GOVERNMENT

In another step toward a new joint law enforcement center downtown, the Winona City Council approved 165 West Second Street as the site for the next phase of design work on Monday. City Manager Chad Ubl said city staff will continue working with the state to release funding for the project, as well as reconvene the city-county task force to narrow the scope of the project before the city enters an agreement with architects for more detailed design work in the coming months.

WINONA, MN – Friends, it’s that time of year again when we dust off our stars and stripes, fire up the grill, and celebrate the birth of our great nation. Here in the heartland, Independence Day isn’t just a holiday – it’s a way of life. We are the heart of America, after all. I’m firing up the ol’ grill at home here in Winona, Minnesota as I type this to you.

WINONA, Minn. – When Gene Pelowski was first elected in 1986, he was at a retreat for freshmen state legislators. Among speakers was a veteran Minneapolis Star Tribune political reporter who recommended keeping a daily journal for, if nothing else, helping family see what it’s like being a state tepresentative. Pelowski, age 34, liked the idea. He bought his first pre-bound Stanley journal, the classic product for journaling. Now after 39 years in the Legislature, Pelowski has 7,000 pages in 30 Stanley volumes. He’s carried them into every committee hearing while a state representative from Winona, albeit supplemented in the 21st century by an iPad. The collection has turned into more than a family artifact. The journals have been used as a reliable contemporaneous source for legal research on how legislation was developed, passed or rejected. They’re more, much more, than colorless official minutes. Twice the Legislature’s legal research office has drawn on Pelowski’s record to interpret legislative intent when a bill was first created. What to do with the journals now that he’s retiring? Pelowski is taking pleasure in reviewing his chronicles and reflecting on his record of public service. About what else to do, he’s unsure and in no rush to decide: “There are some things in those journals that people don’t need to read for a while,” he said.”We can let them calm down a little bit before people take a look at it.”

Audio recordings of Cochrane-Fountain City (C-FC) School Board meetings are now available on the district’s website for the public to access and stay up to date with the board’s actions. A few district leaders said it was meant to bring more transparency to the board’s work. The...

The Lewiston-Altura (L-A) School District’s potential $20 million referendum this fall would include the creation of secure school entrances and parking lot safety improvements, as well as gym upgrades. The L-A School Board is expected to vote this month on whether to hold the referendum this November. After a...

WINONA, Minn. – The Minnesota Hospital Association has singled out Winona Health for innovation with artificial intelligence and robotics to enhance workforce efficiency, sanitation practices and infection control. In announcing the Environmental Services Award, the association noted Winona Health’s 2020 response to the CoVid pandemic. The response included:

The Coast Guard has closed a couple parts of the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin. The Coast Guard yesterday said it’s closed Pools 5A and 6 running from Whitman, Minnesota down to Trempealeau. Coast Guard commanders say the recent rains have swollen the Mississippi, which has made it dangerous for people and their boats. Another section of the river in Iowa has also been closed because of high water.