Most-viewed Local News Stories in 2014

The WSU senior competed three seasons for the gymnastics team and earned All-America honors in 2013.

“Brooke had a magnetic personality and a smile that would light up the gym,” WSU gymnastics coach Beckie Rolbiecki said. “She was a sparkplug of a competitor and an ambitious, dedicated teammate.

“She was one of those athletes who warmed your heart when you’d see her walk into the gym. It’s so hard for all of us to comprehend.”

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call shortly before 8 p.m. Monday from the WingDam Saloon & Grill, and when first responders arrived they discovered Baures’ body in the restaurant’s food service elevator, according to the Fountain City Police Department. Baures was an employee at the restaurant.

Baures was pronounced dead at the scene, said Fountain City Police Chief Jason Mork.

The Fountain City Police Department is investigating Baures’ death, with assistance from the sheriff’s department and county coroner. Mork said he could not speak further about the incident and investigation until he’s able to meet with family members and the autopsy is completed.

Mork said the food elevator, commonly referred to as a dumbwaiter and located off the kitchen, runs between the first and second floors of the restaurant and is generally used to transport bulk food for parties and other events in the space. The opening to the elevator is about three feet by three feet, he said, and was not designed for employees to enter. The lifting mechanism works similar to an electric garage door, he said.

Dumbwaiter incidents are extremely rare, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which maintains online databases for workplace-related injuries and deaths. According to the OSHA database there have been just two incidents, both fatal, in the United States between 2003 and 2013, the date range the digital records cover.

Amanda Schabacker, manager at the WingDam, said the restaurant was closed Tuesday but declined further comment.

'Grateful for the gift of her'

It’s the second time in five months the WSU athletic department mourned the loss of a student athlete. In July, incoming football transfer Shawn Afryl collapsed and died due to a medical condition during a conditioning workout.

The athletic department — not just the gymnastics program — was in a state of shock Tuesday. Baures, a social work major from Chetek, Wis., was loved by many.

“She was one of those kids who touched a lot of people and who was very well liked,” said WSU athletic director Eric Schoh, who remembered Baures popping into his office just to see how he was doing. “She was a big part of the gymnastics team, but also the athletic department. She knew athletes across the whole department.”

Former teammates remember her team-first attitude during competitions.

“She was the most selfless teammate I ever had,” said Katie Seehusen, a 2014 graduate, who’ll remember Baures most for the joy and laughs she brought to those long road trips during the season. “She was always right up there, the first one to greet you when you were done with your routine.”

Stephanie Wojton, another recent graduate, said Baures made her a better gymnast, and both qualified for the NCGA National Championship together in beam in 2013.

“We both made it to the second day,” Wojton said. “It was really great to share that with her. I wouldn’t have wanted to share it with anyone else.”

Wojton and Baures were inseparable that season, getting to practice early, commandeering the sound system and blaring whatever music they would want. One song, in particular, meant a lot to both of them — Sarah Evans’ “A Little Bit Stronger.”

“We would work on our moves on the beam, dance to our routine, and pretty much just belt out the words,” Wojton said. “That song means a lot to me now.”

Both Wojton and Seehusen looked up to Baures, even though they were older.

“She was the one person in my life I could go to for everything,” Wojton said.

Baures was to be a captain this season but left the team in mid-October. The split was amicable on both sides, Schoh said, adding that Baures wanted to focus on other things.

Her presence will remain with the team this season, Rolbiecki said.

“I told the team today that she isn’t with us physically, but each of you are changed because of her presence,” she said. “Each of you have gained something by your connectivity to her and cherish that.”

The team was set to compete in an exhibition Friday night at UW-La Crosse. It wasn’t decided as of Tuesday night whether or not that meet will still happen. The regular season begins Jan. 8 in Alaska. The first home meet is scheduled for Jan. 23 against UW-Eau Claire.

