WINONA, Minn. — Responding to a vandalism call at Winona High Scholl, police saw eight teenagers scrambling into the night. Two were slow. Police caught them, both 17. Trees had been toilet-papered. Silly-putty string was well, strung all over. Dozens of forks were inexplicably pounded in the grass. This was about 10:20 p.m. Will there be criminal charges? Police were waiting for morning to see what Principal Nathan Warnekewill do.

ALTURA, Minn.  — An Altura man was injured seriously when his four-wheeler rolled several times on the remote White Hawk Drive ridge east of Altura. Adam Paul Greeden, age 33, was airlifted 35 miles to a Rochester hospital. This was about 5:30 p.m. Winona County deputies said it appeared that Greeden steered or slipped onto grass, which sent the vehicle rolling. He was alone on the vehicle.

Giant truck, giant load. This truck entering Winona has a load of hot-rolled steel wire rod, the raw material to make chain at Winona’s Peerless chain factory on East Sanborn Street. Peerless consumes about 1,400 tons per month — roughly 70 truckloads. Put another way: 2-1/2 trucks a day.  This load is from a steel mill in Nebraska. Image: Kevin O’Reilly

STOCKTON, Minn. — Some carpenters have lost the tools they need for their trade to thieves. The theft was from a locked construction trailer at the Hickory Lane trailer court. The tools were valued at $3,000. The theft was reported to the sheriff’s office in Winona about 11 a.m.

ST.CHARLES, Minn. — A St. Charles driver backing out of a driveway was struck by a semi-truck on U.S. Highway 14 through town. Clayton Arthur Wiskow, age 79, was taken 15 miles to a Rochester hospital. First-responders described his injuries as sustainable. The other driver, Rudolph Edwin Kaehler, 72, of Eyota, was unhurt. He was in a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia. The accident was about 9:35 a.m. near the Whitewater Avenue intersection. Wiskow was in a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox

“Our season is almost over, sweety,” says Missy Daffodil. “It’s been so wonderful being with you these past few weeks. But soon we’ll wrinkle and wither to our roots. It’s the will of Nature.” Says Missy Narcissus: “Until next spring, your presence and beauty will be in my heart. Love and kisses to you, Daffy.” Soon Daffy and Nissy will be resting in interim peace in their bulbs six inches deep in a garden near Lewiston.  Says the gardener: “Until April, dear ones, rest well. Your time to bloom together will come again.” Image: Steve Lunde

WINONA, Minn. —  A driver who shouldn’t have been driving — a revoked license, no insurance and also several arrest warrants — was stopped by a police officer who recognized him. Right away, the officer said, David Paul Thunborg‑Valentine admitted he had a bunch of plastic baggies in the car. The baggies previously held cocaine, the officer was told. The emphasis was on “previously.” A search of the vehicle found 28 baggies. Yes, 28! The baggies  were empty, as Thunborg‑Valentine had said, but they contained visible traces of cocaine. That was sufficient to add illegal drug possession to other charges. Thunborg‑Valentine, age 29, of Winona, was taken to jail. The stop was about 9:55 p.m. near Fourth and Johnson streets downtown.

Thunborg Valentine. A little bit or a lot, cocaine is cocaine.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Supreme Court has a new chief justice-designate — Theodora Karin Gaïtas, who already sits on the court as an associate justice. In the announcing of his choice of Gaïtas, Governor Tim Walz noted that she will be the first chief justice in Minnesota history with a background as a public defender. Her perspective, Walz said, “will be invaluable as she takes on this profound responsibility to serve all Minnesotans.” Gaïtas holds a 1994 law degree from the University of Minesota. Out of law school, she was an associate defender in Bucks County in western Pennsylvania. Later she was a public defender in Minnesota’s Hennepin County. Her subsequent career:

> 2018: A Hennepin County district judge.

> 2020: A Minnesota Court of Appeals judge.

> 2024: A Minnesota Supreme Court justice.

Gaïtas is Minnesota-born but grew up in Athens and returned to Minnesota for college. Her father was a Greek immigrant and her mother an American citizen. As chief justice she succeeds Nagalie Hudson, who retires in January. Walz chose Gaïtas from a field of seven candidates recommended by a Bar Association commission. The field included three current justices: Gaitas, Anne McKeig and Paul Thissen

New to Supreme Court

To fill the vacancy created by the Gaïtas appointment as chief justice, Governor Walz named Ramsey County District Court Judge Reynaldo Aligada Jr. Walz called Aligada “someone who leaves a lasting impression on everyone he meets, pairing a keen legal mind with genuine humility and compassion.” Aligata was appointed to his Hennepin County judgeship by Walz in 2019 and was elected in 2020. He is a graduate of the Mitchell Hamline law school.  He has experience as a federal public defender.

