OSSEO, Wis.  — A Fairchild man was injured when he drove into a parked car on Seventh Street. Injuries to Michael Saul, age 53, were minor, said Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson. The accident was about 7:40 a.m. The sheriff said the vehicle that was stuck had been legally parked and was unoccupied. This was near the East Street intersection.

WINONA, Minn. — With amazement the Winona County recorder of deeds, Bob Bambeck, has seen a boom in prices for rural hunting land in his long career as county recorder. He noted in a Winona Post interview that some forested ridges now sell for more than the county’s best tillable acreage. The recent sale of Weber Springs near LaCrescent at $10 million is a case in point — roughly $9,100 an acre. Albeit the property has extensive improvements including a lavish lodge. In a separate Post interview, Chad Garteski of Weiss Realty in Durand, which specializes in hobby farms, country estates and hunting lands, said that Weber Springs was “a little bit of a unicorn” — unusually large at 1,100 acres and with amenities like the large family lodge, two guest houses, a horse stable, and a private fishing pond on a trout stream.

Earlier: Rural estate Weber Springs sells for $10 million

Verbatim

Garteski to the Post: “In 2012 when I was first licensed to sell real estate, wooded ground in southeast Minnesota was selling about $2,000 an acre. Right now it’s closer to $6,000. In a period of 14 or 15 years, it’s tripled.” Back in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, he said, people were basically giving wooded land away so they didn’t have to pay taxes on it.

WINONA, Minn. — A lobbyist accused of threatening gun violence at the state Capitol has been placed on administrative leave.  Jenna Chernega, president of the IFO  professors union that employs Jonathan Bohn, said he has moved off-duty. Chernega tried to distance the union from the criminal case against Bohn. The case, she said, stems “from a private dispute.” She also called the case “a moment of personal crisis for someone who has served IFO with dedication for more than a decade.” Chernega is a sociology prof at Winona State and is the elected president of the statewide Inter-Faculty Organization.

Chernega. IFO President since 2020.

Verbatim

Chernega, to IFO members: “Many of you know and care about Jonathan, and we are committed to ensuring he has access to the support he needs. The Inter Faculty Organization condemns political violence and threats of violence in any form. Violence and threats of violence are unacceptable and go against the values we hold as a union — values rooted in civil discourse, mutual respect, and advocacy carried out with integrity. We are monitoring developments closely and cooperating as needed with law enforcement. We understand the impact of this situation on our community and are responding with transparency and care. This is not an easy moment, but we remain grounded in our shared commitment to respectful engagement and principled advocacy.”

Erlier: $1 million bail for Capitol gun threats

WEAVER, Minn. — A camper reported that somebody stole his car at the Trout Valley campground off U.S. Highway 61. The vehicle was located five hours later in Goodview, about seven miles away. The theft was reported about 4:20 a.m. Deputies were trying to locate video to identify the thief.

WINONA, Minn. — Responding to a West End disturbance between a man and a woman, police arrested the woman. They said that Candice Lavelle Steinfeldt, 48, of Winona, had driven drunk to the disturbance site. Her blood-alcohol level tested on-site at 0.23%, almost triple the allowable max. At jail minutes later, her level had climbed to 0.24%. The disturbance was in the 1250 West Second Street about 10 p.m. Police said Steinfeld admitted to drinking, which they said explained her odor, imbalance and mumbled speech. No charges were filed related fo the disturbance itself.

Steinfeldt. Admitted to police to drinking vodka Sprites.

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man was arrested after a West End disturbance in which another man was punched repeatedly in the face and left with a bloody nose. Booked for assault was Brock William-Edward Skwiot, age 30. Police were called about 9:45 pm to the 1700 block of Kraemer Drive. Police said that Skwiot was brother to the victim’s girlfriend. The victim didn’t want to go the hospital.

WINONA, Minn. _— Although Tonia Jessica Schwanke denied drinking, police found her blood-alcohol testing at 0.17% — twice the legal limit. Schwanke, age 44, of Buffalo City, Wisconsin, was arrested for drunken driving. This was about 7:50 p.m. at Sixth and Liberty streets. She had been stopped as going 45 mph in a 30 zone. Signs of intoxication included blood-shot and watery eyes, slurred speech, and a wobbly gait, the arresting officer said.

WHITEHALL, Wis. — A Blair motorcyclist was critically injured when he lost control on a gravel shoulder and crashed into a guard rail.  Cody Morse, age 36, was taken to a hospital in a life-threatening condition. This was about 6:15 p.m. U.S. Highway 53 south of Whitehall near Dubbert Lane. Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson said Morse was passing two cars when he lost control. He was heading north toward Whitehall.

