Vulnerable. Northern Winona County mostly north of Intersatte 90 from western border to Mississippi River. Image: National Weather Service

Forecasters: Thunderstormms dropped “excessive rain”

WINONA, Minn. — Early morning thunderstorms roared through northern Winna County with torrential rains for almost three hours. The National Weather Service issued alerts for urban areas where overwhelmed storm sewers could back up into city streets. Vulnerable too were creek-side rural roads in low-lying areas. Specifically warned:

> Areas around Locks and Dam 5 and 5A.

> County Road 28 along Speltz Creek into Rollingstone.

> County Road 31 north of Altura.

> The communities of Altura, Bethany, Elba, Goodview, Lewiston, Minnesota City ,Rollingstone, St. Charles, Stockton, Utica, Whitman,  Wilson, Winona and Wyattville

ST.CHARLES, Minn. — A man loaded a 10-cubic foot John Deere cart with items he wanted to give away. He pulled the cart to end of his driveway for passersby to sort through. The sign: “Free for the taking.” You guessed it: Somebody took the cart, valued at $380, and left everything else. This was on Equine Drive northeast of St. Charles.

Missing. But can it be considered truly stolen?

RUSHFORD, Minn. — The utility MiEnergy asked customers to conserve energy Tuesday afternoon when usage was expected t peak because of a heat spell. MiEnergy has customers in southeast Minnesota and adjoining Iowa counties. The peak was expected from 2 to 6 p.m. The utility’s grid supplier Dairyland Power, has a surcharge for peak usage. MiEnergy passes surcharges on to end-customers.

WINONA, Minn. — Police wrestled a man to the ground after stopping him on a bicycle with a distinctive college backpack that matched one stolen two days earlier. Arrested was Shawn Albert Hawley, age 49, who has no address but has been around town a while. Hawley was charged with having stolen property, including the backpack and U.S. mail. He also was charged with obstructing police. The arresting officer said he tried stopping Hawley on a bicycle in the 100 block of Second Street, but the man yelled: “I’m not talking to you now. I’m not in the mood.” Hawley tried pedaling off but was taken down and cuffed. This was about 8:30 p.m.

Earlier: Not quite a warm welcoming to college

Hawley. Arrest was just after dark downtown

WINONA, Minn. — Staff training at the Bob Welch Aquatic Center has been completed for the long-awaited 2026 opening. Expect a line Tuesday for the event at  12:30 p.m. The opening couldn’t come too soon. A sweltering air mass of ultra-high humidity had settled into the region.with temperatures in the 90s

Earlier: Embarrassed city agency sets SMU as swim option

Earlier: No Winona splashin’ yet: Pool still closed

Earlier: Not yet: Repairs delay Winona pool season

DES MOINES, Iowa —The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the Legislature’s 2018 law that banned prisoner access to pornographic material. Twelve inmates had claimed the law violated their constitutional rights as citizens. The Court acknowledged that inmates hold constitutional rights but that they are subject to restriction. The ruling was unanimous.

DENVER — The $1.3 billion lawsuit against Minnesota’s MyPillow executive Mike Lindell for libels over the 2020 presidential election has been withdrawn. Lindell, now a candidate for Minnesota governor, called the decision a “win!” The circumstances of the withdrawal, however, were cloudy. Critical details of the deal were not announced. The now-dismissed suit had been filed against Lindell in 2021 for his false charges that voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems were rigged to throw the 2020 election against Donald Trump. Dominion sued not only Lindell but also right-wing media outlets that promulgated the same falsities. Unable to substantiate the falsities, Fox News paid Dominion $787 million. Newsmax paid $67 million. Lindell, however, had nothing to lose and refused to settle. His MyPillow company had collapsed. He was broke. He continued espousing his conspiracy theories. Since then these events have occurred.

> Trump was elected president in 2024.

> Trump has maintained his false narrative that the 2020 election was rigged and has sought to avenge the loss in every forum available.

> Among Trump’s targets continued to be Dominion, whose voting machines had been used in 27 states.

> Dominion was purchased last September by Trump-friendly Scott Leiendecker, who renamed it Liberty Vote.

Concerns arose immediaately about Leiendecker’s purchase. As a Republican election official in St. Louis, he had an insider’s knowledge of election mechanics and dynamics. The question: Was he a partisan figure who could control voting machines used nationwide? Put bluntly: Was he a Trump lackey. Leiendecker didn’t allay the concerns by aligning Liberty Vote with Trump’s 2025 executive order for sweeping election reforms to favor Republicans. At the same time Leiendecker was making statements like: “Liberty Vote signals a new chapter for American elections — one where trust is rebuilt from the ground up.” Was he saying that Dominion had indeed done bad? If so, the suggestion was that he had knowledge of a capacity for voting equipment to create false tallies.

Earlier: Minnesota political parties’ 2026 choices

Earlier: GOP convention backs Qualls for governor

Earlier: Glitter and dazzle: Lindell’s campaign debut

Earlier: GOP quavering at Lindell governorship talk

Earlier: Governor on Lindell: A disaster if elected

For a bride’s bouquet perhaps. Although not native to Minnesota, they’re plentiful. Some folks even consider them a common roadside weed, In California, however, they are pricey additions for bouquets. Here let them pair nicely with roadside orange “outhouse daylilies.” Image: Andy Frank

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.  — Small robots that have ambled around many U.S. campuses delivering cafeteria food are being withdrawn. San Francisco-based Starship Technologies is reassigning the robots for more profitable duty fulfilling orders at grocery stores. The electric-powered six-wheeled robots use artificial intelligence and sensors to cross streets and navigate around obstacles. Starship began placing its robots campuses in 2019.

