College scores
Basketball (men): Hamline 79, Saint Mary’s 52
Basketball (men): Luther of Decorah 84, Viterbo 69
Basketball (men): Madison 100, Rochester Community 64
Basketball (women): Saint Mary’s 54, Hamline 51
Wrestling: UW-LaCrosse 23, UW-Eau Claire 12
Man shot in Lake City; arrest follows
Lakeside strip mall. On U.S. Highway 61 at 1301 North Lakeshore Drive. With upstairs living quarters.
Caller summon police after hearing gunshots
LAKE CITY, Minn. — A man was shot and seriously wounded at an upscale North Lakeshore Drive address. He was taken the local hospital, then 30 miles to a Trauma Level 1 facility in Rochester. Police had been called about 1:30 p.m. because of gunshots. Officers found a man out back with a gun. He refused to comply with commands to put the weapon down and was subdued with a a stun gun. Police Captain Bill Weist said officers then discovered the wounded man inside the multi-purpose strip mall. The gunman, meanwhile, was taken to the Lake City hospital for evaluation. Weist declined to release the names of the men. He said agents from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were being called to help the 10-officer city police force investigate.
¡Hurra burritos! Chipotle opens doors
WINONA, Minn. — Gilmore Avenue in Winona is a long way from the Rio Grande, but burritos were on the minds of the West End lunch crowd. It was the opening day of Winona’s new Chipolte fast-food shop. People could order inside or pick up from the corny-named Chipotlane. In English that’s a drive-through lane
Earlier: Food craze: Winona’s sixth Mexican eatery
Earlier: Chipolte rising curbside on Winona West End
Bail for two-fatality traffic death: $500,000
HASTINGS, Minn. — Bail was ordered at at $500,000 for a Kenyon man accused in a fiery head-on collision that killed two Apple Valley people over the weekend. Judge Dannia Edwards set the bail as a condition for the release of Seth John Nechville, age 28, for the Dakota County jail pending further proceedings. Meanwhile the county prosecutor, Kathy Keena, confirmed she anticipated elevating her original charge of vehicular homicide to third-degree murder.
Earlier: Kenyon driver accused of drunken homicide
Winona County solon aspires to state Senate
ELBA, Minn. — Two-term State Representative Steve Jacob wants to follow his mentor, Steve Drazkowski, to the State Senate. Jacob, an Elba farmer, announced his candidacy for State Senate District 20 seat that Drazkowski is vacating. Since he arrived at the Capitol in 2022, Jacob has saddled closely with Drazkowski, a veteran legislator, on key issues. Palling around the Capitol they called themselves “The Steves” — kind of ideologically joined at the hip. Both are Republicans and pride themselves beng on the party’s right-wing fringe. They share a fundamental distrust of government as an evilly intrusive force, not as a tool for social or cultural betterment. They see taxes as confiscation. In his first term in the House, Jacob voted against establishing Juneteenth as a Minnesota state holiday: “I saw this as an expansion of government where the taxpayer will be charged, but will receive one less day of service from all local levels of government.” His was the lone House vote against Juneteenth, which was an important issue to the 400,000 black people who comprise 8% of the state population.
Jacob profile
Jacob has a high education from Plainview. He prides himself as running a fourth-generation family farm. He also operates tourist cabins on his farm on a Whitewater ridgetop above Elma. His public service includes terms on his area’s Soil and Water Conservation Board, the Winona County Planning Commission, and the Road and Bridge Committee. In 2010 he developed a deep grudge against county authorities, =They had refused to waive zoning rules to allow him to cut a road into a hillside at his farm. It was an example, he said, of government power run amuck and interfering with his rights as property owner. He used the issue to win a rural seat on the Winona County Board and to continue as on the County Board of Commissioners for 10 years. A theme in Jacob’s County Board record was as a government minimalist. He was reflexively against taxes and sought to downsize county staffing and trim citizen services. As a state legislator he has joined the Republican cliché chorus against waste, fraud and abuse.
Jacob: Elba farmer. Served 10 years on Winona County Board Now in second term in Minnesota House. Age 59.
