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9November 2023

Winona winter rule: Odd day-odd side, even-even

WINONA, Minn. – Snowing or not, Winona’s alternate-side parking ordinance goes into effect on Wednesday. Yes, winter’s coming. Plow crews need access to the curbs every other night The ordinance allows parking on city streets between 12:01 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. only on the even numbered side of the street when the date is even — and only on the odd numbered side of the street when the date is odd.  This is based on street addresses. Generally the north or east side of a street is even-numbered and the south or west side is odd numbered. Deputy Police Chief Jay Rasmussen gave these examples:

> If at 12:01 a.m the date is November 15, then at that time, your vehicle should be parked on the odd side of the street.

> Alternatively, if at 12:01 a.m. the date is November 16, then at that time your vehicle should be parked on the even side of the street.

Lots affected by alternate-ide parking:

> Lot 1: Off Second between Center and Lafayette.

No parking on odd-numbered days.

> Lot 3: By bus shelter off Center Street between Third and Fourth streets. No parking on even-numbered days.

Violations carry a $25 penalty.

Towing rules

The Street Department issues tag-and-tow orders when streets need to be plowed. The police Facebook page announces these tag-and-tow declaration. Violations mean a car will be towed and impounded. The city’s contract towing company charges a towing and storage fee, established by the City Council, to release vehicles. Expect a towing fee is $160, a storage fee pf $30 a day, and an administration fee of $25. ANither hassle: You must first go to the police station to get auth0rization for your car to be released. Bring your proof of insurance and identification.

9November 2023

R.I.P.: LaVern Nelsestuen

WINONA, Minn. – LaVern Norman Nelsestuen, 91, of Winona, who worked at Fiberite for 31 years, died at Saint Anne nursing home. After retirement he worked at Saint Anne’s. He attended Minnesota School for the Deaf at Faribault. He belonged to the Deaf Club in La Crosse.

Details: Hoff Funeral Home

NELSESTUE LaVern 1932 2N023 - Winona Journal

1932-2023

9November 2023

R.I.P.: Catherine Czaplewski

WINONA, Minn. – Catherine “Kayir” R. Czaplewski, 86, of Winona, who worked in student affairs at Saint Mary’s University, died at Sugar Loaf Senior Living. She graduated from Winona Senior High. She worked at Merchants Bank for a time and later as the secretary-gatekeeper at Cotter High School.

Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home

CAPLEWSKI catherine1937 2023 - Winona Journal

1937-2023

9November 2023

Revenue from “Return Engagement” to help elders

WINONA, Minn. — Playwright Kathleen Kenney-Peterson and Theatre du Mississippi donated $1,700 to the Winona chapter of the Elder Network. The donation was part of the ticket revenue from Kenney-Peterson’s play “Return Engagement,” which Theatre du Mississippi produced in October. The play tells the story of Richard, a gay New York stage actor who has developed multiple sclerosis and is forced to move back to his small Minnesota hometown. It explores his struggles dealing with a chronic illness and the difficulties of reconnecting with his family.

KENNEY PETERSON kathleen wna paywright 2023 copy - Winona Journal

Kenney-Peterson. Winona paywright. Donation to help programs for seniors and caregivers.

9November 2023

Investigative reporting: Doerr in touch? Not?

WINONA, Minn. – A candidate for Winona’s seat in the Minnesota House, Stephen Doerr, has a bizarre if not troubling past. At one time he encouraged people to fly the Confederate flag. In 2021 he bought into false online scuttlebutt that questioned President Obama’s U.S. birthplace. In 2019 he called Islam “a plague.” These revelations were reported in 2022 by the Minnesota Reformer, an independent, nonprofit news organization, but the Reformer’s report was not much noticed. In fact, Doerr, running at the time for the Minnesota House seat 26-A, won 45% of the vote. He’s back again for 2024 or an encore challenge to Democrat Gene Pelowski. For its report, the Minnesota Reformer tracked Doerr’s social media posts, which show far-right extremist political views. The Reformer also checked judicial records. What follows here is abbreviated from the Reformer’s 2022 investigative journalism:

Oblivious to Minnesota heritage?

