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4 days ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY After much community pushback, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is no longer planning to close Highway 35 and detour traffic between Treampealeau and Holmen to reconstruct three bridges. Instead, WisDOT is now planning to build temporary bridges to keep traffic flowing during construction. WisDOT is planning a public meeting later this month to gather more community feedback.
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4 days ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Last week, the Winona City Council toured Winona to hear about project updates and the needs of various facilities including City Hall, the municipal airport, the Winona Public Library, public safety facilities, the Bob Welch Aquatic Center, and more. This is the City Council’s first tour in more than a decade and the first step of the city’s yearly budget process as it begins to review what will be included in next year’s budget.
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1 week ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Matthew Baumgartner was just four-and-a-half years old when he raced in his first triathlon. His mother lied about his age to get him into Trinona, and after his first year, he was hooked. Baumgartner fell in love with the sport and the challenge and has been racing ever since. Now 16, Baumgartner is preparing for his first bid at the Olympic course – nearly one mile of swimming, 25 miles of biking, and six miles of running.
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1 week ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Like Greek poets of old, for years, Winona has honored artists and given them a platform by naming them poets laureate or creative laureates. However, it has been a year and a half since Winona’s Creative Laureate Sarah Johnson concluded her tenure in that role, and no new laureate has been selected since.
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1 week ago | 
winonapost.com | Chris Rogers |Gabriel Hathaway
by CHRIS ROGERS and GABRIEL HATHAWAYBetter together — that’s the premise of the city of Winona and Winona County’s plans for a new joint police station for the Winona Police Department (WPD) and Winona County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO). A joint facility may offer a better bang for the buck in construction, a better chance of winning state funding, and maybe better ways of sharing space and streamlining operations, too, city and county officials have said.
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1 week ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY The city of Winona’s street projects are focused on the West End this year as it finishes up a state aid project on West Broadway Street and uses its annual street funds to reconstruct Sioux, Summit, and Bierce streets. Winona Public Works Director Brian DeFrang said next year’s state aid street project will be on Third Street, potentially from Mankato Avenue to Hamilton Street.
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2 weeks ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Winona County is on the front lines of Minnesota’s efforts to combat spongy moths, an invasive caterpillar that defoliates forests. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) was planning to treat Winona’s Prairie Island, but federal funding fell through and MDA instead issued an emergency quarantine in the area until next summer.
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2 weeks ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY On Monday, the Winona City Council upheld the permit for an Airbnb near Lake Park, which neighbors were concerned will negatively affect neighborhood cohesion. The Winona Planning Commission previously approved the permit, but concerned neighbors appealed to the City Council hoping it would overrule the earlier decision and deny the short-term rental application. The Planning Commission also denied another earlier application for an Airbnb nearby on the same block.
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2 weeks ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Many of the mature trees in Winona’s parks and boulevards are ashes and are vulnerable to emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive insect that has been killing many of the trees for more than a decade. The city of Winona, with help from citizens, have been treating ash trees, but they require regular reapplications and funding can be an issue. This summer, the city is using the remainder of a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant to treat at least 275 ash trees for EAB.
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2 weeks ago | 
winonapost.com | Gabriel Hathaway
by GABRIEL HATHAWAY Last Monday, the Winona City Council reviewed proposed changes to rules for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or mother-in-law suites and garage apartments, that would make them easier to develop and help address Winona’s housing challenges. Some City Council members suggested further removing restrictions to promote housing development, while another City Council member voiced concern about ADUs exacerbating density issues around the Winona State University campus.
