AUSTIN, Minn. — Riverland Community College went into lockdown after a person was reported near student housing with a long gun. Police found the “weapon” was a paint-ball splatter gun and lifted the lockdown. This was about 3:45 p.m. The college, enrollment 3,500, is on Austin’ s northwest side.

WINONA, Minn. – The Winona alternate-side parking ordinance goes into effect Satyrdrtday at midnight for street crews to sweep away leaves before snow makes it all muck. It’s an annual event, snow or no snow, cast arbitrarily into the calendar. The rules:

> Vehicles must be on a specific side of the street between 12:01 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. through March 15.

> On odd dates, Parking is allowed only on the side of the street with odd-number addresses.

> On even dates, parking is allowed only on the side of of the street with even-number addresses.

> Downtown Parking Lot 1, off Second Street between Center and Lafayette, is regarded as an odd numbered address.

> Downtown Parking Lot 3, by the bus shelter off Center Street. between Third and Fourth Street, .is regarded as an even numbered.

Violations are subject to a $25 ticket from police.  When snow warrants towing, a tag-ad-tow provision in the ordinance takes effect. A green Borkowski truck will tow vehicles into storage in Goodview. As a city contractor, Borkowski charges its own towing fee, a daily storage fee, and a retrieval fee. These can total hundreds of dollars – plus the te basic $25 police ticket.

CENTERVILLE, Wis.— A Centerville man was flown 19 miles to a LaCrosse hospital after being thrown from his four-wheeler. David Kvistad Jr., 26, suffered a spinal injury. This was about 11:40 a.m. Trempealeau County deputies said Kvastad was making a turn at high speed. This was between Centerville and Trempealeau on private property.

UTICA, Minn. — Deputies arrested a Utica man at home for several rapes over a period of several years. The arrest of Jim Raymond Kauten, age 65, followed two weeks of investigation that were first triggered by a victim’s belated complaint. There were multiple victims, all female, and at least one who was under-age at the time, deputies said. The arrest was without resistance.  This was about 11:30 a.m. Kauten had earlier addresses near Altura and in Winona.

Kauten. Arrest in 330 block of Center Street in Utica.

AUSTIN, Minn. — Austin-based Hormel Foods is partnering with community organizations once again to host the “Hometown Turkey Takeover.” Anybody in Austin can receive two free frozen Hormel-brand Jennie-O turkey breasts, each about 10 pounds. Canned goods, donated by Hy-Vee, will be available too. Hormel is expecting to give away 7,000 turkeys with an additional 3,000 donated to local groups committed to reducing food insecurity. Distribution:  Drive to the Mower County Fairgrounds starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. When they’re gone, they’re gone.

WINONA, Minn. — Circumstances remained a mystery in the death of a Winona man in a fire early Wednesday in his upstairs apartment on the East Side. Neighborhood surveillance cameras didn’t record suspicious activity, police said. Investigators were awaiting an autopsy report in hope it might suggest an explanation. The victim, Devon Dwaine Craig-Beasley, age 33, was found dead in his barricaded second floor unit in a large house that had been divided into a duplex.

Earlier: Police release identification of morning fire victim

Earlier: Tenant dead in suspicious Winona fire

LACROSSE, Wis. — A woman was found dead by firefighters who knocked down the door of her burning duplex unit. This was in the Wittenberg Park neighborhood on the Far North Side. The. victim was Alexis Pickett, age 27. The cause of the fire, in the 1700 block of Taylor Street about 3:30 a.m., was not determined immediately. The fire was limited to the single unit.

Pickett: Diuble tragedy: Pregnant at time.

WINONA, Minn. – Students leaders at Winona senior and junior high schools will hold their annual Herky Turkey Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday for retired and senior citizens.  Reservations are necessary by Friday at (507) 494-8920. The menu: Turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, buns and dessert. It will be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Winona High School. Reservations are limited to four dinners per phone number. The meal is free. Free-will donations are accepted. Dinner comes three ways: A dine-in option in the high school Concourse, or by drive-through pickup at the high school, or home delivery.

Can you spot the Big Dipper.  Over Winona with the fading display of northern lights in the background. At  1:20 a.m. Image: Andy Frank

WINONA, Minn. – Police said a driver claimed he was just driving home from work and hadn’t been drinking. But, said the arresting officer, a strong odor of alcohol was wafting from the nan’s  car window. Also: His eyes were bloodshot and watery. Roadside sobriety exercises suggested impairment.  Att the jailhouse Johan Strydom’s blood tested as 0.16% alcohol. State law specifies impairment starts at 0.8%. Johan Strydom, age 28, was charged with drunken driving. This was about 1:20 a.m. near Riverview Drive and Prairie Island Road. Strydom had been stopped for taillights and speeding.

