ROCHESTER, Minn. – The charge against a Mayo Clinic doctor accused of poisoning his wife was escalated to first-degree murder. The new charge followed a grand jury investigation, which is necessary under Minnesota law for a first-degree murder charge. Connor Bowman, 36, had been in jail since October on a charge of second-degree murder. A first-degree murder conviction could mean life in prison. The grand jury’s indictment included evidence released  in previous documents  from prosecutors. These included that Bowman was heavily in debt and cashed in on a $500,000 life insurance policy on his wife. Witnesses summoned by the grand jury included Mayo Clinic doctors and a nurse. Bowman himself appeared before the grand jury. .

Earlier: New detail: A trial run for poisoning death?

Earlier: Bail kept at $5 million in poisoning murder

Earlier: Mayo doctor accused of murder in wife’s death

Earlier: Prosecutor alleges doctor’s plot to poison wife

MINNEISKA. Minn. – The death of a Minneapolis woman who fell 100 feet from a bluff-top overlook at Latsch State Park was suicide, the regional medical examiner medical examiner has concluded. Although more than two dozen first-responders were on-scene, no one actually saw the woman fall. It was late and dark, and first-responders were too far back and had only flashlights for illumination. The first-responder team included a crisis negotiator, but the woman, Rachel Gerhardt, 33, had not responded in a meaningful way except to show agitation. She had been alone the overlook. Police in Minneapolis, checking on a missing person report, had established her location at Latsch Park, 100 miles, away, by pings from her cell phone. Winona County deputies found her car at a trailhead. With a a drone and thermal imaging, they located Gerhardt at the overlook 500 feet above. They found their way up a trail and established contact. Gerhardt, they said, was minimally communicative, then agitated as more first-responders, eventually about 30, arrived. The negotiator backed off periodically as Gerhardt became agitated. Suddenly all was quiet. The medical examiner report said that Gerhardt died of “multiple injuries due to fall from elevated height.” Medical Examiner Ross Reichard said identification was confirmed by scars and amputations.

Obituary detail

Rachel Marie Gerhardt grew up in Minneapolis. She attended Artaria Chamber Music School and performed in Minnesota youth symphonies. She participated in numerous cello master classes including with celloist YoYo Ma and the Minnesota Orchestra. For college she chose the Oberlin Conservatory. Her degree, in 2013, was in cello performance and music history. She joined the Teach for America program and was placed at Excell Academy in Minneapolis and taught second and fourth graders. She then earned a master’s degree in elementary literacy and a certificate in middle-school mathematics.  Most recently she taught seventh grade math at Hiawatha Academy in Minneapolis. She was married with two children, 8 and 5. The family said that “days with mama included lots of snuggles, reading, craft projects, cooking and gardening.”

The recovery

The rescuers team at Latsch Park called the State Patrol for a helicopter equipped with thermal-tracking technology and lights to find Gerhardt. The flight was cancelled when deputies with their own thermal devices located where Gerhardt landed. From a distance she appeared lifeless Winona firefighters rappelled 100 feet down the near-vertical bluff and confirmed Gerhardt  was dead. They rigged mountaineering rescue equipment and various hoists to bring the body to the overlook and down a trail to an abuance at the parking lot off U.S. Highway 61. This process took the whole night.

Earlier: Victim in 100-foot fatal bluff-top fall: From Minneapolis

Earlier: Crisis negotiations preceded Latsch Park fatal fall

Earlier: Woman dies in night-time plunge at Latsch Park

WINONA, Minn. — The Winna School Board voted to trim the 2025 Spring Break to two days – a Thursday and Friday a couple weeks before Easter. The District’s spring vacation traditionally a whole week at Easter with two weekend bookends. The shorter 2005 break – March 13 and 14 — will help make up for days being lost by a late start in September. The late start is  to accommodate major infrastructure projects at Jefferson and Washington-Kosciusko grade schools.

