Tree pruned? Or maimed? And why?
Unexplained act. A homeless Winona man tore a branch from a boulevard tree on Liberty Street. A homeowner called police. They found Christopher Lee Cummings, age 32, sitting with the 10-foot branch. This was about 7 p.m. in the 450 block of Liberty on the Near East Side. Police said Cummings admitted to he deed but offered no explanation. Any charge will hinge on a damage estimate. Less than $500 is a misdemeanor.
Notable journalism
Brock Bergey (KTTC, July 17, 2025): “The State Law Change Making Daivid Brom’s Early Release Possible”
Gabriel Hathaway and Chris Rogers (Winona Post, July 16, 2025): “No State Funding for Winona Projects Yet”
Kari Lydersen (Energy News Network, July 21, 2025): “Trump’s Rural Energy Freeze Hits Midwest, GOP Districts Hardest”
Mid-summer’s gorgeous palette of greens
A slough off Goodview Lake. Algae has emerged on the placid surface of this quiet, hidden inlet a couple hundred yards from the Michael LaCanne Park swimming beach. Image: Steve Lunde
Charge: Jailed man asks “stupid bitch” for bail money
WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a LaCrosse man on a domestic issue after he himself called the cops for help. It’s a long story, but in the end Quentin Marcus Holder, age 26, was in jail on two counts of violating a judge’s order to stay away from an ex-girlfriend. The episode began about 2:26 a.m. when a man identifying himself only as “Marcus” called the police dispatcher. The man complained that his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t let him into her place in the 350 block of Liberty Street to pick up some belonging. The man gave the dispatcher the girlfriend’s address and hung up abruptly. This is the police account of what happened next: Officers went to the girlfriend’s East Side address. No one was home. They reached the woman by phone. She told officers that Holder had pounded on her door, shouted demands to get in, and insulted her with vulgarity: “Let me in, you stupid bitch.” The woman, age 20, called a friend for help. After Holder left, she ran out to a waiting car and too refuge at a friend’s place. When police reached her, the woman described Holder’s car. Officers found the vehicle nearby on Liberty Street and located Holder on foot a couple blocks away and took him to jail. While Holder was at jail, about 2:30 a.m., the woman called police that he had just called and asked her to bail him out. She didn’t. Officers added a second count of violating the judge’s no-contact order.
Holder. A bad night for him. Double whammy charges of violating a restraining order.
Autopsy confirms identity from Lake Pepin drowning
FRONTENAC, Minn. — The drowning victim over the weekend at Long Point on Lake Pepin was a Rochester man, Ronald John Highet, the regional medical examiner confirmed. He was 56.
Democrats favor “XP” for Hortman House vacancy
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A former Brooklyn Park City Council member, Xionpao Lee, won the Democratic endorsement for the Minnesota Legislature 34-B seat held by the late Melissa Hortman. Lee finished ahead of Erickson Saye and Christian Eriksen, both of whom also have City Council experience. A primary election August 12 will determine who has the Democratic slot on a special election ballot in September. The only Republican to file candidacy papers by the deadline, Ruth Bittner, a Coon Rapids business owner, will be the GOP standard-bearer.
Lee. Goes by “XP” as a frst nme in lieu of his Laotian Xionpao.
Mitchell quits Senate after Detroit Lakes conviction
WOODBURY Minn. — State Senator Nicole Mitchell, convicted last week of felony burglary, confirmed she will resign her Senate seat. The resignation will be effective August 4 so she can wind up remaining Senate projects and constituent services. What’s next for the 50-year-old Mithell? Sentencing hasn’t been scheduled, but she faces a mandatory minimum of 180 days in jail. Her biography is rich: She had been an on-air meteorologist at KSTP television in Minneapolis and Minnesota Pubic Radio. Earlier she was at WCBS in New York City and WFOR in Miami. She also did weather at Duluth, the Weather Channel, and Al-Jazeera America. She returned to her home state of Minnesota in 2017. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Minnesota Air National Guard. She commanded the 126th Weather unit but has since been relieved. She holds a communication degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Georgia State. Under Minnesota law her conviction doesn’t preclude her from seeking election to public office again. She was in the Senate from District 47, which includes the east St. Paul suburbs of Woodbury and Maple Grove. She is a Democrat. She won the District 47 seat in 2022 by 17 points, 58% to 41%.
