Winona driver arrested as drug-impaired
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver, who police said exhibited drug intoxication, was arrested in an East Side traffic stop. Erin Margaret Beirne, age 49, had bloodshot and watery eyes, jerky eyes and the jitters, and also a clenched jaw, the officer said. The officer reported several pieces of foil on the floor mat. Beirne admitted to meth but said it was the day before, the officer said. This was about 9:50 a.m. The officer had recognized Beirne at Sanborn and Chestnut streets as having a revoked driver’s license. She stopped a couple blocks later at Wabasha and Kansas streets.
Fair fodder /11: On a stick, in a bowl, with fingers
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Among 33 new foods on the ever-growing menu at the Minnesota State Fair, which opens August 21:
Somali Street Fries: A blend of Somali spiced beef Suqaar, vegetables, cheese and herbs. Atop a bed of french fries. Topped with white garlic sauce and green jalapeño hot sauce. (Aug. 21-26 only). At Midtown Global Market’s Oasis Grill and Hoyo Sambusa, in the Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall.
Sweet Squeakers: White cheddar cheese curds coated in a funnel cake batter, and deep fried. Topped with a scoop of fresh lemon whipped cream. Drizzled berry sauce. Vegetarian) At The Blue Barn, at West End Market, south of the History and Heritage Center.
Tandoori Chicken Quesaratha: Spiced tandoori chicken layered with a blend of Monterey jack and mozzarella cheese and a mixture of sauteed onions, mixed bell peppers, jalapeños, corn, cilantro and green chilis. Folded inside paratha bread. Griddled on a flat top grill. Served with a side of avocado cilantro lime sauce. At Holy Land, at the International Bazaar, southeast corner.
Earlier: Fair fodder /9: Famished? This is where to be
News summary at mid-week: August 6, 2025
POLITICS: Wilson is back, this time for Winona House seat
POLITICS: Minnesota lesson: Keep focus in face of violence
GOVERNANCE: Winona’s Masonic Temple: A new name coming?
GOVERNANCE: Control of Minnesota Legislature up in air
ARTS: Utica Queen’s villainous outfit wows judges
ARTS: Firefighter-author to share memoir at library
JOURNALISM: Trump hate-media campaign hits MPR
RIVER: Pre-emptive river dredging planned at Dresbach
SEARCH: Wyoming update: Minnesota climber still missing
CRIME: Rochester man arrested after Elgin dragnet
CRIME: Boat theft suspect leaves hospital barefoot
CRIME: Clemency offered for road sign thieves
CRIME: Pepper pellets end four-mile police chase
CRIME: Why deal drugs? Outta work, need the money
CRIME Cops find meth, stolen purse; pair charged
COMMERCE: Goal: A world headquarters for jerky
Minor fire at Middle School outbuilding
No students at risk. A maintenance outbuilding at the Winona Middle School was damaged by fire, heat smoke. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. The building, at 1300 block of Bundy Boulevard, is used only by maintenance staff as a workshop. It was unoccupied. This was about 5:45 p.m. The cause was not determined immediately. Image: Winona Fire Department
Collision injures Winona, Rushford drivers
HART, Minn. – Two drivers were injured in a collision south of Interstate 90 on State Highway 43. Tyler Michael Rehnelt, 31, of Winona, and Ethan Andrew Lanning, 18, of Rushford, were taken 18 miles to the Winonna hospital with sustainable injuries, first-responders said. The accident was about 2:10 p.m. at Big Valley Drive. Both vehicles, a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2009 Toyota Corolla, were southbound toward Rushford.
A sylvan setting for Houston owls to perch
Still a ways to go. With $1.5 million in gifts in the bank, the International Owl Center is on its way to an initial construction phase of a new aviary at the Root River biking trailhead in Houston. The plan is a $17.3 million visitor center. Meanwhile, the Center remains open in a former retail building on Cedar Street on the main drag through Houston. Image: Steve Lunde
Name released in storage garage death
WINONA, Minn. – The homeless man who was found dead in a storage unit a week ago was 59-year-old Jayme Lee Vix, police said. Toxicology tests have not been completed. Tentatively a drug overdose was blamed. Inhaling paraphernalia were with the body.
