Minnesota tax update: Revenue exceeds projections
ST. PAUL, Minn. – State tax collections in August exceeded expectations by 5.8%, the state Budget office reported. General revenue totaled $1.1 billion. The breakdown:
Individual income tax: $117 million, ahead $23 million.
Sales tax: $662 million, behind $1 million.
Corporate tax: $64 million, ahead 9 million.
Other revevue: $266 million, ahead $29 million.
Since the beginning of the fiscal year July 1, revenues totaled has totaled almost $3 billion, 3.7% more than predicted.
R.I.P.: Dona Ferguson
LEWISTON, Minn. — Dona May Ferguson, 93, of Lewiston, who worked 20 years at Security State Bank, died at the Winona hospital. She also worked at Lewiston Vet Clinic, ASCS office, Lewiston Sales barn, Camera Art and Kwik Trip. She was known for her doll collection, which she would load into her car and take to nursing homes to entertain residents. She graduated from Lewiston High School in 1947. She was named the 1949 Lewiston Snow Queen and represented Lewiston in the Winona Winter Carnival. She served on the Lewiston Public Cemetery board as treasurer. She was an election judge for Warren Township.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1929-2023
R.I.P.: Patsy Altobell
WINONA, Minn. — Patricia “Patsy” Altobell, 80, of Winona, died at Adith Miller Manor after a cognitive and physical decline from dementia. She graduated from Cotter High School. Later in life she went back to school and graduated from St. Teresa College with plans to teach. She decided, however, that teaching wasn’t for her and took other career paths. These included being a dispatcher, a bartender, a photo retoucher, and a nursing aide. She welcomed visitors into her home and was known big spaghetti dinners at New Year’s.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1943-2023
Como’s new snow leopard in center stage
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A furry bundle of joy, the 5-month-old snow leopard Willow, made her public debut at the Como Park Zoo. Baby Willow was born in May to 10-year-old Moutig and 9-year-old Alya as part of a species survival plan. Although Willow doesn’t know it, she’s blind. Zookeepers said she was born with multiple ocular colobomas, an irreversible eyelid abnormality. Being in a zoo assures a long life that would be unlikely in nature, said zookeepers.
Willow with mom. Only 2,500 to 10,000 snow leopards remain in in the wild. They are native to central Asia and the India subcontinent mountain ns between 6,000 and 18,000 feet. Adults weigh 50 to 90npounds.
Zollman Zoo boardwallks to be replaced
Woodland zoo. The Zollman Zoo at Byronn will be closed through October 6 to replace boardwalk trails with asphalt. The bison, elk, deer and natural playscape will still be accessible, announced Olmsted County, which operates the zoo. The new trails will be more accessible and safer, the County said\. The rest of Oxbow Park, including the nature center, hiking trails, and public programming will remain open.
Driver arrested, apparentiy lost, in farmyard
LEWISTON, Minn. – A Dover man was arrested after driving around in a farmyard south of Lewiston, apparently confused, and then getting out and wandering aimlessly. Deputies responding to a call from the farm found Jared Lee Hogstad, 29, sitting on his car in front of the farm house. This was about 11:55 p.m. A charge of driving under influence was pending. Deputies said Hogstad staggered through field sobriety field tests, had bloodshot and watery eyes, and was fidgety. The farmer had called 911 that somebody was driving in his yard and then around outbuildings. This was in the unpaved 26000 block of Enterprise Valley Road.
Expert: First Amendment supports gay flag at Gale High
MADISON, Wis. – The Galesville School Board may have gotten itself into s pickle for removing a gay pride flag from the G-E-T High School library. Howard Schweber, a constitutional law expert at the University of Wisconsin, faulted the Board’s decision as a First Amendment violation. There is no constitutional requirement to ban an expression of one opinion just nobody has presented a counter-opinion, Schweber said in a WKBT interview. In short, any and all opinions can be expressed under the First Amendment. No limit on free expression by government are allowed constitutionally, including public school boards, he said. Schweber cited a 1991 U.S. Supreme Court opinion: “When Congress established a National Endowment for Democracy to encourage other countries to adopt democratic principles, it was not constitutionally required to fund a program to encourage competing lines of political philosophy such as communism and fascism.” In the G-E-T case, the School Board erred in defending its ban as an issue of fairness, Schweber sid. There is no constitutional requirement on the School Board to assure that all expressions be present in the schools – although, to be sure, the lack of opposing view cannot be a rationale for a ban.
Schweber. A political theorist at the UW-Madison law school. His scholarship includes books on the First Amendment, from Peter Lang Press, and American legal development in the 1800s, from Cambridge University Press.
