Fleeing Kellogg man found hiding in bushes
WINONA Minn. – As police were stopping a car because the officers recognized the driver for having a revoked driver license, a passenger opened the right door and ran. Later officers found the passenger, Jonathan Luis Carpenter, 28, of Kellogg. He was hiding in bushes nearby in the 150 block of Mankato Avenue on the Far East End, police said. He was booked on a drugs issue. The driver got off with a warning despite his revoked driver license because he helped finger Carpenter, police said.
Carpenter. “There, there, in the bushes.”
New jail countdown: Occupancy near
On schedule and 90% complete. The $28 million jail still is expected to be operational in October. This architect’s rendering of the backside is from Second and Winona streets with the old dark Law Enforcement Center looming in the background.
Worrisome detail: Delays in delivery of generator
WINONA, Minn. — Tentatively the staff will begin training July 15 at the county’s new jail, Sheriff Ron Ganrude said. The target, however, is dependent on occupancy permission from a state building inspector, he said. The plan is to move inmates out of the condemned jail in the next-door city-county Law Enforcement Center and into new iail on or around October 2, he said.
Possible hitch
Supply chain problems have delayed delivery of an emergency power generator, Ganrude said. He said the construction contractor, Market & Johnson is working on the problem and thinking through options if the generator is further delayed much longer. A few other post-CoVid supply chain issues have been solved along the way, he said.
Lewiston water expected to be declared safe soon
LEWISTON, Minn. – A pressure problem with the Lewiston water system was resolved after a few hours, but people still were advised to boil water before using. Erik Fredberg, public works director, said in an update that the system was still being monitored to be sure it was operating as designed. The boil advisory would remain in effect until the state Health Department gives an OK. This, Fredberg said, was expected sometime Saturday. What caused the problem? Fredberg said a combination of factors led to what he called “a sensor/programming failure.” Contractors were brought on-site to identify, resolve, and re-test the system, he said.
Vandals mess Rochester park restrooms
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Restrooms at all Rochester city parks with toilet facilities have been closed due to vandalism and “extreme messiness.” Paul Widman, parks n director, said the restrooms are locked for cleaning. A clean-up priority is parks with scheduled reservations for events, Widman said. The closures include Soldiers Field Park Targeted by vandals were parks with picnic shelters, he said. Meanwhile, arrangements are being made to move in portable restroom units as a temporary work-around. The city has more than 3,500 acres of park land.
Man missing food stamps: Woozy on how
WINONA, Minn. – Police woke up an intoxicated gentleman in the alley behind the 150 block of East Third Street. The man said he was missing $22 in food stamps from one shoe. When? How? He wasn’t sure.
Police tase disruptive man on East Side
WINONA, Minn. – Police tasered a berserk man whom neighbors said had been yelling at anyone and everyone that he would shoot them if they didn’t stay away from his house. He threatened “to light things up,” said a witness who called police. Half a block way, arriving officers could hear the yelling and commotion. Police found Arzo Tean Tureaud III, 20, shirtless in the yard and shouting obscenities as they approached. This was about 9:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Franklin Street. Turead was beligerant to say the least. “Are you’re going to tase me, then tase me,” he shouted. “You’re going to be sued like a mother fucker if you do.” An officer pulled the trigger. Tureaud fell back in the street. Recovered from the electro shock, he said: “I’m done.” They cuffed him. Why was he so agitated? From what police could figure out, he either had lost his moped or the key to the moped. He also had been yelling at people to park in their driveways, not the street. But nobody made any sense of that.
Altura readies hilltop veterans memorial
ALTURA Minn. – A veterans memorial rich in tributes to fallen soldiers and first-responders will be dedicated Saturday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a crest overlooking the area’s sjgnature cornfields and hardwood forests. The memorial is a gift of Ashley Furniture; the Wanek Foundation, which has Winona County connections; American Legion Post 90 of Lewiston; VFW Post 5603 of St. Charles; and local fund-raisers. The 3,100-square-foot park has a 200-foot walk, including a 12-foot wall listing veterans’ names. The wall is guarded symbolically by two soldiers, one a man, one a woman. Fifty-five granite plaques are built into the experience.
