Petty arson at Far East End strip mall
WINONA, Minn. — A homeless Winona man, known for erratic behavior, lit a fire in a strip-mall boulevard on Frontenac Drive. The fire was small. No businesses were endangered, police said. This included the nearby Qdoba restaurant. Ticketed was Brently Steven Johnson, age 62. Johnson has been banned from numerous establishments around town as a nuisance. In the Iatest incident, police said he laid a sign on the grassy boulevard, piled dry grass on top, and lit the pile with a cigarette. This was about 1:25 p.m.
Cops tase, mace man after sidewalk assault
WINONA, Minn. – Police tased and maced a Winona man after sidewalk assaults on East Third Street just beyond downtown. Nicholas John Deppe, age 27, finally was taken down despite continuing resistance and cuffed. He was taken to the hospital, where a doctor cleared him medically. He was booked at the jail about 11:20 p.m. The incident itself was 11 hours eaelir. Police were called to the 200 block of East Third about 12:50 p.m. by a man who reported seeing Deppe and a woman arguing on he sidewalk. Deppe ripped the woman’s glasses from her face and smashed them to the ground., the witness said. When the witnesses tried intervene on the woman’s behalf, Deppe punched him in the face, he said. Also: Other passersby were threatened to back off. Police located Deppe and the woman walking in the street a couple blocks away near Fourth and Liberty streets. Told to stop, officers said, Deppe yelled and charged them in a fight posture and challenged then to tase him. He kept coming. One officer fired a taser line, which struck Deppe but the electrodes didn’t connect. Another officer followed by spraying mace. Deppe was pushed to the ground but still swinging and resisting. Finally he was cuffed. He was booked on charges of:
> Assault at an elevated level becase of prior cases.
> Disorderly conduct.
> Obstructing police.
The woman in the original asault, age 30, was uninjured, police said. Officers said she and Deppe were in a relationship.
Deppe. “Come get me.” “Taser me.” They did
Safety concern running high at Capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. — People who work at the State Capitol are alarmed at security breaches by an unauthorized intruder over the weekend. Although the breaches by were by an unarmed and apparently harmless intruder, there has been heightened sensitivity about safety at the Capitol since mid-June when:
> Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated at home.
> Senator Jojn Hoffnan and hs wife were shot in a related assassination attempt at home.
> The names of other legislatots and other elected state office-holders eere foind on an apparent assassination list.
Verbatim
Lisa Demuth, House speaker, a Republican: “In this environment of heightened security, we need to be even more vigilant, not less. Anyone who trespasses in any building — let alone the State Capitol — should be arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law, and I look forward to learning why this did not take place in this highly disturbing incident.”
Verbatim
Erin Murphy, DFL Senate majority leader, a Democrat: called ghe breach “deeply troubling and unacceptable.” “The safety of those who work and serve in the Capitol is a top priority, and this incident raises serious concerns. We need answers and we will get them.”
Another Rochester multiplex plays last flick
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The 14-scceen CMX Chateau movie house in northeast Rochester has turned off popcorn popper. The theater closed for good — a victim of the bankruptcy of its Florida-based parent company. The closure leaves Rochester with one multiplex venue: The Marcus Galaxy 14 Cine off Broadway on the extreme Southeast Side. Another multiplex, Odyssey’s CineMagic on the Northwest Side, closed in August. On the final CMX Chateau marquee:
> “Eddington”
> “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”
> “How to Train Your Dragon”
> “I Know What You Did Last Summer”
> “Jurassic World Rebirth”
> “Lila & Stitch”
> “Oh, Hi”
> “Smurfs”
> “Summer Wars”
> “Superman”
Parking lot empty. Concessions too. Built in 2001. At 3450 East Circle Drive Northeast..
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Enthusiast’s Corvette parts missing from garage
MINNESOTA CITY, Minn. – A Minnesota City man told deputies that a thief broke into a garage and stole Corvette parts worth $5,000 to $10,000. The man called the police dispatcher when he discovered the koss about 4:20 p.m. He said his loss estimate was tentative. A complete review could take several days, he said. Entry was through a window, he said. This was on County Road 129 off Highway 61 near Hidden Valley. The theft was from an attached garage at a house that was vacant.
Criminality charged in car-bike wreck
WINONA, Minn. — A woman was booked into jail on a criminal vehicular operation charge after a collision with an e-bicyclst. The charge against Jessica Shuntae Smith, age 30, noted that the bicyclist suffered substantial bodily harm. Smith was booked about five hours after the accident, which was on U.S. Highway 14-16 at the Huff Street gateway into Winona. The State Patrol said thatt Smith shouldn’t have been driving: Her driver’s license had been revoked and her car was unregistered and uninsured.
