River wildlife project starting near Guttenberg
GUTTENBERG, Iowa — The Army Corps will celebrate the start of its $11 million South Ferry Slough habitat rehabilitation project with a groundbreaking Tuesday at the North Gazebo in Guttenberg. Time: 1 p.m. The Corps plans to move river-bottom sediment from its Mississippi River navigaion chancel to create new habitat for floodplain species. The project includes reestablishing eroded islands and reinforcing shorelines. Additional stages of the project, in the North Ferry Slough and McMillan Island area, depends on available funding.
College scores
Softball: Saint Mary’s 2, Gustavus Adolphus 0
Softball: Saint Mary’s 5, Gustavus Adolphus 2
Minnesota prep
Baseball: Rochester Marshall Rockets 4, Winona Winhawks 2
Baseball: LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 2, Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 0
Baseball: St. Charles Saints 13, Dodge Center Triton Cobras 0
Softball: Winona Winhawks 15, Rochester Marshall Rockets 0
Tennis (boys): Rochester Lourdes Eagles 4, Winona Cotter Ramblers 3
Wisconsin prep
Baseball: Arcadia Raiders 7, Fall Creek Crickets 6
Quavering investors continue Fastenal sell-off
WINONA, Minn. – Publicly traded stock in Fastenal, Winona’s largest employer, continued its precipitous decline for a third trading day. At the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange: $71.20. That approached a 20% drop from Fastenal’s 52-week high.
> 52-week high: $84.88.
> Friday: $75.42.
> Monday: $72.16.
> Tuesday: $71.20.
Investment bankers said the decline had nothing to do with Fastenal’s highly regarded management and everything to do with President Donald Trump’s neckless tariff war. The tariffs barriers to trade that Trump began imposing Thursday exceed those of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act that sparked a global trade war that cost millions of jobs and worsened the 12-year Great Depression.
Backed to dock One of dozens of Fastenal trucks that are loaded and dispatcyed daily from the company’s Winona hub. All are festoooned in Fastenal’s classic steel blue: Hex code color palate 4682B4.
Fastenal profile
Fastenal has 1,800 employees in Winona. These include 400 people at its riverside office building downtown. Most local employees are at the sprawling plant and warehousing hub on the Far West End and at scattered sites around town. Globally the company payroll exceeds 23,000.
Cash, safe missing in rural home intrusion
LEWISTON, Minn. – A rural house was entered and somewhere between $400 to $500 cash was taken, the owner told deputies. Also taken, the owner said, was a portable safe with personal documents. This was in the 20000 block north of Lewiston on County Road 20 near Rupprechts Valley Road. The theft was reported about 2:20 p.m. The house was unlocked.
Earlier: Cops: Burglar roaming countryside, targeting homes
Smaller vessels, fewer visitors to Winona
American Cruise Lines fleet. The all-steel vessels may lack the charm of much larger paddle-wheelers of yore but operate with far greater efficiencies. The company envisions the whole new-generaio fleet in service by 2027. Alas, not many of e vessels will be assigned to Upper Mississippi trade.
Upper Mississippi a shrinking cruise market
WINONA, Minn. – Only one company is operating Upper Mississippi cruises this season with Winona as a port of call. American Cruise Lines of Guilford, Connecticut, has scheduled only two vessels, American Serenade and a sister ship, American Melody, for Winona dockings. Together they will make only 11Wininevists. A second company, Swiss-owned Viking, also has Upper Mississippi cruises but their nearest 2025 dockings are LaCrosse and Red Wing. Only a few years ago Winona hosted twice as many dockings as there will be this season. Sometimes two vessels tied up simultaneously. Thousands of passengers would be disgorged over the seven-month season for walling trips, shopping and bus rides into the bluffs. The market for Upper Mississippi cruises, however, became saturated. One company, American Queen, went belly-up lastvyear. And merican Cruise Lines, meanwhile, has reassigned vessels to a newer market on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The era of the Mississippi Queen and other huge paddle-wheelers with 400 passengers is over.
