Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 61, Alma-Pepin Eagles 34
Basketball (boys): Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs 72, Whitehall Norse 53
Basketball (boys): Whitehall Norse 61, Alma Center Lincoln Hornets 37
Basketball (girls): Independence Indees 67, Elmwood-Plum City Wolves 46
Basketball (girls): Arcadia Raiders 51, Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks 32
Fatality in Pine Island rollover
PINE ISLAND, Minn. – A Red Wing mans died when his car left U.S. Highway 52 and rolled on the North End of Pine Island. Roger Alan Iverson, 85, died apparently outright, deputies said. His passenger, Carol Anne Iverson, 78, of Red Wing, was taken 18 miles to a Rochester hospital. She was in critical condition. The vehicle, a 2018 Honda CR-V, was northbound at the Goodhue County Road 11 overpass. This was about 4:30 p.m. The roadway was dry.
Fillmore County lesson: New state flag, seal optional
PRESTON, Minn. – The Fillmore County Board decided against joining next-door Houston County’s opposition to a new state flag and seal. The chair of the Fillmore Board, Duane Bakke, said he did his homework and learned that state law doesn’t require a costly switch to the new seal and flag that is being considered by the state Legislature. State Statute 1.135, Bakke said, is specific: “Expendable material to which the seal in effect prior to May 11, 2024, or any impression, scene, or likeness of that seal is currently affixed may be used until the supply is exhausted or until January 1, 2025, whichever occurs first.” And that applies only to state agencies – not counties. In Houston County in January, Sheriff Brian Swedberg had gone to his board with a $32,000 estimate on changing stationery, uniforms. badges and squad-car car decals. Unaware of Statute 1,135, the Houston County Board went along with Sheriff Swedberg and filed objections to the changing the seal an flag. So too had Crow Wing County in northern Minnesota.
Earlier: GOP cashing in, fueling dissent on new state seal
Earlier: Final state seal proposal: Loon’s eye is red
Earlier: New flag for Minnesota? Legislators to decide
Bakke. From Lanesboro. Elected to Fillmore County Board in 1998.
Verbatim
Bakke to KTTC: “The only mandate is state buildings and in our courtroom. Costs of the county are nothing if we don’t want to spend any money to do anything. We don’t have to. There is no mandate that we have to have any of the the flags or the seals anywhere.”
Phillips writing off South Carolina primary race
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips , who is challenging President Joe Biden’s bid for a second term, has folded up his tent in South Carolina’s Democratic primary. Phillips’ name is on Saturday’s ballot, but he’s been mostly absent from the state. His long-term strategy has switched to the Michigan primary in 3-1/2 weeks, an aide said. Phillips has made no advertising purchases in the 10 South Caroline television markets. It appears the most he has spent in South Caroline was the $20,000 filing fee many weeks to be on the ballot. Phillips, however, was at a major fundraising party last weekend, where he admitted to donors he had come to realize that the state was Biden’s to win.
Earlier: Phillips concedes New Hampshire primary
Earlier: Minnesota’s Phillips falters in New Hampshire
Earlier: MN-3’s Phillips leaving Congress to tackle Biden
Dean. Presidential aspirant to South Carolina Democrats: Not me, not this time.
Verbatim
Phillips, at South Carolina Democrats’ First in the Nation Celebration Dinner: “Some of you might be wondering why this white Jewish boy from the frozen tundra of Minnesota would be appearing in a state in which 95% of you will be voting for Joe Biden, including most of you in this room. Yeah, I think that’s probably fair to say.”
Cancer sidelines Minnesota Senate majority chief
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The majority leader in the Minnesota, Kari Dziedzic, announced that cancer had re-emerged and that she will be stepping down. Ovarian was diagnosed during the 2023 legislative session but had gone into remission after a hysterectomy, splenectomy and appendectomy. Although giving up her leadership role, Dziedzic said she will remain in her Senate District 60 seat from Minneapolis. This is her third Senate term, ,which ends this year. Her resignation means that Democrats will not lose their razor-thin Senate margin of a single vote. Under Dziedzic’s leadership in 2023 session, legislators passed laws that codified abortion rights, secured school meals, and expanded voting rights for prior felons. Dziedzic is a former Minneapolis City Council member.
Dziedzic profile
Dziedzic holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. She entered politics as an aide to the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone. Afterward she worked for Hennepin County, first as communications director for the county attorney, then as a policy aide for a county commissioner. In the private sector, Dziedzic was executive assistant to Norm Green, owner of the Minnesota North Stars. She sued Green in 1993 for sexual harassment. The case was settled out of court.
