Mnnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Rochester Century Panthers 87, Winona Winhawks 63
Basketball (girls): Rochester Century Panthers 63, Winona Winhawks 37
Hockey (boys): Mankato East Cougars 5, Winona Winhawks 1
Hockey (girls): Mankato East Cougars 2, Winona Winhawks 2
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Arcadia Raiders 77, Black River Falls Tigers 57
Basketball (boys): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 91, Eleva-Strum Cardinals 37
Basketball (girls): Arcadia Raiders 54, Westby Norsemen 32
Newspaper trade group fetes Winona reporter
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. – Journalist Rachel Mergen, the lone news reporter at the Winona Daily News, won three awards at the Minnesota Newspaper Association annual meeting.
> “Bloedow Bakery’s 100th Anniversary” (May 2024), second place as a business profile.
> “Anniversary of Madeline Kingsbury’s Disappearance” (March 2024), second place as hard news.
> “Need for More Foster Parents” (August 2024), third place as a social issues a story.
The Daily News won first place for the use of photography as a whole. This was mostly for the work of Saskia Hatvanym, who is on-call from the LaCrosse Tribune for shoots for 11 papers in the Lee Enterprises chain. The Winona paper doesn’t have a photographer of its own.
Rochester pedestrian struck, fatally injured
ROCHESTER, Minn – A pedestrian was struck and killed crossing South Broadway Avenue near 19th Street Southeast. Police asked news reporters not to release the victim’s name until kin were reached. The accident was about 5:40 p.m. Police said the man was crossing Broadway outside of a pedestrian lane. Life-saving measures were performed, but the man died on scene.
Supreme Court ponders role in House mess
What do they say about a house divided? Every Republican is present every day on their half of the House chamber. The Democrats? They’re all absent every day as their boycott was about to enter a third week.
Justices taking their time whether to intervene
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court ended the ay uncomfortable about whether to step into the super-partisan House battle over defining a quorum. Associate Justice Gordon. Moore said the Court’s intervention could become problematic. “If we decide this case, we’re essentially opening up a can of worms that might not be able to be closed again,” Moore said. “In other words, this court could be viewed by parties as a place to resolve political disputes.” Chief Justice Natalie Hudson also said the courts are not the place to settle political spats and stunts.
Court pauses on a ruling
The Court’s consensus at the one-hour hearing seemed to be that te courts, as a co-equal branch of government, should not meddle in internal affairs of the legislative branch. The hearing, however, was inconclusive and ended with the Court saying, in effect: “We’ll sleep on it.” Without a resolution, the clock keeps ticking on the legislative calendar, whose 2025 session is mandated to end at 120 days.
Constitutional issue? Or political?
About the apparent hesitancy of the Court to intervene, an attorney for House Democrats, David Zoll, said balderdash – although the more restrained in his choice of words. “The issue today is neither political nor partisan,” Zoll said. “It is a question of constitutional law: What constitutes a quorum for the Minnesota House to transact business.”
The back story
The issue at its root is a power-sharing agreement that Democrats and Republicans together negotiated. That was after the November election when it appeared the 134-member House was destined to a 67-67 gridlock. The deal fell apart with a couple of the November elections ended up being contested.
Pair arrested, plethora of bad drugs seized
CALEDONIA, Minn. – A multi-agency police raid on an East Grove Street home yielded a supermarket array of drugs and packaging tools to sell them — and two arrests. Taken into custody without resistance were Andrew Hanson, 40, and Alecia Lee Cadmus, 23. Drugs were found in every room, said Houston County Sheriff. Brian Swedberg These included fentanyl, meht, heroin, marijuana and the brand-name prescription tranquilizer Zanax, he said. Drug paraphernalia were all over, as were small baggies of the sort that drug dealers use to package products for direct sales, the sheriff said. Also seized were a gun and what was described in the criminal complaint as “a substantial amount of money.” The raid followed weeks of investigation by the Rochester-based Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement Team. Agents from the team, as well as Houston County and Fillmore County deputies and Caledonia police established a perimeter around the house. Caledonia medics stood by in case needed. The raid was in the early afternoon.
Cadmus. Earlier lived in LaCrosse and Arcadia in Wisconsin.
Hanson. Shared Caledonia residence with Cadmus..
