Lewiston man seeks lower bail on sex counts
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Lewiston man asked that his bail on two counts of sexual conduct with children be reduced from $500,000. The judge took the request under advisement. Cody James Krismer, 32, had been arrested on basis of a complaint from a woman who said she learned about the transgressions in June. A police investigation ensued. The criminal complaint identified the children as under 13 and under 11. Over the years Krismer has lived in Lake City, Winona and Zumbro Falls. He has served jail time for assault, drggs nnd drunken driving.
Krismer. Accused of indecent contact with minors in Olmsted County.
Margot Lewis bail to stay at $1.5 millon
MINNEAPOLIS – An Iowa woman arrested on Interstate 90 near Eyota in June will remain in jail in lieu $1.5 milion bail for murder. A Hennepin County judge ordered the $1.5 million bail to stand. Margot G. Lewis, 32, of North Liberty, Iowa, is charged in the death of Liara Tsai, who police say was killed in her Minneapolis apartment. The corpse was found bundled in a car that Lewis was driving east out of Rochester in June.
Earlier: Eyota now in Margot Lewis’ rearview mirror
Minnesota appeals loss on tightened gun law
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, asked the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for a full review of an order by a three-judge panel that struck down a state law that prohibited people under 21 years old from carrying firearms. The three-judge panel had rued against the 2023 state law two weeks ago but delayed implementation of its order. The delay was to allow Ellison to to appeal to the whole court, which is comprised of 11 judges. The 8th Circuit Court, seated St. Lous, has appellate jurisdiction on federal cases in Minnesota and six other states.
Earlier: New appeal due on Minnesota public-carry limits?
State Fair’s food fare /12
August 22 to September 2
Marco’s garden. Local rhubarb jam, thyme-marinated locally sourced tomatoes, farmer cheese, jalapeño and honey served with a side of grilled gluten-free flatbread. The dish gluten-free. Vegan option uses thyme tofu dip and maple syrup instead of cheese and honey. At Jammy Sammies by BRIM at the North End, northwest section, across from the North End Event Center.
Mocha madness. Fluffy shave ice with caffeine-free coffee flavoring and an overflowing caramel macchiato cold foam center. Drizzled with chocolate syrup and garnished with dark chocolate espresso beans. Gluten-free. At Minnesnowii Shave Ice, on the west side of Nelson Street between Dan Patch & Carnes avenues.
.Earlier: State Fair’s food fare /11
Three hurt in crash at Caledonia intersection
CALEDONIAA, Minn. – Three persons were injured but not seriously in a two-vehicle pile-up just north of Caledonia. Taken 24 miles to a LaCrosse hospital were:
> Elizabeth Reed Christina, 36, of Caledonia, driver of a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse.
> Ashlyn Vickerman, 16, of Caledonia, a passenger.
> Matthew Hans Lusk, 35, of Coon Valley, Wisconsin, driver of a 2022 Ford F150.
Neither Christina nor Vickerman were belted, police said. The vehicles collided at State highway 44 and Kingston Street. This was about 8 a.m.
Walz on vice presidency: Don’t press me yet
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz acknowledged he is being vetted for the U.S. vice presidency on the Democratic ticket as running mate with Kamala Harris. Would he take the job? “I would do what is in the best interest of the country,” Walz said in a weekend CNN interview. Pressed on whether means serving as vice president, Walz replied: “We’ll cross paths when we get there.” Walz had been on most speculative short lists since Harris was tapped June 22 for president. Her vetting staff is headed by Eric Holder, who was attorney general under President Barack Obama. Walz is among Democratic leaders in the so-called Blue Wall of Upper Midwest states targeted by Republican Donald Trump in his third bid for president. Criteria being weighed by Holder are gender and ethnic balance and how many home-state votes the vice presidential choice can be drawn to the Democratic ticket. The choice will be for Harris to make She already knows everyone Holder’s list. An essential question: With whom does she see the strongest interpersonal and political chemistry.
Walz on network TV rounds
All the short-list possibilities have been auditioning. In a MSNBC interview, Walz called the Trump weird: “Listen to the guy,” Walz said. “He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.” The Walz word“weird” went viral in Democratic lexicon against Trump.
Split-screen interview. Walz coins the germ “weird” to describe Trump’s Hannibal Lecter references and shark shock talk. Asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper whether he wants to be vice president, Walz deferred: “We’ll cross paths when we get there.”
