ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Zumbro Falls driver died and a second driver was injured when a pickup and a dump truck collided on U.S. Highway63 north of Rochester. Involved were:

> Andrew Jay Johnson, 30, of Zumbro Falls, in a 2014 Ford F150, who died apparently on impact.

> Gerald Henry Pulver, 80, of Rochester, in a 2019 Kenworth dump truck, who was taken oi a Rochester hospital with sustainable injuries.

The accident was about 2:20 p.m. near 75th Street on the well-traveled route between Rochester and Lake City. The Ford was northbound and the Kenworth southbound, police said. The pavement was dry.

ELK MOUND, Wis.  – A northern Wisconsin man drove 60 miles to a strip club near Elk Mound, smashed a window to get inside, set the place on fire, and drove home, according to court documents. This was pre-dawn on Saturday.  When confronted at home by investigators, Colton Jansen, 25, of Comstock, said he was not a fan of “those clubs.” They’re against his beliefs, he said: “Disgusting.” The club, Shooters Showgirls, was damaged extensively, leaving a rotating cast of exotic dancers out of their jobs. Police arrested Jansen at his home in Barron County after:

> Identifying his vehicle’s license plate with roadside tracker cameras.

.> Matching boot-prints with boots he was wearing.

> Seeing him with on-premises surveillance video.

> Finding a torching device in his car.

Flashy if not lurid. But legal. Before the fire that’s now blamed man who despised  such enterprises.

Jansen was charged with arson, burglary and possession of burglary tools. Bail was set at $25,000. Dunn County investigators said Jansen first denied the crimes. He said somebody must have stolen his car. Later, investigators said, he admitted to being in the area.  Then he admitted guilt, they said. The criminal complaint asserts that Jansen used a metal bar to smash a window for access; attempted to break into a cash-withdrawal machine; whacked a pull-tab machine and stuffed-animal claw machine; and used a torch to ignite a Kleenex box.

Earlier: After-hours fire takes down strip club

Basketball (boys): Whitehall Norse 0, Eau Claire Jmmanuel Lancers 0 (postponed, first half)

Basketball (girls): CochraneFountain City Pirates 62, Galesville lake-Ettrick-Trempealeau Redhawks 33

Basketball (girls): LaCrosse Central RiverHawks 0, Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes 0 (postponed, first half)

WINONA, Minn.  – One of the grand old men of the Legislature, Gene Pelowski of Winona, looks with disappointed dismay at the current legislative gridlock. Pelowski, retired now at age 72, said he’s never seen such a level of partisanship. “I was always asked, over my 38 years in the House, how I served the district and how I would run an election, and my response was always this: ‘The first thing I look at is representing the district. The next is the state.’” Last is the party, said Pelowski, a Democrat. His comments were in an interview with Rochester television station KTTC. Pelowski also applies his Party Last principle nationally “It goes district, state, nation, and party last.” People on both sides are putting party first over the districts that elected them, he said.

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

Pelowski. A high school civics teacher. Also taught political science classes at Winona State University.

AUSTIN, Minn. – Burglars set off alarms inside the Runnings department store on the Northwest Side about 6 a.m. Police set up a perimeter and called in a sharp-shooter team. An inside search found the intruders had left. The store’s opening for the day was delayed until police were confident that they had checked every nook and cranny and cleared the scene.

Big Box store. Empty parking lot ahead of usual 7:30 a.m. opening. At1400 18th Avenue Northwest.

HOKAH, Minn. —  A Caledonia driver was injured when she veered off State Highway 44 entering Hokah, went into a ditch, and struck a tree. Injured and taken 12 miles to a LaCrosse hospital was Karen Sue Ness, 54. The accident was on a straight stretch at Butterfield Valley Road about 7:15 a.m. Pavement was dry, deputies said. Her 2018 Nissan Pathfinder was eastbound and crossed over an oncoming lane, deputies said.

WINONA, Minn. — Dangerous cold and wind chills in the minus-30s in places will be with us in southeast Minnesota and adjoining Iowa and Wisconsin counties into Tuesday. Winds blustering to 20 mph are compounding the hazards. The National Weather Service said a warming trend will boost highs midweek into the teens and mid-20s. In the meantime, forecasters said, there may be snow flurries on Monday afternoon and evening. They will be back again Wednesday night and Thursday.