Supreme Court profile

The Minnesota Supreme Court could be called “the Walz Court.” Of the seven justices, five are Walz appointees. Note too: All seven are appointees of Democratic governors. After their initial appointment’s, they serve six-year terms, subject to statewide election. Candidates are not identified on ballots by any political affiliation but by whether they’re incumbents.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Byron man was killed in a motorcycle crash southwest of Rochester when he ran off the road. Aidan Hugeback, 23, was dead at the scene. This was about 4 p.m. near Bamber Valley Road Southwest and Bamber Hills Lane Southwest. No other vehicles were involved, said Olmsted County deputies.  Hugeback was heading south and riding alone.

NOTE: This accident was unrelated to one two days earlier also involving a Byron motorcyclist.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Bail was set at 500,000 for a Minneapolis man in a 2025 overdose death in the suburban Marion area. Charles Antonio Webster Sr., age 51, was linked to the death after a search of his phones found that his car was in the area on March 12, 2025, about the time of the death. Webster had just completed a long-term drug treatment in Duluth, according to the criminal complaint.

Earlier: Charges in Marion overdose include murder

Webster. Investigators say a text message referred to a “plug” and “good stuff.”

Thick smok eobscures Lake Superior shoreline  Eight cabins and homes gone. Fire burned five days between the Stewart River and the Silver Creek Cliff tunnel. The lakeshore State Highway 61 was closed between Two Harbors and  Siver Bay.

One returning homeowner found only concrete steps

TWO HARBORS, Minn. — The Stewart Trail wildfire along Lake Superior was pronounced fully contained at 350-plus acres but only after destroying eight homes and cabins and 30 outbuildings. Crews remained around the entire perimeter. They focused on hotspots that could flare up. A two-mile stretch of State Highway 61 between Two Harbors and Silver Bay, closed since Friday, has reopened. Some county roads remained blocked for firefighter platoons to maneuver with their heavy equipment. Residents who had been a evacuated, 42 total, were allowed back in. The fire has been blamed on a downed powerline near Betty’s Pies, a favorite tourist stop.

Earlier: Wildfires erupt in dry forests Up North

Out of winter storage. The 2026 camping season is upon us. RVs, motor homes and pickup campers that have garaged at home all winter are plugging into power outlets at campgrounds all over the Upper Midwest for summer residency This includes the seasonal community at Prairie Island  outside Winona. Image: Steve Lunde

Earluer: Prairie Island picnic? Not quite yet

PRESTON, Minn. — Sheriff John Degeorge of Fillmore County is seeking election to a third four-year term. The county, population 21,000. relies on the sheriff for primary policing .Also relying on the sheriff for primary or back-up policing are the communities of  Canton, Fountain, Harmony, Mabel, Ostrander, Preston, Rushford, Spring Valley, Whalen and Wykoff. Degeorge has been sheriff’s staff 29 years. In announcing his candidacy, Degeorge moted that his watch has included a new 29-bed jail He also pointed to school outreach programs to discourage drugging.

Degeorge. Lives in Peterson in central Fillmore County. Age 49.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Minneapolis man has been arrested for a 2025 fentanyl overdose death in the Marion area southeast of Rochester. The arrest of Charles Antonio Webster Sr., age 51, was in Minneapolis. His return to Rochester was being arranged. The charges: Murder, manslaughter and selling drugs. The criminal complaint describes the death in a house in the 3800 block of U.S Highway 14 in March 2025. First-responders found a large white ball of fentanyl and the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine. A friend, who found the body in a bathroom, said the victim had just come into the house after meeting a man outside. Telephone records put Webster in town at the time, investigators said.

WINONA, Minn. —  A police officer recognized a driver as having had his driver’s license revoked and made a stop. Things went downhill from that point for Dion Edward Wadley, age 27, of Winona. The officer said Wadley admitted to recent drug use and to having drugs in a pocket. The officer found a bag, apparently with meth, in his pants. The weight: 1.4 grans. The officer described Wadley as sweating and with rapid speech, jerky eye movement, and poor balance. This was about 9:50 a.m. at Mankato Avenue and Mark Street.

JOICE Iowa — One person was injured when a tornado ripped into a house just south of the Minnesota border near this northeast Iowa village of 200 people. Worth County deputies said the victim was hospitalized and expected to recover. Two people, a married couple, were in the house when the tornado hit about 10 p.m. A shed was destroyed. Damage to the house included broken windows.