Charge: Cord used in strangulation fray
WINONA, Minn. – Police following up on a strangulation case arrested a Winona man at his place a few blocks away. Jeremy David Robert Doby, age 18, didn’t resist arrest but denied an assault. The incident had been about 3 p.m. at an apartment in the 100 block of West Wabasha Street. Doby’s former girlfriend told police that Doby showed up at her apartment and pounded on the door until the she let him in. In an altercation Doby strangled the woman with a cord, she said. Afraid for her life, she said, she retreated to a bathroom, locked the door, and telephoned for help. Doby was gone when police arrived. Red marks were on the woman’s neck, police said. She pointed to he cord. The woman told police where they might find Doby. He indeed was home in the 300 block of South Baker Street.
Doby. Held for burglary, domestic assault, strangulation.
Water out at West Salem High; school cancelled
WEST SALEM, Wis. – The 600 students at West Salem High School were sent home early because of a water main break on nearby Hamlin Street. All water was shut off to the school for repairs. Buses picked up students at 12:30 p.m., then returned to their regular routines and routes to pick up elementary and middle school students. West Salem is 12 miles east of LaCrosse.
New Winona parking agent hits ground running
WINONA, Minn. – After several months without anyone on regular duty for parking control, the Police Department has brought Alex Chicos on board. On his first day Chicos wrote 24 tickets downtown – more than anyone can remember in a long, long time. Chico has other duties too, including assistance with animal control and abandoned bicycles. Earlier he a with the school district.
Freeze-dried and rough: Lake Winona winterized
In need of a trowel? The lake has been frozen by recent cold and shoved into shadowy ridges by persistent northwest winds. The lake is white, but the dome of St. Stan’s basilaca is even whiter. Image: Steve Lunde
Notable journalism
Sean Baer (Minnesota Star Tribune, November 25, 2024): “After CoVid Grounded Flights, Rochester’s Airport Has Faced a Slow Recovery”
Sharon LaFaniere and Julie Tate (New York Times, December 2, 2024): “Pete Hegseth’s Mother Accuses HerS on of Mistreating Women for Years”
Anthony Olson (Minnesota Star Tribune, November 21, 2020): “Amid Uncertainty about the Future, More Minnesotans Seek Long-Acting Birth Control”
Train smashes into car in Red Wing; no injuries
RED WING, Minn. — A freight train struck a car near the Amtrak depot in central Red Wing. The driver had escaped the car before impact and was unhurt. Police Chief Nick Sather said the driver of the car, a Ford Fiesta, had turned accidentally onto the track. The usual speed of trains in urban areas is 42 mph. The train was on the Canadian Pacific mainline from Alberta to Chicago through the Twin Cities, Winona and LaCrosse. The accident was about 10:35 a.m. at 420 Levee Street.
Identification made on Rochester shooting victim
ROCHESTER, Minn. – An autopsy confirmed the identity of a man who was shot fatally over the weekend inside a northwest Rochester home. He was Demetrious Antonio Tankhamvang of Rochester, the coroner said. He was 28. The homeowner, who admitted shooting Tankhamvang, told police he was acting against an intruder. He said he knew Tankhamvang, but unclear was whether he realized in the dark at the time that it was Tankhamvang. No charges have been filed.
Wasps leave their art as they lived it
Paper nest. A two-foot paper wasp nest is on display in the Polish museum in Winona. Not to worry, the wasps that lived inside are long gone. They all died in the fall after using the nest a single season. A queen wasp builds a new nest every spring and lays eggs to start the cycle all over again. Image: Andy Frank
In the Morrison Annex. Next door to the Polish Cultural Center, 102 Liberty Street in Winona.
Albert Lea company late with pollution controls
ST.PAUL, Minn. – An Albert Lea company that operates convenience stores has been slammed with a $33,000 fine for pollution violations. The Freeborn County Cooperative Oil Company was cited by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for outdated equipment. Standards in place since 2019 were still being ignored this April, the agency sid. These locations were cited:
> Adams: 14 East Main Street.
> Albert Lea: 1820 Margaretha Street.
> Albert Lea: 302 East Clark Street.
> Alden: 125 Northstar Road.
> Austin: 21604 State Highway 56.
> Freeborn: 105 Fifth Street.
> Hayward: 21113 810th Avenue.
Reprieve from cold expected at weekend
WINONA, Minn – Forecasters said temperatures will the in mid-30s Sunday, perhaps breaching 40. The breakthrough above freezing will be due to an upper-level ridge building into the Midwest.