What if
The second Walz term as governor goes into 2027. If Walz became vice president, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who shares Walz’ values, would become governor until an election. Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Nation and would become the state’s first woman of color in the governorship. She. served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Earlier she was a community organizer in Minneapolis.
“My observation on this is: Have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me, that an adult can go through 6-1/2 years of being in the public eye — if he has laughed, it’s at someone, not with someone, That is weird behavior, and I don’t think you call it anything else.”
The Walz biography has plusses. He’s a military veteran with 26 years in the National Guard, a public school teacher, a six-term congressman and a two-term governor in a Blue State. He has championed rural communities and the working class. As governor, he has signed state legislation to codify abortion rights, to legalize recreational marijuana, to limit access to guns, and to protect transgender youths, to expand paid family leave, and to provide universal school meals for children.
Trump v. Walz: No mere tete-a-tete
Trump already has called Walz an “ultra-liberal monster” The Walz reply: “What monster? Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn, and women are making their own health care decisions. And Minnesota as a Top 5 business state, and we also rank in the top three of happiness.” About Trump’s weekend campaign rally in St. Cloud, Walz said:
“Trump came after me during his long, rambling, weird speech. He doesn’t like that I went on Fox News this week and told the truth about him, his abysmal record, and the extreme right-wing agenda he and Vance plan to advance from the White House. Make no mistake: Trump and Vance are deeply out of step with the values of a majority of Americans.”
Charge: Man choked ex- before backyard arrest
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man, Mitchell Tiberius Foss, 29, was charged with strangulation in a domestic assault in the early morning hours on the East Side. Police said Foss and an ex-girlfriend were in a heavy dispute in a backyard. When they arrived, police said, Foss put his hands behind his back and asked to be arrested. They accommodated. Foss was intoxicated, the officers said. A police dispatcher had taken a 911 call about 3 a.m. No one was on the line, but the dispatcher could hear a man and woman arguing and ID’d the cellphone to the 600 block of East Wabasha Street. There police found the couple in a backyard. The woman said she had a restraining order to keep Foss away. She told officers he pinned her down at least a minute and cut off her breathing. By flailing she got away to the backyard and dialed 911. Foss trailed her. In the backyard, not knowing she already had dialed 911 and that the line was still open, he yelled at her not to call police and threatened to kill her, she told officers. The officers said her neck showed pressure marks.
Foss. Booked for domestic assault, a restraining order violation, interference with an emergency call.
R.I.P.: Ronald Grathen
WINONA, Minn. – Ronald R. Grathen, age 78, of Winona, died, at his home. Per his wishes, a a private family service and burial were lanned.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1946-2024
Sex assault reported on 82-year-old woman
LACROSSE, Wis. – Police arrested a LaCrosse man, Christopher Ballog Pierce, 29, after an 82-year-old woman reported being awakened by a naked man choking her. The incident was on the South Side. Police said the woman called from a neighbor’s after escaping from her own house. Surveillance video showed the wman being chased from her house by a scantily clothed man, police said.
Bedroom assault reported on 82-year-old woman
LACROSSE, Wis. – Police arrested a LaCrosse man, Christopher Ballog Pierce, 29, after an 82-year-old woman reported being awakened by a naked man choking her. The incident was on the South Side. Police said the woman called from a neighbor’s place after escaping from her own house. Surveillance video showed the woman being chased down the sidewalk from her house by a scantily clothed man, police said.
Rural wingding ends quickly, just in time
ELBA, Minn – As deputies and state troopers were converging toward remote Beaver Creek, where a huge, noisy and drunken party had been reported, they were met by unusually heavy traffic for so late at night. At the party site they found nobody. It seems the revelers got word that the cops were coming and disbanded. Poof, they were gone. This was near County Road 30 and County Road 31, which has handy exit routes every which way — to Altura, Elba, Rollingstone, Weaver and points beyond.
Major injuries in Pepin County motorcycle crash
MONDOVI, Wis. – Two people from rural Mondovi were hurt badly when their motorcycle missed a curve and sliced a guy wire on a utility pole and slammed into the pole itself. The driver, Alexander P. Page, 29, was airlifted 68 miles to a Rochester hospital in critical condition. His passenger, Megan M. Page, 28, was taken 27 miles to an Eau Claire hospital in serious condition. Both had been ejected from the 2024 CFMoto. This was about 5:30 p.m. near the Pepin County crossroads of Cauntv Road R and County Road BB just over the Buffalo County line. Deputies said high speed and alcohol factored into what happened.
