“May the force be with you”: Get it? Get it?
“Star Wars” forever. A creative mind at the Winona tourism agency photo-shopped this somewhat grim image of the Death Star looming behind Sugar Loaf and posted it online on May Fourth. And May the Force be with you.
College scores
Baseball: Winona State 6, Wayne State of Nebraska 1
Baseball: Winona State 9, Wayne State of Nebraska 5
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 2, St, Scholastica 0
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 7, St, Scholastica 3
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 11, UW-Eau Claire 1
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse 10, UW-Eau Claire 2
Lacrosse: UW-LaCrosse 16, UW-River Falls 8
Softball: Saint Mary’s 3, Hamline 2
Softball: Saint Mary’s 4, Hamline 2
Farmer pulls car from ditch; driver not out of woods
NODINE, Minn. – A deputy responding to a report of a car in a ditch off County Road 5 along Pine Creek couldn’t locate it but then spotted it being driven a ways down the road. The driver, Shawn Christoher Mattson, 53, of LaCrescent, said a farmer had pulled him out. The explanation made sense, the deputy said, despite significant signs of impairment — blood-shot and watery eyes, slurred speech, and breath heavy with alcohol. Also, the deputy said, Mattson had problems with balance and dexterity. The deputy called an ambulance to take Mattson to the Winna to be checked for injuries from the accident. He was OK. He refused a blood-alcohol test but one was taken anyway. Results from the state crime lab were being awaited.
New Deer Zombie case in western Wisconsin
ELMWOOD, Wis. — A wild deer in Pierce County was found to have fatal, infectious nervous system CWD disease. The doe, estimated to be 4 or 5 years old, old, was found sick about 30 miles east of Prescott, which is at the confluence of the Mississippi and St Croix rivers. The Wisconsin wildlife agency ordered a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Pierce County. A two-year was ordered for neighboring St. Croix County. A ban in Dunn County was renewed.
Winona driver, Iowa driver hurt in collision
LAKE CITY, Minn. – Two drivers were injured in a two-vehicle collision at a badly angled U.S. Highway 63 intersection near the Oak Center hamlet. A Winona man, Lawrence Anthony Reuter, 80, was taken 30 miles to a Rochester hospital. Michael Leon Hall, 56, of St. Charles, Iowa, also was taken to Rochester. Injuries to both men were described by Wabasha County deputies as non-life threatening. One vehicle burned up in the crash. The accident was about 3:10 p.m. nine miles southwest of Lake City. Road surfaces were dry. Deputies said Reuter was was headed west on County Road 16 in a 2001 Chrysler minivan. Hall was headed north toward Lake City on Highway 63 in a 1994 Chevrolet Silverado pickup.
New to the new Toad’s Cove: Gourmet popcorn
CENTERVILLE, Wis. – The convenience store Toad’s Cover, leveled by fire a year ago, plans a soft re-opening within two weks and a grad opening on Memorial Day weekend. “We’re back better,” said co-owners Andy and Traxy Todd. What’s new? Try the gourmet popcorn, they said.
Earlier: Yes, toads too rise from the ashes
Aid available to build minority teaching corps
WINONA, Minn. – The Winona School District is looking for people of color who aspire to a teaching career. The district has a $300,000 state grant to help minority group members earn teaching licenses. So far there is only one participant, said Superintendent Brad Berzinski. Although the participant is a school employee, community members are eligible, Berzinski said. The grant runs five years. Stipends include tuition, supplies and also living expenses to help candidates holding down jobs while pursuing coursework. The number of minority teachers in Winona schools is far short of the 21% minority student level.
Winona art teacher up for national award
WINONA, Minn. – A teacher at Bluffview Montessori School, Shelly Merchlewitz, reached the third level in America’s Favorite Teacher competition sponsored by Reader’s Digest magazine. The final will by popular vote online for $25,000. Merchlewitz been teaching 20 years.
Details: America’s Favorite Teacher
Merchlewitz. Also helps students in math and reading.
Judge wants briefs on pre-trial Fravel issues
WINONA, Minn. – Judge Nancy Buytendorp issued a timetable for the next steps in the murder case against Adam Fravel:
> May 17: Fravel’s attorney to submit written arguments for a venue change and other issues raised in recent pre-trial hearings
> May 31: Prosecutors to respond.