College scores
Soccer (women): Winona State 2, MSU-Moorhead 2
Soccer (women): Saint Mary’s 1, UW-Stout 0
Soccer (women): UW-LaCrosse 1, Virginia Wesleyan 0
Kids try cashing PTA check for groceries
WINONA Minn. – Two 13-year-olds were stopped in a Hy-Vee grocery check-out aisle when they tried paying with a check made out up a school fund-raiser. The parents were notified
Woman reports waking up to punches
WINONA, Minn. – A Rochester man was arrested after a girlfriend reported waking up being punched. Leonard Arnold Tucker, 55, was booked for domestic assault intending harm. The woman reported the incident about 4 p.m. She said she aware of being punched three times and showed police bruises on an arm and hand. Tucker told police that there had been mutual pushing back and forth the after an argument.
Tucker. Arrest in 50 block of West Broadway Street.
Corn bin augur chews worker’s legs
WINDOM, Winn. – A grain worker was critically injured when he fell onto an augur up to his thighs while cleaning a grain bin. Travis Miller, 30, lost both legs. Fellow workers were able to free him. He was flown to a New Ulm hospital for a blood transfusion, then to a Minneapolis trauma center for amputations. A second surgery was scheduled to remove dirt and corn from the wounds.
The wonderment of autumn
Stop to be amazed. The bluff rises in brilliance at the foot of Wacholz Drive. Facing south in Stockton. Image: Steve Lunde
Man flees Eau Claire SWAT team, leaves child behind
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – A manhunt was launched for 28-year-old Mitchell Henke after a woman reported that he pistol-whipped her and threatened to kill her child. This was about 11:45 p.m. at a house west of Eau Claire in Union township. Sheriff Dave Riewestahl called Henke armed and dangerous. The woman had fled the house and called 911 for help. Her 2-year-old child, she said, was still inside. A regional SWAT team surrounded the house. After several hours of negotiation, the SWAT team entered the house through a bedroom window and rescued the child. Henke wasn’t there. This was at 3200 block of West Cameron Street.
Henke. Wanted for several felonies. Sheriff: He’s armed and dangerous. Don’t approach.
No Wisconsin rescue planned for dislocated flamingos
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. – State wildlife experts said they have no intention at the moment to relocate five flamingos that arrived this week on a Lake Michigan shore 25 miles north of Milwaukee. The birds don’t appear in danger, said Ryan Brad of the state Natural Resources Department. The hope: That the birds will find a way back to the Gulf Coast as Wisconsin weather cools before winter. There have been other recent flamingo sightings in in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania – none native flamingo habitats.
R.I.P.: Everett Stark
WINONA, Minn. — Everett Eugene Stark, 88, of Winona and formerly of Bluff Siding, who retired from the Watlow controls manufacturing plant after 45 years as a tool and die maker, died at Sauer Health Care. He graduated from Winona High School in 1953 and entered a Watlow apprenticeship in 1964. At St. Martin’s church he served as head usher and was on the Board of Elders, the Board of Property, the Board of Stewardship, and the Call Committee. He was on the Sauer Memorial Home board of firectors, the Lamberton Home board, and the Winona Arms board.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1945-2023
Muck slows Eyota departure of Bryan concert crew
Pressure on. The Luke Bryan road crew really needed to get out of the mud in Eyota. The next stop on the singer’s tight schedule was only three days away in Texas. Take-downs, like set-ups, don’t happen instantly.
Thunderstorm leaves Gar-Lin farm a mud pit
EYOTA, Minn. – The crew that set up the Eyota concert of Luke Bryan became mired in cropland mud after storms cancelled the show. Taking down the stage and show gear was a messy the next morning. As the dismantling began, it became obvious that the show’s dozen over-the-road 18-wheelers and dorm trailers couldn’t get enough traction to drive out, some not even an inch. Mud was up to the wheel rims. Farm tractors and other equipment at the host Gar-Lin dairy farm came to the rescue and pulled and nudged the trucks out to paved streets. The concert site was a multi-acre grain field that had been cleared for the concert and an expected 26,000 fans. Last year was perfect for Bryan’s first Farm Tour concert in Eyota. This year: Not so much.
WSU outcome data ranks high in region
WINONA, Minn. — Winona State emerged again as a leader among universities in the region in the annual report of the ranking site U.S. News & World Report. The report attempts to measure academic quality on graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Those outcomes comprise 40% each each school’s overall score. The latest Winona State rankings:
> Number 1: In the seven-campus MinnState university system.
> Number 2: Among public universities in Minnesota.
> Number 3: Among public universities in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
> Number 4: Among Minnesota public universities for social mobility
> Number 9: Among public universities in the 12-state Midwest region.
The university retained its second place as for accessibility for veterans and active service members. The U.S. News ranking singled out programs in nursing, engineering, computer science, business and psychology for quality.
