Why Fillmore County targeted in Kingsbury search
RUSHFORD, Minn. — A surveillance camera provided the strongest clue yet in the search for a Winona woman who vanished six days ago. The camera recorded a dark blue Chrysler Town and Country minivan like one driven by Maddi Jane Kingsbury the day she disappeared. In Winona, Deputy Police Chief Jay Rasmussen deferred on details of the sighting at his usual 8:45 a.m. news briefing until a full news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. It was believed that the footage with the minivan was at a Kwik Trip in Rushford and that the vehicle was heading south.
Search zone. Orange is Fillmore County townships where the search has been focused. The townships are immediately south of Rushford, which is 25 miles from Winona.
Mississippi flow surging, moving to flood stage
Up two feet. In past two days. Image: National Weather Service
County emergency chief: Beware flash floods
WINONA, Minn. — The Mississippi River has risen two feet at Winona in recent days, mostly from upriver snow run-off. Not only is the rjver rising, it’s rushing ever-faster toward Stage 11 at which pre-flood precautions kick in. Stage 11 was predicted for Monday. The river and especially tributaries, however, are unpredictable. Ben Klinger, the Winona County emergency management director, advised being alert for flash flooding. These are extrapolations from daily National Weather Service predictions at 7 a.m. at the Levee monitoring station:
> Wednesday: Stage 8.2 feet with flow at 59 thousand cubic feet per second.
> Thursday: Stage 9.0 with flow at 70.
> Friday: Stage 9.6 with flow at 80.
> Saturday: Stage 10.4 with flow at 87.
> Sunday: Stage 10.7 with flow at 89.
> Monday: Stage 10.9 with flow at 92.
Minor flooding begins at Stage 13, which is expected mid-day Monday; moderate flooding at 15; and severe flooding at 18.
Emergency, fire crews make 56 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 39 emergency medical calls plus 17 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, April 4: 9 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Monday, April 3: 10 medical calls plus 2 fire call.
> Sunday, April 2: 4 medical calls plus 6 fire calls.
> Saturday, April 1: 9 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Friday, March 31: 2 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Thursday, March 30: 1 medical call plus 4 fire calls.
> Wednesday, March 29: 4 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews 56 calls
120 mph car chase, then foot chases
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Deputies ended a 120-mph car chase on foot near the south suburban Menards store and arrested two men. Charged with fleeing in a motor vehicle, driving recklessly, speeding, possessing a controlled substance, fand fleeing on foot was Brent Espenson, 38, who listed no address but who hangs out around Rochester. His passenger, Adam Thompson, 35, of Preston, was charged with fleeing on foot and on an already-existing warrant. Other charges were expected, police said.
Anatomy of chase
The chase began in Fillmore County, but deputies broke it off as risky. Olmsted County deputies then sighted the vehicle on Highway 63 and initiated a stop, but the driver sped off, at times exceeding 120 mph. Other officers laid down stop spikes. With the tires deflated, both the driver and passenger ran. One officer quickly caught the driver. A deputy chasing the passenger slipped on ice and momentarily lost sight, but the man’s phone pocket butt-dialed 911 and the ping showed him in the Menards South parking lot. He was soon in custody. A search of their vehicle found drugs including meth and marijuana, police said.
LaCrosse school funding referendum passes
LACROSSE, Wis. – A $60 million referendum for school operations the next six years was approved overwhelmingly by voters. The vote was 12,200 to 6,700. The School Board said the new revenue would help maintain student mental health services, programs for learning and behavior, and learning technology. The funds also will update safety and security at aging buildings, improve building accessibility, and help keep small class sizes. Taxes will go up $29 a year per $100,000 of home value.
Arcadia school funding supplement defeated
ARCADIA, Wis. – By a 2:1 margin voters rejected a $225,000 referendum for day-to-day operations of Arcadia schools. The School Board had put the issue to the people as a three-year plan to stabilize finances. Funds were also needed to replace aging buses, the Board said. The school district spans parts of Trempealeau and Buffalo counties.
