Wisconsin prep
Basketball (girls): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 46, Elroy Royall Panthers 31
Basketball (girls): Elk Mound Mounders 51, LaCrosse Aquinas Blugolds 35
Basketball (girls): West Salem Panthers 62, Onalaska Hilltoppers 47
$58 quick-change swindle at Kwik Trip
WINONA Minn. – A crook pulled a fast one on a Kwik Trip clerk, who ended up $58 short. Police said it was the old quick-change scam. The customer asked for change in certain n denominations, then confused the clerk claiming to be short-changed and kept swapping bills back and forth. The customer was gone by the time the clerk realized being duped. This was at the Kwik Trip at the Old Homer Road hotel complex.
How they voted: On government shutdown /1
WASHINGTON – To head off a partial government shutdown, the U.S. House voted 320-99 for a short-term extension of funding for federal agencies whose bailiwicks include agriculture, transportation, housing, energy, veterans. The $460 billion package next goes to the Senate. How the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations voted:
To approve funding
> Angie Craig, D-Mn2 (south suburbs).
> Betty McCollum, D-Mn4 (St. Paul).
> Ilhan Omar, D-Mn5 (Minneapolis).
> Dean Phillips, D-Mn3 (west suburbs).
> Tom Emmer, R-Mn6 (north suburbs).
—
> Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wi5 (Clyman).
> Glen Grothman, R-Wi6 (Campbellsport).
> Gwen Moore, D-Wi4 (Milwaukee).
> Mark Pocan, D-Wi2 (Madison)
> Bryan Steil, R-Wi1 (Janesville).
> Tom Tiffany, R-Wi7 (Hazelburst).
> Derrick Van Orden, R-Wi3 (Prairie du Chien).
Against
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west,
> Brad Finstad, R-Mn1 (south).
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn 8 (Iron Range).
—
> Mike Gallagher, R-Wi8 (Green Bay).
Bad bridge: No trans-river traffic until April
LANSING, Iowa – Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation to close the Mississippi River bridge at Lansing. The proclamation released federal highway funds for emergency repairs. It was expected that two months will be required to shore up a pair of wobbling piers. The piers had been unsettled by early construction of a side-by-side new bridge, said Pete Hjelmstad, a state highway department officer. Ramps to the old bridge were barricaded by local authorities three days earlier, pending a structural analysis. Hjelmstad said that sensors had been installed on the old bridge many weeks ago to detect movement from construction of the new bridge. A check of the sensors Tuesday confirmed movement in two existing bridge piers near the work zone.
Black Hawk Bridge. It’s a 68-foot drop into the Mississippi main channel.
Economists: Higher Minnesota state revenue ahead
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Judging from the latest state budget surplus projection, Minnesota’s economy is tooting right along. The surplus projected in the new state Budget Office report: Just over $3.7 billion at the end of the current biennium 16 months from now. The previous projection, in December, was $2.4 billion. Tax collections, the basis for the budget, reflect economic health at both corporate and personal levels. To put a $3.7 billion surplus in perspective, think of the current state budget as $72 billion.
Verbatim
State Budget Office: “The near-term economic outlook has improved, with growth expected to persist through 2027.” Why? Partly because corporate tax revenues are showing gains due to higher-than-expected corporate profits.
Democrat declares for MN-1 Congressional seat
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Rochester lawyer with background as an elections manager, Rachel Bohman, declared her candidacy for Congress from southern Minnesota’s MN-1. Bohman is a Democrat. Her candidacy puts her on course against Republican incumbent Brad Finstad. Bohman, age 47, has experience as county elections director in Minneapolis and also in Anoka. In 2012 she had a brief candidacy for secretary of state but withdrew. “Now is not the right time for me,” she said in withdrawing, deferring to other Democratic candidates in a crowded field. Bohman holds a 2002 law degree from the William Mitchell law school. Her undergrad degree is from the University of Minnesota. In recent years she has been in private practice in Rochester and also associated with the Penny-Meadow law firm. From 2018 to 2022 she served simultaneously on the Rochester Township Board.