Emergency, fire crews make 45 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 38 emergency medical calls plus 7 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, August 5: 5 medical calls plus 3 fire calls
> Monday, August 4: 5 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Sunday, August 3: 7 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Saturday, August 2: 2 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Friday, August 1: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Thursday, July 31: 5 medical calls plus 7 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, July 30: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calsl.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 41 calls
Driver dies from Wisconsin rollover injuries
TAYLOR, Wis. — A Black River Falls woman was injured fatally in a single-vehicle rollover. Aurora Olson, age 19, was airlifted to a trauma center, where she was pronounced dead. The accident was about 6:25 a.m. on County Road C southwest of Black River Falls. Olson was ejected from the overturning vehicle, Jackson County deputies said. The accident was blamed on taking a curve too fast. Olson was alone in the vehicle. The vehicle went into a ditch and flipped against a driveway embankment.
Pre-emptive river dredging planned at Dresbach
DRESBACH, Minn. — The Army Corps plans to dredge the Mississippi River just below the Dresbach dam —a stretch not dredged in 50 years. The Corps’ responsibility is to maintain a nine-foot depth on the navigation channel. The project would be pre-emptive to avoid future problems, the Corps said. Final approval depends partly on public feedback, for which the Corps set a September 4 deadline. The project could begin this fall.
Utica Queen’s villainous outfit wows judges
UTICA, Minn. — Winona County’s most notable drag queen, Ethan Mundt, known onstage as Utica Queen, won the first challenge on the new season of the New York-based “Project Runway” television show. She created a sleek black velvet jumpsuit with a cape. It looked villainous. Said celebrity judge Heidi Klum: “It wasn’t just the clothes but a feeling.” Another judge, Law Roach, noted a few visible inadequacies, including a hem on the cape. But about the outfit overall, Roach said: “A beautiful job. Bravo, my love.” The three-in-one piece — headpiece, glove and cape — was conceived and seamed in competition with 11 other designers against a deadline. Utica Queen said she wanted to capture “the drama, elegance, and power I love to create on the runway.” The episode’s theme: “Disney Villains vs. Disney Princess.” The show was the launch of the 21st season of “Project Runway” on the Bravo network.
Earlier: Utica Queen voted out after fat-shaming spat
Earlier:: Critics: Utica Queen’s fascinator misses chord
Earlier:Utica Queen called it her medieval fantasy
Earlier: Utica Queen survives drag Episode 6
Earlier: Mystery spheres everywhere for Utica Queen
Earlier: Utica Queen zips into sleeping bag
Mundt. Grew up outside Utica, population 260, in western Winona County. Graduated from St. Charles High School. Her drag career began as a party performer in the Twin Cities. Her reputation grew with appearances on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Now relocated to Chicago.
Why deal drugs? Outta work, need the money
LACROSSE, Wis. — Police followed a Caledonia, Minnesota, man driving away from a known drug house on the North Sde and made a stop. In a backpack in the car, police found meth. Arrested was Gary J. Sebben, age 41. This was about 3 p.m. on Caledonia Street. The charge: Felony possession of meth with intent to deliver. Confiscated from the backpack: Two packages with a combined 16 grams of meth. There also a third package weighing 1.8 grams. When police confronted Sebben that they knew he was already on probation for an earlier drug conviction, he said he recently lost his job and hoped to sell the drugs to pay
Sebben. Released on a $1,000 bail to guarantee appearing for further court hearings.
Pepper pellets end four-mile police chase
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Police fired pepper balls at a motorist who refused to exit his car after a four-mile chase on the multi-lane U.S. Highwav 52 backbone through Rochester. His eyes and skin stinging, Jose Cardona climbed out of the vehicle and was arrested. Multiple police agencies blocked off the 16th Street interchange before firing their pepper-ball projectiles. This was about 2:45 a.m. near Apache Mall. Cardona, age 31, of Rochester, was charged with drunken driving, failing to yield, and refusing a blood-alcohol test. The chase began in northwest Rochester when an officer reported erratic driving and began a chase with flashing lights and a siren.
