Therapist to prison for refusing to “let go”
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A social worker who fostered a sexual relationship with a client and who was ordered to stop it — and who didn’t — will go to prison for 32 months. The sentence was ordered for Mandy Erin Hyland, 43, by Judge Christa Daily. Hyland earlier had pleaded guilty and asked to be spared from prison. To the judge Hyland said that mercy would allow her “to make amends and rebuild my life.” Judge Daily said no – and also ordered Hyland to register as a sex predator. She was led from the courtroom in handcuffs. With good behavior, she could be out in 16 months.
Case profile
Hyland was arrested in 2023 after a former patient told police that she had begun a sexual relationship while treating him. The relationship was not only a violation of professional conduct but also the client had said he wanted her to back off. A judge ordered Hyland to cut off contact. She didn’t. She was re-arrested three months later. Her defense in part was that the client had a history of drug abuse and also trust issues.
Hyland. Therapy practice was mostly n Rochester. Later address 12 miles out to Stewartville.
Driver dies after rollover on ridge-top route
LEWISTON, Minn. – A car flipped on its roof, partially ejecting the driver, who suffered fatal injuries. Donald Charles Wilson, 75, was declared dead by first-responders before a med-evac helicopter could arrive from Rochester 40 miles away. The accident was about 10:20 a.m. on County Road 25, which is the main route between Lewiston and Rollingstone. The road follows the west ridge above Garvin Brook Valley. The accident was on a straight stretch near the exit to Tews Road. Wilson apparently was en route home to Grandview Ridge. Deputies said the vehicle, a light Mazda sedan, left the right-of-way, hit an embankment, went airborne, nosed back into the embankment, and flipped. This was in a 55 mph zone. Wilson was not belted, deputies said.
R.I.P.: Thomas Dean Monahan
WINONA, Minn. – Thomas Dean Monahan, of Winona, a disabled war veteran, died at age 76. He served two tours in Vietnam as an infantry paratrooper. Burial will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1946-2024
College scores
Baseball: Dominican of Illinois 9, Saint Mary’s 5
Basketball (men): UM-Duluth 90, Winona State 76
Softball: Saint Mary’s 10, Thomas 1
Softball: Saint Mary’s 17, Emmanuel of Massachusetts 9
Tennis (men): Adrian 8, Saint Mary’s 1
Tennis (women): Adrian 7, Saint Mary’s 2
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Spring Valley Kingsland Knights 74, Adams Southland Rebels 53
Basketball (boys): Lake City Tigers 65, Pine Island Panthers 42
Basketball (boys): Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars 69, LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 49
73,000 advance votes cast in Minnesota primary
ST. PAUL, Minn. – On the eve of the Super Tuesday presidential primary in Minnesota, 73,000 absentee and mail ballots had been accepted, said Secretary of Steve Simon. The adcance ballots will be opened at 8 p.m. in county courthouses — the same time as tallying of in-person voting begins. Most Minnesota polling places open at 7 a.m. although some towns of fewer than 500 people wait until 10. All polls close at 8 p.m.
Democratic field
Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are favored in their respective primaries and will come closer to winning the delegates they need to win their party’s nominations. But there are choices. Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota, from MN-3, is on the ballot. So is self-help author Marianne Williamson, although she has withdrawn but not in time for her name to be removed from ballots. Phillips, who has been beaten badly by Biden in all previous primaries. The question: Will he do better in his home state
Republican field
Choices besides Trump among Republicans are former South Carolina Governor. Nikki Haley, as well as entrepreneur Vivek Ramswamy and two other Republicans who have quit the race – former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Haley’s Minnesota goal is to slow Trump’s march toward the nomination. Haley has visited nearly all Super Tuesday states recently, including a rally in Bloomington last week. She has picked up the endorsement of former Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz, a Republican. Trump has been endorsed by U.S. House members Brad Finstad, MN-1; Tom Emmer, MN-6; Michelle Fischbach, MN-7; and Pete Stauber, MN-8 – all Republicans.
Super Tuesday. The March date when the greatest number of states hold elections to decide about one-third of the delegates to the political parties’ presidential nomination conventions. The results are an indicator of the likely eventual presidential nominees for the November general election.
Democrats
At stake in the Minnesota Super Tuesday primary are some of the state’s 92 delegates to the Democratic national nomination convention beginning August 19 in Chicago. The Minnesota selection process is complex. Roughly half of the delegates will be determined in the primary broken down by each of the state’s eight congressional district. A candidate must receive at least 15% of the vote in a district to be awarded those delegates. If no candidate makes the15% threshold, the district’s delegates go to the national convention as free agents. The party also has automatic delegate slots awarded to designated elected officials and party leaders. There also are at-large delegates decided at the state convention.