MN-1: Purple with reddish streak
As a Democrat, Bohman may have an uphill struggle. The First Congressional District, which stretches all across southern Minnesota, from Winona to Worthington, is largely rural, agricultural and Republican. Except for Mankato, Rochester and Winona, the district leaned to Trump for president in 2016 and 2020. There have been exceptions to the Republican domination in recent years. These Democrast have held the MN-1 seat:
> Tim Penny, a Winona State University grad, from 1983 to 1995.
> Tim Walz, of Mankato, who is Minnesota’s current governor, from 2007 to 2019.
A MN-1 campaign typically has cost $1 million to $3 million, but insiders say the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has other priorities for its budget this year. In effect, the committee has been willing at this point to concede MN-1 to Finstad’s re-election. This in part has been because no Democrats, until Bohman now, have presented themselves.
Bohman. An unexpected candidacy against first-term GOP incumbent Brad Finstad, a New Ulm farmer.
Verbatim
Bohman: ““I’m proud to be raising my family here in southern Minnesota. We are so fortunate to have great schools, safe communities, and wonderful neighbors. I also recognize this moment presents unique challenges for those of us who call it home. I believe this district is ready for compassionate leadership that recognizes that the country works best when it works together. I am committed to bringing home results for everyone in Southern Minnesota.”
Electoral history
Democratic leaders had tried to interest Jeff Ettinger, the retried chief executive of Hormel Foods in Austin. Although widely respected and likeable, Ettinger lost twice to Finstad, in both a 2022 special election also in the 2022 general election. Ettinger, however, has been obligated as interim president of the University of Minnesota with those responsibilities through June. There also were overtures to Dan Feehan, an Iraq war veteran who later was a deputy assistant secretary of defense for readiness at the Pentagon in the Obama administration. Feehan, however, lost two campaigns for the MN-1 seat and has backed off from politics. The recent history:
MN-1. In white. Population: 760,000.
> 2018: Incumbent Jim Hagedorn, a Republican, defeated Feehan 50% to 49%.
> 2020: Hagedorn defeated Feehan 48% to 45%.
> 2022: Finstad defeated Ettinger 50% to 46% in a special election triggered by the mid-term death of Hagedorn.
> 2022: In the general election Finstad defeated Ettinger 53% to 42%.
Shape of 2024 campaigns
Bohman’s greatest challenge is to introduce herself around the 22 counties that comprise MN-1. With the November election only eight months away, she has a late start. Finstad already has been out and about. Last week he was hand-shaking and back-slapping at the giant Fastenal plant in Winona. Before his announce,=ment for re-election, Finstad already had plastered the district with a slick mailer that was a thinly veiled re-election pitch – although paid for and mailed with Congressional franking funds.
Finances. The Finstad and Bohman campaigns likely will be low budget. Correctly or not, national Republican strategists regard MN-1 as safe. Their funds are going instead to races they see as vulnerable. Democratic strategists also are focusing their funding elsewhere. Bohman’s ability to raise funds are unknown. In 2022 Finstad had contributions of $1.5 million. So far in 2024 he has $900,000.
Issues. On issues Bohman so far has chosen safe positions. Her focus, she said, would be on rising consumer prices, health care access and local business investment. Finstad, on the other hand, has a record that may hurt him or help. He held an appointment as Donald Trump’s Minnesota agricultural liaison when Trump was president. And Trump endorsed Finstad for Congress in 2022 and has again this year. This makes him toxic to some voters, even diehards in the fractured GOP. Once elected, in 2022 Finstad consistently has supported Trump and voted with MAGA Republicans. Other than hand, his record in Congress has been undistinguished. To be sure it’s difficult for a first-termer in the 435-House to stand out. His House committee assignments: Agriculture and also Armed Services.
Finstad key votes. Among GOP House leaders Finstad is regarfed a reliable go-along-to-get along member. His votes in key issues: have been party line:
> For the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which provided $827 billion for military priorities.
> Against the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the single largest investment in climate and energy in U.S. history.
> Against the 2022 Defense of Marriage Act, which ended federal discrimination against same-sex unions.
