Meteorologistes confirm eight tornado touchdowns
WINONA, Minn. — Tornadoes Friday erupted from the violent collision of cold weather from southeast Minnesota and a warm front in western Wisconsin. National Weather Service stations in Rochester and LaCrosse confirmed eight touchdowns. One injury was reported: A trucker was injured, albeit not seriously, when a tornado near Stewartville flipped his rig on its side on Interstate 90. This was about 2:15 p.m. There also was a minor in Iowa from a separate band of storms. Winona County escaped the worst wrath: The most serious instability sweeping through northern townships without any touchdowns before sweeping into Wisconsin and Buffalo counties. Preliminary reports suggest 100 homes were damaged from the twin storm cells in Minnesota and Iowa, the Weather Service reported. The Minnesota-Wisconsin touchdowns, west to east:
> Sargent-Oslo (25 miles southwest of Rochester). 1:45 p.m. On ground five minutes, 3.0 miles. Rated EF0 in 40-78 mph range.
> Oslo. 1:53 p.m. On ground nine minutes, 3.9 miles. Rated EF0 in 40-78 mph range.
> Stewartville-Marion (11 miles south of Rochester) 2:17 p.m. On ground 17 minutes, 9.7 miles. Rated EF2 in 113-157 mph range.
> Potsdam (16 miles northeast of Rochester). 2:30 p.m. On ground 24 minutes, 12.1 miles. Rated EF1 in 73 to 112 mph. range.
> Plainview-Viola (near the Olmsted-Winona county line). 2:46 p.m. On ground 14 minutes, 7.5 miles. Rated EF2 jn 113-157 mph. range.
> Cream (10 miles east of Alma in Buffalo County, Wisconsin). 3:27 p.m. On ground 16 minutes, 8.6 miles. Rated EF3, at least 158 mph.
> Blair (in Jackson County 18 miles north of Galesville, Wisconsin). 4:08 p.m. On ground nine minutes, 5.7 miles. Rated EF1 at 100 mph.
> Requa (between Osseo and Fairchild, Wisconsin in extreme south Eau Claire County). 4:19 p.m. On ground five minutes, 4.6 miles. Rated EF1 at 100 mph
How to rate tornadoes
Meteorologists use the Fujita scale to measure the intensity of tornadoes.
> EF5: 261 to 318 mph. Strong frame houses lifted off foundations, carried considerable distances, disintegrated. Automobile-sized missiles propelled 300 yards. Trees debarked. Steel reinforced concrete structures badly damaged.
> EF4: 207 to 260 mph. Well-constructed houses leveled. Structures blown off weak foundations. Automobiles thrown. Large missiles airborne.
> EF3: 158 to 207 mph. Roofs, walls torn off well-constructed houses. Forest leveled.
> EF2: 113 to 157 mph. Roofs torn off frame houses. Mobile homes demolished. Large trees snapped, uprooted. Light object become missiles.
| > EF1: 73 to 112 mph. Road surfaces peeled off. Mobile homes pushed off foundations, overturned. Moving autos pushed off the roads. Attached garages destroyed. |
> EF0: 40 to 72 mph. Chimneys. rTree branches broken off. Shallow-rooted trees. Billboards damaged.
KFC retreats from LaCrosse fast-food presence
LACROSSE, Wis. — The two KFC fried chicken shops in LaCrosse have closed apparently victims in the increasingly competitive and turbulent fast-food industry. The locations went dark over the weekend. Signs on doors were barebones and without explanation: “This Location Is Closed.” News media queries to the franchise holder, Mitra QRS of Dallas, Texas, were not immediately answered. Mitra operates 200 KFC locations in 15 states through franchises from KFCs owner, the multi-national giant Yum Brands. Mitra also has 170 Taco Bell franchises from Yum. KFC shops nationally have a unit volume of $1.3 million, with some shops pulling down the average. Mitra recently began applying artificial data-crunching to cut expenses. Menus were trimmed to fewer items. Sit-down service was dropped at some sites. Some went entirely to drive-up.