Earlier: Viking’s 2025 ports of call exclude Winona
Summer 2025 lineup
American Cruise Line’s tentative 2025 Winona visits:
> June 13: American Melody, 180 passengers, departs St. Paul this date.
> July 4: American Serenade, 180 passengers, departs St. Paul.
> July 11: Serenade departs St. Louis.
> July 14: Serenade departs St. Paul.
> July 18: Serenade departs St. Paul.
> July 25: serenade departs St. Louis.
> August 1: Serenade departs St. Paul
> August 8: Serenade departs St. Louis.
> August 15: Serenade departs St. Paul.
> August 22: Serenade departs St. Louis.
> August 29: Melody departs St. Paul.
The cruises, all nine days, cost $5,100 to $5,600. The first two departures have sold out. There are no October cruises for autumn colors.
Landlady to jail after tenant claims death threats
ROLLINGSTONE, Minn,. — For the umpteenth time, it seems, an apartment tenant called deputies to report harassment from his landlady. This time, he told deputies, Amanda Jo Lee threatened to shoot him, blow him up, and kill him. Deputies said the message was by phone. Most of the man’s earlier complaints were about messages tacked to his door. He obtained a restraining order, which he had reported earlier was being violated. This time deputies booked Lee, age 39, at the Winona County jail for violent threats.
Lee. Herself also has had an apartment in the 100 block of Cleveland Avenue in Rollingstone. At address since 2009.
Minnesota prep
Golf (boys): Rushford-Peterson Trojans 183, Caledonia Warriors 198
Golf (girls): Caledonia Warriors 208, Rushford-Peterson Trojans 183,
Softball: Goodhue Wildcats 12, Rochester Schaeffer Lions 9
Tennis (boys): Decorah Vikings 4, Winona Cotter Ramblers 3
Fastenal stock down again – lowest in year
WINONA, Minn. – Publicly traded stock in Winona-based Fastenal dropped like a stone to $70.82 after the New York Stock Exchange opened Monday. There were jagged ups and downs during the day but at the close the company’s shares were even lower than the close Friday. The two-day decline to $72.16 was the worst for Fastenal investors since a 52-week high of $84.88. The loss was part of sudden and massive sell-offs of U.S. stocks triggered by President Trump’s new tariffs, including 84% on imports from China. Stock traders have been spooked at the Trump tariffs, which defy historical experience with disastrous global trade wars. In fact, China has responded to the new Trump trade restrictions by slapping reciprocal restrictions on exports from the United States. The Chinese announcement further dampened U.S. stocks and also markets in other countries.
Leaders of the pack at Lewiston’s Fools Five
LEWISTON, Minn. – Of 1,300 participants, these were the top finishers in the Fools Five fund-raiser:
5-mile (men): Seth Lubinski, of Lewiston, 5:37.71; Nolan Ward, of Eyota, 5:41.74; Issac Halbakken, of St. Charles, 4:52.77
5-mile (women): Isabel Mueller, of Lewiston 7:14.54; Kendra Holtan, of Stewartville, 7:42.78; Margaret Johnspn, of Fountain. 8:05.77
8-K (men): Michael Walentiny, of Lewiston 0:28.21; Grayson Speltz of Altura, 0:30.36; Brenan Kunst, of Rushford, 0:21.03
8-K (women): Kylie Meyer, of Spring Valley, 0:35.20; Ashton Haake, of Lewiston, 0:35.25; Alicia Swanson, of Rochester, 0:36.02
Police: Winona “Hands Off” mega-rally peaceful
WINONA, Minn. – The Hands Off demonstration that packed Windom Park as part of the national anti-Trump movement on Saturday was peaceful. Neither the city police nor the sheriff’s office received any calls about criminal or disruptive behavior. Such was as expected, said police spokespersons at their regular post-weekend police briefings. No extra officers had been assigned preemptively for the event, the police spokespersons said.
