Traveler in odd downtown mini-dramas
WINONA, Minn. — After a couple of odd disturbances downtown involving an Anoka man, police decided the best course was to send him packing out of town. Alexander Craig Larson, 32, was last seen fueling up his pickup truck. Police said that he indicated he was heading for New Orleans. The disturbances:
> Blooming Grounds, 50 East Third Street. Police were called about 1 p.m for a man throwing food inside the eatery. Police found Larson parked outside in a [pickup truck. He first refused to respond to officers tapping on the window to open up but finally lowered the window. He was issued a standard trespass warning not to return to Blooming Grounds.
> Gabby’s, 179 East Third Street. Police were called about 4:30 p.m. for a man acting strangely outside Gabby’s bar. Police found Larson had parked his 2007 black GMC Yukon pickup and placed tires and orange traffic cones as well as tires. in the street. Larson, wearing a black face mask, was out in the street spray-painting the pavement with a 15-foot circle of orange, yellow and black. Seeing the officers, he walked away but when confronted he explained he was hoping to raise gas money. He didn’t make much sense, the officers said, but stgere was something about his “street art” meant to convey “Anoka to New Orleans” and something about the country’s 250th anniversary. He was issued a disturbing-the-peace citation and tlod where to find a chafity agency that mught help with gas money to leave town.
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Judge damns Trump’s Minnesota Meanness
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has blocked President Trump’s g escalating campaign against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other elected officials. Judge Patrick Schiltz declared that Trump was guilty of illegally harassing people he didn’t like. The judge called it a deplorable and grossly illegal misuse of presidential power that Trump was seeking grand jury indictments of the Minnesota state and local leaders. Trump has been hammering them for months as traitorous in countless tirades forthe citizen resistance to his Operation Metro Surge — a brutal military occupation of the state over the winter. In February Trump finally was humiliated into withdrawing his troops by the hundreds. He has been seething since and vowing retribution. Judge Schiltz’s ruling was the latest in a growing number of judicial rebukes of Trump for using U.S. Justice Department to carry out personal vendettas. Critics use the word “weaponize” for his shifting the Justice Department’s energies into a vehicle to bully and harass political rivals. Judge Patrick Schlitz was blunt. About Trump’s Minnesota actions he found the President’s “dominant purpose” was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.” Among those whom Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to seek indictments:
> Tim Walz, governor.
> Keith Ellison, state attorrney general.
> Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis.
> Kaohly Her, mayor of St. Paul.
> Officials in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
Schiltz. Chief judge for the U.S. District of Minnesota. A Harvard Law School graduate with honors. Appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, a Republican, in 2005.
Anatomy of judge’s rebuke
Judge Schitz ruled that there appeared to be “extremely weak to nonexistent” connections between the information sought in the U.S. Justice Deoartment’s subpoenas and any possible criminal violation. The subpoenas seek materials “that largely if not entirely relate to constitutionally protected conduct,” the judge wrote. He noted that Minnesota has the legal right not to devote its resources to coercing federal immigration law. The Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation but is instead using the grand jury process for unlawful purposes, Schiltz said. He called the evidence overwhelming that the Department’s subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons. About the Justice Department attempts to justify Trump’s motives: “The Department has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible plausible investigatory justification.”
Police post-mortem on Steamboat Days: Mostly OK
WINONA, Minn. — As police officers swapped notes about their Steamboat Days experiences, the consensus was that it went well. An exception — a major one — was a near riot outside a downtown bar. Two arrests resulted. There also a celebrant whom police escorted out of the Steamboat Days beer tent as unruly and no longer welcome. Also too: A man who had been at the beer tent crashed his car into a tree off Interstate 90. For the weekend Police Chief Tom Wiliams beefed up night patrols by four or extraofficers.
Earlier: Cops: Boozed-up crowd gangs up on Winona cops
Embarrassed city agency sets SMU as swim option
WINONA, Minn. – The city Parks Department arranged a swimming option at the Saint Mary’s University pool while repairs continue at the city’s Bob Welch Aquatic Center on the West End. Punch passes and memberships will be accepted at the Saint Mary’s Jule Gernes pool, which is inside the Toner Student Center. The daily rate: $2. Children 4 years old and younger are free. The Bob Welch opening has been delayed twice so far. The Parks Department hopes to have the pool fixed by July 1. The meantime pool times at Saint Mary’s begin Tuesday:
> June 23 and 24: 12 to 4 p. m.
