2004 NEWS March 25-31

VISITOMETER

LATEST NEWS BOOZE BUS Top cop: Rowdiness imperils Booze Bus WINONA, March 31, 2004 -- If the Booze Buses cannot transport students and drivers safely, they will be stopped, said Police chief Frank Pomeroy after a riotous incident Saturday when drunk students rocked one bus and broke a window. Nobody was injured, as far as is known. Not until thedriver had dropped off his last passenger did he discover the amage. Said Pomeroy: "If people are bold enough to continue this behavior on the bus, then we will look into suspension." Effective immediately, he said, if there is an incident on the bus, the driver will pull over, call dispatch, and dispatch will send out an officer immediately to make arrests. According to Pomeroy, administrators at St. Mary's and Winona State universities have been notified. Reporters: Colleen Harer and Sarah Lang Background: Revelers bust bus window Almanac: Booze Bus funding After years of townspeople complaints about noisy college students disrupting neighbor- hoods on heavy bar nights, the city and Winona State and St. Mary's started the Booze Bus. Euphe- mistically called Safe Rider, the bus is a free service between the campuses and downtown bars. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE CAMPUS FLAGS WSU prez: City calls shots on banners WINONA, Minn., March 31, 2004 -- The City Council has the right to remove any Winona State banners hanging on the city's property, university President Darrell Krueger said, reflecting on the now-past threat of some Council members to rip down the banners if the university didn't put flags in all 120 campus classrooms. "They can remove them if they want," Krueger said, but added: "They don't have a say on what happens on campus." For several years the university has had city permission for banners to be posted on light posts along the Huff Street causeway to the campus and downtown area. There are similar banners on campus. Krueger said he was pleased that the crisis over the banners has simmered down. Had it not, he said, it would not have changed "the basic feeling that the city and the university work well together." Reporter: Amy Baumgart Background: In showdown, city blinks Background: Krueger wants Somsen flags KRUEGER WSU president TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE UPCOMING CAMPUS EVENTS AND SCHEDULES ST. MARY'S SOUTHEAST TECH WINONA STATE TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU sophs flashed on way to dorm WINONA, Minn., March 31, 2004 -- Police arrested a Wisconsin man Tuesday after two Winona State University women, walking home to the East Lake dorm, got flashed. Sophomore Emily Schmalz said she and a friend were approached on Franklin Street between Howard and Mark about 1:45 p.m. by a bearded man in a blue jacket and dark jeans, casually exposing himself. Appalled, the women called the police on a cell phone. "The man began to run away as soon as he heard us calling the police," said Schmalz. The police met the women at East Lake while cops in a second squad car, acting on a tip about a suspicious man running towards a pickup truck, located the suspect, said Schmalz. "Then we had to drive in a squad car past the man being questioned by the other police officers, and we identified him as the correct suspect," Schmalz said. The man was then handcuffed and taken in, she said. Reporter: Heather Howard TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS Asian-Indian seeks Senate re-election WINONA, Minn., March 30, 2004 -- With his ethnic background of Asian and Indian, Sachin V. Padhye believes he will be be able to offer a different point of view to the Winona State Univerity Student Senate. Padhye, a senior studying physics and electronics, is seeing re-election to the Senate, although this time for one of new science seats. "As an international student I have a complete diverse view on every question or issue," he said. "I have also worked on student committees back home and in college." About issues, Padhye called for higher wages for student jobs to help students keep up with tuition. Also, he said: "We also need more interaction and a friendly environment between American and international students." Padyher said he would work with the Senate's Cultural Diversity Committee, Padhye said. Reporter: Katie Stater Background: The ballot TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS I was elected last fall as a freshmen senator, and now I am currently running for re-election as a Sophomore Senator. Over the past year I have worked extremely hard to be the voice of the students and I hope to continue to do so as sophomore senator. I have dedicated my time and effort to the students of WSU by serving as Vice-chair of Student Services, where our main charge is to improve and evaluate services offered to you as students; I have also worked along side the Student Activity Fund Committee (SAFC), and with the Constitution Committee as their recorder. I serve on All-university committees and a New University Study Group, working to better our stay at Winona State. Crucial decisions that affect not only us as students but the future of WSU have been made this year and will continue to be made. I have been able to dedicate a lot of my time and