College scores
Basketball (men): Winona State 58 UM-Crookston 53
Basketball (women): UM-Crookston 63, Winona State 58
Hockey (men): Saint Mary’s 5, Northland 4
Wrestling: UW-LaCrosse 27, Castleton 10
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Winona Cotter Ramblers 58, Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 43
Basketball (boys): Winona Winhawks 66, Rochester Century Panthers 53
Basketball (boys): LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 79, St. Charles Saints 39
Basketball (girls): LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 64, St. Charles Saints 58
Basketball (girls): Rochester Century Panthers 57, Winona Winhawks 46
Basketball (girls): Winona Cotter Ramblers 59, Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 49
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Alma/Pepin Eagles 64, Gilmanton Panthers 55
Basketball (boys): Whitehall Norse 67, Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 46
Basketball (boys): Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs 46, Blair-Taylor Wildcats 35
Basketball (boys): Independence Indees 44, Alma Center Lincoln Hornets 40
Basketball (boys): Arcadia Raiders 46 Black River Falls Tigers 43
Basketball (girls): Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks 43, Black River Falls Tigers 39
Basketball (girls): Onalaska Luther Knights 62, Arcadia Raiders 22
Injury in smash-up at bad Winona intersection
WINONA, Minn. – A Wisconsin woman was injured when two vehicles collided on U.S. Highway 61 at Huff Street. Taken to the Winona hospital with non-life threatening injuries was Dejah Marie Milliren, 19, of Holmen. Rescuers had to pry the car open to extricate her. Four other persons escaped injury. The accident was about 7:30 p.m. The streets had been plowed and de-iced and run dry by traffic. The intersection is one the least safe in Winona. Two high traffic commuter routes spike off Highway 61 – one the causeway across Lake Winona to Winona State University and downtown, the other to Garvin Heights residential neighborhoods. Millerin was in a south-bound 2011 Ford Fusion driven by Andria Rose Koester, 18, of Sartell. The other vehicle, a north-bound 2018 Toyota Rav 4, was driven by Eve Marie Hlavka, 25, of Plymouth.
Democrats push to OK adults-only marijuana
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Democrats in both houses of the Legislature began the log rolling to legalize marijuana in Minnesota. The bills would create state regulation with adult-only access, somewhat akin to alcohol regulation. The bills’ primary authors:
> State Senator Lindsey Port, D-Burnsville.
> State Reresentative Zack Stephenson, D-Coon Rapids.
Legalization has support from Democratic Governor Tim Walz. Republican opposition is expected. Also, police agencies don’t like looser rules, seeing marijuana as a gateway to hard drugs.
Earlier: Walz: Let’s legalize marijuana; prohibition a failure
Verbatim
Stephenson: “Our bill creates a safe, well-regulated legal marketplace, including best practices for consumer protection, health, and public safety. It also includes a robust expungement program, so people who have disproportionately been caught in the criminal justice system due to cannabis can move on with their lives.”
Verbatim
Port: “Minnesotans have made it clear that they are ready to move forward with the legalization of adult-use cannabis. We have work to do in the Senate, but we are ready to have those robust discussions and pass this into law.”
Riverview fund-raiser: Old books wanted
WINONA, Minn. – The Riverway charter school in Winonais holding a book drive at Paper Backs and Pieces with all proceeds going back to the school for textbook. The books will be sold through February in a $1 per hardcover sale. Address: 429 Mankato Avenue.
Ice on Big Lake breaks under ice- angler
ALMA, Wis.—Rescuers in an airboat saved a man who fell through ice while fishing on Big Lake upriver from Alma. The man, although distressed, was gotten to shore to warm up, said Sheriff Michael Osmond. The rescue was with a Natural Resources Department airboat stationed near the 2,400-acre lake on the Mississippi River.
Pickup crashes through ice; driver OK
WALKER, Minn. – A Buffalo man escaped from his pickup truck after crashing through ice on Leech lake. Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch said the man, age 19, was operating a Ram truck with a snow plow on a plowed roadway over the lake when the ice cracked open. This was about 11 a.m. along the southern shore. The lake, 160 square miles, is 150 feet deep in places.
