Nothing new for her. The princess maintains her nonjudgmental gaze, No need to avert eyes. This has happened so many times before: College kids frolicking in the fountain spray at her feet in Windom Park. But police took notice. They told the revelers to move  along. This was just after bar closing time.

WINONA, Minn. – Sheriff Ron Ganrude has assigned extra patrols this weekend, including volunteers, to watch for the kind of unusually heavy traffic that typically precedes pop-up teen-age beer busts in remote rural areas. The parties arranged online. were epidemic last summer with drunken fights, injuries and accidents. This year there has been only one event. It was two weekends ago. The event fizzled because deputies in squad cars roamed roads for several miles around the suspected site and enforced traffic laws to the letter. This was near little-populated and densely wooded Beaver junction six miles north of Elba. In short, flashing lights dampened party enthusiasm as deputies were stopping cars, ticketing already-imbibing passengers in the cars, and advising drivers on directions home. Drivers from several counties, many of them lost on dark and unmarked backroads, turned around.

Earlier: Facebook quiet on pop-up beer busts in woods

Earlier: Beer-bust teen parties back in Whitewater woods

Earlier: Cops nip Beaver Creek bust early

Earlier: How cops pre-empted yet another rural beer bash

Earlier: Cops caucus on early alerts for beer blowouts

Earlier: Cops bust 300 revelers at drunken bash

REESEVILLE, Wis. — A Canadian Pacific freight train jumped the rails in agricultural flatland midway between Milwaukee and LaCrosse. Twenty-two oil cars crumbled accordion-like. The two-person crew in the head-end locomotive was unhurt. The power units didn’t derail, nor did 74 other cars in the mile-long train.  One person living nearby chose to evacuate but no populated area was threatened. Ruptured tank cars leaked crude oil along the roadbed. Environmental impact appeared slight. The federal rail safety agency tentatively blamed sun-kinked tracks that separated in the afternoon sun. Th accident was about 2 p.m. Temperatures were in the mid-80s. The accident was on a stretch of CP’s Winnipeg-Chicago mainline whose route includes Winona. The east-bond train earlier had passed through Winona. The maximum speed allowed for freights on Class A U.S. railroads is 70 mph, but the speed of this train when it derailed was not immediately reported. Amtrak’s Chicago-bound Empire Bulder passenger train and the Twin Cities-bound Borealis had cleared area in the previous hour. The U.S. max for passenger trains generally is 79 mph.

Blackened roadbed. Crude oil is a highly flammable but has a low flash point. There was no fire.

VIROQUA, Wis. — Tipped that a man wanted on an arrest warrant was seen at a parking lot, Viroqua police went to check it out. The man, Nathan Randal Gossman, age 40, of Canton, Minnesota, jumped in a car with a Minnesota buddy, Jesse Devlaeminck, 46, of Rochester. They sped off. The car, with Gossman at the wheel, struck and injured a Viroqua officer, according to Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson. Police gave pursuit 18 miles southwest to the hamlet of Retreat. There, police said, the vehicle crashed. Devlaeminck ran away but was taken into custody after a short search. Gossman, however, was gone. Despite a multi-agency search that included the Vernon County sheriff’s K-9 and the LaFarge drone team, Gossman wasn’t found. The sheriff said both men have a long record of burglary and thefts — and fleeing.

WINONA, Minn. – Sexual misdeed proceedings against high school track coach Eric Birth have been extended to January at his attorney’s request. Judge Nancy Buytendorp scheduled a pre-trial hearing for January 21 and the trial for January 26. The delay gives Birth’s attorney almost five months to assess a raft of new charges that Birth exposed himself sexually to girls on his track team. In at least one case he is alleged to have punished an athlete for not going along.

Earlier:  Sex misdeed cases mount against Winona ex-coach

WINONA, Minn. — An Elba woman accused of pumping seven rounds into an occupied car Tuesday night will stay in jail unless she can post $500,000 bail. If Ava Leone Kock agrees to judge-specified restrictions, she could be released pending further court proceedings for $150,000. Kock, age 64, was arrested the morning after a woman was injured when seven bullets struck her Jeep as she was parking on Elba’s main street. The woman escaped serious injury by crouching in the Jeep to protect herself from the fusillade. Her injuries were limited to face cuts from her splintering windshield. Kock was arrested the next morning and taken 22 miles to the Winona Conty jail. Deputies said the shots were fired from Kock’s house.