Verbatim
Jacob: “I am truly humbled by the community support I have received. If elected, the community can count on my continued dedication to conservative value.”
Electoral profile
2022: Defeated Elise Diesslink a Democrat, for House District 20-B, 66% to 34%
2024: Defeated Michael Hutchinson, a Democrat, for 20-B, 67% to 33%.
Jacob: On the record
A sampler: Higher education / Guns / Puppy mills / Marijuana / Suffrage / Policing / Ground water / Guns / Families / Marijuana / Prisons / Abortion / Government infrastructure / Ex-felons / Clean energy / Taxes / Marijuana / Factory farms / Taxes /
Simon wants to keep secretary of state job
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As expected, Secretary of State Steve Simon will seek a fourth term. His announcement was low-key, in a news release from the state Democratic Party. The only other announced candidate is former State Senator Tad Jud, a Republican. The Democratic statement on Simon’s candidacy praised his work to encourage young people to vote. Simon led a campaign to preregister for 16- and 17-year-olds in preparation for voting at 18.
Simon. Chief state elections administrator. Age 55.
Simon profile
After high school in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins, Simon studied political science at Tufts University and earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota. He worked as an assistant state attorney general from 1996 to 2001. He later spent 13 years with a Minneaplis kaw frm, and was an associate with a Minneapolis law firm. Simon was elected to the Minesota House in 2004, and re-elected four times. He had brief national attention for opposing a state ban on gay marriage: “How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?” He became secretary of state in 2014 and was re-elected three times with fairly large margins. He has never lost an election.
A lesson for jury duty: Leave drugs home
WINONA, Minn. — There is no other way tell this odd tale, dear reader, than to start at the beginning:
> Ranee Heleb Corey, age 44, didn’t show up for jury duty.
> As is custom for no-shows, the judge issued an arrest warrant.
> Corey showed up but late.
> Based on the warrant, a deputy told Corey she was under arrest.
> Anticipating being frisked, Corey produed a half gram of meth and gave it to the deputy.
> The deputy took her to jail for possession.
Corey. A second warrant related to ourth-degree burglary.
Weather slickens highways, byways, city streets
WINONA, Minn. — Several cars sled off roads in Winona County as weather deteriorated overnight. There were no injuries, a sheriff’s spokesperson said. City police had nine weather-related traffic accidents, one with a minor injury.
Emergency, fire crews make 80 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 63 emergency medical calls plus 17 fire calls in recent days:
> Tuesday, December 9: 10 medical calls plus 7 fire call.
> Monday, December 8: 8 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Sunday, , December 7: 3 medical calls plus 3 fire cal
> Saturday, December 6: 11 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Friday, December 5: 10 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Thursday, December 4: 8 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, December 3: 10 medical calls plus 1 fire cals.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 68 calls
Ahead: Hyper-enforcement of parking regs
WINONA, Minn. — Anticipating a major storm, police are shifting to high gear on alternate-side winter parking rules.
> Thursday starting at 12:01 a.m.: Illegally parked vehicles will be towed. from the even-number side of streets. Also Municipal Parking Lot Number 1.
> Friday starting at 12:01 a.m.: Illegally parked vehicles will be towed from the odd-number side of streets. Also Municipal Parking Lot Number 4.
> Both nights: Illegally parked vehicles will be towed from Huff to Franklin streets and from Broadway to Levee Park Drive.
Recovering a towed vehicle is costly and a hassle. There’s a municipal fine payable at the police station. Take documentation of ownership with you. You then will need to get to Goodview storage yard of the city-contracted towing company Borkowski, three miles from downtown Winona. Borkowski charges for towing and storage, which can run a couple hundred dollars.
