WINONA, Minn. – Paint from a printing machine caught fire at the sprawling state-of-the-art Wincraft factory on the Far East End. When firefgters arrived, an employee had put out most of the fire with a chemical extinguisher. But smoke was still billowing from clogged exhaust ducts. Firefighters dismantled the duct work and discovered a small fire from residual ink. This was about 12:30 p.m. at1301 Enterprise Drive. The fire originated in a machine producing sports paraphernalia.

WINONA, Minn. – A 12-year-old boy threw through a fit at the Winona Middle School and punched a teacher in the jaw.  Police were called about 2:35 p.m. They left it to Principal Dave Anderson to handle the situation pending a possible assault charge. Except for for a swollen jaw, the teacher was all right.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The state’s First Dog ,a black lab pup. belonging to Governor Tim Walz and First Lady Gwen, trapped himself in an upstairs bedroom. Somebody heard Scout barking. A call was made to the First Lady, who rushed home to supervise a crew that hoisted a ladder to the bedroom window and unlatched the door. All’s well that ends well.

Where he’d rather. be. In the field bird-fetching,

AUSTIN, Minn. – A St. Paul woman was placed on five years probation for falling asleep on a couch and smothering her baby son to death. Jocelyn Leslie Pater, 26, formerly from Glenville in Mower County, was high on meth at the time. Judge Kevin Siefken issued the sentence. In December 2021 Pater was charged with second-degree manslaughter, felony child endangerment, and two drug charges. The charges were narrowed to manslaughter in a plea deal. She also was ordered to 200 hours of community service.

Earlier: Plea change in baby death: Meth role still uncertain

WINONA, Minn. – A woman told police that $400 cash had been taken from her bedroom in a shared apartment. This happened, she said, over the past 10 days. Two roommates denied the theft to police and blamed reach other. This was in the 700 block of East Fifth Street. The status of the case: Unresolved.

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 35 emergency medical calls plus 30 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, October 24: 5 medical calls plus 5 fire calls.

> Monday, October 23: 4 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.

> Sunday, October 22: 2: medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

> Saturday, v October 21: 4 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.

> Friday, October 20: 4 medical calls plus 5 calls.

> Thursday, October 19: 8 medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Wednesday, October 18: 8 medical calls plus 11 fire call.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 61 calls

WINONA, Minn. – Waves of torrential rain whipped through Winona overnight, pre-emptively activating the county emergency response center. Crews were called about onedowned power line. Branches briefly blocked Old Homer Road. Three cars overturned on their roofs in the county but whether the blinding rain was a factorwas unclear. No flash floods were reported. The ground, dry from a summer of drought, absorbed the moisture easily. Even so, a lot of basement sump pumps had a good workout. The precipitation tracking station at the Winona airport reported a total of almost 6.8 inches:

5:55 p.m.: 0.04 inches.

6:15 p.m.: 0.32 inches.

6:35 p.m.: 0.39 inches.

6:55 p.m.: 0.73 nches.

7:15 p.m.: 0.33 inches.

7:35 p.m: 0.47 inches.

7:55 p.m.: 0.69 inches.

8:15 p.m.: 0.23 inches.

8:35 p.m.: 0.52 inches.

8:55 p.m.: 0.93 inches.

9:15 p.m.: 0.26 inches.

9:35 p.m.: 0.48 inches.

9:55 p.m.: 0.65 inches.

10:15 p.m.: 0.34 inches.

10:35 p.m.: 0.29 inches.

10:55 p.m.: 0.34 inches.

11:15 p.m.: 0.01 inches

11:55 p.m.: 0.01 inches

12:15 a.m.: 0.01 inches

2:35 a.m.: 0.01 nches.

2:55 a.m.: 0.04 inches.

3:55 a.m.: 0.01 inches

4:55 a.m.: 0.01 inches.

7:35 a.m.: 0.01 inches.