Smith. Her hometown shows in police documents as Winona and Waseca.
Walz beckons Canadians: “Trump ain’t us”
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Canadians visiting Minnesota are 16% fewer this year in a backlash against President Trump’s continuing insults to Canada. In response Governor Tim Walz has issued a “special invitation” to Canadians: “We want our Canadian neighbors to know they’re not just welcome here, they’re encouraged to visit and continue our long friendship.” Walz made his appeal in paid television commercials airing in Winnipeg, a 835,000-viewer market, and Thunder Bay, 123,000. Minnesota has eight Canada crossings on the 547 -mile border with Manitoba and Ontario. West to east: Lancaster, Pine Creek, Roseau, Warroad, Angel Lake, Baudette, International Falls and Grand Portage.
Why Canadians taking umbrage
Trump has denigrated Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney to his face and insulted several provincial leaders. He has been diminutive in characterizing Canada as a 51st U.S state and threatened annexation. He has falsely accused Canada of banning a U.S bank presence. This all was a shock to Canadian sensitivities – an unprovoked betrayal and an inexplicable assault on Canadian sovereignty. Trump accused Canada of unfair trading despite a history of mutually advantageous tare treaties. He has accused Canada of half-hearted progress against illegal drug traffic into the United States. Ironically Canadian agents last week intercepted 400 pounds of cocaine from Detroit. The street value: $23 million.
Congressman calls Minnesota StarTrib “worthless”
WASHINGTON — Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota bashed the state’s largest newspaper, the Star Tribune, for not being on-board with the massive Trump pogrom against the U.S. immigration population. Emmer, a close Trump ally, is from the MN-6 Minneapolis-St. Cloud corridor. He said: “While the local, worthless media in my home state tries to spin that as a bad thing, the brave men of ICE are getting the worst of the worst illegal aliens in Minnesota off the streets.” Emmer was objecting to StarTrib reporting that 40% of the immigrants arrested under Trump have no criminal history. The StarTrib also reported finding that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than U.S. citizens. This is contrary to the Trump narrative about criminality among immigrants — a claim that neither Trump nor Emmer has supported with evidence.
Emmer. Criticizes StarTrib’s data on deportation arrests but offers no counter-evidence.
Zebra mussels invade Mississippi headwaters
BEMIDJI, Minn. — Dreaded zebra mussels, which upset ecological balances, have reached the Turtle River chain of lakes that comprise the Mississippi River headwaters. A cabin owner found a mussel attached to a rock on 700-acre Lake Beltrami north of Bemidji. A state wildlife expert confirmed it was zebra mussel and found another nearby. The invasive species has been moving up the Mississippi and inland from the Great Lakes. The mussels attach themselves to boat hulls and hitchhike lake to lake.
Little monsters. One of the world’s most invasive aquatic species. The delta-shape shell is usually striped, hence the name “zebra.” Typically the size of a fingernail.
Zebra mussel profile
Biologists say zebra mussels originally were confined in lake and rivers in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea basins in Russia and Ukraine. Expanding human commerce in the 1700s, including portages, carried the species to the Dnieper, Ural, and Volga rivers. Eventually the mussels reached other continents. The mussel is prolific. A female can produce 40,000 eggs each reproductive cycle and 1 million a year. The ecological damage comes partly from mussel feces that interact with lake bottom muck and decays. Water turns cloudy, which blocks sunlight. Without sun, water plants wither, and bottom-feeding fish lose their nutrition and die. Meanwhile the mussels spread to lakeshores. Like razor-sharp pebbles they spoil beaches. They clog residential and industrial water intakes and outlets. The Minnesota Natural Resources Department claims some success with a campaign encourage recreational boaters to check their craft for attached mussels and scrape them off.
Mussel upon mussel. Clinging to a stick and cementing themselves on top of each other in a University of Wisconsin-Madison demonstration.
Troubling Minnesota bee decline: Lots less honey
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Honey production in Minnesota continues to drop with a drastically declining bee population. The University of Minnesota outstate services coordinator, Rebecca Masterman, said production fell below 7 million pounds last year — off almost two-thirds from 20 million pounds in 1988. Masterman blames a drastic and not fully understood bee die-off. Some commercial beekeepers, she said, are going out of business. It’s the same nationally. Leading U.S honey production in 2024:
> North Dakota: 36.2 million pounds from 450,000 colonies.
> California: 13.3 million pounds from 210,000 colonies.
> South Dakota: 13.2 million pounds from 250,000 colonies.
> Montana: 10.1 million pounds from 142,000 colonies.
> Minnesota: 6.8 million pounds from 127,000 colonies.