College scores
Hockey men): Saint Mary’s 4, Dubuque 1
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Winona Winhawls 0, Red Wing Wingers 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (boys): Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 0, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (boys): St. Charles Saints 0, Dover-Eyota Eagles 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (boys): Winona Cotter/Winona Hope 0, Harmony Fillmore Central Falcons 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (girls): Winona Winhawls 0, Red Wing Wingers 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (girls): Lewiston-Altura Cardinals 0, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (girls): St. Charles Saints 0, Dover-Eyota Eagles 0, postponed, first half
Hockey (boys): Winona Winhawks 4, Faribault Falcons 1
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): LaCrosse Logan Rangers 0, Reedsburg Beavers 0, postponed, first half
Basketball (girls): LaCrosse Aquinas Blugolds 70, Holmen Vikings 16
Drazkowski: Count me out of 2026 Senate race
MAZEPPA, Minn. — The unpredictable, sometimes whacky state Senator Steve Drazkowski will not seek re-election. In a written statement, Drazkowski listed what he sees as his legacy as a legislator but didn’t explain his decision. He is 61 years old. Drazkowski, a Republican, is in his first term from sprawling Senate District 20, which includes Wabasha and Goodhue counties and slivers of Dakota, Olmsted and Winona counties. Earlier he served eight terms in the House. Drazkowski occasionally has had national attention. In 2023 he argued against free breakfasts and lunches for school children. Drazkowski said he had “yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry.” He lost the argument when sponsors of free meals ridiculed him by noting by that one of five students in his own District 20 qualified for free and reduced lunches. “Draz,” as friend call him, has been a loyal Trump supporter. Last March he co-sponsored a plan to create a new official state classification for mental illness — “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he called it . The classification was for Trump critics. Was he joking? Was it a publicity stunt? He kept a straight face as television networks taped interviews for prime time.
Drazkowski. In state Legislature since 2007, most recently from Sente District 20.
Verbatim
Drazkowki: “Serving the people of southeastern Minnesota in the House of Representatives and Senate has been a great honor. I have fought to secure our constitutional freedoms, promote fiscal responsibility, improve economic opportunity for families and small businesses, strengthen Minnesota’s agricultural and rural economies, and advance policies that increase transparency and accountability in state government. Rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government has been a central issue for me. It is gratifying to end my service when awareness of Minnesota’s fraud problem is high, and leaders are focused on finding solutions to stop it.”
Electoral profile
2006: Dtazkowski lost Minnesota Senate District 28 to incumbent Steve Murphy, a Democrat, 54% to 45%.
2007: Won special election for House 28-B over Linda Pfeilsticker, a Democrat, 53% to 47%.
2008: Won House District 28-B over Pfeilsticker 55% to45%.
2010: Won District 28-B over Mark Schneider, a Democrat, 65% to 35%.
2012: Won renumbered District 21-B over Bruce Montplaisir, 58% to 42%.
2014: Won 21-B over M.A. Schneider, a Democrat, 63% to 36%.
2016: Won 21-B over Elise Diesslin, a Democrat, 64% to 36%.
2018: Won 21-B over Jonathan Isenor, a Democrat, 64% to 36%
2020: Won 21-B over Diesslin, 66% to 33%.
2022: Won Senate District 20 over Bradley Drenckhahn, a Democrat, 62% to 32%.
Drazkowski profile
Drazkowski grew up on a farm and graduated from Cochrane-Fountain City High School. He earned a degree in agriculture atUW-River Falls and a master’s in education at the University of Minnesota. He was later a firearms instructor for the state Natural Resources Department in Wabasha. He was a 4-H volunteer jn Wabasha and president of the Minnesota Forage and Grassland Council. Later in Mazeppa he operated a gift shop. He inherited Baker Shoes in Winona, the last downtown shoe store, and traveled 60 miles every couple weeks to check on the business. He closed the shop in 2024. In the Legislature his record was consistently against organized labor.
Snowplow naming contest back again
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The state Transportation Department has 800 snowplows, each with a number. And no flavor. How about bestowing them with names to brighten their lives during the dreads of the season? It’s been done before to everyone’s delight: “Plowy McPlowFace,” “We’re Off to See the Blizzard,” and “Don’tcha Snow.” The new contest deadline is December 19. Citizens will vote on winners, one for each of MnDOT’s eight plowing zones. Contest advice from MnDOTt: Clever is good, both clever and witty even better. The 2024 winners”
> Northeast: “Dolly Plowton.”
> Northwest: “Taylor Drift.”
> Central) “Clark W. Blizzwald.”
> West Central: “Beyonsleigh.”
