Minnesota prep
New personnel director at Winona schools
WINONA, Minn. – A career educator, Dawn Waller Lueck, has been appointed human resources director for Winona public schools. Her experience includes personnel issues, policy review and contract negotiations. The past two years Lueck has been a school administrator in Stillwater. Prior to that, she was an elementary principal more than six years in Winona schools – at Washington-Kosciusko and Rollingstone. She also has been assistant principal and administrator in Rochester, a principal with Winona Catholic schools, and an English teacher in Lewiston-Altura schools. Back in Winona as personnel director, Lueck said she wants to help create a cohesive and supportive environment where people feel good about coming to work. She replaces Emily Solheid, who left in a career move.
Lueck. Salary at $115,700.
Tri-wheel motorcyclist hurt in crash
WINONA Minn. — A Winona man riding a three-wheel motorcycle was injured when another vehicle pulled out of a sideroad on the Far East End. Taken to the Winona hospital with sustainable injuries was Dale Troy Klabo, age 72. The collision was about 3:30 p.m. on U.S. 61 at Bundy Boulevard. Police said that Klabo was heading south toward Homer on a 2015 CanAm Spyder Roadster. He was wearing a helmet, police said. The other vehicle, a 2013 Ford Explorer, was driven by Nevaeh Dashay Johnson. 19, of Green Bay. Neither she nor a passenger, Eli Richard Zeller, 12, was hurt.
Flags to remain lowered through Tuesday memorial
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz extended his order for flags to be at half-staff through Tuesday in memory of slain Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell. A memorial service is planned for Tuesday. The governor’s order applies to all state buildings. He invites other to also lower flags to half-staff.
Winds cause power failure on Garvin Heights
WINONA, Minn. – Winds snapped power lines on East Lake Boulevard and ripped off tree limbs and blocked three streets along the bluffs overnight. Power went out to the Garvin Heights neighborhood about 4 a.m. Xcel repair crews were still working to restore electricity to sme homes nine hours later.
Flanagan licks ice cream to show milk safe
EYOTA, Minn. – Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan marked National Dairy Month at the super-size Gar-Lin dairy farm and showed how safe she views the milk supply. As news cameras rolled, Flanagan treated herself to an ice cream cone. Her Gar-Lin visit came a day after the state reported that bird flu had made its way into a dairy herd 160 miles north in Benton County. State veterinarian Brian Hoeff had immediately issued a statement that precautions were being taken to assure that store-bought milk was not at risk. The point was reiterated by Flanagan: “Our job is to make sure that we’re telling Minnesotans that milk is safe to drink,” Her flavor: Vanilla dipped in chocolate on a waffle cone.
Lieutenant Governor. Partaking of a dairy end product at Eyota photo opp.
No Winona child need be hungry over summer
WINONA, Minn. –The Winona school system again will offer free summer meals to all children 18 and under in Winona — regardless if they attend a WAPS school. The meals are offered through a federal program. A bus will be parked outside of the Bob Welch Aquatic Center four days a week beginning Monday. Another vehicle will make stops at Windom Park, Sinclair Park and the public library. Meals also will be offered at Winona Middle School, Goodview Elementary and the Winona Area Learning Center.
Lunch with their buddies. This was last summer at the Bob Welch Aquatic Center.
Notable journalism
Rachel Mergen (Winona Daily News, June 1, 2024): “Retired Winona County Dentists Awarded for Advocacy, Dedication to Dental Care”
Eric Min (KTTC, May 28, 2024): “Rollingstone’s Road to Restoration One Week after Tornado”
Chris Rogers (Winona Post, June 5, 2024): “New Frac Mine Proposed Near Rushford”
Petty, petty, petty, petty, petty, petty theft
WINONA, Minn. – House detectives at Walmart said a Winona woman got by stealing snacks on April 6 and came back a few days later and did it again and then again and again. It became a habit, the detectives said, showing video surveillance tapes to police. Six times over 12 days, according to the tapes, Kyla Unique Lee, 21, of Winona, shoplifted items — mostly snacks worth $4 to $13 each tme. She was mailed six separate citations, each with its own fine. Those ended up being expensive snacks. Also she was told she was unwelcome at Walmart and told to stay away for a year.
Prosecutor: No action on Rochester racial slur
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A single-word racial slur plastered across a pedestrian overpass in northeast Rochester will not be prosecuted. County Attorney Mark Ostrem said he cannot find either a necessary burden of proof or evidence of damage to file charges. In a 988-word statement, Ostrem made these points:
> Historically the overpass has been a message board, “a canvas for messaging,” to promote activities at nearby Century High School.
> Although offensive, the racially derogatory message caused no damage to the bridge.
> The community quickly removed the racial slur and posted “a message of healing.”
> Although investigators learned almost immediately who the perpetrators were, the information was provided confidentiallu and was unlikely to stand up in court.
