A previous friendship circle. The Winona-Dakota Unity Alliane will gather for its traditional celebration this weekend at Lake Winona’s east end.  The theme: “Back to the Land.” Events include drums and dancers. Time: 1 p.m. on Saturday. The city has a covenant with the Dakota people to preserve and protect the natural environment surrounding Winona. This includes burial grounds and archaeological sites. Wapasha Prairie had been a seasonal home for the Dakotas until the 1860s when federal troops forced them into a forced match to resettle in arid several hundred miles west. Many didn’t survive.

Soccer (women): Minot State 4, Winona State 1

Soccer (women): UW-Stevens Point 1, Saint Mary’s 0

Clever, distinctive and oh so Winona. Every school child knows about the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The treaty settled the primary United States-Canada border on 49th Latitude North. Now, 60 feet up,  there’s a highly visible reminder that Winona is at the 44th latitude north of the Equator. Who knew. Signage has been hoisted on the new Levee hotel, which is scheduled to accept its first guests in November.  For now, constuction barriers remain in place. Image: Steve Lunde

Earlier: Rising on the Levee: Hotel suites, flats

Earlier: New Levee hotel profile in final form

Earlier: Levee hotel’s structural core takes form

Earlier: New levee hotel news: No rooftop sipping

Earlier: Levee hotel regears for extended stay guests

Earlier: City OKs financial package for riverfront hotel

Earlier: Riverside hotel plan passes financing hurdle

Earlier: Developers offer peek at riverfront hotel

Earlier: A hotel on the Winona Levee? Still yakking

Earlier: Port to would-be hoteliers: Stop dallying

Earlier: Levee hotel project wins $601,000 state grant

Football: Augustana 34, Winona State 25

Football: Rochester Community 21, Minnesota North-Mesabi Range 0

Soccer (men): Saint Mary’s 1, Hamline 1

Soccer (women): Saint Mary’s 2, Hamline 0

Soccer (women): UW-LaCrosse 9, Concordia of Wisconsin 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two Goodview firefighters were inducted n the Firefighters Hall of Fame:

> Jason Gruett, who served 19 years, including eight years as chief. He died in 2025.

> Roland Limpert, a charter member of the department, who died of a heart attack suffered at a fire at the Westgate Shopping Center in 1965. He was 35.

The ceremony, sponsored the Minnesota Firefighters Association, was on the state Capitol grounds.

Sprouting an ear. Look close near the ground: You’ll see a tiny ear of corn emerging. This is under a bird feeder up East Burns Valley. How did this single seed take root where it did? Ask the birds. Does the ear still have time to ripen before frost?  Or will the raccoons get it first. Image: Andy Frank

Truck ruts at 10th hole. Vandals ruined the 10th hole at the Oak Summit golfcCourse south of Rochester. Surveillance video showed a gray and rusting 3/4-ton crew cab pickup entering from the east and exiting on on Highway 30. This at 1:03 a.m. The DeCook family, which owns the course, offered a $2,000 reward for help arresting the vandals.

SOLDIERS GROVE, Wis. — A police K-9 deputy sniffed drugs during a traffic stop, leading its handler to a baggie with cocaine in the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s log. The deputy handler also reported finding a loaded handgun. The LaCosse man driving the car, Josh Emmer, 37, was arrested and taken 40 miles to the Crawford County jail in Prairie du Chien. The arrest was on U.S. Highway 61.

Emmer, Arrested passing through Soldiers Grove on the Kickapoo River.

WANAMNGO, Minn. — Two men were injured when their pickup and a 36,000-pound grain harvester collided on State Highway 60 west of Wanamingo. Taken 32 miles to a Rochester hospital was Peder Thomas Husbyn, 18, of Wanamingo. He was a passenger in the pickup. His injuries were non-life threatening, said Goodhue County deputies. The accident was about 5:30 p.m. at the County Road 1 crossroads. The driver of the pickup, a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado, was Tristen Michael Jensen, 18, of Cannon Falls. He was hurt but didn’t require hospital care. The driver of the harvester, a 27-foot Oxbo 8340 that stands 12 feet, was Guadalupe Nunez, 44, of Elsa, Texas. He was unhurt. Deputies said the vehicles hit at a 90-degre angle.

Amberizing Minnesota. Most of Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted and Winona counties in the extreme southeast areat 25% of their full fall color.  Image: Minnesota Natural Resources Department

Earlier: Fall brilliance: Report Number 2

LACROSSE, Wis. – Arrest warrants have been issued for a gang of Jamaican nationals for the scamming of $450,000 from an elderly LaCrosse couple. The warrants, signed by Judge Scott Horne, asked law enforcement agencies nationwide wide to apprehend:

> Gavin J. Mcintosh, age 37.

> Faedar Brittanya Rockhead, 24.

> Shanice Shereece Reeves, 31.

> Tanya Santanya Rockhead, 34.

> Malcolm Christopher Sterlin, 26.

