Cops: Ex-con drug dealer back in drugs biz
BLUE EARTH, Minn. – A gun-carrying drug dealer, released from prison in October, has been caught again. Dominique Lamar Breham, 34, was arrested at 1:30 a.m. after agents saw a retinue of people approach his vehicle in a parking lot, mostly one at a time, and get in, and then leave moments later. Agents from the Blue Earth County sheriff’s office and agents from Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force closed in. Their report said they found 62.6 grams of cocaine and 790 pills suspected of being counterfeit Fentanyl-laced pain-killers. The suspected pain-killers, blue and stamped M30, could be fatal if in an overdose, agents said. A 20-year-old passenger in the vehicle was also arrested.
Breham. Booked on drug sales and drug possession charges.
First 2023 tows penetrate Lake Pepin ice
LAKE CITY, Minn. – Two Ingram tows acted as their own ice breakers, forcing their way through the thinning Lake Pepin ice pack. The motor vessels Neil N. Diehl and Philip M. Pfeffer were the first of the season to venture through the 22-mile Mississippi River lake. It was a slow-go, each with twin screws and 6,150-horsepower and pushing only a single barge each – far short of the usual max array of 17. The speed: A mere 1.5 knots. Their journey marked the opening of the 2023 Upper Mississippi shipping season. The average date for the first commercial vessel through Lake Pepin is March 20. The earliest start has been March 4.
Sibling tows. Two Ingram tows, vintage 1981 and 1882, inaugurate the new Upper Mississippi commercial navigation season. Image: Steve Drazkowski
More apparently police-hostile sheets on cars
WINONA, Minn. – Another batch of weird messages has been tucked on automobile windshields, this time downtown. These appear to be work of a woman who was seen on surveillance video doing the same thing last week in a parking lot at the hospital, said Deputy Police Chief Jay Rasmussen. Police are chalking up the incidents to an emotional or behavioral malady. Among new messages, as best as can be deciphered:
> “Cops exist to destroy your lives and call you looney and damn you to swallow poison and chemicals to damn”
> “Just dogs and gluttony and sloth”
R.I.P.: Wayne Pearson
WINONA, Minn. –Wayne Lloyd Pearson, 74, of Winona, an emergency medical technician died at Methodist hospital in Rochester. He also was a truck driver, bar and restaurant owner, and machine operator. He graduated from Winona High School in1966.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1948-2023
Death claims Vikings legend Bud Grant at 95
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings football coach Bud Grant, who led four teams to the Super Bowl, died at home at age 94. He had been in retirement in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. He was born in Superior, Wisconsin, and christened Harry Peter Grant Jr. The nickname Bud came from his mother. It stuck. Grant overcame polio as a child and became a three-sport high school star. He learned coaching after enlisting in 1945 and playing on the Great Lakes Naval Training Station team run by Paul Brown, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career. Grant’s NFL record: 158-96-5.
Vikings head coach from 1967 to 1983 and in 1985. Image: St. Paul Pioneer Press archive
Body found in remote Jackson County
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Acting on a tip, police found human remains in a little trafficked rural area eight miles south of Black River Falls. Jackson County Sheriff Duane Waldera said that samples of the remains would be tested for identification. It was believed that the person had been dead at least four days. Foul play was suspected. Waldera said that the death appeared isolated and that there was no threat to the public. The remains were near the Highway 27 and County Road 0 crossroads. The body was found with a search warrant for a house. A search of the property was conducted by Jackson County deputies, State Patrol officers, state Bureau of Criminal Bureau of Investigation agents, and state crime lab technicians.
State OKs mega-solar farm near Byron
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The state Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 to approve construction of a 1,500-acre solar energy farm south of U.S. Highway 14 near Byron. The decision was a setback for officials of Dodge County and Canisteo Township, which expressed concern about the loss of high-quality farmland. The owner, EDF Renewables, now is clear to acquiree property. The $256 million array will pump 200 megawatts into the southern Minnesota power grid. Construction could start in 2024 with the first generation of power in 2025.
Headwaters. Site at headwaters of Zumbro River tributaries.
How big is big?
One measure to compare solar farms is acreage. Other measures include the number of solar panels and the power output. For what it’s worth these are the largest by acreage:
> Global: Shadla Solar Park near Jodhpur in Rajasthan,14,000 acres.
> United States: Ivanpoh Solar Farm at Clark Mountain near the California-Nevada border, 9,600 acres.