<>June 25: 12:30 to 4 p.m.
> June 26, 27 and 28: None.
> June 29 and 30: 12 to 4 p.m.
Project profile
Municipal park leaders had recognized that the Bob Welch Aquatic Center, built in 1990, was needful of major repairs. The heaters, the chemical system and the filtration system were on their their last legs. This was in 2022. Engineering consultants projected, as expected, that repairs and essential upgrades would be a big-ticket item — an estimated $683,000. The city asked for bids. Horizon Commercial Pool Supply of Arden Hills, a north Twin Cities suburb, submitted the low bid. The bid was near the engineering projection. Two other bids exceeded $800,000. This spring Commercial Pool sounded the alarm that the city’s deadline to open the pool in the second weekend of June was problematic. The problem was mostly because of interruptions in the global supply system for industrial components. These were typical of industrial supply crises due to the tariff war launched by President Trump in January.
Police report missing in Winona porn case
WINONA, Minn. — A delay was ordered in a child porn possession case against Winona tennis coach Thomas Sanvik. The prosecution has failed to produce a document from the police investigation. The attorney for Sanvik, Kurt Knuesel, told the judge that the document was essential for Sanvik’s defense. Prosecutor Travis Snider responded that the document was “unrecoverable” due to the September cyberattack on the county computer system. The judge gave Snider 10 days to attempt to recreate the document.
$100,000 damage to Lewiston solar array
Lewiston-Altura High School. On County Road 25 on the Lewiston East End. Enrollment: 360 students in Grades 9 to 12. Spring classes ended May 22.
Lone vandal seen smashing sunray collectors
LEWISTON, Minn. — A vandal smashed solar panels at the Lewiston High School with the damage estimated initially at $100,000. The attack was at twilight, about 6:40 p.m. A witness called the police dispatcher in Winona and was able describe an automobile before it drove off. Sheriff’s deputies found a vehicle matching the description a quarter mile away in a Dollar General parking lot. Deputies said the driver, Brenden Robert Myers, age 21, of Lewiston, admitted to the vandalism. There was an odor of marijuana, deputies said: Also field sobriety tests suggested impairment. Myers was jailed on a tentative charge of driving while impaired and damage to property. A final DWI charge hinge on pending results from a blood sample drawn at the county jail in Winona. Not immediately clear was how the damage to the solar panels was accomplished. Deputies said an electrical cord of some sort apparently was involved.
Earlier: Charge ahead: Lewiston schools go solar
Minneiska biker hits deer, badly hurt
WABASHA, Minn. — A rural Winona County motorcyclist was critically injured when he ran into a deer. David Michael Deering, 66, was taken to the Wabasha hospital. The accident was on a four-lane section of U.S. Highway 61 between Wabasha and Kellogg. First-responders described his condition as life-threatening. This was about 11 :25 a.m. Deering was on a BMW R1200 and headed south toward home near Minneiska. No one else was injured.
Rochester college shies off sports dome
ROCHESTER, Minn.— Plans have been abandoned for a new bubble dome for sports at Rochester Community and Technical College. The college president, Jeffery Boyd, expressed doubts about the viability of a new bubble: “Given the level of risk associated with potential fabric and mechanical system failures, we do not believe it is a wise investment at this time.” The existing dome not only has been problematic to maintain but also is at the end of its useful life. The dome has been used by the college for winter sports as well as by youth and adult community recreation programs. The college, meanwhile, is keeping long-term plans on the drawing board for a $55 million sports and recreation complex.
Governor hopeful: GOP top brass squeezed me out
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Gubernatorial candidate Peggy Bennett, a five-term state legislator, claims she was treated unfairly by the state Republican leadership. She wants them fired:
> Alex Plechash, state party chair.
> Jill Vujovich-Laabs, political director.
> Noah Rouen, communications director.