Rochester man arrested after Elgin dragnet
ELGIN, Minn. — After a day-long hunt through cornfields, police took a Rochester man into custody. The Wabasha County sheriff’s office announced the arrest about 9:30 p.m. but released no details. At the county jail in Wabasha, records showed Drew Douglas Wiskow Davis, age 29, was in custody with burglary listed in the jail roster as the holding charge. Wiskow Davis had been sought in an episodic day on the run in the Elgin area 10 miles north of Eyota. For several hours there had been a police-ordered shelter-in-place order as they set up a one-mile perimeter with search hounds, drones and airborne thermal imaging equipment on a State Patrol aircraft.
Rap sheet
Wiskow Davis has a Rochester address. Earlier he lived in St. Charles, Preston and Minneapolis. Numerous scrapes with the law include:
> A 2023 Fillmore County arrest for burglary, illicit drugs, theft and fraud.
> A 2022 Washington County conviction for theft, illegal ammunition possession, forgery and fleeing an officer. The conviction was overturned on appeal because of a police procedural error.
> A 2019 Wabasha County arrest, in Plainview, for driving a stolen vehicle. Police found 80 items of stolen property including a firearm in the vehicle. He also was charged with bringing contraband, specifically two containers of meth, into the jail.
> A 2018 Winona arrest for fleeing police in a vehicle and on foot. He also was charged as being under the influence.
Wiskow Davis. Demands by police to surrender went unanswered for hours.
Handgun theft reported from parked car
WINONA, Minn. – A handgun was reported stolen from the center console of a parked car on the Far East End. Missing was a 9-mm Glock Model 19, police were told. The theft was in a gravel parking lot behind Bud King Ice Arena in the 600 block of Front Street. Police were notified about 7:30 p.m. The theft was believed to have occurred the previous day.
Cops suspect man carrying Rx, also cocaine
WINONA, Minn. – Police reported finding drugs on a Winona man they were arresting for an unrelated probation violation. Thomas Edward Mcgann, age 48, had been stopped in the 150 block of Harvester Street on the West Side. In a pocket was 0.06 grams of suspected cocaine and half a pill of the prescription anxiety drug Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, police said. The arrest was about 8:30 p.m.
Mcgann. Xanax hadn’t been prescribed to him, police said.
Control of Minnesota Legislature up in air
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Three unexpected vacancies in the Minnesota Legislature may decide which party controls lawmaking in the state Legislature. In the 2025 session, which ended in May, Democrats controlled the Senate 34-32. Republicans controlled the House 67-66, although a power-sharing agreement evened out the imbalance a bit. Since then these events have occurred:
> Melissa Hortman, the House Democratic caucus leader, was assassinated at her Brooklyn Center home.
> Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic senator from Woodbury, resigned after a felony burglary conviction.
> Bruce Anderson, a Republican senator from Buffalo, died unexpectedly.
Governor Tim Walz has scheduled special elections to fill the vacancies. If Republicans manage a sweep of the special elections, they would control both chambers. Already it has been a busy year for special elections:
> Doron Clark, a Democrat from Minneapolis, was elected to the seat held by Senate majority leader Kari Dziedzic, a Democrat, who died of cancer.
> Keri Heintzeman, a Republican from Nisswa, was elected to replace Senator Justin Eichorn, a Republican, after his arrest in a sex solicitation case.
> David Gottfried, a Democrat from Shoreview, was elected after a House election was nullified because of a residency challenge.
So many special legislative elections in a single year are rare. The record was six in 1994. This year ties the record.
Emergency police perimeter in Elgin manhunt
ELGIN, Minn. — A shelter-in-place order was issued in a rural area near this far southern Wabasha County community near the Olmsted and Winonna County lines. Sheriff Rodney Bartsch said a perimeter had been established to find the driver of a stolen pickup truck who hit another car and disappeared on foot in the cornfields. The shelter-in-place order sealed a one-mile perimeter created by Wabasha County deputies, State Patrol troopers and officers from other policing agencies. Drones and search dogs were mobilized. This sequence of events, gathered from police and other sources, is believed what led to the shelter-in-place place order:
> 7 a.m. A 911 caller reported a suspicious pickup truck along a road west of Elgin with the driver slumped over the wheel.
> As deputies arrived, the truck, a 2018 Dodge Ram, drove off. Police ascertained that the truck had been stolen.
