WINONA, Minn. – A bratty 13-year-old girl was charged with domestic violence after her mother objected that the girl’s attire was inappropriate for school. This was about 8 a.m. at the family apartment in the 50 block of Links Lane on the East End. Police said the mother, age 47, had red marks on her face, neck and an arm. The daughter instilled fear and caused harm, according to police documents.

WINONA, Minn. – The erratic driving was hard to miss. An officer on patrol said he witnessed a car turn rway wide at a corner, then cross the center line, then swerve sharply left, then brake heavily and repeat the act with two tires again over the center line. The driver, the officer said, was drunk. David Weyant, 55, of Winona, blew 0.09% blood-alcohol at the scene and later 0.11% at the jail – both in the impairment range. The officer said the Weyant  admitted to two beers at the Mankato Bar. The stop was in the 350 block of East Sarnia Street about 12:25 a.m. The arresting officer said Weyant smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes  and impaired finger dexterity.

MINNESOTA CITY, Minn. – Tools worth an estimated $825 were stolen from a work site at the Hidden Valley trailer court. A worker repairing siding on a trailer told deputies he saw a vehicle pull up briefly and leave. Later he discovered the tools missing. This was reported to the sheriff’s office about 2:55 p.m. The tools, mostly Milwaukee brand, included drills, saws and batteries. The tools all were etched with the owner’s identification.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Former state Senator Justin Eichorn pleaded not guilty to propositioning a 17-year girl for sex. Eichorn has been in custody since March 17, most recently at a halfway house in Duluth. At the plea hearing Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins granted a request to delay a trial beyond June to give Eichorn’s attorney more time to prepare a defense. After the March arrest, Eichorn resigned from the Senate. Eichorn, age 40, a Republican, had represented the Grand Rapids area since 2017.

Earlier: Judge jails Eichorn, ending self-recognizance

Earlier:  State senator now faces federal prosecution

Earlier: Minnesota Senate expunges every trace Eichorn

Earlier: Eichorn resigns State Senate seat

Earlier: State senator now faces federal prosecution

Earlier: State senator snared as john in police trap

ROCHESTER, Minn. – The leader of southern Minnesota Catholics, Bishop Robert Barron, eulogized Pope Francis for a legacy of “mercy and evangelization.” The Pope, age 88, died at Vatican City overnight. Barron praised Francis as “a great pastor who spoke from the heart and with tender affection.” Barron met Pope Francis with other bishops several times. Barron  said the Pope’s words “burned their way into my heart and mind.” Those words: “The first task of a bishop is to pray.”

Pope Francis. Stroke, heart failure after declining health. His papacy was 2013 to 2025.

Barron. Bishop of Winona-Rochester Diocese. Widely known for his “Word on Fire” broadcasts and online platform.

LAMOILLE, Minn. – Heavy overnight rains loosened boulders and mud onto U.S. Highway 61 near LaMoille and also north of Winona near Whitman Siding. In each case a deputy used his squad car to shove the heaviest debris to the shoulder.  Cloud bursts had dropped as much as two inches of rain on perennially soggy hillsides.

U.S. Highway 61. The story of our lives.

CASHTON, Wis — A Cashton man, James Giesler, 21, died at a LaCrosse hospital from injuries in a traffic accident near Cashton. Giesler was hit by a tuck as he walked along U.S. Highway 23 after dark.

Earlier:  Truck hits, injures pedestrian near Cashton

UTICA, Minn. – About dawn someone reported a vehicle that had run off County Road 18 into a farm field east of Utica during the night. The driver apparently had climbed out into the mud and walked away and wasn’t to be found. As a tow truck pulled the vehicle out, deputies began trying to contact the registered owner. This was about 6:30 a.m. The accident was at the Swensingson Drive crossroads south of the Canadian Pacific tracks off U.S. Highway 14.

