R.I.P.: Beverly Norvet
ST. CHARLES, Minn. – Beverly (Bevy) Jean Norvet, 94, of St. Charles, a nurse at Whitewater Healthcare Nursing Home for 32 years, died at Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield. She graduated from St. Charles High School in 1947. She went to the Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester to become a registered nurse and graduated in 1950. She belonged to the Moose lodge in St. Charles.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
Blare too much — on a weeknight no less
WINONA, Minn. – This guy Jesse James Robertson not only likes his music but likes it loud. Police were called to his upstairs apartment in the 500 block of East Fourth Street about 11:30 p.m. His neighbors downstairs had complained. This was Weadnesday, a weeknight. Officers said they could hear the blare from outside. They advised Robertson of the complaint. He agreed, they said, to tone it down – and did until the officers were out of earshot. Then, said the neighbors in a second call, Robertson turned the volume to max again and this time began pounding on the floor, which was their ceiling. The officers returned. Less patient this time, they issued a ticket for disturbing the peace. They also issued a second ticket or the first visit. Sounds like time for Jesse to unplug.
Cops: Weaving driver admitted imbibing
WINONA, Minn. – A Rochester driver who was weaving and failed to signal a turn showed signs of impairment when an officer stopped her, police said. Mary Eileen Zbrowski, 38, was stopped about 12:35 a.m. at Howard and High Forest streets on the Far East End. She admitted to imbibing, officers said. Signs of impairment included bloodshot and watery eyes. Also she and slurred her words,shoed dexterity lapses, and balnce issues, and flunked a field-sobriety test, police said.
Late-night emergency landing at Winona airport
WINONA, Minn. – A light airplane with an engine problem made an emergency landing at the Winona airport. Three people were aboard. There were no injuries. This was about 11:30 p.m. The plane, a low-wing single-engine Piper Arrow, was on a 277-mile flight from Appleton, Wisconsin, west to Mankato. Winona Fire Chief Curt Bittle said two fire engines responded to the airport with lights and foam, but the plane was already on the ground. All three people aboard were evaluated by first-responders and cleared medically. Without power, tje plne had to be towed off the runway to a hangar. It was believed that the plane’s engine repairs could be performed at the airport.
Winona airport profile
The city-owned Max Conrad Field, named for a Winona aviation hero, opened in 1948. Located on 575 acres in suburban Goodview along Mississippi River swamps. The white-green beacon operates sunrise to sunset. The 5,600-foot runway is grooved asphalt in good condition. Based at the field: 25 single-engine craft; two multi-engine aircraft, one jet, and one glider. The operator, Win Air, managed by George Bolon. The nearest other fields: Rushford, 15 miles away; LaCrosse, 21 miles; Caledonia, 27 miles; Preston, 29 miles; Rochester, 32 miles. Annual traffic: 10,000 operations. Services available: Fuel, major airframe and powerplant service. No scheduled commercial service since the 1970s when Mississippi Valley Airlines withdrew and before that North Central Airlines.
Piper Arrow. The aircraft is an advanced version of the Piper Cherokee, of which 7,800 were built between 1965 and 2007. The Arrow can carry six passengers, as opposed to four in the Cherokee. The market was personal and air taxi use. Empty weight: 1,800 pounds. Usual powerplant: 300 horsepower. Speeds: 175 max, 165 cruising. Range: 840 miles. Ceiling: 16,000 feet.
Max Conrad profile
1903-1979
Conrad, a Winona-born aviator, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal for heroism for flying his Piper aircraft in 60 mph winds to locate and help rescue stranded duck hunters during the 1940 Armistice ay Blizzard in the Mississippi River backwaters. Conrad made several flights, dropped tins with whiskey, sandwiches, cigarettes, and matches to marooned survivors in the unexpectedly sudden minus-10 temperatures . From the air Conrad helped direct rescue boats to survivors. Even so, dozens of hunters died in the storm. Conrad later set nine official light plane world records. He was awarded the Louis Bleriot Medal in 1952 and the Harmon Trophy in 1964.
Notable journalism
Gabriel Hathway (Winona Post, August 25, 2023): “Could Highway 43 Alleviate Truck Trafifc in Winona?”
Sananda McCall (KIMT, August 29 2923): “Winona Mall Purchase for Education Services Still in the Air”
Chris Rogers (Winona Post, August 23, 2023) “Winona’s Plan to Fund Police-Fire Station, Community Center”
$500,000 job: Kahler restores rooftop signature
Back in skyline. Need a room in Rochester? Finding the classy Kahler will be easy again.
