Finstad on aide’s travel expenses: All routine
WASHINGTON — The press aide to Congressman Brad Finstad tried to dampen growing ethics questions about the travel expenses being paid to Finstad’s chief of staff. The reimbursements have run up to $113,000 since Chief of Staff David FitzSimmons joined the Finstad staff to run his office. The reimbursements, said press aide Jenny Luepke. were for “official purposes.” Members of Cngress have allowances to operate their offices and lots of discretion on how to spend the money FitzSimmons’ reimbursements, however, caught the attention of the Minnesota Star Tribune as out of line. They have been eating up 8% of Finstad’s office budget. Also, they have been among the largest travel reimbursements for chiefs of staff in the whole U.S. House. Confronted by the Star Tribune, Luepke, the press aide, said:
“Just like every Member of Congress, our office determines the best way to utilize those funds to serve the people of our district.”
Luepke explained that FitzSimmons divides his time between Washington and Minnesota, where he lives, albeit it not anywhere near Finstad’s southern Minnesota MN-1Congrrsisnaal district. FitzSimmons motors a lot to events around Minnesota on Finstad’s behalf, she said. Luepke also said that Finstad has “an aggressive engagement strategy” to stay in contact with constituents. This point from Luepke raised questions anew about Finstad assiduously avoiding public meetings for months, limiting his contacts instead to small supportive groups and not inviting unscreened outsiders. Luepke failed to mention that these small meetings require only modest preparation — unlike townhalls. Also, Finstad has been largely invisible during the recent 43-day House recess designed to protect Trump from the scandal about ties to his pedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein. Finstad has been a long-term Trump devotee.
Earlier: Protesters at secret Finstad constituent meeting
Earlier: Finstad home but skips glad-handing contacts
Finstad. Elected to U.S. House in August 2022.
FitzSimmons. Finstad’s chief of staff since 2023.
Luepke. Finstad’s communications director.
News summary at mid-week: November 26, 2025
GOVERNANCE: Finstad aide’s travel expenses exceed norms
GOVERNANCE: Finstad: Local Somalis financing global terrorism
GOVERNANCE: Islamist decry sweeping Trump Somali threat
GOVERNANCE: Temporary site OK’d for Winona homeless shelter
HEALTH: : Mayo balks at $20 million payout for botch-up
RIVER: Last 2025 towboat pulls up anchor
INFERNO: Fire destroys home sauna; untended stove faulted
ACCIDENT: Fatality in car-truck collision at I-90 exit
ACCIDENT: Duck hunters’ boat capsizes; all rescued
TRANSPORTATION: The Iowa bridge none dare cross
SCHOOLS: Permission granted for bison imagery
Minnesota prep
Basketball (boys): Holmen Vikings 81, LaCrescent-Hokah Lancers 37
Basketball (girls): Red Wing Wingers 71, Albert Lea Tigers 22
Basketball (girls): Lanesboro Burros 46, LeRoy-Ostrander Cardinals 33
Basketball (girls): Randolph Rockets 67, Spring Valley Kingsland Knights 30
Police taser man in child custody swap
WINONA, Minn. — Police tasered and arrested a Winona man in a child custody exchange that turned unpleasant. Police had been asked to stand by for the court-ordered exchange, which involved grandparents. Officers said Jacob Lee Coulter, age 29, refused to cooperate as they tried to facilitate the exchange. This was about 8:15 p.m. in the 600 block of East Fourth Street.
Coulter. Booked for interfering with police.
Mayo balks at $20 million payout for botch-up
FORT DODGE, Iowa — A Fort Dodge woman has been awarded $20 million in a malpractice lawsuit against the Mayo Clinic. Linette Nelson claimed that surgeon Amy Lightner overlooked 2-1/2 inches of diseased tissue in removing parts of her lower digestive tract. The error required tree corrective operation and, said Nelson, left persistent chronic pain. Mayo admitted wrongdoing but contested the amount of damages.
Notable journalism
Brock Bergey (KTTC, November 19, 2023): “Preliminary Tax Staternents Include 8% Collective Increase from Minnesota Counties”
Gabriel Hathway (Winona Post, November 19, 2025): “Winona Council Denies Homeless Shelter at St. Casimir’s”
Caden Perry (LaCrosse Tribune, November 6, 2025): “City Leaders Dispute Van Orden Claim They’re Blocking New La Crosse Salvation Army Center”
Finstad aide’s travel expenses exceed norms
WASHNGTON — The chief of staff for southern Minnesota’s representative in Congress has been billing the office budget for unusually heavy travel expenses. The total since David FitzSimmons became chief of staff for Congressman Brad Finstad in 2023 hasexceeded $110,000, according to records checked by Minnesota Star Tribune. The totals:
> 2023: $40,000.
