Boat oars gone: How now to reach houseboat?
WINONA, Minn. – A pair of oars were reported missing from a flat-bottom boat being used to get back and forth to a houseboat stranded by high water surrounding Latsch IsIand. The boat was tied up along Highway 43, where houseboat owners have been parking boats until the Mississippi River recedes. The oars, essential for propulsion, were valued at $120. The theft was reported belatedly. It was believed to have occurred in the July 1 to July 3 window.
Judge sworn in; fills out Winona County bench
WINONA, Minn. – The new Winona County judge, Dwight Luhman, draped a freshly pressed judicial robe around his shoulders and was sworn in at the Courthouse. On the bench he joins Her Honor Nancy Buytendorp. Luhman replaces Mary Leahy, who is retiring.
Earlier: Preston lawyer named to Winona judgeship
Faculty review to Gow: Leave, don’t come back
LACROSSE, Wis. — A faculty committee recommended unanimously that the former chancellor of the University Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Joe Gow, be stripped of his faculty status for producing his explicit “Happy Sex” videos with his wife. The UW system’s governing board now will hold its own hearing. At issue is a tradition of allowing former chancellors to retire to tenured faculty status. The committee conducted two days of hearings in June on 12 allegations of unethical conduct. In summarizing its conclusion, the five-member faculty committee did not dispute Gow’s right to undertake activities in his private life but added a big “but”: “However, Professor Gow’s private life is now public by his choice; his private conduct is entangled with his professional role as a UW-L faculty member; and how he has acted since the discovery of his pornographic content has affected UW-L and the rights of its other employees.”
Core issues
The committee found that Gow referred to his work at the university in several videos. This was despite several independent reviews of the videos that found Gow referring himself and his wife only obliquely as being in prominent professional careers. The report alos said that Gow wrote about hiring sex workers around the country, sometimes within an hour of La Crosse. Also, he report said, Gow acknowledged that his activities might be illegal. These were claims that Gow denied at the hearing and claimed were at most out of context.
Poetic license? Dishonesty?
Gow also said at the hearing he sometimes took creative license in his narratives and that some things were more fanciful than intended to be taken as fact. The committee, however, was unamused at Gow’s colorful if not literally correct commentaries and declared that he showed a lack of intellectual honesty and was thus was unfit to teach. The committee also cited technicalities., most of which Gow denied, that he :
> Impeded the university’s investigation after he was removed as chancellor.
> Deleted pertinent evidence from his computers before turning them in after he was fired.
> Misused campus technology to further his online adult profile.
> Failed to take “timely action” to remove sex toy vendor emails from his inbox.
> Used his email to purchase two pornographic books in 2016.
> Downloaded a co-performer release from pornographic website xhamster and printed the form using a campus printer.
Earlier: UW-LaCrosse showdown: Gow v. regents
Gow. A setback at faculty review level. Fate on professorial status still up to UW regents.
.
Authorship concealed. Gow and professor-wife Carmen Wilson wrote two books with pen names. They identified themselves as “energetic executives.” Their personas were visible in subsequent explicit sex videos bit never with their names or U-WL affiliation.
WSU link
From 2001 to2004 Gow was dean of liberal arts at Winona State, the largest of the university’s five colleges. Later was liberal arts dean at Wesleyan University in Nebraska, then president. Then 16 years to UW-L as chancellor.
Dad disappears in Mississippi after rescuing kids
ELK RIVER, Minn. – A man rescued his two children in trouble swimming off a Mississippi River sandbar and then disappeared in the swollen river himself. This about 11:45 a.m. 20 miles upriver from the north Minneapolis suburbs A river rescue team began a search for Cody Jay Pope, 42, of the north St. Paul exurb of Circle Pines. Sherburne County deputies said Pope had been in the river when two children began struggling in the strong current. He grabbed one child and brought her to safety on a sandbar. He went back to assist the other child and was able to support and push the child to shore before he himself disappeared in the water.
Update: Senator Klobuchar beats cancer
ROCHESTER, Minn — Senator Amy Klobuchar has been pronounced cancer-free after her latest sixth-month check at Mayo Clinic. The diagnosis was a special relief for Klobuchar as she begins a campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Klobuchar, age 64, is seeking a third six-year term. She was diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer in early 2021 and began therapy. Doctors removed small calcification in a minimally invasive procedure. In her latest check-up, she was given an all-clear. Even so, Klobuchar said, she will undergo a couple days of radiation as a precaution.