Dziedzic. Earlier executive assistant to the late U.S, Senator Pail Wellstone. Age: 62.
Teen seeks juvenile jurisdiction for murder trial
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – A teen-ager charged in the death of 10-year-old Lily Peters is persisting that his case stay in juvenile court. Last month the boy, 15 years old, was ordered to trial as an adult. But his attorney, Michael Cohen, now has argued in a coury document that juvenile court is suitable for holding the teen accountable. The crime was in 2022. The body of Lily Peters was discovered in woods in Chippewa Falls. The boy, whose name is shielded in court records because of his age, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault.
Earlier: Movement afoot to broaden missing child alerts
Earlier: Teen accused in Chippewa Falls rape, murder
Earlier: Chippewa Falls boy blamed killing of 10-year-old girl
Earlier: 10-year-old girl killed in Chippewa Falls
Phillips wins bid to be on Wisconsin ballot
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the state Election Commission to place the name of Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips on the state’s April 2 primary ballot. The Court ruled that Phillips, a Minnesota member of Congress, had been unlawfully excluded. The ruling was a blow to power-wo-be in the Wisconsin Democratic Party who favor Biden’s campaign for re-election. They had pushed the state Election Commission to keep Phillips off the ballot. Phillips is on Democract8cc primary ballots in several states.
Earlier: Minnesotan Phillips insists being on Wisconsin ballot
Early spring coming? No ground hog shadow
WINONA, Minn. – With a cloud cover at sunrise iver the Coulee Region, at 7:23 a.m., ground hogs saw no shadows. As folk wisdom has it, that means an early spring. Daffodils any day now?
College scores
Hockey (men): Saint Mary’s 5, Saint John’s 3
Minnesota prep
Basketball (girls): Goodhue Wildcats 71, Winona Cotter Ramblers 56
Hockey (boys): Winona Winhawks 5, Red Wing Wingers 2
Hockey (girls): Winona Winhawks 3, Red Wing Wingers 1
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks 56, Viroqua Blackhawks 33
Basketball (girls): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 47, Independence Indees 42
Grant seeks to extract Great Lakes waste gunk
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Science Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant to find ways to extract harmful substances from wastewater in the Great Lakes. The grant recipient is a consortium comprising the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and several environmental, tech and energy companies. The grant is from the Biden administration’s bipartisan 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
WSU spring enrollment slips again
WINONA, Minn. –Winona State University continues beset by declining enrollment. The number of students enrolled for spring semester was 5,502 on the benchmark 10th day of classes. The loss, 0.2.% from the previous spring, was less than some declines since the university began losing students a decade ago. The enrollment peaked at an 8,544 headcount in the Fall 2013 semester.
Spring headcount
2024: 5,502
2023: 5,601
2022: 5.902
2021: 6,490
2020: 6.886
Fall headcount
2023: 6.026
2023: 6,171
2021: 6,561
2020: 7,119
2019: 7,599
Fall to spring pattern. Enrollment predictably drops every spring from the previous fall. A lot of 18-year-old freshmen get homesick and drop out.
Earlier: Glimmer of hope: WSU enrollment uptick
Earlier: Projection: WSU enrollment slump to stabilize
Earlier: WSU enrollment down another 5%
Van into ditch on Stockton Hill; driver hurt
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver was injured when he lost control of his delivery van on wet pavement on the horseshoe curve climbing Stockton Hill out of Winona. Carl Lee Rackow, 25, was taken seven miles to the Winona hospital. His injuries were described as sustainable. This was about 6:15 a.m. Rackow was westbound toward Stockton in a 2006 Chevrolet Express Van. The State Patrol said the airbag deployed.
Prep drama: Would you ride the “Haunted Carousel”?
“Where, oh where is my ‘lil lad? High school production this weekend.
One-act play headed for state competition
WINONA, Minn. — The Winona High School theater troupe will premier “The Haunted Carousel” locally this weekend at the Middle School – a test run before going to the state one-act play competition. Times: 7 p.m., Friday, and 2 p.m., Saturday. Ruth Angell Purkey wrote the oft-performed play in 1982. The centerpiece is a carousel where a woman left her little boy in the 1890s. He disappeared and she has spent the rest of her life looking for him. The Winona High troupe also plans several improv skits.