> Southeast: “You’re Killin’ Me Squalls.”
> South Central: “Fast and Flurrious.”
> Southwest: “Waipahinte.”
> Metro: “Barbie’s Dream Plow.”
$150 fine for laser attack on med-evac copter
PRESTON, Minn. — A Chatfield man has been fined $150 for aiming a laser beam at a med-evac helicopter. Steven Clifford Johnson, age 44, was also sentenced to one year in jail by Fillmore County Judge Jeremy Clinefelter, but the judge waived the jail time if Johnson doesn’t do it again and otherwise stays out of trouble. In an unusual Alford plea, Johnson did not admit guilt but agreed to accept punishment as if he had. The incident was in October 2024. The Mayo One helicopter was flying to Rochester at 120 mph and 1,800 feet. Jphnson said he feared an attack on his railer house from armed men on the helicopter.
Johnson. Claimed copter shined him first.
St. Charles war hero aviator honored
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Military and Veterans honored a St. Charles aviator who died in his war plane over the English Channel in 1942. The body of At Donahue was never recovered, but his legacy has endured through two books he wrote about his aviation experience. Donahue grew up on a St. Charles farm and learned to fly from legendary Winona aviator Max Conrad. He became Minnesota’s youngest commercial pilot at age 19. In 1940 Donahue went to Canada, claimed to be Canadian, and enlisted in the British Royal Air Force. He flew missions during the Battle of Britain — one of only 11 Americans who flew for the Royal Air Force.
Donahue. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His name is on the Battle of Britain Monument in London.
Alternate-side parking tally at 962
WINONA, Minn. – Police issued 74 citations overnight for violations of the city’s winter ordinance for alternate-side parking. The running tally:
> December 8: 74
> December 7: 68
> December 4, 5 and 6: Officers on other priorities
> December 3: 8
> December 2: 43
> December 1: 28
> November totals: 731
Borealis train through Winona full up most days
CHICAGO —The Amtrak Borealis passenger train is sold out for most of its daily Chicago-to-St. Paul runs but is carrying fewer passengers than when service started in May 2024. How can this be? Amtrak first assigned aging Horizon cars to the train with seats for 286 passengers, but the cars had to be scrapped as unsafe when rusting was discovered. Amtrak replaced the Horizons with spare bi-level Superliner coaches with 210 sets. Even with lesser capacity, Amtrak regards the Borealis as a success. The latest report shows the train at 97% capacity in July and 89% August.
Earlier: Borealis with bi-level Superliner coaches in tow
Earlier: Amtrak’s rusting Borealis rolling stock to scrapyard
Earlier: Borealis back on tracks, now odd-looking
Earlier: Daily Borealis trains sidetracked as unsafe
Bi-level Superliner coaches. Designed for long-distance trains. In substitute service on Borealis day trains. Winona departures to St, Paul at 4:45 p.m., to Milwaukee and Chicago at 1:41 p.m.
Copter tours this year for LaCrosse aerial view
Some say 4 million lights make up the drive-through and walk-through Rotary Lights display at Riverfront Parr. For sure it’s 3 million, but who’s counting.
Landing pad at Okoberfest grounds
LACROSSE, Wis. — For a different perspective, helicopters tours are flying over the Rotary Lights holiday extravaganza on the LaCrosse riverfront. Take-offs are from the nearby Oktoberfest grounds. The fare:
> 10-mile tour: $124 per person.
> 5-mile tour: $79.
> 2-mile tour: $49.
Duluth-based Lake Superior Helicopters flies four-passenger Robinon s R-44s, which it also uses also for aerial tours of Duluth’s Bentleyville holiday display. The LaCrosse flights begin at 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays through December 21. Said pilot Rachael Bugella: “When you’re flying above it, you get the entire Christmas light show, all the Christmas decorations in people’s yards, the city lights, the campus.”
Robinson R-44A. With oversize glass cockpits and wrap-around windows.