Chicken wars
Sales volume at the lone KFC location in Winona, at 1558 West Service Drive, is not published. Any observer can see, however, that the shop has lost traffic to robust competitors. The sit-down Pizza Ranch franchise on the West End, which opened in 2024, gives almost as much billing to its fried chicken as to its signature pizza. Also: The Kwik Trip convenience store chain has bolstered its fried chicken product recently with heavy promotion of a “No Ordinary Chicken” campaign. Kwik Trip also created a new mascot: A human-sized chicken named Red, who not only roams the aisles but suddenly is a television star.
Hint of color: The greening of the bluffs
Whence the ice park? The bluffs over Lake Winona are shifting to their .pring mode, looking more every day like limes on a grocer’s shelf. Long gone: The scalers and rappelers at the bluff-top municipal ice park. Image: Steve Lunde
College scores
Baseball: UW-Oshkosh 5, UW-LaCrosse 0
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse and UW-Oshkosh (doubleheader) (postponed)
Baseball: Olivet 5, Viterbo 1
Baseball: Olivet 22, Viterbo 1
Softball: Judson 11, Viterbo 1
Softball: Viterbo 14, Judson 3
Tennis (men): UW-Whitewater 5, UW-LaCrosse 2
How they voted: On Superior Forest mining
WASHNGTON — These are breakdowns of how Minnesota and Wisconsin delegates to Congresa voted to end the ban on mining across 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, including the watershed of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness:
For mining
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
Against
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
> Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
Not voting
> Josh Hawley, R-Missouri
Earlier, in January, How he House voted 214-208 to end the ban on mining. The bill hen went the Senate:
For mining
Tom Emmer, R-Mn6 (north suburbs)
> Brad Finstad, R-Mn1 (New Ulm)
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west)
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn8 (Iron Range)
—
> Scott Fitzgerald, R-Mn8 (Clyman)
> Glen Grothman, R-Wi6 (Campbellsport)
> Bryan Steil, R-Wi-1 (Janesville)
> Tom Tiffany, R-Wi7 (Hazelburst)
> Derrick Van Orden, R-Wi3 (Prairie du Chien)
> Tony Wied, R-Wi8 (DePere)
Against
> Angie Craig, D-Mn2 (south suburbs)
> Betty McCollum, D-Mn4 (St. Paul)
> Kelly Morrison, D-Mn3 (west suburbs)
> Ilhan Omar, D-Mn5 (Minneapolis)
—
> Gwen Moore, D-Wi4 (Milwaukee)
> Mark Pocan, D-Wi2 (Madison)
Tornadoes disrupt daily routines across region
WINONA, Minn. — Wicked storms rampaged across a multi-county landscape. Several tornadoes touched down. There were no initial reports of injury. in Winona County. Damage was severe in a residential area in the south Rochester suburb of Stewartville. Roofs were torn apart, patio decks ripped up, garage doors sucked out. t wasn’t immediately clear whether the damage was tornadic or from incessant straight winds. Hail fell at scattered points in the region, some stones bigger than golf balls. Sirens sounded everywhere with overlapped wailing. People at home headed to basements, interior rooms and other pre-designated safe spots. The stiorm cells moved at 35 to 45 mph from southern Minnesota and northern Iowa and continued with unabated fury across the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. To say the least, the northeast-ward path was disruptive:
> Schools went into lockdown and delayed boarding children on buses for home, in many cases for an hour or more.
> Big-box stores herded shoppers into storerooms to be ess vulnerable to flying glass and debris if roofs collapsed.
> Broadcasters pre-empted scheduled programming with live updates based on National Weather Service radar observations.
> Counties dispatched volunteer tornado-spotters to identify emergencies and summon first-responders.
Eight touchdowns in preliminary mapping. The most severe storm events are twisted icons in red. At dawn the National Weather Service will send out assessment teams from its Rochester and LaCrosse stations to confirm touchdowns. Their reconstructions will categorize tornadoes on the Fujita intensity scale with paths, width, speeds, time on ground, and damage.
Near village of Cream. On Wisconsin State Highway 88 between Waumandee and Praag in central Buffalo County. Image: Kevin Glander
Who’ll blink first: Holly? Or Cheeky?
