“Yes, Mr. Ozmun what’s this key open?”
WINONA, Minn. – Police found a Winona man loitering in an alley within 100 feet of an address from which he was barred by a court order. In frisking him, police found the key to a nearby apartment that had just been reported stolen. Arrested was Christopher James Ozmun, 40. This was about 1 p.m. It was not a good afternoon for Ozmun. He was charged tentatively with violating a stay-away court order, possessing stolen property,and, oh yes, stealing a bicycle. He was on somebody else’s bike, police said. The arrest was in the 700 block of Front Street on the Far End. A couple hours earlier, a woman living in the 100 block of High Forest Street had called police that her apartment key missing from the work boot where she kept it hidden at the entrance. When police called her that Ozmun perjaps had the missing key, she walked over. Yes, it was hers, she said. Did she know Ozmun? No, she said. Her apartment had been entered, at least unlatched, she saoid. She was unsure if anything had been taken.
Ozmun. Making things worse, police said, was a key on his person.
Driver hurt as out-of-control car ricochets
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Rochester driver was injured when her car left the highway south of Apache Mall, went into ditch, struck a light pole, re-entered the roadway, and crashed into a median wall. Heidi Renae Bredeson, 44, was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. The accident was about 11:40 a.m. at U.S. Highway 52 and 16th Street Southwest. Bredeson’s 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was southbound on Highway 52. She was alone in the car.
Corpse found at trailer; death called suspicious
LACROSSE, Wis. – A body was found outside a trailer house in the south LaCrosse enclave of Shelby. Sheriff John Siegel called the death suspicious. It seemed there had been an attempt to hide the corpse. This was at the trailer court behind All Star Lanes off Mormon Coulee Road.
Plea: Not guilty in jewel smash-and-grab
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Twin Cities man pleaded not guilty to breaking into a jewelry store, smashing a glass display case, and running off with a $2,600 item. Garrett Allen Dorsher, 29 of Stacy in Chisago County, was charged with burglary, theft, and damage to property. This burglary was overnight at one of the Lasker Jewelers stores in Rochester on April 14. Responding to a burglar alarm, police security video showed a man with a white cloth over his head breaking open the doors and then smashing the jewelry case. Dorsher was arrested three days later trying to pawn the stolen jewelry, according to the criminal complaint. His hands had fresh cuts, police said. Also: He wearing shoes like the burglar’s, police said.
Dorsher. Trial set for February.
Jewelry-laden scammers may still be out there
WINONA, Minn. – The arrests of two men in Wisconsin for a roadside jewelry -for-cash scam may not be whole picture of what’s been going on, said Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude. It’s thought a larger band of thieves may be involved. Arrested last week in Viroqua were Alexandru Uca, age 28, of Kent, Washington, and Armando Vaduva, 27, of Fullerton, California. But, said Ganrude, there also seems to have been at least one woman roaming western Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota. The jewelry in every case was cheap imitations with only the slightest plating of precious metal and no genuine gems..
GOP reckless to disparage Walz military record
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Opposition researchers at the Trump presidential campaign either intentionally distorted information on the military record of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, now a vice presidential candidate, or didn’t fully check it out. They claimed Walz, a top-level National Guard sergeant, chose to retire early avoid call-up for the Iraq war. It wasn’t so, according to Army and Federal Election Commission documents. The sequence:
> February 2005. Walz filed papers to run for Congress from southern Minnesota’s MN-1 Congressional District.
> May 2005. Walz retired from the Guard to run for Congress. At age 41 Walz had topped-out his part-time Guard career as an E-9 command sergeant major. This was after 24 years of Guard duty.
> July 2005. Walz’s combat team was alerted to await possible deployment.
> March 2006. The unit was deployed for training.
> November 2006. Walz won election to Congress. His House committee work was mostly for veterans benefits.
The Gulf war had dated to 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The possibility of U.S. military involvement had been on every American’s mind for 15 years. Even so, the current Republican vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, relying on flawed Trump oppo research, has accused Walz of skipping out to avoid combat: “You abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq,” Vance said campaigning th week in Detroit and Eau Claire. Although untrue, Vance’s accusation wasn’t new. In 2018, when Walz as running for governor after 12 years in Congress, two former Guard members, still carrying a grudge, asserted on Facebook that Walz quit and left his soldiers “hanging.” The suggestion, of a dissertion of some sort, never took never gained traction and had been largely dormant until resurrected by Vance.
