NEWS
July 1-5
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| 2001 NEWS July 1-5 |
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Writer: Stats not issue in porn fightWINONA, Minn., July 5, 2001 -- Statistics are not the issue in deciding whether the city should regulate sexually oriented businesses, a member of the STOP anti-porn wrote on the Daily News editorial page. "A good statistician could argue either side," said Joe Heer. "That's not what Winona's ordinance is about. It's about setting standards for Winona and keeping Winona the kind of town we want it to be." At the same time, Heer said a 1989 state attorney general's report concluded that a correlation exists between businesses and increases in assault, burglary, rape and robbery. Heer, an engineer by training, raised the specter of Winona becoming a smut haven unless the city adopts a strong anti-porn ordinance: "Will visitors to Winona be greeted by billboards graphically advertising adult books and videos?" R.I.P.: Della Harriet LawstonLANESBORO, Minn., July 4, 2001 -- A 1929 graduate of Winona Normal School who later earned a degree from the successor Winona State College, Della Lawstn, died at a nursing home. She was 93. Della Lawston first taught in rural Fillmore County. After her degree in 1963, she taught in Canton, Minn. WSU tuition up 9.1 percent in state plan
New SMU dorm "pre-tested" during summerWINONA, Minn., July 2, 2001 -- Church conferees were the inaugural residents of the new Hillside dorm overlooking Gilmore Creek at Saint Mary's University. This fall 100 students will move into the $4.5 million facility. A diocesan conference used some of the conference facilities in the dorm, which includes five conference rooms. The dorm has 50 two-student suites, each with its own bathroom, television and refrigerator. Among living-area features: Central meeting areas, fireplaces, two laundry rooms and two kitchens. College students building credit-card debtWASHINGTON, July 2, 2001 -- The average credit-card balance carried by college students rose to $2,748 in the year 2000, the agency Nellie Mae reported. That's 42.6 percent more than in 1998. The percentage of students with credits cards grew from 67 percent to 78 percent.
Whetstone: In Rochester less means moreWINONA, Minn., July 2, 2001 -- Addressing rumors that Winona State is pulling out of Rochester, the university's technology vice president, Joe Whetstone, issued a statement that said a staff reduction is actually will enhance services. In April Whetsone laid off Michael Matthews, the university's television technician for Rochester classes. In his lengthy statement addressing the layoff, Whetstone said:
Top cop: Reduce number of liquor permitsWINONA, Minn., July 2, 2001 -- The City of Winona has escalated its war against underage boozing, but with 40 convictions a month, an all-time high, nothing seems to be working. Police Chief Frank Pomeroy says the next step is to cut down the number of city-issued liquor licenses. Would that dry the flow? Here's what hasn't seemed to have made an impact:
Talk about extra innings: Game goes 100WINONA, Minn., July 1, 2001 -- Three dozen Winona State University students played a marathon 100-inning baseball game to raise money for the family of 6-year-old leukemia victim Holly Bambenek. Holly and her parents watched the game at the university's Maxwell Field. The game was the brainstorm of prof Melanie Reap, who teaches human relations. Each player had solicited pledges. WSU scholarship recognizes fallen trooperWINONA, Minn., July 1, 2001 -- A state trooper killed in a traffic accident in August, Ted Foss, is honored in an endowed scholarship established for juniors and seniors studying criminal justice and law enforcement at Winona State University. Foss' widow Andrea, who is a Winona deputy police chief, set up the fund. She said she would like her husband remembered with the following quote: "In my memory do an act of kindness each day; it is lighting a candle in a world of darkness." KQAL chief: Streaming fees unfairWINONA, Minn., July 1, 2001 -- A Winona State University broadcast prof, Ajt Daniel, called the new rule for radio stations to pay royalty fees for streaming their music programs on the web unfair. Daniel said the requirement means that music owners can double-dip. "Every radio station, even our KQAL, pays dues for the broadcasting of artists to BMI, SESC, and ASCAP," said Daniel. "Once a radio station does that they should be free to broadcast on the web." Daniel is the faculty manager at KQ, a lab operated by the Winona State masscom department. Don't get caught saying "physical plant"WINONA, Minn., July 1, 2001 -- When somebody used to say "physical plant," everybody at Winona State knew it was a reference to campus buildings and grounds. But there was an imprecision to the term. Sometimes it meant the buildings that house the maintenance offices, sometimes it meant the staff, sometimes something else. Now the people who keep rewriting campus lingo are trying to clear up any confusion with some new labels. Nancy Amann, a veteran at the Physcial Plant, err, at the Service Building, offered this new glossary: Downtown? Hardly anybody seems to careWINONA, Minn., July 1, 2001 -- The Downtown Business Association shuttered its doors, the victim of apathy. Sandy Olson, part-time director, said only two of 52 members showed for the last meeting. She resigned. The association was formed to promote downtown activities. Olson herself had crusaded against the clutter and trash left overnight by college revelers in the bar district.