“Our team is distraught and grieving and torn,” Rolbiecki said. “Our hearts go out to the family, and our wish is that they somehow can come to terms with this loss and recall the beauty of their wonderful daughter.

“I’m just grateful for the gift of her, that she came and passed through my doors and I got to know the wonderful person that she was. It was a true blessing for me to have those three years with her.”

The SUV was registered to Hauser, according to Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand.

He said Sunday evening that authorities had located the other two missing men’s vehicles and that the discovery suggested that both men were likely in the SUV when it went into the river.

The Sheriff’s Department responded to a call at 7:20 a.m. Sunday reporting car tracks and damage consistent with an accident at Riverview Drive near the intersection of Second and Huff streets, Brand said. Responders found a license plate, purse and other debris on the shore near a broken guardrail.

Brand said dive and rescue teams from Winona and La Crosse used an underwater camera to locate the vehicle and pulled it from the river about noon. The car was upright and its airbags had been deployed. Both bodies were found in the car, both seatbelted into seats.

Brand said the car was taken to a nearby heated garage for an investigation. The bodies were taken to Rochester for autopsies.

This isn’t the first time a car has gone into the river in the same area of Riverview Drive.

Saint Mary’s University students Anne Locher, Mary Clare Karnick and Susan Wall, and graduates Jason Collins and Timothy Stapleton drowned March 1, 1997, after Stapleton’s SUV was speeding north along the drizzle-covered Huff Street, missed the same curve onto Riverview Drive and plunged into the river, according to reports at the time. Toxicology results showed alcohol might have played a role in that crash.

Riverview Drive was closed Sunday from the Second and Huff streets intersection to where the road intersects with Prairie Island Road while rescue operations were underway.

The photo, taken by Winona State University student Brittany Knight, pictured a man hugging a dog tied outside the post office. Knight explained in the photo caption that the man had been inside waiting in line, and, when he saw the dog, he stepped out into the cold weather and hugged the dog to keep it warm.

“Most incredible man award,” the heading read.

The photo soon had more than 150,000 views and was splashed across the Internet. On Facebook viewers posted comments praising the man in the photo and condemning the dog’s owner.

(Admission: an early Daily News Facebook post Tuesday about the photo described the man as a “Good Samaritan,” which kept the condemnations coming.)

Knight, who admitted she didn’t know the full circumstances and simply wanted to photograph a guy she saw doing something nice, was surprised by the attention and comments her photo has received.

“I’ve been kind of heartbroken at the negative ones,” she said. “That part sucks.”

Most surprised was the dog’s owner, Winona resident Diane Kennedy.

Kennedy takes her now-famous yellow Lab, Tilly, with her to the post office every day, usually followed by a trip to the bank, where Tilly gets a treat. They take the trip all seasons, warm and cold.

“She loves the cold, loves the snow,” she said. “She’s very disappointed if she doesn’t go with me.”

Kennedy left Tilly outside Monday while she completed her errands as usual, and never saw the man holding her dog. When she came outside, she found him standing next to Tilly and petting her.

“She’s really friendly,” she said. “People come up and pet her a lot.”

Since Kennedy does not have a Facebook page, she only found out about the photo later, when her daughter stumbled across the picture on social media.

As for the comments, Kennedy’s family has instructed her not to read them.

Temperatures Monday were well below average, but Tilly wasn’t in any real danger, said Suzie Ehll at Winona’s Pet Medical Center, in part because dogs have a much higher tolerance to cold than humans do.

“Twenty minutes really isn’t that much for a dog,” she said.

Although every situation is different, depending on conditions and the breed, many dogs, including hunting breeds such as yellow Labs, are fine not just walking but living outdoors in winter conditions, as long as they have a dog house, fresh bedding and a heated water bowl, she said.

“A lot of people think that animals are children,” she said. “Dogs are not like people.”

A lot of people who saw the photo online, it seems, leaped instantly to making all kinds of other wrong assumptions.

“I’m sorry that they took it out of context,” Kennedy said. “She’s the most spoiled, loving and loved dog as can be.”