Walz at 17. Joined Nebraska National Guard in high school. When teaching later at Mankato West High School, he transferred to Minnesota Guard.
“Swiftboating” on Kerry
In the 2004 presidential election a Republican-backed group of Vietnam veterans accused the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, a swift boat officer in-the war, of faking his war record and not deserving of his war medals. The attack was untrue, and Kerry saw it unworthy of a response. He lost the election. Political analysists have come since to agree that candidates should quickly counter “swiftboating,” as the tactic of false war accusations has come to be called.
Verbatim
Vance: “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. A fact that he’s been criticized for a great by a lot of the people to be served with.” (Fact check: Overstated at the least and conveniently misleading.)
Notable journalism
Brock Bergery (KTTC, August 7, 2023): “Digging Deeper Into Governor Walz’s Military Record”
Audrey Korte (Chippewa Falls Herald, August , 2024): “’I Abandoned My Car for Kamala,and I’d Do It Again’: Supporter Enjoys Rally Despite Logistical Snafus”
Caden Perry (LaCrosse Tribune, August 5, 2024): “Frac Sand Businesses in Driftless Region Split Neighbors’ Attitudes”
Forum called in Rochester to combat racism, hate
ROCHESTER, Minn. – An anti-hate forum has been scheduled in Rochester by the local chapters of the black-based organization NAACP and the interfaith organization ISAIAH. It will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Rochester Civic Center. The forum follows an uptick in racist and hateful gestures.
Earlier: Northwest Rochester a hotbed of hate?
Earlier: Hicks calls graffiti attack terroristic, cowardly
Earlier: Racists spray hate messages at lawmaker’s house
Earlier: Prosecutor: No action on Rochester racial slur
Earlier: Teen arrests pending over racist display
Public chatter: About Walz as vice president
WINONA, Minn. – The choice of Governor Tim Walz by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as her running mate generated lots of thoughts. A sampler:
> Tom Emmer, MN-6 Congress member, a Republican: “He embodies disastrous economics, open-borders, and soft-on-crime policies.”
> William Garcia, chair, Wisconsin Democrats: “His policies are popular – paid family leave, universal school lunches, automatic voter registration, red flag laws for guns.”
> Mike Johnson, speaker of U.S. House, a Republican: “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the most radical left-wing ticket in American history.”
> Karoline Leavitt, news secretary, Trump campaign, a Republican: “A West Coast wannabe trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of California.”
> Gene Pelowski, MN-26A legislator from Winona, a Democrat: “The most experienced politician that we Minnsotans have had running for high office since Hubert Humphrey.”
> Scott Sherman, Winona mayor: “A governor who can understand both sides of the political spectrum.”
>Derrick Van Orden, WI-3 member of Congress, a Republican: “Walz blew a $17.5 billion surplus in four months, raised taxes by $10 billion and increased government spending by almost 40%, gave illegal aliens free driver’s licenses.” (Fact check: Four months misleading, 40% misleading.)
> Jim Worthley, chair, Winona County Democrats: “Really interested in doing good for general people.”
R.I.P.: Neil Hinkley
WINONA, Minn. – Neil Allen Hinkley, of Winona, who was retired from Warner & Swasey, died at age 93. He had U.S. Army duty during the Korean war. He was wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart medal. Be belonged to the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1930-2024
August ballot: Kruger-Voegeli in 26A
WINONA, Minn. – Ask most Winona Democrats about the primary election Tuesday for the county’s seat in the state Legislature. They might have a favorite between Sarah Kruger and Dwayne Voegeli, but they eill concede that both are knowledgeable on issues, well credentialed, and committed to public service. In campaigning Kruger has emphasized her St. Paul connections as chief lobbyist for FairVote MN, a nonprofit advocacy group for expanded voting rights. Also, she notes her advocacy on rural funding through the Southern Minnesota Democratic Action Group.