Winona home sales in January 2024
WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in January:
1681 Clubview Road: Neuman to Lewis, $520,000.
23412 Little Cedar Road: Bassingthwaite/Becker to Johnson, $515,000.
1001 Glen Echo Road: Threinen to Heitman/Gavin, $374,000.
170 West Fifth Street: Andre to Main Street Development, $360,000.
5115 Seventh Place: Barrientos to Kramer, $335,000.
211 Michaelwood Drive: Peter to Schultz, $325,000.
421 West Fourth Street: Wencl/Peterspn to Jackson, $315,000.
Earlier: Winona home sales in December 2023
Winona County home sales in January 2024
WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales outside Winona logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in January:
LaCrescent: 31008 Old Mill Road: Nordeen to Whitehead, $1.2 million.
St. Charles: 1315 Whispering Hills Drive, Bloom to Myhre, $650,000.
Winona County commercial property sales in January 2024
Winona: 330 West Second Street (retail), Black Squirrel Properties to First Supply, $1.1 million.
Earlier: Winona County commercial property since December 2023
New squeeze on downtown Winona parking
Lot 7. The lost parking will be in the city’s largest municipal parking lot. Soil studies are expected to find contaminants from sawmill, railroad and other industrial activity dating to the mid-1800s.
Prelude to hotel: Soil tests, remediation
WINONA, Minn. – Crews have blocked off the 126-slot Municipal Parking Lot 7 for preliminary soil tests at the site of the new levee hotel. The 1.6-acre lot, which stretches from Main to Center streets behind the Winona 7 movie house, will never re-open. Once soil remediation is complete, foundations can be poured for the five-story river-front hotel. To replace some lost Lot 7 parking, the old HBC satellite-dish farm on Main will come down, creating 29 parking slots. There also will be 30 trackside slots at the former Jefferson Pub off Center Street. The hotel itself is expected to be completed in 2026.
Earlier: W&StP freighthouse’s new lease on life
Mercantile impact
> Offices at Riverfront Plaza, 50 West Street.
> River City Outlet, 72 Center Street.
> Schumacher Hydraulic Elevator, 50 West Second Street.
> Sliced Pizza, 66 Center Street.
> Knight-Barry Title Company, 50 West Second Street.
> Winona 7 movie theater, 70 W 2nd Street.
Our lived experience: 2024 in review
The grand, the good
> Orchestral hall. Construction of the $35 million Masterpiece Hall on Fifth Street continued toward a 2025 target for an inaugural concert. The 700-seat performance showcase is a project of philanthropists Bob Kierlin and May Buttichter.
> Fastenal. Winona’s largest em[loyer, the home-grown Fastenal nuts and bolts manufacturer and distbutor, had another smashhig year. The latest annual report showed global sales up 5.2% to $7.3 billion. Global employment reached 23,200. The Fortune 500 company continued its strog performance for investors.
> College enrollments. Student enrolment at Minnesota State College Southeast grew 17%. to almost 2, 300. Also upbeat was that Winona State enrollment stabilized after a precipitous 13-year decline. Meanwhile, concern grew about the viability of Saint Mary’s, whose Winna enrolment fell into low 800s despite faculty layoffs and termination of many academic programs.
> Pelowski retirement. Gene Pelowski capped a 38-year career as the most popular elected leader from Winona in memory. His retirement set off a scramble by both Democrats and Republicans to succeed him. Republicans prevailed with single-term City Councl member Aaron Pelowski going to St. Paul from House District 26-A.
> Bloedow’s. Everybody’s favorite bakery marked its 100th anniversary and was named Retailer of the Year by the Minnesota shopkeepers’ association.
> Levee hotel. After years of struggle to find a promising to find for financial viability, investors broke ground for a four-story riverfront hotel. It will be less than it could be, however. Plans to top the with a classy rooftop bar were scuttled, Why? Investors decided, unfortunately, that the cost of an elevator to get up there would have delayed a quick return on their investment.
The sad, the disappointing
> The Walz-Flanagan political partnership. It’s over. When Governor Tim Walz returned from campaigning as Kamala Harris’ running mate for the White House, he learned that his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, had tapped his campaign war chest to jumpstart her own campaign to replace hm as governor. She’s now persona non grata.
> Dirty politics. State-level Republicans took a low, low road in in the race for Winona’s 26A seat in the Legislature. Sarah Kruger, the Democrat wa smeared wit sexist metaphors to Barbi dolls, dog-whistle innuendo about sexuality, irrelevancies and falsities. Aaron Repinski won. Neither Repinski nor his campaign manager, Jerry Papenfuss, disavowed the smears.