> Against the 2023 Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, which provided $47 billion in emergency support for Ukraine to repulse Russian aggression.
> Against the 2022 Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, a post-Trump clarification.
Consistently Finstad has been with the Trump-directed MAGA faction in the House. Back in his MN-1 home district on House breaks and weekends, Finstad has chosen to back off his Trump connections — a recognition of the beleaguered ex-president’s legal vulnerabilities as a defendant facing 91 criminal counts in several high-visibility court cases. Finstad also has become silent on his anti-abortion position as women’s health has found rising voter support and a litmus test issue. In short: Finstad has baggage, and Bohman has yet to define herself clearly.
.
What do they say about March? In like a lamb, then
WINONA, Minn. – After a near 60-degree swing in temperatures the last couple days, surprise: Look for a reversal. Winds were forecast to sweep in spring-like weather perhaps with 50s in the afternoon Thursday. Gusts, expected at 30 mph to 35, could be troublesome. The National Weather Service issued an alert about outdoor fires. The danger is compounded by low humidity. Forecast highs:
> Friday: Mid-70s, perhaps tying the 56-degree record from 1992.
> Saturday: Lower 60s, exceeding the 58-degree record from 1946.
> Sunday: Upper 60s, perhaps lower 70s, exceeding the 56-degree record from 1946
So what does his mean? Sounds like March will come in like a lamb. Old-timers will tell you “In like lamb, out like a lion.”
R.I.P.: Paul Bolduan
WINONA, Minn. — Paul K. Bolduan, age 95, of Winona, who farmed near St. Charles and later near Minneiska, died at Green Prairie Rehabilitation Center in Plainview. He was a Rochester High School graduate. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean conflict. He was a member of St.Martin’s Lutheran Church in Winona and served as an usher. He was and was also active in the church men’s club.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1928-2024
Divisive Homer issue: History v. dollars
HOMER, Minn. – The burghers of Homer, who number 180, will be voting March 12 on whether to spend $395,000 to restore the 103-year-old town hall or to spend $295,000 to build a new one. Put another way, the choice is $2,100 per capita or $1,600. The town, at the east outskirts of Winona, has been divided on the issue since the Town Board decided in 2023 to raze the current town hall, which earlier was a school house. Beleaguered by protests, the Board decided to hold a plebiscite. To accommodate what’s expected to be large turnout, the vote will be 8-1/2 miles away at a Witoka banquet hall. To antiquarian Jeanne Nelson, it’s not a matter of money. The issue, she said, is that the former school house is “a living monument” to Homer’s role in opening up Minnesota Territory to new settlement. Nelson noted that the town hall is within walking distance of the Bunnell House, built in 1857, and the Homer United Methodist Church, built in 1858.
Memories. Generations of Homer kids did their schooling here. Homer kids now are bused to Winona.
News summary at mid-week: February 28, 2024
COLLEGES: Michigan university research chief to UM presidency
COMMERCE: 150 Macy’s to be shuttered; 350 left
COMMERCE: No price leaders around Winona
REMEMBRANCE: Police honor fallen brothers from Burnsville
POLITICS: Phillips 3% in Michigan presidential primary
POLITICS: Phillips aide casts self as hero for fake robocalls
RIVER: Experts: More Mississippi fish die-offs ahead
CRIME: Sad saga: Westby hit-and-run reconstruction
CRIME: Serious injury in dual-car crash on rural road
CRIME: Couple surrender after rural Wisconsin stand-off
FIRE: Shops lost when fire hit century-old Tomah block
Pickup hits guardrail; driver badly hurt
BYRON, Minn. – A Kasson driver was injured critically when his pickup stuck a guardrail on U.S. Highway 14. Franklin Wendell Ness, 83, was taken nine miles to a Rocheste hospital. This was about 11:20 p.m. Ness was alone and westbound toward home in a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado.
Because EVs pose special dangers
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles has printed 146,00 orange stickers to be placed on license plates of electric vehicles. A new law requires the suckers as an alert to first-responders to take special precautions with EVs and hybrids in emergency situations. Car dealers will provide the stickers with new cars. Owners of existing EVs will receive theirs in the mail.
