STOCKTON, Minn. – A Lewiston motorcyclist starting up Stockton Hill toward Winona was hurt in a collision with a car coming down the grade. Luke Laroy Scott, 37, was taken 42 mikes to a Rochester hospital. His injuries, deputies said, appeared non-life threatening. The crash was about 1:10 p.m. at U.S. Highway 14 and Rolling Sunset Drive. The driver of the car, Raymond Eugene Lafky, 89, of Winona, was unhurt. Lafky was in a 2024 Chevrolet Equinox.

PRESTON, Minn. – In a battle of briefs, competing attorneys have filed massive documents about what should be allowed as evidence against twin sisters in a 2023 automobile crash into a horse-drawn buggy that killed two Amish children. In October the defense delivered a 21-page argument that most of 18 criminal counts against Samantha Petersen should be dropped. Now the prosecution has countered with a 41-page brief. Among issues is a taped conversation between the twins as they sat in a squad car while police were outside investigating the crash. The prosecution claims there was no attempt to entrap. The tape has the sisters conspiring to switch identities. Another issue is delays in taking blood samples from sisters to ascertain ir level of exhilerants, or lack thereof, in their systems.

Earlier: One twin in Amish crash seeks reduced charges

SPARTA, Wis. –  A murder trial was ordered for a Sparta man accused in the fatal beating of a girlfriend in October. Meanwhile, Andrew Nauman, 39, remains in jail in lieu of $1 million bal. His arraignment hearing will be in mid-December. In the criminal complaint, Nauman is quoted that he found victim, Ticarra Manning, at the bottom of the stairs and that she had been lying there probably 10 minutes. Investigators said Nauman told them that he took her upstairs and laid her on the floor. Police are quoted in he  criminal complaint that  a knife with blood was found near the kitchen sink. Asked why he didn’t call police earlier, Naumann reportedly said that he was afraid and didn’t know what to do. A related fact: Nauman already was being investigated for battery and strangulation and suffocation of a different person and was out on bail.

Earlier: Mother wants tough bail in violent crime cases

Festive event. Take a look at the holiday table centerpieces and coverings. Last year the students served 500 people. Deadline for reservations: Thursday.

High school, middle school volunteers tend tables

WINONA, Minn. – Winona high school and middle school student councils will hold their annual Herky Turkey community dinner on Thursday. The Thanksgiving event is free. Reservations: (507) 494-1519. The event is intended for seniors, retirees and  community members who might otherwise go without a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Time: 5:15 ton 7 p.m. at the high school. Besides the dine-in event, there are drive-through pick-up and delivery options. The event is funded with a grant from the Elks National Foundation and local donors. 

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona woman was arrested as a drunken driver after missing a corner on the West Side, ending up against a street sign on the sidewalk. Brandi Lynn Behrens, age 48, was uninjured, police said. The accident was about 1:25 a.m. at Fifth and Olmstead streets. An officer on patrol two blocks away said he had seen a car speeding past him at 50 to 60 mph and then heard a crash. He found Behrens at the scene. She told the officer that she had been at MN’s bar on Fifth, formerly Fast Eddy’s. The officer described her speech as poor and so too her balance. Her eyes were watery and bloodshot and she smelled of too much alcohol, the officer said. Her blood-alcohol level tested a 0.16% — double what’s allowable for driving. She was alone in the car.

Soccer (women): Wayne State of Nebraska 1, Winona State 0

Soccer (women): Saint Mary’s 1, Carleton 0

Soccer (women): UW-LaCrosse 3, UW-River Falls 0

Football: Chatfield Gophere 23, Dodge Center Triton Cobras 22

Hockey (girls): Albert Lea Tigers 3, Rochester Mayo Spartans 0

Volleyball (girls): Woodbury New Life Eagles 3, Harmony Fillmore Central Falcons 2

Volleyball (girls): Chatfield Gophers 3, Rush City Tigers 1

Soccer (boys): Kenosha Shoreline Pacers 1, LaCrossse Aquinas Blugolds 0

Volleyball girls): Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels Dashers 3, Holmen Vikings 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Army Corps of Engineers is waiving day use fees at its 2,850 recreation areas nationwide on Monday for Veterans Day. The waiver covers boat launch ramps and swimming beaches, although not camping and related services, or fees for group picnic shelters and events, or privately operated concessions.