Earlier: School Board truncates spring classes

WINONA, Minn. – Depending on how blood tests come back from the state crime lab, a Winona man faces possible drunken driving and drug charges. Police said they stopped Benjamin Henry Alsaker Leonhardi, 26, on Highway 14 for weaving all over the road on the westbound incline near the Knopp Valley exit. The officer said the marijuana odor was unmistakable when Leonhardi lowered his window. He also smelled of alcohol, they said. Police reported finding psilocybin mushrooms on his person. The mushrooms field-tested at 0.9 grams. There also were 37 grams of meth, police said. A field test found Leonhardi’s blood at 0.22% alcohol – almost triple the legal limit. The arrest was about 6:45 p.m. Test results were submitted to the crime lab for testing.

Leonardi. Police found a medley of drugs in vehicle.

TREMPEALEAU, Wis. — Police declared a Trempealeau man missing at his family’s request. The last place that Octavio Morales, 31, was known to have been at the St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in downtown LaCrosse on Friday, December 22, the family said. At that time he was wearing a black sweatshirt and white sweatpants.

Morales. Missing two weeks. This image a social media post.

WINONA, Minn. – A car crashed into the trailer of an oncoming semi-truck on East Sarnia Street along Lake Park. There were no serious injuries, although a passenger in the car, a 66-year-old Winona woman, was treated at the hospital. A second passenger was unhurt. The driver of car, Robert Eugene Payne, 59, of Goodview, was tested for impairment. His eyes were glossy and his speech slow and he admitted to smoking marijuana in the morning and said he had blacked out momentarily, police said. The accident was about 12:50 p.m. Police found a small bag of marijuana and a pipe in the car, which they said Payne admitted were his. The truck driver, age 26, was unhurt. The accident was in the 450 block of Sarnia near Lake View Manor apartments.

VIROQUA, Wis.  – A car leaving a Walmart parking lot was struck by a pickup truck and the driver injured fatally. The car’s driver, whose name was not released immediately, died at the Viroqua hospital. The accident was on Main Steet about 11:10 a.m. Store video showed that the car didn’t yield to the northbound pickup truck, police said. The pickup driver was treated at the hospital and released.

RED WING, Minn. – A Freeborn County driver was injured when his car went into a ditch on State Highway 58 a few miles south of Red Wing and hit an embankment. Cody Allen Williamson, 27, of Clarks Grove, was taken to the Red Wing hospital with sustainable injuries. The accident was about 6:40 a.m. near Old Church Road. Williamson’s 2004 Ford Crown Victoria was southbound out of Red Wing.

WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in December:

172 JayBee Drive: Renk to Breitlow, $820,000.

258 Oak Leaf  Drive: Stenberg to Bartelson, $458,000.

123 Jederman Drive: Zeches to Virock, $389,000.

325 Harriet Street: Kendall to Sammis, $335,000.

1465 49th Avenue: Evans to Pahl, $$335,000.

Earlier: Winona home sales in November 2023

WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales outside Winona logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in November:

Altura:15381 Fairwater Road, Mohs to Spitzer, $500,000.

Dakota: 44424 Dakota Valley Drive, MGW Holdings to Matzke, $$530,000

Lewiston: 690 Williams Street, Matzke to Harcey, $320,000

Lewiston: 170 Nicholas Drive, Mraz to Pahl, $304,000.

St. Charles: 1516 Whispering Hills Drive, Berghefer to Ou/Huang, $460,000.

Stockton: 8830 8th Street, Bublitz to Mullen/Brusco, $360,000.u

Earlier: Winona County home sales in November 2023

WINONA, Minn. – Among commercial property sales in Winona County logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in December:

Winona: 1213 Innovation Drive, We-no-nah Canoe to Wildwood Innovation $3 million

Earlier: Winona County commercial property since November 2023

WINONA, Minn. – A homeowner reported that a chunk of asphalt broke through a front window. The chunk may have been flung up by a mechanical street sweeper, it was surmised. The incident was in the 650 block of East Fourth Street. It was reported to police about 2 p.m.

