Prosecutor goes easy on drunk City Councilman
WINONA, Minn. – City Council member George Borzyskowski has gotten off the hook for drunken driving last November. Two charges of driving while intoxicated were dropped. Winona County’s attorney, Karin Sonneman, who is responsible for prosecuting crimes, denied affording favored treatment for Borzyskowski, who has been on the City Council 28 years. Sonneman explained that she sometimes drops drunken charges if the defendant’s blood-alcohol content was low and if they’ve been cooperative and acknowledged their mistake and have taken steps to address. About Borzyskowski, she told the Winona Post:
“Some people just blow it off and won’t take responsibility. Then there are other people, like Mr. Borzyskowski and many others, who recognize that they made a mistake and that they want to take the steps to not repeat it again. Those are the people we don’t see again. I don’t give people special treatment based on who they are, what they do. We look at the circumstances of the case, the evidence, the facts. Anybody who is cooperative, remorseful, takes steps to address whatever led them to the circumstances they found themselves in, whether [driving while intoxicated] or any other kind of case, I take those into consideration.”
A city police officer made the stop, at 1:23 a.m. on November 17. Borzyskowski, who was driving home, had failed to maintain his traffic lane and signaled for turns he never made. A sheriff’s deputy who arrived at the scene shortly thereafter said Borzyskowski smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes, and failed field sobriety tests. His blood-alcohol tested at 0.09% — 12-1/2% higher than the legal limit of 0.08%. The two charges of driving while intoxicated were dropped in a plea deal in exchange for pleading guilty to careless driving. For careless driving Borzyskowsk will serve 12 months of unsupervised probation and a $485 fine.
Sonneman. County prosecutor. Denies favoritism. Casts her decision as a judgment call. Says she looks at the totality of situations like Borzyskowski’s
Industrialist group honors Ashley’s Ron Wanek
ARCADIA, Wis. – The founder of Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture, Ron Wanek, was inducted into the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the state Chamber of Commerce.. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of home furnishings. Wanek, now 68, was born on a dairy farm outside Lewiston, Minnesota. He began manufacturing occasional tables in Arcadia in 1970 with money from selling his home and also a loan from his father. He since has established overseas plants mostly in China and Vietnam. Wanek is quick to point out, however, that Ashley does all it can to keep its base in the United States and Arcadia-centric Current annual revenue: $10.3 billion. Wanek is a major contributor to diabetes and heart research. He’s Republican. In 2012 Wanek, who lives in Florida, gave $1 million to help fund the Republican national convention in Tampa. In 2020 he gave contributed $840,000 to the Trump presidential campaign
Wanek. Early career with Winona Jndustries, then struck out on own with Ashley.
A fresh start at Centerville crossroads
Rising from rubble. Toad’s Cove in Centerville is taking new shape from the May 2023 fire that leveled the landmark convenience stop and coffee-klatch corner. At Highway 35 and 93. Andy and Tracy Todd haven’t set grand-opening date yet. Contactor DBS of Onalaska still has work to do. Image: Steve Lunde
Earlier: Cigarette blamed for Toad’s Cove destruction
Earlier: Yes, toads too rise from the ashes
Earlier: Fire levels Toad’s Cove near Centerville crossroads
News summary at mid-week: April 3, 2024
POLITICS: Biden’s Wisconsin party support beats Trump’s
GOVERNANCE: Pelowski: Too much grand-standing in Legislature
SPORTS: Tomah man leads insanity in holiday stabbing
CRIME: Pistol fired in West End street fight
CRIME: Winona inmate back to Wisconsin to face judge
CRIME: Pedestrian death update: Driver’s blood still in tests
CRIME: 17-1/2 years for dad for slaying toddler
CRIME: Feds crack down on Duluth drug trafficking
CRIME: Prison for Pine Island teacher-coach in sex case
CRIME: Judge: Would-be plane high-jacker mentally ill
Driver hurt when vehicle strikes power pole
SPRING VALLEY, Minn. – A Grand Meadow driver ran off the road and hit a power pole. Nikki Rae Heitland, 36, suffered non-life threatening injuries, a Fillmore County deputy said. Heitland was taken 30 miles to a Rochester hospital. The accident was about 10:20 p.m. on Highway 16 near the Mower-Fillmore county line. Heitland was heading north in a 2013 Chevrolet Impala. The deputy made these notes in writing up the report: Dry pavement, no seat belt, alcohol involved.