A stare down between a golden retriever out for a romp and a cheeky squirrel safely up a tree trunk scouting for nuts. At the west arm of Lake Winona. Image: Kevin O’Reilly
Motorcyclist injured when hits road grader
PINE ISLAND, Minn. — A motorcyclist from Rochester was airlifted 20 miles to a hospital after a crash with a road grader southwest of Pine Island. Olmsted County deputies said the grader had slowed to make a turn when the biker attempted to pass. The biker ended up the ditch with a leg fracture. He was helmeted, deputies said. Without explanation, Sheriff Kevin Torgerson declined to release the man’s name. It was known he man was 61 years old. The accident was at County Road 3 Northwest and County Road 105 Northwest.
Tornado whips truck off I-90; driver hurt
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — A tornado swiped an 18-wheeler off Interstate 90, injuring the driver. This was between the two I-90 exits into Rochester about 2:25 p.m. The driver, Abdirashid Ahmed Keynan, 55, of Bloomington, was taken 15 miles to a Rochester hospital. His injuries wer described as non-life threatening. The truck unit, a 2021 Kenworth and a trailer, ended up on its side.
Autopsy: Body at dam a Winona woman
WINONA, Minn. — As expected, it was he body of 73-year-old Patricia Sweningson of Winona that was was recovered Wednesday at the Trempealeau Dam on the Mississippi River. Police said the regional medical examiner in Rochester, Robert Reichard, confirmed the identification. Police were awaiting the full report that might shed light on cause of beath but were doubtful whether that could be established: Apparently the body had been the river 42 days. Although the investigation remains open, police have found no evidence pointing to foul play.
Cattle rustling recount lists six head missing
RIDGEWAY, Minn. — A new census of cattle at a Ridgeway farm has six animals missing, not the five originally reported. Sheriff’s investigators are convinced the animals were stolen: No broken fences. The theft was reported a week ago. The revised count:
> Three Hereford.
> Two Red Angus.
> One Holstein.
The value was hard to estimate because of weight and other variables. Typically a 1,200-pound animal yields a hot carcass of 700 ounds with 450 pounds of usable meat.
Next for missing woman: A Winona jail cell
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona woman, whose disappearance prompted an 11day search, remained in a St. Paul jail pending arrangements to transport her back to Winona. Bridget Ann Martinson, age 33, was found safe in St. Paul early Thursday and arrested on a Winona warrant regarding felony car theft. It was unknown whether her disappearance was related to the car theft, which occurred many weeks earlier. Normal procedure now is for Winona County to pick up Martinson in St. Paul amd book her in the Winona County jail until the car theft issue is resolved.
Earlier: Homeless Winona woman found safe after 11 days
Earlier: Earlier: Search ongoing for vanished Winona woman
Earlie: Earlier: Police empty-handed in hunt for missing woman
Earlier: Winona woman missing almost a week
Martinson. No explanation yet on her “lost weekend,” which actually was 11 days.
Spring sprouts softly in shoreline pinks
A Japanese friendship gift. Winona’s Japanese sister city Misato gifted Sakura cherry trees in 2012 to plant along Lake Winona to signify the cities’ cultural bonds. They’ve blossomed every spring eversince.
Serenity across Lake Winona The seasonal stillness of an afternoon. Reigning from afar: The landmark Watkins world headquarters. Image: Steve Lunde
College scores
Baseball: Olivet 3, Viterbo 1
Baseball: Olivet 5, Viterbo 5
Softball: Winona State 3. Concordia of St. Paul 2
Softball: Winona State 4, Concordia of St. Paul 3
Softball: Saint Mary’s 2, St. Olaf 1
Softball: Saint Mary’s 11, St. Olaf 3
Tennis (women): Macalester 5, Saint Mary’s 2
Minnesota senators outvoted on new Up North mining
WASHINGTON — President Trump has had his way for industrializing protected lands near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters on the Canada border. The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 to allow a South American mining conglomerate to dig deep in the Superior National Forest and open a pit to extract copper. Environmentalists opposed the bill, citing toxic chemicals spillage into the Boundary Waters as inevitable. Passage was a victory for the mining, industry which lobbied heavily for a foothold in northern Minnesota’s remote and pristine forest lands. Other mining companies now are expected to file for additional permits to extract the area’s immense stores of copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals Earlier, in January, the House approved the legislation. The legislation now goes to President Trump to sign into law. The bill was opposed rigorously by Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats. Smith filibustered five hours against
“You can support mining, but that does not mean that you support every mine in every place. Whatever the outcome of this vote this afternoon, we will not stop fighting, and we will not stop our work to protect the Boundary Waters.”