Bennett accused them of having settled among themselves on who should be considered for the state GOP convention May 30 in Duluth — and who shouldn’t. It’s supposed to be locally elected delegates who decide endorsements in a democratic process that keads to tge the state convention. Instead, said Bennett, a coterie of bosses was calling the shots. Bennett listed snubs and bad treatment she felt from what she called a manipulative “elite.” Her accusations were in a just-posted nine-minute video. Bennett didn’t name who Plechash, Vujovich-Laabs, and Rouen had “pre-selected.” The 1,800 delegates at the convention ended up endorsing businessman Kendall Qualls for governor. Runners-up were House Speaker Lisa Demuth and MyPillow pitchman Mike Lindell. Although they didn’t receive the endorsement, Demuth and Lindell and four others have continued their campaigns for the August primary election that will decide who finally ends up as the Republican to be on the November general election ballot. Bennett officially delisted herself as as a candidate on June 4.
Bennett. In post-convention video, she accuses state-level Minnesota Republican officials of “bias” and “manipulation.”
Verbatim
Bennett: “Early on I was told by many that the state party and political elites had already picked their chosen candidates. I now believe this to be true. What I’ve witnessed and experienced firsthand within our Republican Party as a statewide candidate is unacceptable. The dysfunction, mismanagement, along with clear favoritism toward preselected candidates is just plain wrong, This is not how the state GOP should operate.”
Bennett details dysfuction, disgust, dismay
In her video Bennett said: “This is not about hurt feelings or sour grapes. This is about truth, because real truth equals real reform, and we desperately need real reform in this state.” No wonder, she said, Republicans have failed to win any statewide office since 2006 when Tim Pawlenty was re-elected as governor. About her own now-suspended candidacy for governor, Bennett said that state party officials promised to provide contact information for county party chairs but never did even after she asked repeatedly. “My team had to find out when and where the candidate forums were ourselves,” Bennett said. “No info on the state GOP calendar. No suggested contacts for connection. “If we were lucky enough to find out about the forums, some were kind enough to let me in and others locked me out.” She also alleged the party bosses had a “pay-to-play” expectation for candidates to participate in the state convention: “Candidates had to pay a minimum of $5,000 each, $10,000 for the deluxe package, just for the opportunity to have stage time and participate in the convention at a basic level.” She said her campaign paid the $5,000, which was non-refundable and due in February. The package, she said, was supposed to include convention speech time, space for a candidate table, and time for on-screen graphics After asking if she could run a video presentation as part of her speech time, she said she was told she could. “This candidate contract package made no mention of any additional requirements for speaking or full participation at the state convention,” Bennett said. However, three weeks before the deadline, and during the busy final weeks of the legislative session, Bennett alleged the party announced that candidates would also need to collect 50 state delegate signatures from at least four of the state’s eight congressional districts. “At first, I was told that candidates who did not gather the required signatures would lose their speaking time and a place on the endorsement ballot,” Bennett said. “Ten days later, I was told we would lose neither. So, I chose not to collect the signatures.” Yet, days before the deadline, Bennett says she was told by Vujovich-Laabs that candidates who did not have the required signatures would be “completely disqualified.” As a result, Bennett emailed party leaders, including Plechash and Vujovich-Laabs, to confirm her status as a candidate: “I received no response, I was ghosted.” At the same time, Bennett said, she received emails from Vujovich-Laabs inviting her to participate in a pre-convention forum. But three days before the convention, Plechash told her she was disqualified as a candidate. Rhetoricallyshe asked: ”Isn’t it ironic that after 12 years of hard work for the Republican Party where I was fully qualified, I was now apparently no longer considered qualified,” On the Thursday before the convention, Bennett said, she was told she was presented with a new option: Collect 47 signatures on Friday and she would be allowed stage time and a ballot spot. After arriving in Duluth at the convention, she gathered the required signatures and waited for instructions on how to submit her campaign video for the stage. “We called, texted, and waited but heard nothing until Saturday morning by email,” Bennett said. Her team brought the campaign video to the convention production staff, who prepared it for her speech. However, while this happened, Bennett alleges Rouen expressed displeasure at her plan to announce her choice as a lieutenant governor running mate on stage and the that fact she had a video to present. She said Rouen then told her campaign manager, “Alex says no to the video.” The denial came without explanation about an hour before hr stage time, Bennett said. “Other candidates had been allowed to use similar materials, so this made no sense.” She described her video as a seven-minute, professional production intended as the foundation of her campaign message, she said: “Without it, and with only minutes to come up with a new plan for my 15-minute stage time, this created a difficult situation for me and my team.” Frustrated, she pulled herself from the speaking list and ballot — and left the convention.