WINONA, Minn. – When Matthew Ryan Nguyen saw a police officer unholster a stun gun, he momentarily gave up. This ended a police disturbance call to the Third Street bar district near Sippi’s Pub and Grub.  Or so it seemed. But after Nguyen was cuffered and pushedinto a police car to go to jail, police said, he spit at the transport officer and resumed the earlier obscenities and racist insults that had brought officers to Sippi’s in the first place. This was about 10:45 p.m. Nguyen was charged with disorderly conduct, violent threats, violent assault, and spitting at an officer. The original call to Sippi’s was after a patron was punched in the face and threatened with death and yelled at as “nigger” and “sand nigger.”  Poli e gave this further accont: When they attempted to arrest Nguhen, he went into a fight posture. When one officer drew his stun gun, Nguyen backed off. The taser wasn’t fired.

STOCKTON, Minn. — A Rochester man was arrested after a woman reported being slapped in the face as they were driving on U.S. Highway 14 near Stockton. Arrested was Timothy Alvis Gayles Sr., age 67. The woman told deputies they had been arguing. She jumped out of the car and called for help. This was about 9:50 p.m. Gayles was stopped by a deputy six miles west near Lewiston. The woman didn’t require medical attention.

LACRESCENT, Minn. – The high-end rural Winona County retreat and hunting estate of LaCrosse insurance entrepreneur Don Weber has been sold for $10 million. The purchaser: Bradley Bruggink, an avid hunter who lives near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Weber, had asked $11 million for the estate, which he calls Weber Springs. The final transaction closed June 10 at  $10,065,000. The 1,100 acres include:

> The headwaters of Pine Creek.

> Wooded ridges.

> A 7,400 square foot lodge.

> A 1,400-square house for a resident manager.

> A five-car garage.

> A stable for horses.

> A trout-stocked pond with an oar boat for fishing.

Weber’s sale to Bruggink is the largest Winona County land transaction in memory aside from primarily agricultural properties. The estate, to be sure, has tillable acres, but the corn is feed for deer, not for farm harvesting. The deer also have an orchard for apples. Weber’s fortune came from the giant Logistics Health, which he built from scratch in LaCrosse. He likewise fashioned Weber Springs from scratch. It’s handy to LaCrosse, less than 20 miles across the Mississippi River. Weber built up the property from a patchwork of parcels of ridge land and small farms over a course of decades. It’s now consolidated as a gated retreat. It’s near the nine-hole Pine Creek golf course.

Video in his own words: Don Weber interview

Earlier: Winona County estate on market for $11 million

Bruggink profile

Bradley Bruggink founded Wisconsin Plastic Products in 1994 in Plymouth, Wisconsin, which is about 15 miles inland from Sheboygan on Lake Michigan. The company uses thermoplastic extrusion techniques to build custom equipment for industrial companies in telecommunications, data processing, refrigeration, and other sectors. Bruggink sold the company in January to Georgia-based Pexco.  Although Bruggink’s company is now a Pexco subsidiary, he remains as chief executive. For Bruggink, his new hunting estate is a 220-mile trans-Wisconsin hop. Bruggink, who is 59 years old, lived at one point in western Wisconsin’s Trempealeau County in primary hunting country near Independence. His record as a hunter is mixed. In 2015 he was accused of using a liquid bait illegally to lure wildlife. He paid a $340 fine.

WABASHA, Minnn. — An autopsy found gunshot residue in the face wounds of Wabasha woman who was assaulted Wednesday at a Mississippi River boat landing southeast of Kellogg. The victim, Melissa Hunt, died at the Wabasha hospital a 1-1/2 hours after the attack.

Earlier: Bail at $2 million in Kellogg boat landing case

Earlier: Chatfield man, hiding up tree, arrested in slaying

Earlier: Wabasha woman fatally bludgeoned, maybe

WINONA, Minn. – A woman told police she was assaulted — punched and pushed to the sidewalk — in the downtown bar district. This was about 1:05 a.m. outside Lucky’s Bar in the 100 block of West Third. It was believed the woman, age 21, was not seriously hurt. Police hoped to identify the assailant on security video.

WINONA, Minn. — Police wakened a Minnesota City man slumped asleep on his steering wheel at the Kwik Trip gas pumps on West Fifth Street. This was about 11:25 p.m. Daniel Wayne Gulbranson, 35, was confused and dazed and smelled of alcohol and he admitted to drinking, officers said. Officers said he was mumbly and his legs unsteady. He was charged with drunken driving. Gulbranson had a glass pipe in his left hand when officers arrived, they said. Also his eyes not only were blood-shot and watery but also the pupils were constricted. Officers took a blood sample for drug testing.