Two Republicans joined the Minnesota opposition to the new mining: Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine.
Smith. A Minnesota voice for environmental protection of pristine lands.
Superior National Forest. Lime green is Boundary Waters wilderness. Limited only to hikers and canoeists. Brown is Voyageurs National Park.
Homeless Winona woman found safe after 11 days
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A 33-year-old Winona woman, missing since April 6, has been located safe in the Twin Cities. Initial details were scant about how Bridget Ann Martinson was found and exactly where. Ramsey County authorities confirmed, however, that she was located about 12:30 a.m. and was being held in jail. There was an active Winona County felny arrest warrant from several weeks ago related to vehicle theft. Martinson, who frequently stayed at Catholic Charities homeless shelters in Winona, had last been known in Winona 11 days ago.
R.I.P.: Anne (Beedle) Dettinger
CENTERVILLE, Wis. — Anne Marie Dettinger, who operated the crossroads Beedle’s supper club in Centerville, died at a LaCrosse hospital from injuries in a fall. She was 68. She and her husband put their name on an existing restaurant and bar in Centerville in 2006. She was the was the manager and energetic hostess all those years. She was known for her contagious enthusiasm and culinary and business savvy. The menu featured “from scratch” cooking. The bar became a community gathering place. The restaurant was a destination dining site for people from LaCrosse, Winona and the region. Her brain injury was suffered in an accidental fall on concrete steps. She had been mostly comatose in her hospitalization. The family said arrangements were pending.
1958-2026
News summary at mid-week: April 15, 2026
GOVERNANCE: Bishop parts with Trump on pope-bashing
RIVER: Recovery team hoists body from dam’s gate
MISSING: Search ongoing for vanished Winona woman
POLITICS: Finstad rival casts self as financial underdog
CUISINE: Golden China to close doors in May
SEASONS: Perhaps croaking near you: Toads are back
CRIME: Cops: Boozer tried blocking aid to drunk buddy
FIRE: Downed power lines ignite West Burns fire
Party-seeking teen crashes on Latsch Island
WINONA, Minn. — A teen-age driver took a turn too fast at a Latsch Island beach party and slammed into a tree. Aiden Michael Wilson, age 19, of Dakota, had a bloody nose and head scratches but was otherwise OK, police said. Police quoted Wilson as having downed three or four shots, apparently in Winona, and deciding then to hit the road for a joy ride across the Mississippi River. This was about 11:15 p.m. An auto-dialed crash alert from Wilson’s Jeep was picked up by the police dispatcher in Winona. Muffled in the background, the dispatcher could hear shouting and scrambling to hide alcohol. When police arrived, they found Wilson’s Jeep disabled into a tree. He had been alone in the vehicle.
College scores
Baseball: Winona State 4, Southwest Minnesota State 3
Baseball: Winona State 12, Southwest Minnesota State 7
Baseball: Macalester 8, Saint Mary’s 7
Baseball: Macalester 7, Saint Mary’s 6
Softball: Saint Mary’s 18. St. Scholastica 0
Recovery team hoists body from dam’s gate
TREMPEALEAU, Wis. — A recovery team rappelled down the backside a gate in the Trempealeau dam complex to retrieve a woman’s body that was caught pressed into gate by rapid currents. The body was hoisted 30 feet up, laid on a gurney on the ram top, carried to shore, and transported to Rochester for autopsy. Pending the autopsy, authorities were reluctant to release the victim’s name. The body was believed, however, to be that of 73-yea-old Patricia Sweningson. The woman had been seen last on March 4 on a security camera at Levee Paek in Winona. Divers had been out on the Mississippi River searching for Sweningson the last two weekends between Winona and the dam. There also were shore patrols on the seven-miles stretch of river.