In 2016 Doerr encouraged people to celebrate Confederate History and Heritage Month. Fly the Confederate flag, he said. As the Reformer noted, Minnesota historically was aligned with the Union values, not Confederacy values. Fact: Minnesota was first state to volunteer Union soldiers fight in the Civil War effort. This raises the question: How in touch is Doerr with Minnesota’s heritage and cultural values.

Suspicions about Obama birth

In 2019 Doerr questioned whether President Obama first arrived to the United States as a “foreign-born college student.” Apparently Doerr had bought into a Donald Trump assertion, a lie, that Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii. Fact: Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961 — 63 years after Hawaii became a U.S. territory and three years after becoming a full-fledged U.S. state. Remember Pearl Harbor.

White supremacy

In 2016 Doerr, a Catholic and white, said Islam was a plague and Satanic in origin. In 2021, he compared gun control to “how Nazis took over Germany.” For the same reason he opposed tearing down statues of white supremacists, separatists and extreme states rights advocates  from the Civil War.  He has supported multiple militia members who have been in armed standoffs with the U.S. government. Think Waco. Think Ruby Ridge. Think the Oregon separatists.

Arcadia incident

Doerr himself tangled with the law in the mid-1990s. He was arrested in 1996 for brandishing a pistol and threatening to kill people at a Wisconsin party while trying to get the mother of his child to leave with him. According to a police report in Arcadia, officers were called to a party early one morning in August 1996. Officers saw Doerr, 23 years old at the time, running toward a car in a parking lot. Witnesses told police that Doerr had pointed a gun at people at the party, including a woman who said Doerr confronted her and a friend — while pointing a pistol in their direction — and said, “I want to know where the bitch is before I hurt people.” Later the woman for whom Doerr was looking, who had a child with Doerr, told police that shortly after she arrived at the party, Doerr showed up and chased her. She told the officer that Doerr threatened her. When the police had arrived. Doerr ran to his car. An officer found a loaded gun in the passenger compartment of the car and ammunition in his pockets, according to the police report.

Criminal charge

Doerr was charged with felony false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and possessing a loaded, uncased gun in a vehicle. Togetherthee charges  could have carried a $15,000 fine and three years i prison. Days later Doerr was charged also with trespassing and felony bail-jumping. Court records indicate he pleaded guilty to trespassing and the bail-jumping charges. The kidnap and other charges were dismissed by the prosecutor. Why? The woman who said Doerr pointed a gun at her changed her story, according to the Trempealeau County Times. A judge dismissed the false imprisonment and reckless endangerment charges, ruling there wasn’t probable cause to take those charges to trial. Doerr was convicted in 1997 on the lesser charge — transporting a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

Expungement petition denied

In 2003 Doerr tried to get the convictions expunged from his record,. He had been rejected for a job in Texas and claimed he needed a clean recrods for a new carer. . In a letter to a judge, Doerr said he “changed my way of living my daily life and sought to be a positive role model in my community.”  Doerr wrote also that he had obtained  full custody of his child, who was 11 by then. He also said he had trained as a firefighter; had gotten  a bachelor’s and master’s degree; and had became a high school math teacher. EDITOR’S NOTE: These education claims recently have come under scrutiny as overstated if not untrue. To the judge, Doerr wrote also that the convictions were related to his separation from his daughter’s mother and that he was trying merely to get “the best care” for the child’s well-being. The judge denied Deorr’s request. The judge noted that Wisconsin law allows expungement only if a person was under age 21 at the time of the offense and if  the original judge is willing  sign off on a possible expungement.

Response to Minnesota Reformer

Doerr said in an email to the Reformer about its 2022 article t at the Arcadia incident was “a lifetime” ago and stemmed from “child-rearing differences with a partner not committed or valuing a life of marriage blessed by God.” He encouraged the Reformer to go lightly on him:  “Jesus called for us to turn away and forgive.” He followed by saying his candidacy to represent Winona in the Legislature was based on “a firmly anti-government stance.” He said he has experienced corrupt systems, with “good ol’ boys who fight diversity and different beliefs by targeting, with law enforcement, what government members believe is the enemy: family.”

DOERR stehpen Jaams xgr 26a cand GOP B copy - Winona Journal

Doerr. Has announced his candidacy to represent District 26-A, which includes most of Winona County.  He said he would file as a Republican, which could trigger a run-off with Winona Council at-large member Aaron Repinsky, also a Republican. The seat has been held since 1987 by Democrat Gene Pelowski, who has indicated he will seek re-election.

