ST. PAUL, Minn. — Governor Tim Walz plans no proclamation this year for a César Chavez Day in Minnesota. This week the New York Times published revelations that the hero of the 1970s farm labor movement, abused women and children sexually. The revelations suddenly cloud the Chavez legacy, Walz said. The governor said he is waiting for signals from the Legislature on proceeding further. California and other states have begun processes to rescind statutes that honoring Chavez. His birthday is March 31.He died in 1993 at age 66.

WINONA, Minn. — The officer smelled alcohol when the driver rolled down his window in a traffic stop. And then there was the open beer can within the driver’s reach. Dominic Chritopher Olson, age 21, of Pine City, admitted to drinking, the officer said. Next were roadside sobriety exercises, which the officer said confirmed impairment. This was about 2:20 a.m. Olson had been driving 48 in Riverview Drive’s 40 zone , the officer said.  At jail Olson’s blood-alcohol was tested at 0.12%, four points more than permitted. Olson’s address in Pine City is halfway between St. Paul and Duluth on Interstate 35.

LACROSSE, Wis. — Police were called to a troubled Norh Side neighborhood after gunshots were reported. Bullet casings were found but no perpetrator. No one was reported wounded. This was about 2:25 a.m. in the 1700 block of George Street. Police called it likely an isolated incident with no larger public danger. Security cameras were being examined.

WINONA, Minn. — Canoeists rescued a dog that was stranded and distressed on ice in Mississippi River sidewaters at the Prairie Island spillway. The canoeists used their canoe to break the ice and free the dog. This was about 1:15 p.m. 300 yards off Prairie Island Road. People onshore had called Winona firefighters for help. By the time the crew arrived, the dog ashore and safe, albeit wet, cold and shaking itself dry.

WILSON, Minn., — A St. Charles man reportedly smelling of marijuana was booked on a tentative drunken driving charge. A deputy sheriff said Justino Arce Ramales, age 44, was all over the lanes and shoulders on Interstate 90 and speeding as fast as 86 mph. The deputy made the stop near the Winona-Rushford exit and reported smelling marijuana as he spoke with Ramales. The man’s eyes were glassy, the deputy said. This was about 11:20 p.m. At jail a urine sample was taken and sent out for toxicology tests.

WINONA, Minn. —  A Winona driver who admitted to having had single alcoholic beverage at a golf course was arrested going north in the south lanes of State Highway 43. This was near Sugarloaf Road and Homer Road. Police were dubious that Zachariah John Wise, age 48, had consumed only one drink. His eyes were bloodshot and his motions slow and cathartic, police aid: He had difficulty with balance in roadside sobriety exercises and needed assistance walking back to his car. This was about 8:20 p.m. At jail Wise refused to be tested for his blood-alcohol level but was charged anyway with driving drunk.

WINONA, Minn. —  A Winona man was arrested hiding under a vehicle on industrial Breezy Lane on the Far East End. The arrest was after a woman called police that Karl John Matson, 43, that had shattered her car windows and taken off running while she was giving him a ride home. Neither the woman nor a 4-yearold child was injured. Matson, she said, was the child’s father. The women said there had been an argument in the cae, that she pulled over, ordered Matson to get out and walk home, that he punched her and smashed the windshield and a side window, and ran south on Bundy Boulevard. Police said the woman and child were hysterical and crying when they arrived. This was about 8:50 p.m. at U.S. Highway 16 near Bundy Boulevard. An hour later police located Matson lying under a car nearby in the 1200 block of Breezy Lane. He was arrested without resistance. Complaining of chest pains, he was taken the hospital. Once cleared medically, he was jailed and booked for domestic assault at an elevated evel because off our previous domestic violence conviction. He akso was chargd with evading police.