> 2024: $40,000.
> 2025: $33,000 so far.
Reimbursements that FutzSimmons claimed for 2024 were the eighth highest among the support staff for the 435 elected House members. The FitzSimmons 2014 breakdown: $20,100 for flights, $22,600 for lodging, $3,700 for mileage, $3,100 for parking, and $1,600 for taxis. The reimbursements were charged from Finstad’s office budget, which is funded by taxes. FitzSimmons’ reimbursements have been consuming 8% of the Finstad office budget. A detailed breakdown was not readily available, but the $20,000 for 2024 flights would buy as many as 41 round-trip tickets on Delta from Reagan National Airport in Washington to Minnesota. Unknown at this point is whether FitzSimmons flew coach or first class or whether he used the thousands of Delta frequent flier points he amassed to reimburse the Finstad office budget.
FitzSimmons. Has a bizarre living arrangement for a top Congressional aide. He has no address in Washington but lives 1,200 miles away in Annandale, Minnesota, which is 50 miles south of St. Cloud. His salary as Finstad’s chief of staff: $200,000. He lists himself also as the managing partner of FitzSimmons Family Farms of Annanadale which is, in MN-6, no where near MN-1, from which Finstad has been elected.
FitzSimmons profile
A graduate of Dassel-Cakato High School, 15 miles from his family farm. A Republican. Age 47. Elected to the Minnesota House from Wright County in 2012 and served one term. Managed the 2014 MN-6 Congressional campaign of Tom Emmer. Later was Emmer’s chief of staff from 2015 to 2018. Was an aide to Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach from MN-7. Later Fischbach’s chief of staff fro, 2021 to 23.
Two drivers hurt in Twin Bluffs crash
DAKOTA, Minn. — A delivery van struck a parked semi-truck rig near Twin Bluffs on combined U.S. Highway 14 and U.S. Highway 61 headed north to Winona. Both drivers were taken 22 miles to a LaCrosse hospital. Neither the van driver, Bradley Alan Tremain, age 41, of Winona, nor the semi driver, Nikola Alan Zifov, 46, of Darien, Minnesota, was seriously hurt. The accident was about 8:20 a. m. The vehicles were a 2016 Mercedes Sprinter van and a 2019 Kenworth tractor.
Emergency, fire crews make 41 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 31 emergency medical calls plus 10 fire calls in recent days:
> Monday, November 24: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Sunday, November 23: 3 medical calls plus 3 fire call.
> Saturday, November 22: 8 medical calls plus no fire call.
> Friday, November 21: 3 medical calls plus no fire calls.
> Thursday, Novembe 20: 4 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.
> Wednesday,November 19: 6 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 58 calls
Duck hunters’ boat capsizes; all rescued
KELLOGG, Minn. — Three duck hunters were rescued from the Mississippi River afer their small boat capsized near Weaver Landing. Other hunters at the remote site pulled the cold and dripping hunters from the water and got them to shore. They were taken to the Wabasha hospital to be checked over. The accident was about 6:10 a.m. Without explanation, Wabasha County Sheriff Rodney Bartsch, didn’t release the hunters’ names.
College scores
Basketball (men): Rochester Community 74, Luther of Decorah JV 63
Basketball (men): Indiana Northwest 72, Viterbo 68
Basketball (women): Winona State 77, Concordia of St. Paul 75
Hockey (men): Milwaukee Engineering 8, Saint Mary’s 4
Minnesota prep
Basketball (girls): Winona Winhawks 54, LaCrosse Logan Rangers 36
Basketball (girls): St. Charles Saints 5, Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons 31
Hockey (girls): Rochester Mayo Spartans 3, Winona Winhawks 1
Wisconsin prep
Basketball (boys): Eleva-Strum Cardinals 73, Whitehall Norse 62
Basketball (boys): Eau Claire Immnuel Lancers 60, Gilmanton Panthers 35
Basketball (girls): Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates 64, Alma Center Lincoln Hornets 51
Basketball (girls): Eleva-Strum Cardinals 67, Alma-Pepin Eagles 23
Basketball (girls): Winona Winhawks 54, LaCrosse Logan Ragers 36
Basketball (girls): Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs 66, Osseo-Fairchild Thunder 38
Basketball (girls): Blair-Taylor Wildcats 60, Independence Indees 56
Basketball (girls): Altoona Railroaders 52, Arcadia Raiders 34
Basketball (girls): Boycevlle Bulldogs 47, Mondovi Bulldogs 42
Basketball (girls): Whitehall Norse 71, Necedah Cardinals 14
Last 2025 towboat pulls up anchor
HASTINGS, Minn. — The Army Corps of Engineers, which controls inland navigation, ended the 2025 Upper Mississippi shipping season a few days earlier than usual. The Motor Vessel Sierra Dawn cleared Lock and Dam 2 near Hastings with 12 barges. The Corps usually keeps locks open to December 1. Winter maintenance now begins on locks on the Corps’ whole 244-mile St. Paul District stretch between Minneapolis and Guttenberg, Iowa.