Incommunicado

The Winona Journal has attempted several times to contact Doerr to discuss his record and to expand on his views. He has not responded.

Minnesota Reformer profile

The Reformer, launched in 2020, focuses on covering state government from a nonpartisan perspective. The Reformer underscores its independence by noting ttyat not eveb a taint of advertising influences its coverage. The Reformer  carries no advertising. Financing is through donations, much channeled from the States Newsroom network, a national nonprofit based dedicated to in-depth statehouse coverage. The Minnesota Reformer has small corps of St. Paul-based reporters. Their careers include experience with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio and the suburban Minneapolis Southwest News. Their experience elsewhere includes the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Denver Post, and Fargo Forum. The States Newsroom seeks to fill the void created by more than a decade of newspaper layoffs and buyouts that resulted jn shrinking State Capitol coverage nationwide. Newspaper newsroom employment declined 47% from 2008 to 2018. Only 30 %of newspapers have anyone assigned to statehouse coverage. The States Newsroom has staffs in 36 State Capitols, each covering state government news..

8November 2023

News summary at mid-week: November 8, 2023

8November 2023

State lagged on telling townspeople of benzene hazard

RAYMOND, Minn. – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found major ground poisoning where an ethanol train derailed in March but failed to tell the local people, according to an investigative journalism report. Television station KSTP reported that the agency found 75 times more of the chemical benzene than state health standards allow. Benzene causes cancer. The Pollution Control Agency was aware of the benzene problem as early as September, six months after the accident. Since then the agency quietly has ordered the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to drill wells to track how the contamination may be spreading. But the agency failed to tell anyone in the southwest Minnesota town of Raymond, population 470, where the derailment occurred, that anything was amiss. KSTP interviewed the mayor and townspeople. They had no idea. The town had been evacuated on March 30 after tanker cars loaded with ethanol left the tracks and exploded. The last word that townspeople heard from officials who allowed to return home a few hours later was that contaminants would burn off. In other words: Nothing to worry about. Mayor Ardell Tensen told KSTP tyat  he was unaware of the Environmenal Protection Agency’s internal report this September about benzene poisoning in groundwater. “I never received a call, email or anything,” he said. The mayir took solace in that the town’s drinking water wells apparently have been unaffected. The state pollution agency defended its lack of communication with local people, telling KSTP that its legal responsibility was to guide and assist  the railroad “to ensure it properly deployed its emergency response plan.” In response, Anne Borgendale, communications director with Clean Up the River Environment, called the tax-funded enforcement agency’s stance a lame excuse. Borgendale told KSTP that the agency should have alerted people who live near the derailment immediately on every development in its evolving assessment of contaminant issues — even if the impact seemed minimal. KSTP’s investigation began with a leaked copy of the agency’s September report on discovering massive benzene quantities in groundwater.

Quietude on derailment

After the March 30 derailment released 30,000 gallons of ethanol, excavators removed more than 500 tons of soil. In October the National Transportation Safety Board blamed the accident on a “catastrophic” rail failure.  This was on the Burlington Northern’s Marshall Subdivision — a 220-mile line connecting Willmar in Minnesota and Sioux City in Iowa. The line has been the subject of ongoing employee complaints, millions of dollars in legal claims and in federal safety violation fines.

Earlier: Lingering flare-up at rail wreck called benign

Earlier: Raymond evacuees told: Safe to go home

Earlier: Railroad: No idea when tracks can reopen

Earlier: Walz scopes Raymond ethanol train wreck

Earlier: Ethanol explodes in train wreck; evacuation follows

Quietude on nuclear leak

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency chose a similar route of public silence when a radioactive leak occurred at Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear plant upriver from Minneapolis. The agency dealt quietly with Xcel: No public notice. This was last March. The question is whether the agency allows cozy relations with major corporations to override the public’s interest in full disclosure about industrial threats. Railroads and utilities are financially big players:

> BNSF: $25.8 bullion annual revenue.

> Xcel: $14.8 billion annual revenue.