Mitchell. She burgled her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes to retrieve keepsake mementos of her late father.
Verbatim
Alex Plechash, state Republican chair: “Instead of doing the right thing and stepping down immediately, she now plans to stick around for another two weeks — just long enough to collect another taxpayer-funded paycheck. Let’s be clear: This is not public service. It’s self-serving and disgraceful.”
Aviator dead in crash in western Minnesota
GFANITE FALLS, Minn. — An aviation enthusiast was killed and a companion injured when theur jet-powered Aero L-39 crashed 85 miles into a flight out of Watertown, South Dakota. Killed was Mark Ryan Ruff, age 49, of San Francisco. Found walking along State Highway 23, near the rash, was Davd Coln Dacus, 44, of Dallas, Texas. The pikot had reported an engine problem over the southwest Minnesota flatlands. Ten minutes later the plane disappeared from radar. The plane ripped through powerlines, apparently attempting an emergency landing at the single runway Granite Falls airport. Ruff and Dacus were on a 500-mile leg of a trip from the western Wyoming mountain resort town of Alpine. Their next stop was to be Fond du Lac in Wisconsin. Sheriff Bill Flaten said an explosive cartridge for an in-flight ejection seat was found unspent in the wreckage.
Wreckage. Near State Highway 23 at 540th Street four miles south of Granite Falls. About 5:30 p.m.
Aero L-39. These were the world first trainer planes with a turbojet powerplant. About 2,900 were built in Czechoslovakia beginning in 1968. They were widely used by Warsaw Pact armies and could be equipped as light attack platforms. Retired L-39s later found a following in the United States as affordable personal aircraft. They cost $200,000 to $300,000, in the range of moderately wealthy pilots looking for a fast and agile personal jet.
Car, van crash in LaCrescent rush hour
LACRESCENT, Winn. — A Wisconsin driver was hurt and taken six miles to a LaCrosse hospital after a two-vehicle collision at the troublesome Kwik Trip intersection of combined U.S. Highway 14 and 61 and South Third street. Alexus Latrice Williams, 36, of Onalaska, was northbound on Highway 14 and 61 at the light-controlled controlled intersection. Her condition was described as non-life threatening. The accident was about 5:10 p.m. Her passengers were unhurt: Aurora M Bonner, 54, of La Crosse, and two children ages 3 and 1. Unhurt in the second vehicle, a 2021 Ram Promaster van., were the driver, Juan Jose Hernandez Mejia, 28, of La Crosse, and his passenger, Rufino Sunsun, 33, of Guatemala. They were southbound.
Teacher de-licensed over student touching, kiss
STEWARTILLE, Minn. — The state teacher licensing agency revoked the credentials of a Stewartville middle school teacher based on claims of misconduct. The teacher, Dawn Miller, had been on the faculty since 2008. She coached junior varsity girls basketball. The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board acted on claims involving a student athlete in 2012 and 2013:
> Holding the student during the student’s panic attacks.
> Long hugs.
> Holding the student’s hand.
> Touching the student’s legs.
> Rubbing the student’s shoulders.
> Kissing the student.
Miller, who had taught 30 years, retired in 2023.
Evening schoolyard scrap Thursday drew cops
WINONA, Minn. – Police confirmed belatedly that a disturbance during the Good Trouble anti-Trump demonstration at Windom Park on Thursday was unrelated to the demonstration. Police with sirens and lights rushed by the park en route to a disturbance at Madison school — this in the 500 block of Sanborn Street. The combatants scattered as police arrived. There were no arrests. The schoolyard has been a gathering place for ruffians with at least one previous police call in recent weeks. The Good Trouble rally, four blocks away, was a wholly peaceable assembly. The estimated 700 participants were disturbed only momentarily as police raced to Madison school. Police logs show no officers assigned to the park for the 90-minte Good Trouble rally.
Boy “touching” allegations now decades old
LAKE BALSAM, Wis. — A criminal complaint against a retired physician alleges details of inappropriate interactions with two teen-age boys modeling nude for him. One of victim’s parents say when their son was 16, he modeled for Kenneth Lee GaleWyrick’s sculpture art. The doctor is alleged to have touched him inappropriately and had him undress completely on some occasions. A second victim, who was 15 at the time, shared a similar story with investigators, according to the complaint. Why nobody complained earlier wasn’t clear. The boys now are in their late 30s and mid-40s.