R.I.P.: Mary Lou Hazelton
WINONA, Minn. — Mary Lou Hazelton , 80, who delivered meals on wheels, died after an extended illness. She graduated from Cotter High School. She excelled in tennis, golf and bowling. She was a widely ttraveled, drawn always to water, including the Florida coast and the Mississippi River that flowed by her home. She was a master gardener and an artist.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1942-2022
R.I.P.: Warren Bechly
FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. – Warren Bechly, 90, of Fountain City, a lifelong farmer known for the Bechly family watermelon patch, died at Sugar Loaf Senior Living in Winona. He graduated from Fountain City School and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean war. He served on St. Michael’s Lutheran Church board, the Buffalo Electric Board, and the Town of Milton Board.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home
1932-2022
Axe murderer to prison 120 years
sSPARTA, Wis.- A Sparta man accused of killing his step-grandfather with an axe and injuring two other relatives in 20211 will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Thomas Wayne Aspseter, 38, was sentenced to two consecutive 60-year terms. Judge Todd Ziegler called Aspeter a selfish, remorseless human being with almost no redeeming qualities. “There is a struggle to find positive aspects of Mr. Aspseter’s character,” the judge said. Two relatives injured in the frenzied attack, Michael and Margaret Waite, testified. Margaret Waite, who barely survived, told the jury: “I’ve been in hell. I live this every day and every night.” She has not recoverd strength in an injured arm.
Earlier: Sparta ax-killer guilty on all counts
Earlier: Plea not guilty in Sparta axe murder
The charges
> First-degree intentional homicide.
> Attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
> Second count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
> Aggravated battery with intend to cause great hodily harm.
> Second count of aggravated battery with intend to cause great bodily harm.
Child porn counts face Onalaska man
LACROSSE, Wis. – An Onalaska man who said he was in a church recovery program for pornography addiction was charged with possessing and distributing child porn. If convicted, Anthony C. Schmidt, 34, could face 145 years in prison on multiple counts. Bond was set at $50,000.
Schmidt. Well-known in archery circles.
Cop: “Can you touch your nose?” She missed
WINONA, Minn. – A Faribault woman speeding 38 mph in a 30 zone was drunk, police said. The blood-alcohol ratio for Chloe Marie Denzer, 21, tested at 0.14% — almost twice the legal max for driving. Also she failed field sobriety tests, like walking a straight line and touching her nose. The stop was about 1:10 a.m. at Broadway and Kansas streets on the East Side.
City snow plow hits car; no injuries
WINONA Minn. – A city plow struck a chunk in the snow and slid into a passing car. The car driver’s passenger door was smashed. There were no injuries. This was about 1:30 a.m. at Fourth and Carimona streets on the East End.
Poet visitors to Winona laureate series
WINONA, Minn. – Traveling poets Joyce Sutphen and Walter Cannon will read from their poetry at the First Tuesday writers series Tuesday at Blue Heron Coffeehouse. Time: 7 p.m. Sutphen, a former Minnesota poet laureate, will read from her forthcoming “That Other Life.” She is retired from English faculty at Gustavus Adolphus. Cannon will read from his “The Possible World.”. He is retired from the English faculty at Central College in Iowa.
Book-signing. Poets Joyce Sutphen and Walter Cannon. Due Tuesday at Blue Heron, 162 West Second Street.
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 78, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 74
Basketball (girls): Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 57, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 31
Hockey (girls): Albert Lea Tigers 7, Winona Winhawks 0
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Whitehall Norse 62, Osseo-Fairchild Thunder 55
Basketball (boys): Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks 75, Arcadia Raiders 41
Dakota man never made it to detox, but to jail
WINONA, Minn. – The evening went from bad to worse for a Dakota man – and for at least one police officer too. First thing: Andrew Olaf Swanson, 41, was out for a night on the town. But at the Cornerstone Bar on West Fifth Street he was thrown out, reportedly for getting loud with expletives and threatening the bar tender. Police found Swanson outside in a snowbank. Officers said he was still swearing and yelling and refused to give his name or tell them a safe place where they could take him. Temps were in the20s. So they took him to the station house. His blood-alcohol tested at 0.18% — more than twice the legal definition for impairment. Officers decided to send him to the hospital for detoxification. While waiting to be put in a squad car, police said, he hit an officer. Then in the backseat car, he spat through the cage at an officer in front seat, slobbering on the officer and the officer’s open laptop. By 9:48 p.m. he had a cell at the county jail.
Swanson. Booked for assault and offensive, abusive, boisterous conduct.
How they voted: For House speaker / 7 8 9 10 11
WASHINGTON – Three days and 11 votes after the ordeal began, the U.S. House failed again to find a speaker. An intransigent bloc of 20 GOP ultra-right wingers refused to give former House minority leader Kevin McCarthy the 218 votes he needed for the speakership. In the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations, Brad Finstad and Derrick Van Orden continued to support McCarthy, their fellow Trump acolyte. Meanwhile, Minnesotan Tom Emmer, the GOP House whip, continued unsuccessfully help broker a deal between McCarthy and the dissident Republican bloc.
House dead in water
The 118th Congress is nonfunctional until the House stalemate over electing a speaker is resolved. The members are all in Washington, but they cannot do any business until a House speaker is selected. No legislation can be put on the table. There is no discussion on policy issues. In fact, the members aren’t even sworn in yet, which is an act performed by the speaker. Proceedings are limited to the speakership election, over which the House clerk presides. Although cynics metaphorically talk about Washington “being broken.” such literally has been the case since Tuesday when the 118th was supposed to get down to business. Never in 164 years, going back to 36th Congress in 1859, has it taken so long to select a speaker. Usually it’s a routine, quick, easy matter the first day.