> R.I.P.: Vivian Fusillo. The grand dame of Winona Theater died at age 97.
> Downtown retailing; Merchants guzzied storefronts to look their best in 40 years but lagged in recapturing shoppers newer albeit less classy Big Boxes on the East End. Among shops remaining downtown — the 111-year-old Hardt’s music store although now part of a Mankato chain with the flavorless new name Music Mart. Going out of business: Holtan’s jewelry, Baker shoes, McDonald’s. The only remaining downtown gas station, on Johnson Street. closed. At the west end of Second Steet, the Chrysler dealership vacated its lease t rebuild on Highway 61 alongside co-owned Suga Loaf End.
Tourism. A negative bobble in tourism venue eesulted from fewer cruise visits. Three of 10 scheduled dockings were cancelled because of flooding. Also, the cruise company American Queen Voyages went belly-up.
Industry. BCS Access Business Systems, once the high-flying TRW of the Fortune 500, closed its doors in Winona. Rather than manufacture locally, it had become an importer of China-sourced products. Lost were 140 jobs.
News summary at mid-week January 31, 2024
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: On business tax, child care / 1
GOVERNANCE: Final state seal proposal: Loon’s eye is red
HEALTH: Dialysis gift to Winona hospital: $3 million
POLITICS: GOP cashing in, fueling dissent on new state seal
POLITICS: Democrats: Van Orden a disaster in Congress
POLITICS: Phillips writing off South Caolina primary
CRIME: Quintana rape case remains locally active
CRIME: $5 million bail for suspect in triple slayings
CRIME: Bail cut in Blair house ransacking
CRIME: Coon Rapids murders: Looks like drugland rift
CRIME: Willmar man dies after taser shot by police
CRIME: Probation for St. Charles embezzler
CRIME: Animal shelter shut down as unfit
CRIME: Crime study: Bemidji as state’s most dangerous city
CONSTRUCTION: W&StP freighthouse’s new lease on life
College scores
Basketball (men): Concordia of St, Paul 72, Saint Mary’s 58
Basketball (men): UW-River Falls 68, UW-LaCrosse 64
Basketball (women): Concordia of St, Paul 83, Saint Mary’s 38
Basketball (men): UW-River Falls 75, UW-LaCrosse 64
How they voted: On business tax, child care / 1
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of voted 357-70 to pass a $78 billion package of tax breaks for businesses and low-income families. The nonpartisan bill was a breakthrough in a Congress that has been deadlocked, and remains so, on broader fiscal issues.
For tax bill
> Angie Craig, D-Mn2 (south suburbs).
> Tom Emmer, R-Mn6 (north suburbs).
> Brad Finstad, R-Mn1 (south).
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west).
> Ilhan Omar, D-Mn5 (Minneapolis).
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn 8 (Iron Range).
—
> Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wi5 (Clyman).
> Mike Gallagher, R-Wi8 (Green Bay).
> Glen Grothman, R-Wi6 (Campbellsport).
> Bryan Steil, R-Wi1 (Janesville).
> Derrick Van Orden, R-Wi3 (Prairie du
Against
> Betty McCollum, D-Mn4 (St. Paul).
—
> Gwen Moore, D-Wi4 (Milwaukee).
> Mark Pocan, D-Wi2 (Madison).
> Tom Tiffany, R-Wi7 (Hazelburst).
Not voting
> Dean Phillips, D-Mn3 (west suburbs).
Car-pedestrian accident injures teenager
RED WING, Minn. – A teen-age pedestrian was struck by car west of downtown and taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries: Kayda Clover, 18, of Red Wing. The accident was about 3:20 p,m. at U.S. Highway 61 and Franklin Street. Streets were dry. The driver of the car, a 2019 Hyundai Tucson, was Karen Joy Etheridge. 76, of Red Wing, She was unhurt. Police said her airbag deployed
R.I.P.: Gene Sturgis
WINONA, Minn. – Gene C. Sturgis, 76, of Eyota, who was chief financial officer for People’s Cooperative Services in Rochester for 30 years, died peacefully with diabetes and dementia at St Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. He grew up in Altura and graduated from Lewiston-Altura High School in 1962. After U.S. Army duty in Vietnam, he graduated from the Minnesota School of Business and moved to a 12-acre hobby farm in Eyota.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1944-2024
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