Three escape Winona house fire
Kitchen fire. Smoke damaged a ranch-style house on the Far Weste End. Three residents escaped before a fire crew arrived, including one person confined to wheelchair. Firefighters got the call to the 300 residential block of Emherst Street, between West Broadway and Kramer Drive, about 6 p.m. The fire was extinguished quickly. Image: Winna Fire Department
I-90 traffic stop turns up 50,000 fentanyl pills
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — A State Patrol sniffer dog found a load of fentanyl pills — 50,000 of them — in a traffic stop on Interstate 90. With a street value ranging from 50 cents to $5 each, the load could have retailed for $250,000. The State Patrol announced the arrest in a news release but offered few details. A roadside Patrol photo showed the pills packaged neatly in 10 see-through plastic tubes and ready to sell to dealers. The Patrol said the interception has disrupted the flow of the fentanyl opioid that
Proud puppy. In roadside pose after leading officers to the illicit cargo in a routine ttaffic stop. Image: State Patrol
Heavy storm impedes I-90 traffic, affects schools
WINONA, Minn. — Interstate 90 through Winona County was a mess overnight with jack-knifes and semi-trucks blocking rights-of-way. No injuries were reported. I-90 was on the edge of a powerful winter storm and strong winds through northwest Iowa. Snow was as deep as nine inches s out of the I90 corridor. Among problems for the State Patrol:
> 1:20 a.m.: Near the Nodine exit a vehicle slid off the road.
> 3:48 a.m.: Also near the Nodine exit a semi blocked traffic.
> 3:51 a.m.: At the Wilson exit a semi blocked traffic.
> 6:47 a.m.: Near Dresbach a storm-related accident
> 4:24 a.m.: At the Nodine exit a semi blocked ramps.
> 6:47 a.m.: Also at the Nodine interchange a semi blocked ramps.
> 7:25 a.m.: Between the Wyattville and Wison exits a semi jackknifed.
With plows still clearing roads at dawn, these schools were among those that closed for the day: Caledonia, Harmony, Lanesboro, Mabel-Canton, Rushford-Peterson and Spring Grove. Houston shifted to online learning. Among schools that delayed classes two hours: Riverway, Rollingstone and Winona.
Emergency room nurse takes punch
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona man was arrested after an emergency room nurse at the Winona hospital emergency room was punched. The nurse, who took the blow to his chest, wasn’t badly hurt, but police were called. Arrested was Daniel Lee Grimslid, age 76, of Winona. Police were told by the nurse and witnesses that Grimslid was upset being told to stay in his examination stall. This was about 1:15 a.m.
College scores
Basketball (men): MSU-Mankato 77, Winona State 66
Basketball (women): MSU-Mankato 110, Winona State 62
Softball: Rochester Community 10, Minnesota North Vermilion 1
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Mankato West Scarlets 65, Winona Winhawks 50
Basketball (girls): Mankato West Scarlets 81, Winona Winhawks 35
Basketball (girls): Winona Cotter/Winona Hope 58, Randolph Rockets 39
Basketball (girls): Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 69, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 52
Hockey (boys): Kasson Dodge County Wildcats 6, Winona Winhawks 0
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Arcadia Raiders 54, Viroqua Blackhawks 47
Basketball (girls): Whitehall Norse 62, Eau Claire Immanuel Lancers 46
Basketball (girls): Independence Indees 83, Alma Center Lincoln Hornets 67
Basketball (girls): Onalaska Luther Knights 77, Galesville Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks 38
Basketball (girls): Viroqua Blackhawks 73, Arcadia Raiders 60
Winona driver rescued before car explodes
ELEVA, Wis. — Passersby pulled a Winona woman from her wrecked car just before it exploded into flames in northern Trempealeau County. Bridget Ann Conlon, age 48, was taken to a hospital. Her injuries were described as sustainable. The crash was about 3 p.m .on U.S, Highway 93 south of Eleva near County Road V. She was driving south reward Independence. Witnesses said Conlon crossed into the oncoming lane, dropped into the ditch, hit an embankment, and went airborne. Deputies quoted her as having fallen asleep in the 55 mph zone. She was safely outside the vehicle, thanks to the quick-acting passersby, before the vehicle incinerated itself.
Car-truck crash injures Rushford driver
HART, Minn. — A Rushford driver was hurt when her car and a truck-trailer rig collided near the Hart hamlet in southern Winona County. Laura Lynn Kahoun, 42, was taken 30 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. Deputies described her injuries as sustainable. Kahoun’s 2017 Chevrolet Cruze and the truck unit, towed by a 2000 Peterbilt, were both headed north toward Interstate 90. The trucker, Gary Eugene Chadbourn. 70, of Minnesota City, was unhurt. This was about 11:50 a.m. Road conditions: Dry.
