WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters needed two hours to control a major fire inside a large metal building at the giant scrapyard owned by former Mayor Jerry Miller and his son the state senator Jeremy Miller on Winona’s Far East End. All fire-fighting units were dispatched to the scene about 7:30 p.m. Off-duty crews were called in and also suburban Goodview fire units. It was not believed anyone was injured,  Fire Chief Curt Bittle said. Besides the main structure, no other buildings were involved. The cause was investigation, Bittle said.

On Shives Creek. Miller Scrap & Disposal stretches half a mile along Shives Creek in former wetlands where the creek flows into the Mississippi River. Images: Winona Fire Department

Third and Walnut. After hours at downtown parking lot outside Merchants Bank. Facing north toward river on Walnut Street.

Severe facial features from being kicked in head

WINONA, Minn. — A man was beaten and stomped on a downtown street and rushed to a LaCrosse hospital with severe facial fractures that required immediate advanced care. This was about 6 p.m. at Third and Walnut streets at the Merchants Bank parking lot. Witnesses told police that the attack appeared unprovoked. The assailant fled. Witnesses said they recognized the assailant. Police used their contacts to search for the assailant. Soon thereafter the man called police and said he had heard they were looking for him. “Yes,” police answered.”And where are you?” The man responded that he “would talk to my people and get back to you,” police said. He didn’t get back. The response posed the specter that the being was gang-ordered. Police said they had no evidence of drugs as a factor. Meanwhile, the victim had been taken bleeding profusely to the Winona hospital. An emergency room doctor decided more advanced care was needed and called an ambulance to transport him 34 miles to Gundersen hospital in LaCrosse, which is a Level 1 trauma 1 center. Police declined to release beaten man’s name, per protocol to protect victims. They did say, however, that the victim knew his attacker.

LACROSSE, Wis.  — Aviation enthusiast David Erickson performed a fly-over for crowds at the LST 325 exhibit on tne Mississippi River. Brightyellow  and loud, Erickson ‘s plane was impossible-to miss. On board was a veteran of the Wisconsin National Guard’s 128th Infantry, whose history includes World War II and the Korean conflict. Erickson, who is from Utah,  says he flies retired military aircraft to honor those who served. He’s been a pilot 46 years.

Earlier: World War II naval workhouse draws LaCrosse crowd

T28 Trojan. Built in 1952 as a Navy and Air Force training craft. Later in the Vietnam war Trioans flew counter-insurgency missions. Today it’s mostly an acrobatics and warbird   performer. Total built over eight years, 1950 to 1957: 1,900.

ROCHESTER, Minn. – A ban on all open fires in all 655 square miles of Olmsted County was ordered by Sheriff Kevin Torgerson.. Apparently the ban will extend through the Labor Day weekend if not longer. The forecast includes high temperatures, dry air and winds amid the already-extreme drought condition. Torgerson did not say whether extra patrols would be assigned to campsites where hundreds of people are encamped for the last holiday of summer. Torgerson said he issued the ban on guidance from Rochester Fire Chief Eric Kerska, several other fire chiefs in the county, and the National Weather Service. The ban, he said, overrides previously issued burn permits.

Torgerson. Sheriff didn’t specify any end date on ban.

Olmsted County. Epicenter of extreme drought. Population center: Rochester, Outlying: Byron, Chatfield, Eyota, Oronoco, Pine Island, Stewartville.

Earlier: Drought tightens grip on southeast Minnesota

Earlier: Weekend: High 90s after cloud cover leaves

WINONA, Minn. – A plain-clothes police investigator happened across a bicyclist carrying two bike wheels that matched a pair reported stolen moments earlier from an East Side address. Confronted, the man told the plain-clothes investigator that he didn’t believe he was a cop and started to pedal off. The officer tried to free the stolen wheels from the man’s grasp, but the man resisted. The officer called for backup, and the nan was held down. Arrested was Kevin Michael Mulcahy, 28, of LaCrosse. This was about 1;05 p.m. in the 450 block of East East Sarnia.