Father Breza never forgot his Kashubian roots
WINONA, Minn. – A Catholic priest with a larger than life presence in Winona’s Polish community, Paul Joseph Breza, has died at age 87. He was born in Winona, the son of descendants of Kashubian immigrants from Bytów, Poland. He established the Polish Cultural Institute and Museum in Winona in 1979. He visited Bytów in the 1980s and 1990s — and in 2004 arranged an enduring a sister-city relationship between Winona and Bytów. In 2006 Bytów celebrated its first annual Winona Day exchange program. It was Breza’s work that led to Winona being recognuzed as the “Kashubian Capital of America” in homage to waves of Polish immigrants beginning 1898.
Career milestones
Breza. 1937-2025
Breza was educated at St. Stanislaus. School on the historically Polish East Side. He moved on to Cutter High School and Saint Mary’s College. After seminary studies he was ordained in 1963 and assigned to the Winona Diocese. During nearly 50 years of active ministry h held dut8es as pastor, chaplain, teacher, and administrator. In his retirement, he continued to fill in for other priests as needed. He also was the diocesan archivist.
Kashubian heritage
He created the Polish Cultural Institute and Museum in 1979 min a former lumberyard office at 102 Liberty Street he had purchased two years earlier. His parishioners recognized him regularly. In 2007 Cotter High School, named him its third Alumnus of the Year.”[9] In 2008 the city of Bytów recognized him with the title “Honorary Citizen of Bytów. In 2010, Father Breza was inducted into Winona’s Polish Heritage Hall of Fame. In 2013, in a ceremony at the Polish Museum, the Polish consul general in Chicago, = Paulina Kapuscinska, presented Father Breza with the Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his contribution to Polish American relations. In 2013, with representatives from Bytów in attendance, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination with a special Mass.
Bricks and mortar. Breza’s pet project now known as the Kashubian Cultural Institute and Polish Museum.
An irony
On the day Breza died, his beloved St. Stan’s parish school was being torn down. The school was abandoned in 2023 in the constriction of Catholic parochial education.
College scores
Baseball: Winona State 8, UM-Crookston 6
Baseball: UM-Crookston 10, Winona State 3
Baseball: Macalester 7, Saint Mary’s 2
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 4, Macalester 4
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 10, UW-Oshkosh 5
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 13, UW-Oshkosh 2
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 4, Macalester 4
Softball: Winona State 11, UM-Crookston 0
Softball: UM-Crookston 2, Winona State 1
Softball: Saint Mary’s 4, Carleton 0
Softball: Saint Mary’s 5, Carleton 0
Tennis (women): Winona State 4, UM-Crookston 3
Tennis (women): Saint Mary’s 4, UW-Stout 3
“Pow!!!” Jail inmate backs up demand for softer TV
WINONA, Minn. – The violence to which police were called was in their own jail. An inmate, Melvin Earl Kimp, thought that another inmate was playing the cell block television too loud so he punched him, deputies and. The blow, they said, was with an open fist and left a bruise. Kimp, age 34, was taken back to his cell and charged with felony assault. He had been in jail since February 2 on a domestic assault charge. The battered inmate didn’t require hospitalization.
Kimp. An extended jail term now expected.
Fools Five generates $100,000 for caner causes
LEWISTON, Minn. — More than $100,000 was raised for cancer research and patient support by the Fools Five foot race up and down Main Street on Saturday, said organizer Judy Hovelson. Thirteen-hundred runners, joggers and walkers participated.
Lake Winona’s tranquility at dawn
Along Highway 61. Afternoon highs were forecast in the50s Image: Steve Lunde
News summary at week’s end: April 5, 2025
POLITICS: Winona anger at Trump: “Hands off our democracy”
POLITCS: The Lindell tease: For governor again?