HOKAH, Minn. — Two drivers both intoxicated, collided on State Highway 44 southwest of Hokah. Neither diver aqas badly hurt, but they were taken 13 miles to a LaCrosse hospital to be sure. The accident was about 10:30 p.m. Injured:

> Anne Lee, 70, of Caledonia, in a 2021 Buick Encore.

> Kayla Rose Conno, 38, of Caledonia, in a 2018 Hyundai Elantra.

The cars collided near County Road 20.

WINONA, Minn. — A service counter clerk at the West End grocery store Hy-Vee told police that $200 was stolen from her wallet. She said she had left the wallet under a counter inside the secured service counter several days earlier. She said she realized a few days later that the cash was gone and called police. Officers responded about 8 p.m. Surveillance video was being examined, police said.

WABASHA, Minn.  —  A rural Chatfield man, Craig Alan Hameister, 45, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the brutal slaying of a Wabasha woman Wednesday at a boat landing near Weaver Bottoms. Judge Carmaine Sturino, on loan from Houston County, ordered Hameister held at the Wabasha jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

Earlier: Chatfield man, hiding up tree, arrested in slaying

Earlier: Wabasha woman fatally bludgeoned, maybe shot

CHASKA, Minn. — A judge set bond for Jonathan Bohn at $1 million for threats by email to shoot up the state Capitol.  Bohn, age 41, roams the Capitol regularly as a registered lobbyist for a faculty union that’s a collective bargaining agent for college professors. At the hearing, Carver County District Court Judge Eric Braaten also ordered Bohn, if released on bail, to stay at least a half-mile away from the Capitol. Bohn was ordered also not to contact the person to whom he was arguing online and to whom allegedly he made threats.  Although the charge was serious in and of itself — threatening violence with reckless disregard — the case had a heightened profile because of the assassination a week earlier of state Representative Melissa Hortman and the attempted assassination of state Senator John Hoffman. At Bohn’s bail hearing were several of his colleagues from his employer as a lobbyist for the faculty union for professors in the seven-campus Minnesota State university system. His salary: $138,000.

Earlier: Lobbyist arrested for threat: “Have gun, will shoot”

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Diocese of Winona-Rochester acknowledged being named in new lawsuits in the so-called Choir Boy Scandals that crippled American Catholicism in the 2000s. A spokesperson for the Winona-Rochester Diocese, Vicar General William Thompson said that the new suits stem from insurance issues. The financial obligations of the Diocese have been satisfied fully, Thompson said. About specifics of the new litigation Thompson declined comment. “While the Diocese cannot comment on the facts related to this matter, we pray for a just resolution for all of those involved. The Diocese remains steadfast in its commitment to healing and justice for all survivors.”

Thompson. Church spokesperson.

Earlier: For Winona Diocese, priest-on-boys cases renewed

CHESTER, Minn. — Deputies cornered a rural Chatfield man up a tree and talked him down after several hours of negotiations and arrested him for a bloody assault on the Mississippi River the afternoon before. The victim, Melissa Hunt of Wabasha, died of the wounds. Arrested was Craig Alan Hameister, age 45. The arrest was in a wooded area near a trailer park north of the east Rochester exurb of Chester, Hameister had been identified by Hunt as she was dying in a Wabasha hospital of major face wounds. Based on information from Wabasha, Rochester-based Olmsted Coumty deputies spotted Hameister’s white 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup abandoned, its door open, at a house outside of Chatfield. A woman at the house said Hameister had shown up “very frantic” and said that “something bad happened” and that the cops would be coming. Hameister rode off on a motorcycle. The woman said she then realized that her 9mm hand gun was missing. A shelter-in-place order was issued for Marion Township. Deputies back in Wabasha County, where the assault, occurred, were notified about the missing handgun, returned to the Mississippi River boat launch, where the assault had occurred, and retrieved an unspent round of ammunition. Meanwhile, Olmsted County deputies located Hameister near Chester — in the 6800 block of Meadowbrook Street Southeast  in Marion Township .He fled into the woods. Deputies gave chase and spotted Hameister up a tree. Eventually they talked him and he surrendered without resistance. At the base of the tree, deputies said, was the missing 9mm hand gun.

Earlier: Wabasha woman fatally bludgeoned, maybe shot

Hameister. Initial charge: Second-degree murder.