effort toward Senate in the past year, and I hope to continue to do so if re-elected. I hope to continue to be an advocate for the students on all levels including; campus, MSUSA, and at the state and federal government. As a student leader, I will remain accessible to you as students, open to opinions and suggestions, and dedicated to our student body. CAITLIN POWERS Candidate for sophomore senator CANDI- DATE FORUM A series of invited candidate statements presented unedited Other candidates TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE CAMPUS FLAGS Krueger wants Somsen flag display SOMSEN Portal now flagless WINONA, Minn., March 31, 2004 -- President Darrell Krueger at Winona State University said that he is thinking about displaying a U.S. flag prominently in front of Somsen Hall, a central building on campus that houses administrative offices and whose tenants include the College of Business. Krueger has promised to respond on April 1 to recommendations of a campuswide task force for more campus flags, but in an interview on Wednesday Krueger said he would like the Somen display, as well as flags at campus entrances. These would all be consistent with task force recommendations. Krueger also said he would like flags flown on certain holidays. There once were U.S. and Minnesota flags on rooftop standards at Somsen, but they were removed several years ago to prevent lightning strikes. Reporter: Amy Baumgart Background: Flags carry hefty price tag Background: Task force report TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU SECURITY REPORT MARCH 31, 2004 A fire alarm activated at 2 p.m. in the science building, It was a false alarm. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS Reis: Business students need a voice WINONA, Minn., March 31, 2004 -- A Winona State University Student Senate candidate said she won't make promises he cannot keep. "I joined the Senate last spring to represent the underrepresented," said sophomore Mick Reis on why he's running for the College of Business senator position. "The College of Business has been underrepresented this past year," said Reis. "I want to be a resource for the College of Business," Reis said. "I will listen to the Business clubs, attend meetings, answer questions, even help to prepare a budget if there is a need." Reis, a political science major with a business administration minor, served this spring as a senator at-large, as a representative of the whole campus. MORE REIS Senate candidate from business Reis calls himself conservative about student tuition. "I will not compromise students' money," said Reis. He attended Lobby Day at the Minnesota Capitol this spring. "You find out who is really fighting for you, and who is not," said Reis. MORE At Winona State, she helped start the Gays Lesbians Bisexuals Transgenders Allies Partnership, which promotes gay rights awareness. Now he's president. The partnership is organizing a Day of Silence on April 21. "We plan be intentionally silent because we are a group who has been repressed and silenced," said Reis. He plans to start an online campus satirical newspaper. "I am very serious about student government, but I think we can get out of hand with the all the politics," said Reis. Winona State's Student Senate will be voting this Wednesday on whether the newspaper meets campus guidelines. In another project, Reis said she will be creating a web site for campus Democrats. MORE Recently he has also served on the flag task force committee at Winona State, appointed by Student Senate President Michel Hofland, to develop recommendations on installing more U.S. flags on campus. "It doesn't matter what I personally feel about the issue, I represented the students," said Reis when asked about her stance about the flags. "The students I talked to were split 50-50, so I worked to make a compromise for both sides." Reis and speech prof Kelly Herold drafted the flag task force's recommendation to university President Darrell Krueger. Reporter: Amber Dulek Background: The ballot TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS The most experience, the best ideas, the most qualified. Having served on the Winona State Student Senate this year and last, I have gained an in-depth knowledge of how to best lead our student representatives, as well as establish working relationships with Faculty members and Administrators. Working as a part of a university team has taught me the benefits of working with the campus community on important issues, as opposed to creating conflict. I served first as a senator, and this past year as the Academic Affairs chair. As a senator, I have helped to pass through many important student projects. These include the Gateway Center, the New University Initiative, the upcoming Kryzsko Commons Addition, and the East Lake Apartments. As Chair, I was able to master my leadership skills, and lead the team to complete projects such as the Online Booktrade site (along with Dylan Davis, architect). I have also served on the Commencement Committee, the Student-Community Relations Committee, the MSUSA Revenue Fund Advisory Committee, and the New University. It is through my strong leadership that I will serve the students of Winona State. I will strive to provide greater access