College scores
Basketball (men): Winona State 105, Crown 71
Basketball (men): UW-Stout 83, Saint Mary’s 65
Minnesota prep
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Independence Indees 54, Cashton Eagles 38
Basketball (boys): Durand-Arkansaw Panthers 64, Fall Creek Crickets 62
Basketball (girls): Independence Indees 46, Cashton Eagles 43
City levies 11% property tax hike
WINONA, Minn. – Everybody knew that required upgrades to the Winona wastewater plant would be costly. Now we know how much. The City Council unanimously approved a $93 million budget for 2025 that will push local property taxes almost 11%, The budget is $29 million more than this year — $34 million for the swelling cost of the wastewater project. The project has been mandated by the state to address environmentally dangerous phosphorus levels. The budget also covers other maintenance projects that have been deferred, in some cases fir years. Said Council member Jerome Christenson: “The bills are coming due. There are things that can’t be ignored anymore.” The owner of a typical home can expect to pay $761 in property taxes in 2025. The senior-most Council member, George Borzyskowski, cast Winna taxes as a bargain. On a daily basis he noted that personally he pays $3.13 in property taxes. For that, he said: “I get police services, I get fire, I get streets, I get water, sewer, snowplowing, recreation, library.” Even so, the 11% levy increase is the largest in recent history – exceeding a 9.5% hike a year ago. The new budget includes designing a new fire station design and planning City Hall maintenance.
Earlier: City pursues wastewater phosphorous purge
Earlier: 2024 election: Winona City Council
City Council members
Scott Sherman (mayor): Term expires 2024.
Jerome Christenson (at-large): 2026.
Aaron Repinski (at-large): 2024.
Steve Young (1st Ward, West End): 2024.
Jeff Hyma (2nd Ward, West Side): 2026.
Pamela Eyden (3rd Ward, downtown: 2024.
George Borzyskowski (4th Ward, East End): 2026.
Cannon Falls man missing out walking dog
CANNON FALLS, Minn. – About 80 searchers combed woods near Cannon Falls and also the Cannon River itself for a man who went missing out walking his dog. Christopher Dobson, age 60, routinely took his dog on a wooded trail toward the Cannon River. The dog returned alone at a neighbor’s house.This was about 8 p.m. Tracks were found from Dobson’s home in the 300 block of Larkspur Lane.and also on the ice along the river’s edge. Police Chief Jeffrey McCormick asked people in the neighborhood to check sheds and low-light areas in case Dobson had fallen in the river and struggled to find the nearest shelter and warmth.
Thin ice cracks, puts two boys at risk
EYOTA, Minn. – First-responders from Eyota and Dover rescued two boys who were trapped out on Silver Creek Reservoir when the ice cracked around them. Both were brought safely to shore. The boys had hauled a shed with fishing gear 150 yards out on the 106-acre reservoir north of the Rochester suburb of Chester. The reservoir is backed up behind a dam built in the 1930s for flood control. The reservoir adjoins the Haverhill Wildlife Management Area.
Shipping season finale: River locks see last barges
HASTINGS, Minn. — Domino-like, the locks at Mississippi River dams closed for the season one at a time after the last tow and its barges cleared the Hastings lock. The time: Sunday at 11:48 a.m. The array bid good-bye next downriver locks at Red Wing, then at Alma, Minneiska and Fountain City, heading for winter duty down south. Not all the Upper Mississippi dams and locks, however, are idle. The Army Corps, which operates the navigation system, has winter projects at Dresbach and Harper’s Ferry for miter gate anchorage bar replacement, at Hastings 2 for guidewall repairs, and at Minneiska and Fountain City for gate maintenance.
For her, will ninth ticket be the charm?
WINONA, Minn. – The traffic stop for Nikayla Sunsiree Wallace was her ninth in a year for driving without a license. She was booked at the Winona jail as a habitual offender. The stop was about 1:25 p.m. in the 350 block of West Wabasha Street.
Wallace. Age 25. From Winona.
Dakota driver arrested as very drunk after crash
DAKOTA, Minn. – Deputies arrested a Dakota man whose car slid off an icy street in Dakota a about 9 a.m. and hit some trees. With multiple signs of impairment, Nichols Ray Dickson, age 29, was arrested. At the Winona County jail his alcohol-to-blood ratio tested at 0.33% — quadruple the state-allowable 0.08%. No one was injured in the accident, which was at Center Street and Frontage Road, just west of the Interstate90 overpass.