> 7:31 a.m.: The Ram driver, Drew Douglas Wiskow Davis, age 29, of Rochester, collided head-on with a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan minivan a mile east of Elgin at County Road 25 and 275th Avenue. The minivan driver, Peterson Roy Peterson, 42, of Rochester, was injured and taken 18 miles to a Rochester hospital. His injuries appeared sustainable.
> The Ram driver grabbed a bag from the vehicle and fled on foot.
> A nearby rural resident called 911 that someone had broken into the house and then taken off into a nearby outbuilding.
> Deputies established a one-mile perimeter and brought in K-9 search dogs and drones to search.
Notable journalism
Brock Bergey (KTTC, August 4, 2025): “50 Convictions Reached in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme”
Steve Glischinski (Trains magazine, September 2025): “An Amtrak Success Story”
Alexandra Retter (Winona Post, July 30, 2025): “Will WAPS Review School Accessibility?”
Firefighter-author to share memoir at library
WINONA, Minn. — They say “You can never go back,” but Michael Perry returned to the Wisconsin village of his boyhood, joined the volunteer fire department, and discovered new delight and wonderment in the quirks and oddities of small-town life. Perry will greet readers Saturday at the Winona Library. Time: 1 p.m. Free. His book, “Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time,” has been on the New York Times best-seller list. A blurb from the dust cover describes Auburn as “where the local vigilante is a farmer’s wife armed with a pistol and a Bible, the most senior member of the volunteer fire department is a cross-eyed butcher with one kidney and two ex-wives (both of whom work at the only gas station in town), and the back roads are haunted by the ghosts of children and farmers.” Among his other titles: “The Jesus Cow” and “ Truck: A Love Story.”
Published by Harper in 2002, reissued 2015.
Winona book-signing. Book marketed for age 12 up.
Fair fodder /9: Famished? This is where to be
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Among 33 new foods on the ever-growing menu at the Minnesota State Fair, which opens August 21:
Pot of gold potato dumplings: Cheesy garlic mashed potatoes folded into flaky dumplings. Deep fried. With a side of original chive onion dip. Vegetarian without dip. At O’Gara’s at southwest corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Cosgrove Street.
Shrimp and pork toast: Mixture of ground pork and shrimp combined with Hmong aromatics – lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots and Thai chilis. Seasoned with fish sauce. Spread on Texas toast and deep fried. With a side of apricot jelly hot sauce. At Union Hmong Kitchen at the International Bazaar, south wall, west corner
Smashadilla: Smashed seasoned ground beef and Gouda cheese grilled on a flour tortilla. Folded and dressed with caramelized onions, lettuce, pickles and homemade burger sauce. At Gass Station Grill at west side of Cooper Street between Dan Patch and Judson avenues, outside southeast corner of the Food Building.
Clemency offered for road sign thieves
DODGE, Wis. — If you’ve gotten lost on backroads around this lower Trempealeau River town, the culprits who have been stealing roads signs may be to blame. Sheriff Brett Semingson said that these signs have been stolen recently:
> Pine Creek Ridge Road.
> Schmickle Valley Road.
> Galewski Road.
> An ATV route sign.
> A sign warning about a bump ahead.
To the thieves, the sheriff said the signs can be returned day or night to the Dodge Town Hall with no questions asked. New signs would cost the county hundreds of dollars, he said.
Crime hotbed?
Dodge, population 400, was the focus of law enforcement two years ago. Several rental e-scooters stolen in Winona were found ditched around town. Winona is 12 miles away.
Wilson is back, this time for Winona House seat
WINONA, Minn. — A Wiscoy Township farmer who grazes cattle announced a new candidacy for the state Legislature. This time Dan Wilson, a Democrat is intent on flipping Winona’s House District 26A by defeating first-term incumbent Aaron Repinski. Wilson, age 37, has been around the block. In 2022 he tried to unseat State Senate Jeremy Miller of Winona but lost 58% to 39%. Wilson announced his new candidacy from the bed of a white pickup truck at a parking lot at Second and Huff streets. Wison said he chose the site because of its potential for desperately needed senior housing in Winona. Had he been in the Legislature this year, he would have pushed hard for funds in the state bonding bill to build 100 units of senior housing in Winona, Wilson said. Wilson has a record helping run a homeless shelter and has worked on city housing policy with the outreach group Engage Winona. In announcing, Wilson pledged also to support a new Winona Schools daycare center. He called for municipal zoning reform. He said he has ideas to deal with federal funding cuts. He said he would protect Winona County taxpayers and Medicaid and food stamp recipients from federal cuts: “Winona gets to decide in 2026 what direction our state takes. Do we choose to kick thousands off of Medicaid and SNAP to benefit Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg? Or do we choose to grow Winona together.”