JACKSON, Minn. —A van carrying 13 people and a second vehicle collided head-on south of Windom in southwest Minnesota. At least five died, said the State Patrol. The collision was about 4:40 p.m. on U.S. Highway 71 at 240th Street. The Patrol l said it would release the identities of victims as soon as details were sorted out and families notified. It was believed the van was carrying family members from the Cottonwood County communities known: The van, a 2019 Ford Transit, was heading south toward Iowa. The other vehicle, a GMC Terrain, was northbound toward Jackson and Windom.

WASHNGTON —Capitol Police have decided not to pursue charges against a Minnesota woman they strong-armed out of the U.S. House gallery during President Trump’s State of the Union address. There was no explanation. Aliya Rahman had been a guest of U.S. Representative Ihan Omar, Democrat. Rahman, who is medically disabled, said she was aching and stood to stretch during Trump’s 107-minute speech. There is a Capitol rule against demonstrating, although Republicans were in jubilation — whopping and hollering and standing  — in countless ovations during Trump’s address. Ahman, age 42, a Muslim, suffers autism and a traumatic brain injury. After being removed from the gallery, Rahman was taken to a hospital, where it was determined she had no new injuries.

Earlier: Minnesotan forcibly evicted from Trump speech

Earlier: Rochester’s chief cop to major Trump event

Citizens cited for “extraordinary resolve”

WASHINGTON — A John F. Knnedy Courage Award is going to “the people of the Twin Cities, Minnesota” who protested the brutal Trump occupation of Minneapolis and forced a retreat. The bipartisan selectin committee split evenly for the 2026 award, also naming Federal Board Chair Jerome Powell, who has weathered Trump attacks for refusing dictates to change U.S. monetary policy. The Minnesota citation:

“The people of the Twin Cities responded with extraordinary courage and resolve. Tens of thousands took to the streets to peacefully protest federal overreach and threats to immigrant families and constitutional protections, while others documented enforcement activity and alerted neighbors to federal agents’ presence.”

The presentation will be at ceremonies in May. Previous recipients include former Vice President Mike Pence, former President Barack Obama, former Senator Mitt Romney, and the leaders of South Korea and Japan.

Softball: UW-LaCrosse 10, McDaniel 5

Softball: UW-LaCrosse 9, Patterson of New Jersey 1

Tennis (men): Illinois Tech 4, UWLaCrosse 3

Tennis (men): Trinity of Texas 5, UW-LaCrosse 2

Tennis (women): UW-LaCrosse and Trinity of Texas

Volleyball (men): St. Ambrose 3, Viterbo 1

LAKE CITY, Minn. — Two drivers were taken 40 miles to a Rochester hospital after their vehicles collided in Lake City. Listed in non-life threatening condition were Scott Jacob Wells, age 39, of Red Wing, and Katie Ann Nibbe-Gadient, 32, also of Red Wing. The accident was about 4:45 p.m. on U.S. Highway 61  Wabasha County deputies said Wells was northbound in a 2018 GMC Terrain and Nibbe-Gadient southbound in a 2022 GMC Acadia. The crash was head-on on dry pavement. Both airbags deployed.

READS LANDING, Minn. — A Wisconsin druver was injured when his light vehicle left U.S. 61 along Lake Pepin in a hazardous two-lane section between Reads Landing and Maple Springs. Lyle James Monsebroten, 70, of Onalaska, was taken to the Lake City hospital. Wabasha County deputies described his condition as non-life threatening. The accident was about 3:10 p.m.  Monsebroten was driving south toward Wabasha in a 2020 Toyota Rav 4.

ST. CHARLES, Minn. — Tentatively the fire that severely damaged the White Valley Motel was caused by an electrical malfunction, said Police Chief Jose Pelaez. Being awaited is an investigation from the state fire marshal. Pelaez said it appeared the fire began inside a wall and creeped up into crawl space. One motel guest told police he lost power in his room about 8 p.m., walked outside, and saw smoke coming from another unit and from the roof. The night manager called 911. The three registered guests were unhurt. The owners, who have quarters in the motel, also escaped safely, as did a maintenance worker. About 70% of the motel was destroyed. A walk-through at dawn found five units without significant damage. The main road through St. Charles, U.S. Highway 14, was shut down three hours until the blaze was contained.