More color on plates. Wisconsin has 146,000 EVs on the road so far. More coming every day.
Pickup hits guardrail; driver badly hurt
BYRON, Minn. – A Kasson driver was injured critically when his pickup stuck a guardrail on U.S. Highway 14. Franklin Wendell Ness, 83, was taken nine miles to a Rocheste hospital. This was about 11:20 p.m. Ness was alone and westbound toward home in a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado.
College scores
Basketball (men): Winona State 95, Northern State of South Dakota 65
Basketball (women): MSU-Moorhead 77, Winona State 67
Minnesota prep
Basketball (girls): Rochester Lourdes Eagles 59, Chatfield Gophers 23
Basketball (girls): Rushford-Peterson Trojans 57, Grand Meadow Superlarks 38
Basketball (girls): Rochester Mayo Spartans 73, Rochester Century Panthers 48
Basketball (girls): Stewartville Tigers 66, Red Wing Wingers 37
150 Macy’s to be shuttered; 350 left
NEW YORK – The Macy’s department store chain, the largest U.S. retailer of its sort, plans to close 50 store this year and 100 more by 2027. The closures will shrink the financially troubled retailer to 350 stores. The sites being closed were not announced, so shoppers won’t know for a while whether their stores are on the hit list.
> In Minnesota: Macy’s still has 11 stores, in Bloomington; Burnsvillle; Edina, with three; Maplewood; Minnetonka; Rochester; Roseville, with two; and St. Cloud.
> In Iowa: None.
> In Wisconsin: Four stores still in Appleton; Greendale; Madison; and Wauwatosa.
Surviving stores will pivot further to luxury shopping, the company said. Stores to be closed are the least productive, the company said: They account for 25% of overall square footage but less than 10% of sales.
Woman found dead in snow, man freezing
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A woman was found dead in freshly fallen snow and a man next to her with severe hypothermia. This was about 2:50 p.m. on the Southwest Side near the Crossroads Shopping Center and just north of the Rochester Math and Science Academy. Police believed the woman was homeless. They were working to establish her identify, as well as that of the man. The man was taken to a hospital and reported recovering.
Police honor fallen brothers from Burnsville
BURNSVILLE, Minn. – A six-officer police delegation from Winna drove to Burnsville for three officers who died two weekends ago in an extended shoot-out. Officers from throughout the region were in attendance in full-dress uniform. Leading the Winona presence were Sheriff Ron Ganrude and Deputy Police Chief Jay Rasmussen.
Blue roses. Four-thousand were distribted to mourners.
Solemn procession. Officers from throughout the region arrive to pay final respects.
Fresh snow as cold front passes through
WINONA, Minn. – Weather turned cold overnight with one to two inches of snow around Winona County. Plows were out on major roads. There were a few weather-related bumper-thumper accidents:
> 9:28 p.m. Car in ditch at U.S. Highway 14 and County Road 101 near Dakota.
> 9:40 p.m.: Car in ditch at County Road 33 and County Road 27 near Altura.
> 7:11 a.m.: At Highway 61 and County Road 101 near Dakota, with minor injuries.
> 7:42 a.m.: At Broadway and Huff streets in Winona.
> 8:45 a.m.: Two vehicle collided at Third and Huff streets in Winona.
At Westgate Bowl in Winona, wind blew open a back door after closing and set off an alarm. Police didn’t find any sign of a burglar or intruder.
Emergency, fire crews make 50 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 32 emergency medical calls plus 18 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, February 27: 5 medical calls plus no fire call.
> Monday, February 26: 5 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Sunday, February 25: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire call.
> Saturday, February 24: 4 medical calls plus 3 fire call.
> Friday, J February 23: 4 medical calls plus 4 fire calls.
> Thursday, February22: 5 medical calls plus 6 fire call.