Moored riverside. The curious and the patriotic queued the full 327-foot length of a floating museum aboard a historic landing ship. The vessel made 40-plus trips across the English Channel in the Allied invasion to reclaim Normandy. Each trip carried tanks and soldiers for beach landings. Images: Steve Lunde

Bow ramp a visitor entry

LACROSSE, Wis. – The last landing ship from World War II, LST 325, winds up a LaCrosse stop on Labor Day after hosting thousands of visitors. On its first war mission, in 1944, the vessel carried 59 vehicles, mostly tanks, trucks and jeeps; 30 officers; and 400 soldiers. On the first trip back, LST 326 carried 38 casualties back to England. The vessel, whose home port now is Evansville, Indiana, has been restored. In 2009 it joined the National Register of Historic Places. This LaCrosse visit is LST 325’s first so far up the Mississippi. The next stops: Dubuque, Hannibal, then home to Evansville. Admission: $15. World War II and Korean war vets free.

Fore, aft and midship. Defensive cannons still bristle the ship’s profile.

WINONA, Minn. — A fire crew quelled a fire inside a semi-truck trailer parked near the Polar car wash at the East End retail strip on Frontenac Drive. A passing garbage truck had pulled the burning trailer away from other structures, and the garbage driver opened the rear door. Flames burst out. So did the burning cargo. There were no injuries.  Firefighters fougt the fire through the rear end and a tarp on the trailer’s roof. The cause of the fire was not clear immediately. The cargo was hauled to a scrapyard, spread out with a front-loader, and wetted down more. The fire call came in about 11:20 a.m.

DRESBACH, Minn. – A Minnesota City driver lost control at the confluence f Interstate 90 and Highway 16 and overturned in a ditch. Jenna Leigh Pellowski, 40, , was taken seven miles to a LaCrosse hospital with non-life threatening injuries. She was wearing a seat belt, poice said. This was about 8:30 a.m. Pellowski was heading north toward Winona

WINONA, Minn. — Firefighters were called to a burning tree in a backyard on the Near West Side. The homeowner already was battling the blaze with a garden hose. The fire crew added 100 gallons from a tanker truck to be sure jt was out. At one point, flames reached almost to overhead power lines. The tree, in the 200 block of Wilson Street, had been hollowed out and cut down to six feet. The homeowner told firefighters he was wakened about 4 a.m. and found the tree ablaze. He surmised that an old ball of string at the top of the hollowed-out stump caught an ember from the house chimney.

Football: Saginaw Valley State 34, Winona State 24

Football: UW-LaCrosse 31, Dakota State 4

Volleyball (women): Winona State 3, Michigan Tech 2

Soccer (boys): Osseo-Fairchild Thunder 3, Blair-Taylor Wildcats 0

Gargantuan gourd. Almost every passerby wanted a keepsake shot with the star of the show.

Runner-up but 40 pounds less: Still a lot fewer pies

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – The Minnesota Pumpkin of the Year at the State Fair weighed 814.5 pounds. It was grown by Darrin Asplin of Dassel south of St Cloud. The huge pumpkin won easily. The runner-up, from Nate Zachmeier of Blaine, was a mere 776.5 pounds. Both were short – way short – of the record 1,700-pound winner a years ago.

Earlier: Almost 1,700 pounds: Now that’s a pumpkin

WINONA, Minn. – A scorcher is predicted for the Labor Day weekend in southeast Minnesota. The National Weather Service forecast highs in the 90s starting Friday and approaching 100 in places on Sunday and the holiday on Monday. This comes after a few comfortable days of autumn-like cool, even crispy weather. The next few days:

> Friday: High of 90 with cloud cover.

> Saturday: 92 with cloud cover.

> Sunday: 97, no clouds.

> Monday: 97, no clouds.

> Tuesday: 90 with cloud cover.

WINONA, Minn. – Enrollment in Winona public schools has slipped roughly 3% from a year ago, according to preliminary indications. In addition, 77 students are expected at the Winona Area Learning Center for nontraditional diploma completion, up 31. Classes begin next week. Firmer data will be available as things settle down. The preliminary totals:

Elementary grades: 765 this fall, down from 786.

Middle school: 631, down from 662.

High school: 864, down from 884

Enrollment has budget implications. State funding is calculated based on the number of students.