College scores
Baseball: UW-LaCrosse and Gustavus Adolphus, doubleheader, postponed
Blair man drowns in driveway ditch
BLAIR, Wis. – A rural man struck his head and died in a fall on his driveway north of town. Douglas LaMoine Nokken, 68, was dead when first-responders arrived. This was after dark about 9:50 p.m. Police said Nokken’s car had become stuck in the driveway. He got out and slipped down the slick embankment, hit his head on a culvert, lost consciousness apparently immediately, and drowned. Nokken’s\s wife, who was present, was unable to get him out of the water. This was in the North 3400 block of County Road S.
17-1/2 years for dad for slaying toddler
Entering court to see the judge. Dariaz Lewis Higgins had changed plea to guilty in the beating death of his 2-year-old daughter, leaving her body in his hotel room for days, then wrapping the body in a hotel blanket and dumping it roadside north of Austin. This was five years ago. Meanwhile, he’s been in a Wisconsin prison for murdering the girl’s mother.
Latest sentence concurrent with Wisconsin life term
AUSTIN Minn. — A 210-month prison sentence was ordered against a man accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter at an Austin hotel and several days later leaving her body in a roadside ditch during a blizzard. Dariaz Lewis Higgins, 40, had propose a plea deal, but Judge Natalie Martinez would have none of it. The sentence will be concurrent with a life sentence that Higgins already is serving in Wisconsin for slaying the child’s mother. This all was five years ago. For the Huggins, in orange jail coveralls. was strapped in a chair that a bailiff wheeled into the courtroom. Higgins was emotionless throughout the hearing. Asked whether he struck the child with closed fists in frustration, he gave a curt “yes.” No remorse was evident. He kept his head down most of the time. When Judge Martinez asked if he planned to disagree with the charges against him, Higgins answered, “No ma’am.”
Family testimony
An uncle and a grandmother to 2-year-old Noelani Robinson testified over the internet. The uncle said he struggles with post-traumatic syndrome almost every day from losing Noelina and her mother Sierra Robinson. Noelina’s grandmother told the court she was grateful that justice finally was being served.
Winona inmate back to Wisconsin to face judge
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man arrested for a shooting at a Bluff Siding bar over the weekend has agreed to return voluntarily to Wisconsin for prosecution. Damien Bryant Winn, 39, was arrested in Winona later in the morning. Because the shooting was across the river in Wisconsin, Winn faces charges there. Extradition paperwork for state-to-to-state prisoner transfers take time, and Winn was still in the Winona jail on Wednesday. Initial reports had the shooting outside George’s Bar.. The Buffalo County criminal complaint, however, says surveillance video showed the shooting inside. The video, according to the complaint, has Winn standing at a table near the front door and pulling a black handgun from a backpack. The footage also shows people scattering. The Buffalo Count charge: Assault intending great bodily harm and fleeing the scene. The victim was hospitalized with an abdomen wound.
Emergency, fire crews make 38 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 28 emergency medical calls plus 10 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, April 2: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire call.
> Monday, April 1: 4 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Sunday, March 31: 3 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Saturday, March 30: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire call.
> Friday, March 29: 5 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Thursday, March 28: 3 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, March 27: 3 medical calls plus no fire call.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 57 calls
Name change: Miss Winona pageant redubbed
Mikala Mohr. Reigning in 2022 Steamboat Days parade. With the title a $3,000 scholarship.