LACROSSE, Wis. – Police arrested a man in the shooting death of 43-year-old Justin Betz on a North Side street after Betz died at a hospital of the wound. Arrested was 28-year-old Cody R. Alland. He had been fingered by witnesses as the shooter. Police went to where Allard was staying, on Avon Street, also on the North Side, but he had driven away. Soon thereafter he coincidentally was stopped for a traffic violation. Offices quickly put two and two together and made the arrest for the shooting.  Alland was booked for first-degree intentional homicide. Judge Gloria Doyle set bail at $1 million.

Earlier: Shooting victim dies in LaCrosse hospital

Alland. Court records show only a speeding ticket.

WINONA, Minn. – Friends rallied behind Andre Klonecki, whose nearly life-long passion had been building the Black Horse into major player on Winona’s hospitality scene. Even as the remnants were still smoldering from a devastating fire, sympathizers were contributing funds to help Andre Klonecki, the popular propriet9rr, back on his feet. A GoFundMe site launched by his mother passed $12,000 goal within the day. His mother raised goal to $18,000. Last count showed 150 donatins. A beneficiary was to be Chris Rotering, a cook who lived upstairs and lost everything. The bank WNB Financial established an account for donations. Kristi Berge, co-owner of Heirloom Seasonal Bistro downtown, pledged 5% of its sales to the Black Horse and urged other merchants to do the same.

Raging fire. There was little hope of saving the large  hospitality venue – a Winona fixture for half a century.  Image: Pickwick Fire Department

LACROSSE, Wis. — One person was shot in the street in what’s a rough section after-hours on the North Side.. Police got the call about 2:30 a.m. The victim was alive. After on-scene triage the victim was taken to a hospital. Police said witnesses reported there had been an argument. The incident was in the 1800 block of George Street. A hunt was launched for the shooter.

WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters were handicapped at the fire that destroyed the Black Horse Bar and Grill by lack of hydrants to plug into for water, said Winona Fire Chief Joel Corcoran. There are no hydrants in the unincorporated Homer area just south of the Winona city limits. Crews had to haul water from theWinona city system a mile away and from nearby swamps and Mud Lake – all of which lost precious time. Eventually water-hauling pumper trucks arrived from outlying volunteer fire departments, some as far as 20 miles away.

Fast-moving fire

Water tucks come  and go. No hydrants handy in Homer. Water had to be hauled. Image: Pickwick Fire Department

By then, if not before, the whole complex of wooden structures comprising the tinder-dry Black Horse were gone. A neighbor across Old Homer Road, Scott Kaehler, one of the  first to see the fire, said flames coming through the roof within 15 minutes The structure, all wood frame, was vacuous in places, including what once had been a ballroom and in later years was a venue for weddings, banquets and and large gatherings with as many as 200 guests..

Earlier: Fire crews monitor Black Horse ruins for flare-ups

Earlier: Fire destroys Black Horse bar along Highway 61

Basketball (men): MSU-Moorhead 92, Winona State 80

Basketball (men): Macalester 61, Saint Mary’s 56

Basketball (men): UW-LaCrosse 75, UW-Oshkosh 63

Basketball (men): Ridgewater 82, Rochester Community 71

Basketball (women): MSU-Moorhead 69, Winona State 47

Basketball (women): Saint Mary’s 67, Macalester 54

Basketball (women): UW-Oshkosh 68, UW-LaCrosse 50

Basketball (women): Rochester Community 90, Ridgewater 50

Hockey (men): UW-River Falls 4, Saint Mary’s 3

Hockey (women): Saint Mary’s 2, Gustavus Adolphus 0

WINONA, Minn. – A Kentucky driver was arrested as drunk at the wheel after a speeding stop on Riverview Drive near the Theurer Boulevard turn-off to Fastenal. Arrested was Seth Raymond Hoff, 44, from Clinton in western Kentucky. He was going 48 mph in a 40 zone, the arresting officer said. Impairment indicators included red, watery eyes and slurred speech. Hoff admitted to having just drunk alcohol beverages, the officer said. His blood contained 0.12% alcohol — 1-1/2 times more than Minnesota’s legal impairment level.

ELK MOUND, Wis.  – A strip club off Interstate 94 between Eau Claire and Menomonie, Shooters Showgirls, was damaged extensively in a pre-dawn fire. At the time the place closed. There were no injuries. Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd wouldn’t rule ut arson. He asked anyone who saw a suspicious car parked at the club between 2 and 5 a.m. to come forward. Responding to the fire were crews from Boyceville, Bloomer, Chippewa, Colfax, Elk Mound, Menomonie, Rock Creek, Sand Creek and Weaton districts.

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