Last lashing-up. Crews on the tow Sierra Dawn secure their 12-barge array for passage through the Hastings lock. The vessel is the season’s last.
Delay ordered in George’s Bar shooting case
ALMA, Wis. — A sentencing hearing has been delayed for a Winona man charged with attempted homicide in a March 2024 shooting at George’s Bar at Bluff Siding. Damien Bryant Winn, age 41, pleaded guilty in September. Sentencing had been set for December 10, but Buffalo County Judge Thomas Clark now has rescheduled for February. A second-degree attempted homicide sentence could run 30 years. A second charge, drug possession, could mean an additional 10 years and a $25,000 fine. A third charge, endangering safety with a dangerous weapon, has been dismissed.
Earlier: Winona man pleads guilty in George’s shooting
Alternate-side parking tally at 666
WINONA, Minn. – Police issued 67 citations overnight for violations of the city’s winter ordinance for alternate-side parking. The running tally:
> November 25: 67
> November 24: 111
> November 22 and 23: Officers on other priorities
> November 21: 69
> November 20: 81
> November 19: 101
> November 18: 139
> November 17: 108
Temporary site OK’d for Winona homeless shelter
WINONA, Minn. — The Winona Planning Commission unanimously approved an overnight homeless shelter through the winter at the Wesley United Methodist Church. A special permit allows quarters for 20 persons overnight through April. The permit had been requested by Catholic Charities, which had lost tenancy at a storefront church downtown and had been unable to find new quarters. Zoning issues seem likely to preclude Wesley Methodist as a homeless shelter for more than the winter. John Meyers, local director of Catholic Charities, described the Wesley Methodist permit as breathing room to locate permanent quarters.
Wesley Methodist. At 114 West Broadway Street.
The Iowa bridge none dare cross
Sunshine through the girders. Roadway planks have been removed in preparation for demolition of the Black Hawk bridge over the Mississippi at Lansing. This is the view from an interim car ferry passing under the condemned span. The ferry will be in service until a replacement bridge is operational in another 11/2 years. Image: Steve Lunde
Alternate-side parking tally at 599
WINONA, Minn. – Police issued 111 citations overnight for violations of the city’s winter ordinance for alternate-side parking. The running tally:
> November 24: 111
> November 22 and 23: Officers on other priorities
> November 21: 69
> November 20: 81
> November 19: 101
> November 18: 139
> November 17: 108
Islamist decry sweeping Trump Somali threat
ST. PAUL, Minn. —The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations warned that President Trump’s thrrat to revoke refugee status for Somalis will “tear families apart.” The Council called the program a “legal lifeline for Minnesota families who have built their lives here for decades.” About 87,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities and Rochester. Said the American-Islamic Relations Council:
“This decision, fueled by harmful misinformation campaigns that we believe have external political motives, will tear families apart and send individuals to a country they have not known for over 20 years. This is not just a bureaucratic change; it is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric. We strongly urge President Trump to reverse this misguided decision.”
Fire destroys home sauna; untended stove faulted
WLSON, Minn. — Fire destroyed a home-built sauna up Pfieffer Hill Road off East Burns Valley. No one was injured. The fire was reported about 8:20 p.m. The owner told firefighters he had fired up the sauna stove about three hours before. Every Wilson Township Fire Department rig was dispatched and remained on-scene about two hours. This was in the 23000 block. The loss was estimated at $5,000.