Other changes: A firmer Winona connection
WINONA, Minn. – The Miss Winona pageant has been rejiggered to exclude carpet-bagging contestants who shop around for local pageants for a foothold in quest of going to the pinnacle Miss America pageant. Beginning this summer contestants just be graduates of a school in Winona School District 861 or from Winona or living in Winona. This precludes Winona college students whi actually hail from elsewhere, said Mikaela Mohr, the current Miss Winona. The title is also changing: To Miss Winona Steamboat Days. The aim, Mohr siaid, is to move away from the traditional beauty contest format. Competitors will be judged on one-page essays and in-person interviews, she said. “There’s no fitness, there’s no talent, no evening gown,” she said. “t’s kind of pulled away from the pageantry side and more into scholarship and just furthering women’s education.”
School closings due to snow, ice
WINONA. Minn. – Hazardous road conditions disrupted school in a broad area of southeast Minnesota and adjoining areas of Wisconsin:
Harmony Fillmore Central: Closed. Daycare open at 6:30 a.m. SAC closed.
Houston. Closed.
Lanesboro: Closed.
Mabel-Canton: Closed.
Nodine St. John’s. Closed.
Onalaska: Closed.
Rollingstone: Two hours late.
Rushford-Peterson: Closed. Kids Club too.
Spring Grove: Closed.
Winona: Two hours late.
Winona Hope Lutheran: Two hours late.
Winona Ridgeway: Closed. Daycare open.
Winona Riverway: Two hours late.
Uppermost Army Corps locks open April 21
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Although the Army Corps declared the Upper Mississippi open to navigation on March 18, the ttwo uppermost locks, as always, will be a little later.The Lower St. Anthony Falls lock and Lock Number 1, both in Minneapolis, will open to commercial and recteational vessels on April 21, the Corps announcced. The Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in Minneapolis remains permanently closed.
R.I.P.: Betty Kanz
WINONA, Minn. – Betty A. Kanz, age 88, of Winona, who managed Lakeview Manor Apartments for 20 years, died at Lake Winona Manor. Her passion was gardening. Her amu said she loved the beauty and aroma.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1936-2024
Biden’s Wisconsin party support beats Trump’s
MADISON, Wis. — As expected, President Biden and ex-President Trump won their respective Democratic and Republican primaries in Wisconsin. Biden won 88% of the Democratic vote to strengthen his claim for delegates toward his nomination at the party’s national convention in Chicago. There was, however, a significant crack in support for Biden: 8% of Democrats withheld instructions to their delegates. This, said political analysts, symbolized concern about Israeli excesses in the Gaza war that Biden has failed to curb. Trump, although winning 79% in the GOP primary, also experienced less than unified support. Some 12% of Republican voters went instead for Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, even though she had dropped out.
College scores
Baseball: Saint Mary’s and Luther of Iowa, cancelled
Softball: Saint Mary’s and UW-River Falls, doubleheader, postponed
Winona city clerk heads state organization
WINONA, Minn. – The Winona city clerk, Monica Hennessy Mohan, has been elected president of the Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers Association of Minnesota. Earlier she was vice president and before that the secretary and the treasurer. Hennessy Mohan has worked for the city since 1998.
Hennessy Mohan. A Saint Mary’s University graduate.
Wrong gear at Onalaska grocery store
Shoppers scatter. No injuries. A mystery: How did this SUV end up, tailgate first, inside the front entrance of the festival Foods store in Onalaska. This was about 3 p.m.
Truck-car collision on I-90 ice injures Coloradoans
RIDGEWAY, Minn. – A man and woman from Colorado were injured when their car and a Peterbilt rig collided head-on on snow-covered Interstate 90 between the Houston and Nodine exits. Ryan Joseph Canton, 20, of Colorado Springs, was taken 24 miles to a LaCrosse hospital in medically in serious condition. Grace Elizabeth Carney, 21, from the Denver suburb of Englewood, was also take to a LaCrosse hospital, also with life-threatening injuries. They were heading west toward Rochester in a 2019 Honda CR-V. The truck, eastbound toward Wisconsin, was driven by Sean Aqel, 47, of Eagan. He was unhurt. The crash was about 1:10 p.m.