Winter’s beautiful curvaceous twist
Crab apple frosting. The first Winona snowfall of the season to stick arrived with a shivering cold spell. Temperatures were in the low teens and wind chills near zero. Image: Steve Lunde
Crows, beware: Rochester not the place to be
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Through Thursday it’s open season on crows in downtown Rochester. Patrols armed with air guns and lethal ammunition are shooting as many crows as they can to encourage survivors to move back to the countryside. An estimated 20,000 crows have taken up urban residence, as is their winter habit. The concern is poop and public health, not to mention the irritating kaw, kaw, kaw cacophony. The armed participants are from:
> Mayo Clinic.
> City Parks Department.
> U.S. Wildlife Service.
Mom indicts Hegseth’s honesty, morality
FOREST LAKE, Minn. – Prospects for Minnesota-reared Pete Hegseth as U.S. Defense secretary dimmed further. In 2018, it was revealed, Hegseth’s own mother called him out for routinely abusing women and lacking character. She described his abusive behavior over the years as “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling.” The mother’s harsh words were in a lengthy email to Hegseth during a brutal divorce from his second wife. The email fell into the hands of the New York Times, which published it verbatim. Before doing so, the Times asked the mother, Penny Hegseth, if the email were true. She confirmed she wrote the message but said she came to regret it and apologized.
Residual doubts on Trump vetting
The email was the latest in deepening doubts about Hegseth’s suitability. It also posed further questions about the wisdom of President-elect Donald Trump in choosing Hegseth for the incredibly complex job of running the 2.5-million-person U.S. war machine and its $820 billion global budget. The Hegseth issue suddenly became latest evidence of Trump sloppiness in vetting cabinet appointees. Already Trump’s choice to be U.S. attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has had to withdraw amid allegations of womanizing and engaging in white-slave trade with an underage girl. Some other Trump nominees also are in trouble with the U.S. Senate, whose approval is required by the U.S. Constitution.
Mother. Penny Hegseth, a professional image-groomer for business executives. From northeast St. Paul suburb of Forest Lake.
Verbatim
Penelope Hegseth, in the 2018 email to her son: “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself.” “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
Referring to Hegseth’s second wife: “For you to try to label her as ‘unstable’ for your own advantage is despicable and abusive. Is there any sense of decency left in you? She did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand. Neither did Meredith (his first wife, a high school sweetheart).”
“Son, I have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made Samantha feel today, I cannot stay silent. Sam is a good mother and a good person.”
The mother said she realized that Hegseth felt that she (and apparently also his faher) had sided against him but that such was bunk: “We are on the side of good and that is not you. It’s time for someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women.’
“We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character.” If the email “damages our relationship further, so be it.” She also told her son that there was no need to replay because “you twist and abuse everything I say anyway.”
Cops: Driver arrested; poor dexterity, balance
WILSON, Minn. – A Florida driver suspected of driving drunk was arrested after a traffic stopon State Highway 43 between Wilson and Winona. Deputies said that Trina Jean Smith, 37, of Patrick Air Force Base, failed roadside sobriety tests. At the jail she declined to volunteer for blood-alcohol testing. A blood sample was drawn anyway and sent to the state crime lab. Charges hinge on the lab results, deputies said. The traffic stop was about11:50 p.m. at Honey Locust Lane.
College scores
Basketball (women): Michigan Tech 71, Winona State 66
Basketball (women): Saint Benedict 57, UW-LaCrosse 54
Erratic I-90 driving blamed on intoxication
RIDGEWAY, Minn. – After calls about a driver all over the lanes on Interstate 90, a deputy located the car and stopped a St. Charles man. Louis Angel Gasca, age 24, showed signs of intoxication, the deputy said. At the Winona County jail Gasca’s blood- alcohol tested at 0.15%. The allowable max is 0.08%. The arrest was about 5:50 a.m. between Ridgeway and Wilson.
Gasca. Symptoms alleged: Bloodshot, watery eyes; slurred speech; alcohol stench.
WELCOME
The worthiest goal of journalism is to promote intelligent citizen involvement. Such is our goal with Winona Journal. We focus on local issues so you can go about your daily activities with confidence that you can be a genuine and valued part of informed public dialogue on the kind of community we’re building.
Although Winona-centric, we are attentive also to regional issues. Our community doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
You will find opinion here. We quote and paraphrase with attribution so you know the source and can assess ideas and thoughts. Sometimes you will find our commentary but always clearly labeled.
As journalists we are committed to accuracy but not perfect. Please let us know if you spot an error, whether substantive or even just a dumb typo. We’ll get errors squared away promptly.
We’re glad you’re with us.