Red, white and blue in July? Frosty in January?
ROCHESTER, Minn. – A rooftop sign that reigned 50 years over the landmark Kahler Grand Hotel down is coming back. The sign, with 10-foot letters formerly in neon, was taken down this spring. It was corroded by time and in disrepair. Now it’s refurbished for $500,000 and, the hotel announced, better than ever with energy-efficient color-adjustable LEDs. Installation is scheduled for October.
Double-whammy tickets: Loitering then littering
WINONA, Minn. – A clerk at the Toppers pizza shop downtown s called police to remove a drunk who didn’t want to leave. Police wrote a no-trespass ticket to Michael Wade Zvirblis, 55, but he still didn’t want to leave. Officers said Zvirblis wadded up the ticket and threw it down. They then wrote a second ticket, this one for littering. He chose then to move along. Zvirblis appeared not to have any address, police said. The incident was about 7:35 p.m. at Third and Walnut streets
Hooked on huffing: Charge upped for second session
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona man was caught huffing Blow-Off fumes from spray cans in the men’s bathroom of two stores a couple hours apart. In the first incident, at the Kwik Trip on Homer Road, a clerk called police that a man had been in the restroom an inordinate time. Officers found Keith Roy Schroeder, 35, locked inside with six cans of Blow-Off. This was about 2:50 p.m. Officers ticketed Schroeder, whom they said agreed to leave to meet up with his mother at the Hy-Vee grocery two miles away on the West End. About 5:10 p.m. police were called about someone in a men’s room stall at Hy-Vee for a suspiciously long time. There was Schroeder again, restocked with Blow-Off and, officers said, not wanting to stop huffing until he finished the last can. The natural question in this second incident: “Where’s your mom?” There was no answer. This time Schroeder went to jail.
Inhalants profile
Blow-Off is a brand name for a product in aerosol sprays to clear dust off keyboards and just about anywhere that dust collects. Such products have a following for a dubious practice called “huffing” –inhaling the fumes for a high. When inhaled, halogenated hydrocarbons quickly go to the lungs and enter the bloodstream and almost just as quickly reach the central nervous system. The effect is rapid, akin to alcohol intoxication. An initial excitement is followed by drowsiness, light-headedness, decreased inhibitions, and agitation. Some people inhale for hours to maintain a high. Such successive inhalations can lead to loss of consciousness and even death. Other long0term effects: Irreversible heart inflammation, congestive heart failure, emphysema, liver and kidney damage, bone marrow suppression, and progressive neurological injury resulting in hearing loss, limb spasms, and loss of coordination. anoxic brain damage.
Schroeder. Booking charge: Using a toxic substance for intoxication.
Among generic names: “Canned air” and “compressed gas duster” Retails about $6 a can.
Pfaff stays clear of WI-3 Congressional race
WEST SALEM, Wis. – State Senator Brad Pfaff announced he will seek another term from the 32nd State Senate District that includes LaCrosse. Pfaff, a Democrat, won the seat over Republican Dan Kapanke in 2020 by 600 votes. This means that Pfraff will not be going for Congress from western Wisconsin”s District WI-3. He lost a Congressional bid in 2022 to Republican Derrick Van Orden. Pfaff announced his intentions at the annual WI-3 Democratic Corn Roast in West Salem,
Earlier: Harvard law student eyes WI-3 Congress seat
Earlier: Eau Claire merchant bids again for Congress
Winhawk marching band at State Fair
In summer mufti. After marching in the afternoon parade through the State Fair grounds in Falcon Heights, the band gathers at the KARE television booth to perform in the 5 p.m. newscast. With the band’s co-director Tim Gleason, they also helped with the weather block. Yes, the day’s temperatures were perfect.
Daylight apartment burglary being investigated
WINONA, Minn. – Police began scouring security video at a West End apartment building where a man reported a thief took a drill, a mini-fridge and a security camera. and other items in broad daylight. The man said he had locked the door when leaving. Two hours later the building manager called him that the door was open. He came home and found he had been burgled. This was in the 800 block of West Fifth in mid-morning.