Shape of political campaign
Wilson is first Democrat to announce for the Huse 26A seat. If he doesn’t receive the local Democratic party endorsement, Wilson said he would support whoever does. Fellow Democrat Sara Kruger, who lost to Repinski in 2022, has said she doesn’t plan on running again. County Board member Dwayne Voegeli, who once sought the seat, says he instead will file for re-election to the County Board. On the Republican side so far, only Repinski has announced his candidacy and did so without fanfare. Repinski won the seat in 2024 by 52% to 47%.
In his trademark white pickup. At vacant lot at Huff and Second streets. He sees the lot as a place for 100 units of senior housing to alleviate Winona shortage.
Verbatim
Wilson: “I looked across the landscape of elected folks in Winona and didn’t really see any elected official banging that drum and talking about how we need to make housing available and affordable for people who live here and how housing is the key thing to grow Winona’s economy and make Winona a place that has businesses that can grow, schools that can grow.” He said that state funding and zoning reforms are needed for Winona’s schools, businesses and for the tax base to grow.
A flipper? Wilson’s hat in ring
District 26A recent history
The 26A seat had been held 38 years by Democrat Gene Pelowski, who retired in 2024. The seat is considered in play by state Democrats and Republicans. Both parties are desperate to control the House. With a 67-66 split, neither party has a quorum. Both parties are expected to channel major financial resources into the 26A Winona race.
Minnesota lesson: Keep focus in face of violence
BOSTON — The Minnesota House Speaker, Lisa Demuth, encouraged an audience of her legislative peers at a national convention to work at disagreeing without being disagreeable. That, said Demuth, was her take-away from the assassination of her friend and veteran state legislator Melissa Horman in June. “In our grief, I hope everyone in political leadership moving forward — everyone elected to serve their communities in any way — will commit to a better kind of politics, rooted in respect and modeled by my friend Melissa Hortman,” Demuth said. She was in a delegation of 50 Minnesota lawmakers and staff at the National Conference of State Legislatures. The conference had 6,500 delegates. On the agenda too was State Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who himself was wounded by the assassin the same night that Hortman was killed. From home where he’s still recovering, Hoffman said on a video hook-up:
“What happened in Minnesota on June 14 was awful and tragic and will impact me and my family forever. But as a Minnesotan and as an American, I do know this, we can’t let the evil of that night win and we must redouble our efforts and reclaim the reason we are all public servants.”
Hoffman cautioned against becoming subsumed in a “creeping erosion of public trust, not just in institutions, but in each other.” On the podium in person with Demuth, was Minnesota Senate majority leader Erin Murphy: “I’ve heard many suggest that in response to the evil that visited us we should turn down the vitriol in our rhetoric. A lot of America would appreciate that. I know Melissa would.”
Demuth. Republican, from Paynesville.
Hoffman. Democrat, from Champlin.
Murphy. Democrat, from St. Paul.
Back to Square One to rebadge Masonic Temple
WINONA, Minn. – The Winona ty Council voted 6-1 against accepting the acronym ARC as a new name for the city’s historic Masonic Temple. In effect, the Council told the City Creative Commission to come up with something better. The Commission had recommended ARC, short for “arts, recreation and culture,” which indeed are purposes to which the building is being converted. The city acquired building after freemasons abandoned their Wiona lodge activities 1978. Among Council objections to “ARC” was the officious and off-putting feel of the acronym.
Against “ARC”
George Borzyskowski (4th Ward, East End)
Jerome Christenson (at large)
Jason Dicus (at-large)
Jeff Hyma (2nd Ward, West Side)
Sam Zierden Shortridge (3rd Ward, downtown)
Scott Sherman (mayor)
For “ARC”
Steve Young (1st Ward, West End)
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