Earlier: Fire hits St. Charles motel: Safely vacated

WINONA, Minn. — Police arrested a Rollingstone woman after a wild automobile chase through dozens of blocks on the West Side and was clocked as fast as 80 mph and running stop signs. The pursuing officer finally blocked Mackenzie Lynn Tahtinen, age 35, in a laundromat parking lot to which there was no exit. Still desperate to escape, she rammed her car into the laundromat building — once, then twice. After a third impact, the car’s mechanics failed. She ran off on foot. By then a second arrived and gave chase and tackled her into a snowbank. She physically resisted being cuffed, but the officers prevailed and took her to jail. This account is all detailed in the officers’ report. At jail the officers discovered that Tahinen may have been fleeing because she was wanted on an arrest warrant involving drunken driving and drugs. The new charges:

> Fleeing police in a vehicle and on foot.

> Assault.

> Fleeing police on foot.

> Driving with a cancelled permit.

> Obstructing the legal process.

> Reckless and careless driving.

Despite the tumultuous arrest, Tahtinen was unhurt, police said. However, the officer who started the chase and who trapped Tahtinen in the laundromat parking lot suffered leg bruises. He was stepping out of his squad car when Tahinen tried to squeeze her car around him. The impact slammed the squad car’s door into the officer, bruising a leg. She then backed out and rammed the laundromat yet another time. Here is a detailed sequence from the police report:

Tahinen. Midnight police chase through city streets. As fast as 80 mph, police say.

End of the line. The Suds Stor & More coin-operated laundry on the Far West End. At 1635 West Fifth Street.

> At 11:50 p.m. the first officer attempted a traffic stop at Huff and Sanborn for a signal violation. The driver sped off. Despite being pursued by the officer with his flashers activated, the driver made evasive turns into side streets. Stop signs didn’t slow her. Seeds reached 80 mph between corners. City streets are posted for 30 mph.

> The pursuit ran two miles: West two blocks on Sanborn to Grand Street, north to Broadway, west McBride, north to Fifth, west on Fifth.

> In the 1600 block of West Fifth ,apparently believing it was possible to evade the officer, the driver turned into the parking lot of the Suds Stor & More coin-operated laundry. The officer, however, saw the maneuver and blocked the lone parking lot access with his squad car. There was property damage: The Suds Stor, a cinder block structure, had minor dents. The squad car had door and fender scratches. The pursued car was inoperable.

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 5, Saint John’s 4

Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 6, Ripon 3

Softball: UW-LaCross 9, Trinity of Connecticut 1

Softball: UW-LaCrosse 3, SUNY-Geneso 0

Softball: Rochester Community and Minnesota State Community (cancelled)

Softball: Rochester Community and Minnesota State Community (doubleheader) (cancelled)

Drive-up units. At 449 West Sixth Street All on single floor off U.S. Highway14. Image: St. Charles Police

Remodeled motel dates to 1950s tourism boom

WINONA, Minn. — A Winona drver was injured jn a two-vehicle collision on U.S. Hghway 61 through the city. Kirk Matthew Carlson, 53, was taken to the Winona hospital with non-life threatening. The other driver, Jose Manuel Becerra, 34, also of Winona, was unhurt. Police asid that both Carlson, in a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, and Becerra, in a 2007 Pontiac G6, were northbound. The accident was about 3:40 p.m. Pavement was dry.

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 34 emergency medical calls plus 16 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, March 17: 4 medical calls plus 1fire call.

> Monday, March 16: 10 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.

> Sunday, March 15: 5 medical calls plus 4 fire calls.

> Saturday, March 14: 5 medical calls plus 4 fire calls.

> Friday, March 13: 4 medical calls plus 1 fire calls

> Thursday, Marvh 12: 2 medical calls plus 3 fire call.

> Wednesday, March 11: 4 medical calls plus no fire calls.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 60 calls