Earlier: State re-licenses Monticello nuclear storage area

Earlier: Xcel nuclear waste still seeping underground

Earlier: Monticello on nuclear leak: “Trust but verify”

Earlier: New leak found, fixed at Monticello nuclear station

Earlier: Fish kill blamed on water temps at nuclear plant

Earlier: Nuclear waste at Monticello enters groundwater

Earlier: Regulators: Let’s not cry over spilt milk — err, tritium

8November 2023

Arsonist sets fire outside historic Winona library

WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters extinguished an arson-lit fire in a trash barrel outside the public library on Fifth Street. Because the fire was caught quickly, the library was undamaged. This was about 5:30 p.m. The fire was spotted by a family passing by. They tried to put out the flames with bottled water they were carrying — and called 911. Firefighters were on scene within minutes. Police later viewed surveillance video, which showed. a woman approach the library. She lit something on fire, possibly a rag, and held it up against the building a few seconds, then threw it, still burning, into the trash barrel.  She then walked away. Police recognized the woman in he video and began looking for her.

WNA library interior dome 1 - Winona Journal

Neoclassical gem. The Winona library, built in 1899, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Inside is a classic art collection. The centerpiece is a dome of of stained glass by 19th century artist Otto Heinicke.

WNA librayexterior 1 - Winona Journal
8November 2023

Graffiti-scrawler seen in the act

WINONA, Minn. – A woman slapped graffiti on one of the old school buildings, now converted to apartments, in the 200 block of West Broadway Street. A maintenance worker saw it happening and called police. The woman was gone when police arrived, but they recognized her from surveillance video and began looking for her. Meanwhile, give a try to translating the graffiti in the wall:

> “Triple dagawg dare ya mofa”

> “Do you feel me now Mr Crabs”

8November 2023

On tape: Defendant denies any intended hit-and-run

LACROSSE, Wis. – Jurors in the Lori Ann Phillips murder trial watched a video of a police interview in which she recounted the night her husband died. She has pleaded innocent. In the video she tells an investigator that they had argued and that she had gone to the garage of their home to get away. She said she feared her husband, who was drunk, would smash the truck’s window. “It was so dark out,” she said. “I couldn’t figure out where the lock was, but even if I would have locked it, he probably would have punched the window.” All she wanted at that moment, she said, was “just get away so that everybody was gonna be fine.” After driving off, she decided to try to find a hotel. Unsuccessful, she returned home around 2 a.m., she said. She went into the house and slept the majority of the early morning hours on a couch, she said. About 6 a.m. she woke up and realized her husband was not in the house, so she went outside to check whether their other vehicle was gone. It was then, she said, that she found her husband face down in a snowbank and dead.

Earlier: Expert at murder trial: Holmen death due to blunt force

PHILLIPS lorio ann murder trial sheiff jview 2023 11 08 copy - Winona Journal

Interrogation. Sheriff’s investigator and Lori Ann Phillips in recorded session at police headquarters.

8November 2023

Rochester teen pulls knife in school fight

ROCHESTER, Minn. – A student brawl at Century High School was broken up by teachers who confiscated a knife from one of the students. Principal Monde Schwartz confirmed the incident: “Thankfully, the weapon did not cause an injury.” The students involved have been disciplined. The school’s internal investigation is complete, she said. Even so, there is an police inquiry into possible criminal charges. The fight was in the afternoon.

School profile

Century High, on Rochester’ s Far East Side, has 1,600 students in Grade 8 through Grade 12.

8November 2023

Winona’s great but ain’t no Hollywood

WINONA, Minn. – They’re back. A good facsimile $10 bill, designed only for shooting movie scenes, turned up in the till at a Third Street liquor store. The shop owner found the bill when checking receipts from the night before. The bill had a clear “motion picture money” label, but the label can be missed easily. This kind of counterfeit money has been circulating around town off and on for months.

8November 2023

Trumpers prevail on Minnesota ballot issue — for now

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot be barred from the 2024 state primary ballot. A citizen group had sued to keep Trump out of the primary because he was deeply involved in the Capitol insurrection in January 2021. The Court said, however, it’s a separate question whether Trump can he precluded from the general election ballot. The Court seemed to invite a suit in the future regarding the general election. The anti-Trump suit was the first such actions in several states and was being watched closely.

