College scores
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
Minnesota prep
Hockey (girls): Kasson Dodge County Wildcats 10, Winona Winhawks 0
Hockey (girls): Rochester Mayo Spartans 9, Faribault South Central 0
Hockey (girls): Mankato East Cougars 7, Rochester Century/Rochester Marshall 1
Spring Valley driver bruised in car wreck
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — A Spring Valley driver was injured albeit not seriously in a two-vehicle accident south of Interstate 90 into Stewartville. Ashley Rose McConnell, age 39, was taken 14 miles to a Rochester hospital to be checked over. Unhurt was the other driver, Eric Joel Jensen, 43 of Tripoli, Iowa. Both drivers ere southbound, police said. The accident was on U.S. Highway 63 about 3:30 p.m.
Lamkin: “Animated, yes — but 18 days in jail!”
WINONA, Minn. — All but one charge that police lodged against a Winona man after an all-hands-on-deck raid in May were dropped. The judge let stand a single disorderly conduct. Henry Clay Minter Lamkin III had leaded pleaded guilty to the count and was fined $350. Lamkin then contacted news media, which had carried reports on the raid from police 5-1/2 months earlier. Lamkin told reporters that police had grossly overreacted to his series of visits to the police station in May to seek a permit to purchase ammunition for target shooting. These visits were three weeks before police staged a raid on Lamkin’s home in a Far West End residential neighborhood. This, said Lamkin, is what happened at the police station in the first week of May:
“At a walk-up window with a receptionist. I asked about purchasing .22 ammo for target shooting on a family farm. I was under the assumption that a permit was required, but no one on duty was able to verify if one was necessary, including the person with the forms for the permit. I have since discovered that Minnesota does not require a permit to purchase ammo. I went back later that same day to try to discuss why the officer got agitated at me and how I could prevent that in the future. We spoke for a period of time, but he still appeared irritated with the discussion. I didn’t push things. I did, however, specifically request to see the interior recording of the previous interaction because we were fundamentally disagreeing on how the interaction played out. I was denied without explanation.”
In taLking with news reporters after the case was settled, Lamkin acknowledged he was louder than may have been necessary as these conversations escalated. The statutes under which Lamkin was charged after the raid included one count boisterous behavior. And indeed Lamkin pleaded guilty to the charge, a misdemeanor, in later plea negotiations.
“I tried to discuss the matter no less than three other times in the next three weeks. The purchase of the ammo wasn’t a pressing matter for me. I was more bothered by how aggressive the employees on duty became. I easily could have let the matter go, but I was concerned that my outgoing and boisterous (haha!) nature from being a professional comedian and performer would be an issue again. I went to the Winona police station again, on May 24, to discuss my concerns. No matter how I worded my concerns or requests, I couldn’t seem to reach the officers I spoke with.”
His persistence triggered the police raid on his house the afternoon of May 24. Sixteen officers, some in riot gear, established a perimeter and megaphoned for Lamkin surrender. He did. In the house there were no operable firearms, Lamkin said.
“I’ve been playing paintball and airsoft since I was in my teens. I have a pretty wide variety of airsoft guns that I’ve acquired over the years, in many different colors and styles, including an AK and an M4 style. I feel like my collection is pretty average among my friends and other players I know. I also am a regular attendee of the Convergence Convention in the Twin Cities — think of it like ComicCon — and I helped outfit friends with fun costumes and props. Because of the costume rules of Convergence, most of the airsoft guns I own are actually rendered inoperable and have distinct markings to demonstrate that they are toys/props, not real weapons.”
In the raid, Lamkin said, police found nothing to confiscate. Even so, he said, police jailed him and referred the case to the county prosecutor with booking charges that included violent threats and assault with a dangerous weapon. After reviewing police reports for supporting evidence, the prosecutor who was assigned to the case decided against pursuing some of the charges recommended by police. Meanwhile Lamkin was held in jail 18 days in lieu of $40,000 bail. Not until five months later, on November 11, did the legalities end with the $350 fine.