College scores
Baseball: California Polytech 11, Winona State 5
Baseball: Winona State 6, Lewis 3
Minnesota prep
Basketball (girls): Goodhue Wildcats 78, Caledonia Warriors 58
Basketball (girls): Stewartville Tigers 78, Austin Packers 50
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (girls): Blair-Taylor Wildcats 55, Laona-Wabeno Rebels 26
Teen charged in raid yielding $125,000 in drugs
SPARTA, Wis. –An 18-year-old Sparta teenager was charged on multiple drug issues after raids in two Sparta houses that yielded massive quantities of illicit marijuana products and pulls. Jailed was Brandon Rand. Sheriff Wesley Revels said that additional individuals may be charged as the investigation continues. The raids yielded Revels said that agents confiscated 45 pounds of marijuana products,300 grams of psilocin mushrooms, and $30,000 cash. The street value of the drugs was estimated at $125,000. The intended market for the marijuana was minors, sources said.
14 feet of stuff. Police needed two folding tables to lay out drugs taken in related raids at two Sparta houses.
Rand. Charges: Possession with intent to deliver THC and mushrooms. Also maintaining a drug-trafficking place.
Car into ditch at harbor; driver OK but wobbly
WINONA, Minn. – Police found a man climbing 20 feet up the bank from his wrecked car near the Winona fleeting harbor. Robert Louis Dunn Jr., 32, of Winona, was unhurt. He told police he had been going too fast. Also he admitted to partaking of alcohol, but that, he said. was four hours earlier. Officers were not surprised. They could smell him and see his bloodshot, glassy eyes and wobbliness. He failed several field sobriety tests but declined a blood-alcohol test, police said. This was about 6:30 a.m. at Riverview Drive and Prairie Island Road.
Dunn. Concedes to driving too fast, drinking.
Amtrak eyes new Empire Builder equipment
WASHNGTON – The national rail passenger company Amtrak plans to replace the double-deck Superliner cars on the Empire Builder, which serves Winona, and on other log-distance trains between Chicago and the West Coast. The oldest cars in the Superliner fleet date to 1975. Amtrak has asked potential manufacturers for design ideas. The new fleet would include coaches, sleepers, diners and baggage cars – and possibly new locomotives. Amtrak didn’t say whether it seeks bilevel or singe-level cars or glassed-roof lounge cars. Once Amtrak has settled on a design, it will seek competitive bids. A target to place the first new consists in service was not specificd.
Earlier: Summer target for new Winona train
Earlier: New locomotives on Empire Builder
Superliner finale approaching. Attrition due to accidents over 47 years has reduced Amtrak’s 479-car bilevel fleet
A moose antler as weapon in Minnesota slaying
GRAND MARAIS, Minn. – A 27-year-old father used a moose antlerr and shovel to beat and a kill a man he said had been stalking his daughter. He then drove to the Cook County sheriff’s office and confessed. Levi Axtell, 27, was charged with second-degree murder. The attack had been in the home of Lawrence V. Scully, 77, who previously convicted of child sexual assault
Axtell. Bail set at $1 million.
Second victim dies from Racine car crash
RACINE, Minn. – A South Dakota woman died at a Rochester hospital from injuries in a car crash south of Olmsted County near Racine. Theresa Fluteplayer, 27, of Flandreau, South Dakota, was the second person to die from the accident. Rory Anderlik, 34, of Riceville, Iowa died at the scene.
College scores
Baseball: Winona State 12, Davis & Elkins 2
Baseball: Grand Valley State 10, Winona State 5
Tennis (women): Michigan Tech 7, Winona State 0
Port to would-be hoteliers: Stop dallying
WINONA, Minn. – The Winona Port Authority told a consortium of developers to put up or else. Commissioners voted 7-0 to give the consortium’s only three more months to present a proposal for a riverfront hotel-apartment building. The consortium has had exclusive rights for two years to deliver a plan – but it hasn’t happened even after three extensions. No more, the commissioners said. If the consortium doesn’t respond by July, the Port will invite others to explore possibilities for the so-called Lot 6 property behind the Cine 4 movie house and downtown mall. The consortium to which the city had awarded exclusive negotiation rights for the prime property — C.D. Smith Construction, Latsch Partnership, and Rivers Hospitality – has been jockeying behind the scenes more for more e attractive financial incentives from the city.
Verbatim
Mike Hansen, Port commissioner: “It really is time that we can wash away some of the other excuses. Somebody has a budget. Somebody knows what it’s going to cost. Somebody knows what our participation level is. The marketing team of these three very good firms can make this happen. This is not a new thing for them. At a certain point, they have to show up and make a deal.”
Lot 6. Adjacent to current farmers’ market site at Main Street stub to the Levee Park. Also known as the 60 Main project.
Port Authority members
> Ernest Gorman, term to 2024.
> Michael Hansen, to 2024.
> George Borzyskowski, to 2026.
> Steve Young, to 2 026.
> Michael Cichanowski, to 2028.
> Dana Johnson, to 2028.
> Laurie Lucas, to 2028.