ECONOMY: Trump crisis: Fastenal stock drops through floor
HEALTH: Winona Health awarded for prompt stroke care
GOVERNANCE: Judge to Trump: Explain UM deportation arrest
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: Trump budget /1
CRIME: Savage attack on board Winona school bus
CRIME: Beau: Angry and drunk, man threatened suicide leap
CRIME: Rape plea is guilty; other cases pending
CRIME: Teen released from jail despite attack charge
CRIME: Woman faces knife assault charge from dog fight
COLLAPE: Waseca building breaks apart; nobody hurt
EVENTS: A sea of runners on Lewiston’s wavy Main Street
COMMERCE: Winona home sales: March 2025
A portfolio from Winona’s “Hands Off”
Upside down and in distress. Despite the gloom signaled by this inverted flag, there was a positive-driven spirit. A folk troupe inspired the crowd with familiar songs of patriotism, peace and better times in one corner of Windom Park. it was almost like Woody Guthrie leading the chorus: “This land is your land, This land is my land. “Dozens of flags dotted the demonstration. Most were star-spangled banners but there also were Ukraine and Canada flags. Images: Andy Frank
Between nods. Even the 7-month-old pup Bodie had a message. His “mommy” has a job on which he relies for treats. She is a wildlife biologist for the National Audubon Society, which receives some federal funding to work with farmers on sustainable farming practices and preserving wildlife habitat.
For almost two hours. The crowd milled and wandered through Windom Park, reinforcing a multitude of grievances against President Trump and his coming-out-of-nowhere co-president Elon Musk. The energy was palpable and entirely peaceable.
Earlier: Winona anger at Trump: “Hands off our democracy”
College scores
Baseball: Winona State 4, UM-Crookston 1
Baseball: UM-Crookston 10, Winona State 5
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 11, UW-Oshkosh 4
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 15, UW-Oshkosh 4
Lacrosse (women): Saint Benedict 12, UW-LaCrosse 11
Softball: Winona State 6, Bemidi State 3
Softball: Winona State 8, Bempdii State 0
Softball: Saint Mary’s 6, St. Scholastica 0
Softball: Saint Mary’s 11, St. Scholastica 0
Tennis (men): Hamline 5, Saint Mary’s 4
Tennis (men): St. Scholastica 9, Saint Mary’s 0
Tennis (women): Bemidji State 4, Winona State 2
Tennis (women): St. Scholastica 6, Saint Mary’s 3
Minnesota prep
Tennis (boys): Rochester Mayo Spartans 5, Rochester Century Panthers 2
Tennis (boys): Rocester Marshall Rockets 4, Faribault Falcons 3
Track and field (boys): Rochester Century Panthers 75, Austin Packers 42, Northfield Raiders 41
Volleyball (boys): Rochester Century/Marshall/Mayo 3, Chaska Southwest Christian 2
Minnesota prep
Baseball (boys): Austin Packers 1, Winona Winhawks 0
Baseball (boys): LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 3, Caledonia Warriors 1
Volleyball (boys): Shakopee Sabers 3, Rochester Century/Marshall/Mayo 1
Volleyball (boys): Randolph Rockets 15, Chatfield Gophers 4
Lots of blood when car overturns in factory zone
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man trying out and showing off his just-purchased bright red Mustang rolled it at high speed on a narrow industrial street on the West Side. A witness estimated that Kyle Ray Ostrander, age 33, was going at least 50 mph at a jag on Third street. The car slammed into a wall at the Technicraft building. Ostrander survived. “A miracle,” said a police officer. A passenger was severely hurt, his head bleeding profusely — plus several lacerations on open and deep his face. The man described his pain 8 on a 10-point scale. Police said he refused to go to tye hospital despite their better judgment. This was about 6:30 p.m. on West Third at Mechanic Street. Police said that Ostrander’s Mustang, a 1993 model, was almost unrecognizable. A hardtop or a convertible? “You couldn’t tell by looking,” a police officer said. Ostrander was charged with:
> Driving drunk.
> Driving recklessly and criminally.
> Speeding.
> Failing to stop.
Ostrander. Witnessed said he “floored the pedal like a fool.” Ostrander admitted to drinking and smelled like it, police said.