From whence they came
Voeglie is a 28-year classroom veteran teaching high school civics. Hehas served 10 years on the Winna County Board. As candidates, both have been around the block. Although Kruger lost a 2022 bid for the State Senate to the Republican incumbent, Jeremy Miller, she did receive 8,000 votes — and, she’ll tell you, she got her name out and picked up valuable lessons in how to campaign. Voegeli, in his most recent election to the County Board, won 61% of the vote from his west Winona neighborhoods. Neither Kruger nor Voegeli is is a stranger to Winona. She was schooled at Cotter, although she did leave for college elsewhere and pursued an advanced studies in public affairs. Voegeli has been a popular teacher who’s known to generations of Winona High School graduates who now are voters. He has held the title of Winona Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the State Teacher of the Year.
Issues
Kruger and Voegeli are of one mind on major Democatic Party platformissues. On abortion, Kruger has supported women’s rights to reproductive freedom. Likewise,Voegeli pledges “always to protect abortion access.” Kruger and Voegeli both claim to be pro-worker. Specifically they favor livable wages, worker rights and economic prosperity. Voegeli’s bonafides are rooted in his membership in the Winona teachers’ collective bargaining unit. He has support from AFL-CIO and several labor groups. Both Kruger and Voegeli favor clean water and environment-friendly policies. On abusive Big Business practices, Voegeli is feisty, promising to “stand up to billionaires, corporations and extremist who want to destroy unions and pro-worker policy.” Both Kruger and Voegeli favor fuller state funding of education and controlling college tuition.
Endorsements / acclamations
Since beginning their candidacies Kruger and Voegeli have courted endorsements. Kruger had important early support from Gene Pelowski, who is retiring after1 19 terms in the Winona 26-A seat in the Legislature. Considering Pelowski’s long-time popularity and respect, his blessing was a coup for Kruger. Their endorsements:
Kruger
> IFO, labor union for college profs.
> National Climate Cabinet, an environmental advocacy.
> Planned Parenthood.
> Winona State University Student Democrats club.
> Arne Carlson, former governor.
> Cedric Fraizer, chair, House Judiciary Committee
>Keith Ellison, state attorney general.
> Gene Pewloski.
>Kaohly Vang Her, chair, House Pensions Commission.
Voegeli
> AFL-CIO, labor union.
> Boundary Waters Action Fund, lobbying group.
> Education Minnesota, a teacher organization.
> FairVote Minnesota, named a voting reform cjampion.
> Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, a labor union.
> Minnesota Nurses Association.
> Moms Demand Action, gun reform advocacy.
Campaigns
Voegeli hit the ground with large $1,100-month billboards. He locked up the five 42-foor by 12-foot signs available at the time in the Lamar agency’s Winona inventory. He added a sixth billboard in July. Voegel’s billboard message was a routine if not unimaginative. Kruger followed with large billboards as Lamar had them available. Her message too was routine, but a few weeks she followed with a 2.0 version with the clever line “Meet Me in the Middle.” The line underscored her claim to already knowing her way around St. Paul with both Democrats and Republicans. Kruger also created a slick video with her enthusiastically racing from one Winona landmark to underscore her advovacy on health, education, recreation and other issues.
11th-hour mailers. Within 10 days of the August 13 primary election, both flooded voters with mailers on shiny hard and expensive stock.
.
Kruger campaign snippets
“I earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science. I have since put my education into practice working in public relations to help implement the American Rescue Plan Act in rural counties and townships.”
“As a millennial and a woman, I bring a fresh perspective.”
“The future requires a stable democracy, a strong economy and a healthy society.”
“Our politics has become preoccupied with national partisan bickering over issues that distract us from solving real problems at home.”
“I will not be the politician of the status quo. We need changes in St. Paul now that will enable us to build the political partnerships that get things done. This goal will not come from electing people who represent the Good Ol’ Boy networks of the past or those who are only focused on national politics.
Voegeli campaign snippets
“I grew up on my family’s fourth-generation dairy farm, which went under during the farm crisis in the late 1970s. Growing up my family struggled at times. I know that people can work very hard and still fall behind at times.”
“I volunteer with groups that help with mental health, refugees, free community meals, homelessness and other issues. I enjoy working with churches, businesses, nonprofits and other groups.”