to on-campus organizations, help students become involved, and most importantly, provide a superior image of our hard-working students through easier access to community service organizations. Finally, I will help students to be represented as well develop the ideas of the New University project to better serve Winona State University Students. TIM DONAHUE Candidate for vice president CANDI- DATE FORUM A series of invited candidate statements presented unedited Other candidates TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE Surprise needle jabs less likely WINONA, Minn., March 31, 2004 -- Sealed containers for the safe disposal of medical needles have been installed in bathrooms of Winona State University academic buildings and dorms. Diane Palm, director of student health services, said 50 to 75 people on campus have diabetes, about half of whom inject insulin. Besides insulin, Palm said, people use needles for medications for migraine headaches and allergic reactions. Used needles, contaminated with bodily fluids pose a risk to janitors and others who might be pricked accidentally in emptying waste baskets. Once inside the puncture-proof sealed containers, needles cannot be removed. The receptacles have an internal container that periodically are replaced and taken to a registered medical tissue disposal site. The receptable is never unsealed. MORE HARTLEP Wellness advocate Student Nick Hartlep, chair of the all-university wellness committee, campaigned for the sharps-disposal containers. Hartlep obtained a $3,000 commitment from university President Darrell Krueger in February 2003 for the project. The commitment represented a turn-around in university policy. Joanne Rosczyk, university safety officer, earlier opposed the containers. Rosczyk obtained an attorney general's opinion to support her position that needle disposal was an individual, not institutional, responsibility. Her concern was liability. MORE The new sharps containers cost $2,713. It will cost $530 for annual maintenance of the containers. Forty containers in first-floor campus bathrooms. One container is in a second-floor bathroom at Kryzsko Commons. There are 27 containers in the first-floor dorm bathrooms, including the Residential College and the East Lake dorm. MORE Mike Bebout, safety officer, is hiring and training students to monitor the Sharps containers. Reporter: Anne Jungen TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS I was internally elected into senate at the end of first semester in 2003. I am a nursing major and would like to be re-elected to continue the work I have enjoyed very much. I am on the Cultural Diversity and Wellness Center Committee. I would like to continue to work with the Cultural Diversity Committee to ensure that WSU is aware of diverse issues on campus ranging from international, race, GLBT, disability, and other diverse groups. I would also like to continue working with the Wellness Center Committee to be involved in the process of building a new place that all the students and faculty can benefit from. I have been involved in making many decisions while being on senate including, The Gateway Center, Lincoln Building, Flag Proposal, Student Activity Fees, and a variety of other issues. If I am re-elected I will continue to dedicate my time and effort to making Winona State University a better place for the people here today and for future generations. MEGHAN WORTHLEY Candidate for Health College senator CANDI- DATE FORUM A series of invited candidate statements presented unedited Other candidates TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE QUICK SPORTS MARCH 31, 2004 BASEBALL (MEN'S): WSU 23, SMU 3. SOFTBALL (WOMEN'S): WSU 2, UW-Parkside 1; UW-Parkside 4, WSU 3. St. Thomas 11, SMU 3; St. Thomas 10, SMU 1. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE Students demonstrate for aid help WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 -- About 100 college students chanted "Education Is a Right for All" at a Capitol Hill rally in support of larger Pell Grants and increased federal higher-ed spending. Rebecca Wasserman, president of the U.S. Students Association, which sponsored the rally, spoke against President Bush's higher-ed budget, saying it would provide little new money. The rally was part of the association's five-day Grassroots Legislative Conference, which included policy workshops and lobbying Congressional representatives. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU plans parking fee hike WINONA, Minn., March 30, 2004 --Campus parking fees need to be increased as much as 13.8 percent, to $205 for gold lots, Winona State University parking chief Shirley Mounce told the Faculty Senate. Senators took the proposal under advisement. Mounce said the additional revenue would go resurface and plow the lots, maintain parking program software, pay parking employees, and maintain signs. Permit prices haven't increased since they were first required in 1991, Mounce said. MSU-Mankato and St. Cloud State have increased fees, she said. At the meeting, profs voiced concern about after-hour parking availability behind the Prentiss-Lucas dorm, where, they said, students ignore signs and take faculty spaces. Mounce said she tries to assign a guard to monitor