Last TRW remnant in Winona bites the dust
WINONA, Minn. – The company BCS Automotive Interface Solutions has confirmed the shut-down of its Winona factory in the airport industrial park. As annon]unced in March, the final batch of employees, 117 total, will be laid off in next two weeks. The factory, owned since 2018 by a global conglomerate based in Radolfzel, Germany, has gradually shifted from manufacturing electromechanical controls and intelligent sensors to importing them from China.
Eery stillness. At factory at 5675 Industrial Park Road.
BCS profile
A BCS predecessor was the vaunted TRW that designed and built components for missile weapon systems and aerospace exploration. In 1986 the company was 57th on the Fortune 500 list of highest revenue U.S. companies and had 122,000 employees in 25 countries. But TRW was sliced and diced and lost its identity in a series of mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations in recent decades.
Walz as vice president? Maybe but not so fast
ST. PAUL, Minn. – It’s a long shot, but veteran Minnesota political reporter Peter Callaghan sees a path for Governor Tim Walz on the Democratic ticket for vice president in November. “There are so many dominos that would have to fall,” Callaghan conceded in a column on the MinnPost site. Among dominos would be if President Biden yields to pressure to withdraw his candidacy fir re-election. It must be noted too that Walz has stood with Biden to stay the course. Even so, Walz is showing up on short lists as a viable running mate for Kamala Harris. if she ascends from vice president to replace Biden.. Others being talked about in backrooms:
> Gavin Newsom, California governor.
> J.B. Pritzker, Illinois governor.
> Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania governor.
> Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan governor.
Backroom and cloakroom chatter
It’s all speculation, of course – and no consensus. Walz, for example, has found his name on veep lists in the New Republic magazine and CNN. Forbes magazine, however, mentions Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota but not Walz. Neither Newsweek magazine nor the New York Times lists either Walz or Klobuchar. On lists or not, Callaghan notes that Walz is among kingmakers in national Democratic circles. He co-chairs the Democratic National Committee rules committee. He served six terms in Congress. He’s chair if he Democratic Governors Association. He’s been elected twice as governor of Minnesota.
Callaghan. At MinnPost since 2004. Earlier in Washington state at the Tacoma News Tribune. His focus as a columnist: Public affairs, open government, politics, education policy, urban policy, historic preservation.
Walz. He demurs on the vice presidential speculation: “It’s an honor but these things are parlor games. I’m serving Minnesota first.”
Verbatim
Walz: “We are not a party that all wears red hats and marches to the same drummer, Knowing the threat of a second Trump presidency far outweighs the discussions we’re having now. At this point in time, if President Biden says he’s going forward, then that’s where I’m at. I’m working with him.”
Walz attractions
For Walz to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, Biden would have either to resign the presidency or to lose the party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention beginning August 19 in Chicago. Walz would have demographic attractions to balance the ticket. He’s white, she’s black. He’s male, she’s female. He’s a Midwesterner, she’s a Californian. Too, Walz is a good campaigner – well and clearly spoken. He inspires trust. On issues Walz a moderate reformer whose values tyat would work well with Harris: Firm on women’s rights, gun reform, and wider voting access. He has no patience with presumptive GOP candidate Donald Trump’s name-calling and campaign demonizing, nor Trump’s white supremacy and dictatorial and isolationist values. And unlike Trump, Walz has no criminal baggage, aside from a 1995 speeding ticket in Nebraska.
Minnesota’s been there before
‘For what it’s worth, Callaghan jokes in his MinnPost column that Minnesota is the land of 10,000 vice presidents – “two anyway.” Walter Mondale was vice president under Jimmy Carter and Hubert Humphrey under Lyndon Johnson.
R.I.P.: Walter Kujak
WINONA, Minn. – Walter J. Kujak, 64, of Winona, known as Wally and also King and Rock for his muscles, died at the Mayo Hospital in La Crosse. Over his life, he was employed in 15 different places around Winona. His family said he found joy in simple pleasures. This included music, especially classic rock and country. He jammed to music even when fishing.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1959-1024
Utica collision on U.S. 14 injures man, child
UTICA, Minn. – A man and boy were injured in a two-vehicle accident onU.S. Highway 14 near the State Highway 33 exit to Altura and Whitewater State Park. Although not appearing seriously hurt, they were taken 32 miles to a Rochester hospital to be sure. Neither the man, Franklin Najera, age 26, nor the boy, 7, had identification with a hometown. They were in a 2014 Ford Focus eastbound toward Lewiston and Winona. The driver of the other vehicle, Caleb Andrew Schultz, 32, of Lewiston, was unhurt. He was driving a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado, also was heading east. The crash was about 9:20 p.m.