> Laws against hateful messages criminalize assaultive behavior due to a victim’s race, but the overpass message was not an assault as defined by statute.
Ostrem outlined these details of the April 14 incident:
> A driver saw the slur spelled out in plastic cups on the pedestrian bridge over East Circle Drive.
> A state trooper who drove by also saw the slur and immediately removed it.
> Rochester police identified three 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old believed to have rearranged an existing paper-cup message to spell out the racial slur.
“Fighting words” doctrine
Ostrem acknowledged that the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution forbids the governent shutting dwn free expression but noted too an exception called the Fighting Words doctrine.” He effered this analysis: “The United States Supreme Court has decades of rulings shaping the fighting words doctrine. Free speech does not protect fighting words, those that by their very utterance would inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace. In this evolution, various words, expressions and acts have been evaluated and found to be protected “free speech.” Context of the expression is a key element. If the expression is seen as a direct insult to someone or invitation to “fight,” it is not protected. Lacking an identifiable “recipient” of the expression changes the context of the April 14 expression and falls into a First Amendment protection. The racial slur in this case was particularly offensive. Few other offensive words are so closely associated with a history of violence. But even this very offensive word is not automatically a fighting word in every context. The message was left on the bridge without any other context, and the juveniles fled the scene before it could be discovered. Although the message would obviously offend anyone who saw it, a fact finder would not reasonably expect it to provoke a breach of the peace. The people who drove beneath the sign at dawn would not reasonably be expected to break the peace or commit offenses in response. The message on the footbridge was protected speech.”
Ostrem. In 17th year as Olmsted County county attorney. A1997 graduate of Mitchell Hamline law School. Undergrad degree in business from UW-Platteville. Re-elected to latest four-year term in 2022.
Century High. One of three public high schools in Rochester. At 525 Viola Road. Enrolment 1,700 in Grades 8-12.
Verbatim
Ostrem: “I am deeply disturbed that anyone in this community could be so oblivious to find humor or enjoyment in this type of conduct. We are better than that. But we evaluate incidents based on the law, not our internal responses to the event. We will continue to work with leaders in the community to help us grow through this event.”
R.I.P.: Karen Siebenaler
ONALASKA, Wis.. – Mona Ann (Jilk) Siebenaler, of Onalaska, who was born in Winona, died at age 81. She enjoyed shopping, old mystery movies, and had a great memory for old actors and actresses, her family said.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1942-2024
R.I.P.: Gregory Lexchel
WINONA, Minn. – Gregory J. Lexchel, age 70, of Winona, a precision tool and die maker with IBM and Hutchinson Technology, died at home. He was a drummer for several bands over the years. He donated time to Habitat for Humanity and as a Salvation Army bell-ringer. He was a firearms enthusiast and enjoyed the shooting range.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1954-2024
News summary at mid-week: June 5, 2024
GOVERNANCE: Minnesota bans speed-squeeze gun triggers
GOVERNANCE: Setback for Fleet Farm in illegal gun case
CONSTRUCTION: Rising on the river: With views from the top
CRIME: Official: Name released in Ettrick highway murder
CRIME: Cops, vastly outnumbered, shut down bonfire party
CRIME: Teen arrests pending over racist display
CRIME: Minneapolis police-killer had rap sheet
CRIME: Hot pursuit ends suddenly in Kellogg sandpile
ENVIRONMENT: Tanker truck overturns on U.S. 14, spills chemicals
SCHOOLS: Nobody files for Winona Schools seat
SCHOOLS: Project aims to counter summer knowledge loss
POLITICS: Kruger joins billboard battle for August votes
POLITICS: Black River salon message: Politics not spoken here
POLITICS: Official: Candidates with hats in ring for 2024
POLITICS:Democrats vote to keep Klobuchar in Senate
FLAMES: Fire crew cools super-hearted Qdoba gas line
FLAMES: Cellphone burns up at hotel; fire crew called
COMMERCE: Winona home sales in May 2024
RESCUE: Canoe overturns off Latsch Island; pair rescued
Minnesota prep
A john’s plea deal accepts psycho-sexual exam
ROCHESTER, Minn. — One of seven men charged in a police prostitution sting in April, Michael Kinyon, 21, of Rochester, pleaded guilty. Kinyon told a judge he would undergo psycho-sexual evaluation pending sentencing in exchange for leniency. Sentencing has been scheduled for December.
Kinyon. Saw sex-for-a-fee advertisement and went for it. The ad was a fake placed by police, who were waiting.
Emergency, fire crews make 43 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 28 emergency medical calls plus 15 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, June 4: 6 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Monday, June 3: 1 medical call plus 6 fire calls.
> Sunday, June 2: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Saturday, June 1: 2 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Friday, May 31: 1 medical call plus 1 fire call.