Starship robot. On mission delivering meals around campus.

WINONA, Minn. — Police rushed a Winona man to the hospital with a screwdriver tip lodged in one arm from a fight with a girlfriend. Although painful, the wound was not lethal. The incident was about 4:40 p.m. in the 400 residential block of Hamilton Street. Police responded to a 911 call from a man who said he had been stabbed. Police found him outside with bleeding from his upper-right firearm. He said his girlfriend had done it it and barricaded herself inside. Officers made phone contact. She agreed to come out. Officers quoted her as saying she had no idea why they were there or why they wanted to talk with her. She eventually opened up, officers said, and admitted to a screaming matching match over fidelity. It turned physical, she told officers, and the boyfriend grabbed a small cosmetic mirror from her. Attempting to retrieve the mirror, she said she accidentally hit him with a screwdriver in her other hand. Arrested was Samantha Leann Ewing, age 45.

Ewing. Charge: Assault with a dangerous weapon.

PINE ISLAND, Minn. — An Iowa driver was injured when his light-weight sedan departed the roadway and oveturned off U.S. Highway 52 just of Pine Island. Hamilton Steve Guerrero, 18, of Waterloo, was taken 20 miles to a Rochester hospital.  Zumbrota police described his injuries as non-life threatening. The accident was about 4 a.m. Guerrero was alone and belted in the 2003 Honda Accord. He was headed north toward St. Paul.

OAKDALE, Minn. — A couple dozen unruly juveniles raised havoc at this east St. Paul suburb’s annual summer fireworks. Authorities regain control only after  Police Chief Nick Newton called in sheriff’s deputies from two neighboring counties and police from nearby Woodbury and Maplewood. Newton acknowledged that festival-goers, mostly families with children, were in fear and panic. This was after sunset at Walton Park. No injuries were reported. Newton said his 31-officer department would be investigating how things got so out of hand. He said he had pre-assigned “a full contingent” of officers at the park. During the melee there was a report of people with guns, but Newton said he had.no confirmation of the reports.

A smaller variety. Not very prickly or invasive. Starting to bloom along East Burns Valley Road. Image: Andy Frank

WINONA, Minn. — A Winona aviation enthusiast, Wayne William Ledebuhr, died when his self-built ultra-light aircraft crashed beside a runway at the Winona airport. Ledebuhr, age 74, was president of the Winona chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Witnesses said Ledebuhr was landing when something went wrong. The aircraft was a 200-pound T-Light manufactured by Airborne Windsports Australia and sold as a kit. The T-Lite is designed to be quickly disassembled for ground transport. It is designed as both a cross-country powered aircraft and self-launching motoried glider for soaring.. It meets U.S. and international flight-worthiness standards as an ultra-light.

Ledebuhr. His second home was Max Conrad Field, where he died.

T-Lite profile

Basically the T-Lite has a cable-braced hang-glider with a high wing, a single-seat open cockpit, tricycle landing gear, and a single engine behind the pilot. The propeller is a two-blade pusher, also behind the pilot. The aircraft is made of bolted-together aluminum tubing. The wing fabric is double-surface Dacron sail cloth finished with mylar. The wing is supported by a single tube. Control is by an A-frame weight-shift bar. The powerplant is a single cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke designed for the craft. The fuel tank is 2.6 gallons behind the pilot. The tank can be disconnected quickly for refueling

> Specs: Wingspan: 31 feet.  Max weight with pilot: 460 pounds.

> Performance: Cruise speed: 36 mph. Stall speed: 32 mph. Max speed: 53 mph.

> Record: The T-Lite is one model among the company’s 10 gliders and ultralights. A basic T-Lite costs from $1,500 to $3,000. Options can add another $1,500. Shipping rages from $100 to $300.

Earlier: Pilot dead in crash at Winona airport

WINONA, Minn. — Parents who had been helping their college daughter move into rental housing reported the place had been burgled between their first and second trips over  from Menomonee Falls in Wisconsin. This was in the 400 block of Huff Street across from Winona State University. Police were notified about 10 a.m. — as soon as the family returned the second day. They reported cigarette butts on a couch. Missing items included backpack emblazoned with a Winona State logo They found a first-floor window ajar — from some time after they left the day before. The family told police they had locked the door.

WINONA, Minn. — A pilot was killed when his light airplane crashed at dusk at the Winona airport. Details initially were sketchy. It was understood that the victim was a male in his 70s or 80s. He was alone in the plane. First-responders were unable to revive him. The crash occurred about 8 p.m.

Single runway. Asphalt runway is 5,100 feet. Has medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment indicator lights.

Airfield profile

Opened in 1942 on former Mississippi River backwaters. Used for military training during World War II. Bears the name of record-setting early Winona aviator. Formally known as Winona Municipal Airport or “ONA” in airtalk. No schedule airline sevice since 1970. Home now to 30 hangared aircraft — 26 single-engine, 2 multi-engine, one jet and one glider. About 30 operations a day.