the lot every night. "I have put in a request to create more faculty spaces," she said. Reporter: Stephanie Magnuson TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU STUDENT ELECTIONS Treasurer hopeful: I know the job WINONA, Minn., March 29, 2004 -- The position of Student Senate treasurer at Winona State University should go to someone with experience, said candidate Cassie Daubner, a junior. Currently Daunber is a senator-at-large. "I've been in treasurer committees, and I have built good working relationships with people who I'd be working with as treasurer," said Daubner, specifically mentioning Joe Reed, the university's student activities director. "I also have connections with other senators, which will be important for a senate treasurer to have," said Daubner. "When I look at what the school needs, it needs experience," said Daubner, adding, "I really want to do this." The position pays $2,100. MORE Daubner said it would be difficult for someone who has never been in Senate to jump right into an executive position. Daubner says that she currently puts in between 12 and 15 hours per week in to Senate committees, meetings and office hours. A senator-at-large is required to serve on two university committees and one Senate committee as well as to attend three-hour to five-hour Senate meetings once a week and put in two hours in the Senate office per week. Although a commitee chair for the College Republicans club this year, Daubner said that, if elected Senate treasurer, that will be her focus: "I've cleaned my schedule for next year because this is something that is really important to me." As treasurer, Daubner said she expects to devote 20 hours a week to Senate activities. Daubner says that she will not have a problem with the extra time commitment. MORE Daubner pointed to her work on the Student Activities Fee Committee as evidence of her capability. Daubner said that this year she and the committee revised the budget rules for special requirements. Special requirements are submitted to the committee on a need-by-need basis. Previously clubs had been allowed to obtain $1,500 per club from the budget of $60,000. Under the new rules, clubs can get $1,000 max. "Only about 58 of the clubs that submitted requests got money before," she said. "Now 70 or 80 clubs will get money. This is something I’m really proud of." Reporter: Sarah Lang Background: The ballot DAUBNER Treasurer candidate TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE Prof union orders pre-strike buttons ST. PAUL, Minn., March 30, 2004 -- Lapel buttons designed to express disgust at stalled contract negotiations may show up soon on profs' collars at Winona State University. The state profs' union committee whose work is strike preparation authorized the manufacture of the buttons. The buttons will read "Support Higher Education: Outsource MnSCU." The "U" in MnSCU will have a slash through it "symbolizing MnSCU’s lack of respect and representation of the State Universities," the committee said. The faculty has been working without a contract since June. Negotiations have gone back even further. Negotiations are with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Background: Mediator making a last try TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE UNLIKELY JOURNALISM APRIL FOOLERY, PART 14 We are still compiling ideas for April Fool's coverage. Recent suggestions: KQAL phenom Steven James takes over for Howard Stern after the loss of the stuttering john. His show will be televised but not in the WSU Smaug because Joe Reed considers it too good to be real. Football players volunteered to load remaning copies of the WSU Student-Athlete Code of Conduct into garbage trucks. "We are expanding our anti-litter community service projects," said Andy Salmen, president of the new Player Rights and Freedom Committee. The CyberIndee becomes Winona's official newspaper, fulfilling Winona's desire to be a paperless community. WSU Republican honcho Nick Ridge escaped jail by wrapping himself in an American flag and screaming hysterically about increased levels of lead in his blood. Senior citizens started a movement to close bars at 7 p.m. Said an organizer: "All I hear is people having fun. I am going to die soon. That's not fair." Other April nonsense WHAT UN-STORIES WOULD YOU LIKE TOLD SEND US A MESSAGE TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE Indee invites WSU candidate statements WINONA, Minn., March 30, 2004 -- Candidates in Winona State University student election have been invited to submit 250-word statements on their candidacies for verbatim publication on the CyberIndee. The news site will post the statements promptly. Background: Candidate filings Statements should be addressed to: CyberIndee A campaign photo as a .jpeg attachment is invited. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE QUICK SPORTS MARCH 30, 2004 GOLF (MEN'S): Heart of America Classic: (third day): WSU 919 (4th). SOFTBALL (WOMEN'S): Named Northern Sun player of the week was WSU catcher Sarah Carlson. Named Northern Sun pitcher of the week was WSU's Elissa Wisniewski. TENNIS (WOMEN'S): SMU 9, Northwestern 8. TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE WSU GYMNASTICS Athletic chief: It'll never happen again