The Winona man, who was not able to be reached Tuesday, might have came out the best in the incident — after honestly misreading the situation, he got a hug from the loving dog. Or maybe it was Tilly herself who came out best — she doesn’t have a Facebook page.

After the incident at the post office, Kennedy said, she and her dog walked home.

Tilly, she said, stuck her face in the nearest snowbank at every opportunity.

“A lot of people think that animals are children. Dogs are not like people.” Suzie Ehll, Pet Medical Center

According to David Morrison, a member of the MPCA emergency response team sent out Tuesday, the spill was more pronounced along the tracks in Winona when he inspected rail crossings in the city Tuesday afternoon. Morrison said this was probably due to increased snow cover on the tracks, making the spill more visible, and the train traveling more slowly through the city, depositing more oil.

No major cleanup work was planned as of Tuesday, MPCA public information officer Catherine Rofshus said, due to the low volume of oil along the tracks, but could change if larger pools of oil are found or oil threatens any waters along the tracks.

Rofshus said MPCA staff were still examining critical areas such as river crossings Tuesday morning to assess any environmental damage or amounts of oil requiring cleanup. Another option the MPCA is looking into is dispatching staff when snow melt occurs to look for oil sheen and runoff.

“The main goal of the MPCA today is to protect any waters from contamination as the railroad tracks cross the Zumbro and Cannon rivers, as well as Wells Creek, along with close proximity to wetlands, including Weaver Bottoms,” Rofshus said in an email Tuesday morning. “Initial reconnaissance found only a spattering of oil across Wells Creek north of Lake City.”

Rofshus said the MPCA’s first goal with the incident is response, followed by an investigation. No fines or citations will be issued until that investigation is completed, she said.

State law requires any spill of five gallons or more of fuel or oil be reported to the duty officer at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Oil was spilled in 2009, when a leaking Union Pacific locomotive splattered 15 houses on Winona’s East End with oil before traveling on to Milwaukee. Union Pacific employees initially neglected to report the leak, coming forward several days later. The total amount of oil leaked was never disclosed, with Union Pacific officials calling it a small amount.

Other spills have been reported to the MPCA over the years, mostly involving small amounts of hydraulic fluid or fuel leaked or spilled from locomotives. The largest rail incident in recent memory was the 2008 Dresbach derailment that dropped more than two dozen cars into the Mississippi River, released 3,200 gallons of fuel and diesel, and more than 33,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer.

Ed Greenberg, spokesman with Canadian Pacific, said the company is cooperating with the MPCA investigation and is also doing one of their own into what caused the leak. The tanker car that had the malfunction has been pulled from service, Greenberg said, and if future clean up efforts are required, Canadian Pacific will cooperate fully.

“All indications are the product remained between the rails,” Greenberg said. “Any potential mitigation actions will take place if identified.”

A passerby reported a woman standing alone on the bridge on the river side of the walkway's protective barrier and looking at the river a few minutes before 8 a.m. When police officers arrived, she was gone from the bridge and was spotted shortly afterward in the river several hundred yards from the bridge, Brand said.

Several agencies, including the Winona County Sheriff's Department and dive/rescue team, responded to an area between the downtown levee and the St. Charles boat landing. The woman's body was recovered and brought to the levee less than an hour after she entered the river.

The woman had no identification on her, there was no vehicle near the scene, and responders found no other evidence at the scene, said Winona Police Department deputy chief Tom Williams.

Her body was transported to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for an autopsy, Brand said. Foul play is not suspected.

It's the second time in a little more than a week that someone has fallen from the bridge.

A Winona man was pulled from the Mississippi River uninjured early July 18. At 1:30 a.m., Winona police were alerted that a crisis hotline was handling a call from an individual who was considering jumping off a bridge. Officers were dispatched to the bridge and located a 34-year-old man who had climbed over the safety barrier and was standing over the river.