Sunny driveways lure first rattlers
WINONA, Minn. – A snake-handler removed two rattlesnakes enjoying a warm driveway on Garvin Heights in the afternoon, and then a third in the evening at a home behind the Hy-Vee grocery store on the West End. These were the first rattlesnake calls of the season to Winona police. The first call, in the 1400 block of Highland Drive, about 2:55 p.m. The second call, in the 1800 block of Edgewood Road, was about 8:15 p.m. A trained handler relocated the snakes far away.
Guy dragged from Kwik Trip bathroom by armpits
WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a man who locked himself in a women’s lavatory at a Kwik Trip and refused repeated requests to come out. After officers used a master key to open the door, they recognized the man. It was Schamar Joshua Raines. The night before he had been evicted after eight complaints of disorderly conduct at East End establishments. The new incident was at the Kwik Trip at Huff and Sarnia streets. Clerks said the man had picked sunglasses off a rack but not paid and then raised a ruckus. Scared customers retreated to back aisles and clerks into a storage room. Police were called about 3:30 p.m. Once officers opened the bathroom with a shift manager’s key, Raines still wouldn’t come out. Told was under arrest, Raines refused to put his hands behind his back to be cuffed, police said. . A second officer took him to the floor. He yelled and screamed and tensed up but was overcome and cuffed, then escorted out of store by his armpits. He was booked about 4:30 p.m. Charges: Disorderly conduct, alarming customers and staff, trespassing, and resisting arrest.
Earlier: This guy kept cops busy all night
Knock, knock: “You believe in second chances?”
WINONA, Minn. – Authorities received several complaints about a man knocking at doors in residential areas and asking whoever answered if they believed in second chances. A deputy later found the man walking on U.S. Highway 61. His family was at a loss to explain the behavior. They took the man home. Nobody complained of having been threatened, just disturbed at what seemed an entree for begging.
Truck downs County Road 11 power pole
RIDGEWAY, Minn. — A truck with a semi-trailer knocked down a power line south of Ridgeway on County Road 11. No one was injured, a deputy said.
Handgun missing from over-road truck
ALTURA, Minn. — A long-distance trucker reported discovering a handgun missing from the cab of his truck after arriving home in Altura. He told deputies he wasn’t sure whether the gun was stolen or just missing. Nor did he have any idea where the loss occurred. He had been on the road several days. He said the weapon was a Rugger EC9, an 18-ounce so-called pocket rocket. Deputies entered he gun in a national registry of missing weapons.
Girlfriend: He came at me with scissors
WINONA, Minn. – A woman called police that her boyfriend had turned delusional and came at her with a scissors. The boyfriend had fled in his car, she said. She believed he had left town. The woman, who is pregnant, said she was frightened but not injured. The call was received by police about 8:40 a.m. from the 100 block of Jedernan Drive in Gilmore Valley.
Mystery truck rams backyard brickwork, leaves
STOCKTON, Minn. – A pickup truck, apparently out of control, crashed into a backyard and rammed a brick wall. The truck turned around and drove off. This was about 4 a.m. in the 8900 residential block of East Ninth Street. The investigating deputy classified the incident as a hit-and-run. The only description of the truck was that it was dark, the deputy said.
Public invited inside Trempealeau dam’s lock
TREMPEALEAU, Wis. – The Army Corps of Engineers is hosting an open house at its Mississippi River lock and dam at Trempealeau on Saturday. Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Visitors can get a behind-the-scenes view of the 88-year-old structure and its Industrial Era mechanics. The occasion is part of Trempealeau’s annual Catfish Days celebration.