Republicans
At stake on Super Tuesday are 39 Minmesota delegates to the Republican national nomination convention beginning July 15 in Milwaukee. The primary winner will take most of the Minnesota delegates, who are split between at-large and congressional districts. Only three delegates are automatically filled by party leaders.
Legal Marijuana Now
Six Legal Marijuana Now candidates are on the Super Tuesday ballot. These include one who filed nomination papers under the name Vermin Supreme.
Minnesota’s open ballot
Minnesota’s presidential primary is a so-called “open primary.” Voters of any political affiliation may cross over and vote in another party’s primary — although they cannot vote in more than one party’s primary. Political scientists debate the value of open primaries because cross-overs, if organized, can defeat an opposing party’s strongest candidates. This, however, is hardly a common practice. Organizing such skullduggery usually will attract negative attention in the news media and backfire.
The whole kaboodle
Democrats: 11 options
> Joe Biden
> Eban Cambridge
> Gabriel Cornejo
> Frankie Lozado
> Jason Palmer
> Armando Perez-Serrato
> Dean Phillips
> Cenk Uygur
> Marianne Williamson
> Uncommitted
> Write-in
Republicans: Six options
> Chris Christie
> Ron DeSantis
> Nikki Haley
> Vivek Ramaswamy
> Donald Trump
> Write-in
Marijuana Now: Six options
> Edward Forchion
> Krystal Gabel
> Rudy Reyes
> Dennis Schuller
> Vermin Supreme
> Write-in
Tip to readers: For complete Winona Journal coverage of campaigns, click “Politics” in the black bar under our nameplate at the top of this page.
Scam: Woman told to pay up with bitcoin
MINNES0TA CITY, Minn. – A woman at the Hidden Valley trailer court fell for the missed-jury-duty scam and transferred $4,000 to a crook from a bitcoin kiosk. It began with a call that she was in trouble for missing jury duty. That was news to her, but she listened as she was told that she would be arrested. To set things right, the caller instructed the woman to go to a Kwik Trip convenience store 30 miles away in Holmen, a LaCrosse suburb, and convert cash from her personal bank account to bitcoin and press the ”send” button.” The caller conveniently gave her a passcode to complete the transaction. She did as she was told. Later, suspecting having been duped, the woman reported the fraud to a sheriff’s investigat
Crypto kiosk. Every Kwik Trip in the 800-store chain has one.
Soybeans bury, kill Iowa grain bin worker
TABOR, Iowa — A 94-year-old man died in an Iowa grain bin unloading soybeans while running a grain vacuum. Robert Smith was out of sight of co-workers, who then found Smth under the beans. Smith was alreday dead. Tabor is in the southwest corner of the state.
Arrest follows second domestic abuse complaint
STOCKTON, Minn. – Deputies arrested a Winona man on a second call to house in a rural enclave north of Stockton. Taken to jail about 4 p.m. was Jayden Michael Jessie, age 20. Deputies first went to the house about 1:30 when a girl called. Once at the house, in the 20000 block of Walnut Road, Jessie and a 16-year-old girl denied any abuse. An hour later the deputies were called again. This time the girl said she had been slapped, grabbed and pushed. Deputies were unsure whether this occurred before or after the initial call or both. The girl didn’t require medical attention.
Jessie. Booked on domestic abuse charge, escalated because of prior case.
$100,000 grant to fund mental-health group homes
WINONA, Minn. — The Winona Community Foundation awarded Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center $100,000 to expand its group housing program. The grant will help add as many as 10 places where client live independently and also receive staff support, said Erik Sievers, Hiawatha Valley executive director. More homeless persons with mental health needs can be supported, he said. The organization already has nine Winona group homes.
Minnesota House OKs school policing revision
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House voted 124-8 to fix a 2023 law that so scared Minnesota police departments that some yanked their officers out of school duty. One of the new bill’s sponsors. Cedrick Frazier, D-New Hope, said the goal is statewide transparency as well accountability in school policing. Among provisions:
> Officers may use prone restraints but only after meeting training standards.
> Officers may discipline students only for violations of school rules that aren’t crimes.
> The state agency that licenses police will develop minimum standards for school districts that use school resource officers.