ELBA, Minn. – A man reported hearing someone start up his pickup truck that was parked outside an Elba residence. He figured a friend was borrowing the truck or maybe it was a prankster. This was in the100 block of Main Street. By 2:30 a.m. the vehicle hadn’t been returned. He called the Winona County police dispatcher. The truck, a 1985 gray Chevrolet 4×4, now is listed as stolen. The man told a deputy he had left the key in the ignition.

WINONA, Minn. – A Rochester driver was arrested and charged with drunken driving after a deputy reported seeing her weave across center lines and fog lines on U.S. Highway 61 near Bundy Boulevard. This was about 12:05 a.m. Arrested was Emily Bates Gernes, age 31. The deputy said she couldn’t walk straight and had bloodshot and watery eyes. Her blood-alcohol registered at 0.08%, the deputy said. That was just into the impairment zone.

Baseball: Southwest Minnesota State 10, Winona State 8

Baseball: Saint Mary’s 4, Carleton 1

Baseball: Bethel 4, Saint Mary’s 0

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 5, UW-Eau Claire 3

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 4, UW-Stevens Point 3

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 1, UW-Stevens Point 0

Softball: Augustana 2, Winona State 0

Softball: Augustana 2, Winona State 1

Softball: Saint Mary’s 1, Saint Benedict 0

Softball: Saint Mary’s 4, Saint Benedict 3

Softball: Saint Mary’s 1, Saint Benedict 0

Baseball: Andover Huskies 11, Rochester Mayo Spartans 5

Baseball: Andover Huskies 11, Rochester Mayo Spartans 3

Tennis (boys): Rochester Century Panthers 5, Minneapolis Southwest Lakers 2

CASHTON, Wis. — A Cashton man was seriously injured when struck by a semi-truck while walking on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 27 about 1-1/2 miles southwest of Cashton. Robert James Giesler, 21, was airlifted 30 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. The accident was about 9:45 p.m. near the Monroe-Vernon county line. Deputies had no idea why Giesler was on foot on the highway so late at night. It was believed he was walking north and suddenly pivoted into the path of the truck, which also was northbound.

“Hey hey, ho ho.” The call at coast-to-coast protest rallies was for President Trump to back off his unilateral reforms and purges. The early crowd at the State Capitol in St. Paul was estimated from headcounts of photographs as 8,000 and swelling to 10,000.

Rochester march crossed Highway 14 from Winona

Demonstrations elsewhere in Minnesota

The Rochester march was among several in Minnesota. A demonstrarton at the state Capitol drew thousands. Crowd estimates ranged from 8,000 to10,000. Hundreds of citizens turned out in a protest in Mankato.. Many were college students upset by the ambush arrest of a college student by Trump deportation agents. The agents hauled him away and jailed him without due process.

Demonstrations nationally

Other demonstrations decried Trump threats to the nation’s democratic ideals. These included a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House. Hundreds of protesters at the Colorado State Capitol waved banners expressing solidarity with immigrants. In San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy Pacific Ocean beach. They also marched with an inverted U.S. flag to show distress. People walked through downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with handmade signs: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!” Other protests were outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk and his role as a Trump operative. Among themes were feelings that Trump has acted like king, not an elected leader in a democracy. The theme was underscored by banners that he’s acting fascist.

Earlier: Rochester teacher out of gate after Finstad

Earlier: Finstad still avoiding risk with MN-1 crowds

Earlier: A portfolio from Winona’s “Hands Off”

Earlier: Winona anger at Trump: “Hands off our democracy”

WINONA, Minn. – A Milwaukee man was arrested and charged with repeated attacks on a woman he had pursued persistently since early in the day. The arrest was about 2:40 p.m. Sylvere Peore Campbell, 22, was charged with domestic assault and instilling fear and injury. From the woman and other sources, police pieced together this sequence:

> Campbell showed up uninvited at the woman’s apartment in the 250 block Orin Street.

> An argument ensued with Campbell accusing the woman of seeing other men.

> Campbell left but persisted with repeated calls to the woman.

