Hanny’s owner, Tim Berg, noted that overhead was outpacing sales. Berg hopes to liquidate his inventory with heavy discounts by the end of July.
Traveler in odd downtown mini-dramas
WINONA, Minn. — After a couple of odd disturbances downtown involving an Anoka man, police decided the best course was to send him packing out of town. Alexander Craig Larson, 32, was last seen fueling up his pickup truck. Police said that he indicated he was heading for New Orleans. The disturbances:
> Blooming Grounds, 50 East Third Street. Police were called about 1 p.m for a man throwing food inside the eatery. Police found Larson parked outside in a [pickup truck. He first refused to respond to officers tapping on the window to open up but finally lowered the window. He was issued a standard trespass warning not to return to Blooming Grounds.
> Gabby’s, 179 East Third Street. Police were called about 4:30 p.m. for a man acting strangely outside Gabby’s bar. Police found Larson had parked his 2007 black GMC Yukon pickup and placed tires and orange traffic cones as well as tires. in the street. Larson, wearing a black face mask, was out in the street spray-painting the pavement with a 15-foot circle of orange, yellow and black. Seeing the officers, he walked away but when confronted he explained he was hoping to raise gas money. He didn’t make much sense, the officers said, but stgere was something about his “street art” meant to convey “Anoka to New Orleans” and something about the country’s 250th anniversary. He was issued a disturbing-the-peace citation and tlod where to find a chafity agency that mught help with gas money to leave town.
.
Judge damns Trump’s Minnesota Meanness
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has blocked President Trump’s g escalating campaign against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other elected officials. Judge Patrick Schiltz declared that Trump was guilty of illegally harassing people he didn’t like. The judge called it a deplorable and grossly illegal misuse of presidential power that Trump was seeking grand jury indictments of the Minnesota state and local leaders. Trump has been hammering them for months as traitorous in countless tirades forthe citizen resistance to his Operation Metro Surge — a brutal military occupation of the state over the winter. In February Trump finally was humiliated into withdrawing his troops by the hundreds. He has been seething since and vowing retribution. Judge Schiltz’s ruling was the latest in a growing number of judicial rebukes of Trump for using U.S. Justice Department to carry out personal vendettas. Critics use the word “weaponize” for his shifting the Justice Department’s energies into a vehicle to bully and harass political rivals. Judge Patrick Schlitz was blunt. About Trump’s Minnesota actions he found the President’s “dominant purpose” was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.” Among those whom Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to seek indictments:
> Tim Walz, governor.
> Keith Ellison, state attorrney general.
> Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis.
> Kaohly Her, mayor of St. Paul.
> Officials in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
Schiltz. Chief judge for the U.S. District of Minnesota. A Harvard Law School graduate with honors. Appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, a Republican, in 2005.
Anatomy of judge’s rebuke
Judge Schitz ruled that there appeared to be “extremely weak to nonexistent” connections between the information sought in the U.S. Justice Deoartment’s subpoenas and any possible criminal violation. The subpoenas seek materials “that largely if not entirely relate to constitutionally protected conduct,” the judge wrote. He noted that Minnesota has the legal right not to devote its resources to coercing federal immigration law. The Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation but is instead using the grand jury process for unlawful purposes, Schiltz said. He called the evidence overwhelming that the Department’s subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons. About the Justice Department attempts to justify Trump’s motives: “The Department has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible plausible investigatory justification.”
Police post-mortem on Steamboat Days: Mostly OK
WINONA, Minn. — As police officers swapped notes about their Steamboat Days experiences, the consensus was that it went well. An exception — a major one — was a near riot outside a downtown bar. Two arrests resulted. There also a celebrant whom police escorted out of the Steamboat Days beer tent as unruly and no longer welcome. Also too: A man who had been at the beer tent crashed his car into a tree off Interstate 90. For the weekend Police Chief Tom Wiliams beefed up night patrols by four or extraofficers.
Earlier: Cops: Boozed-up crowd gangs up on Winona cops
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