Police engaged the man in conversation while the dive/rescue team positioned themselves under the bridge. Police talked with the man for nearly three-and-a-half hours, when he then either fell or jumped from his perch and was immediately rescued.

The man, whose name is not being released because he is considered a victim, was coherent and conscious, and told police he was moving some things out of a house where he was staying into his car when he was approached from behind by a male who demanded his wallet, according to the Winona Police Department.

The male took the wallet out of his back pocket, and the man said he felt what he thought was a gun being pressed against his back. He spun around in an attempt to disarm the male, and in the scuffle, the small-caliber pistol discharged, he said.

The male took off running west on East Wabasha Street, taking the stolen wallet with him, according to the department. He was described as tall and wearing a blue, hooded sweatshirt.

The injured man was transported to Winona Health via ambulance, where he was treated for his injury, which was not believed to be life-threatening.

Winona deputy chief Tom Williams said the motive for the crime appears to be robbery, and the crime appears at this point to be random. The department is asking for the public’s help with any information leading to the suspect.

Williams said the public should feel safe. The last shooting in Winona that appeared to be random was in October 2010, when two women were shot in the 500 block of Center Street.

“It’s very, very, very rare to have something like this happen,” Williams said.

The fire was reported shortly after 11 a.m. by a delivery driver who emerged from the back of Bub’s Brewing Company to see smoke billowing from the building. The Winona Fire Department responded in a few minutes, and before noon there were an estimated 80 firefighters on scene from several area departments. By 1 p.m. the flames had largely been extinguished, though firefighters remained on scene for several hours to prevent flare-ups.

The cause of the fire was not known Thursday, said Winona fire captain Joel Corcoran, and will be investigated by the state fire marshal soon. It began and was contained in one of two connected KidSport buildings, which houses the facility's offices, kitchen, and living space. While no one was ready Thursday to declare the building a loss, the building's roof collapsed, the steel trusses melted and warped, and a portion of a wall fell, Corcoran said.

The second building, which contains the gymnasium and training area and is a later addition to what was formerly the Winona YWCA, did not catch fire and was protected by fire doors. It likely suffered smoke damage, though the extent was not immediately known because firefighters had not yet declared it safe to enter.

KidSport owner Rob Murray, who rushed to the scene after being alerted by a coach, said he was thankful that the participants in an early-morning practice Thursday at the facility were long gone by the time the fire was reported. He and his staff quickly called around to parents and children to confirm their safety.

"We’ve accounted for everyone we have,” he said.

The smoke from the fire carried through a large swath of downtown and caused the temporary closure of several nearby buildings, including Winona National Bank, the post office, the county courthouse, Infinity Wellness Center, Baby Bean, and others located in a multi-use building.

Some area businesses likely suffered smoke damage, though the extent of any damage wasn't clear Thursday.

Jen Zimmerman, owner of Options Plus Home Care in the office building on the corner of Fourth and Center streets, said she wasn’t concerned the building would catch fire at any point. But watching the smoke in the air above the block, she remarked that the smell will likely be a problem in the days ahead.

“That’s all plastic and Styrofoam and toxic things in there,” she said.

Curtis Rohrer, owner of the orthodontist office adjacent to KidSport, said he and his staff fled the building after hearing sirens and seeing smoke. In one case, he said, an employee had to stop work on a patient and the two left together.

Diane and Bob Larson were on their way to Midtown Foods to buy groceries when they encountered the fire.

"It was just pitch-black at first," Diane Larson said.

Several area businesses and churches, including Midtown Foods, First Congregational Church, Hy-Vee and the Red Cross, offered assistance at and near the scene by providing gathering spaces and refreshments for those affected and for firefighters from St. Charles, Goodview and other area departments.

Community leaders converged on the scene as they learned of the blaze, some with memories fresh in their minds of the downtown fire Sept. 13, 2013 just two blocks away at Third and Center streets. That fire destroyed two buildings, the Winona Islamic Center and the Brosnahan Law Firm, and so severely damaged the building that houses Blooming Grounds that the coffee shop did not re-open for several months.