Gilded soldiers. At guard at new veterans memorial. Fifteen flags fly at the site, including the black banner for prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. Lamps atop tall standards illuminate events at dusk. The dedication ceremony is at 10 a.m. Saturday. Image: Steve Lunde
A hotel on the Winona Levee? Still yakking
WINONA, Minn. –The Port Authority would like to see a hotel built at the Levee behind the Winona 7 movie house, but progress has been slow – frustratingly so — with a group of prominent developers who can’t quite their act together. If there is an architect’s drawing for the hotel, it hasn’t been released. At the latest Port Authority hearing, the developers pleaded for yet another extension to come up with a plan, this after years of repeated extensions. And the Port Authority noq has agreed to yet another extension. The new explanation for an extension: The group, which has held exclusive negotiating rights with the Port Authority, has rejiggered itself and hasn’t yet devised an internal agreement. This appears to be what’s happened:
> C.D. Smith Construction. Of LaCrosse. Has pulled out.
> Weiser Brothers Construction. Of La Crescent. Has joined.
> Latsch Development. Of Winona. , This historic restoration firm, whose prime organizer is Peter Shortridge, has left.
> Drifftless Development. Whose principals include Shortridge, has joined.
> Winona Real estate Group. Whose principals include Shortridge and Northfield hotel developer Brett Reese. has joined.
> Mike Rivers. A Winona-based hotelier. Seems somehow still involved.
In short, it’s some of the same guys as at the outset but organized differently and with some new blood. If everything gels, construction could begin in 2025.
Earlier: Port to would-be hoteliers: Stop dallying
The concept
The original ideas has evolved. The latest: A five-story 75-room hotel with a six-story section for 25 to 30 apartments, a restaurant and shops, a roof-top patio, and 140 private parking stalls. The projected construction cost way back when the project was conceived was $39 million. The Port Authority, which holds the site, is a key player because it can provide property tax emotions into the future for whoever develops the property.
Related news
About nearby properties:
> Freight house. The railroad freight house. occupied partly by Island City Brewhouses and Pub, would become a restaurant again. The building was formerly was home to the fancy dinner place Zach’s on the Tracks and later Jefferson Pub and Grill.
> Movie house. CEC Theatres of St. Cloud, which owns Winona 7 on Second Street, has objected to the hotel development. It stands to lose 128 city-owned parking spaces behind the theater.
Contamination feared in Lewiston water
LEWISTON, Minn. – A failure in the Lewiston municipal water system led to an advisory to citizens not to use the water. The system serves 600 households. Pressure in the system was lost about 7:20 p.m. when a sensor broke. Water must be boiled, said Erik Fredburg, public works director. Even when the sensor is fixed, the system will need to be flushed for several hours to clear out possible contaminants, he said.
Systemic problems inside and out? External rusting and flaking, An internal sensor failure. Can civic pride come to the rescue? Image: Steve Lunde
Hay shed ablaze, but owner insists he go back in
WILSON, Minn. – Deputies were called to a fire in a hay shed near Wilson but not to put out the flames — firefighters were already on site — but to get the shed owner out of firefighters’ way. The shed owner, Dennis Wayne Girtler, 77, kept trying desperately to pull his burning and smoldering crop, one bale at a time, out of the shed.. Even after the Wilson fire crew arrived , he repeatedly insisted on going back into the structure. His wife finally calmed him down to let firefighters do what they could. In the end, the crop, roughly 100 bales, was lost. For Girtler, however, the loss didn’t stop tyhre. He was ticketed for obstructing firefighters. This was about 1:45 p.m. in the 24000 block of Stone Point Road.
Soaked and smoldering. At least 100 bales of ruined hay flank both sides of Stone Point Road after a shed fire at the Gintler place off U.S. Highway 43. Image: Steve Lunde.
Dover trucker hurt when semi overturns
LEROY, Minn. – A semi-truck overturned in a ditch northeast of LeRoy on Highway 63. The driver, Brian John Justin, 64, of Dover, didn’t appear seriously hurt. He was taken 24 miles to a Rochester hospital. The accident was about 1:45 p.m. at 120th Street.