Burglary charged against make-believe governor
ST.PAUL, Minn. — A Minneapolis man was charged with felony burglary of a government after being removed a third time from the state Capitol. Dominic Terrell Peace, age 36, was found in the Senate chambers after hours Friday and removed. He was back in the morning and removed again. Both times he was taken to a hospital for evaluation and released. Within hours he was back at the Capitol again. This time he was as arrested. Jail officers then discovered he was wanted in Wisconsin for failing to appear in court on misdemeanor fraud chatge. Extradition was then arranged. At the Caitol, meanwhile, police concluded that Peace had gained entrance by propping open a door with a a wooden wedge. He was naked when discovered and claimed to be the governor and that the Capitol was his home. Police said he was compliant at being arrested..He appeared in an “altered state of mind,” they said. Some desk drawers appeared to have been rummaged through.
Peace. Three illegal Capitol intrusions in 24 hours.
Car, bicyclist collide at Huff intersection
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona man on an e-bicycle was injured in a collision with a car at Highway 14-61 and Huff Street. Scott Adrian Sabotta, age 67, was taken to a LaCrosse hospital. His injuries were described as non-life threatening. The accident was about 10:40 a.m. The motor vehicle, a northhound 2007 Mercury Montego, was driven by Jessica Shuntae Smith, 30, police. She was unhurt.
Walz: Governors’ group has lost its way
WASHINGTON — Minnesota’s Tim Walz, one of the nation’s foremost governors, is quitting the National Governors Association for being too soft on President Trump, sources said. Quitting too is Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. Both Walz and Kelly are Democrats. They have firmly opposed Trump’s massive budget for state-administered healthcare programs and other social safety nets for needy people. Walz and Kelly say the governors’ association has abandoned its historical advocacy for state needs. Walz, according to sources, sees partisanship as undermining the association’s traditional bipartisan approach on state issues — and become a Trump lackey. The association has 27 Republican governors and 23 Democratic governors. The Walz departure n is especially significant because of his prominence. He’s been the recent chair of the Democratic National Governors Association. In 2024 was he was Number 2 on the Democratic presential ticket.
New V-gates due at Trempealeau lock
TREMPEALEAU, Wis. — The Army Cops is closing its Trempealeau lock on four days in August to replace the V-gates. The gates, now 90-some years old, have been damaged and distressed, over time. It’s a $1.5 million project. All river traffic will need to queue from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on August 19, 21, 26 and 28. These are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Priority lockage upon opening will be government vessels first, then commercial vessels, then recreational craft last, the Corps said.
Banged and bumped. The 89-year-old gates at Lock and Dam 6 being replaced. The locks average 4,300 barges a year with 8.6 million tons of cargo. About 1,500 recreational vessels pass through.
Man dead in storage unit; drugs suspected
WINONA, Minn. – Police were called to a West End storage unit where a man’s body been had been found. The victim, police said, was a 59-year-old homeless man known around town to officers. His name was withheld pending confirmation through an autopsy. It was believed the man had been living in the small storage unit. Drug paraphernalia and white powder were with the body, officers said. Police were called to the about 12:50 a.m.
650 West Third Street. A residential-industrial block near the Union Pacific railyard
News summary at week’s end: July 26, 2025
POLITICS: Rodriguez first out of gate for Wisconsin governor
POLITICS: Evers: No to third term as Wisconsin governor
CRIME: Man accused of wholly comfy home intrusion
POLICING: Police: Nothing criminal seen in river death
POLICING: LaCrosse chatter abuzz on missing collegians
ACCIDENT: Pickwick woman killed wandering on highway
JUDICIAL: Court excuses Lindell from $5 million payout
ART: Same wall, new artist, even less talent
CUISINE: Fair fodder /7: Nobody hungry at Great Get-Together
Naked man inside Capitol: “Who you?” “The guv”
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A naked man was found in the state Capitol about 7:30 a.m. — after also being found there, in the Senate chambers, also naked, the night before. Asked in the first encounter, about 10:30 p.m., the man explained he was the governor. He bore no likeness to Tim Walz, said the Capitol night watchman. Nor to Mark Dayton, Tim Pawlenty, Jesse Ventura, Arne Carlson, or the ghost of Rudy Perpich. He was unarmed: No gun, no holster, no clothes. The man was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Deemed to be a threat neither to himself nor anyone else, he was released. He returned to the Capitol grounds in the morning. Again he was arrested. Again he was put in a robe and escorted out.
Medical emergency on Mississippi island
WINONA, Minn. – The sherif’s dive and rescue team ferried a medic to an island upriver from Dick’s marina for a medical emergency. The stricken person was transported to shore and taken to the Winona hospital.