> Wednesday, February 21: 3 medical calls plus 3 fire call.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 53 calls
Phillips 3% in Michigan presidential primary
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan didn’t go well for Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips. He won only 2.7% of the vote in the state’s Democratic presidential primary. President Biden was the run-away leader with 81%. Biden will be taking all 86 Michigan delegates to the national Democratic convention in Milwaukee this summer. Notable points:
> 13.2 % of voters marked their ballots “uncommitted” after a campaign led by native Palestinians, a large Michigan voting bloc, to send a message to Biden about ineffectual U.S. attempts ameliorate Israel’s Gaza aggression.
> 3.0% voted for feel-good author Marianne Williams, who had abandoned her candidacy but whose name was already printed on ballots.
Phillips, from Minnesota Congressional District 3, has had a difficult message: That Biden has been superb president but is too old. Phillips had hoped to gain momentum against Biden in Michigan, but he did even poorer than in New Hampshire three weeks earlier where he had 20%. Also: Phillips won less than 3% in the South Carolina primary.
Earlier: Phillips shrinks presidential campaign staff
Earlier: Latest primary: Biden 97%, crumbs to Phillips
Earlier: Phillips concedes New Hampshire primary
Verbatim
Phillips: “”If you resent me for the audacity to challenge Joe Biden, at least you’ll appreciate how relatively stronger I’m making him look among primary voters.”
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Arcadia Raiders 72, Ripon Tigers 39
Basketball (boys): Whitehall Norse 57, Bangor Cardinals 48
Basketball (boys): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 70, New Lisbon. Rockets 31
Sad saga: Westby hit-and-run reconstruction
WESTBY, Wis. — Investigators have reconstructed what happened the night that a Minnesota woman was struck by a four-wheeler near the Westby Rod and Gun Club and seriously injured and abandoned in a snow bank. This is the investigators’ chronology, as reported in criminal complaints against two Westby men, and as filled in from other sources:
> Two buddies, Mitchell McKittrick, 22, and Robert J. Purvis, 21, had been drinking on a Saturday night at the Westby Rod and Gun Cub at 215 South Main Street.
> On his way home on an offroad SUV, McKittrick struck a woman on nearby Bakkedal Avenue.
> Hit was Emily R. Helseth, 36, of White Bear Lake, who was walking to her sister’s house.
> McKittrick, very drunk, telephoned Purvis that he’d been in an accident with his UTV.
> Purvis, also drunk, went to the scene where the woman still was pinned under the roll cage of McKittrick’s UTV in the middle of the road.
> The pair dragged the woman to a snowbank. Purvis told McKittrick to call 911, then left. This was about 3:30 a.m.
> Helseth was hospitalized with multiple broken ribs, fractured vertebrae, a broken jawbone, and trauma to her liver and spleen.
> McKittrick was arrested later in the day based on a tip.
> Purvis was arrested three weeks later.
> To help wth Helseth’smedial eoanses, froends establishhed an nline GoFundMe account, which has raised $26,000.
> Helseth is in-patient rehab and regaining movement and building strength. Last week week was when she was able to get into a wheelchair and spend about 15 miutes in the sunshine with her family.
Earlier: Westby man charged as hit-run accomplice
Helseth. From family photo album. Was visiting sister in Westby. Badly mangled. Recovering slowly.
Saturday hours: To 2:30 a.m., Sundays.
Latsch Island porta-potties vandalized
WINONA, Minn. – Vandals armed with black and silver paint sprayed two portable toilets, inside and out, on Latsch Island. Police said there was no decipherable political or social message – just meanness. The toilets, owned by Kimos, survived functionally and still flushed. Police were called about 2:10 p.m.
Arrest made for burgling church donation box
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Rochester man was arrested after he was reported seen breaking into the locked donation box at the Pax Christi Church. Kyle James Waldvogel, 33, was charged with burglary. A church janitor had called police around 8:10 a.m. that Waldvogel was taking donations from the box at the front entrance. Police established surveillance at the man’s apartment and waited for him to return. Police had been at the apartment the day before — after a church employee reported Waldvogel hanging around and yelling at her when she asked him to leave. In response, police went to Waldvogel’s apartment. There was no answer. After the arrest the next day, Waldvogel’s bail was set at $5,000.
Pax Christi Catholic Church. At 4135 18th Avenue Northwest
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