State Fair’s food fare /4
August 22 to September 2
Nixtamal and wild rice bowl. Corn prepared in a traditional method and wild rice bowl with wozapi and bison meatballs or sweet potato dumplings, with an option to add cricket and seed mix. Gluten-free. Available August 28 to September 2. At Midtown Global Market’s Indigenous Food Lab in the International Bazaar, east wall
Chicken and chorizo paella. Traditional Spanish caramelized rice dish with leeks, red bell peppers, zucchini and snap peas. Option to add fried egg or seafood. Also aguas frescas in six flavors made from fruit puree, whole fruit, lime juice, agave and water. Gluten-free. Dairy-free. At Paella Depot on the south side of Judson Avenue between Clough and Nelson streets
Earlier: State Fair’s food fare /3
R.I.P.: Beverly Luehmann
LEWISTON, Minn. – Beverly Irene “Blakeslee” Luehmann, 91, of Lewiston, a cook at Immanuel Lutheran School at Silo, died in her house in the wood. Early in her career she was a Winona County extension home agent. She held a home economics degree from the University of Minnesota. She was active in the Silo Serenaders Kitchen Band. For many years she delivered Meals On Wheels. She was a 4-H adult leader and displayed animals at the Winona County Fair. She and her husband, Bob, were the Fair king and queen one year.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1933-2024
News summary at mid-week: July 10, 2024
CRIME: $500,000 bail in motor repair shop stabbing
CRIME: Trooper charged in fatal Rochester wreck
COLLEGES: WSU error led to false “active shooter” alert
HEALTH: Dakota healthcare giant absorbs Marshfield Clinic
POLITICS: A Minnesota call for Biden to end campaign
RIVER: Coast Guard bans Upper Mississippi boating
This guy kept cops busy all night
WINONA, Minn. – A man, new in town and apparently homeless, was evicted eight times from hotel lobbies and other 24/7 places near the Highway 61 roundabout on the Far East End. It started abuot 5 p.m. when police took a call from the Plaza hotel that a man was harassing staff and guests. Police escorted Shamar Joshua Raines outside and issued a no-trespass order effective for a year and sent him on his way. Then there was another call, and another. Raines kept popping up at other businesses and being unruly. Finally, about 11 p.m., Raines was reported rummaging through a vehicle. He claimed the car was his, but police quickly ascertained it wasn’t. In all of this, police said Raines appeared sober and not needing medical attention. He was ticketed again and told the consequences of further trespass and unwelcome incidents would mean not a mere ticket but arrest as a habitual offender.
Raines. Age 40. Said he was from Minneapolis.
Driver’s blood-alcohol three times too much
WINONA, Minn. – A Wisconsin man ran a stop sign on the East Side and was jailed for driving drunk. The blood-alcohol level of Collin William Grosskopf, 24, of West Salem, tested at 0.23%, police said. That’s almost triple what’s permitted. The traffic stop was about 10:45 p.m. at Fourth and Hamilton streets. Grosskopf admitted drinking, police said.
Grosskopf. Symptoms cited: Blurry eyes, slurry speech, wobbliness.
UTV roll-over claims rural Ettrick man
ETTRICK, Wis. — A 76-year-old man. John Larson. was found dead pinned under his all-terrain vehicle in a field up Larson Coulee off the dead-end Francis Lane. This was about 6:25 p.m. near the Jackson County line Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson declined to release the man’s name, per his habit, but the death was confirmed by family.
$500,000 bail in motor repair shop stabbing
WINONA, Minn. – Bail was set at$500,000 for an Alaska man accused of an unprovoked stabbing at a Winona motor repair shop. Stig Ure, 25, appeared before visiting Judge Kevin Lund in a video hook-up from jail. A further appearance was ordered two weeks out. The criminal complaint presented to Judge Lund alleged these previously unreported details of the crime and the subsequent manhunt:
> Ure had been released from an inpatient substance abuse rehab in Washington in June.
> Ure had been at LaCrosse hospital earlier in the day and left on foot and called his mother in Caledonia to pick him up on the Poke between LaCrosse and LaCrescent, where she met Ure and a mental health worker. They proceeded then to the Winona hospital.
> Earlier in the day a pocketknife had been confiscated from Ure. He may still have had a pen which police suspected was the stabbing weapon.
> Ure had been hanging around at Gerard’s Small Engine Repair shop oo Junction Street about 45 minutes. As closing time approached, was told him he had to leave.
> Ure had a dark grey pen his possession when arrested four hours later.
> Ure remained uncooperative while being booked at jail. It was impossible, officers said, to get a standard pre-incarceration mug shot until the next day.
Ure. Accused of stabbing an employee in a shop. Also of attempting to west a gun from a police officer in a later tussle at hospital.
Police gear on display at County Fair gate
Come touch the truck. Kids got a close look at police and rescue vehicles, inside even, at the main gate the Winona County Fair in St. Charles. It was the Fair’s Law Enforcement Day.
Boy meets dog. It was a treat for the K-9 officer Doc from his handler, Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Carlson, and also a treat for kids who happened by.
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