“In my 28 years of teaching I have worked with approximately 9,000 students and families.”
“Our country is being pulled apart because of fear, ignorance and social media. People develop groupthink because we live in informational silos. We need people who will work to help find common ground, mend fences and build bridges”
“Most people are tired of all the negative ads and the anger on social media. We need to tone down the political rhetoric.”
Population 85,000. District 26-A comprises all of Winona County except far western reaches. All of the state’s House districts have the same population. 26-A is bounded by Wisconsin and the Mississippi River; by District 20-B to the west, which is Olmsted County; by District 26-B to the south, which is Houston and Fillmore counties and part of Mower county; and by District 20-A to the north, which Wabasha County.
26-A population centers
Winona, 25,800 people
Goodview, 4,100
Lewiston, 1,500
Stockton, 800
Rollingstone, 700
Utica, 300
Minnesota City, 200
Altura, 500
Elba, 100
Earlier: The Pelowski Chronicles: 7,000 pages in 30 volumes
Earlier: Kruger steps up billboard campaign for House
Earlier: Official: Candidates with hats in ring for 2024
Earlier: Legislative hopeful Kruger names campaign chief
Earlier: Winona Democrats split on 26-A candidates
Earlier: Pelowski backs Kruger in House race
Earlier: Kruger starts Winona campaign for Minnesota Legislature
Earlier: Voegeli set to announce candidacy for Legislature
Earlier: Pelowski’s CoVid-driven family decision to retire
Earlier: House speaker on Pelowski: “A remarkable legacy”
Earlier: Pelowski on why not running: Seems to be: “It’s time”
News summary at mid-week: August 7, 2024
POLITICS: Vance comeback: It’s Walz who’s weird
POLITICS: Walz tightens grip as folksy yet capable hybrid
POLITICS: It’s him: Minnesota governor for vice president
POLITICS: Airport stunt: Vance in tarmac stride
POLITICS: Vance due in Eau Claire in “bracket” tactic
CRIME: Iowan extradited to Winona on terror charge
CRIME: Cops caucus on early alerts for beer blowouts
CRIME: Owatonna girl bruised at Whitewater beer bash
CRIME: Cops bust 300 revelers at drunken bash
CRIME: Nabbed again sucking in dust-off gasses
CRIME: Northwest Rochester a hotbed of hate?
CRIME: Hicks calls graffiti attack terroristic, cowardly
GOVERNANCE: Rochester bans homeless squatters from city land
ARTS: Twanger Neal McCoy leads off Ashley concerts
HEALTH: Minnesota suicide rate declines slightly
Chase: Wrong way on Mankato at 50-60 mph
WINONA, Minn. – Police found a Wisconsin man hiding slumped in his parked cafter wild chase on Mankato Avenue. The pursuing officer had lost the vehicle after an abrupt turn onto Sanborn Steet, but then found it parked on tranquil High Forest Street as if it had been there all night. Inside was Grant Matthew Lamberty, 19, of Trempealeau. The officer reported also seeing a marijuana pipe inside. Lamberty admitted smoking. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how how high are you?” the officer asked. Answer: “Four.” Lamberty was charged with fleeing an officer. A drug charge is possible depending a blood analysis from the state crime lab. The chase began near Sarnia and Hamilton, went through the Mankato round-about, north on Mankato toward the river at 50 mph to 60, then left into Sarnia – about 20 blocks in all. Lamberty said he was in town to go to Walmart, which closes at 11 .m.. The chase began about 10:45. “Why did you run and not respond to siren anf lights?” Answer: “I had nothing lose.”
Missing again: Tip jar at Toppers Pizza
WINONA, Minn. – A clerk noticed the plastic tip jar missing from the check-out counter at Toppers Pizza downtown. It wasn’t the first time. Police arrived, quick;y checked surveillance video, and recognized the thief. Just down the street they found Nicholas John Deppe, 21, of Winona. They ticketed him for theft. This was about 8:45 p.m. in the 100 block of East Third Street. How much money was missing? Nobody seems to know, A lesson perhaps: This time again hte tip jar was unanchored.