Winonan admits to charges from 2022 police standoff
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A former Pine Island man, now living in Winona, pleaded guilty to charges from a 10-hour stand-off with police in Pine Island. Technically it was a Norgaard plea. Michael Steven Molitor, 38, admitted responsibility but claimed no memory of what happened. Molitor said he had been drinking heavily before the incident – an entire 1.75-liter bottle. The criminal complaint alleged that Molitor had a military-style AR-15 rife and fired 20- plus rounds from a south Pine Island residence around which police had established a perimeter. Because of the Norgaard-qualified plea, some counts against Molitor likely will be dismissed. It’s a matter to be weighed by Olmsted County Judge Joseph Chase. The original counts:
> First-degree assault using deadly force against police.
> Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
> Terroristic threats.
> Committing a crime while wearing body armor.
Earlier: Saga of a 10-hour armed stand-off
Feds crack down on Duluth drug trafficking
DULUTH, Minn. – Federal agents broke a Chicago-based drug ring for a massive distribution system that included traffickers in Duluth and Hibbing, Superior and Virgnia. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger traveled to Duluth to announce indictments accusing eight people of conspiring and selling fentanyl and methamphetamine. Luger said he Duluth point person was Matthew James “EZ” Erickson, age35. Luger identified the leader as Cordero “Cash” Lucas, 32, of Chicago. Also indicted, all from Chicago
> Carl Maurice Brown, 32.
> Robert Desean Chism, 35.
> Anthony Lenard Green, 34.
> Arreal Dominique Timberlake, 30.
> Deandre Michael Westmoreland, 35.
> Pharoo Nasun Witherspoon, 35.
The investigation spanned 27 months beginning in 2021, Luger said. Heer said undercover agents purchased drugs on at least 12 occasions. The Arrowhead region has had an opioid epidemic. In 2013 there were 663 overdoses — two a day on average. Sixty-one were fatal. Said Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa: “We know that these people are violent predatory offenders who pick on and go after some of our most vulnerable people.”
Top Galesville cager chooses Northern Michigan
GALESVILLE, Wis. – A Galesville High School basketball player who was a three-time Coulee Conference player of the year, Cody Schmitz, has committed to Northern Michigan University. At Galesville he scored 2,600 points in his high school career. In his senior year he averaged 30 points a game. Meanwhile, Schmitz is on running track this spring.
Tomah man leads insanity in holiday stabbing
TOMAH, Wis. — A Tomah man accused in a Thanksgiving stabbing says he has a mental disease or defect that should excuse his being prosecuted. George Solis, 44, entered the insanity plea at an arraignment hearing. Solis is accused of stabbing a relative with a kitchen knife while he and his family were watching football. When another family member tried to step in, Solis allegedly tried to stab him too.
Winter’s last hurrah: We can only hope
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Frosting on the bedrock. Higher elevations on the dramatic bedrock cuts on Stockton Hill gave commuters into Winona some slippery moments. Late season snow accumulated as much as three inches. Images: Steve Lunde
Cotter gym intruder’s run-around tale
WINONA, Minn. – A traveler who said he was kicked off a bus in Winona because he was out of money was arrested inside the John Nett gym on the Cotter Schools campus. A janitor said he found the man before-hours and confronted him, at which point the man went into a bathroom. After 45 minutes the janitor called police. The man came out. He explained that he was traveling from North Dakota to Madison, that he thought the gym was public property, and that he needed to use a bathroom — and gave officers a false name. Papers in his backpack showed he was Tyrus Smith, age 30, of Honolulu. Surveillance video appears to show him going through the rec center’s lost-and-found bin before being confronted. Police didn’t know how he got into the gym. Police wrote hm up for trespassing and sent him on his way.
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