> Campbell returned and confronted the woman on the sidewalk. She started to walk away. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground and took her shoes.

> She got up and ran barefoot for the apartment.

> Campbell jumped in his car and drove at her.

> Campbell got out of the car, grabbed the woman again and began carrying her to the apartment.

> She freed herself and ran to a neighborhood convenience store.

Campbell was arrested without resistance. The woman said she was fearful but didn’t require medical attention.

Campbell. The sordid tale concluded with him in jail about 3:50 p.m.

STOCKTON, Minn.  – Agents from the state Highway Department will take citizen questions Wednesday about the pending closure of U.S. Highway 14 between Stockton and Winona. Time: 4 to 6 p.m. at the Stockton Community Center. The project begins June 2 to improve slope and drainage, widen shoulders, and replace guardrails.

Earlier: Repairs ahead: Winona’s Stockton Hill

MATTOON, Ill. – Four Wisconsin people flying home from Kentucky were killed when their singe-single propeller plane fell from the sky, ripped through  power lines, and cashed near a grain elevator in central Illinois. Pronounced dead at the scene:

> Ross Nelson, age 46, the pilot.

>Raimi Rundle, 45.

> Michael Morrow, 48.

> Courtney Morrow, 36. 

All were from Menomonie in northwest Wisconsin. Tyey had flown from Menomonie on Wednesday for the 800-mile flight to Nashville, Tennessee. Three days later they were en route home when the crash occurred. That was at 10:15 a.m. They were still 490 miles from home when something went wrong.  The cause of the crash was not determined mediately. The wreckage of the plane, a Cessna 170, was moved to a secure location for federal inspectors to examine.

Cessna 170 profile

High-wing Cessna 170s and variations, all called Skywagons, were manufactured between 1952 and 1981.  In all, 6,200 were built. The capacity is four to six persons depending on the model and configuration. They cruise about 140 mph with a range of 1,000 miles. Skywagons are famous for a 1964 flight by Geraldine Mock. It was in a Skywagon that she became the first woman aviator to circumnavigate the globe.

WINONA, Minn. – An Austin driver was arrested as drunk at the wheel on Garvin Heights Road beyond the city limits near Greenbriar Lane. Obet Sandoval, 20, registered blood alcohol at 0.13%, deputies said. The allowed for driving is 0.08%. This was about 12:42 a.m. Sandoval also was charged with driving with an open container of an inebriant and of driving without a valid license. The arresting deputy said Sandoval was weaving over center lines and fog lines.

Sandoval. Impairment signs in deputy’s  report: Wobbliness and bloodshot and watery eyes.

Baseball: Winona State 11, Southwest Minnesota State 7

Baseball: Winona State 8, Southwest Minnesota State 7

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 7, UW-Eau Claire 6

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 3, UW-Eau Claire 2

Softball: Winona State 8, Southwest Minnesota State 0

Softball: Winona State 5, Southwest Minnesota State 1

Softball: Rochester Community and St. Cloud Tech

Tennis (men): UW-Whitewater 7, LaCrosse 0

Baseball: LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 8, Rushford-Peterson Trojans 2

Tennis (boys): Rochester Mayo Spartans 7, Rochester Marshall Rockets 0

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Fire destroyed six booths at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival grounds outside Shakopee. Lightning was blamed. A passerby reported. brush burning about 4:45 p.m. More than 80 firefighters with 36 fire vehicles responded and saved about 20 other connected structures. Among losses: The Foaming Stein Pub. It took three hours quell to the last embers. The festival grounds are mostly dormant except for August and September when typically 25,000 visitors a day relive Shakespearean times with costumed vendors and performers. Jousting is a favorite. So too are readings: Beowulf anyone? Then too are the well-fermented beverages. Most years there are 700 entertainers, 275 crafters, and 120 food booths.

Firefighters race into flaming Renaissance fantasy park in Shakopee, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Six structures were lost.