CPKC livery: How about some imagination?
CALGARY, Alberta — Perhaps the creativity-challenged top brass at the recently CPKS railroad should have consulted industrial designer Cesar Vargara for his thoughts before laying five prosaic if not dull options for delivery in an employee contest. On his own Vergara, a noted railroad design artist, has come up with fresh possibilities. He proposesd three iterations keyed to the colors of the Canada, Mexico and U.S. Mexico flags – the nations that CPKC connects. He has merged sets of rails criss-crossing horizontally and vertically to capture CPKC’s historic new role as the first carrier to serve all three major North American countries coast to coast
Flag-keyed locomotives. Even mix and matched, Vergara’s engines would have inclusive coherence. There also are traces of Canadian Pacific’s historic red and Kansas City Southern’s historic yellow.
Vergara. A Swedish-trained native of Mexico. On the in-house Amtrak design team until 1999, when he left to create his own design studio that specializes in railroad livery. Nothing stodgy in his CPKC thoughts.
Biker hurt when strikes guardrail
DUMFRIES, Minn. – A motorcyclist heading toward Wabasha lost control, struck a guardrail, and suffered sustainable injuries. Preston Tyler Satzk, 20, of Byron, was on State Highway 60 between Wabasha and Zumbro Falls. The accident was about 11:10 a.m. He was taken eight miles to the Wabasha hospital. Stazk was driving a 2022 Suzuki GSX-S750. Deputies said he was wearing a helmet.
R.I.P.: Christopher Heckman
GOODVIEW, Minn. – Christopher “Critter” Talbot Heckman, 38, who was proud of his time at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation in Minneapolis, which was a pivotal point in his life, died at his home in Goodview. He was raised in Elba. His family remembered him for a “selfless nature that made everyone around him feel close, safe and cared for.” He had his struggles, his family said, but they didn’t define his love for family and friends.”
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1984-2023
Interim WSU president named: Ken Janz
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The MinnState governing board named Ken Janz as interim president of Winona State University. Janz had been at Winona State since 2008, first as technology director and most recently as associate academic vice president. He was recommended to the MinnState Board by Chancellor Devinder Malhotra, who is retiring. At Winona State, Janz fills in for Scott Olson, who is moving on to succeed Malhotra as state chancellor. Janz, age 55, will serve probably a year as interim Winona State president, until a national search finds a new president to succeed Olson.
Verbatim
Malhotra: “Ken Janz is well regarded by faculty and leadership and has garnered the respect and trust of the broader Winona State University community during his time at WSU,Both Chancellor-Designate Olson and I are confident that he will provide effective and strong leadership to the university through this transition period.”
Verbatim
Janz: “I look forward to the opportunity to serve our students, faculty, staff, and greater Winona State community as interim president. Winona State University is a strong institution, and our current successes are just a starting point. I am grateful to help guide the University over this next year, as we approach the selection and appointment of our next president.”
Janz. In charge during search for successor to Scott Olson.
Warm weather may trigger fish kills
MADISON, Wis. – The state wildlife agency issued an alert that mass fish-kills may occur during warmer spring weather due to pathogens, less dissolved oxygen in the water or thermal stress. Advice to anglers: Photograph inflicted fish, seal them on ice in plastic, and call a DNA biologist. A biologist will be in contact.
Schools to apply liquor protocols to marijuana
WINONA, Minn. — Winona school leaders are hopeful that the state’s new and looser marijuana laws won’t become a school problem. Superintendent Annette Freiheit noted in a Winona Daily News interview that drugs haven’t been a major issue. “Knock on wood it stays that way.” Officials plan to treat marijuana offenses as they do alcohol infractions: “We would probably have a parent come and pick them up and confiscate whatever they had brought to school.” Also, she said, police generally would be called.
Ozone risk persists: Stay indoors advised
WINONA, Minn. – Air quality will continue as problematic for the bulk of southern and central Minnesota through 9 p.m., Thursday, the state pollution control agency reported. On the federal color-coded scale, the ozone index will be orange as unhealthy for sensitive people. The same orange category will persist also in adjacent Wisconsin counties through 11 p.m. Friday, Wisconsin officials said. During peak ozone, people with asthma, children, older adults, and people in general should avoid prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.