> Thursday, May 30: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, May 29: 4 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 83 calls
Bird flu infection found in Minnesota cattle
FOLEY, Minn. – The dreaded bird flu, which forced the euthanasia of thousands of Minnesota turkeys and other fowl in 2022, has crossed species to cattle. State veterinarian Brian Hoeff said several dozen cows are sick on a farm northeast of St. Cloud near Foley. “It was only a matter of time,” Hoeff said. In March the flu was found in a Texas dairy herd. Also: A Michigan dairy worker has tested positive with mild eye symptoms. At this time, Hoeff said, farmers should destroy milk from infected animals. Also, he said, infected cows should be quarantined 30 days. The public risk is low, though Hoeff noted that people who work with infected animals could be at risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found inactive traces of the virus in the milk supply but says that pasteurized dairy products safe.
Hoeff. State veterinarian.
Car amuck, truck amuck up Garvin Valley
WILSON, Minn. – First a driver ignored a construction barricade and got mired in mud on Gilmore Valley Road. Then a tow truck got stuck. Finally a second tow truck pulled both vehicles to dry ground. A sheriff’s deputy issued a citation to the first driver. This was about 3 a.m. near Saddle Road – not far off Highway 43.
Earlier: Gallantry awry: Wife’s car stuck in mud, his too
Nobody files for Winona Schools seat
WINONA, Minn. – School Board member Stephanie Smith, torn whether to seek a second term, finally decided not to. Apparently nobody else was much interested either. By the deadline to file for candidacy Tuesday, nobody had. The question now: Will write-in candidates come forward?
District 3. Comprised of downtown, WSU and entire East Side.
Smith. Leaving School Board after four years.
R.I.P.: Taylor Harris
WINONA, Minn. – Taylor Austin Harris, 51, of Winona, who held a degree in accounting from Minnesota State College Southeast, died at Watkins Manor of cancer. She was a 1990 graduate of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School. She studied at Saint Mary’s University as well at Minnesota State Southeast. She worked at Saint Mary’s, Pizza Productions, Technigraph, Winona Daily News, Target, A&W, Fleet Farm, and Arby’s.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1973-2024
R.I.P.: Kevin Gatzlaff
ALTURA, Minn. – Kevin Michael Gatzlaff, age 48, who grew up in Altura and who worked at Altura Hardware and Propane, his family business, died unexpectedly on a vacation cruise in the Bahamas. He held a degree from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In 2004, he moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University and earned a doctorate in risk management. He was associate editor of the Journal of Risk Education. In his Altura years he performed at The Cabin and with he band Hamill Road, which was booked widely in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Indiana he co-founded Aria’s Army, a non-profit that raised funds for the Fanconi Anemia Foundation.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1975-2024
Minnesota prep
Baseball: Cannon Falls Bombers 7, Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars 4
Baseball: Cannon Falls Bombers and Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars, postponed, weather
Baseball: Lyle/Austin Pacelli 3, Adams Southland Rebel 2 (fifth inning), postponed, weather
Tennis (boys): Virginia Rock Ridge Wolverines 4, Winona Cotter Ramblers3
Tennis (boys): Winona Cotter Ramblers 3, Glenwood Minnewaska Lakers 1
Charge: Serial public masturbation
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A 24-year-old man was arrested after police were told about a man exposing genitalia and in the lobby of the downtown high-rise Fontaine Towers. Tarius Seas also had been cited just hours earlier for for the same thing at a bus shelter – and also two weeks prior. The charge: A gross misdemeanor for indecent exposure.
Seas. Several incidents logged in recent days.
Assault charge: Woman bruised, bleeding
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man denied beating his live-in girlfriend but police arrested him anyway after seeing the girlfriend’s bloody forehead and face injuries. Arrested was Carl Dickalo Gipson, 49. He was located about 7:20 p.m. near the house where an assault had been reported. This was in the 150 block of Pleasant Hill Drive in the Knopp Valley neighborhood. Police quoted the woman that an argument had moved out of control and that Gipson pushed her over, which cracked open her forehead; stuck her in the head with a cellphone; and punched her in the face.
Gipson Booking charges include instilling fear and injury.
Official: Name released in Ettrick highway murder
ETTRICK, Wis. – The man killed in a gruesome murder on the highway between Ettrick and Galesville 2-1/2 weeks ago was Kyle Larry Dahl, 36, of Ettrick. Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson had kept the victim’s name under wraps 19 days but now changed his mind and released the name. Dahl had grown up around Ettrick. He was well known since his student days at the regional Galesville high school. Survivors include his wife Brittany and wo children. Meanwhile, Sheriff Semingson has jailed a suspect in the case but not released his name or any updates in the investigation.
Earlier: Cops jail suspect in drive-by Ettrick fatality
Dahl. Shot twice in his car driving home at night.
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