WINONA, Minn. – The attorney representing Adam Fravel expressed concern about the possibility of distracting emotionalism at Fravel’s upcoming murder trial. Zachary Bauer asked the judge to limit what’s called “spark of life” testimony. The jury, Bauer said, should not decide facts of the case based on sympathy for the deceased. Fravel is accused of killing his long-term companion Maddi Kingsbury, who was the mother of their pre-school children. Bauer also asked the judge to limit the number of photos taken by the medical examiner and police. Some photographs are offensive and irrelevant, he said. Judge Nancy Buytendorp has taken Bauer’s motions  under advisement. Other Bauer requests:

> Ban anyone at the trial from wearing clothing with specific references to violence against women or Kingsbury.

> Excuse Fravel from wearing  restraints during the trial.

Earlier: 180 witnesses readied for Favel murder trial

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 38 emergency medical calls plus 9 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, September 24: 6 medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Monday, September 2: 5 medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Sunday, September 22: 5 medical calls plus no fire calls.

> Saturday, September 21: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

> Friday, September 20: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Thursday, September 19: 3 medical calls plus 2 fire calsl.

> Wednesday, September 18: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 52 calls

ELBA, Minn. – A St. Charles police officer located a North Dakota man safe and sound after he failed to return to a camp site at Whitewater State Park. The man had been reported a couple hours overdue about midnight. Multiple agencies went searching, including a crew in a State Patrol helicopter. The man was found an hour later.

ALTURA, Minn. – Deputies were called to a solar farm about a suspicious vehicle driving into the property after dark and eventually turning around and coming out. It was suspicious additionally because the driver ignored an attempt by another person to flag him down. The suspect vehicle was gone when deputies arrived This was in the 24000 block of State Highway 248. Sheriff Ron Ganrude said in his experience there isn’t much to be targeted by thieves at solar farms. Nonetheless, they are private property.

Volleyball (women): Sioux Falls 3, Winona State 2

WINONA, Minn. – For the third time in recent weeks, Ashley Ann Johnson, age 30, of Winona, has been stopped by police for driving with a revoked license. She was jailed as a habitual violator. The stop was about 1:45 p.m.

Johnson. No license to drive

John Latsch would be pleased. Abbi Hoffman, a conservation technician with the Winona County Soil and Water District, stands ready with information and free promotional items at Windom Park. The occasion was John Latsch Day in memory of the pioneer Winona settler. There was free food, children’s activities, environmental displays, and free packets of prairie seed. Image: Andy Frank

DRESBSCH, Minn. – A hit-and-run driver knocked down four rural mailboxes up the bluffs on Oak Hill Road from Dresbach. Deputies recovered a piece of blue plastic thought to be from the errant vehicle. The damage apparently occurred between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. There were no witnesses.

VIROQUA, Wis. – A Tomah man was arraigned for first-degree murder in the 1985 beheading of a woman he knew at the time. Bail for Michael Raymond Popp was set a $1 million by Vernon County Judge Timothy Gaskell. The prosecutor, Kevin Croninger, had asked for $2 milion and called the crime “particularly gruesome.” Popp responded that he couldn’t come up with that kind of money. He went on to quote the criminal complaint against him that listed 4:30 a.m. as the time that Terry Dolowy was killed and repeated his alibi from years earlier: ”I’m still milking cows at 5.” Then he started a tangent about a current stalking charge against him in another county. Judge Gaskell cut him off: “Anyone in your position would be seen as a potential flight risk.” A side note: Judge Gaskell said he would ask that another judge take the case as it moves forward. He noted that he had been involved early in the investigation when he was Vernon County’s district attorney.

Earlier: Arrest turns cold case hot in grisly 1985 slaying

Popp. Conviction could mean prison for life.

Bronk’s endless bounty. The autumn equinox was at 8:44 a.m., Sunday, but roadside pumpkins already abound for sale by the hundreds at Bronk’s at the top of Stockton Hill. There’s more where these came from. The field up Ridgeview Road from U.S Highway 14,, behind the roadside display, remains dotted with still-ripening pumpkins and other squashes and cucumbers, peppers and onions. Image: Steve Lunde

WINONA, Minn. – A woman reported an opal ring with three diamonds missing. She told police that she thought she mistakenly left the ring in a communal bathroom in the 300 block of West Howard Street. When she realized it was missing a couple hours later, she went back. It wasn’t there. Stolen? Perhaps, she said. Estimated value: $140.

Volleyball (women): Saint Mary’s 2, Gustavus Adolphus 1

Volleyball (women): UW-Whitewater 3, UW-LaCrosse 0

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Searchers found a camp and personal effects of a Winona man missing in the Absarokee mountains after scaling remote Eagle Peak in the far southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. It was assumed the camp, in the upper Howell Creek area, was used by Austin King-Hemke on his way out of the wilderness. His plan had been to hike out to the south arm of Yellowstone Lake to be picked up by a boat and go back to his summer tourism job in the park. He never showed. Meanwhile, a multi-agency searcy for King-Henke continued.

Earlier: Major Yellowstone search for Winona backpacker

Eagle Peak. A formidable and rarely scaled challenge for mountaineers. Far above timberline.

WINONA, Minn. – The judge for the Adam Fravel murder trial has received lists of 180 individuals that attorneys plan tentatively to put on the witness stand. The prosecution told Judge Nancy Buytendorp that it has arranged for testimony from 157 witnesses. It’s possible that the number might be pared. Even so, the attorneys said, the list would remain extensive. The prosecution list includes:

> Friends and families of Fravel and of Maddi Kingsbury, whose body was found 7-1/2 weeks after she disappeared in March 2023.

> 38 employees of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

> 30 members of Winona law enforcement.

The defense has listed 23 witnesses on Fravel’s behalf. The lists give both sides an advance opportunity to research the appropriateness of the other side’s witnesses. Already defense has asked that Melissa Petrangelo Scaia, an expert on domestic violence and abuse, be barred as a witness. Scaia is known mostly for developing the widely used Duluth Model for domestic abuse prevention. She testified previously in a pretrial Fravel hearing.

Earlier: Judge bars video of Fravel murder trial

Earlier: Fravel murder trial site chosen: Mankato

VIROQUA, Wis.  – For 40 years the murder of a LaCrosse woman has mystified people in LaCrosse and adjoining Vernon County. Now it’s been solved, said Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson. The sheriff announced the arrest of Michael Raymond Popp, age 60, of Tomah. Popp was a friend of the victim, Terry Dolowy, whose body was found in a culvert in February 1985 on Mohawk Valley Road 10 miles south of LaCrosse in northern Vernon County. She had been burned and decapitated. The break in the case, Torgerson said, was a DNA sample from the autopsy that recently was matched a sample from Popp. He was arrested while being held jail in Sparta on unrelated charges of stalking and threatening to communicate derogatory information. He was being held in Sparta in lieu of $10,000 bail. He was expected to be transferred soon to Vernon County’s jurisdiction for first-degree murder.

Dolowy profile

Dolowy, a senior at UW-La Crosse, lived out of town in the Barre Mill area with her fiance. She was a native of River Forest, Illinois. She and her fiance and Popp and his girlfriend partnered occasionally in pool tournaments. Popp and Dolowy lived near each other.He was among prime suspects off and on but denied anything to do with the death. He said there was nothing intimate about his relationship with Dolowy.  When confronted a new DNA match in recent months, invesgators said, Popp admitted to “maybe a little affair” for six to eight months. He was 21 at the time, she 24.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Natural Resources Department, which promotes outdoor tourism and activities, issued its first 2024 fall color map. Expect weekly updates.

Earlier: Fall colors waiting to burst out all over