Sheriff’s cozy ICE views rile Dodge County
MANTORVILLE, Minn. —The Dodge County sheriff, Scott Ross, defended Trump deportation agents in a Facebook post that he hoped would quiet rumors that he was complicit with ICE agents who recently showed up at his Mantorville office. The backlash was quick in the 21,000-popuation county just west of Rochester. The sheriff’s message in part:
“We need to remember these men and women serving as ICE agents aren’t responsible for the broken system, our government is. Many mistakes were made during Metro Surge. Mistakes made because of poor
Ross had been a growing target in local grapevines that that he had been yukking it up and swapping law enforcement tales with ICE agents at his Mantorville office. His Facebook response to the rumors was indeed contraditory. At one point in the message Ross said that ICE agents had come by merely to use the toilet. This seemd odd: There are Kwik Trips in nearby Dodge Center and Kasson and Mantorville too, as well as countless other public restrooms. Elsewhere in his Facebook message, Ross admitted the ICE interchange at his office was deeper. He said that the ICE agents expressed frustration that “an agitator” had been trailing them for hours from the Twin Cities and harassing them. About his Facebook discrepancies, Ross declined to return news media queries Meanwhile people in Dodge County, which is 10% Latino, mostly farm hands, was split along pro-Trump and anti-Trump lines regrading hundreds of Minnesota arrests as part of the Trump plan to round up 1 million immigrants by December.
Ross. First elected sheriff in 2014. Third term ends this November. Lists his interests online as U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Search for Southeast College leader in final phase
WINONA, Minn. — A search committee for a new Minnesota State Southeast president has recommended four candidates for on-campus interviews. The finalists include an internal candidate, Amy Maxeiner. She joined the college’s executive staff in November 2024 as chief academic officer. To keep the selection process pristine, the state college system chancellor, Scott Olson placed Deidra Peaslee, president of St. Paul College as search committee chair. Southeast’s president the past five years., Marsha Danielson, is retiring. Her tenure has had rocky moments. She is leaving with a strong headcount enrollment on the Winona and Red Wing campuses combined near 2700. The four finalists:
Joshua Gamer. Currently associate vice president of workforce partnerships and innovation at Western Technical College in La Crosse. Degrees from Minnesota State Southeast, Saint Mary’s of Minnesota, Viterbo, and UW-Stout.
Luca Lewis. Currently interim president at Ventura College in California. Degrees from the University of Idaho. Earlier an associate vice chancellor at West Hills Community College in California. Also a vice president at Whatcom Community College in. Washington.
Amy Maxeiner. Currently vice president of student success at Minnesota State College Southeast. Degrees from Marquette and Northern Illinois. Earlier a vice president for instruction and the chief academic and diversity officer at Black Hawk College in Illinois.
Lester Sandres Rápalo. Currently ambassador for he Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development and global advisor on sustainable education. Degrees from University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Syracuse, and Nova Southeastern. Earlier president at Rockland Community College in New York.
Klinger quits candidacy for Winona sheriff
WINONA, Minn. — Winona County’s emergency management director, Ben Klinger, has withdrawn from the race for sheriff. Klinger said that the two other candidates, both sheriff’s office veterans like himself, are “strong” contenders. Klinger also said that now isn’t the right time to put his family through the rigors of a campaign. Meanwhile he’s still wearing his second hat as part-time mayor of suburban Goodview;
Earlier: Three-way race or Winona sheriff: More coming?
Mayo Clinic opens third Caribbean outpost
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic is opening a referral office in this western Caribbean city. The office will be a feeder for Mayo operations in London and in Arizona. Florida and Minnesota. Staff will assist patients with travel and lodging needs. This is the third Mayo office in the Caribbean to address “serious, complex and unsolved medical needs,” said Rafael Sierra, an orthopedic surgeon who is Mayo’s medical director for the Americas.
Masked robber holds up Rochester grocery
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A masked man with a knife robbed a 24-hour Cub supermarket in southeast Rochester. A checkout clerk gave the robber cash from the till. He fled. The robber was wearing a ski mask, the clerk told police. This was about 1 a.m. There were no injuries. The store is along U.S. Highway 14 at 15th Avenue.
News summary at mid-week: February 18, 2026
JUSTICE: Child law expert on county attorney ballot
JUSTICE: Ahead for county attorney: Time to “walk my dogs”
GOVERNANCE: Somber memories as legislators convene
GOVERNANCE: 2026 Minnesota Legislature: Your citizen guide
GOVERNANCE: Anti-pedophiliac vandals leave mark on GOP office
GOVERNANCE: Sad sign of the times: Gun screening at Capitol
INFERNO: Fire claims Lake City man, daughter burned
CRIME: Update: Lake City attempted murder case
CRIME: Insanity plea fails in East Side shoot-up
SEASONS: Thin ice: No kite fest at Iowa’s Clear Lake
RIVER: Pepin ice pack thicker than average
PLEBEIAN CUISINE: Times change, tastes change: Bye to Pizza Hut
College scores
Basketball (men): Hamline 90, Saint Mary’s 58
Basketball (women): Hamline 77, Saint Mary’s 72
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (girls): Onalaska Hilltoppers 42, Holmen Vikings 28
Update: Lake City attempted murder case
RED WING, Minn. — A Lake City man accused of shooting a neighbor in a property dispute appeared in Goodhue County court for a routine exchange of information between attorneys. Willim Piar, age 81, was charged in December with attempted murder and related assault charges. The shooting was at a Subway sandwich shop on North Lakeshore Drive. The judge scheduled a further hearing April.