> June 10: Buytendorp to rule on the issues.
Fravel, age 30, is expectde to go on trial in the fall for the 2023 death of Maddi Kingsbury and concealing her body in the woods.
St. Cloud State president clears out office
ST. CLOUD. Minn. — The president of St. Cloud State University, Robbyn Wacker, resigned suddenly and said it was her last day. Wacker, age 67, had been scheduled to retire this summer. Her decision came on the eve of new budget cuts with expected faculty layoffs. Among Wacker’s controversies has been hiring a Texas-based for-profit company, Academic Partnerships, to provide online classes.
Wacker. At St. Cloud State six years. Enrollment: 10,000. Budget: $200 million.
Slicing through the morning fog
Murky commute. No, not London.. Through pea soup on U.S. Highway 14 in Stockton at 35 mph if you dare. lmage: Steve Lunde
Notable journalism
Madeline Heim (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 3, 2024): “Five Things to Know about the Mississippi Flyway as Spring Migration Begins”
Nathaniel Nelson (Winona Post, September 27, 2021): ”Father Battles Kidney Failure”
Blake Sheldon (Big River magazine, May-June 2024): “The Return of the 17-Year Cicada”
Amid Gaza crises elsewhere, local colleges copasetic
ROCHESTER, Minn. – The president of Rochester Community and Technical College, Jeffery Boyd, has reached out to fellow college leaders about finding a balance between campus free expression and protests that carry potential for disruption and violence. Specifically Boyd said he has has initiated dialogue with President Ken Janz at Winona State and Lori Carrell at UM-Rochester. None of the southeast Minnesota campuses has had the anti-Israel protests that have put several universities into gridock. Boyd’s spokesperson, Nathan Stoltman, issued a statement that although RCTC has yet to experience disruptions regarding Middle East issues, the college is prepared to address those issues with a cross-campus group of faculty and staff should they come forward.
Verbatim
Stoltman: “The diversity of our students and employees is one of our most important assets, and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion makes our college stronger. We fully support freedom of speech and freedom of expression. A marketplace of ideas and diversity of opinions is an essential part of the learning experience we offer to our students. There is no conflict in our commitment to both of these principles– in fact, they are both essential to the higher education experience. We welcome opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to engage with others on local, national and global issues with civil and engaged expression. Doing so presents an opportunity to build a better,” stronger and more diverse and welcoming community. We believe in the right to peaceful protest as a means of advocating for social change.” However, we reject violence and lawlessness in any form as an expression of protest. Instead, we encourage students, faculty, and staff to engage with others according to the law with mutual respect, civility, empathy and courage, and in a way that is not substantially disruptive.
Federal food agency to Walmart: Recall beef
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The retailer Walmart recalled 16,000 pounds ground beef for possible E.coli contamination. Recalled were patties and trays of ground beef, ground chuck and ground sirloin. The meat was distributed nationally in the 4,600-store chain. No illnesses have been reported so far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Symptoms: Severe stomach cramps and diarrhea usually three to four days after eating.
Inside Minnesota’s dark legacy of hate
When the Klan wielded influence. Historian and librarian Nancy Vaillancourt, of Owatonna, shares lessons from the 1920s, At Winona Library at 5 p.m., Thursday. Free.
Riverview thoroughfare yields another DWI
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver stumbled through a field sobriety test and was charged with being drunk at the wheel. Christian Lee Kauphusman, 56, was stopped about 10:40 p.m. on Riverview Drive near the fleeting harbor. His eyes were bloodshot and watery like those of a drunk, police said. His blood-alcohol level tested at 0.11% — almost 1-1/2 times what’s allowed.
College scores
Softball: UM-Duluth 4, Winona State 3
House bill requires guns be locked up
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Democrat-controlled Minnesota House passed a “safe storage” gun bill 68-64 that would ban storing firearms unless they’re unloaded and trigger-locked. Guns in a locked storage unit or gun room would be allowed. The requirement needs Senate approval. Republicans were thwarted in several attempts to dilute the requirement with amendments. Representative Peggy Scott, R-Andover, objected to safe storage: “Many women practice over and over, how can I get to my firearm the quickest, playing out scenarios in our minds of somebody breaking in on us.” Any delay in getting to a firearm would be unconscionable, Scott said. Kelly Moller, D-Shoreview, rebutted that greater risk would allowing multiple loaded guns around the house where a child might have easy access. Also, said Moller, nothing in the proposed law would prevent women from being prepared to defend themselves. How southeast Minnesota delegates voted:
For strict gun storage
Kim Hicks of Rochester (D-25A).