7:55 a.m.: 0.01 inches

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man arrested as a drunk driver at 12:14 a.m. was then arrested again, 1-1/2 hours later at 1:57 a.m., for the same offense. This time the cops locked him up. Jesse James Robertson, 36, was arrested first at Broadway and Kansas on the East Side. He had crossed the centerline and was weaving, police said. At the jailhouse his blood tested as at 0.15% alcohol — almost double what’s allowed. Per usual protocol, police issued a citation and released Robertson to a responsible adult to escort home to sober up. But this time the other adult driver took Robertson back to his car, which was parked and locked where the first arrest occurred, and left him. Robertson then was stopped 10 block away at Broadway and Huff streets, again because he was weaving and crossing the centerline. By the time he was at the jailhouse again, he had sobered up a bit. His blood-alcohol level had dropped to 0.13% — still too high. He was shown to a cell.

Robertson. Drunk-driving charge escalated.

WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters responded to an emergency shut-off alarm at the Sinclair gas station in the 1650 block of West Service Drive. It was a malicious prank. An employee said a man had run up to the alarm, activated the switch, and run off. This was about 10:05 p.m. There was no spill. Firefighters reset the alarm and returned to station

Soccer (men): Macalester 4, Saint Mary’s 0

Football: Rochester Marshall Rockets 14, Rochester. Century Panthers 0

Football: Rochester Lourdes Eagels 49, Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars 12

Football: Lake City Tigers 28, Pine Island Panthers 20

Football: Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights 6, Rushford-Peterson Trojans 0

Football: Faribault Bethlehem Cardinals 28, Wabsaha-Kellogg Falcons 8

Football: Harmony. Fillmore Central Falcons 41, Hayfield Vikings 14

WINONA, Minnesota – The Winona County Board coted 3-2 to ban large dog breeding operations after years of persistent citizen alarm about animal welfare. Commissioners were unsure, however, about how to word an ordinance that permits small kennels but not large ones. They decided to delay final enactment until a new director of county planning is hired. The position is currently vacant, but the hope is to have someone on board in January to draft the commissioners’ intent into legal language. The drafting challenge: How big is too big? Some federal and state regulated dog-breeders in the state have 1,000 animals. Winona County has 12 breeding kennels, mostly Amish enterprises around Utica.  The largest is thought to have 80 adult dogs How the County Board voted:

For ban

Chris Meyer (District 1, Winona Eat Side and neighboring south townships)

Greg Olson (District 4, central Winona)

Dwayne Voegeli (District 2, Goodview and Winona West Side)

Against ban

Josh Elsing (District 3, Altura, Elba, Rollingstone, St. Charles, Minnesota City, Stockton, and north and west townships)

Marcia Ward (District 5, Dakota, Dresbach, LaCrescent, Lewiston, Utica and south townships)

Earlier: Dog-breeding limits still on County agenda

Earlier: How they voted: On dog-breeding kennels / 1

Earlier:  County zoning panel: Let dog-breeders be

Earlier: Should Winona County tighten kennel limits?

WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters rushed to the 400 block of Wilson Street to free a cat trapped in a downspout. The downspout was removed. Apparrently the cat had already found its way out.  This was about 7:10 p.m.

WINONA, Minn. – The Family and Children’s Center on Franklin Street was evacuated after smoke from a bathroom filled a hallway. Firefighters put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher. There were no injuries. The fire had been started with toilet paper. This was about 2:30 p.m. in the old Winona Daily News building, which has been converted into a family therapy facility. Firefighters searched the building but found nothing else amiss. They placed ventilation fans in doorways to air out the place. The staff said an irritated parent had entered he bathroom after exhibiting aggressive behavior. The parent denied lighting the fire.

601 Franklin. Services include adult rehab for mental health, child therapy, foster care.

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona man, upset that his cell phone was missing, tossed a jug of gasoline into an oversize trash bin and set it ablaze. Such was what witnesses told police while firefighters were extinguishing the fire. This was about 1:45 p.m. in the 800 block of Sanborn Street just off Mankato Avenue. Police arrested Patrick Matthew Smuth, 46, nearby. They said he was high on something. He was booked for arson and also a probation violation. A day earlier, a man said he had found a cellphone plugged into an external outlet on his property, apparently for a freeloading recharge. Not knowing to whom the phone belonged, the man said he took it to a Verizon shop and left it to be reclaimed. Then, he said, Smith came by and asked for his phone. Displeased that it wasn’t there, Smith left and came back with a milk jug and reportedly said: “I have $2 worth of gas to light this thing up.” He dumped accelerant into bin and lit it with a cigarette lighter. Verizon still has Smith’s phone whenever he wants to pick it up.