Judge grim on Trump choke on birthright
SEATTLE, Wash. – A federal judge blocked President Trump’s order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, Judge John Coughenour, who’s been on the bench 43 years, called the order was “blatantly unconstitutional.” In an initial hearing, Judge John Coughenour express and astonishment and disgust at the brazenness of the order. From the court record:
Judge Coughenour to attorney assigned to defend the Trump order: “In your opinion, is this executive order constitutional?”
Attorney Brett Shumate: “Yes, we think it is.”
Judge Coughenour: “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar can state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It boggles my mind. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?”
It was an unusually stern rebuke from the judge, suggesting extreme amateurishness in the White House. The hapless Shumate had been assigned to represent Trump. However he is aligned with Trump. He is active in the extreme right-wing Federalist Society on which Trump has leaned for policy advice.
Verbatim
Judge Coughenour: “I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as it is here. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.” His order is temporary, for 14 days, subject to renewal. Meanwhile, companion cases against the Trump order are proceeding in other jurisdictions.
Back story
Trump had signed the order to end birthright citizenship on Monday, his first day back in office. The ink was barely dry before five lawsuits were filed by 22 states, including Minnesota, and also by several immigrant rights groups. The suits argue that citizenship is as birthright dates to the 1857 Dredd Scott ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on slave citizenship and was embodied into the Constitution by the 14th Amendment in1868 and further cemented by an 1898 case involving a child born of a Chinese woman.
Other driver accused in rookie Viking’s death
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A woman was indicted for a car wreck in July that killed Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two teammate buddies from high school. Indicted was Cori Clingman, age 23. The indictment has 13 counts. They include vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. Clingman and the football players were in separate cars and street-racing and going very fast, police said. The players’ car apparently took an impact, veered off the road, and struck one tree stump after another. Clingman knew the football players from players high school.
Disturbance draws police to Terry Lane
WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a Winona woman — drunk, they said — who was shouting and raising caine outside a home on normally tranquil Terry Lane off Gilmore Avenue on the Far West End. Sarah Jane Hunter, age 51, was sitting in her car at the address when police arrived. Her blood-alcohol level tested at 0.26%, police said. That’s more than triple the state 0.08% impairment threshold. Police had no idea what triggered the commotion. The incident was about 1:50 p.m. in the 600 lack of Terry Lane.
Hunter. Angry outburst so far unexplained.
Trump excuses January 6 onus on Minnesotans
MINNEAPOLIS — President Trump’s pardons of everyone arrested for the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol included at least 15 Minnesotans. Some were already convicted by juries and in prison for attacks on police who were defending the Capitol, some whom were mortally wounded or permanently maimed. In all, 1,600 of the Trump supporters have been freed. Minneapolis television station KARE compiled a list of the freed Minnesotans, who have either been sentenced to prison or fined or are in the process of being tried. Included:
Violent traitors? Peaceful patriots? Trump made no distinction between these broad categories. He pardoned all or issued commutations for 1,600 persons arrested after the 2021 riots on his behalf at the U.S. Capitol. All have been excused and their criminal records purged. Yes, they’re back on the streets. All of them.
> Brian Mock of Minneapolis. Sentenced to almost three years. Body camera footage showed him kicking officers and stealing riot shields, which he distributed to other rioters.
> Paul Orta Jr. of Blue Earth in Faribault Ciunty. He was sentenced to six months in prison.
> Victoria White of Rochester. She was sentenced to 10 days.
> Daniel Johnson of Austin. He was sentenced to four months in jail.
> Daryl Johnson of Iowa. Son of Daniel Johnson. He also was sentenced to four months.
> Frank Bratjan Jr. of Eagan.
> Jordan Stotts of Bemidji. He was placed on probation, community service and home detention.
Among those waiting trial or in the middle of a trial:
> Caleb Fuller of Cleveland in LeSueur County, who was seen in videos pushing against police officers.
> Nicholas Fuller, also of Cleveland, accused of pushing against police officers.
> Martin Cudo, of Lakeville in Dakota County.
> Aaron James, of Lindstrom in Chisago County.
> Isaac Westbury, also of Lindstrom.
> Jonah Westbury, also of Lindstrom.
> Robert Westbury, also of Lindstrom.
Drug charge depends: Is it fentanyl?
WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a Winona man on a warrant and found him carrying a small baggu of what they suspected was the prescription-only drug fentanyl. Aaron Patrick Devorak. 46, was jailed on the arrest warrant. Whether drug charges follows depends on what the state crime lab finds was in the baggy. There is no local equipment to test for fentanyl.