Earlier: Lake City snackwicher still in bad shape
Earlier: Bail at $2 million in Lake City shooting
Insanity plea fails in East Side shoot-up
WINONA, Minn. — A man accused in a Winona neighborhood shooting was found competent to stand trial. Jonathan Payton, age 40, was arrested in November and charged with shooting up an East Side neighborhood. For Dayton it was the latest in a series of run-ins with the law.
Earlier: Motive still unclear in East Side gunshots
Earier: Police list East Side gunshot evidence
Earlier: Bail at $200,000 for East Side gunshots
Earlier: East Side gunshots random? Targeted?
Earlier: A tale of blackberry brandy, a Glok and a pickup jacking
Child law expert on county attorney ballot
WINONA, Minn. — An assistant Winina County attorney for 11 years, Rebecca Church, announced her candidacy for the top county law job. The position is being vacated by Karin Sonneman, who is retiring. Church, age 44, handles juvenile and child protection cases for Sonneman and chairs a subcommittee of the local Juvenile Justice Council. She holds a 2005 paralegal degree from Winona State University and a 2012 law degree from Hamline University. She is vice president of the Winona County Bar Association. She is treasurer of the Pickwick Mill Board. In 2023 she was one of three recommendiatons by the Bar Association for consideration as a gubernatorial appointment to a southeast Minnesota state judgeship.
Church. Has managed Winona County public defender office.
Verbatim
‘Church: If elected as county atoey in November she promsied a balanced approach: “Justice is not one-size-fits-all. Sometimes it means accountability to protect public safety, and other times it means rehabilitation and prevention. Supporting victims and ensuring fairness in every case must always be central.”
Times change, tastes change: Bye to Pizza Hut
WINONA, Minn. — The few remaining employees at Pizza Hut in Winona have been handed pink skips. After 46 years, the once-popular pizzeria will shut down the ovens for the last time on March 2. The LaCrosse-owned franchise was underperforming, as had 250 other locations nationwide that also are being shuttered. Traffic at the Winina site had slowed in recent years as competition intensified. Address: 1630 West Service Drive. The last straw was the new and larger Pizza Ranch franchise with a broader menu and kid attractions a few blocks away on U.S. Highway 14.
Earlier: Troubled Pizza Hut closing 250 shops
Electrical issue interrupts Winona broadband
WINONA, Minn. – The Indiana-owned HBC broadband company went dark about 1:30 a.m. due to an electrical issue. Affected was interne-dependent telephone, television and web access in Winona and outlying areas. Service was being restored in incrementally about five hours later.
Emergency, fire crews make 51 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 37 emergency medical calls plus 14 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, February 17: 6 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Monday, February 16: 3 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Sunday, February 15: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Saturday, February 14: 7 medical calls plus 4 fire calls.
> Friday, February 13: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Thursday, February 12: 6 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Wednesday, February 11: 3 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 50 calls
Pepin ice pack thicker than average
LAKE CITY, Minn. — The ice pack on Lake Pepin is thicker than average at 22 inches — far too solid to start 2026 barge commerce. The Army Corps, which controls Mississippi River shipping, said its first boring for spring was at River Mile 770. That’s midway between Lake City on the Minnesota side and Pepin on the Wisconsin side. The Corps usually does weekly borings, but, not anticipating a significant thaw, the next boring has been put off until to March 3.
Thin ice: No kite fest at Iowa’s Clear Lake
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — The Color the Wind Kite Festival on Clear Lake has been cancelled. Blame our February warm spell. The six-acre lake’s ice is too thin for safety. As a Plan B, organizers considered the nearby Mason City airport, an open 300 acres, but the Federal Aviation Administration, concerned about airplanes getting caught up in kites and strings and crashing, and said no.
Not this year. Maybe next the kites will be back at the lake. Tentative date: 2027 on February 20.
WELCOME
The worthiest goal of journalism is to promote intelligent citizen involvement. Such is our goal with Winona Journal. We focus on local issues so you can go about your daily activities with confidence that you can be a genuine and valued part of informed public dialogue on the kind of community we’re building.
Although Winona-centric, we are attentive also to regional issues. Our community doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
You will find opinion here. We quote and paraphrase with attribution so you know the source and can assess ideas and thoughts. Sometimes you will find our commentary but always clearly labeled.
As journalists we are committed to accuracy but not perfect. Please let us know if you spot an error, whether substantive or even just a dumb typo. We’ll get errors squared away promptly.
We’re glad you’re with us.