August primary
Democrats in the running: Amy Klobuchar, the party-endorsed choice; Thomas Evenstad; Bill Gates Jr.; Kobey Layne; Ole Savior; Po Vang; and Mohammad Wazwaz.
Democrats who have withdrawn or been disqualified: Rick DeVoe, Paul Ference, Tim Holden, Christopher Seymore, and Tim Walz.
Republicans in the running: Kendall Qualls, the party-endorsed choice; Loner Blue; Lisa Demuth; Raul Estrada; John Krhin; Mike Lindell; and Ross Nova
Republicans who have withdrawn or been disqualified: Peggy Bennett, Scott Jensen, Jeff Johnson, Patrick Knight, Chris Madel, Phillip Parrish, Doug Quenroe, and Kristin Robbins.
Democracy on its head
Bennett is not alone in seeing a pattern of top-down contempt for democratic processes in the Minnesota Republican hierarchy. Such contempt showed itself in Winona in a 2024 election for the state Legislature. A year before the election, the local GOP leadership anointed Winona City Council member Aaron Repinski for the state Legislature and promised financial support. Word was sent up to party bosses in St. Paul, who arranged for a national Republican fund-raising organization, WinRed, to get on board. Within weeks, before any grassroots Republican input, WinRed was blanketing House District 26-A with slick-paper mailers for Repinski. This was weeks before everyday Republicans would have a chance to voice their preferences in the spring endorsing process. This was not only unfair to House District 26-A Republicans but unfair also to Stephen Doerr of Winona who also campaigning. Although a flawed candidate, the official neglect of his candidacy was premature, unfair and bad form — not to mention unethical. Repinski went on to win election to the state House.
Earlier: Bennett gubernatorial ticket falls apart
Earlier: GOP convention backs Qualls for governor
Earlier: Premature though it is, Repinski gets GOP nod
News summary at week’s end: June 20, 2026
INDUSTRY: Acuity employees reeling at plant closure
INDUSTRY: Lighting manufacturer Acuity closes Winona factory
CRIME: Boozed-up crowd gangs up on Winona cops
CRIME: Cops: Rollingstone postal thief nabbed red-handed
CRIME: Guilty to 12-year-old as pregnant and doing it
CRIME: Bonfire in street, bullets popping: Why? Why? Why?
CRIME: $80,000 swindle seen as crypto crime
SCHOOLS: $50,000 Fastenal gift to Winona tech training
SCHOOLS: Caps everywhere: Joy at Winona High
ENVIRONMENT: LaCrosse to AI giants: Slow it down
PLEBEIAN CUISINE: Return of the chopsticks on West End
POLITICS: Political season sprouts among us
FESTIVAl: Honky-tonk and punk in air at Steamboat Days
FESTIVAL: Cruisers and rods outside Peter’s Biergarten
FESTIVAL: Sparkles and bouquets at royalty crowning
Cops: Biker’s own camera recorded misdeeds
DAKOTA Minn. — A deputy gave chase to bikers who, mufflers disconnected, had been roaring around nearby LaCrescent and disturbing the peace. The bikers got away from LaCrescent police and headed north into Winona County. The deputy intercepted them on County Road 1. They went even louder and faster onto Interstate 90. The deputy, siren shrieking and lights flashing, was on their tails, at points at 100 mph. Finally one biker pulled over. The deputy arrested Miguel Ramone Dodge, age 19, of LaCrosse, and confiscated his bike-cam. Police are seeing bike-cams more and more for bikers to relive their stunt-riding and ultra-speeding. The cam left no doubt that Dodge deserved to be arrested, the deputy said. The second biker, however, kept on going. He’s now on police list to be apprehended. This was all was about 7:10 p.m.