Wisconsin polls busiest ever for spring election
MADISON, Wis. – A record number of voters for a Wisconsin spring election turned out Tuesday, mostly for hotly contested Supreme Court race. With 10% of votes not yet counted, the turnout was 36% of the voting-age population, the secretary of state reported. The previous high was 34%, set in 2011.
Earlier: Now a GOP supermajority in Wisconsin Senate
Kingsbury search extends south to farms, woodlands
RUSHFORD, Minn. – A 17-mile stretch of State Highway 43 south of Rushford almost to Mabel has become the focus of the search for a Winona woman now missing a sixth day. A minivan that may have been Madeline Jane Kingsbury’s was seen on the route the day she disappeared. The search area, all in Fillmore County, is sparsely populated:
> Norway Township, population 335, and adjoining eastern Holt Township. Includes Bratsberg hamlet.
> Preble Township, population 270, and adjoining eastern Amherst Township. Includes Choice hamlet.
> Northern Newburg Township, population 440. Includes Newburg hamlet.
Sheriff John DeGeorge asked residents and landowners to search their acreage, wooded property, outbuildings, vehicles, and trails for anything suspicious. The sheriff encouraged people to use the public GIS property search map:
https://beacon.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?AppID=1066&LayerID=25416&PageTypeID=1&PageID=10332
To narrow the search, DeGeorge he Sheriff’s office asked anyone who has already checked a particular area to report it to the Sheriff’s Office in Preston. People were asked also to check cameras, doorbell cameras and trail cameras for footage of a dark blue Chrysler Town and Country van traveling through the area between 8 a.m., Friday, and 4 p.m., Saturday.
Search zone. Begins 25 miles south of Winona and extends almost to Mabel near the Iowa border.
Message to judges: Go tough on violence
MADISON, Wis. — The state Constitution was changed in a referendum. By a 2:1 margin Wisconsin voters decided to amend the Constitution to require judges to:
> Consider past convictions for violent crimes when setting bail.
> Set stricter conditions before allowing bail for anyone accused of a violent crime.
The amendments gained public support in 2021after Darrell Brooks drove through a Christmas parade in Waukesha and killed six people and injured 60. Brooks was out on only $1,000 bail for an earlier violent crime.
Now a GOP supermajority in Wisconsin Senate
GERMANTOWN, Wis. — Republican state Representative Dan Knodl won an open state Senate seat, which gives the GOP a supermajority that could override vetoes of their legislation by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. Knodl defeated Jodi Habush Sinykin for the seat from northern Milwaukee suburbs. The new Senate majority means that a Senate vote to impeach Evers would be veto-proof. While campaigning, however, Knodl said he had no interest interested in impeaching Evers. He said has been able to work with the governor. Knodl, however, is not averse to impeachments. He said wants to get rid of Milwaukee judges for being lenient on criminals.
Knodl. The new Senate majority is 22 to 11.
Trempealeau kids still have swimming pool
TREMPEALEAU, Wis. – A $120,000 referendum to keep the town swimming pool open was approved 512-192. The pool, now 50-plus years old, was built after several children drowned in the Mississippi River. The town budget had become strained recently with the addition of a new officer of the police force.
Supreme Court loser concedes but without grace
GREEN LAKE, Wis. — Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly lost a bid to return to the Court by 10 percentage points and conceded – but utterly without grace. Kelly called called the campaign of his opponent, Janet Protasiewicz “deeply deceitful, dishonorable and despicable.” He went on in his concession speech: “I wish that in a circumstance like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent. But I do not have a worthy opponent to which I can concede.” Kelly, an ever-Trumper, drew $16.6 million for his campaign mostly from out-of-state Republican donors who sought to keep the battleground state on its conservative course.