The bill next goes to the Senate. How delegates to the Minnesota House from southeast Minnesota voted:
In favor
Greg Davids of Preston (R-26B).
Kim Hicks of Rochester (D-25A).
Steve Jacob of Elba (R-20B).
Tina Liebling of Rochester (D-24B).
Patricia Mueller of Oakdale (R-23B).
Gene Pelowski of Winona (D-26A).
Bran Pfarr of LeSueur (R-22B).
Andy Smith of Rochester (D-25B)
Against
None.
Earlier: Legal opinion: School physical policing holds “OK but”
Earlier: Walz sees exceptions on school policing limits
Earlier: How far can school police go to break up fights?
Earlier: Rochester ponders ending police school presence
Earlier: City agrees to end school policing contract
Earlier: LaCrosse to phase out school police
Frazier. First elected 2020. Committees: Judiciary and civil law; education; public safety; workforce development.
SCOTUS setback for Minnesota anti-Trumpers
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision against disqualifying a presidential candidate put the issue to rest in Minnesota. A Minnesota anti-Trump had hoped the Court would support a Colorado ban on Trump for his January 2020 insurrection attempt. That, the Minnesotans had hoped, would reopen its case to keep Trump off the Minnesota ballot. It didn’t work out that way. The High Court said that states cannot exclude candidates for federal office from ballots. Minnesota’s elections chief, Secretary of State Steve Simon, agreed:
“The unanimous ruling by the United States Supreme Court provides voters the clarity and finality they deserve. We now know that former President Trump will remain on the Republican Primary ballot across the country — including in Minnesota. Voters are in charge of what happens next.”
Eight Minnesota election reformers, led by former Secretary of State Joan Growe, sued last year to keep Trump off the state’s Super Tuesday presidential primary ballot. They claimed that the U.S. Constitution bars insurrectionists from public office. The Minnesota Supreme Court turned the Growe group down, saying that voters deserve to be able to consider nominees of political parties, whether traitors or not. The new U.S. Supreme Court opinion indirectly supported the Minnesota Court’s position unanimously, although it was nuanced by four different rationales.
Earlier: Allow Trump to run? Supreme Court to decide
Earlier: Colorado court to Trump: Not here you don’t
Earlier: Trumpers prevail on Minnesota ballot issue — for now
Earlier: Trump on Minnesota ballot? Court hears case
Save-our-flag group to rally at Capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A primarily rural group that calls itself Rocks and Cows planned a demonstration at the Capitol against a proposal to modernize the Minnesota state seal and flag. The event will be Tuesday afternoon on the Capitol steps. A spokesperson, Tony Jurowski, said the group doesn’t want the Legislature to change the official state symbols, which has been recommended by a commission appointed by the Legislature last year. What they’re trying to do, is erase history because on the flag there’s a gentleman plowing, there’s a Native American riding on a horse,” said Jurowski. The group wants a plebiscite on a statewide ballot.
R.I.P.: Christian Peterson
WINONA, Minn. – Christian Ray Peterson, of Winona, died unexpectedly at age 27. He had a variety of jobs and enjoyed learning new things, his family said.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1996-2023
R.I.P.: John Watkowski
WINONA, Minn. — John D. Watkowski, age 61, of Winona, a deputy sheriff for Winona County for 23 years, died at the Gundersen hospital in LaCrosse. He worked part-time as a mechanic and shop manager for Angst Motor Service and became full time after retiring from the sheriff’s office. In 2009 he started a trucking company, Cedar Valley Custom, with his son. He was a graduate of Cotter High School. He completed training at the Police Academy in Alexandria,
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1963-2024
College scores
Baseball: Northwood 13, Winona State 8
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 5, Illinois of Jacksonville 2
Baseball: Saint Mary’s 10, Illinois of Jacksonville 5
Basketball (men): Winona State 69, MSU-Moorhead 65
Police on domestic assault: We witnessed it
WINONA, Minn. – Police responding to a report of a domestic disturbance said they arrived and through the front window saw a man raising a hand and striking a woman. They arrested Patrick Julius Walker, age 33. This was about 10 p.m. in the 650 block of East Sanborn Street. Police said the woman declined medical attention despite red and swollen bruises. Officers said that Walker didn’t resist arrest physically but was uncooperative and ignored verbal commands. In a pocket he had .52 grams of cocaine, police said.
Walker. Charges: Domestic abuse, drug possession, obstructing police.