Emergency, fire crews make 62 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 50 emergency medical calls plus 12 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, June 20: 5 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Monday, June 19: 9 medical calls plus 2 fire call.
> Sunday, June 18: 4 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Saturday, June17: 9 medical calls plus 1 fire calls.
> Friday, June 16: 11 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Thursday, June 15: 8 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Wednesday, June 14: 8 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 41 calls
R.I.P.: Norman Bundy
WINONA, Minn. – Norman C. Bundy, 87, of Winona, who owned he KOA campground at Little Smokies Lane downriver from Winona, died at the Winona hospital. After selling the campground in 1989, he managed the Super 8 Motel in Winona. He also was a semi driver for Gateway Transportation. He was a member of the American Legion. He was a Winona High School graduate.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1936-2023
Lad still missing in woods after almost two weeks
BARABOO, Wis. – Twelve days after a 13-year-old boy disappeared from home, apparently on a self-test survivalist adventure, search teams continued trying to find him. There are signs that James Yoblonski is on the move camping in densely wooded country around Devil’s Bluff State Park but no sighting of the boy himself, said Sheriff’s Lieutenant Steven Schram. He said there is new hope from a discovery that the Yoblonski may have more food and ither resources with him than thought originally. Meanwhile, Schram said, several searchers have suffered minor injuries in the remote backcountry. Too, it’s tick season, which is a problem.
Notable journalism
Sarah Kliff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg (New York Times, June 1, 2023): “This Nonprofit Health System Cuts Off Patients With Medical Debt”
Chris Rogers (Winona Post, June 21, 2023): “MIA Vet Gone But Not Forgotten”
Jim Salter and Mark VanCleave (Associated Press, June 16, 2023): “George Floyd’s Killing Capped Years oof Violence, Discrimination by Minneapolis Police, DOJ Says”
Masterpiece Hall wins final green light
Striking presence. The City Council has revamped zoning ordinances for the Fifth Street site of the 700-seat concert and art gallery. Next step: Pouring the concrete foundation,
Hall seen as key in further downtown revival
WINONA, Minn. – The City Council unanimously approved bending city zoning requirements to accommodate construction of a new concert venue, the 700-seat Masterpiece Hall, on Fifth Street near downtown. The rezoning clears the way to start construction and for an inaugural high-brow concert, if all goes well, in May 2025. The concert hall with accompanying art gallery is a $35 million project of Fastenal co-founder Bob Kierlin and Mary Burrichter. Their goal: Help build Winona as a destination city for the arts. In that spirit they built the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in 2006. Kierlin and Burrichter also have noted that the city already has a head start as a culture center with the Great River Shakespeare Festival and also the Beethoven Festival.
Earlier: Zoning variances OK’d for Masterpiece concert hall
Earlier: Fine-tuned Masterpiece Hall design passes hurdle
Earlier: Limbo: What next for Masterpiece Hall
Earlier: Awkward place to be: Preservationists feel fenced in
Lengthy gauntlet
Earlier the project won approval from a gauntlet of city agencies that considered arguments against the plan, mostly about whether the straight-edge architecture comported with the historic downtown area. There were also questions whether the hall’s bulk would dwarf the existing classic library next door. The site is the former home of the Winona Junior High School auditorium, which has been razed but also memorialized as historically significant. Critics pointed to the old auditorium as a model to be revered as to in the design of Masterpiece Hall.
Peterson driver dies in Black Hammer wreck
CALEDONIA, Minn. – Peterson man, Chad Willam Stutzka, died in a one-car accident on County Road 4 west of Caledonia in Black Hammer Township. First-responders said he was dead when they arrived.
Biker hurt in crash north of Caledonia
CALEDONIA, Minn.— A Caledonia motorcyclist was hurt when he lost control on State Highway 76 north of Caledonia. Injuries to Reed Jason Gordon, 19, were described as non-life threatening. He was taken 20 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. This was a little before 8 p.m. at the intersection with Holty Ridge Drive five miles from Caleldonia. Gordon was heading south toward Caledonia on a 2005 Kawasaki.
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