Lamkin. Back in Winona after several years. Seeking to re-establish himself locally.
Police list East Side gunshot evidence
WINONA, Minn. — A woman walking on the sidewalk may have been the target of shots fired November 6 on East Third Street, court documents suggest. A home security camera showed the woman about the time that two gunshots were fired. She was not hit. The video is cited in the criminal complaint against Jonathan Marquist Payton, age 40, who was arrested in a nearby apartment unit. The complaint says police made the arrest based on:
> A woman, looking out her window, who described a man on the sidewalk fire two rounds toward a middle-aged woman.
> Home surveillance video that showed the woman walking down the street.
> Probation records that Payton lived at a nearby address.
> A handgun in Payton’s place matched 40-mm shell casings found the street.
Several callers summoned police about gunshots in the 350 block of East Third Street about 9 a.m. When arrested, Payton denied the shooting.
Earlier: Bail at $200,000 for East Side gunshots
Earlier: Motive still unclear in East Side gunshots
Earlier: East Side gunshots random? Targeted?
$2,000 in missing carpentry tools retrieved
WINONA, Minn. – Two men were arrested with $2,000 of power tools under a blanket in the backseat their car. Tools had been reported stolen overnight from a vacant house being remodeled in the 700 block of East Fifth Street. Police were notified to the theft about 10:15 a.m. when the remodeling crew showed up for werk. A short while later a clerk at the Mainstream pawnshop downtown called police that two suspicious persons had just driven off after attempting to sell tools. They were told to scram, which they did — but not before the clerk jotted down their license plate and called police. The arrests followed. Criminal charges hinged on further investigation, police said. The tools were Milwaukee brand cordless grinders, saws and drills.
Cops: Super-sleuthing snares theft ring
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Eau Claire police reported having three members of a Minneapolis-based gang of thieves in custody. Th arrests, police said, have solved a series of thefts at retail stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin that totaled goods valued at $150,000 as so far documented. Eau Claire authorities have cast their net widely for additional thefts in many jurisdictions. The investigation began November 6 when in-house detectives at Scheels sports store at Oakwood Mall stopped a shopper who had been banned from the store five days earlier. Video showed the shopper operating with others. Shortly thereafter came a report of major heists at the nearby Ulta beauty supply store. The Ulta suspects l looked like those on the video at Scheels. Arrested, all from Minneapolis, were:
> Leslie Robinson, age 64, for $66,000 in missing goods total, including $8,200 from Ulta.
> Kenneth Machen, age 21, for $4,000 in missing goods missing from Ulta and a $3,500 fishing sonar unit from Scheels.
> Roberta Howard, age 19, for $66,000 in goods missing from Scheels and $8,200 from Ulta.
Missing Stockton Hill? Wait awhile longer
WINONA, Minn. — The project to rebuild U.S. Highway 14 on the shortcut over Stockton Hill will miss its mid-November completion target. State highway engineers have re-set the target to November 29. Meanwhile, barricades reman except for people people who live or have business on the summit near Quarry Hill Road and Pumpkin Road. But wait! There’s more! The new paving on the four-mile Winona-Stockton is only temporary. When the construction season resumes, the route will be barricaded again for permanent re-paving.
Earlier: Stockton Hill barricades: Ignore at your own risk
Earlier: What’s going on up Stockton Hill
Earlier: Stockton Hill upgrade begins Monday
Limited access. Only one lane and stoplight-controlled access west from Knopp Valley.
College scores
Basketball (women): Saint Mary’s 75, North Central of Minnesota 54
Minnesota prep
Hockey (girls): Rochester Century/Rochester Marshall 4, Austin Packers 0
Funding OK’d for regional buses
LACROSSE, Wis. — The LaCrosse County Board voted 18-12 to spend $157,000 to support a four-county bus service through 2016. The Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit system has 13 routes in La Crosse, Vernon, Monroe and Crawford counties. Fares are $5. Other jurisdictions also help finance the service.
