BLACK RIVER FALS, Wis. – A rural Jackson County man was charged with arson in some of 50 arson started fires, one larger than 16 acres. Charged was Daniel P. Johnson. 44, who has a rural Brockway address. Bail was set at $10,000. Many of the fires were adjacent to land owned by Johnson’s parents, with whom he lived. On one day there were five fires burning at the same time, most only a few square feet. Johnson was charged with eight counts of intentionally setting fires to somebody else’s land and also with one of marijuana possession. District Attorney Emily Hynek, itemized these fires:

> May 21: A a 1.3-acre fire on a neighbor’s property. Investigators followed a trail to the backyard of Johnson’s parents’ house. Johnson’s response, they said, was that he had seen the fire and tried to put it out but thought somebody else would call 911. Multiple fires broke out on the neighbor’s property  in the ensuing months . Investigators set up a trail camera and observed someone who looked like Johnson on the property.

> June 25: Two fires were set at Hart Tire & Lumber Company, in Black River Falls. where Johnson had worked up until a few weeks prior. The owner told investigators he suspected Johnson.

Johnson. In Jackson County jail. Bail at $10,000.

> August 4: After a neighboring landowner decided to sell the land, a real estate smelled smoke and saw a man on the property.

> August 5: A man resembling Johnson was seen on camera at the Gebhardt Elementary School in Black River Falls. There had been a fire in a wooded area along the nearby Foundation Trail.

In an interview after being arrested, according to the criminal complaint, Johnson said he had seen other people on a neighbor’s land when some fires occurred. Maybe it was kids, he said. Investigators said that Johnson changed his story in a retelling. At another point in interviews, investigators said, Johnson admitted to hitting gasoline-soaked tennis balls into the air before going to bed. Only the next morning did he learn there were fires on the properties of two neighbors. He said he had done his tennis ball experiments about four times “out of curiosity.” He denied starting “big” fires.

Earlier: Black River arrest in rash of 50 wildfires

TREMPEALEAU, Wis.  – The main entrance to the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge will be blocked Tuesday for utility work. Visitors will need to enter instead on the Marshland access road off U.S.  Highway 35. The construction is expected to be complete before the weekend.

LACROSSE, Wis. – A youth accused of shooting and killing another teenager in a South Side fight in 2022 was ordered back to jail for jumping bail. Sage Hicke, 19, had been arrested partying two counties away. In Juneau County, where the latest arrest occurred, Hicke he was charged with underage drinking and then dispatched back to LaCrosse, where Judge Elliott Levine revoked his $10,000 bail. Hicke was ordered to jail pending his next LaCrosse hearings on the 2022 case. The 2022 shooting occurred at an apartment near Gundersen hospital. Hicke was pistol-whipped and then fired a handgun that killed his attacker. A third teen, who was wounded, already been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Earlier: Second charge in LaCrosse shooting death

Hicke. Back to jail for violating $10,000 bail.

ALBERT LEA, Minn.– The Albert Lea City Council voted unanimously to prohibit smoking marijuana in public places. Violations will be a misdemeanor in the same category as smoking cigarettes.

The Minnesota Queue. The question: Will 2023 meet or surpass the 2.1 million record hat has made the fair the nation’s largest. Admission: Adults, $18; seniors and kids, $16.

Only Texas does a bigger state fair than Minnesota

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Great Minnesota Get-Together, otherwise known as the State Fair, opened with strong attendance despite the heat wave.  On opening day 106,000 people passed through the gates. That was down from the 120,000 a year earlier and also behind daily record of 133,000 in 2019. Thigs picked up Friday with a recirdn164,000 people for the  second day — , from the 153,00 last year. Total attendance for the whole run was 2.1 million in 2019, just before CoVid. Perhaps the most interesting statistic came from the Miracle of Birth Center. As of Sunday these were the recorded new-arrivals:

> Chicks, 40.

> Piglets, 35.

>Lambs, 7.

> Calves, 5.

Earlier: Fair food as an attraction

Downtown at West Second and Johnson streets. Police sealed off the premises. Three officers roamed the bar to check for under-age drinkers. Three other officers blocked the front door on the outside and three others the back exit. There was no way around them.

The first weekend of fall semester at colleges

WINONA, Minn. – Police blocked the front door and back door at Port 507, the current “go-to” college bar downtown, while other officers went inside in what’s called a “compliance check.” Ten persons younger than the 21 legal drinking age were ticketed for under-age consumption. Most were college students back in town to start fall classes. For them it was an expensive night. Tickets run about $250. The police operation began about 11 p.m. As word spread through the crowded bar that three uniformed police officers were inside roaming and checking IDs, under-age drinkers began drifting toward exits, some slowly, some like there was no tomorrow. The officers outside , three at the back exit and three at the front door, were waiting to ask for IDs. There was no escape. Ticketed were:

> Kiley Anne Slaats, 18, of Sussex, Wis., 0.18% blood-alcohol content.

> Zachary Ivan Gapher, 20, of Lake City, 0.16%.

> Sydney Rose Jackson, 18, of Wadsworth, Ill, 0.15%

> Courtney Nicole Lukas, 19, of Almond, Wis., 0.12%.

> Alec Christopher Campbell, 20, of Janesville, 0.11%.

> Kailey Elizabeth Plank, 18, of Sugar Grove, Ill., 0.10%.

> Traverie Lane Sherner, 19, of Maple Grove, 0.07%.

>   Grace Rosena Schaffer, 20, of Hampton, .07%.