Biker’s body found in Oronoco wreckage
ORONOCO Minn. — A utility worker found a man’s body and wrecked motorcycle in a ditch southwest of Oronoco. The wreckage was obscured by weeds for days, perhaps weeks, along Olmsted County Road 3 near 100th Street Northwest. The accident was discovered about 8:15 a.m. Sheriff’s investigators were attempting to identify the man and reconstruct what happened and when.
Death claims long-term Wright County legislator
BUFFALO, Minn. — A 30-year veteran of the state Legislature, Senator Bruce Anderson, died unexpectedly. He was 75. In the House, to which he was appointed in 1995 and then elected to several terms, and in the Senate, to which he was elected n 2012, his main focus was veterans affairs. Anderson had U.S. Navy duty during the Vietnam war. Later he was in the Minnesota Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve. He chaired veterans committees in the House in 2011 and 2012 and Senate 2017 to 2020. He also was active on agriculture, broadband access and public safety issues. His day job had been as sales manager for Buffalo-based Centra Sota Cooperative.
Anderson. First from House District 19-B, later renumbered as 19-A. In Senate from District 29, which centers on Wright County northwest of Minneapolis.
Walz denies any presidential ambitions
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has answered a question on lots of people’s minds: No, he has no presidential ambitions. Walz said, however, he will be campaigning: “I’m doing all I can to help build the party and make sure whoever that person is wins.” About running himself: “Hasn’t crossed his mind.” Walz was being interviewed by former national Democratic Chair Jaime Harrison on the new NBC podcast “At Our Table.”
Minnesota record
No Minnesotan has held the White House. Those nominated, both Democrats:
Walter Mondale: 1984
Hubert Humphrey: 1968
Harold Stassen was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination n in 1948 but lost to Thomas Dewey.
Swimmer’s body recovered off Pepin’s Long Point
Historic summer playground. A sandy beach built up over the centuries by Mississippi River currents that flow unseen through the normally placid 40-square mile Lake Pepin on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. At places the lake is 60 feet deep. Image: Bell Museum diorama at the University of Minnesota. Painted by Francis Lee Jaques and Walter J. Breckenridge in 1940 as background to illustrate 20 native bird species.
What went wrong: Undertow? Steep drop-off?
FRONTENAC, Minn. — The body of a swimmer was recovered from the upper end of Lake Pepin off Long Point. Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly declined to release the man’s name pending an autopsy but said he was 56 years old. The man went under about 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Witnesses said a 13-year-old girl, who was a family friend, had waded out to join him. Both ended up in trouble. The girl suddenly flailed in distress. Nearby boaters rescued the girl. The man didn’t resurface.
Catching a 30 mph breeze on Huff
A warm afternoon. These fellows know how to cool off on their way to the Riverview levee, then, they hope, to a romp on Prairie Island. Image: Steve Lunde
Crews dredging sediment at Dick’s Marina
WINONA, Minn. — The Army Corps of Engineers has begun new dredging of the small boat harbor at Dick’s Marina on Latsch Island. The goal: To increase overall harbor depth. Work should be completed by July 31, the Corps said. Dredging is during daylight hours Monday through Thursday to minimize interference with weekend boaters.
Little post-verdict Capitol sympathy for Mitchell
ST. PAUL, Minn — Both the Democratic and Republican leadership in the Minesota Senate renewed their calls for Senator Nichole Mitchell to resign. It wasn’t the first time. Majority Leader Erin Murphy, D-St. Paul, and Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, had wanted Mitchell to step down. Back in April 2024 calls for her resignation were made when she was arrested with burglary tools inside her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes.
Verbatim
Murphy: “Senator Mitchell has been afforded due process, a trial by a jury of her peers, and that jury has delivered a verdict. I am relieved to see the end of Senator Mitchell’s trial. The case’s resolution brings clarity to the situation. Senator Mitchell has told colleagues that she intended to resign if found guilty of this crime, and I expect her to follow through on that pledge.”