How they voted: On federal shutdown /2
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 60-40 to extend federal spending through January, in effect ending a 40-day government shutdown. Approval by the U.S. House is expected, as is acceptance by President Trump. Long-term prospects for Obamacare health subsidies remain uncertain, but other Trump-inflicted pain on large numbers Americans apparently will end. These include 42 million people on SNAP nutritional aid, 1.5 million federal employees who were furloughed or who lost paychecks for six weeks, ad millions of travelers grounded in an aviation constriction. Trump and Congress had been at loggerheads over his budget plan. Democrats were motivated in their resistance by Trump cuts in healthcare and ither changes to disrupt a functioning society to the benefit of his wealthy donor class and to the disadvantage of poor and ordinary people. How members of the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations voted:
To end shutdown
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
Against
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin.
> Amy Klobchar, D-Minesota.
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota.
Who, what and why
Seven Senate Democrats broke ranks to give Trump the necessary 60 votes to end the shutdown: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Jacky Rosen of Nevada. They were joined Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Their explanation: Pressure from federal employees who were in personal financial straits because Trump fired hem, furloughed them or suspended their pay to have his way budget priorities.
Autumn’s last glory at Altura
Golden symmetry. A bed of yellow already is accumulating under these reluctantly denuding branches outside Peoples State Bank. Image: Steve Lunde
Demuth’s campaign sidekick a Trump lawyer
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gubernatorial hopeful Lisa Demuth named politically conservative lawyer Ryan Wilson as her running mate. Demuth, currently Minnesota House speaker, praised Wilson for a commitment to accountability in government. He is with the law firm that represented Republicans this winter in a lawsuit over control of the In 2022 se. Wilson earlier worked with Lawyers for Trump and volunteered as poll watcher on Election Day. In 2022 he ran for state auditor, losing narrowly, 47.5% to 47.1%, to incumbent Democrat Julie Blaha. Wilson is a 2022 graduate of Mitchell Hamline Law school. He also holds business degrees from the University of Minnesota. He once served on the city Planning Commission in suburban Blaine. He lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove.
Earlier: GOP rivals: “Negotiator vs. softy”
Earlier: Democrats take aim at Demuth bid to oust Walz
Earlier: GOP leader challenges Walz for governorship
v
Wilson at Demuth’s side. With marbled Capitol balcony as backdrop for announcement.
Verbatim
Demuth: “During Ryan’s campaign for state auditor in 2022, he sounded the alarm about fraud spiraling out of control in our state — fraud that thrived under Tim Walz’s lack of leadership in protecting Minnesotans’ hard-earned tax dollars.”
Teen sex charges filed against Holmen man
LACROSSE, Wis. – A Holmen man was arrested and charged with repeated sexual assaults on a 14-year-old girl. According to court documents, the girl told police that Christopher Summers, age 40, assaulted her over five months beginning in May. She said that Summers would threaten to harm himself if she ever stopped. He posted $2,000 bail to assure showing up for further court proceedings.
Summers. Charges: Repeated sexual assault of a child, child enticement.
Judge accepts insanity finding in Elba shooting
WINONA, Minn. — An Elba woman accused of shooting a neighbor in August is too mentally incompetent for a trial. Based on expert evaluation, Judge Dwight Luhmann issued the ruling in the case of Ava Leone Kock, age 64. She will remain jail pending a further hearing on what to do with her. She has been in custody 88 days in lieu of $500,000 bail. The ambush shooting, in August, critically wounded an unsuspecting neighbor woman.
Earlier: Victim of Elma rifle volley regaining sight
Earlier: Sanity check ordered in Elba gun attack
Earlier: Elba shooting update: Windshield glass entered brain
Grain bin fire burns a week; corn ruined
DOVER, Minn. — After a week a smoldering fire in a grain dryer loaded with corn has been extinguished. An estimated 12,000 bushels were lost, said farmer Brian Labare. This was along County Road 142 between Dover and Eyota. Labare noticed smoke from the dryer November 3, the day after finishing his harvest. Dover and Eyota firefighters streamed 80,000 gallons of water on the stubborn fire over seven days, finally bulldozing into the bin to reach the source.