The elderly couple, ages 78 and 76, never met the scammers but were in contact — 2,419 times — over nine months, according to the warrants. The LaCrosse couple went to police in December. The scam began, they said, with a message that they had won sweepstakes from Publisher’s Clearing House and Reader’s Digest. First, they were told, they needed to pay taxes and fees. The couple made payments in cash and gift cards. Most of the money came from retirement savings. This was from May through December 2024. During the scam, investigators said, the thieves downloaded malware for access to everything on the couple’s computer. It was not believed the scammers were ever in LaCrosse but in continuing transit. Their trail included Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts and Virginia. Their Jamaican passports facilitated their travels, police said.

if convicted

The charges are punishable by 12-1/2 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

WINONA, Minn. — Investigators were tipped last week that a prominent local tennis figure, Tom Sanvik, might be involved with sexually explicit child materials, police confirmed. Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Mueller described the lead as a “cybertip.” Mueller offered these details to news reporters at the daily police briefing:

 > Based in the week of investigation, a search warrant was signed by a judge to search the family home in the 1500 block of West King Street.

> Police went to the address Thursday morning, confronted Sanvik with the warrant, and confiscated electronic devices.

> Without an arrest warrant, officers didn’t take Sanvik into custody but asked him to report voluntarily later in the day for some questions

> As requested, Sanvik went to the police station and admitted to dubious content on the devices that officers had seized at his home.

> He was booked 3:52 p.m. and spent the night in jail pending a morning court appearance.

Sanvik. Winona State women’s varsity tennis the past six seasons.

Verbatim

No one went on the record about the Sanvik arrest, but the university released this unsigned statement: “Tom Sanvik, an adjunct faculty member, whose duties included coaching the women’s tennis program, has been placed on leave. The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is our highest priority. We are working with athletics leadership to ensure the members of the women’s tennis team feel supported throughout this time. Winona State is committed to maintaining a respectful, safe learning and working environment for all. We encourage anyone with concerns to connect with the university through its confidential support and reporting resources.”

Earlier: WSU tennis coach to jail on child porn charge

WINONA, Minn. — A Wisconsin driver, clocked for speeding, was arrested for a more serious offense — drunken driving. This was about 12:15 a.m. at Riverview Drive near the turn-off to Prairie Island. The arresting deputy said Trevor Mitchell Johnson, age 38, of Holmen, smelled heavily of alcohol and failed sobriety exercises at the scene. A breath test placed his his blood as running 0.10% alcohol, one-fifth into the impairment zone.

WINONA, Minn. —  In a speeding stop a Wisconsin driver admitted to just having consumed marijuana, the arresting officer said. The officer already knew it. Haddi Mohamad Tanner, age 29, of Janesville, had the odor of marijuana about her, he said. Tanner then failed roadside exercises for balance and dexterity. This was about 11 p.m. on U.S. Highway 61 at the Vila Street entrance to the Winona Mall.  At the jailhouse Tanner provided a urine sample for testing to determine whether formal charges are warranted.

Soccer (women): Rochester Community 5, Dakota County Tech 0

WINONA, Minn. — The women’s tennis coach at Winona State, Tom Sanvik, was arrested on a warrant accusing him of possessing child pornography. The university confirmed the arrest and placed Sanvik on leave. He was booked at the county jail about 3:55 p.m. As tennis coach, Sanvik, age 65, held a part-time Winona State faculty position but didn’t teach formal classes. His part-time salary: $11,000.  Earlier he was at Winona High School as a phy-ed instructor and the boys and girls tennis coach going back to 1988. He also has been the Winona Tennis Association’s head instructor and camp director, as well a teaching professional at Winona Tennis Center.

Sanvik. Charge: Possession of child sexual abuse material.

What now?

It was expected that the university’s athletics director, Jennifer Flowers, would appoint the assistant tennis coach, Xao Vang, a local tennis pro, to take over.

Sanvik record

The Winona State team’s current season is young — only a Winona -hosted invitational September 6 and an Augustana-histed invitational September 13.

How team earlier performed under Sanvik:

2021: To league finals.

2022: 16-5 overall, 9-2 league.To league finals.

2023: 9-9 overall, 6-5 league. o league finals.

2024: 8-9 overall, 4-5 league.

2025: 7-12 overall, 3-6 league.

2026: The season ends in April.

How child porn cases are developed

These types of cases usually originate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center, which has 450 employees, monitors online traffic with an eye for uploads and downloads of lewd child images and videos. The Center, based just outside Washington, DC., is a public-private partnership. Typically, the Center passes tips on to local authorities. In Minnesota, the tips go first to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Bureau then informs a relevant local police agency, usually a county sheriff’s office. Together the state and local agents proceed with an investigation. This process can take several months. In most cases the agents seek a search warrant from a judge to confiscate computer hard drives and other evidence before charges are filed. At this point the person being investigated has a pretty good idea what’s coming down. Punishment? In a 2012 case, a Winona man was sentenced to 23 years in prison.