Parking lot thief sawing off exhaust filters
WINONA, Minn. –— A fleet thief may be targeting parked cars in shopping mall parking lots and cutting expensive catalytic converters from the undercarriages. A Menards shopper called police that he found fresh crawl marks under his car and suspected the catalytic converted had been stolen. The man had been at Menards about an hour between 4 to 5 p.m. A few hours later a Menards employee coming off shift reported his catalytic converter had been stolen too. Police hoped for clues on store security video.
Exhaust control devices. From 7 to 15 inches long, 5 to 10 pounds. The converters filter dangerous fumes with the rare metal platinum. No questions asked, unscrupulous junk dealers offer $200 to $300 each. Replacements of the legally required devices can cost a car-owner $2,300
Builder chosen for Rochester athletic complex
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester City Council voted 5-2 to accept a $53 million bid from Knutson Construction for Phase One of the new city sports and recreation super-complex. The phase incudes eight turf and natural grass baseball fields, two rectangular multipurpose turf fields, 12 pickleball courts, an outdoor basketball court, a playground, and bike trails connecting to the Willow Creek Trail. This is on 160 acres on the southeast edge of the city.
Pedestrian stuck, killed on I-94 near Black River
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — A Minnesota woman was found dead on Interstate 94 near Black River Falls, apparently having been struck by a car. She was identified as Kara Meslow, age 30, of the outer-ring St. Paul suburb of Mahtomedi 130 miles way. Police were called about 5 :50 p.m. Police believe Meslow was a pedestrian but have more questions than answers about why she was on foot in he eastbound lanes of the interstate. There have been no arrests.
Somalian arrested in Rochester “a normal person”
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Somali man arrested by Trump agents over the weekend was no murderer or gang member or even violent, according to a Somali community leader, Said Hussain, executive director of the Rochester Somali Community Center, described man as “a normal person working and going to the community center and stuff like that.” Speaking in a Minnesota Public Radio interview, Hussain didn’t identify the man by name, deferring to fear among the man’s friends and associates that they too might be targeted next. It was on Sunday that the man was plucked from the street by ICE agents. Hussain said the agents followed the man from home to a nearby restaurant and detained him as he was getting out of his car. Hussain:
“He hasn’t broken the law — you know — been arrested. We always see him at the mosque. I always see him at the restaurants.”
Hussain said the man told him a couple weeksbefire that he had applied for asylum but was denied. However, as an immigrant from Somalia, he has temporary protected status until March 2026. Hussain said the man has lived in Minnesota at least eight years and was working to renew his work visa, which had expired. Hussain said the man has a Minnesota driver’s license and previously worked at the Seneca Foods plant in Rochester. Hussain said he had warned the man to be careful because his visa was pending renewal.
Verbatim
Hussain: “I talked to him a couple of weeks ago when Trump was saying something about the Somali community, something like that he was going to dispatch the ICE to come to Minnesota, to grab everybody, whatever. I talked to him, and I said, ‘You need to stay low.’”
The Somali saga
The arrest was the latest in a series of raids aimed at frightening and demoralizing Minnesota Somalis. The racially profiled crackdown follows President Trump’s racist and divisive comments about Somalis. In broad sweep, he called them “garbage” and said he wants them all deported. An estimated 7,000 Somalis live in Rochester. They began immigrating as refugees 35 years ago to escape civil war, persecution and starvation. They were directed to Minnesota by Catholic and Lutheran relief organizations as a good and welcoming place tp start new lives. The immigration was federally sanctioned as good public policy until Trump.
Platteville discovery: Turning bad milk into plastic
PLATTVEILLE, Wis. — Two University of Wisconsin-Platteville professors have won a patent for converting milk protein into a polymer to create 3D printing molds. For Joseph Wu, a chemist, and John Obielodan, a mechnical engineer, their discovery had roots in the CoVid pandemic. Farmers lost much of their milk market — and milk went bad. The professors realized that curdling milk produced a protein called “casein.” Through trial and error, they learned that adding butanol to the casein would create a polymer. Now, they joke, there’s no reason anymore to cry over spilled milk. Wu and Obielodan now are working on a version of the protein that can be converted into plastic without being blended with other materials.
Lab buddies. John Obielodan and Joseph Wu are looking now to refine their process for converting sour and curdling milk into plastics
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