FREMONT, Minn. –Deputies recovered a stolen rental e-scooter south of this central Winona County hamlet. It was at least the fifth Bird scooter stolen from the streets of Winona and dumped far away, in this case 20 miles out. The earlier stolen Birds ended up 12 miles out at Dodge, Wisconsin. Authorities are baffled. The scooters are inoperable outside a geofence that keeps them in town. One theory is that someone is harassing the local operator for the Florida-based company that owns the scooters. The latest recovery was on County Road 29 a mile south of Fremont. A citizen spotted the out-of0place scooter along the road and notified officers about 2 p.m.
Bird scooters. Called “micro-electric mobility vehicles” by the company Bird, which rents them by the minute in hundreds of cities. Activated by an app that in Winona auto-charges credit cards at 30 cents a minute. Speed: About 15 mph. Weight: 30 pounds.