Devorak. Arrested in 450 block of East Sarnia in late morning.
Drug profile
Fentanyl is a potent a opioid primarily to alleviate pain after surgery and for late-stage cancer. It is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more than morphine. Besides death, overdosing can lead to addiction, confusion, respiratory depression, drowsiness, nausea, visual disturbances, dyskinesia, hallucinations, delirium, muscle rigidity, and constipation.
Cause of Brice Prairie inferno: Rechargeable battery
ONALASKA, Wis. – A fire that destroyed the Strupp Trucking and Excavating garage and offices on Brice Prairie has been blamed on a lithium-ion battery. The fire marshal ruled the fire unintentional.
Li-ion batteries profile
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were introduced in 1991. They use solids to store energy. The invention earned a Nobel Prize in 2019 as one of the greatest technology innovations in human history. Li-ion batteries, however, can be a safety hazard. Flammable electrolytes can explode. In recent years manufacturers have devised solid-state versions to eliminate the flammable electrolytes.
Cops: Wobbly driver tested at 0.14%
WINONA, Minn. – A Florida driver whose blood-alcohol measured 0.14% was taken to jail and booked for drunken driving. The max allowed for driving is 0.08%. Toby John Schlink, 58, of Port St. Lucie, was stopped near the hospital, at Mankato and Parks avenues. about 12:26 a.m. Police said he was going 43 mph in a 30 zone and weaving. The officer reported identifying several impairment symptoms – slurred speech, watery and red eyes, and a sharp body odor. Field sobriety tests showed wobbliness, the officer said.
News summary at mid-week: January 22, 2025
GOVERNANCE: Ellison to Trump on birthright: See you in court
GOVERNANCE: On Iowa annexation plan: “Nice to be wanted”
GOVERNANCE: Pelowski dismayed at Minnesota House gridlock
GOVERNANCE: Mess in Minnesota House worries senator
RIVER: GPS checks on Lake Pepin ice due soon
CONSTRUCTION: All alone at new Winona building site
CRIME: Man: Strip club disgusting so I torched it
Squatter loses overnight space in truck trailer
Anything for shelter. Several clusters of road-weary truck trailers line West Second Street, all destined for scrapyards. Homeless folks find them easy to break into for shelter on cold nights.. Images: Steve Lunde
Brently Johnson knows cops well, and he them
WINONA, Minn. – for the umpteenth time, police rousted a homeless person from the rusting fleet of truck trailers parked near the Union Pacific railyard while waiting to be scrapped. This time it was Brently Steven Johnson, 62, who had sought refuge from the cold. This was about 11:10 p.m. in the 350 block West Second Street. Johnson was arrested for tampering with a vehicle to get inside. Overnight temperatures were below zero.
College scores
Basketball (men): St. Olaf 78, Saint Mary’s 67
Basketball (men): UW-LaCrosse 77, UW-River Falls 56
Basketball (men): Minnesota West 66, Rochester Community 65
Basketball (women):, Saint Mary’s 71, St. Olaf 54
Basketball (women): UW-LaCrosse 64, UW-River Falls 59
Basketball (wo men): Minnesota West 64, Rochester Community 60
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Harmony Fillmore Central Falcons 57, St. Charles Saints 51
Basketball (girls): Harmony Fillmore Central Falcons 75, St. Charles Saints 46
Hockey (boys): Albert Lea Tigers 5, Winona Winhawks 2
Black River Fallshotel evacuated safely
Laundry room fire. Heavy smoke from a laundry room forced a full evacuation of the sprawling $100-a-night Sure Stay Plus mega-hotel off Interstate 94 in Black River Falls. No one was injured. This was about 8:20 p.m. The fire was quelled quickly by crews from Black River, County Line Hatfield, Hixton and Melrose departments. Address: 600 Oasis Road.
Pair of school buses thump; no injuries
WINONA, Minn. — Some Winona school kids had tales to tell when they got home. One bus was stopped at a railroad crossing, and a second bus scraped the rear end. It was kind low-speed sideswipe, police said. Nobody was hurt. This was about 4:10 p.m. at Third and Ben streets on the Far East End.