Cruisers and rods outside Peter’s Biergarten
25th annual event. Invitation-only diagonal parking on downtown Winona’s blocked-off Third Street for the Steamboat Days car show. Business was hopping at Peter’s fresh-air beer garden. “Anybody see my glitzy ’57 DeSoto?” Image: Helen Nordby
Elgin driver hurt in sunny afternoon crash
POTTSDAM, Minn — An Elgin man was injured in a three-car collision at Reikes Corners west of Zumbro Lake on White Bridge Road. Zackary Austin Peterson, 36, was taken 18 miles to a Rochester hospital. His injuries were non-life threatening, first-responders said. No one else required medical attention. The collision was about 1:20 p.m. Peterson was eastbound toward Plainview on State Highway 247. He was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Impala whose airbag deployed. Others in the accident:
> Michael Paul Halasy, 55, of Rochester, driving south on State Highway 63 toward Rochester in a 1998 Porsche Boxster convertible.
> Jon Palmer Dunham, 56, of Rochester, driving north in a 2020 Ford F150 pickup and turning west toward Oronoco.
> Tara Louise Kenitz, 54, of Rochester, a passenger in the pickup.
Notable journalism
Morgan James (KTTC, June 18, 2026): “Uncertainty in Pine Island as Data Center Debate Continues”
Rachel Mergen (Winona Daily News, June 19, 2026): “The Coffee Camper Expands with New Alma Vineyard Spot”
Richard Molseed (Rochester Post Bulletin, 19, 2026): “Tornado Carried Items into Wisconsin from Plainview Family Home”
Return of the chopsticks on West End
WINONA, Minn. – A new albeit somewhat familiar tenant has been added to the leaderboard at the Winona Crossing strip mall off U.S. Highways 61 on the West End. A soft-opening for Asian Buffet is scheduled for June. 30 The site earlier was occupied by New China King, also an all-you-can buffet. Asian food is not hard to find in Winona:
> Great Hunan: 111 West Third Street.
> Miya Japanese Bistro: 62 East Third Street.
> Novary: 1035 Frontenac Drive.
> Ocean Sushi: 1213 Gilmore Avenue.
> Panda Express: Kryzsko basement at Winona State University.
Earlier: Golden China to close doors in May
Winona Crossing. Updating the tenant list again. Image: Steve Lunde
R.I.P.: Jerry Varner
MESA, Ariz. — Jerome “Jerry” Dean Varner, for many years the business manager at Winona State University, died in retirement in Mesa. He was 91. His earlier home was just outside Fountain City. Before Winona State he was a sales management executive with the Watkins home products company in Winona. He served in the Minnesota Army National. His college degree was from Winona State.
Detail: Meldrum Funeral Home
1935 -2026
Boozed-up crowd gangs up on Winona cops
Port 507. At 127 West Second Street at a quieter hour. Where a combative crowd of 20 had spilled into the street and turned menacingly on police when they arrived. The situation eased aonly fter police re-enforcements arrived and arrests were made. Ten officers were involved.
Until cavalry arrived, ruffians had 20 to 2 edge
WINONA, Minn. — Police got a large and unruly rumble under control outside a downtown bar but only after calling in re-enforcements from the sheriff’s office and suburban Goodview. This was about 1:10 a.m. near the hub off Steamboat Days activities. Two officers responded to a call at the Port 507 bar and found about 20 people pushing and shoving and yelling in the street. Unable to de-escalate the melee, which was becoming more intense, the officers radioed for back-up. Four additional city police officers arrived, as did two sheriff’s deputies and two Goodview police officers. One man, Nashun Louis Robinson, age 21, of Winona, who witnesses said started the fight inside the bar, was outside and still combative when the first officers arrived. When he attempted to flee, police stopped him with pepper spray. An ambulance, which by then was at the scene, took Robinson to the hospital for a medical evaluation for effects from the mace. At jail he was booked for assault and obstruction of police. As Robinson was being loaded into the ambulance, police said, Andrea Ashanti Dorothy Chamblis, age 18, of Winona was goading the crowd to engage officers. She was charged with obstructing the legal process. Further arrests were likely, police said.
Byron ballerina new Miss Minesota
Anna Brennan. Crowned Miss Minnesota at Treasure Island casino event. From Byron. As talent she performed classical ballet to “Tango de Roxanne.” Studying journalism at University of St. Thomas and interning at television station KSTP.