Teen accused of busting up house over cigarettes
WINONA, Minn. – A 14-year-old boy, upset that his mother discovered him stealing her cigarettes, was arrested after smashing up the place. police said. The boy kicked down a door and punched holes in the drywall, officers said. This was about 3:45 p.m. in the 450 West Sanborn Street. The boy was charged with domestic assault and causing fear.
Vance comeback: It’s Walz who’s weird
Break time at the factory. Except for the lectern, the event had no placards or banners. Applause was polite. The company offered ice cream afterwards. Vance didn’t stay.
GOP’s Eau Claire counter-event was brief
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – A couple dozen employees at a small Eau Claire factory took a break for a campaign visit by GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance and prospective second lady Usha Vance. Vance’s comments were at the Wollard plant, which manufactures airport ground equipment. The company, which has 60 employees. treated participating employees to ice cream to after Vance departed. To the group, Vane called it a disgrace that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has shielded herself from reporters for two weeks. (Fact check: Although Harris has not had extended sit-down sessions with reporters in recent days, she has taken questions on the fly.) Vance called Haris too liberal for America. “We’ve got to throw Kamala Harris out of office, not give her a promotion,” he said. Vance tackled the word “weird” that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, had applied to the Republican team of Donald Trump and Vance and which has picked up traction. The moniker has become the most potent campaign line of 2024 so far. “If those people want to call me weird, I call it a badge of honor,” Vance told the Wollard workers. “Whatever Tim Walz calls me — I mean talk about weird with Tim Walz. I don’t know if you guys saw the rally yesterday, but afterwards his wife comes up to him and Tim Walz does what any normal, Midwestern guy would do seeing his beautiful wife onstage after a speech. He gives her a firm handshake. Right, that’s pretty weird. That’s pretty weird. When I see my wife after a speech, I give her a hug and a kiss because I’m excited to see her and she’s my wife. These people have no leg to stand on.”
Earlier: Airport stunt: Vance in tarmac stride
Walz tightens grip as folksy yet capable hybrid
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The Kamala Harris presidential campaign, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on board as her running mate, swept into the battleground state Wisconsin for a packed outdoor rally with 12,000 supporters. The stump message has become clear: The economic is solid snd improving and a second Trump term would unravel 250 years of American democracy. The rally was outside of town at the Eau Claire Expo Center. For Walz it was his second rally on a national platform since being tapped for vice president. Suddenly he has become a folk hero as a decent Midwesterner and also a skilled politician. At one point when a woman collapsed from heat exhaustion, Walz halted the rally, called for bystanders to make a hole and get her water, and resumed only when she was back on her feet. The Walz speech its echoed stump lines from Tuesday at the Philadelphia rally at which Harris introduced him as her running mate. Walz told the Wisconsin crowd that he knew how to get things dine from his 12 years in. Congress and two terms as Minnesota governr: “I learned how to compromise without compromising my values,” he said. Walz, a military veteran, faulted former President Donald Trump as having “no understanding of service.” Said Walz: “He’s too busy servicing himself — again and again and again.” He warned of Trump’s Project 2025 blueprint for the future. “It will be far worse than it was four years ago.” Walz said, referring Trump’s presidential term that ended in 2021.
Together in noonday sun. Walz and Harris at the Eau Claire Expo Center on their five-state battleground tour. Parking was insufficient at he Eau Claire rally for the 12,000 fans, some of whom walked the better part a mile from their cars in open-grass parking to the outdoor arena.
Cops: Upset boyfriend unscrews lugs, heaves them
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man was arrested at Dick’s Marina after a shouting match in which he unscrewed lug nuts from his ex-girlfriend’s car and threw them toward the water in the mooring harbor. Quintin James Ehlo, 19, was charged with disorderly conduct. Police were told that the girlfriend was at the beach with friends when Ehlo showed up. This was about 1:05 p.m. They recently had broken up. Nobody was hurt.