Earlier: Trump on Minnesota ballot? Court hears case

Earlier: Case to state Court: Keep Trump off 2024 ballot

Earlier: Simon: State won’t keep Trump off Minnesota ballot

8November 2023

Notable journalism

Rachel Mergen (Winona Daily News, November 4, 2023): “Goodview Beef Jerky Company to Open New Destination Retail Store, Warehouse”

Jordan Sansom (KAAL, November 5, 2023): “Dodge County Sheriff Gets Tased to Help Out a Colleague”

Paul Walsh (Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 18, 2023): “Collision That Killed Kids in Amish Buggy Leaves Question: Which Twin Was Driving SUV?”

8November 2023

Award: 94% of Army Corps contracts to small business

SAN ANTINIO, Texas. – The Society of American Military Engineers selected the St. Paul District of the Army Corps of Engineers for its annual its Small Business award.  The Society recognized the District for issuing  94% of  its $114 million in contracts  to small businesses .

8November 2023

New baseball coach at Winona High

WINONA, Minn. — A veteran assistant coach at Winona High School, Steve Gilbertson, has been named the next baseball coach. Gilbertson started coaching as a student assistant for the Winona State University football team. He has been at Winona High since 2015 and has been an assistant coach for football, girls basketball and baseball. As the new head baseball coach he replaces Matt Smith, who directed the Winhawks since 2007 and led the team to the state tournament in 2022. Gilbertson, age 32, hails originally from Eau Claire.

GILBERTSON steve wna hs footb ciach - Winona Journal

Gibertson. His day job is teaching social studies.

8November 2023

Emergency, fire crews make 44 calls

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 32 emergency medical calls plus 12 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, November 7: 3 medical calls plus 7 fire calls.

> Monday, November 6: No medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

> Sunday, November 5: 6: medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Saturday, November 4: 3 medical calls plus no fire calls.

> Friday, November 3: 7 medical calls plus no calls.

> Thursday, November 2: 7 medical calls plus\no fire calls.

> Wednesday, November 1: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 55 calls

8November 2023

Rushford man accused as video peep creep

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Rushford man w knew the ins and outs of the Rochester public library — because he worked there — was charged with placing a video camera in a staff-only restroom. The Peeping Tom charge was filed against Todd Christian Lund, 66. He was terminated immediately. The criminal complaint said a fellow library employee found the video camera October 6.  The camera was removed. Police were contacted.  All other restrooms were inspected. No other cameras were found. The staff-only restroom with the camera requires badge access and is not used by the public.

8November 2023

Winona Ford dealer wins state title

WINONA, Minn. — The owner of Sugar Loaf Ford Lincoln in Winona, Michael Puetz, has been nominated as Minnesota’s representative in the national dealer of the year competition. Puetz started in car-dealing at Walz Buick in Winona in 1996. He later acquired the Ford dealership from Bill Hutmacher and then added Chrysler Winona to his portfolio.

PUETZ mchael syg loaf ford - Winona Journal

Puetz. Next is the National Automobile Dealers Association Show in Las Vegas in February.

8November 2023

R.I.P.: Bill Kent

WINONA, Minn. — William “Bill” Ronald Kent, 81 of Winona, a ham radio enthusiast, died at his home. He was an avida coin collector. He enjoyed travels to Fort Meyers, Florida.

Details: Hoff Funeral Home

KENT bill 1942 2023 - Winona Journal

1942-2023

8November 2023

R.I.P.: Barbara Holzer

WINONA, Minn. – LaVern Norman Nelsestuen, 91, of Winona, who worked at Fiberite for 31 years, died at Saint Anne nursing home. After retirement he worked at Saint Anne’s. He attended Minnesota School for the Deaf at Faribault. He belonged to the Deaf Club in La Crosse.

Details: Hoff Funeral Home

HOLZER barbara 1942 2023 - Winona Journal

1942-2023

7November 2023

Suicidal man on high bridge talked out of it

WNA hwy43 bridges scaled - Winona Journal

64-foot drop. From Highway 43 connecting with Wisconsin out of Winona. Although the river is low at the moment, current is always strong under the twin bridges. Image: Steve Lunde

His issue apparently was Social Security dispute

WINONA, Minn. — A police negotiator talked a suicidal man off the Mississippi River bridge, ending 34 minutes of intense drama. The man, age 40, from Winona, was taken to the hospital. He had used his cell phone to call a friend from the high arc of the bridge 64 feet above the water. The friend called 911. This was about 8:35 p.m. The entire four-officer night police shift responded. So did sheriff’s deputies. The sheriff’s dive team launched its rescue boat and waited in the water under the bridge. The night was in the 3os. The man was wearing black pants and a black leather jacket.The police negotiator made contact with the man through his cell phone. The man said he had been “screwed over by Social Security.”  He came off the bridge down a hiking-bicycling ramp. At the hospital he was placed on a 72-hold for evaluation.