Winona Mall negotiations now at $4.3 million
WINONA, Minn. – The price tag for the Winona Mall has dropped. Sources said that the mall owner, John Alexander, has agreed to $4.3 million, down from $4.5 million. Alexander, a Winona real estate dealer, bought the floundering retail property in 2017 for $5 million in hope of reviving it as shopping center. The current offer is from the Winona-based Hiawatha Valley Education District as part of a $19.5 million project to consolidate its far-flung southeast Minnesota operations. A sale, however, isn’t a done deal. The 12 southeast Minnesota school districts that Hiawatha serves all need to sign on.Deb Marcotte, Hiawatha’s executive director, told KIMT tyat eight of the districts have agreed but four member districts have yet to commit: “School financing is a little bit complicated, and special-ed adds another layer of complication,” she said. Hiawatha currently is headquartered at the Bundy Boulevard industrial zone in Winona. Hiawatha has 74 employees, some of whom travel to outlying school districts, some of whom work out of the Bundy offices. Some students are driven to Winona for their individualized instruction. The goal, Marcotte said, is a single renovated space for special-ed services, professional development, and district meetings. If all goes well, she said, Hiawatha would have the mall renovated for the Fall 2024-2025 school year.
Earlier: Winona Mall sell-off into new phase
Earlier: Winona County commercial property sales so far 2023
Not exactly bustling. The prime is past for Winona mall as a retail attraction.
Marcotte. Executive director of Hiawatha Valley Education District.
Winona Mall profile
The mall owner since 2017, John Alexander, has been selling off sections of the 35,000-square root building. A deal with Hiawatha Valley would be Alexander’s exit from the property. For more than a decade the mall has lost tenants to the newer Far East End retail development centered on Walmart, Target, Menards and Fleet Farm. Winona Mall opened in 1983 with a Montgomery Ward department store as the centerpiece.
Emergency, fire crews make 49 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 42 emergency medical calls plus 7 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, August 29: 6 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Monday, August 28: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Sunday, August 27: 6 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Saturday, August 26: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Friday, August 25: 10 medical calls plus 2 calls.
> Thursday, August 24: 7 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, August 23: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calsl.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 78 calls
Bright spot among Minnesota exports: Iron ore
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Exports of Minnesota products to other countries fell 9% in the 2023 quarter ending in June, mostly because of declines un fuels and cereals. The state economic development agency said the decline was the first in two years. Total second-quarter exports: $6.1 billion. The changes:
Export gains
> Vehicles: Up 54%.
> Iron ore, slag and ash: Up 29%.
> Pharmaceutical: Up 27%.
> Aircraft and spacecraft: Up 21%.
> Optic and Medical: Up 8%.
Export losses
> Petroleum products: Off 82%.
> Cereals: Off 46%.
> Plastics: Off 17%.
> Food by-products: Off 26%.
Minnesota prep
Soccer (girls): Apple Valley Eastview Lightning 3, Winona Winhawks 1
Volleyball (girls): Rushford-Peterson Trojans 3, Dover-Eyota Eagles 1
Volleyball (girls): Harmony Fillmore Central Falcons 3, Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 0
Volleyball (girls): LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 3, Winona Cotter Ramblers 1
Volleyball (girls): Caledonia Warriors 3, St. Charles Saints 0
$850 in wayward charges attempted on credit card
WINONA, Min. – A man said he must have dropped his wallet at a gas pump but didn’t realize until the next day when $850 in charges were attempted on a credit card. The credit company intercepted and denied the charges. The man said the theft apparently was at the Kwik Trip at Broadway and Mankato on the Far East End. Police began investigating by viewing store security video.
“Bubba” honored for 40 years school service
WINONA Minn. – In the Winona school system’s directory he’s listed as Robert Muras. But in the school hallways, he’s “Bubba.” Robert “Bubba” Muras was honored for 40 years of service at the back-to-school celebration at the Winona Middle School. Muras, a Winona High graduate, received a standing ovation as he went up to receive his recognition. Others honored for service:
> 35 years: Douglas Block, Lisa Mullen.
> 30 years: Kristi Conway, Marie Holmquist, William Knopp, Kari Wantock.
> 25 years: Kelly Allington, Sara Bittle, Leisa Evanson, Mary Lewis-Hyde, Janet Nelson, Kristin Nibbelink, Kara Welch.
> 20 years: Patricia Beckman, Joseph Cynor, Tamara Eastep, Colleen Gray, Michael Hundt, Linda Jacobs, Tonia Lecy, Geri Lehnertz, Christen Schultz, Julie Seeley, Melissa Shields, Sarah Slaby, Denise Van Etten, Jennifer Woyczik.