Jail, fine for threats to shoot Wisconsin lawmakers
FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A Wisconsin man was convicted for terrorist threats to shoot state lawmakers if they passed a bill for teachers to carry firearms. James Stearns, 75, was sentenced to seven days in jail and fined $500. Judge Anthony Nehls issued the sentence. The threats were in 2022 after the massacre of 19 school kids and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. The GOP bill never made it through the Wisconsin Legislature, more as a bad idea than as a result of Stearns’ threats. He had emailed two legislators and a talk radio host. One message: “I will purchase a gun, the most powerful I can purchase, and go to Madison and shoot as many of the people who vote for this law as I can before someone shoots me.” Also: “People will hunt you down and your family like animals.”
Elegant meditation site planned at Guadalupe Shrine
LACROSSE, Wis. – The city’s Design Review Committee has been asked to approve a multi-million dollar proposal for a 66-guest Italianesque retreat house at the Shrine of Our Lady Guadalupe up Mormon Coulee. The retreat would be for Catholic pilgrims on overnight meditational visits. The facility would outclass any hotel within hundreds of miles. Guest rooms would be 600 square feet with padded kneelers for prayer. These quarters each would be finished with stained wood floors and walls. A ground-floor banquet room would have a 22-foot ceiling. Three adjoining conference rooms would be paneled in decorative woods with floor-to-ceiling arched window. A roof terrace with limestone and tile would overlook the coulee toward the Mississippi River. Plans include a convent for nine nuns. No price tag appeared in documents to the city Design Review Committee. The retreat, like Shrine itself, would be privately financed through the Diocese of LaCrosse. The shrine, completed in 2008, took four years to build.
This no rustic retreat. The St. Diego Juan Retreat House would be elegant in scale and detail. Chandeliers hang from the two-story banquet room ceiling. Giant arched windows bring in the sun and the coulee landscape. The architect shows cloth-covered tables, each with fresh flowers, full-service china and heavy silver.
Adjunct to Shrine. Indiana architect Dungan G. Stroik, who designed the original Shrine, has maintained his neo-classical Italianesque theme. The shrine is behind the new retreat house.
Notable journalism
Adam Duxter (WCCO, July 27, 2024): “Trump Supporters Wait for Hours in Scorching Heat Ahead of St. Cloud Rally”
Paul Walsh (Minneapolis Star Tribune): “Charge; Stockton Woman’s ‘Microcurrent” Device Injured Users”
Deena Winter (Minnesota Reformer, July 24, 2024): “How the Trump Campaign Is Distorting What Happened to Jaleel Stallings to Attack Kamala Harris”
Eau Claire seeks air link to Chicago
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The U.S. Transportation Department has been asked to approve six weekly flights from Eau Clare to Chicago. Utah-based regional carrier SkyWest would begin the flights in November. SkyWest would replace Sun Country, which had won notice for it $10 fares to Minneapolis. Those flights never attracted many passengers, and Sun Country later upped the fare to $49 and finally announced it was abandoning the Eau Caire market. The Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Commission already has voted 6-1 to support the change to SkyWest. Federal approval is necessary because the U.S. Essential Air Service program for small cities subsidizes the service.
Climber seriously hurt in Sugar Loaf tumble
WINONA, Minn. – A climber scaling the Sugar Loaf pinnacle fell and was seriously injured. The climber was located by firefighters, treated on-site, brought down to an a waiting ambulance, and taken to the nearby Winona hospital. This was about 2:40 p.m.
85 feet straight up. The city encourages adventure climbing and rappelling. There are 35 bolted routes with stainless steel glued-in anchors. Image: Winona Fire Department
Biker hurt in collision with oncoming pickup
ZUMBRO FALLS, Minn. – A motorcyclist heading east toward Wabasha was hurt in a collision with a pickup truck on State Highway 60 near Zumbro Falls. Austin Gregory Andor, 20, of Maple Grove, suffered non-life threatening injuries. Andor was wearing a helmet, said Wabasha County deputies. He was taken 28 miles to a Rochester hospital. Andor was riding a 2007 Honda CBR600. The other driver, Benjamin James Frensko, 19, of Cologne, was unhurt. He was westbound in a 2007 Ford F-250.