WINONA, Minn., March 30, 2004 -- The women gymnasts are not the only people upset over Winona State University's elimination from regional and national competition because paperwork was never completed. Larry Holstad, athletic director, is upset too -- and also remorseful. "I'm sick over the whole thing," Holstad said in an interview. "I was sick when it happened, I have not gotten over it, and I probably never will." The team was blocked from National Collegiate Gymnastics Association regional and national competitions after Coach Rob Murray failed to file documents by the association's deadline. "I'll accept responsibility for it because I am the director and it should have been done," Holstad said. Holstad said he found out about the elimination when the association's executive committee called him at the beginning of March to discuss the missing documents. "I thought the paperwork had been turned in," Holstad said. MORE

HOLSTAD Upset, sorry

Prof contracts in final mediation

Profs rachet up pressure on chancellor

SMU students to sleep under cardboard

Composites engineer to speak at WSU

Sidelined Malvik: ready for next season

WINONA, Minn., March 29, 2004 -- Injured Winona State University basketball guard Zach Malvik is confident about returning next season fully recovered. "I don't have any doubts or apprehensions about returning," he said. Malvik broke his left ankle and left foot during a recreational game in May. "I just landed on my foot wrong," he said. Two surgeries took place between September and December, with surgeons removing two bones, one from his foot and one from his ankle. He's been on crutches periodically for three months. The pain did not end until February, he said: "There was a constant sharp pain in my foot." Malvik's eligibility for basketball next season will continue as sophomore status, which pleases him. Malvik has been working with a trainer on strength and balance training aimed at regaining muscle, he said. Coach Mike Leaf said that Malvik's injury was a setback. Malvik didn't like sitting on the sidelines: "It's hard to sit and watch something that you are passionate about," said Malvik. Reporter: Kelly Joyner