Winona Mayor Mark Peterson “bolted” out of the Winona County Historical Society building when he heard about the fire, he said, and as the scene calmed he and society staff welcomed the temporarily dislocated Winona National Bank employees inside with offers of pizza.

As Winona Area Chamber of Commerce President Della Schmidt watched the fire, she said she hopes to help bring together affected business owners, as well as talk about disaster plans to make sure they’re prepared. If any businesses are displaced, the Chamber can help with relocation efforts, she said.

“Our role is going to be about helping businesses recover,” she said.

David Bittner, coordinator for the Chamber's Main Street program, agreed.

"Our first priority is that the nearby businesses have everything they need to at least be okay,” he said.

Behind the Exchange Building on Fourth Street, Cody Smoltz and Jerry Kautz, dusty from their repair work on the Blooming Grounds building, watched the blaze Thursday morning as a haze of smoke filled the area.

They’ve spent weeks repairing the bricks on the east side of that building, since fire burns mortar and can disintegrate brick. Kautz said when he removes a damaged brick, he can sometimes smell the odor  of year-old smoke still clinging to the brick.

Watching the flames, Kautz mused that perhaps the brick at KidSport will be saved.

Train workers had seen Wozney standing near the tracks as the southbound train approached, and as the train grew near he stepped into the middle of the tracks and sat with his back to the locomotive, the department said. The train operator was unable to stop in time.

There are no signs of foul play, the department said.

It won’t need a driver, will be electrically powered and will recycle the ice collected by melting it in the machine and using the water to resurface the hockey rink. His invention isn’t on the market yet, though a prototype has been enough to generate a phone call from the reality television show “Shark Tank,” which highlights inventors and entrepreneurs hoping to make it big.

“It’s really doing the same thing (as a Zamboni),” Van Eijl said as he stood next to his prototype on a recent day, referring to the most well-known of the brands of ice-resurfacing machines. “You’re just basically making it eight times as efficient.”

The 1940s-era machine has been an icon in hockey, as it putters around the arena between games and periods to smooth the ice for players. And for the most part, it’s remained unchanged, Van Eijl said. Most run on gas or propane — although newer ones are electric — and are about the size of a truck. Each requires a driver, and use quite a bit of water.

Van Eijl said he’s had engineers, robotics companies, an NHL team, and others check out the machine and no one has been able to poke a hole in the idea. One engineer spent five hours “trying to tear it apart” but couldn’t, he said.

“I’m very confident in it,” said engineer Kevin Christ, who helped design the machine. “Quicker. Faster. Cheaper.”

Van Eijl estimates it could save hockey rinks significant amounts of money each year, in part because it could make scheduling rink time more efficient. A traditional machine is typically used between periods and games, meaning multiple 10 to 15-minute increments throughout each event. If rinks could get those minutes back, they could possibly squeeze in another game to bring extra revenue. That, and recycling the water is a cost bonus, too.

Still, Van Eijl said, he and his team is realistic about the challenges they’ll face.

“The biggest challenge to the Ice Jet is the tradition of the ice resurfacing machine,” Van Eijl wrote in his business plan. “The machine has been a staple of the game of hockey for over 60 years.”

But, as Christ put it, “Nostalgia only goes so far before cost savings take over.”

“This is the new generation,” Van Eijl said as he stood next to his invention during a recent test run. “Looking at history here.”

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story and a photo caption both exclusively referred to ice-resurfacing machines as Zambonis. The story has been updated to make it clear that while the brand is well-known, there are several competing companies who make such machines.

Norovirus, a highly-contagious illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea, was confirmed in people who ate at the Ground Round restaurant in Winona, Schultz said. He pointed out that the virus is not linked to a single event or location and is being transmitted in the community, so the number of people sickened will likely increase.

When Ground Round was informed of the presence of the virus, they closed voluntarily so they could deep-clean the facility, Schultz said.

