WINONA, Minn., April 20, 2001 -- Installing Winona State's new boilers wasn't as expensive as expected, so, with the leftover money, the university's decripit Minne classroom building will get a summer makeover. The campus physical plant manager, Dick Lande, said that competitive bidding on the boilers loosened up $600,000 from the $6.1 million for boiler project. To accommodate the Minne project, summer classes have been moved elsewhere. The focus, said Lande, will be six air handlers that have never adequately ventilated the bulding. People call Minne an "ill building" because mold in the vents has caused respiratory problems for years. Money to fix the problem has been sought since 1994, Lande said. About the respiratory problems Lande said: "Nobody knows when it will get worse, and we can't take that chance." Over the years many profs have insisted on their offices being moved elsewhere. Students are less affected, being in the building usually only 50 minutes at a time for lectures. Falstead & Barrett Associates will be replace air handlers in Phase One of the project. In the summer of 2002, Lande hopes to gut the building and replace walls, ceilings and lighting. Minne's thin walls, some on movable tracks, have been an acoustic problem for students and profs for years.

Where did the Minne fix-up money come from? The 2000 Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement Act, which fund projects at state campuses, designated $6.1 million for three replacement boilers at Winona State. Contractors that bid for the project were especially eager, and the low bid came in at $5.5 million. Under the Preservation and Replacement Act, the $600,000 excess funds need not be returned to the state but can be used to update other campus facilities.