MALVIK Pain on the sidelines

WSU prof to China this summer

Prof checks out new analytical program

Wino Punx gang blamed in brawl

BUB'S Vomit everywhere GABBY'S Tossing pennies

WINONA, Minn., March 29, 2004 -- A town gang that dresses in black and calls itself the Wino Punx, and which has been blamed for the Gabby's fight last week and other bar incidents, is well known to police. Police Chief Frank Pomeroy said that he's had to deal with the Punx before. Pomeroy's recommendation to bar owners is to obtain a restraining order against customers who cause problems. If troublemakers come back, they will be arrested. Pomeroy said the Punx, who wear black garb and sometimes wheel through bar district on bicycles, feel they are victimized. Whatever the facts, witnesses say the Punx, in their Columbine-style anarchist outfits, were at the heart of the Gabby's fight, which ended with one of them throwing a bicycle and damaging a Gabby's exterior sign. MORE The problems last Monday began at a couple blocks away at Bub's Brewing Company, where bartender Josh Zueleger said the Punx were rowdy. Somebody drew the Winona Punx gang symbol and vomited all over the men's bathroom, Zueleger said. By the time that he discovered the mess, the gang had left. MORE After Bub's, the gang went to Gabby's. Manager Chad Brink said the fight started when 10 to 12 Winona Punx members threw pennies at a smaller group of other customers. Members of both groups had attended Winona High. Brink surmised there had been continuing tension. Brink said he could tell that Punx members were drunk upon arriving. The gang was told to stop throwing pennies, said Brink. When they didn't, bouncers escorted the Punx out of the bar. In the process the bouncers and a bartender were punched, said Brink. After the gang was outside a second fight started and a knife was pulled, Gabby’s sign was broken, and bar glasses were thrown against the building, said Brink. He called the police. Once the police arrived they made the hooligans leave. Some went down to Mulligan's bar and others went to the back alley, said Brink. There were no charges pressed, but Gabby's will refuse to serve them in the future, Brink said. Reporter: Carrie Guler Background: Bicycling boozers

More WSU flags carry hefty price tag

Heavy sleepers miss East Lake ruckus

Army tames campus anti-terror agents

GOP flag advocates commended

Cop: Alcohol, jealousy don't mix

WSU student charged in dorm trashing

Trustees lack athlete recruiting policy

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 29, 2004 -- The state colleges have no specific statewide policy that addresses excessive partying during the football recruiting season, "We don't have an official policy," said Nancy Connor, MnSCU's public relations director. "We expect the institutions to comply with the conference they belong to." MnSCU colleges, which include Winona State, belong either to the National Junior College Athletic Association or the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which have recruitment policies, Connor said. The only MnSCU policies regarding athletics are those applying to scholarships and federal Title 9 requirements on gender equality, Connor said. The campus presidents and athletic organization are left to handle any rule breaking, she said. MORE MnSCU board member Tyler Despins, of Winona State, said he also expects schools to follow the rules laid out by their athletic conferences. About rule-breaking, Despins said he expect a school to have full disclosure on any rule breaking. "It's not acceptable," said Despins. "If a coach willingly knows about it, then maybe we need new people to coach." Does the situation at Winona State or elsewhere in the system warrant attention from the board of trustees? "I don't feel anything needs to be brought up to the rest of the board," said Despins. "It can be handled in-house." Reporter: Joanna Chinquist Background: Partying and recruiting Background: NCAA: Not our problem Background: Conference: Not our prob

DESPINS WSU football misdeeds not an agenda item

WSU students continue e-prof award

Revelers rock Booze Bus, bust window

Eight nominated for WSU j-prizes

WINONA, Minn., March 27, 2004 -- Eight student journalists have been nominated for the Bremer and Corrigan awards for outstanding work in the CyberIndee, faculty-editor John Vivian announced. The Winona State University masscom faculty will choose the winnes, who will be announced at a department awards banquet. The nominees:

BREMER AWARD CORRIGAN AWARD Both carry a $500 prize

Field trip to Indian shirt exhibit

R.I.P.: Marcella Ann "Sally" (Patzner) Kohler

WSU Faculty Senate to cull interlopers

WINONA, Minn., March 28, 2004 -- Stung by criticism from outsiders who have attended its recent meetings, the Winona State University Faculty Senate has decided to kick people out it doesn't want. Mary Kesler, faculty president, said the new policy is aimed at interlopers with "narrow agendas." The Senate has been seared in letters to newspaper opinion pages in recent weeks with citizen accounts of what profs said in Senate discussions on campus flags. Some letters have twisted what senators said. Some have generalized about the whole faculty from the words of a few. Kesler said the new policy does not affect the Senate's traditional openness to journalists, students and other campus people. In developing the policy, Kesler said, she received an advisory from the attorney general's office that state open-meeting requirements do not apply to faculty meetings. Background: Earlier flag issue stories