DULUTH, Minn. – Police, looking for a man for the shooting deaths of his ex-womanfriend and their teen-age son, found him dead in another house across town, apparently by suicide, as well as the bodies of his wife and another son. The total death toll was five:

> Anthony Nephew, age 46, whom police said had a “pattern of mental health issues.”

 > Erin Abramson, 47, with whom Nephew had had a relationship and a son.

> Jacob Nephew, 15, the son of Anthony Nephew and Erin Abranson.

> Kathryn Nephew, 45, the current wife of Anthony Nephew.

> Oliver Nephew, 7, the son of Anthony Nephew and Kathryn Nephew.

Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said investigators were still were working to identify what triggered the shootings. He noted that police had had occasional encounters with Nephew over the years. On Thursday he had failed to show up for work across the harbor in Superior, Wisconsin. A co-worker called Duluth police to check on his welfare. About 2:10 p.m. police found Erin Abramson and the 17-year-old son dead from gunshot wounds in a west Duluth house. Police went to Anthony Nephew’s address a few blocks away in the Oneota neighborhood and surrounded the place. When they entered, officers found his body and those of  Kathryn Nephew and the 7-year-old son.

WINONA, Minn. – Shortly after his murder conviction in Mankato, Adam Fravel was loaded into an unmarked Winona County sheriff’s vehicle for the 140-mile trip to Winona.  He will be in the Winona jail until his sentencing on December 17, then transferred to a state prison for a mandatory life sentence. The two-person crew in the prisoner transport vehicle, a Winona County sheriff’s  Dodge Durango, described Fravel as somber. A second Winona County vehiicle with two sheriff’s officers trailed Fravel’s vehicle. There were no stops on the way. Fravel was unloaded at the Winona jail about 3 p.m. Although cuffed, Fravel was still wearing his gray suit and tie from the Mankato courtroom  where the verdict was read. In Winona he was issued a standard jail jumpsuit. He has a cell all his own but has access to a common cell block area with other inmates.

Earlier: Fravel trial /63: Verdict disappoints Fravel attorney

MANKATO, Minn. – The lead attorney for Adam Favel expressed disappointment with the guilty verdicts against Fravel for murder.  Zach Bauer, of Rochester, told news reporters: “You may disagree with a verdict, but you must accept the verdict.” The peer jury system is basic to American jurisprudence, he said. “Can the sentence be negotiated?” Bauer was asked at a news conference. Bauer responded that he expects the judge to follow the usual sentencing guidelines. For first-degree degree murder, there is mandatory life in prison with no opportunity for parole. Bauer noted, however, that first-degree murder convictions are reviewed routinely by the state Supreme Court. He said he didn’t know yet whether he would be involved in the Supreme Court review. Bauer described Fravel as well as the Fravel family as emotionally devastated, especially his mother.

Earlier: Fravel trial /62: Guilty on all counts

Bauer. At courthouse front door after verdict.

WABAHA, Minn. – To honor Veterans Day weekend, the National Eagle Center in Wabasha plans a public flag-raising ceremony Saturday. Time: 2 p.m. The Wabasha VFW post will conduct the ceremony. Also, the Center announced that veterans and active-duty military personnel will be admitted to the Center free Saturday through Monday, “We know bald eagles, the living symbol of our nation, hold a very special significance for men and women in uniform,” said Ed Hahn, the Center spokesperson.

MANKATO, Minn. – The jury found Adam Fravel of Winona guilty in the 2023 slaying of Maddi Kingsbury. The verdict was guilty on all four counts alleged by prosecutors:

> First-degree murder while engaging in domestic abuse and with a past pattern of domestic abuse.

> First-degree murder with premeditation.

> Second-degree murder without premeditation.

> Second-degree murder but unintentional while committing a felony.

Judge Nancy Huytendorp announced that sentencing would be mid-December. Fravel faces mandatory  life in prison on the primary first-degree murder conviction.

Courtroom reaction

Fravel was sobbing as he was brought into the courtroom. He cried openly as the verdicts were read one by one. He has maintained his innocence since he became a suspect in the March 2023 disappearance of Kingsbury Her body was found 10 weeks later hidden in woods near where Fravel grew up. This  was in Fillmore County, 40 miles from Winona. After the verdicts the Fravel family left the courthouse without comment. The courtroom was packed for the verdict.