> Emma Kathleen Riehle, 19, of Wauksesha, Wis., 0.06%.

> Riley Lea Schiernbeck, 19, Ida Grove, Iowa, 0.04%.

The check began with officers looking for younger imbibers with drinks in hand. “May I see your ID?” Some pulled faked cards from wallets. Some said the bouncer let them in. Others said they knew a bartender. Nobody was jailed, just ticketed.

Earlier: Winona bar compliance checks on hold

Earlier: One night in Winona: Bar service to minors

Earlier: 10 Winona bars pass compliance check; 6 fail

Interior. Before throngs arrive.

Outback patio. Also early in day.

Port 507 profile

The bar opened in 2017 at 128 West Second Street in space formerly occupied by Costumes International and before that a security firm and before that a business machine retailer and repair shop. Port 507’s license-holder, Chad Brink, formerly managed two other downtown bars — Gabby’s and Market Street Tap. In recent years a patio was built outback as a smoking zone with bar service. The bar gradually grew a following with events, games, and amateur sports team sponsorships.

Previous check

In a compliance check this July, Port 507 was clean. In recent weeks, however, police had picked up signs of loose bouncer checks and under-age customers. Unlike a much larger compliance check of 18 liquor license-holders in July, which involved three agencies, the latest check was Port 507 alone. Nine officers were assigned to the tavern — a major staff commitment in an understaffed police department of only 40-some officers stretched across 24/7/365 duty.

Higher culpability

Although sanctions are possible against Port 507 as a city-approved liquor license holder, Deputy Police Chef Jay Rasmussen said that housing the license violation is unlikely at this time. The ticketed drinkers had various explanations in how they got in and were served. Several had fake IDs with bogus birth dates, though not all were done well. For license-holders, the police goal with compliance checks is to encourage better staff training. Education is the goal, he said. Even so, he said, “The bottom line is they’re not doing a good enough job at the door.”

ALDEN, Minn. – A South Dakota driver died on impact when he slammed into a school bus carrying a Waseca school volleyball team home from matches in Marshall. Although several teenagers on the bus were banged up, none of their injuries were life-threatening. The school bus driver was not hurt seriously. The accident was on Interstate 90 near the Alden exit. The girls were 160 miles from Marshall and within 40 miles of home. They were 14 to16 years old, all members of the Waseca High School junior varsity team or a Junior High School C team. Their chaperone, Kelsey Jo Kahnk, 24, was unhurt. The driver of the car, who died, was Mark Alan Tigner, 55, of Brandon, which is just over the South Dakota border near Sioux Falls. The wreckage of his 2006 Ford Mustang was so mangled that it was impossible to determine immediateky whether alcohol factored into the collision. The accidentwas about 8:45 p.m. Tigner was westbound, heading toward South Dakota. He was alone. Tigner and the school bus were going opposite directors. How they met was not ascertained immediately. Taken 12 miles to the Albert Lea hospital; all with non-life-threatening injuries, were:

> Charles Edward Cone, 79, the bus driver.

> Kalea Jewel Sartori, 16.

 > Madison Leigh Corder-Broughten, 15..

> Madelynn Leann Benzick, 14,

 > Makya Jo Donovan, 14.

> Avery Elaine Gaul, 14.

> Emily Myrna Mumme, 14.

 > Audriamma Lynn Willingham, 14.

PARKERS PRAIRIE, Minn. — A bull attacked and killed a farmer in an incident that authorities were unable to explain immediately. Killed was Jerry Altman, 64, of Parkers Prairie. Otter Tail County deputies received a 911 call around 6:15 p.m. that a man was being attacked by a bull. Altman was taken 30 miles to an Alexandria hospital, where he died. Deputies, meanwhile, dispatched the bull.

On Linse Road.  Neighbors spotted a factory-scale chicken coop ablaze east of Mondovi too late. This was about 4 a.m.  Not much remained when firefighters arrived. No injuries. Total loss. Image: Buffalo County sheriff

Also fresh blacktop. Off Second Street between the Winona County Courthuse and the new jail, in this photo on the right. Interior finishing is in progress for the jail to open in October. Image: Steve Lunde

Earlier: New jail countdown: Occupancy near

Comment:   Getting serious, really serious about creating legacy

Football: Adams Southland 21, Lanesboro Burros 6

Football: Spring Grove Lions 28, Mounds View Mustangs 7

Volleyball (girls): Mankato West Scarlets 3, Rochester Century Panthers 0

WINONA, Minn. – Deputies arrested a Rochester man, Dalton Lee Volkman, 31, on suspicion of driving drunk and possessing illicit drugs. In Volkman’s car. they said, was a bag with five grams of a substance that tested positive as meth. Volkman was stopped about 9:45 p.m. at Broadway and Wilson on the West Side for driving through a stop sign. Also, officers said, the car windows were tinted illegally dark. Based on bloodshot watery eyes, poor balance, and failed field sobriety tests, officers drew a fluid sample of bodily fluid that was sent to an outside lab for testing. The results will determine what charges are recommended. Volkman  has a previous drug conviction this year, in Olmsted County, back when he lived in Peterson.

Volkman. Blood tests typically take several days for crime lab processing,

LACROSSE, Wis. – Fire seriously damaged a house with heavy smoke north of LaCrosse on French island. Only a pet dog and cat were in the house, Both perished. The family was not home. The fire was about 7:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Lakeshore Drive. There were no visible flames. Neighbors saw smoke coming from the roof and called 911.