KESLER Faculty Senate president

WSU football party excesses unabated

* Case in Ozaukee County, Wis.
EARLIER ALMANAC ENTRY

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

CAMPUS FLAGS

WSU flag plan wins over councilman

WINONA, Minn., March 27, 2004 -- A vocal early critic of Winona State University for not immediately embracing a Republican-sponsored campus flag propoal, City Council member Gerrty Krage, said he is pleased with recomendations made Monday for a campus task force. The plan, he said, honors the flag appropriately. The recomendations, now in the hands of university President Darrell includes more flag poles outside major campus buildings and red, white and blue banners for patriotic occasions -- but not the Republican proposal for a flag inevery classroom. Krage had led a City Council fight to deny Winona State permission to fly alumni bannes on city streets in retaliation for not accepting the classroom plan. Now he says he was reacting to misinformation that there was widespread campus antipathy against the flag.

Background: Mielimonka commends flag plan
Background: Verbatim: Task force report

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

UNLIKELY JOURNALISM APRIL FOOLERY, PART 12 We are still compiling ideas for April Fool's coverage. Recent suggestions: Brad Krasaway, president of the WSU student Democrats punctured the myth that Al Gore invented the internet. "I did," he said. The WSU Student Senate web site will be operational the day after graduation. "Our great accomplishment," said Senate President Michael Hofland. Journalism senior Brian Krans said he was abandoning investigative reporting and would try out for WSU football. Mothers of WSU high school football recruits formed a MADD chapter.

Other April nonsense

WHAT UN-STORIES WOULD YOU LIKE TOLD SEND US A MESSAGE

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

WSU SECURITY REPORT MARCH 27, 2004

INCIDENT NO. 1: Guards cited several students at 12:40 a.m. for an alcohol violation at the East Lake dorm. INCIDENT NO. 2: Guards cited a student at 12:15 a.m. for attempting to bring alcohol into the Sheehan Hall dorm.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

R.I.P.: Lois (Ricket) Robertson

RUSHFORD, Minn., March 27, 2004 -- A 1978 Winona State Univerity theater grad, Lois Robertson, died at age 87. The degree was magna cum laude. In Rushford she was active in Republican affairs.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

EXCURSIONS FROM CAMPUS

Touch of Eire within half an hour

FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis., March 27, 2004 -- An Irish-oriented merchandise store is undergoing finishing touches in the basement of the Monarch, a 110-year old restaurant and bar in Fountain City in mid-April, the newest addition to the historic establishment seven miles upriver from Winona. Merchandise in the store will include Irish pewter, Kilkenny crystal, Blarney Woolen Mills Sweaters, and Monarch Tavern clothing and memorabilia, said John Harrington, who owns the pub with his wife, Lori. "It's going to be based mainly on the Irish imports," said John Harrington. The store has yet to receive a name, although the Irish Traveler is one possibility, he said. "Or the Irish Underground," said Harrington with a laugh about the walk-out basement location. "It's just a matter of finish work now. All the major construction is done."

MORE

PHOTOGRAPHER: TY GANGELHOFF MONARCH'S JOHN HARRINGTON Sees yet another restaurant and bar in the unused third story of the of the old Fountain City lodge

Other work has recently been done at the three-story pub. A third bar, The Rock Bottom Pub, is new in the basement. "I've been working on that off and on for probably five years," said John. "It was basically an old cellar. It was just a real ugly, dirty place. I always had a dream that it could be kind of like a party room, which is what it's turned out to be," said John about the bar, which takes some of the pressure off the two upstairs bars on the weekends. MORE The main, or second, floor is comprised of two main rooms, one of which was renovated by the Harringtons in the late 1990s. These renovations included the addition of a second bar, cooking area, and a snug, which is a traditional part of an Irish pub "where you can go and sit down and have some peace and have your drink or have something to eat," said John. A third floor was used as a meeting and housing area for the Odd Fellows, a lodge group that put up the Main Street building in 1894. "They had their meetings upstairs," said John, continuing that was also where their lunches were made and served. MORE Harrington said he would eventually like to expand the restaurant into the third floor. Because there's an old kitchen, office and two long halls upstairs, John says he would like to put a restaurant and banquet hall there. It would be open a few nights of the week, or for parties. MORE