Boozing crackdowns failing: What next?WINONA, Minn, July 2, 2001 -- If underage boozing convictions are any indicator, the deaths of five Saint Mary's University students who drove into the Mississippi River after bar hopping five years ago left little impression. In the four years after the tragedy, underage drinking convictions in Winona County have increased more than 188 percent. So far this school year, convictions have been coming at almost 40 a month. The problem, as Police Chief Frank Pomeroy sees it, is too many booze outlets. The city, population roughly 25,000, has businesses that hold, altogether, 77 liquor licenses. Of those businesses, 14 own more than one type of license -- 23 are bars and 17 are restaurants. "I've always taken the contention that a lot of liquor licenses leads to underage drinking," said Pomeroy. "ItŐs hard to get a profit with this number of licenses unless they serve underage drinkers."
Pomeroy believes that comparable towns have a more reasonable number. Hastings, Minn., for instance, has 36 liquor licenses. Red Wing, Minn., has 29.
Being a college town, with a lot of 18-year-olds on their own for the first time, constitutes a ready market for illegal consuption, Pomeroy said. Mankato, home of a Minnesota State University campus, has a similar problem, he said.
Tradition is a factor too. Winona has a history of underage drinking. At one point Winona State was seen as a party school. The university-sponsored Springfest, an annual lakeside concert gained dubious repute as a free-for-all bash and attracted thousands of revelers from the whole Upper Midwest. Seven years ago, the City Council refused to issue license for another Springfest. "It wasn't conducive to the learning environment for colleges and universities," said Pomeroy.
For a period, youthful boozing was legal in Minnesota for kids as young as 18 being able to buy alcohol legally. The Legislature boosted the age limit to 19, but still the federal government felt there were too many highways deaths from drinking and driving, so the legal drinking age went 21.
The Saint Mary's drownings showed that "alcohol is not a victimless crime," said Pomeroy. "You can lose your life due to drinking."
Pomeroy has a strong stance against underage drinking. Bar busts, stings and walk-throughs, all netting underage arrests, have cut crime in Winona by more than 40 percent in recent years, he said. Pomeroy believes that vandalism and date-rape are offshoots of underage drinking.
In one bust in October, the city's biggest drinkery, Chuckers, an easy walk from Winona State, led to 46 minors being arrested. Also, Chuckers lost it license for three months.
What's next? Last year the City Council passed two ordinances aimed aty underage drinking. A so-called "keg law" limits the number of kegs per household to one. Anybody who wants more than one keg needs a city permit. Pomeroy believes the ordinance will cut into house parties sponsored by entrepreneurial, usually over-21 students who charge minors for bottomless cups. Now, if a house is found with more than one keg, the cops can seize the kegs and stop the party. Under another new ordinance, the city holds landlords responsible for their tenants' noise violations. After three violations in a year, the landlord loses a city-required rental license and the tenants must be evicted. One party house was shut down last winter. Pomeroy championed bypth the Keg Law and the tenant noise ordinance. Now he's working to get City Council to cut down the number of liquor licenses. Current practice allows anyone to get a license by applying and passing a background check. In theory, the marketplace regulates the number of booze oulets. But with the market including hundreds of thirsty 18-year-olds, the theory doesn't work. The result is a glutted market in which some bars pander to 18-year-olds to survive financially. Some cities, Pomeroy notes, have put a moratorium on the number of liquor licenses they grant. He points to La Crosse, Wis., a college town downriver.
Whetstone: Trimmer budget means more serviceWINONA, Minn., July 2, 2001 -- This is a letter from Joe Whetstone, technology vice president at Winona State University, explaining his decision to eliminate the university's television technician position at the Rochester campus: Dear faculty and staff: We are living through a period of rapid change and rising expectations for technology at Winona State University. As recently as three or four years ago, we could not have imagined the explosive growth that has occurred in our use of laptop computers, ITV, LCD projectors, Smart Boards, and other tools for teaching. Fortunately, we were smart enough to know that we would need to make investments in our network and server infrastructure, as well as our support personnel. However, we could not have anticipated the changes that have actually taken place. To put it simply, our talented faculty and staff have kept raising the bar, increasing their expectations while we have raced to keep up. It has been, and continues to be, an exciting challenge. We are now trying to make some fundamental changes in the way we provide support for technology, particularly the services that affect faculty in the classroom. We believe that it should be possible to redeploy staff, redefine duties, and build upon partnership agreements in such a way that we can provide fast, reliable services for the future for the benefit of student learning and our faculty. As one example, we have long recognized the need to improve support for Interactive Television (ITV), a cornerstone of our distance education efforts. The TelePro initiative, which will bring major improvements in technology at UCR, will ease some of our growth pains with ITV, but we need to consider changes in staffing and procedures too. After studying the current ITV workflow process, both in Rochester and Winona, we have determined that we can enhance service by making the following changes: With this plan in place, Information Technology Services (ITS) will be able to provide expanded service, extended hours, and reliable quality. Expectations will continue to grow, of course, but we are confident that we will be able to keep pace without overstretching our resources. We appreciate your understanding and continued support, and your dedication to high-quality teaching and learning.
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CAMPUS SALARIESLouis DeThomasis Darrell Krueger Jim Johnson
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