Permission granted for bison imagery
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Dakota Middle School in Rochester received tribal consent to continue with the bison as the school mascot. The Prairie Island Tribal Council has accepted the school’s name and bison imagery as neither disrespectful nor demeaning but an honor. The Rochester School Board had sought tribal approval. A 2023 Minnesota law forbids Native American mascots and logos unless the nearest federally recognized tribe agrees. The Prairie Island Indian community of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota Sioux is 50 miles north of Rochester on the Mississippi River near Red Wing.
Dakota School. 1,000 students in Grades 6 to 8 in northwest Rochester. Built in 2022.
Finstad: Local Somalis financing global terrorism
WASHINGTON — Congressman Brad Finstad jumped sideways into the fray about President Trump’s pending order to deport Somali refugees who have settled in Minnesota. Finstad joined three fellow Republicans in the Minnesota a delegation, all Trump loyalists, to call on Trump’s new federal attorney for the state, Daniel Rosen, to investigate whether Minnesota’s Somali community has been “sending millions” back to Somalia to finance global terrorism. Their letter seems sourced on undocumented assertions from right-wing conspiratorialists who claim $1 billon has been sent by Minnesota Somalis to support terrorism. It appears that Trump also has leaned on the same sources in ordering that Somali refugees in Mjnnesota ro be deportd. In their call for a federal investigation, Finstad and fellow Trump loyalists in the Minnesota congressional delegation said:
“It is bad enough that these individuals are defrauding our state, taking services and funds away from children and the most vulnerable, but now there is a good reason to believe that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are going straight into terrorists’ hands. These new allegations present not only a serious betrayal of taxpayer trust, but also a grave threat to our national security.”
Their point conflates Somali wrong-doers, who are being prosecuted, with Somalis in general — each and every one. The flaw is in logic: First is an erroneous premise. Not all Somalis are on the public dole. Second: If so, how is it that they could squeeze dollars from subsistence allowances to send to millions of dollars — $1 billion, as the Finstad group asserts — to finance terrorism half a world away. Third: Unmentioned is that some Somalis in the food business are among bad layers already being prosecuted for schemes involving government moneys during the CoVid emergency and are in jail or headed there.
Minnesota Trump cabal
Four Republicans, all Trump loyalists, signed the letter to the U.S. attorney:
> Tom Emmer, R-MN6 (north suburbs).
> Brad Finstad, R-Mn1 (south).
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west).
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn8 (Iron Range).
Breitbart News and other right-wing media outlets posted the letter to perpetuate the anti-immigrant info loop where it started.
Refugee status
Federal law allows refugees into the United States under “temporary protected status” if they cannot return safely to theur home country or if the home country is unable to handle their return adequately Currently under this protective status: Refugees from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela,Yemen.
News summary at week’s end: November 22, 2025
POLITICS: Marquette poll: Republicans, Trump in trouble
GOVERNMENT: Trump to Minnesota Somalis: Go back to Africa
ENVIRONMENT: Ethanol plant fined for environmental neglect
COLLEGES: Saint Mary’s discounts email threat, reopens
TRANSPORATION: Yea! Stockton Hill barricades removed
HOLIDAYS: This Christmas grinch arrived early
CRIME: Lamkin: “Animated, yes — but 18 days in jail!”
CRIME: Cops: Arrest follows unruly music, unruly woman
CRIME: Not a food fight: Rather a fight over food
CRIME: Care-taker accused of assault on blind man
FAITH: Catholic bishops opt for seniority, longevity
ACCIDENT: Head-on crash seriously injures driver
SEASONS: A placid reflectivity on Lake Winona
Food craze: Winona’s sixth Mexican eatery
No burritos yet. A two-member weekend crew on ladders installs exterior lighting on the Chipolte chain’s new Winona shop. Across from Altra Credit Union on West Gilmore Avenue. Inside the fixtures and furnishings are bolted down and almost ready to go. Image: Steve Lunde
WELCOME
The worthiest goal of journalism is to promote intelligent citizen involvement. Such is our goal with Winona Journal. We focus on local issues so you can go about your daily activities with confidence that you can be a genuine and valued part of informed public dialogue on the kind of community we’re building.
Although Winona-centric, we are attentive also to regional issues. Our community doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
You will find opinion here. We quote and paraphrase with attribution so you know the source and can assess ideas and thoughts. Sometimes you will find our commentary but always clearly labeled.
As journalists we are committed to accuracy but not perfect. Please let us know if you spot an error, whether substantive or even just a dumb typo. We’ll get errors squared away promptly.
We’re glad you’re with us.