Winona County home sales in May 2025
WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales outside Winona logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in May:
Rollingstone: 182 Rimrock Road: Hoffman to Harvey, $413,000.
St. Charles: 1337 Terry Drive: Swiggum to Ostern, $379,000.
St. Charles: 518 Northern Valley Court: Sawall to Holty, $347,000.
St. Charles: 1248 Wabasha Avenue: Dayland to Gasca, $310000.
Utica: 17254 County Road 6: McGintt to Sass, $500,000.
Winona County commercial sales: May 2025
WINONA, Minn. – Among commercial property sales in Winona County logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in May:
Minnesota City: 7080 Highway 61:KBS Prooperty Management to Loos, $605,000.
Earlier: Winona County commercial property sales in April 2025
Teen reports In-car stomach punch
WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a 17-year-old boy who reportedly punched an ex-girlfriend in the stomach. The girl told officers she hurt but didn’t need medical attention. Officers reported that a red mark on her stomach was still visible when they arrived. The incident was in a vehicle in the 350 block of Wilson Street on the Near West Side.
News summary at week’s end: May 31, 2025
SCHOOLS: Cotter buys, to raze WSU’s Lourdes dorm
GOVERNANCE: Trump sees sanctuary sites all over Minnesota
FAITH: Catholic Diocese to shutter East End church
TRAFFIC: Ammo truck crashes inside I-94 tunnel
CRIME: 15 years prison for fatal Ear Claire accident
CRIME: LaCrosse meth kingpin to jail 7-1/2 years
WILDLIFE: Gifts for new Owl Center now tally $1.5 million
COMMERCE: Rising on the Levee: Hotel suites, flats
POLICING: Court revises excessive force policing rule
TRAFFIC: Stockton Hill upgrade begins Monday
Minnesota prep
Baseball: Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms 7, Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 3
Baseball: Caledonia Warriors 5, Cannon Falls Bombers 2
Baseball: Cannon Falls Bombers 3, St. Charles Saints 1
Rural Elgin crash claims all-terrain driver
ELGIN, Minn. – The driver of an all-terrain four-wheeler was killed, apparently instantly, in a collision with a pickup truck west of Elgin. Without explanation Wabasha County Sheriff Rodney Bartsch withheld the name of the victim and also the names of others involved. The collision was about 6:30 p.m. near County Road 67 in a far western section of the county. The four-wheeler, a Polaris side-by-side RZR, was driven by a 24-year-old woman. A med-evac helicopter was called from Rochester, 17 air miles away, for a passenger on the Polaris. The pickup was a Ram 1500 with a 38-year-old driver.
Not a trailer house; being moved anyway
Ready to roll. To make room for a commercial development, crews jacked up this house and dropped it on an oversize trailer to be relocated. The lot, on Gilmore Avenue west of Hy-Vee, has been rezoned for a drive-in auto lube station and a Chipolte restaurant. The lot for the house next door also has been rezoned. Its days too are numbered. This on just beyond the often-congested and troublesome Gilmore Avenue and U.S Highway 61 crossover. Image: Steve Lunde
Utica driver’s blood at 0.10% alcohol, arrested
LEWISTON, Minn. – A Utica driver smelled of alcohol during a taffic stop. His blood-alcohol level tested at 0.10%, roughly one-fifth more than allowed for driving, said the Winona County deputy who made the stop. Ari Emir Perez Xahuentitla, age 29, was arrested. This was about 3:40 p.m. near First and Fremont streets in Lewiston
Homeless pair cited for Latsch Island camp
WINONA, Minn. – Police lost patience with a couple who set up housekeeping-of-sorts on Latsch Island and didn’t move on, as instructed, for several days. A city ordinance allows camping only at designated places. Ticketed were Terry Dean Sylvester, age 58, and Tammi Dawn Brown, 62. It was believed they have no permanent address. Their camp was in woods near Dick’s Marina.
Trucker hurt when hits cattle on right-of-way
LANESBORO, Minn. — A trucker was injured when his rig plowed into cattle on the loose on State Highway 16 before dawn. Jim Mark Gregoire, 52, of Forest Lake, was taken 33 miles to a Rochester hospital. He was expected to survive, said Lanesboro first-responders. The accident was about 4:30 a.m. Gregoire was in the cab of a 1998 Volvo semi. He was southbound
Kid to cop: Been drinking “Happy Thursdays”
WINONA, Minn. – A 17-year-old driver explained his somewhat inebriated state to a couple “Happy Thursday” drinks Huh? This was Saturday. The officer didn’t understand either. He ticketed the kid for speeding and underage consumption and called his parents in Trempealeau to come pick him up. This had been about 1:50 a.m. at Gilmore and Junction streets on the West End.