Ground Round owner Tim Beier said the restaurant voluntarily closed to take extra precautionary measures for the safety of employees and guests. It has not yet reopened but plans to soon.

“We have been in 100 percent full cooperation with the health department,” Beier said.

Schultz said stopping the community spread of the pathogen depends on individual precautions, and he encouraged people to wash their hands often, stay at home if they’re sick, and wait 24 hours after symptoms subside before returning to work or school.

There are about 40 outbreaks of foodborne illness in Minnesota each year, and around 60 percent of them are norovirus, Schultz said. In Minnesota, norovirus typically infects more people in the fall and winter and tapers off in the spring.

His high school football coach, Curtis Tate, said the family was told Afryl died of cardiac arrest.

“He had a medical condition that no one knew about,” Tate said. “He had an enlarged heart, but it was undetected.”

The workout was held under the supervision of the school’s strength and conditioning staff, but Tate said the family doesn’t believe WSU did anything wrong.

Offseason conditioning programs are common in collegiate sports at every level. In Division I, the workouts are mandatory. In Division II, of which Winona State is a member, workouts are voluntary.

WSU assistant football coach Cameron Keller said the players can lift three times a week and run three times a week under the supervision of trained, licensed professionals. Monday’s workout began at 7:30 p.m., and while temperatures were warm, heat is not believed to have been a factor, Tate said.

The players, many of whom sent out messages of sorrow on social media, are taking the loss hard, Keller said.

“He was someone our guys were starting to really look up to,” Keller said. “He had a big impact in the short time he was here, just in kind of how to lead your life.”

Afryl, from Skokie, Ill., played in one game in three years at Illinois. He graduated early with a degree in political science and was getting a second degree at Winona State to become a special-education teacher.

“Every opportunity to talk with kids, or to visit kids in the hospital, he did it,” said Tate, who coached Afryl at Niles West High School. “Today’s athletes, they always seem to want something in return. He never looked at it that way.”

In a statement released by the school, WSU head football coach Tom Sawyer said Afryl made an immediate impact in his short time on campus.

“He showed a lot of people what a great fit he was going to be not only for our football program but for our campus as well,” Sawyer said in the statement. “He did an excellent job as a counselor during our team camps, and his leadership qualities and maturity were a valuable asset to our successful camps.

“He will be sorely missed.”

Sawyer was returning from vacation in Florida and did not return a message seeking comment. Keller met with members of the team Monday night and Tuesday morning. The entire team was expected to meet Tuesday afternoon.

None of the players were made available for comment.

“There’s still a lot of shock,” Keller said. “It’s a somber group. They are taking it pretty hard.”

Sue Afryl, Shawn’s mother, started a fundraising website (gofundme.com/bxi9v0) to help pay for funeral costs. As of late Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $17,000 of its $20,000 goal. Some of the donations were for $56 — Afryn’s football number at Illinois.

“My heart is aching,” Sue Afryl wrote. “He had the biggest heart in the world, and was a leader with kindness of soul. He was, and is, my hero.”

“He was someone our guys were starting to really look up to. He had a big impact in the short time he was here, just in kind of how to lead your life.” Cameron Keller, WSU assistant football coach

The car’s driver, Carissa M. Drackley, 17, along with one passenger, Abbe C. Partington, 17, both suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening and were taken by ambulance to Winona Health, according to the Patrol. A second passenger, Kaitlin A. Ingle, 16, suffered serious injuries and had to be extricated from the vehicle; she was taken to Winona Health and then airlifted by helicopter to Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse, Wis., according to the Patrol and scanner reports.

The Orrin Street intersection, just west of the Gilmore Avenue intersection, is controlled by stop signs on Orrin Street with no traffic signals on Hwy. 61. The crash happened just before dusk on a wet roadway. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, the Patrol said. Walter was not injured, according to the Patrol.

The Winona Area Ambulance Service and the Winona Fire Department assisted at the scene.