Winona anger at Trump: “Hands off our democracy”
Maple leaf hoisted too. Among targets of Winona protesters was the Trump demonization of Canada. Trump has mobilized an economic attack against the historically friendly northern U.S. neighbor and threatened a take-over. Implicit: Military occupation like the Russia aggression neighboring Ukraine. Trump’s assault on Canadian sovereignty has insulted and angered normally mild-mannered Canadians like nothing else in memory. Images: Steve Lunde
Protest displays overwhelming array of grievances
WINONA, Minn. –An estimated 700 people assembled at Windom Park to voice grievances against the Trump presidency—the largest public protest in Winona since the Vietnam war. Protesters lined all four sides of sides of the Windom Park block and amassed at seven street corners. They waved and swung signs, almost all hand-made. Passing cars honked in support. Protesters cheered back and pointed thumbs-up.
The signs were a motley array of objection to Trump reforms since January when he:
> Began dismantling federal agencies and public services.
> Launched an isolationist withdrawal from international treaties.
> Set out on a racially profiled pogrom to deport thousands of foreign citizens in the country for business, schooling and a better life.
> Pledged to cut medical and other benefits for military veterans.
> Targeted Medicare health programs and also Medicaid for needy people.
The Winona rally was one of 1,000 one-day events nation wide to pressure Republicans in Congress who have acquiesced to Trump bullying to fall in line or be voted out of office. The protests also voiced support for federal judges to resist Trump overreaches of his constitutional authorities.
Trump executive orders
In Trump’s first 65 days in office, he signed 104 executive orders, more than any previous president in the first 100 days in office. These included withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization and the Paris global environmental treaty and killing the U.S. Agency for International Development. He rolled back federal recognition of gender identity. Without Congressional approval he created a federal agency to dismantle agencies as a pretense for government efficiency. He withdrew the U.S. designation of Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism, He dissolved a task force to reunite children who were unjustly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite their criminal convictions he pardoned his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 in a failed attempt to install him as president even though he had lost the 2020 election. He ended birthright citizenship for children born in the country to illegal immigrants. He delayed an order for China to sell control of its media platform TikTok. He declared a national emergency on the southern border to facilitate the deployment the U.S. Army. Several Trump’s orders explicitly violated Congressionally passed federal laws and long-standing agency regulations and the U.S. Constitution.
Verbatim
First Amendment to U.S. Constitution: Government shall not restrain “the right of the people peaceably to assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Conspicuously absent
Organizers invited any and all to participate in the protest. Not present were: Jerry Papenfuss. Chair, Winona County Republicans; Brad Finstad, Elected to Congress from southern Minnesota’s MN-1; Jeremy Miller, elected to state Senate from Winona and neighboring counties; Steve Drazkowski. Elected to the state Senate from Mazeppa; Aaron Repinski. Elected to state House from Winona; Steve Jacob. Elected to state House from Elba.
Targets: Save foreign students. No to authoritarism, oligarchy.
Yes. To women’s healthcare No to Musk. Yes to Medicare.
Paraphrasing Trump buddy Elon Musk: “I Am Stealing from You”
So much to say. So little space.
Heed the working class. Save education. Hands off human rights.
A sea of runners on Lewiston’s wavy Main Street
Fools Five. The 47th annual foot race raised $139,000 for cancer research and local support groups.. Funds went to Mayo Clinic, the Hormel Instititute, the Masonic Cancer Center and Gundersen Health. Images: Steve Lunde
Mounted posse. Linda Moor of Nodine, a volunteer deputy with Sheriff Ron Ganrude’s mounted posse, blocks a side street ahead of the runners coming down Main Street. On duty too was Sunshine, a patient buckskin tobiano who’s also a veteran. “She’s 17 going on 18,” Moor told to an inquiring passerby. Why Moor’s snow cap? The day was beautiful and sunny but only in the mid-40s. Runners were mostly in long pants.
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