Five fruity flavors. “Happy Thursday” is a bubble-free beverage with 4.4% alcohol. Marketed by Coors. The 12-ounce cans are called “refreshers.” The marketing line: “Why wait for Friday. Start the weekend early with Happy Thursday.”
Minnesota prep
Baseball: Red Wing Wingers, Austin Packers 6
Baseball: Northfield Raiders 9, Byron Bears 1
Baseball: Dodge Cebnter Cobra Triton Raders 12, New New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale Panthers 7
Softball: Byron Bears 13, Winona WIinhawks 2
Softball: Randolph Rockets 3, Caledonia 1
Softball: Faribault Bethlehem Cardinals 6, Houston Hurricanes 3
Mom reports school assault on son, age 8
WINONA, Minn. – A parent called police that her 8-year-old was badly scratched in an assault by a 9-year-old classmate at Jefferson Elementary School. The boy required stitches. Because of the boys’ ages, police opted not to file criminal charges. They left discipline to Principal Emily Cassellius. The incident was reported about 6:35 p.m.
Cotter buys, to raze WSU’s Lourdes dorm
Site to be indoor sports complex
WINONA, Minn. – The Italianesque Lourdes Hall, once the gorgeous and vibrant heart of the College of St. Teresa, has been purchased by Cotter Schools. Mary Eileen Fitch, Cotter’s president, said the massive building will be knocked down and replaced with a state-of-the-art indoor athletic complex. The historically all-women’s College of St. Teresa went broke in 1989 with reportedly 15 students. Lourdes Hall, the campus centerpiece, was purchased by Winona State University for $5 million in a package that included two smaller CST buildings. Winona State abandoned this satellite West End operation in 2023, sold off two buildings, and put Lourdes up for sale for $3 million The university eventually dropped the asking price to $750,000. Still there were no takers. Alas, renovations of the near century-old building would have cost multiple millions of dollars. Fitch didn’t disclose what Cotter is paying Winona State. She said the city had signed off on details, as well as the St. Teresa Alumnae Association. Fitch said the future athletic facility would be a blend of turf and hard surfaces, with a walking track, year-round spaces for athletics physical education classes, and community recreation. She said an architect has been commissioned. The space, she said, will enhance student learning by supporting physical education, co-curricular programs, and intramural programs.
Earlier: WSU slashes asking price to unload Lourdes Hall
Earlier: How low will WSU go to unload Lourdes
Earlier: WSU spin on sad Lourdes saga: It served us well
Earlier: How low will WSU go to unload Lourdes
Earlier: WSU dilemma: How to unload Lourdes dorm
Earlier: $5 million deal: Cotter buys two WSU dorms
Abandoned, ghostly. Lourdes was built 1927 for the then-thriving St. Teresa women’s college. Among features was an indoor swimming pool, built to then-current standards, and a massive dining and banquet hall with a bank of nine towering arched windows that looked northward what at the time was a bucolic scene on Garvin Brook. Image: Steve Lunde
Fitch. President of Cotter since 2021. Earlier principal.
Verbatim
Fitch: “Lourdes Hall served the College of St. Teresa, Winona State University, and the larger Winona community for decades, but after consulting with area contractors, it has been determined that unfortunately it cannot effectively or efficiently be renovated.”
Modern look. How Cotter has brought a contemporary and architectural coherency to old St. Teresa buildings.
Cotter profile
Cotter Schools is a consolidation of former neighborhood-based Catholic parochial schools. The curriculum covers Pre-K through high school. Since 1992 Cotter has occupied buildings on the abandoned College of St. Teresa campus and has kept acquiring and updating CST buildings. The campus is 70 acres. Cotter has nearly 900 students, compared to 2,800 in the Winona public schools. Cotter tuition: $5,600 a year for day students, $38,000 for boarding students.