Bail at $200,000 for East Side gunshots
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona man was ordered held in jail for gunshots Thursday unless he can post $200,000 for bail. Jonathan Marquist Payton, age 40, was arrested after at least will shots were fired in the street. No one was injured. Police, meanwhile, reman baffled as to a motive.
Earlier: Motive still unclear in East Side gunshots
Earlier: East Side gunshots random? Targeted?
Extradition pending in Trempealeau stabbing
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona woman remained in jail awaiting an extradition request from Wisconsin for a stabbing in Trempealeau. Arieanna Emone Martin, 18, was arrested on identification and information from Wisconsin authorities. Winona police received the request to locate Martin about 7:50 a.m. and made the arrest 1-1/2 hours later at a residence in the 400 block of East Third Street. This is near the Watkins household supplies plant. The arrest was without resistance. Extradition would be to the Trempealeau County jail 40 miles away in Whitehall.
Martin. Authorities unclear her role.
R.I.P.: Steve Cahalan
LACROSSE, Wis. – A veteran business reporter LaCrosse Tribune, Steve Cahalan, died at age 73. His forte was local business — openings, closings, ownership changs, mergers. His Sunday roundups were so widely followed that he survived waves of staff layoffs and cutbacks ordered by financially strained Lee Enterprises, which owns the Tribune. His weekly columns were must-reads. Cahalan studied journalism at the University of Missouri and held a master’s degree. His early career was at the the Clinton Herald in Iowa, the Decatur Herald and Review in Illinois, and the Montana Standard in Butte. He moved the LaCrosse Tribune 1978.
-30-
Detail: Fredrickson Funeral Home
1952-2025
A hilltop tribute to generations of heroes
Space Force. The USSF was created 2019 under the Air Force to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and provide space capabilities to joint military forces. Its duties so far: To defend communication satellites, track space debris, and support missile warning systems.
Proudly full staff. In a brisk wind the Altura veterans memorial was fully ready for Veterans Day on Tuesday. Among military branches showing their colors was the Space Force. Image: Steve Lunde
College scores
Football: North Dakota Tech 37, Rochester Community 29
Soccer (women): UW-LaCrosse 2, UW-Platteville O
How they voted: U.S. Senate on shutdown
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 60-40 to overrude its usual rules in a move that could end the government shutdown that has had the government largely moribund for 39 days. Seven Democrats and one independent joined with Republicans to move ahead. The move, if approved in a forthcoming direct vote on the Trump budget and if accepted by the House, would reopen government after the longest shutdown in history. Several previous votes on the budget field. A compromise emerging in the Senate and House appeared to have made the difference this time. The deal, developed behind closed doors, appears to maintain Obamacare health coverage for vulnerable people pending further and separate debate. Trump has been insistent to kill Obamacare. Also believed to be a factor was that Trump has surrendered on insistence to scrp SNAP nutritional assistance for needy people unless his budget were accepted intact. Senate Democrats has used a filibuster talk-a-thon to delay a vote on the budget. But the 60-40 vote met the required threshold to end the fllibuster. How the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations voted:
To end filibuster
Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
Against
Tammy Baldwin. D-Wisconsin
Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
Tina Smith. D-Minnesota
Don’t wax your skis just yet
A picayune first snow. A sidewalk view. Accumulations were minimal in Winona County, but they stuck around most of the day. Afternoons highs broke above 32 degrees only in a few places. Image: Steve Lunde
Notable journalism
Quinn Gorham (KEYC, November 2, 2025): “One-on-One: Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth Announces for Governor”
Tony Kennedy (Minnesota Star Tribune, October 27, 2025): “Researcher Lands Dream Job: Helping Solve the Mystery of the Vanishing Minnesota Moose”
Matthew K. Rose (Trains magazine, December 2025): “UP-NS Merger May Hurt, Not Help”
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.