Muras. A Winona High graduate who stuck around.
3M pays $6 billion for bad earplugs
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. – The giant manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay $6 billion to individuals in the military for hearing loss after using faulty 3M earplugs. The agreement, announced by the company, is one of the largest mass torts in U.S. legal history. Hundreds of thousands of veterans and current service members had sued 3M and Aearo Technologies, a company that 3M acquired in 2008. The suit alleged that the earplugs would loosen in close-range firearms exercises.
Wanta swap or gift a gun? Not so fast
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Some of the Legislature’s 2023 gun safety laws went into effect August 1. One exxpands background checks for gun transfers. Background checks now cover transfers of pistol and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons. This means that private sales and swap meets will be held to the same standard as purchases from a licensed firearms dealer. Another new rule imposes penalties for possessing or using a machine gun, trigger activator, or machine gun conversion kits. A violation can mean 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Starting January 1, a so-called “red flag law” kicks in to allow family or police to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from people regarded as a \threat to themselves or others.
Winona man jailed for assault, drugs, running off
WINONA, Minn. — Police stopped a man with a bloody forehead coming out of an address on West Broadway, where an domestic assault had been reported. Edward Lee Clark, 41, of Winona, said he had been hit in the head by a woman inside. This was about 1 a.m. While an ambulance was called, another office went inside and found the place in shambles. The woman’s account:
> In an argument Clark hit her in the face with an open hand, then pushed her and went down on top of her.
> The woman’s adult son smashed a scooter over Clark to get him off.
> Clark retaliated by attacking the son.
> The mother and son took refuge in a bathroom and locked the door.
Meanwhile, outside an ambulance crew put a band-aid on Clark’s forehead. The officers then told Clark he was under arrest, at which point he fled. He was tackled not far away. On his person police said they found
> Three bags of a substance that field-tested as cocaine.
> Pills in a rainbow of colors.
> A green sock with cash.
> A small scale.
In all, the powder totaled 101 grams, the pills 16 grams, police said.
Back in the apartment, police learned from a dispatcher that the adult son was wanted in St. Paul. He was arrested on the St. Paul warrant. while the mother was mending her cuts, scrapes and bruises.
Clark. Charges include domestic assault, drug possession, fleeing police.
R.I.P.: Mary Horman
GOODVIEW, Minn. – Mary Ernestine “Tina” Horman, 73, of Goodview, who with her husband had owned and operated Horman’s HVAC beginning 1994, died unexpectedly at home. Earlier she worked for Schuler Chocolates. She enjoyed macrame and baking and decorating cakes for her children and their classmates. She loved dancing andLifetime and Hallmark movies.
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1949-2023
Substance Abuse unit re-grouping to aid police
WINONA, Minn. – The new director of the Winona chapter of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, Amber Ziegler, hopes to resume ASAP’s role soon in police compliance cheeks on bars and liquor stores. In recent years the Alliance had arranged with police for volunteers to go into licensed liquor establishments as under-age decoys and attempt a purchase. Typically there were three such checks a year, each on a dozen or so establishments. But ASAP, with the director’s position vacant until Ziegler’s recent appointment, hasn’t participated lately. Police, short-handed and without ASAP volunteers, have scaled back compliance checks. The most recent check, last weekend, focused on only one liquor license-holder, the downtown bar Port 507.
Earlier: Cops sweep Port 507 for under-age drinkers: 10 found
Earlier: Winona bar compliance checks on hold
Ziegler. Plans for things back up and running in near future.
On-site enrollment up at Rochester college
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Rochester Community and Technical College has 419 more enrolled students this fall — up 5% from a year ago. Compared to a pre-Covid low, in-person classes, as opposed to online classes, are up 7.5%. The numbers reflect and exceed recent community college growth.
Minnesota prep
Volleyball (girls): Houston Hurricanes 3, Lyle/Pacelli Athletics 1
Volleyball (girls): Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs 3, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 1
DNR: Take care which bears you shoot
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The state wildlife agency asked hunters to avoid shooting bears tagged for research. The agency has 35 black bears collared with radios to track their movement. The collars sometimes blend into a bear’s fur, but there also are colored ear tags. The Minnesota bear hunting season begins Friday and runs six weeks.
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