Trump sees sanctuary sites all over Minnesota
WASHINGTON – President Trump has a list in his hands of states, including Minnesota, that purportedly provide sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Besides the state governemt, the list was specific for 20 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Trump’s chief for homeland security, former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. said that federal grants – totaling billions of dollars – will be cancelled for sanctuary jurisdictions.
Cities
> Minneapolis
> St. Paul
Counties
> Anoka (Anoka county seat)
> Carver (Chaska)
> Cottonwood (Windom)
> Goodhue (Red Wing)
> Hennepin (Minneapolis)
> Le Sueur (LeCenter)
> Lincoln (Ivanhoe)
> Lyon (Marshall)
> Martin (Fairmont)
> Nicollet (St. Peter)
> Nobles (Worthington)
> Otter Tail (Fergus Falls)
> Pipestone (Pipestone)
> Ramsey (St. Paul)
> Scott (Shakopee)
> Stearns (St. Cloud)
> Steele (Owatonna)
> Todd (Long Prairie)
> Watonwan (St. James)
> Wright (Buffalo)
The validity of the list was challenged immediately by some of the 500 jurisdictions that were targeted nationwide. Noem said jurisdictions had been identified as:
> Noncompliant with federal law enforcement agencies, specifically ICE, which functions under her authority.
> Refusing to share information about immigrants.
> Having established legal protections for immigrants.
Noem’s credibility, it must be noted, has been sullied by sloppy data-gathering at the agency, her personal incompetence, and staff purges under the ill-researched and reckless Trump-Musk government efficiency project. Noem was appointed as Homeland Security secretary by Trump in January despite no credentials or experience in homeland protection. At a recent Congressional hearing Noem was unable to define the term “habeas,” which is the core legal concept to safeguard individual rights from government overreach and abuse. These individual rights have been ignored routinely by Noem’s ICE agents to run up their deportation arrest numbers. Noem has undermined her being taken seriously by frequent wardrobe changes for media photo opps on foreign travel. In 2011 she was crown Miss South Dakota Snow Queen.
Noem. Committed to Trump’s goal of 1 million deportations a year. Nobody has seen any empirical basis for the goal. The impression of critics is that Trump created the 1 million goal from thin air as a catchy campaign slogan.
Axe falls on anther Catholic church: St. Casimir
WINONA, Minn. – The 110-year-old St. Casimir church on Winona’s West End will shut down as a Catholic place of worship. The Diocese vicar general, William Thompson of Rochester, confirmed the decision at a meeting with St. Casimir lay leaders. The closing was the second announcement of a further constriction of the Catholic brick-and-mortar presence in Winona. On Wednesday the vicar had confirmed that St. John on the East End would be closed. The two closings leave only three Catholic churches in Winona — the Sacred Heart cathedral, the basilica of St. Stan’s ,and St Mary’s. Unaffected is the gorgeous Saint Mary’s of the Angels chapel, a favorite wedding venue, on the former College of St. Teresa.
Upward-aspiring Poles
Polish Kashubian immigrants settled on Winona’s East End in rhe latter 1800s. Second-generation and third-generation Kashubians gravitated out of their forbearers’ ghetto to the relatively upscale West End where Germans dominated. The Kashubians signaled their presence by building St. Casimir church on West Broadway Street. smack dab in the middle of the German neighborhood. The city remained polarized, however, with a largely Catholic East End and a largely Lutheran West End. Through inevitable intermarriage and a gradual decline in ethnic and religious identities, there has evolved an accommodation and assimilation.
Winona religiosity
The 2020 U.S. Census found Catholics remained dominant among Winna City who declared a religious preference. Leading Christian affiliations: Catholic, 12,000. and Lutherans, 9,900. The County’s total popuation:49,700.
St. Casimir. At 626 West Broadway Street. Built 1915. Image: Steve Lunde
Sell or raze?
Thompson said a decision whether to raze or sell the St. John and St. Casimir buildings requires Vatican approval. Neither church is architecturally significant. Neither was protection afforded by status on the National Register of Historic Places nor is near the downtown Historic District. With earlier closed churches the Diocese has looked for buyers. Sacred statuary and stained glass is removed. The Diocese insists that buyers not use the structures for immoral purposes. Some churches are torn down but with adjoining cemeteries remaining in place. As an example is the rural church off Highway 43 near Wilson. In-town Winona Catholics chose to bury their dead in a single cemetery – Saint Mary’s near the current Minnesota State College Southeast campus on Homer Road.