Earlier: Elba woman arrested for firearm ambush

MINNEAPOLIS — A state-level grand jury indicted Vance Boelter in the assassination of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband in Jine. The indictment largely mirrors an earlier federal indictment. The duplicate proceedings will eventually need to be sorted out. For Boelter the jurisdiction question could be a matter of life or death. If the federal indictment leads to trial and a verdict of guilty, Boelter could be executed by lethal injection. If there is a guilty verdict in a Minnesota state court, the maximum penalty would be life imprisonment. Both the federal and state indictments also accuse Boelter of shooting and wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife the same night. The state indictment also recommends a charge of animal cruelty for shooting the Hortmans’ golden retriever Gilbert.

Earlier: Boelter attorney: Assassination plea not guilty

Law School 101

Grand juries are citizen panels approved by a judge to investigate whether criminal charges are warranted. These panels meet in closed session, ostensibly to protect citizens against overzealous government prosecutions in major cases. Their job is investigatory. Grand juries do not determine guilt or innocence. They are limited to making a recommendation whether a case should go to trial.

ALMA, Wis. — An Alma, Wisconsin, man charged with running head-on into two motorcyclists on a highway near Nelson, fatally injuring both, forfeited his right to a preliminary hearing. This means the case against Luke Carl Larson, 35, can go to trial. There will be pre-trial status hearing in November, the judge said. Police say Larson was looking down to enter a phone number in a hand-held device when the accident occurred. The charges:

> Homicide by negligent driving.

> Recklessly endangering safety,

Larson told officers he was traveling into Nelson to cross the Mississippi River bridge to get to work in Rochester. According to the criminal complaint, Larson admitted to coming around a curve, realizing he was on the wrong side, and seeing three motorcyclists coming at him.. He said he tried to correct, but hit two of the bikers. This was on State Highway 35 south of Markey Bluff Road entering Nelson.

Earlier: Negligence charged in 2024 motorcycle deaths

Earlier: Two bikers killed in collision near Nelson

WINONA, Minn. – Investigators into the torture of a 3-year-old boy continue looking for two men who appear in a video of the child being tormented.Both were quesitioned earlier, bu tpolice have more questions. The men are believed to be from LaCrosse, sources said. Already arrested is Joseline Puente Gundersen, age 20. Gundersen apparently videoed the torture for a perverse entertainment value. She posted the video online and showed it off to friends. The video shows the child, bound in duct tape, being dragged around an apartment by one man — and then another man jumping out of a closet in a clown mask and further terrorizing the already-traumatized child. The boy’s mother told police she was home but showering and didn’t witness what happened. The boy, according to the mother, was in Gundersen’s care at the moment. Gundersen had been staying at the mother’s apartment. Why the men were there hasn’t been released by police. Meanwhile, the child has been put in the care either of family or county social workers, sources said.

Earlier: Court papers chronicle torture of Winona child

Earlier: Cops: Video shows torture of 3-year-old

ELBA, Minn. — Seven shots fired at a woman parking her car on Main Street came from a house facing the street, Sheriff Ron Ganrude said. A woman at the house, Ava Leone Kock, age 64, has been arrested. The sheriff said investigators noticed holes in Kock’s front screen door in a quick sweep of the neighborhood late Tuesday night. But the investigators moved on, giving priority to the possibility the shooter was on the loose and a continuing armed threat. After a helicopter, drone and blood-hound search yielded nothing, deputies returned to Kock’s house to ask about the screen door. Later, armed with a search warrant, they found a 22-calibre rifle in the house. Kock was arrested. Sheriff Ganrude said there remains no evidence that Kock and the 34-year-old target knew each other except casually. Neither, he said, is there evidence of alcohol or drugs as factors. In short, the motivation remains a mystery. Meanwhile, the victim is healing from face wounds from bullet debris in her car door and her bullet-shattered windshield.