College scores
Softball: Saint Mary’s and UW-River Falls, postponed
Softball: Saint Mary’s and UW-River Falls, doubleheader, postponed
Softball: UW-LaCrosse and Milwaukee Engineering, postponed
Softball: UW-LaCrosse and Milwaukee Engineering, doubleheader, postponed
Tennis (women): UW-LaCrosse and Decorah, postponed
Voters shift Wisconsin Supreme Court left
MADISON, Wis. – Liberals wrested control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years. Milwaukee Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated Dan Kelly, a former justice who wanted back on the Court. With a new 4-3 majority, the Court will be a position to undo the GOP-rigged gerrymandering that has maintained a narrow Republican majority in the Legislature. Also vulnerable will be an 1849 law banning abortion.
Earlier: Showdown election Tuesday on Wisconsin’s future
Protasiewicz. Vote was 446,00 to 232,700.
Motorist slides into trooper’s car on icy I-94
ROTHSAY, Minn. – A state trooper was hurt responding to a crash on icy Interstate 94 between Fergus Falls and Moorhead. The trooper was in his squad car, parked on the east-bound houlder, while assisting at another crash, the State Patrol said. This was about 2:45 p.m. The injuries were non-life threatening. The other driver was unhurt. The State Patrol reported 18 vehicle spinouts from an early-spring snow storm. Most involved trucks with semi-trailers on I-94. There were minor injuries in two crashes, the Patrol said.
Awaiting tow. One of a dozen 18-wheelers sidetracked in western Minnesota storm. This was at Fergus Falls exit. Image: Minnesota State Patrol
Mayo scales back face-mask rule
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Effective Monday the Mayo Clinic will ease its system-wide masking requirement that dated to early in the 2020 CoVid crisis. Mayo said there now are “consistently low rates of hospitalizations, mortality and community transmission levels” of the CoVid virus. Exceptions, Mayo said, will be plainly labeled high-risk patient settings.
Greenery coming to Mankato roundabouts
WINONA, Minn. – Landscaping should begin next week on the Mankato Avenue median strips between the new rotary intersections. State highways spokesperson Mike Dougherty said other final details on the rotaries project will include crosswalk flashers.
A house full of cats — 46, count ‘em
Caged for transit. Not much purring going on at the moment. Image: Eau Claire County Humane Association
Want a kitty? Adoption ahead for rescued felines
SPARTA, Wis. – An animal rescue team recovered 46 cats from a house in Monroe County and moved them to shelters. It was a case of “hoarding,” said the Eau Claire County Humane Association, which assisted in the recovery. The cats have settling in well in temporary new quarters, the agency said. They will be seen by a vet to determine if they’re ready for adoption
Cop-buddies: Drunken snowmobiling? Not us
EAGLE RIVER, Wis. — Two Racine lawmen out for a good time Up North pleaded not guilty to drunken snowmobiling. Shawn Barker, 55, a Racine County sheriff’s lieutenant, and Todd Lauer, 38, a Racine police investigator, had been charged with snowmobiling under the influence and failing to stop at a stop sign. Lauer’s blood-alcohol content was tested at 0.14%. Barker refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. When word got back to Racine about what happened, Barker was suspended for 10 days. Lauer was put under internal investigation.
Verbatim
Christopher Schmaling, Racine County sheriff: “Lieutenant Barker’s actions fell far short of my expectations, and he earned his suspension and loss of pay — which is my highest personal level of suspension prior to pursuing termination. I will never tolerate this kind of poor decision-making or
Barker.
Lauer.
Orange is the new blue. At Vilas County mugging.
Police collect, assess evidence in disappearance
WINONA, Minn. – Police hope for a break within 24 hours in the mysterious disappearance of a Winona women five days ago. Madeline Jane Kingsbury, 26, the mother of two pre-schoolers, drove off to work Friday morning and hasn’t been seen since. Jay Rasmussen, deputy police chief, confirmed again that a major lead seems to be a report of Kingsbury’s vehicle, or one very similar, on the Highway 23 corridor south from Winona into Fillmore County. Highway 23 isn’t anywhere near Kingsbury’s usual route to work. The mini-van has not shown up anywhere. Rasmussen renewed the request for property owners, especially in Fillmore County, to check for anything unusual. “They know their property best,” he said.