Verbatim
Johnson: “I applaud the jury and the prosecution for their diligent work to deliver justice in this case. The verdict only confirms the fact that Senator Mitchell’s actions the night of April 22, 2024, failed to meet the level of ethical behavior we expect from elected officials, and her continued participation in the Minnesota Senate leaves the body with a stain on its record for every time her vote was the deciding vote in passing legislation. Senate Republicans have been clear since day one that this conduct is unbecoming of a senator and we expect her immediate resignation from the Senate. If she is unwilling to resign, she must be expelled as soon as possible to protect the integrity of the Senate.”
Blossoms so happy to help pollinate
Flora glory in the bluffs. An orange butterfly plant and purple leadplant attract pollinators. Image: Andy Frank
R.I.P.: Mary Thorne
WINONA, Minn. — Mary L. (Rusert) Thorne, age 97, of Winona, who was the International Program office manager at Winona State University for 20 years, died at Lake Winona Manor. She was known for kindness to foreign sytudents upon their arrival on camous. Earlier she was a waitress at the Oaks Supper Club and a secretary with J.R. Watkins Company, Winona County Social Services, Winona National Bank, and attorney Richard Darby. She was a graduate of Holy Trinity High School in Rollingstone in 1945 and of the Winona Secretarial College in 1946.
Details: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1928-1025
News summary at week’s end: July 19, 2025
GOVERNANCE: Despite taunting, rally true to John Lewis legacy
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: On public broadcasting /2
GOVERNANCE: Jensen back with fresh gubernatorial bid
POLITICS: Verdict in state senator burglary trial: Guilty
POLITICS: Jensen back with fresh gubernatorial bid
AVIATION: Quick, sharp maneuver avoids Minot crash
INFERNO: I-90 traffic blocked by underpass fire
CRIME: Boelter attorney: Assassination plea not guilty
CRIME: Winona man’s murder prosecution delaye
CRIME: Homeless msn arrested after Pettibone gunshot
CRIME: Car thief gets $1,400 cash, lets dogs be
Summer’s ritual: Hobnobbing over the produce
Farmers market at the Levee. Where Winonans chat Saturdays about what’s new on the town grapevines. Just as important: They take home bags of just-picked and just-plucked farm goods that couldn’t be fresher. Across the street the bistro-on-wheels Private Chef family has parked at a friendly corner. Images; Steve Lunde
Verdict in state senator burglary trial: Guilty
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — The jury in the trial of state Senator Nicole Mitchell convicted her of burglarizing her late father’s home. It’s a felony conviction. Mitchell, a Democrat elected from the east St. Paul suburb of Woodbury, has said she would resign from the Senate if convicted. If she indeed resigns, the narrow 34-33 Democratic majority in the Senate, becomes a 33-33 deadlock pending a special election to fill the seat. Under Minnesota law, a convicted felon may hold elected office, just as does President Trump under federal law. The jurors, drawn from the Becker County jury pool, deliberated only four hours — five days after being empaneled. The jury found Mitchell guilty on both counts against her:
> First-degree burglary.
> Possession of burglary tools.
The burglary was in April 2024. Mitchell claimed she sneaked into the home of her stepmother to retrieve her father’s ashes and family mementos. She said her dementia-afflicted stepmother had become impossible to deal with.
Mitchell. Next choice hers: Resign from Senate, as she has said if convicted? Stick it out until her term expires in January 2027? Appeal the conviction? Image: A.J. Olmscheid
I-90 traffic blocked by underpass fire
Heat-warped wreckage. The truck was entering Dakota on County Road 12, which comes off the bluffs as Apple Blossom Scenic Drive and which enters Dakota as Center Street. Image: Leif Solum
Driver guided truck to shoulder, unhurt
DAKOTA, Minn. — An 18-wheeler caught fire under an Interstate 90 bridge at this town along the Mississippi River. The driver steered the flaming rig to the shoulder and escaped unhurt. Because heat from the fire may have damaged the bridge structurally, the eastbound lanes of I-90 were closed 3-1/2 hours. I-90 was reopened after highway engineers were satisfied that damage to the bridge and the pavement was minimal. The accident was about 2 :30 p.m. Ben Klinger, the Winona County emergency management director, said the fire erupted in the truck’s engine compartment. The trailer, loaded with sugar, burned so intensely that the unit buckled. Traffic on eastbound I-90 lanes was backed up on Four Mile Grade in the Dakota Creek coulee to Nodine on the blufftop. Traffic also backed up on combined U.S. Highway 14 and 61 from Winona. Detours were set up on other streets through Dakota and on back roads up other coulees.
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