KRAKOW, Poland  — A former Rochester Grizzlies hockey player, now playing in Poland, was injured severely when he his head on the ice during a freak accident. Gavin Black, age 21, was hospitalized with a severe concussion, a skull fracture, and internal bleeding. Teammates at his bedside described him as conscious but not coherent. It was unclear in press reports from Opole, 60 miles from Krakow, whether Black was injured during an intercollegiate game or while training. Black was among 15 American and seven Canadians recruited for the new Opole University team. He told friends he considered Opole a career oportunity and enrolled as a freshman. Earlier with the Grizzlies in Rochester he was assistant team captain.

Black. On a  Mayo Spartans promotonal poster in 2023.

Basketball (men): Winona State 91, Sioux Falls 77

Basketball (men): Viterbo 87, Judson 63

Basketball (men): Rochester Community 87, Minnesota North-RainyRiver 56

Basketball (men): Winona State 77, Sioux Falls 68

Basketball (boys): Onalaska Hilltoppers 84, Medford Raiders 46

Basketball (boys): Holmen Vikings 93, Caledonia Warriors 80

Basketball (girls): Independence Indees 44, Shullsburg Miners 27

WINONA, Minn. — A warrant was issued for man who reportedly threatened to shoot it out with Winona police and to kill his neighbors. The threats were were made at a LaCrosse hospital, where Tydon Wesley Scott, age 26, of Winona, had checked himself in with what the nurses described as a mental health crisis. As required by law, the nurses notified Winona police about the homicidal talk, as well as suicide, and a claim to have purchases a handgun. Authorities in Wiona scrambled to issue a warrant, and LaCrosse police arrested Scott pending extradition across the state line to Winona. The basis for the man’s Winona animus was unclear. The LaCrosse nurses quoted him that he would shoot it out it out with Winona police if they ever contacted him. He also told nurses he disliked his neighbors so much that he had ideations of killing them.

Scott. Has had addresses over the years in both LaCrosse and Winona.

WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a Winona man after his girlfriend reported being grabbed and blocked from leaving after an argument over fidelity. Arrested was Alex Lee Franzwa, age 26. This was in the 150 block of Mechanic Street on the Far West End about 8:35 a.m. The woman told police that Franzwa threw a wooden table down stairs and ripped a clothes rack from a wall and swung at her. She said he blocked her exit and pushed her to the floor. It was five, maybe 10 minutes she could escape and call 911, she said. The disarray, police said, supported the woman’s account. No medical attention was required, police said.

Franzwa. Booked for domestic assault causing fear and harm, false imprisonment.

WINONA, Minn. – Police offered a $200 reward for clues to solve a series of catalytic converter thefts. Notify CrimeStoppers. The first reports were from parking lots at Menards and Walmart on the Far East End.

Earlier: Another catalytic converter theft

Earlier: Parking lot thief sawing off exhaust filters

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Everyone escaped from a burning house in northwest Rochester but not before the roof began sagging in a final structural surrender. Two cats were missing. The fire was about 3 a.m. Firefighters mounted a three-prong attack — one crew from the outside,  a second with a hose line inside, and a third crew sucking out smoke. It was for naught. Attic roof beams eventually gave way.

1615 19th Avenue Northwest  Cause: Under investigation. Image: Rochester Fire Department

DULUTH, Minn. — The Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth has acquired two lynx, brothers from different litters. Floki, age 7, and Bjorn, 6, were born and raised at the Pittsburgh Zoo. The boys are part of a species survival program to breed sustainable numbers of genetically diverse Canada lynx. Either Floki or Bjorn or both could be called upon to breed, said Micayla Coble, primary Duluth carnivore keeper. In the meantime, she said, Floki and Bjorn are comfortable in their new Duluth bachelor pad. The zoo’s earlier lynx was Felix, who died in 2024 at age 17.

Earlier: Car hits bobcat in central Winona County

Basketball (men): Rochester Community 81, Minnesota North-Hibbing 56

DAKOTA, Minn. — A Wisconsin driver was injured albeit not seriously when he lost control of his 2006 Jeep Commander on Interstate 90 near Dakota. Austin James Kaufmann, 31, of Onalaska, was taken 14 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. The accident was about 9:30 p.m. at the Interstate 90 split to Winona and Rochester. Kaufmann, alone in his vehicle, was headed toward Rochester. The accident was classified by the State Patrol as alcohol-involved. Pavement was dry.

WINONA, Minn. — A Winona High School girl shoved another girl who fell into a lunchroom table, police were told. Officers were called to the school about 1:30 p.m. A disorderly conduct charge was being considered against one of the girls, who is 15 years old.  The other girl is 14. Neither girl required medical attention.