Strydom. Charge elevated as a second offense.

Basketball (men):, Viterbo 92, Trinity of Illinois 65

Basketball (women): Mount Mercy 71, Viterbo 56

Basketball (women): UW-LaCosse 71, Bethany 56

Soccer (men): Olivet 3, Vitbero 0

WINONA, Minn. —  The man who died in a pre-dawn house fire was Devon Dwaine Craig-Beasley. Police Chief Tom Williams released the name about 2 p.m. after the initial investigation had jelled. The fire was at 559 East Third Street. Craig-Beasley, who was 33 years old, earlier lived in Ettrick and Galesvlle in Wisconsin. He was practiced in the martial arts.

Earlier: Tenant dead in suspicious Winona fire

MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors have amassed 130,000 documents in the Minnesota assassination case against Vance Luther Boelter. The documents were presented to attorney Manny Atwal, who is representing Boelter. Downloading took110 hours, Atwal said. Included are 800 hours of audio and video recordings, and 2,000 photographs. Boelter is charged with shooting Melissa Hortman, speaker of the Minnesota House, and her husband in June. Both died. Also shot the same night were State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. They survived.

Earlier: Divorce granted from man accused as assassin

Earlier: $5 million bail in Minnesota assassinations

WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 31 emergency medical calls plus 17 fire calls in recent days:

> Tuesday, November 11: 9 medical calls plus 3 fire call.

> Monday, November 10: 1 medical call plus no fire calls.

> Sunday, November 9: 8 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.

> Saturday, November 8: 2 medical calls plus 2 fire cal2l.

> Friday, November 7: 3 medical calls plus 1 fire call.

> Thursday, November 6: 4 medical calls plus 3 fire calls.

> Wednesday, November 5: 4 medical calls plus 6 fire calls.

Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 49 calls

WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters retrieved the body of a 33-year-old man and his pet dog from a smoke-filled upstairs living unit on the East End. Police called the death suspicious. Police arrived at the duplex, in the 550 block of East Third Street, about 4:15 a.m. They saw smoke billowing from the second floor. The front door was barricaded. They busted through, then found the interior stairs blocked by piles of furniture and small appliances, including a countertop refrigerator. Firefighters arrived and climbed a ladder to a window and carried out the man and his pet dog. Both were beyond resuscitation. Police delayed releasing the man’s name until they have a better idea of the circumstances. Apparently he lived alone.

Solemn moments. After realizing there had been a fatality, a man and also his pet dog, in an upstairs fure in a rental unit on the East End. Image: Winona Fire Department

Northern lights. More technically called the “aurora borealis.” A natural light display caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Most visible near Earther’s north magnetic pole but sometimes farther south, particularly in autumn, depending on Earths tilt. A similar phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere is called the “aurora australis.” 

A few minutes before 1 o’clock. As seen pulsing and dancing over a ridge between Winona and Wilson. An encore is expected Wednesday night, weather permitting, between 9 p.m. and midnight. Perhaps there will be curtain calls going to 3 a.m. Image: Andy Frank

DOVER, Minn. — Corn grower Brian Labare invited nearby farmers to scrape up the corn he lost in a grain bin fire that burned for a week. It may have value as animal feed, Labare told KTTC. The corn, an estimated 12,000 bushels, was worth about $50,000 at current prices. Labare hoped insurance would cover the loss. He blames a faulty gearbox for the fire. He said he had purchased the equipment second-hand in Iowa a year ago. He spotted smoke from the bin November 3, a day after filling the bin with his 2025 crop. He said he tried turning the augrrs but they had locked up.

Earlier: Grain bin fire burns a week; corn ruined

WASHINGTON — The Winona-Rochester bishop the past three years, Robert Barron, has been nominated for president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Barron is one of 10 candidates nominated by fellow bishops at their annual conference.

Earlier: Pope chooses new Winona-Rochester bishop

Basketball (men): Luther of New Ulm 88, Saint Mary’s 81

Volleyball (women): UW-LaCrose 3, UW-Platteville 1

Volleyball (women): Viterbo 3, Northwest of Indiana 0