Deliberations

In all the jury deliberated 10 hours. The jury had begun deliberations the previous afternoon and reconvened at 8 a.m.  An hour and a half later the jury sent word to Judge Nancy Buytendorp that it had reached verdict. Buytendorp summoned all the principals to the courtroom. Fravel was escrted up a secure elevator from a downstairs cell where  he has been held during three-week trial. Earlier he was held Winona, where, according to prosecutors, Favel killed Maddi Kingsbury in the townhouse they shared with their two pre-school children.

Earlier: Fravel trial /60: Jury to bed for the night

Post-verdict news conference

Phil Prokopwicz. Lead prosecutor” One of most complex challenges in his 40-year career.

Tom WIliams. Winona police chef: Proud of investigation. Looks for lessons in self-debriefings in weeks ahead.

NORWALK, Wis. – A Tomah man was killed when his car was hit head-on at a county road crossing eight miles southwest of Tomah. David Wilcox, 63, died apparently on impact. A passenger with serious injuries was airlifted 40 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. The crash was about 10:20 a.m. on County Highway A and County Road T. Police blamed the other driver, Kristoffer Cattle, age 39, whose pickup truck they said had crossed the centerline. Before the crash, police had been trying to locate Cattle’s pickup after a report of driving erratically in Tomah. Cattle was believed to be under the influence of drugs, police said. They recommended criminal charges to the Monroe County prosecutor: Homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, reckless homicide, and operating after suspension causing death.

WINONA, Minn. – Tipped by a Kwik Trip clerk that a tipsy man had just driven off, police stopped Dmitry Lukashock, 44, of Arlington, Illinois, a few blocks away. Lukashock sure seemed high on something, police said. They called him emotionally all over the place and unable to sit still or carry on simple conversation and was off and on argumentative. Two drug recognition evaluation officers were called to conduct tests that they said Lukashock failed. Charges will depend on a blood sample sent to the state crime lab, police said. The tip to police originated at the Kwik Trip store at Huff and Sarnia streets. The arrest was down Huff at U.S. Highway 61. This was about 1:10 a.m.

Volleyball (women): Saint Benedict 3, Saint Mary’s 0

Volleyball (girls): Stewartville Tigers 3, St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders 1

MANKATO, Minn. – The jury hearing the case of Adam Favel deliberated all afternoon and into the evening and retired for the night. After a hotel breakfast, the jurors will resume their deliberations. There were signs that a verdict was near. At mid-afternoon  the jury sent a message to Judge Nancy Buytendorp asking for clarification whether Fravel could be found guilty on all charges. These charges include premeditated murder. The judge said yes, that each count should be evaluated separately. Earlier Buytendorp had told juries to let her know by 9:30 p.m. whether they needed more time. If so, she said, they would be sequestered to resume in the morning. At 9:30 the jury foreman asked for a little more time. At 10, still without a verdict, the jurors went to their hotel to sleep on it. The trial, whch began October 17, included 12 solid days of testimony and evidence.

.Earlier: Fravel /59: Jury enters deliberations

ELBA, Minn. – A Dover driver, 14 miles from home through Whitewater State Park, was arrested and taken to St. Charles to be tested whether she was drunk. The test showed Kelly Marie Keefe’s blood was carrying 0.12% alcohol — half again more than the legal limit. Keefe, age 30,  was charged with driving while intoxicated.

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver, stopped for not signaling a turn, admitted to smoking a “blunt” before getting behind the wheel, police said. Antonio Dewayne Mitchell, 30, Winona, was arrested. In street talk, a blunt is a rewrapped cigar loaded with more marijuana than a joint – lots more. Officers weren’t convinced it had been smoked earlier at all. Mitchell’s car smelled heavily of burned marijuana, they said. So how much contaminant was in Mitchell’s system? Officers are awaiting tests of a blood sample from the state crime lab. At the scene, they said, Mitchell’s eyelids were droopy and his eyes bloodshot and watery. On roadside sobriety tests he didn’t do well, they said. The arrest was at Main and Mark streets about 6:40 p.m.