Smith. Trotted two blocks to a Kwik Trip, returned with a milk jug but not any milk.

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver, Daniel Gardner Arndt, 32, showed 0.15% blood-alcohol content after a traffic stop — almost double the threshold for impairment. This was about 1:03 a.m. at Fourth and Center streets near the downtown bar district. The arrest was without incident. The stop was for a bad taillight. Police said Arndt had slurred speech, bloodshot and watery eyes, and strong odor of alcohol. Arndt said his last drink was an hour earlier.

LEWISTON, Minn. – Alarmed teenagers alerted police that an image of a long gun and a backpack in Lewiston was circulating  online. It turned out that the jmage originated in Lewiston, Maine – not Lewiston, Minnesota. Police Chief Scott Yeiter said there was no threat to his Lewiston – that’s the Lewiston in central Winona County. Yeiter thanked the students for their diligence and for sharing the picture with their parents and making law enforcement aware of the post. The image had a gun with magazine removed below a green backpack lying on a car’s gray hood.

Lots of Mr. Lewises got around and became namesakes for communities all over.

> Lewiston Maine, population 37,000.

> Lewiston, Idaho, 34,200.

> Lewiston, New York,15,900.

> Lewistown, Montana, 5,900.

> Lewiston, Pennsylvania, 5,200.

> Lewiston, Minnesota, 1,500.

> Lewiston, Wisconsin, 1,200.

> Lewiston, Michigan, 990.

> Lewiston, Utah, 770.

> Lewiston Woodville, North Carolina, 550.

> Lewistown, Kentucky, 460.

> Lewiston, Ohio, 200.

> Lewiston, Nebraska, 54.

> Lewiston, Maryland, unincorporated.

> Lewiston Indiana, unincorporated.

> Lewiston, Virginia, unincorporated.

> Lewiston, Vermont, abandoned.

Abroad:

> Lewiston, Australia, 2,200.

> Leweston, England, unincorporsted.

 > Lewiston, Scotland, abandoned.

> Lewiston Bridgend, Wales, unincorporated.

Volleyball (girls): Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 6, Lyle-Pacelli Athletics 0

Volleyball (girls): Adams Southland Rebels 3, Rochester Schaeffer Lions 0

Volleyball (girls): Houston Hurricanes 3, Spring Valley Kings 2

WASHINGTON – The western Wisconsin representative in Congress, Derrick Van Orden, missed the latest vote on filling the House speakership vacancy because he was in Israel. That Van Orden was abroad was confirmed by a spokesperson in response to media questions after his absence was noticed. . Of 535 House members, Van Orden was one of only six not voting. His portfolio for traveling to the Hamas-Israel war zone was not clear. He is not a member of any House committee that deals with foreign or military affairs. The spokesperson noted that Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, was “uniquely qualified to objectively ascertain the ground truth and bring that information back to Congress.” His spokesperson did not say long that Van Orden would begone or  whether he had other places also to visit in the Mediterranean. Als, there had been no detail on how long he would be away or how long he had been organizing the trip. When asked after Van Orden’s absence, his spokesperson issued these statements on his behalf:

Verbatim

Van Orden, through a spokesperson: “The intent of my trip to Israel during this time of crisis is multifold. Primarily, I am there to witness what has and is taking place so that I can speak from an informed position, I will be inspecting medical facilities to have a holistic understanding of the current and future needs of the Israeli people and speaking to military and other governmental officials to understand the needs of those entities and how to best provide them.”

Verbatim

Van Orden, through a spokesperson: “Currently, as I write this piece, there is no path for a new Speaker, and Congress remains rudderless and in disarray. There is no sense of urgency to elect a Speaker despite the many challenges we face at home, including an open southern border and skyrocketing gas and grocery prices. Our children’s education is being threatened by political agendas and misplaced priorities antithetical to the American Dream.”

Earlier: How they voted: On House speakership /3