Earlier: Elba woman arrested for firearm ambush

 Earlier: Bullets pepper car; driver cowers down, OK

MINNESOTA CITY, Minn. – A rural couple has been scammed out of $650,000, a son reported to the sheriff’s office. The son wasn’t sure who the scammer was. An investigator was assigned to the case and was attempting to contact the couple — ­ a 75-year-old man and a 73-year-woman. There was no early information on how long the scam went on or the form it took.

LACROSSE, Wis. — A Winona man stood mute when asked by a judge to enter a plea for the murder of a Holmen man who was bludgeoned to death in his own bedroom. In response, the judge entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Jacob Andrew Klaver, 38. Klaver’s bail was continued at $1 million.  He has been in custody since July 2. He was arrested by Winona police at home on a warrant from LaCrosse County. The murder of 37-year-old Josh Pigney was three days earlier in the LaCrosse suburb of Holmen.

Earlier: Winona man’s bail at $1 million for murder

Earlier: Woman fingers ex-boyfriend for Holmen murder

Eariier: Winona police arrest Holmen murder suspect

Earlier: Details emerge in Holmen murder

Earlier: Winona police arrest Holmen murder suspect

Earlier: Man murdered in upscale Holmen home

AUSTIN, Minn. — An Austin driver suffered significant injures in a hit-and-run accident about 1 a.m. on Austin’s east-west Oakland Avenue thoroughfare The man, age 65, was taken to the Austin hospital, police said. One of two dogs in his vehicle needed veterinary care for injuries. Police began a search for the driver who fled.

LACROSSE, Wis. — Amiable man-about-town and self-made multi-millionaire Don Weber found himself in an orange jail jumpsuit after driving into two parked cars in a residential area. His own 3-1/2 -ton SUV rolled on its side. Police said Weber was drunk. He was injured superficially.  No one else was hurt. After being cleared medically at a hospital. police took Weber to jail. He was booked on these charges:

> Driving while intoxicated, his second such offense.

> Driving while drunk with a firearm.

> Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

The accident s was about 10 p.m. on quiet Vine Street in the Goosetown neighborhood between Western Wisconsin Tech and UW-LaCrosse. Weber had spent the evening at the ritzy Charmant Hotel, which he owns, after also drinking earlier at a bar on French Island. At the Charmant, he had five shots of brandy, he told officers. The police report quoted Weber, age 77, that he had made a mistake and should have taken a taxi home.

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Earlier: Rural estate Weber Springs sells for $10 million

Earlier: Winona County estate on market for $11 million

WINONA, Minn. – A criminal complaint accusing a Winona woman of child torture includes disturbing videos of the child being wrapped in black duct tape and tormented and terrorized. The woman, Joseline Puente Gundersen, age 20, was arrested Tuesday as being the child’s caretaker at the time. The child’s mother was living at Gundersen’s apartment. According to the criminal complaint, Gundersen told investigators that the child, 3 years old, was being punished. She called it “no big deal” when confronted about the videos.  The videos had come to the attention of police two days after Gundersen showed them to co-workers at the senior living center where she worked. Also: Snippets were posted on the Snapchat online site, although later they were taken down. Detailed in the criminal complaint against Gundersen were:

Sprawling apartment complex. On Links Lane.  One-bedroom units start at $725 a month.

> Video 1: The child is in a chair with black duct tape over his mouth. He is screaming while his wrists and ankles are bound together. An adult puts aa neck pillow around the child’s neck. A woman is laughing.

> Video 2: The child on the floor of a closet. A man pulls the child from the closet. Another adult, covers the boy in a throw blanket. Another adult, wearing a full-face clown mask, emerges from the closet. The other adult repeatedly pulls the child across the floor toward the man in the clown mask, The child is screaming.

Police said Gundersen admitted to shooting the videos. Police quoted the child’s mother that she was in the shower when the videos were taken. Police have identified the other two people in the video. One of them confirmed being at the apartment but denied scaring the child. Police found a full-face clown mask as well as matching black duct tape at the apartment. Meanwhile, the police investigation continues. Other charges are possible, police said.