Forecasters scale down snow expectations
WINONA, Minn. – The weekend will be snowy but not so much as earlier predicted. The National Weather Service said to expect one inch in the Winona area Friday, followed by 2-1/2 inches Saturday, mixed with rain later in the day, and 1-1/2 inches Sunday. The original forecast was as much as 10 inches over the four-day span that began Thursday. The early phase was light, fluffy snow.
Traveler dead in Mower County head-on crash
RACINE, Minn. – An Iowa man died in a head-on collision on a snowy highway a mile north of Racine. Rory Anderlik, 34, of the Minnesota-Iowa border town of Riceville, was a passenger in one of the cars. The acciden was just before 6 p.m. The State Patrol said the cars were driven by Theresa Fluteplayer, 27, of Flandreau, South Dakota, who was traveling north, and Hope Doherty, 45 of Racine, who was traveling south. Both were taken 20 miles to a Rochester hospital. Fluteplayer suffered life-threatening injuries, Doherty less serious injuries.
Highway blocked. The State patrol closed one lane of U.S. Highway 63 several hours between West Main Street and 302nd Street.
Distracted teen driver smacks tree
WINONA, Minn. – A car barreled into a tree at Fourth and Market streets on the Near East Side. The tree survived. The car not so much. The driver wasn’t badly hurt but was taken to the hospital. How did this happen at 4:40 p.m. on dry streets? The driver, a 16-year-old girl, told police that items on her dashboard had fallen off and she reached to grab them. When she looked up she realized she had run a stop sign and swerved to avoid an oncoming car and overcorrected.
Stolen wig gave thief away
WINONA, Minn. – A mail-order wig was delivered to a Mankato Avenue apartment but stolen from the front door. Police rounded up surveillance video. The rightful recipient recognized the thief. Police went down the hall to knock in the thief’s door. She answered wearing the wig. The case was solved with the return of the wig. This was about 4:40 p.m. in the 600 block of Mankato.
Holte commits to county government transparency
WINONA, Minn. – The newly appointed Winona County administrator, Maureen Holte, pledged herself to openness and transparency. “Be open and honest,” Holte said in a Winona Post interview, “That’s the best way.” She promised to encourage transparency throughout county agencies. Her guidelines: “Sharing information as soon as it is possible to do so.” She noted, though, that timing can be key. Be open “to the degree possible and as soon as possible.” There have been lapses when she was assistant county administrator, including when she was assistant to former County Administrator Ken Fritz. A formal complaint to the state Department of Administration concluded that her unresponsiveness to a news media inquiry violated state openness policy. Other goals she listed in the interview:
> Stabilizing the county budget to avoid spikes up and down in taxes.
> Going out in the community to improve what she described as already excellent relationships.
> Maintaining staff morale and retention through open, honest communication.
> Hiring a new personnel director to replace herself.
$183,000 church embezzler to judge: Guilty
ROCHESTER, Minn. -A church treasurer who embezzled $183,000 to feed a gambling habit pleaded guilty. Patricia Radich, 64, promised to pay the money back. She was the treasurer at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rochester. The church had considerable cash flows from a $1.5 million fundraiser for renovations from 2016 to 2019.
Radich. A repayment schedule yet to be determined.
R.I.P.: James Graham
NODINE, Minn. – James Edward Graham, 74, of Nodine, died of with Parkinson’s Disease complications. He contracted the disease in the Navy in Vietnam. He grew up in Little Fork, Minnesota, and graduated from Little Fork/Big Falls High School in 1966. He joined the Navy in 1968 as a jet mechanic and later a jet inspector. His Navy duty was on the on the USS Ticonderoga. After the Navy, he worked as a logger. He was mayor of Big Falls, a police officer, and a volunteer firefighter. He later used his logging skills in southern Minnesota. He was an advocate for Vietnam veterans affected by exposure to Agent Orange. He was especially passionate about Parkinson’s Disease. His efforts led to changes in federal law, providing medical coverage to deserving veterans.
Detail: Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home
1948-2023
Cops break up brawling kids, parents at East Rec
WINONA, Minn. – The staff put the East End Recreational Center on lockdown after parents showed up and jumped into a brawl among school kids outside. City police with backup from county sheriff’s deputies separated the combatant, who began dispersing. This was about 4 p.m. Police were told that bullying at school had carried over to the rec center. Police anticipated disorderly conduct charges as soon as they can review video. When officers arrived, they said tat five or six adults were shouting, shoving and punching, plus the kids. There were no serious injuries as far as police could determine. Apparently the brawl first involved two girls, age 12 and 13.
East Rec profile
The drop-in East End Recreation Center, at Fourth and Zumbro streets, includes a gym, basketball courts, a gaming room, and crafts areas. The center is operated by the city. No alcohol is allowed. The center is available for meetings. Capacity: 466 in gym, 140 in the game room, and 26 in a studio Room 26.
After-school gathering place. Offers wide range of neigborhood activities for teenagers and others.
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