State Fair’s food fare /11
August 22 to September 2
Ham and pickle roll on potato skin. Three fried potato skins filled with a blend of sour cream, cream cheese, chopped pickles and ham, and topped with potato chip crumbles. Gluten-friendly. At Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken in the Food Building, northwest corner
Lady’s slipper marble sundae. Strawberry ice cream, lemon marshmallow cream and ladyfinger cookies layered in a cup and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. At Bridgeman’s Ice Cream at the northeast corner of Judson Avenue and Liggett Street.
Earlier: State Fair’s food fare /10
Assault charge filed in flatmate stabbing
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona woman who wanted to evict her male flatmate and locked him out wasn’t pleased when she found him climbing in through a kitchen window. She picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed his hands as he was halfway in. Police arrived and got the man, his hands bleeding, to the hospital. Then they arrested Audra Deneen Green, 56. She was charged with assault. The call to police to the 100 block at East Broadway Street was about 11:30 a.m. Why did Green not want the man around anymore? He was a slob with housework and she was out of patience, she said. Police didn’t release the man’s name per the usual department practice of not identifying the victims of crime publicly but said he was 46 years old.
UW-L takes troves leadership for Driftless region
LACROSSE, Wis. – The Murphy Library at the University of LaCrosse sees its future as the premier regional repository for artifacts from the Driftless region. The goal is to bring together materials related to the scientific, environmental, cultural, historical, and economic aspects of the Upper Mississippi River’s Driftless Area, said David Mindel, digital collections librarian. By organizing the artifacts, they will have visibility and accessibility to the general public en perpetuity, Mindel said.
Population centers. Decorah, Dubuque, Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Madison, Prairie du Chien, Red Wing, Winona.
Verbatim
Mindel: “By tying these materials together, not only are we breathing new life into collections that might otherwise be forgotten or lost, but we are guaranteeing their existence long into the future.”
Mindel. Heading UW-L’s Driftless Initiative.
Driftless profile
The Driftless area is a topographical and cultural region that spans 18 Wisconsin counties, nine Minnesota counties, Eight Iowa counties, and three Illinois counties. The area has steep bluffs, cliffs, cold-water river valleys, and goat prairies with gravel and slit outwash left by the Ice Age that retreated finally 11,000 years ago.
Trump accused of distorting bail-aid facts
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Freedom Fund says former President Donald Trump has distorted the facts about the organization and Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for re-election. “It is not correct that then-Senator Harris has donated to our organization,” said Noble Frank, a spokesperson. “We have no relationship with Harris beyond a single four-year-old tweet.” Trump has blown up the tweet in which Harris encouraged donations to the Freedom Fund. For Trump the Fund has become a campaign a tool to discredit Harris. His stump speech has tried ro link Harris to a twice-convicted rapist who received bail money from the Fund and who three weeks later shot and killed a man. This was in 2022 – two years after the Harris tweet, which was about the time of an unrelated case involving another Twin Cities man — Jaleel Stallings, who also was black and who was accused shooting a police officer. About the Stallings case, Freedom Fund spokesperson Frank said: “We’re really proud of having paid for Stallings.” He was found innocent and paid $1.5 million in compensation for for false arrest.
Stallings on Trump
In an interview with the Minnesota Reformer, Stallings expressed disappointment at Trump’s distortions. The distortions, he said, undermine his current work to launch a nonprofit called the Good Apple Initiative to encourage “good apples” in the criminal justice system to change the culture of Minnesota policing.
Waddling unaffected among soggy bogs
Web feet as an asset. College students playing frisbee golf at Winona’sLake Park found themselves sinking into grass soggy from recent rains. But not these guys. Image: Steve Lunde
Driver charged after 0.10% blood-alcohol reading
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver who showed numerous signs of impairment in a traffic stop, was arrested and booked for drunken driving. In a blood-alcohol test Steven Richard Kwosek, 74, showed 0.10% — one-fifth more than the legal threshold for impairment. The traffic stop was about 12:35 a.m. at Riverview Drive and Prairie Island Road. The arresting officer said Kwosek was wandering across lanes, smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speeeh, and failed roadside sobriety tests.
News summary at week’s end: July 27, 2024
POLITICS: Trump nasty, weak on facts; crowd loved it
POLITICS: Trump’s message cloudy on Harris jail bail role
REMEMBRANCE: WW2 death camp victim to be memorialized
TRAGEDY: Two dogs fatally attack toddler in Twin Cities
SPORTS: Walz fetes Minnesota Olympians: It’s their day
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