Airport stunt: Vance in tarmac stride
Welcome, Kamala. The Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance landed at the Eau Claire airport just ahead of the Kamala-Walz plane came in. “So why not?” he asked himself, sensing a photo opp. He walked over for an up-close of Harris’ Air Force Two. He didn’t wave up, nor did Harris or Walz wave down. Then Vance turned, his staff and bodyguards in tow, for a triumphant if not strange media moment
Nothing face to face in airport confrontation
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The Republican aspiring to be vice president, JD Vance, had just landed in Eau Claire when Air Force Two, with Vice President Kamala Harris aboard, was taxiing in. Vance walked over, not exactly to welcome Harris but to have “a bit of fun.” To news reporters he grimed with sarcasm: “I just wanted to check out my future plane.” Then came a campaign a jab: “I also wanted to go say hello to the vice president and ask her why she refuses to answer questions from the media.” It was true that Harris has not had an extended interview or full news conference in her two-week-old campaign. To reporters Vance said: “I at least have enough respect for you all and for the American people to come and talk to you and answer questions.” It wasn’t until Vance had departed, that a ground crew wheeled stairs up to Air Force Two for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, to deplane and depart in a motorcade for their own campaign rally.
Long-missing car found submerged
LONE ROCK, Wis. – A vehicle stolen in 1990 was pulled from the Wisconsin River muck near the Lone Rock Bridge. There was no evidence of anyone inside nor anything immediately suspicious, said Sheriff Leon Lott. The vehicle, a late 1980s Pontiac Grand Prix, had been reported stolen 90 miles away in Monroe County 24 years earlier. How and where the car ended up in the river was unknown, the sheriff said.
Mystery wreck. Pulled from Wisconsin River muck. Image: Richland County sheriff
Emergency, fire crews make 51 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 32 emergency medical calls plus 19 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, August 6: 3 medical calls plus 7 fire call.
> Monday, August 5: 3 medical calls plus 3 fire call.
> Sunday, August 4: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Saturday, August 3: 2 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Friday, August 2: 4 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Thursday, August 1: 7 medical calls plus 4 fire call.
> Wednesday, July 31: 5 medical calls plus no fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 50 calls
Cops: Perkins intruder seemed out of it
WINONA, Minn. – A man was arrested inside Perkins restaurant after hours — and was not happy about it. Police said Joseph Allan Peaslee, 31, fought them off until they finally dragged him out and even then had to be wrestled to the ground to get him into a squad car. This was about 3:30 a.m. Police had been alerted to an intruder by a remote motion detector alarm at the check-out counter. At first, police said, Peaslee refused to come out. When they got to him, he seemed hallucinating. He told officers he worked for the CIA, that restaurant staff had just run out the back, and that he was being served and waited on.
Peaselee. At Perkins, 950 Mankato Avenue.
R.I.P.: Kendall Hammell
CHATFIELD, Minn. – Kendall Ann Hammell, age 7, of Chatfield, would have been a second grader at Chatfield Elementary School this fall, died at home of leukemia, She was born with a hearing loss, but that, said her family, didn’t define her. The family described her as feisty, loving and “a complete joy. ”Since 2021 she spent many days in the hospital in hope of a cure.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
2016-2024
.I.P.: Eloda Duellman
FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. – Eloda J. (Brewer) Duellman, age 99, of Fountain City, who worked at H&F Lumber for three years and First State Bank for 25 years, died at the Saint Anne home in Winona. She also worked at Doerflingers department store in La Crosse. She graduated from Logan High School in La Crosse. She was a 60-year member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Fountain City.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1925-2024
R.I.P.: Wayne Jessen
WINONA, Minn. – Wayne Benjamin Jessen, 77, of Winona, who had a long career in the Winona dining and restaurant business, died at Whitewater Health in St. Charles . He was a manager at Sandy’s/Bucky’s fast-food restaurant in Winona. Later he managed the Sirloin Stockade. Later still he leased dining space at the Black Horse Tavern with an all you-can-eat buffet and became known as the Singing Chef and an impersonation of Boxcar Willie on karaoke nights. In 1999 he went to Steak Shop Catering. He also prepared food for foreign students living at Cotter High School. Around his own sophomore year of high school he underwent a surgery to remove a brain tumor. His recovery was considered a miracle, and he returned to school and in his senior year earned a letter for the butterfly stroke. He held diplomas from the Minnesota School of Business and Winona Area Technical School.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1946-2024
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