Two houses lost, one injury in 1,000-acre wildfire
Air quality issue. State environmental agents were monitoring contaminants as winds kept shifting smoke in new directions. Images: Matt Roessler
Regional Red Flag in effect for winds, dryness
WASECA, Minn. – Fire crews on ground and in the air controlled a 1,000-acrewildfire after a day of battling wind-whipped flames on Snake Trail northeast of town. The fire destroyed two homes and injured one person, according to unconfirmed reports. Eight houses were evacuated. It was believed the fire began in a small controlled burn in late morning. Not until 8:45 p.m. did firefighters consider the fire controlled. Crews were staying on-site overnight to catch flare-ups. Two aircraft from the state Natural Resources Department base in Brainerd, 100 miles north, made repeated drops of water during day. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was concerned about air quality issues not only in Waseca but as far away as Apple Valle, Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Elko New Market, Faribault, Lakeville, Medford, Morristown, Richfield and Minneapolis. The State Patrol was prepared to close Intestate 35, east about 15 miles, if smoke became too heavy.
Buckets of scooped-up pond water. Helicopters mobilized from Brained for continuing sorties as winds kept changing fire’s direction.
Engineers check Black River bridge soundness
TREMPEALEAU, Wis. – Structural engineers will close State Highway 35 beginning Monday, one lane at a time, to examine the footings of the Black River bridge on the seven-mile straight-away through swamps between Trempealeau and Holmen. Soil sampling is expected to take several weeks. The highway is a major commuting route into LaCrosse. The bridge is site of a recreational boat landing down to the Mississippi.
LaCrosse cops: Body in park a Trempealeau man
LACROSSE, Wis. — A body found in a LaCrosse park last week was a Trempealeau man missing 6-1/2 weeks, police said. A forensic examination confirmed the identity of Octavio Morales, 31. The cause of death was not reported, but police, apparently ruling out homicide, said there was no cause for citizens to fear for their safety. Police had traced the whereabouts of Morales to the area of West Avenue and LaCrosse Street, an apartment neighborhood, in the early hours of Saturday, December 23, and the day before to St. Joseph Cathedral on Main Street. These were all within walking distance of the Myrick Park marsh where the body was found. Morales was reported missing by his family in Trempealeau on January 5. The search for Morales had focused on LaCrosse and been extensive with drones, an airboat and ground teams
Morales. Search had been extensive with drones, an airboat and ground teams.
Bohman posts MN-1 campaign site
Family values. Congressional candidate Rachel Bohman’s just-posted campaign website underscores Rochester as her home base. Also family values: A photo has her cardiovascular surgeon husband, their two daughters, and the family’s chocolate lab. This being a campaign ad, she also asks for donations.
Earlier: Democrat declares for MN-1 Congressional seat
At 130, Winona Health seeks new testimonials
WINONA, Minn. – In the 130 years since Winona first had a hospital, thousands of people have stories to tell. Now Winona Health, as the hospital is known currently, is asking a new a generation to add its stories. Address them to Winona Health with the subject line “Memories” for the growing collection.
Hospital profile
Winona Health’s story began with local physicians and ccitizens meeting on February 1894 to discuss the need for a hospital. They agreed to start a hospital and established the Winona General Hospital Association.
Hixton rollover injures two motorists
HIXTON, Wis. – Two persons were injured when a car on Interstate 94 left the right-of-way and overturned. Jackson County Sheriff Duane Waldera declined to release the victims’ names immediately. The victims were taken 11 miles to the Black River Falls hospital. Their injuries appeared sustainable, said Hixton first-responders. The accident was about 2 a.m.
Sedan on rooftop. Vehicle westbound toward Osseo. Image: Hixton Fire and Rescue
Texas wildfire smoke moves into Minnesota
MARSHALL, Minn. – A slightly acrid haze that settled into southwest Minnesota ahead of the weekend was from massive wildfires 1,100 miles away in the Texas Panhandle. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found that smoke concentrations didn’t warrant an air quality alert. The Texas fires are the second most severe in state history. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed and one nuclear plant put on alert. Cattle have been decimated in smoke and flames. At 1,200 square miles, the destruction is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
R.I.P.: Dorothy Gilbertson
WINONA, Minn. – Dorothy Ann (Drysdale) Gilbertson, 94, of Winona, who worked with Home Delivered Meals for several decades, died at Gunderson hospital in La Crosse. She held a Mettille service award from Winona Volunteer Services. At Grace Presbyterian Church, she directed the children’s choir.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1939-2024
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