Winona greeters again on duty daily
WINONA, Minn. – The tourist information station at the Huff Street entrance to downtown has resumed seven-day-a-week staffing for the season. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to October.
WSU on verge of deleting programs
WINONA, Minn. – After years of budget-trimming, Winona State now is near a “breaking point,” said university President Scott Olson. With a $4 million to $5 million deficit this year, academic programs may need to be dropped, he said. Olson president since 2010, has seen dropping programs as a last resort as enrollment and revenue have declined. Now, in an KIMT interview, Olson said: “We are reaching kind of a almost a breaking point where the next steps would have to be a reduction in the number of programs we offer.” Olson didn’t name the most vulnerable programs. Last year the journalism program was scrubbed, but Olson was careful to say at the time that the program was “suspended,” not dropped. The fact, however, is that it’s almost impossible to resurrect a program when no faculty are left and all the students have switched to other programs.
Earlier: WSU president on navigating new realities
Earlier: It’s -30- for WSU journalism; axed in budget crisis
Short-term rescue
A bill is active in the state Legislature to give a one-time infusion of funds to the Minnesota State colleges system of which Winona State is part. The bill is sponsored by Representative Gene Pelowski, a Winona Democrat. The bill would provide one time funding for structural deficits at public colleges throughout the state It also would provide funding for operations and maintenance on condition that colleges freeze tuition for two years. The Pelowski bill cleared one House committee last week and is moving on through the legislative process. Long term, Pelowski would like to see a return to state funding at its historic two-thirds of t state college budgets. State funding has slipped gradually to 50% over 20 years as education has lost its historic Minnesota priority as socially and economically.
Olson. WSU almost at financial “breaking point” to maintain its academic programs. The university has 200-plus majors and programs. Some, he says, may be deleted in next steps of constriction.
Presto lands $80 million deal for war ammo
WASHINGTON – The Defense Department awarded an $80 million contract to a subsidiary of Wisconsin-based Presto Industries to manufacture high-velocity and low-velocity tactical cartridges. These are cartridges fired from 40mm grenade launchers and which can penetrate two inches of steel armor and kill targeted soldiers. Although known mostly for kitchen pressure cookers, Eau Claire-based Presto has been in and out of the arms business, most recently through its Amtek subsidiary.
Lecturer with bubbles, message due at WSU
WINONA, Minn. – The regional representative of the World Peace Prayer Society, Melvin Giles, will bring his message to Winona State University next week – and also his bubbles. The lecture: 7 p.m. Monday in the science building auditorium. Giles calls his presentation “Community Healing Through Activism, Community Gardens, and Empathy.” Giles, who grew up in the diverse Rondo area of St. Paul, will share his experiences in community healing, including neighborhood gardens. World peace, he says, begins small.
Giles. With his signature “peace bubbles.”
Showdown election Tuesday on Wisconsin’s future
MADISON, Wis. – More than $40 million has been spent campaigning for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court – a national record. The high-stakes contest between Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz and Republican-backed Dan Kelly will be decided by voters Tuesday. At stake may be the future course of Wisconsin public policy, which is in gridlock between Democratic Governor Evers and the Republican Legislature. Nationally both Protasiewicz and Kelly have attracted huge donations because Wisconsin has become a kingmaker in presidential races and the partisan makeup of Congress. Protasiewicz has amassed a $23.3 million war chest, Kelly $17.6 million. The winner will determine majority control of the court, with issues like abortion, election access, and what to do, if anything, about Republican gerrymandering.
Kelly. Former Supreme Court judge. GOP-backed conservative.
Protasiewicz. Milwaukee County judge. Democrat-backed liberal.
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