Dangerous mission. The recovery was about 12:30 p.m., five hours after a dam employee saw the body during a routine walk-around inspection. Image: Winona County sheriff
Multi-agency operation at Trempealeau
The recovery effort was complicated and massive. Ben Klinger, the Winna County emergency director, convened several dozen first-responders from multiple agencies. Firefighters from Dakota, Pickwick and Winona were stationed in boats immediately downriver in case anyone in the retrieval team fell into the current. None did. Am airborne Minnesota State Patrol rescue team hovered in a helicopter as stand-hy. First on-scene were Trempealeau County sheriff’s deputies and Trempealeau Village firefighters. The decision was made early not to attempt retrieval by boat. Said Klinger: “Water’s really dangerous right up against the dam.”
Klinger: Winona County emergency management chief.
Earlier: Body found snared in Mississippi dam
Cop: Erratic driver admits too much alcohol
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona driver whose blood-alcohol ratio tested at twice the legal level, was arrested near the central Huff and Sarnia streets intersection. Alex Roger Volkman, age 35, admitted he had been drinking too much to drive, police said. He was stopped about 12:40 p.m. The arresting officer said Volkman had been all over the road, going the wrong, way, and ignoring a stop sign. The precise charge being recommended for prosecution was delayed until a blood sample taken at jail comes back from the state crime lab. The 0.16% reading was from a roadside breath test.
Body found snared in Mississippi dam
TREMPEALEAU Wis. — A body was found wedged against a river gate on the Minnesota side of the Trempealeau dam across the Mississippi River. The body was discovered during a dam worker’s routine dawn inspection. Authorities were notified in Winona seven miles upriver, where a 73-yearod woman disappeared 19 days ago, apparently riverside at Levee Park. First reports from the dam indicted recovery would be difficult due to water flow and current. Also: Access by boat appeared impossibly dangerous. The body was at a gate 900 feet distant from the dam’s navigation locks and headquarters on the Wisconsin side at Trempealeau Village. Beyond the locks is a 900-foot dam with five roller gates and 10 gainter gates and then a 2.600-foot earthen embankment that connects to the Minnesota shore. Minnesota access from the earthen dam shore off combined U.S. Hghway 14 and U .S. Highway 61 near LaMoille and the junction up Big Trout Creek to Pickwick. The dam complex is 20 miles downriver from Winona.
NOTE: Meanwhile a search for a second Winona woman, Bridget Ann Martinson, age 32, was continuing. She was last seen April 6
Dam spans 3,700 feet. Backs up Pool 6 of Mississippi River past Winona and to Dam 5A at Minnesota City and Fountain City.
Emergency, fire crews make 52 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 32 emergency medical calls plus 20 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, April 14: 3 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Monday, April 13: 3 medical calls plus 4 fire call.
> Sunday, April 12: 6. medical calls plus 3 fire call.
> Saturday, April 11: 2 medical calls plus 3 fire call.
> Friday, April 10: 7 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Thursday, April 9: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Wednesday, April 8: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
Eariser: Emergency, fire crews make 42 calls
Search ongoing for vanished Winona woman
WINONA, Minn. — Investigators are scouting for surveillance video that could yield clues in the disappearance of a homeless woman. As best that police can tell is that Bridget Ann Martinson, age 32, was last seen April 6 on downtown streets. One source placed her near the post office on West Fifth Street. Police have asked anyone who may have seen Martinson to come forward. Police list the status of the search as ongoing. Meanwhile, Martinson’s family organized independent searches out of Holzinger Lodge at the foot of Winona’s bluffs. A family member told a KTTC reporter that Bridget was known to hike trails alone without a phone. Family and friends also spanned out to downtown where she spent lots of time. Her brother Ricky Jr. said Bridget usually contacted their father every two to three days. Her last known location was April 6. The situation is taking its toll on the family, her brother said: “We just want to get out there and really get some answers and check some things off.” He described his sister as “a really nice kind person,” He said she’s had “a rough go at it lately” and has been experiencing homelessness.
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