Acuity employees reeling at plant closure
WINONA, Minn. — Members of the Electrical Workers union at Acuity’s Winona lighting factory feel betrayed. The company’s top management, far away in Georgia, has sent down word that the plant will close soon. Employees learned of the decision at a surprise assembly. Afterward the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 953, Brady Weiss , accused the company of “misplaced priorities,” particularly with its ongoing revenue gains:
“For decades, our members working at this facility have contributed not only to the success of Acuity Brands but added value to this community through good-paying family-supporting jobs. We are disappointed that the company’s misplaced priorities, despite their $563 million profit, have led them to the decision to close this facility following many years of committed partnership. “
Weiss said the union is committed to ensuring that its members are afforded “every protection available” under their collective bargaining agreement and the law. Weiss said the Electrical Workers contract gives “bump rights” to members to relocate to different Acuity facilities for equivaent jobs held by less senior Acuity employees. Also: The state jobs agency has assistance for workers in mass layoffs.
Steamboat Days reveler crashes car into tree
WYATTVILLE, Minn. — A northern Arizona man, seemingly after too much fun at Steamboat Days in Winona, crashed his car into a tree 24 miles away on County Road 12. A sheriff’s deputy who came across the wreck said Joshua Ray Leach, age 37, was unhurt but drunk He was wearing a beer-tent access bracelet from Steamboat Days. A roadside breath test put his blood at 0.12% alcohol, four points more than law allows. The crash was at the 90-degree corner where County Road 12 forks into County 25. This was about 3:45 a.m.
Notable journalism
Allison Murray (WXOW, June 195 2026): “Warrens Woman Charged after Kids Found Wandering Campsite; Home Deemed Uninhabitable”
Olivia Prondzinski (KTTC, June 12, 2026): “Investigation Notes Reveal Details of Stewartville High School Shooting”
Chris Rogers (Winona Post, June 12, 2026): “Refugees Rebuild in Winona”
“Fight?” What fight?” Nobody talking to cops
WINONA, Minn. –— Police responded to a call about a street fight in an East Side residential neighborhood. Although officers found people milling around, the fight was over. Police said no one would talk about what happened. Officers handed out forms and encouraged people in the remaining crowd to submit written statements in the morning when they sobered up. All appeared to be adults, officers said. This was about 1:25 a.m. on East Sanborn Street between Kansas and Liberty streets.
Biker overturns on Ettrick backroad, badly hurt
ETTRICK, Wis.— A motorcyclist was seriously injured when he lost control and overturned in a ditch on a rural road northwest of Ettrick in central Trempealeau County. Sheriff Erica Koxlien declined to release the victim’s name but didn’t explain why. The accident was about 11:35 p.m. two miles from town on County Road D. He was headed toward Ettrick. Deputies believed he was going too fast.
LaCrosse to AI giants: Slow it down
LACROSSE, Wis. — The La Crosse County Board voted 26-2 to put ice on construction of hyper-scale artificial intelligence data processing plants. It’s an 18-month moratorium to allow the Board time to review a major study it com missioned on environmental and other impact. Board member Dillon Mader said the Board didn’t want AI data center to be built before anybody understood downsides. Elsewhere giant AI companies have been secretly ramming consent for zoning revisions through local governmental agencies with binding non-disclosure agreements that preclude community knowledge and input.
Earlier: Mayor quits as hyper-scale Google project looms
Earlier: Pine Island data center: Judge insists on answers
Earlier: MiEnergy: No hanky-panky on our data center
Earlier: Earlier: Pine Island data center: Judge insists on answers
Stockton Hill route project gets final trim
WINONA Minn. — The narrowing of U.S. Highway 14 up Stockton Hill on the Winona side was a one-day project, said state transportation spokesperson Mike Doughery. A crew was tarring caps on pilings that hold back new retaining walls on steepest sections of the highway. Also: Thousands of night-time reflectors were afixed atop new guardrails. Pilot cars led motorists in single columns between Knopp Valley in Winona and the 1110-degree turn near the summit at Seminary Road.
Downhill to Winona. Spray-coating the pilings. Image: Steve Lunde
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