7November 2023

Summary: School elections

Grand Meadow (enrollment 470)

YES: For $2.3 million to update heating, ventilation and air conditioning, to update surfacing, and to update the school’s dome structures totaling (279-125).

NO: For $2.6 million to expand career tech space and to remodel early learning space (238-165).

Harmony Fillmore Central (enrollment 590)

NO: To increase per pupil funding from $292 to $783 a year (409-300).

Lewiston-Altura (enrollment 690)

 NO: To increase per pupil funding from $52 to $760 a year (550-539).

NO: To upgrades to electrical, plumbing, security, fire alarm systems, new playground equipment at the elementary school, new flooring in the main gym at the high school, new C-gym bleachers, a new bus garage with adequate  space (633-452).

NO: To renovate the B-Gym in the high school into an auditorium with a capacity of 400, convert old locker rooms into auditorium support space and build a new gymnasium with 2 full size practice courts, locker rooms, a lobby, restrooms and concessions (756-318).

Rochester ( enrollment 17,600)

NO: For $13.2 million for technology (11,245-109,30).

Spring Grove (enrollment 350)

YES: For $12.2 million to updates to old building systems, to replace windows and roofs, to expand kitchen and cafeteria, to expand an art room, to update the high school woodshop, and to renovate restrooms and locker rooms (374-247).

NO: For $4.1 million to build a career and technical education lab (339-282).

Stewartville (enrollment 2,100)  

NO: For $55.7 million to build a K-2 school and to improve buildings (1,683-596).

NO: For $7.3 million to build a second athletic court at the proposed K-2 school, to build new community fitness center and weight room, and to renovate the middle school weight room into a classroom (1,535-470).

Wabasha-Kellogg (enrollment 900)

YES: For $16.2 million to updates and replace infrastructure, to improve career and technical education labs, to renovate high school science rooms, to construct a secure main building entrance, to update restrooms, and to renovate high school classrooms and the school’s media center (762-368)..

7November 2023

Sales tax in Rochester going to 8.6%

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Voters approved hiking the city sales tax by 0.5% to raise $205 million for long-term projects. The vote was 54% to 46%. The new revenue will allow the city to take out 24-year loans for:

> A new 90-acre regional sports and complex ($65 million).

> Economic vitality promotion ($50 million).

> Street reconstruction ($50 million).

> Flood control and water quality ($40 million).

The revised sales tax will be 8.6%. Promoters had argued that much of the new tax burden would fall on out-of-town visitors. The vote: 10,567 to 9,146

Earlier: Rochester Chamber backs sales tax

Earlier: Rochester ponders future of city sales tax

7November 2023

Man escapes barricaded garage; faces arson charge

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man attempted suicide by barricading himself in an alley garage and setting a couch on fire. Then, he said, his survival instincts kicked in. He smashed out a window and climbed through. Meanwhile, firefighters were called to the burning and smoked-filled garage on the 600 block of West Fourth. This was about 4:15 p.m. Zayne Thomas Bowman, 23, of Winona, was taken to the hospital for leg cuts from breaking glass that required stitches. He was booked at the jail about 8 p.m. for arson. Apparently he was despondent after being kicked out of his living quarters and had been taken in temporarily, for a few days, at the house on West Fourth. When the owner was away in the afternoon, he went to the single-car garage in the alley. That’s where the fire was set. Police blocked alleys from McBride and Sioux streets for firefighters to do their work.

2023 11 07 alley garage fire ARSON - Winona Journal

Burning couch. Generated lots of smoke and panicked man who had barricaded himself inside. Image: Winona Fire Department

BOWMAN zayne thmas ARSIN 2023 - Winona Journal

Bowman. Charged with arson.

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.

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