Earlier:  Cops: Video shows torture of 3-year-old

LACROSSE, Wis. — An Onalaska woman accused in the death of her 6-year-old son will go on trial in April. Josie Dikeman, age 33, is charged wuth fatal abuse of the son, Alexavier Pedrin, in February 2023. The charges:

> First-degree intentional homicide.

> Chronic neglect of a child leading to death.

> Repeated acts of abuse causing bodily harm.

The judge set jury selectin for April 27. An autopsy concluded that Pedrin died of blunt force trauma. There also was toxicity from a prescription sedative. Dikeman reportedly hit, choked and kicked Pedrin on repeated occasions.

Earlier: Autopsy: Serious bumps, bruises on boy, also drugs

Earlier: Death of 6-year-old boy terms “suspicious”

WINONA, Minn. – An Elba woman was arrested at her home for a late-night shooting in which seven bullets were pumped into another woman’s car on South Main Street. Taken into custody without resistance was Ava Leone Kock, age 64. The targeted woman, age 34, was parking at her apartment when the attack occurred. This was about 10 p. m. The woman shielded herself from the incoming fire by slumping down. She suffered face cuts from her blown-out windshield. She said she had no idea who shot at her. As far as she knew, she said, the attack was unprovoked. After sheriff’s investigators developed information that led them to searching Kock’s house, the victim said she knew the woman. In Elba, population 150, almost everybody knows everybody. In searching Kock’s house, deputies fund the suspect firearm. The arrest was roughly 12 hours after the attack.

Earlier: Bullets pepper car; driver cowers down, OK

Kock. Charge: Recklessness with a firearm and assault

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 49 emergency medical calls plus 16 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, August 12: 3 medical call plus 4 fire calls

> Monday, August 11: 3 medical calls plus 2 fire call.

> Sunday, August 10: 9 medical calls plus 3 fire call.

> Saturday, August 9: 9 medical calls plus no fire calls.

> Friday, August 8: 7 medical call plus 2 fire calls

> Thursday, August 7: 6 medical calls plus 3 fire calls

> Wednesday, August 6: 3 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 45 calls

MNNEISKA, Minn. — The Winona County sheriff’s dive team rescued boaters after a scary night when their motor went dead in the Mississippi River above Dam 4 at Bass Camp.  The boaters managed to anchor in the main channel until the team arrived from 12 miles away in Winona.  This was about 3:30 a.m.

CHATFIELD, Minn. — Two drivers were injured in a collision on U.S. 30 on the ridge north of Chatfield. Both were taken 24 miles to a Rochester hospital with sustainable injuries. Police said Natalie Mavis Hawkins, 19, of Wabasha, was northbound out of Chatfield in a 2013 Toyota Corolla. The other driver, age 17, whose name was withheld by police, was southbound in a  2010 Chevrolet Impala. The accident was about 10:15 p.m. near City View Lane.

ELBA, Minn, — Someone fired seven shots into a car while a woman was parking at her apartment on South Main Street. She ducked down as bullets hit the driver’s door, the windshield and the A pillar. The woman, age 34, was taken 27 miles to a Rochester hospital with face cuts from shrapnel or splintered glass. Her condition was described as non-life threatening. She called the attack unprovoked. She said she had no idea who the shooter was. The incident was about 10 p.m. across from Tony’s and the Mauer saloons. While ducking inside the car, the woman called her hsband in their apartment. He told deputies that he was playing a video game and wearing headphones, and didn’t hear the gunshots. He did, however, see his phone flashing with an incoming call. It was his wife still cowering outside in her car. The shooter was gone, he said. Winona County deputies called for help to establish a perimeter. There are four roads out of Elba. Complicating the manhunt was a possible escape route on the Whitewater River,  a block away. A K-9 unit from Rochester was brought in to help search for bullet casings.  Two bullets were lodged in the body of the car.  The smeller K-9 also helped search for the shooter. Also, a drone was launched to help in the search.