Tina Liebling of Rochester (D-24B).
Gene Pelowski of Winona (D-26A).
Andy Smith of Rochester (D-25B).
Against
Pam Altendorf of Red Wing (R-20A).
Greg Davids of Preston (R-26B).
Steve Jacob of Elba (R-20B).
Patricia Mueller of Oakdale (R-23B).
Duane Quam of Byron (R-24A).
Brian Pfarr of LeSueur (R-22B).
Bad brakes burn up on school bus
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – Firefighters evacuated six school kids from a bus whose brake calipers overheated and broke into flames. No one was injured. The driver steered the smoking bus off the road. Firefighters used hand-held extinguishers to put out the flmes. No smoke entered the cabin. A spare. bus got the kids home.
Gaza tensions ease at UM; tents coming down
Drizzly day. Palestinian protesters began pulling up their tent stakes on the University of Minnesota after administrators agreed to negotiate demands on severing ties with Israel. Within two hours, the tents were gone.
10 days later, closed academic buildings re-open
MINNEAPOLIS – Protesters against the Israel war on Gaza agreed to end their encampment at the University of Minnesota in exchange for dialogue with university regents on divesting the university’s investments in Israel. Jeff Ettinger, interim university resident, announced the agreement. Campus buildings that were closed as a precaution earlier this week would reopen at noon, Ettinger said. Also, he said that protesters agreed not to disrupt upcoming final exams or commencement ceremonies. The meeting with regents is scheduled is scheduled for May 10. The agreement with protesters included a pledge by the university to lobby the city prosecutor for leniency for protesters arrested last week. Nine people, mostly current or former students, were taken to jail for trespassing by setting up tents on campus without permission.
Verbatim
Ettinger: “While there is more work to do, and conversations are still planned with other student groups affected by the painful situation in Palestine, I am heartened by today’s progress. It grew out of a desire among those involved to reach shared understanding. While we do not condone tactics that are outside of our policies, we appreciate student leaders’ willingness to engage in dialogue. I value the challenging and healthy conversations we’ve had.”
Ettinger. Interim UM chancellor since July. Former Hormel chief executive. Ran for southern Minnesota’s Congressional seat in 2022.
Verbatim
Fae Hodges, pro-Palestinian activist: “The coalition is cautiously optimistic. We are not putting our trust in administration. We are putting our trust in ourselves. And that is why we needed a seat at the table, and we would not leave yesterday’s negotiations without a full promise that we would continue to have our voices heard throughout this process.”
Verbatim
Jewish Community Relations Council: “”The University’s capitulation sends a message that students who violate U of M policy, openly celebrate violence, and shut down campus are rewarded with time before the Regents and ‘regular meetings moving forward’ with the President’s office. By contrast, students targeted by antisemitism are apparently supposed to suffer silently, while their University appeases those very same activists who demonize Jews and Israelis.”
The difficulty of divestment
Although ending their campus encampment, protesters remained adamant that he university identify all its financial connections with Israel. The university, protesters say, has a moral obligation not to profit from entanglements with the Israel regime whose excesses in the Gaza war have killed thousands of civilians. None of this will be easy for the university. It has research and other scholarly research and educational commitments in Israel. Even trickier are financial investents by the university’s global fund-raising arm, the UM Foundation. Many investments are complex through intermediaries. Some are governed by confidentiality covenants. The Foundation’s assets, sometimes called an endowment, total $5.5 billion. For comparison:
> Harvard: $49.5 (largest in nation).
> University of Texas: $44.9 billion (largest among public colleges).
> University of Minnesota: $5.5 billion.
> University of Wisconsin: $3.8 billion.
> Medical College of Wisconsin: $1.7 billon.
> Carleton College: $1.2 billion (largest of Minnesota private colleges).