School projects: Two-tier choice for voters
WINONA, Minn. – The Winona School Board unanimously approved a two-question referendum for April. One question befor voters will be for classroom and building improvements, the other for extracurricular spaces.
> Buildings ($72.5 million): Includes updating vocation-oriented high school facilities; improving handicap accessibility issues at old buildings; enlarging a cafeteria at Jefferson and Washington-Kosciusko elementary schools; and catching up on deferred maintenance to extend the life of buildings. These items would hike property taxes on a $200,00 house by $177 a year.
> Extracurriculars ($21.7 million): Includes expanding the high school gym and remodeling the high school music area. These would hike property taxes an additional $77 a year on a $200,000 house.
Option 1
Goodview elementary
> Remodel and modernize classrooms.
> Provide new flexible furniture.
Deferred maintenance: Code upgrades; boiler plant; upgrade air conditioning and ventilation; replace classroom casework; replace gym floor; replace exterior windows; replace plumbing fixtures; provide water softener; remodel toilets; improve site drainage.
Jefferson elementary
> Remodel classrooms to modernize.
> Construct addition for new cafeteria and student support spaces.
> Provide new flexible furniture
Deferred maintenance: Code upgrades; replace gym doors; replace playground; remodel toilets; replace exterior windows; add data and electrical outlets; provide accessible path to stadium; repair exterior stairs; provide water softener.
Washington-Kosciusko elementary
> Remodel classroom to modernize.
> Construct addition for new cafeteria and student support spaces.
> New flexible furniture
Deferred maintenance: Code upgrades; replace gym doors; replace exterior window; add data and electrical outlets; replace exterior stairs; provide water softener.l
Middle School
Deferred Maintenance: Replace toilet partition; refurbish and update boiler plant; install high efficiency water heater; increase chiller capacity; replace roof.
High school
> Create flexible learning spaces.
> Remodel information technology learning area.
> Remodel to accommodate emotional-behavioral disorder setting.
> Provide new flexible furniture
Deferred maintenance: Meet federal handicap- accessibility standards.
Alternative learning center
> Remodeling for activity and fitness
Deferred maintenance: Replace lighting; improve controls on geothermal system; provide supplementary boiler; add perimeter
Paul Giel Field
Deferred maintenance: Remodel toilets; upgrade bleachers to code.
Option 2 I(if Option 1 approved)
High school
> Remodel general classrooms.
> Remodel locker rooms for gender equity.
> Remodel music areas.
> Add gym section, new locker rooms.
Deferred maintenance: Remodel toilets; bleacher upgrades for code.
Shrinking enrollment means shrinking budget
WINONA, Minn. – Winona public schools need to tighten the belt next school year, said budget director Sarah Slaby. Last year, she noted, enrolment dropped from 2,501 to 2,371. The drop likely means $1.4 million less in state aid, she told the Board. Slaby presented a budget goal of $36.1 million.
GOP calls Democratic initiatives divisive
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Republican minority leaders in the Minnesota Legislature responded to the Democratic 2023 priority list: “Same-o’ same-o’same-o’. Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, issued a joint statement that the DFL legislative agenda was “controversial and divisive” Johnson and Demuth promised that Republicans will work for middle-class tax cuts, police funding,, energy affordability, and student achievement.
Verbatim
GOP: “The DFL priorities were what we expected. Rather than getting to work on balancing the budget and giving the massive surplus back to the people, they are rushing through their own top priorities without bipartisan support.”
Fine for shooting bear in backyard: $1,500
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. – A rural man was fined $1,500 for shooting and killing a trophy-size black bear in his backyard. Michael Theilen, 42, was ordered also to surrender his rifle. His hunting privileges were taken away for three years. The charge: Taking and possessing big game out of season. Judge Leonard Weiler pronounced the sentence after Theilen pleaded guilty. Orginally Theilen explained that the 500-pound bear had been killing ducks and chickens and caused $2,500 damage.
Driving lesson: Huff Street ain’t no carnival ride
WINONA, Minn. – First the cops saw a driver fly by a stop sign on Howard Street. Then they saw her fishtailing down Huff Street. They stopped Rylie Grace Gatzke, 33, of Preston. This as about 1:10 a.m. Her blood-alcohol content showed 0.15%, police said. That’s almost double the level considered too drunk to drive.
College scores
Basketball (men): Saint Mary’s 81, Hamline 72
Basketball (men): UW-Platteville 64, UW-LaCrosse 41
Basketball (women): Hamline 69, Saint Mary’s 60
Basketball (women): UW-LaCrosse 70, UW-Platteville 55
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