The cause of death was unknown Monday morning, though Brand said he does not believe the man was shot. The time of death was also unknown, but Brand said there were indications that the incident occurred early Sunday, given the state of the man’s body and the fact that the blood had dried.

According to Brand, the man was watching the house for the owners, and was discovered when they returned home on Sunday.

The sheriff’s department has identified the man, but Brand said he is waiting to release that detail until the family had been notified.

The investigation is ongoing, with the man’s body sent to Rochester for an autopsy. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting.

Deputies found Ellenbecker facedown on the kitchen floor, unconscious but breathing, Sheriff Dave Brand said. He was transported to a hospital by helicopter but died at 1:25 p.m. Sunday at Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse without regaining consciousness.

A 64-year-old Winona man visiting Ellenbecker called 911 to report the incident, Brand said. He described the man as a friend of Ellenbecker and as a “person of interest” in the ongoing investigation, but said he had not been arrested.

Brand said Ellenbecker had been preparing lunch for expected guests when he was shot. There were no signs of a struggle. A .22 caliber revolver belonging to Ellenbecker and believed to be the weapon that fired the fatal bullet was recovered at the scene. An autopsy was completed Monday afternoon but offered no new public details.

Ellenbecker was a professor in the WSU sociology and criminal justice departments at from 1976 to 2000. He also worked for the county court system, helped start group homes for at-risk youth in Winona, cared for dependent adults, and was a regular volunteer at the First Congregational Church and other organizations.

There weren’t many people around Winona whose lives Ellenbecker didn’t affect in some way, family and friends said Monday.

“He gets along with everybody,” said his daughter, Autumn McNally. “He was such a memorable man. He always made an impression on people.”

Coworkers at WSU said he had a passion for his students, and was one of the most beloved professors in his department. After Ellenbecker moved away from Winona for a time after his retirement in 2000, department chairman Mark Norman hired him back as an instructor for the 2012-13 school year because of that dedication to his students.

“He really cared deeply about students,” Norman said. “He wanted to make sure they were successful inside and outside of the classroom.”

Those who knew him also talked about his love of animals, especially dogs and horses. McNally, who grew up with horses, recalled how her father once gave her daughter — his granddaughter — a pony as a present. She said her father also grew up with horses and loved to ride until an accident stole that ability from him more than a decade ago.

“He was a very outdoorsy kind of guy,” Norman said. “He was an animal person and just loved his horses.”

Before he started teaching at WSU, Ellenbecker worked in the county court system as a probation officer. After he became a professor he continued to work with offenders, starting two group homes focused on youth over the years, including the Main House. He also worked with dependent adults, providing a home and foster care over the years.

Ellenbecker also helped out and volunteered in the community in other ways, such as cooking for First Congregational’s Souper Thursday.

In everything he did, McNally said, her father always wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.

“He had a wonderful generosity,” she said. “He always enjoyed what he did, and we would always run into people whose lives he had influenced or changed.”’

Because of that generosity, those close to him said, the incident has shocked them all the more. For many it hadn’t set in yet Monday, and family and friends said they were taking things day by day.

Even in death, Mickey’s generosity didn’t end. McNally said her father was an organ donor, and that in death, as in life, he was able to give another person a second chance.

“He was a very caring man,” she said. “He would have been excited that they were able to find a match for him.”

“He had a wonderful generosity. He always enjoyed what he did, and we would always run into people whose lives he had influenced or changed.” Autumn McNally, daughter

When responders arrived, they found an empty vehicle and a set of footprints heading out to open water, but no footprints heading back.

After hours of searching, first in clear weather and then amid sleet and snow, responders including the Winona County Dive and Rescue Team found the woman’s body around 3:30 p.m. about 75 feet downriver from where the footprints trailed off.

The woman has been identified and her name will be released today, Bartsh said. He said the incident is under investigation, but there’s believed to be no foul play.

Other responders included the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Department and the city of Wabasha Police Department.