RED WING, Minn. — Bail was set at $2 million for a Lake City man who was arrested, gun in hand, after a shooting that critically wounded another man.  William Charles Piar, age 81, was charged on numerous counts:

> First-degree and second degree attempted murder.

> First-degree and second -degree assault.

Earlier: 81-year-old man in held for Lake City shooting

STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — At a news conference Sheriff Kevin Torgerson offered a barebones account of a pre-dawn shooting that targeted a Stewartville high school wrestler. Torgerson confirmed the shooter killed himself within seconds of firing at the teen-age wrestler. The wrestler remained in critical but stable condition after surgery at a Rochester hospital, the sheriff said. His voice trembling with emotion, Torgerson asked news reporters not to release the names of the shooter or victim in deference to the ongoing investigation. Both families, he said, have been cooperating with investigators. The sheriff said the public at large was never in any danger. The news conference was at the high school, which was otherwise quiet and somber with classes and activities cancelled. The shooting was about 5 a.m. in the school parking lot. The wrestling team and coaches were milling around a bus to leave for matches in North Dakota. Apparently no one saw the shooter, who had a long gun. What had happened became clear within seconds, however, when there was a second shot — the shooter killing himself

Earlier: Athlete shot at Stewartville school; suicide follows

Torgerson. Olmsted County sheriff with Stewartville Schools Superintendent Belinda Selfors.

ST.PAUL, Minn. —Governor Tim Walz confirmed he has created a new Office of Program Integrity to catch fraudulent claims early. In charge, Walz said, would be Tim O’Malley, a former superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. O’Malley also has been a judge, an FBI agent, and an architect of reforms for the Catholic Archdiocese after dozens of Choir Boy abuses were uncovered. Walz has beneen dogged for weeks by right-wing claims of culpability, some false, for state payments on fraudulent claims for Medicaid and other assistance programs. The most bombastic exaggerated claims have come from President Trump in revengeful broadsides to demonize Walz, who opposed Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Trump has failed to substantiate his claims with evidence, although there indeed have been losses to fraud in some state-administered programs. At theWalz news conference announcing the appointment, O;Malley said the governor has given him a free hand as an independent agent — kind of anti-fraud czar.

Earlier: Trump rehashes old news on CoVid-era fraud

Earlier: An unhinged Trump in angry Minnesota attack

WHITEHALL, Wis. — A detective in the Trempealeau County sheriff’s office, Erica Koxlien, has been appointed interim sheriff. Governor Tony Evers made the appointment to replace Brett Semingson, who is retiring.  It will be up to Koxlien, age 48, whether to seek election to the post in November 2026. Koxlien started as a patrol officer before becoming a detective. Koxlien created education program to acquaint young people with law enforcement. She holds a degree in criminal justice from UW-Eau Claire and is an instructor in law enforcement at Western Technical College. She lives in Osseo, in the far north of the county, 18 miles from the county seat in Whitehall.

Earlier: Applicants sought as Trempealeau sheriff

Earlier: Retirement beckons for Trempealeau sheriff

Koxlien. Finishes Brett Semingson’s unexpired term.

WINONA, Minn. — Employees at the WNB branch on Mankato Avenue arrived at work to find an automatic cash dispensing machine had been emptied of $37,000 overnight. Preliminary evidence suggested the work of a ring of thieves that has been making  “withdrawals” around LaCrosse and Holmen, apparently with some form of coding, police said. Winona investigators began a review of Winona National Bank surveillance video. The Winona case didn’t appear to be the same modus operandi as an ATM theft last week in Galesville, Wisconsin. The Galesville heist involved physically ripping out an ATM and prying it open with a crowbar.

Earlier: Thieves at large after Galesville ATM heist

ST. CHARLES, Minn — A pre-dawn collision of a car and semi-truck on Interstate 90, caused by a deer, injured a St. Charles driver. Colin Andrew Sayles, 37, was taken 26 miles to a Rochester hospital. First-responders described his injuries as non-life threatening. Police said Sayles, driving a 2017 Honda CRV, struck a deer and then collided with 2017 Freightliner tractor-truck. Both vehicles were in westbound lanes toward Rochester. This was about 6:25 a.m, between the St. Charles and Dover exits. The truck driver, Christian Michael Brow, 25, of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, was unhurt.

WINONA, Minn. – Police issued 37 citations overnight for violations of the city’s winter ordinance for alternate-side parking. The running tally:

> December 11:  37, of which 17 were tagged and towed

 > December 10: 28 tagged and towe

> December 9: Officers on other priorities

> December 8:  74

>December 7: 68>

December 4, 5 and 6: Officers on other priorities

> December 3: 8

>mDecember 2: 43

> December 1: 28

> November totals: 731

Earlier: Ahead: Hyper-enforcement of parking regs

Earlier: Snow or not, Winona winter parking rules kick in