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.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The usual excitement of a new session of the Legislature had a solemn note: A memorial to House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were assassinated at their suburban home in June. Hortman’s seat in the chamber was ceremoniously vacant. On the desk: A fresh bouquet, a portrait and a gavel. Governor Tim Walz spoke: “Since I have had the privilege of serving in state government, this is the first time without Melissa the Speaker.”

Earlier: Key Minnesota legislator, husband assassinated

Almanac: 2026 Minnesota Legislature: Your citizen guide

Baseball: Woods of Missouri 11, Viterbo 3

Baseball: Woods of Missouri 9, Viterbo 1

Sideways white sedan. In borrow pit left of elbow between U.S. Highway 14 and the Canadian Pacific’s trans-Minnesota line. This is  just west of Kasson.  Image: Minnesota Transportation Department

First report from Dodge County: Driver unhurt

KASSON, Minn. — A Canadian Pacific freight train struck a car at a road crossing, spinning the vehicle into the grassy ditch separating the single-track mainline that parallels U.S. Highway 14. Initial reports said the driver walked away unhurt. The crash occurred between Kasson and Dodge Center about 8:30 a.m. This was at the 220th Avenue junction. The rail crossing is equipped with flashing lights triggered by trains as they approach. The CP subdivision carries two trains a day between Winona and the South Dakota border.

Sunset at the State Highway 43 overpass. Interstate 90 is the primary route for thousands of trucks into and out of Winona for manufacturers such as Fastenal, Bay State, Peerless Chain, Fanatics and Hal Leonard, along with retailers like Walmart, Target, Menards and Hy-Vee. To the east, I-90 will take you to Boston. to the west to Seattle. Take I-90 to Albert Lea and hang a left on I-35, you can drive all way south to Loredo, Texas. To right to Duluth. Image: Kevin O’Reilly

Baseball: Woods of Missouri 6, Viterbo 4

Baseball: Woods of Missouri 10, Viterbo 9

Softball: Winona State 6, Jewell 0

Softball: Saint Mary’s 4, Bethany 0

Softball: Saint Mary’s 4, UW-River Falls 0

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Vandals left a message in lurid spray paint on the storefront window of the Eau Claire County Republican headquarters overnight: “Pedophile Protectors.” The message was an obvious reference to President Trump’s persistent blocking of public access to millions of documents related to his long-time buddy Jeffrey Epstein and his sex-trafficking empire. The county Republican chair. Fred Kappus, blamed the vandalism on “somebody on the left” but offered no evidence. It was an odd response, as if only Democrats object to pedophilia. Fact: Polls show growing GOP disapproval at the Trump stone-walling. The vandalism was discovered the morning by the building owner, who notified Kappus and Altoona police. As soon as police cleared the scene Kappus had a crew scrubbing off the message and the splattered eggs that were baking in the early sun.

Somebody’s frustration shows after months of Trump maneuvering to conceal pedophilia investgiation documents. Who were the vandals? Democrats or equally disaffected Republicans?

LAKE CITY, Minn. — Firefighters climbed through an upstairs bedroom window of a blazing house and found a seriously burned woman in the heavy smoke. They pulled her outside. In a second entry they found the lifeless body of a man believed be her father. The man was identified as Richard “RJ” Arruda, age 45. The rescued woman was believed to be his daughter. She was taken to the Regions Hospital burn center 60 miles away in St. Paul. The family dog Molly died in the fire. The fire, on North Washington Street, a block off Lake City’s main street, was about 7 a.m. Fire Chief Dan Patterson said the house incinerated quickly. It was what’s called a balloon design developed in the 1800s as a cheap way for amateurs yo nail together light lumber and get a house uo quickly. Although the house burned quickly, it took firefighters seven hours to put out. About 35 firefighters responded, including crews from Wabasha, 20 miles away, and Zumbro Falls, 15 miles away Eight paramedics and three ambulances also responded.

WINONA, Minn. — A Caledonia driver was stopped without headlamps about 12:30 a.m. and acted and smelled drunk, police asid. Michael Robert Colleran, age 20, was arrested and held on a complaint of underage alcohol consumption. A further charge followed when a jailhouse breath test showed his blood was running alcohol more than 2-1/2 times the legal limit — 0.21%. A second charge of drunken driving was added to the complaint. The traffic stop was near Broadway and Main streets. Colleran’s speech was slurred and his movements jerky and unsure, police said.

Image: Andy Frank

Happy Valentine’s from your friends at the Winona Journal

Gymnastics (women): UW-Oshkosh 192.650, Winona State 191.075

Hockey (men): St. Olaf 4, Saint Mary’s 3

Hockey (women): St. Olaf 3, Saint Mary’s 0

Softball: Winona State 3, Truman State 2

Softball: Winona State 34 Truman State 1 (doubleheader)

Tennis (women): UM-Crookston 4, Winona State 3

HARMONY, Minn. — Two persons, both from Harmony, were injured in a collision east of Harmony and taken to 29 miles a Decorah hospital with sustainable injuries. Jessica Jo Hemenway, 53, and Paul Sanford Hemenway, 29, were passengers in the same car. This was about 3:30 p.m. at U.S. Highway 52 and County Road 12. Their driver, identified by police. only as a 17-year-old Harmony boy, was unhurt. Also unhurt was the second driver, Grant Samuel Fleming, 24, of Stewartville. Both the Kia Forte sedan, driven by the 17-year-old old, and the 2023 Ram 3500 pickup, driven by Fleming, were traveling north on U.S. 52, police said. Pavement was dry.