Phelps Hall. A campus signature is the neo-Dutch classroom building for mass communication and psychology studies. Built in 1914.
Verbatim
Ken Janz, Winona State interim president: “Our data shows that Winona State is exceeding expectations and outperforming other universities across the state, from superior student support and financial aid opportunities to academic success and impressive graduate outcomes.” He pointed to a 92% job placement rate for graduates.
Week’s summary: Ending September 23, 2023
SCHOOLS: Walz to lawmakers: Clarify school policing limits
SCHOOLS: Police ponder terrorizing charge against teen
SCHOOLS: Police to second fight at Winona High School
ENVIRONMENT: Low Mississippi levels again hinder farm shipping
ENVIRONMENT: Winona dry spell into sixth week
ENVIRONMENT: Lanesboro, other cities order watering cuts
LABOR: Strike ahead? Hormel, meat-packer union at impasse
COLLEGES: UM confirms massive campus data breach
POLITICS: Van Orden’s verbal abuse of aides won’t go away
CANNABIS: New state marijuana czar knows her stuff
CRIME: Court date in Fravel murder case now October
CRIME: Cops find meth in car seat, backpack, socks
CRIME: Twice Jon Ask has jumped bail: Bye to $1.1 million
CRIME: Officer takes bite from guy not liking pat-down
CRIME: Winona driver stopped drunk twice same weekend
CRIME: Huge Rochester fentanyl cache found in car
ARTS: Gallery debut: Literary arts exhibit
ARTS: $9.8 million asked for Bob Ross’ first TV work
ARTS: Museum exhibits explore human-sea linkages
ARTS: Poet’s new collection: Book-signing at museum
SPORTS: Fete set for five Winona High super-athlete alums
JOURNALISM: Pink slip to KAAL anchor James Wilcox
ENGINEERING: Red River flood-control project: “Truly generational”
Gunfire in bad-blood West End street brawl
WINONA, Minn. – At least two shots, perhaps four, were fired in a volatile street fight about 10:20 p.m. on the Far West End. Police believed that the shots were fired in the air. No one was injured. The primary combatants were a woman at the house and a woman who drive up in a van load of people, police said. Police recovered a 45-calibre SIG Sauer automatic pistol from a car that sped away. The weapon’s serial number had been ground off, police said. No charges were filed immediately, but police said that charges may be forthcoming after interviewing the six people in the van further, as well as people at a residence in the 900 block of West Wabasha Street where the fight occurred. Police found one shell casing at the scene. The shell was the type used the SIG Sauer that was confiscated. No one admitted to firing the gun. A neighbor later reported a dent in his parked car, apparently, he said, from a ricocheting bullet. Police learned of the fight from a caller who reported gunshots and shouting and a van packed with people speeding away. As best as police could determine immediately, there were eight people in the melee — one 16 years old and the others 18 to 23.
Thief loses no time hawking iPhone
WINONA, Minn. – A woman who reported leaving a iPhone mistakenly at a shop in the Winona Mall complex said she spotted it shortly afterward on the Facebook marketplace site. She reported this about 10:55 p.m
Dakota home burglary foiled by alarms
DAKOTA, Minn. – Deputes responding to a house burglary report found no one home but that a door had been jimmied. They searched the yard with a K-9 deputy but found nothing irregular. It was thought that burglars had been scared off by multiple alarms going off. A neighbor reported seeing two people fleeing the house. Nothing was identified immediately as missing. This was about 10:15 p.m. in the 26000 block of Falcon Lane upriver from Dakota.
College scores
Football: Winona State 39, Northern State of South Dakota 16
Soccer (men): Saint John’s 2, Saint Mary’s 1
Soccer (women): Saint Benedict 1, Saint Mary’s 0
Soccer (women): Christopher Newport 1, UW-LaCrosse 0
Volleyball (women): Concordia of St. Paul 3, Winona State 0
Volleyball (women): Concordia of Moorhead 3, Saint Mary’s 0
Volleyball (women): Central of Iowa 3, Saint Mary’s w
Minnesota prep
Football: Spring Grove 35, Alden-Conger Knights 0
Football: Mabel-Canton Cougars 35, Lanesboro Burros 26
Electro-scooter stolen at East End Rec Center
WINONA, Minn. – A Segway Ninebot scooter was taken from outside the East End Rec Center on Zumbro Street while the owner was inside playing basketball. The theft was reported about 6:45 p.m.
Ninebot. About $1,000 retail.
Retro-check of store video shows bed theft
WINONA, Minn. – From surveillance video police recognized the man carrying a $350 bed out of the Walmart megastore without paying. The theft, police said, was August 4 but delayed in being reported. A citation was mailed to Michael Thomas Breza, 32, of Minnesota City.
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