Same wall, new artist, even less talent
Lady Slipper vandalism. Parts of messaging looks to be biblically inspired, albeit mangled. Unlike earlier graffiti in the area, this perpetrator spared the historically significant railroad arches over County Road 120 and Peterson Creek. Images: Steve Lunde
Who did the misdeeds? Clues are in the “art”
LEWISTON, Minn. — Neighborhood sleuths at the Arches have a new mystery: Who’s the latest graffiti artist to deface the Lady Slipper entrance to Farmers Park. A few weeks after a state highway crew white-washed over graffiti inside the U.S. 14 overpass, a new artist has attempted a sequel. It appears a mish-mash of New Testament lessons, none decipherable. Other messages also are obscure. The canvas again was the now neatly white-washed overpass wall.. The tool was chalk, not the spray paint of earlier miscreants. The artist perhaps was schooled in Denmark, if schooled at all. Some alphabetic characters are from the ancient Runic language of Vikings and Sumis, not English. In any event, the characters aren’t used correctly. Another clue: The artist must be very tall. Or had a pickup bed to stand on. Perhaps a heavy boozer.
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Notable journalism
Erin Adler (Minnesota Star Tribune, July 22, 2025): “Legislature Solved Student Grant Deficit with Cuts to Program”
Dana Ferguson (Minnesota Public Radio, July 23, 2025): “A Bumper Crop of Special Elections in Minnesota Legislature”
Gabriel Hathaway (Winona Post, July 18, 2025): “Long Awaited, Army Corps to Dredge Dick’s Marina”
Bad call: Driving home from Hoedown Days
HOUSTON, Minn. — A Caledonia driver pulled to the side so her passenger could open her door and vomit. This was about 12 a.m. after a night at the Houston Hoedown Days. The driver wasn’t exactly sober either, the deputy said. Although she remembered to activate her emergency flashers before pulling over, Gabrielle Faith Schuldt, age 18, plainly had downed too much, the deputy said. The deputy did a blood draw on the spot for testing at the state crime lab. The passenger, age 17, from Houston, was ticketed for underage consumption.This was near Cedar and Washington streets on the West Endotototo
Fair fodder /7: Nobody hungry at Great Get-Together
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Among 33 new foods on the ever-growing menu at the Minnesota State Fair, which opens August 21:
Hot honey pizza ballzz: Three pizza dough balls stuffed with cheese curds, pepperoni, herbs and Parmesan cheese. Brushed with garlic butter. Topped with more pepperoni, herbs and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle hot honey sauce. At Green Mill, east side of Cooper Street between Randall and Wright avenues at Family Fair at Baldwin Park.
Hula Kalua pork: Slow-smoked Kalua pork collar caramelized with Hawaiian barbecue sauce. Served atop a charred banana leaf with banana chips and Japanese quick-pickled cucumbers on the side. Sprinkled with red sea salt. At RC’s BBQ, north side of West Dan Patch Ave. between Liggett and Chambers streets.
Land of 10,000 Cakes ice cream: A marble sundae of butter brittle ice cream layered in a cup with a trio of mini Nadia cupcakes — creme brulee, loaded pistachio and chocolate bliss. Topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Vegetarian. At Bridgeman’s Ice Cream, northeast corner of Judson Avenue and Liggett Street.
Earlier: Fair fodder /6: Yummies for tummies
Police arrive to find woman being strangled
GOODVIEW, Minn. — Police arrested a man after finding a woman in his chokehold. They took Taylor John Kujak, age 33, of Goodview, into custody. The woman had red marks around her neck and had trouble breathing, police said. This was about 11:30 p.m. at a Goodview residence. The woman told officers she had told Kujak to leave but he choked her. Officers said they had interacted with Kujak earlier and he appeared to be intoxicated.
Kujak. Charged with domestic assault by strangulation.
Too much hoedowning in Houston?
HOUSTON, Minn. — A LaCrosse celebrant at the Hoedown Days community festival may be facing a drunken driving charge. Riley William Carrol, age 24, was stopped on the East End for erratic driving. The arresting officer said Carroll showed symptoms of impairment — boozy body odor, blood-shot eyes and mumbled speech, plus wobbly balance ad dexterity. The arrest was by a Winona County deputy who was on loan to Houston County as backup for Hoedown Days. The deputy, a trained phlebotomist, took a blood sample. Charges will depend pn tests by the state crime lab. The stop was in area Maple and Stoddard streets about 8:40 p.m.
Driver jailed as impaired, lacking valid license
WINONA, Minn. — A deputy sheriff spotted a speeder, made a stop, learned that the man’s driving license was revoked and that he appeared impaired. Donald Patrick Hayes, age 63, from two counties away in Claremont, was booked for drunken driving. This was about 10:25 p.m. on the Far West End near Kwik Trip at U.S. Highway 14 and Cottonwood Drive. His eyes were bloodshot and his speech slurred, the deputy said.
Hayes. Charges include driving with a revoked license.
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