Truce after riot police tear out UW-Madison protest
MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin chancellor, Jennifer Mnookin, agreed to call off police to facilitate negotiations with ani-Israeli protesters who have ben camped out for days on the library mall. Both Mnookin and protesters said that there had been progress and tyat a new round of talks would occur within 24 hours. Meanwhile, there’s a truce The protesters jave been putting pressure on the university to break off ties with Israel, both governmental and corporate. The issue: Humanitarian abuses against Palestinians in Gaza, including 30,000 deaths. The UW protest had reached a critical point Wednesday about 7 a.m. police officers arrived at the mall and gave protesters 15 minutes to fold their tents and leave. When protesters refused, police tore down the tents. Scuffles followed. By 10 a.m. police had removed the encampment and left. Undeterred, protesters returned with more tents as then the day progressed.
Hand-to-hand combat. As pro-Palestine protesters resist massive a police initiative to clear out a week-long encampment outside the UW-Madison library. Some protesters taunted the police, but most went into passive resistance modes. Police pressed on behind riot shields and with billy clubs and handcuffs.
Woozy Chatfield driver eludes drunkenness charge
WINONA, Minn. – A police smelled alcohol in a traffic stop on the Far West End and asked the driver to step out. Collin Michael Klug. 20, of Chatfield, showed symptoms of impairment and failed field sobriety tests for balance and dexterity, the officer said. Breath tests showed Klug’s blood alcohol levels dancing between.07% and .08%, not clearly in an impairment range. He was cited for under-age consumption. The traffic stop was near Fifth and Leno streets about 1:55 a.m.
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Amtrak launches second daily Winona trains
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Single-level coaches and dinettes. Equipment will be drawn from Amtrak’s short-run Horizon fleet, as are other Midwest day trains out of the Chicago hub.
All aboard: “Borealis on Track 1 to St. Paul.” Or Chicago.
WINONA, Minn. – Beginning May 21 the passenger rail service Amtrak will have second daily round-trip train through Winona. It’s a name train, like in train travel’s heyday – the Borealis, after the spectacular northern lights in Minnesota night skies. The new Borealis Winona timetable, as well as the timetable of the current Chicago-to-West Coast Empire Builder:
To St.Paul
> Empire Builder: 4:36 p.m.
> Borealis: 8:40 p.m.
To LaCrosse, Milwaukee, Chicago
> Empire Builder: 11:01 a.m.
> Borealis: 1:40 p.m.
To St. Paul: 1 hour and 50 minutes.
A minimum Borealis consist will include a standard Horizon-class coach, with 76 to 82 seats; a handicap-accessible Horizon coach, with 72 seats and wheelchair space; and a Horizon dinette, with table seating for 32. More coaches ca be added to meet demand. There are two classes of seating — business, $98 for the full distance each way and $41 for coach. This is a day train, no sleepers. Generally a single locomotive pulls the train.
2-2 coach seating configuration. Business class is 2-1. The trip is 7 hours and 28 minutes between Chicago and St. Paul. At 448 mniutes, that’s in the neighborhood of the vaunted Chicago & Northwestern’s claim in the 1930s: “400 miles n 400 mutes.” Truth be told: The 400s never quite arrived on time. Close but no cigar.
Locomotive. The latest Siemens Charger engine is state of the art designed for a top speed of 125 mph. Midwest tracks, however, have a 79 mph limit.
Horizon profile
Horizon-class intercity passenger cars, manufactured by Bombardier in Barre, Vermont, began Amtrak service in 1989. The design was based on the pre-Amtrak Comet-series cars built for the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in New Jersey. Most today run on routes out of Chicago to Carbondale, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Quincy, Port Huron, Springfield and St Louis.
Earlier: Summer target for new Winona train
News summary at mid-week: May 1, 2024
SCHOOLS: School shooter killed by police in Mount Horeb
HEALTH: Gundersen Health rebrand: “emplify” with lower-case “e”
GOVERNANCE: GOP: Scratch remodeling State Office Building
GOVERNANCE: Senate GOP fails to neuter Mitchell as deciding vote
ENVIRONMENT: Crops in ground a tad earlier than 2023
REMEMBRANCE: R.I.P.: Andy Kuklinski
CRIME: Fravel attorney makes case to relocate trial
CRIME: Somebody really hates those rental scooters
College scores
Softball: UW-LaCrosse 6, UW-Stout 2
Softball: UW-LaCrosse 8, UW-Stout 0
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