Ammo truck crashes inside I-94 tunnel
A miracle: No fatalities. , The driver lost control on a curve entering the Lowry Hill Tunnel on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis. The truck, hauling ammunition, slammed into a concrete portal. The driver suffered non-life threatening injuries. There was no explosion. No other vehicles were involved. This was about 11 a.m. Image: Minnesota Transportation Department
Wallet with $1,700 cash reported stolen
WINONA, Minn. – A man told police his wallet was missing with $1,700 cash at the Hiawatha Valley Mental Health clinic on East Sarnia Street. The theft was reported about 10:50 a.m. Police believed they have surveillance video of the theft.
Canada wildfires sending smoke our way
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Smoke from Manitoba and Saskatchewan wildcats prompted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to issue an air quality alert through Monday. A cold front will continue to drag smoke into Minnesota, the agency said. Expect contaminated air as a “long-duration event” with multiple rounds of smoke.
Green: Good
Yellow: Moderate
Orange: Ubhekath
Tan: Unhealthy
Red: Very unhealthy
Brown: Hazardous
Image: State Pollution Control Agency
Biker gravely hurt in Spring Valley crash
SPRING VALLEY, Minn. – A Spring Valley motorcyclist was inured critically in a rear-ending accident on North Broadway Avenue. Taylor Anthony Roe, 27, of Spring Valley, was taken 29 miles to a Rochester hospital. First-responders called Roe’s injuries life-threatening. He was on 2003 Harley-Davidson, traveling without lights and without a helmet, police said. Alcohol was a factor, police said. The driver of the second vehicle, a 2014 Chevrolet Impala, was Alexander William Kimelman, 26, of Rochester. He was unhurt.
College scores
Softball: Linfield 11, Saint Mary’s 3
Minnesota prep
Baseball: Red Wing Wingers 8, Austin Packers 6
Golf (girls): Lake City Tigers 669, Red Wing Wingers 700, Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars 703, Rochester Lourdes Eagles 710, Byron Bears 743
Softball: Byron Bears 13, Winona Winhawks 2
Softball: Randolph Rockets 3, Caledonia Warriors
Softball: Faribault Bethlehem Cardinals 6, Houston Hurricanes 3
$200 theft reported outside a Kwik Trip
WINONA, Minn. – A Kwik Trip shopper reported $200 cash was taken from his car parked outside. This about 9:15 p.m. at the store at Mankato Avenue and Broadway Street. The man told police he had locked the car but inadvertantly may unlocked the doors remotely from inside the store. Missing from a center console were four $50 bills, he said.
Car into Lake Pepin; driver rescued
LAKE CITY, Minn. – First-responders waded into Lake Pepin at Roschen Park and pulled the driver from a submerged car. The driver was hoisted onto a rescue boat and taken to the Lake City hospital for evaluation. This was about 5:45 p.m. Police Chief Cory Kubista believed the driver deliberately ran into the lake. The Roschen Park boat landing was closed several hours. The park is on south end of town where U.S. Highway 61 takes a sharp turn.
15 years prison for fatal Ear Claire accident
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – A Buffalo County man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a 2023 wreck in which he rear-ended another car and killed an Eau Caire woman. Kenneth Van Meter, now 42, of Mondovi, was speeding and drunk, police said. The sentence also specified 10 additional years of supervised probation. In the accident, 56-year-old Tammy Jarecki was stopped at the light at East Clairemont Avenue and Fairfax Street. Her vehicle burst into flames. This was about 10:45 p.m. on a Thursday in May. At the scene, police said, Van Meter was too drunk toknow he was in Eau Claire. He told officers he was 25 miles away in Menomonie.
Van Meter. Speeding and drunk, police said.
WELCOME
The worthiest goal of journalism is to promote intelligent citizen involvement. Such is our goal with Winona Journal. We focus on local issues so you can go about your daily activities with confidence that you can be a genuine and valued part of informed public dialogue on the kind of community we’re building.
Although Winona-centric, we are attentive also to regional issues. Our community doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
You will find opinion here. We quote and paraphrase with attribution so you know the source and can assess ideas and thoughts. Sometimes you will find our commentary but always clearly labeled.
As journalists we are committed to accuracy but not perfect. Please let us know if you spot an error, whether substantive or even just a dumb typo. We’ll get errors squared away promptly.
We’re glad you’re with us.