On Iowa annexation plan: “Nice to be wanted”
PRESTON, Minn. – At first Jason Sethre, publisher of the Fillmore County Journal, thought it was a joke – proposal for Iowa to buy all nine of Minnesota’s border counties. He still does, but he did some homework and discovered at least one state boundary change, between Minnesota and North Dakota, that came to fruition. The change, in 1961, was designed to mitigate flood risks from the Red River through Fargo and Moorhead. It was a tiny land swap for health and safety — far less than the 6,240 square miles of the nine Minnesota counties that Iowa State Senator Moke Bousselot is coveting.
Intriguing but doomed
More relevant to the Bousselot scheme than the Fargo-Moorhead swap are more dramayic plans for state border changes in recent decades that Sethre discovered. All sputtered and flamed out early.
> Oregon and Idaho. A proposal was floated for 13 counties in the desolate eastern Oregon desert to go to Idaho for what promoters called a Greater Idaho. The proposal made it to ballots in the Oregon counties in 1974 but went no further.
> Colorado. Some Western Slope enthusiasts wanted to break off from the rest of Colorado in 2013 and create a separate state. It didn’t work out.
> Colorado and Wyoming. People in isolated Weld County, cut off from the rest of Colorado in their peak-surrounded mountain park, wanted to secede in 2013 and become part of Wyoming, It didn’t work out.
> California 1. A 2016 proposal to split California into six individual states failed to get enough signatures to be on ballots.
> California 2. A 2018 proposal to create three new states out of California earned enough signatures for ballots. But the State Supreme Court threw it out.
> Illinois. Three down-state lllinois counties near St. Louis voted to explore secession. Nothing came if it.
> South Carolina. The boldest secession plan in U.S. history was led by South Caroina in 1860. We all know how that went.
Hurdles to overcome
Heavy obstacles discourage changing state borders. First, the territorial parties must agree through plebiscites. Second, Congress must concur.
Sethre. Publisher of Fillmore County Journal.
Verbatim
Sethre: “So let the custody battle begin. Hey, whether it’s Minnesota or Iowa, at least we know we’re wanted.”
Lopping off. The bottom tier of Minnesota counties. Pushing the border of Iowa within 20 miles of Winona. How does this sound: “Does LaCrescent, Iowa, tipple easily off the tongue?”
All alone at new Winona building site
Hold-out property. As bulldozers and excavators begin foundation work for the Main Square West complex, the house at 164 West Fifth Street is an island. The owner has declined to sell to the Kierlin investor group behind the Main Square West project. The investors are set on erecting their four-floor complex around the house. Image: Steve Lunde
Like a doughnut hole
The address shows up listed on Main Square West plans as “Existing property to remain.” See the black rectangle on Fifth Street.
Firearms stolen from store’s gun section
AUSTIN, Minn. – An post-intrusion inventory at Runnings department store found four guns missing from the firearms department. Two were recovered, apparently ditched by the burglars as they ran out after tripping an alarm, police said. Police Chief David McKichan said arrests have been made yet.
GPS checks on Lake Pepin ice due soon
LAKE CITY, Minn. – The Army Corps of Engineers, which controls navigation on the Mississippi River, plans to send out its global positioning-equipped airboat on February 11 to collect the first 2025 data on Lake Pepin ice thickness. The Corps uses 20-some sites to track the ever-shifting ice floes. The data help point to a date when ice is thin enough for barges to plow through . Historically the average date is the third week of March. Last year the first barges went through on March 17.
Lake Pepin. On Minnesota-Wiscosin border. The 20-mile navigation path through the Mississippi River lake. Dots are GPS checkpoints.
Mess in Minnesota House worries senator
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A southeast Minnesota state senator, Jeremy Miller of Winona, is disappointed with squabbles in the House. Already a week has been lost in the 120-day 2025 legislative session. “We really need to dig in,” Miller said in a KTTC interview. Miller noted a a state budget deficit is looming. That, he said, should Priority Number One.
Earlier: Pelowski dismayed at Minnesota House gridlock
Earlier: Minnesota Senate opens with shared leadership
Earlier: Walz to House solons: Get your act together
Earlier: GOP pretends to have quorum: Full speed ahead
Earlier: Democrats stage boycott in St. Paul power struggle
Emergency, fire crews make 53 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 37 emergency medical calls plus 16 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, January 21: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Monday, January 20: 6 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Sunday, January 19: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Saturday, January 18: 4 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Friday, January 17: 9 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Thursday, January 16: 3 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Wednesday, January 15: 2 medical calls plus 8 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 78 calls
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