WINONA, Minn. – The Winona Community Foundation, which offers philanthropic support to organizations and projects, typically totaling $100,000 a year, has added four new members to  its governing board:

Projects

Among the Foundation’s 2022 grants:

> CoVid relief: $18,000.

> Humane Society: $10,000.

> Team Vogel v. Cancer: $10,000.

>  Let’s Erase the Stigma: $10,000.

> Minnesota Marine Art Museum, $10,000.

> Catholic Charities: $9,900.

> > Elder Network: $5,000.

Basketball (men): UW-River Falls 71, UW-LaCrosse 62

Basketball (men): Augsburg 62, Saint Mary’s 55

Basketball (women): Augsburg 63, Saint Mary’s 62

Basketball (women): UW-LaCrosse 66, UW-River Falls 62

WINONA, Minn. – A woman kicking, screaming and throwing things was arrested at a West End house. A power drill was thrown at an officer but missed his head. Another officer was kicked in the knee. All this is according to the police incident report. Ann Jorgenson, 41, was then taken to the ground and handcuffed. In cuffs she claimed she was having a panic attack and was taken to the Winona hospital. In the ambulance, Jorgeson spit on one of the officers. In the hospital emergency room, a doctor couldn’t find evidence of a panic attack. Jorgenson was booked into jail on three assault charges, a domestic abuse charge, and obstructing police. The incident began in the 50 block of Lenox Street about 3:40 p.m. Her boyfriend called 911 and said Jorgenson had picked up a pair of scissors during an argument in the side garage and threatened him. He retreated to the house and called police.

Jorgenson. Police report says threatening weapons were a scissors and a power drill. Also kicked and spit.

Panorama west from over Preston. Residents live in three pods — “neighborhoods,” they’re called. Each neighborhood bears the name of a southeast Minnesota county – Fillmore, Mower and Olmsted.

$35 million place for America’s local war veterans

PRESTON, Minn. The first residents of the new hilltop veterans home overlooking Preston have moved in. At full occupancy, the $35 million, 60,000-square foot skilled nursing facility will have 54 tenants. Among  the first to move in was Walter Hanson of Preston, a Korean war veteran. It was his 91st birthday. Residents each have their own living quarters, which are organized into three 18-person pods. The pods  are connected to a common dining area. Other spaces include a physical rehabilitation gym, a dental clinic, a hair salon. a spa, and a meditation room.

Earlier: Ritual marks Preston vets home construction

WASHINGTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading a hastily assembled fusion project with state and local agencies after a mass mailing of bomb threats against capitols in several states. The threats were a hoax but will be investigated, the FBI said. The threats were received by email at capitols in Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana and Wisconsin.

Earlier: Bomb threat puts Minnesota Capitol into lockdown

Verbatim

FBI: “The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax incidents wherein a bomb threat at a state capitol is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”

DULUTH, Minn. – Promoters of the 400-mile Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon cancelled the 2004 event. Not enough snow on Lake Superior’s north shore this year, they said. The event, a qualifier for the Idarod race in Alaska, has run every year since 1980, although it was shortened to 70 miles for want of enough snow cover in 2019. This winter’s race had been scheduled for January 28 between Duluth and Grand Marais. The Beargrease is the longest sled dog race of its kind in the Lower 48.

Historic note. The race bears the name of John Beargrease, a legendary winter mail carrier who traveled by dog sled between Two Harbors and Grand Portage in the late 1800s.

WINONA, Minn. – A firefighter bundled inside Mustang survival gear crawled 150 feet out on thin ice on the Lake Winona east bay and rescued a Canada goose trapped in the ice. With the goose clutched tightly, the firefighter was dragged back to shore on a tether. This was about 3:45 p.m. The goose had been injured and was unable to free itself as the ice formed. State wildlife experts were contacted on where to take the goose of its injury.