When the Harringtons purchased the building in 1995, one bar in one of the main rooms was food or drink oriented. The other main room was rented out to an antique dealer, who had been there since the mid 1980s. Prior to the antique shop, a grocery store had been in the room since the building opened. "Over the years we've expanded, expanded, expanded, and especially expanded our kitchen capabilities and now it’s primarily a restaurant and then it’s used for smaller parties," said John. "What we've tried to do is be as cognizant of the history of the place as possible and use the old wood and use the old glass. I've even straightened out old nails and used old nails just to be as true to the past as possible, he added.

MORE

The Harringtons' renovation of the tavern has improved profits as well as the place's appearance. The first year we had we were under $100,000 in sales, I mean way under a $100,000, and now we're multiples of that. And every year that goes up," said John.

MORE

Harrington sazid his ultimate dream is to put a circular staircase from the third floor to the roof "and build a platform ... where you go can sit up there and watch the sunset and the eagles fly." From the third floor there is a panorama of ye Mississippi., "It's going to be a project, that’s for sure. But we'll just keep working on it," said John, who thinks the roof and third floor projects will be completed in three to five years.

Reporter: Ty Gangelhoff
Background: Bit o' Eire upriver

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

RECENT DAYS IN THE CITY POSTED MARCH 26, 2004 FOR KEEPING UP-TO- SPEED Winona Daily News Winona Radio Winona Post EARLIER NEWS

PHONEY MONEY. Bogus $10 bills, four in all, have been passed in recent days at the Midtown and Hy-Vee groceries and at Severson's Conoco downtown, police said. MORE GARVIN FLAMES: State land wardens supervised a controlled burn on a patch of Garvin Heights prairie overlooking Winona. The purpose: Habitat management. MORE SCHOOL CUTS: In a first wave of cuts to make up a $2.4 million shortfall, the School Board eliminated five teaching positions, closed the Lincoln admin building, reduced secretarial support and changed to cheaper phones.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

CAMPUS FLAGS

City leader applauds WSU flag plan

WINONA, Minn., March 26, 2004 -- The task force proposal before Winona State President Darrell Krueger is an "elegant solution" to the controvery over displaying U.S. flags on campus, said Dieter Mielimonka, president of the City Council. Mielimonka saud he fully supports the plan for more flags -- even though the task force rejected the student Republican plan for a flag in every classroom. Mielimonka earlier proposed city sanctions against the university on hearing about campus objections against the GOP proposal, which he inferred to mean broad campus objections to the flag. About the task force recommendations, Mielimonka said: "This puts the issue to rest."

Background: Task force calls for more flags
Background: Verbatim: Task force report
Background: A First Amendment issue
Background: The flap over flag plaques

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

QUICK SPORTS MARCH 26, 2004

SOFTBALL (WOMEN'S): WSU 3, UW-La Crosse 1; WSU 8, UW-La Crosse 0.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

UNLIKELY JOURNALISM APRIL FOOLERY, PART 11 We are still compiling ideas for April Fool's coverage. Recent suggestions: Friday classes will be cancelled the rest of the semester, said WSU academic Vice President Steve Richardson. "Nobody came anyway," he said. Richardson created a task force to consider cancelling classes on other days too. The WSU Student Senate cancelled its attendance requirement. "It didn't work," said Senate President Michael Hofland. "From now on we'll just pretend we meet." College Republicans at WSU announced a new Minnesotas Nice theme for their web site. "We need a gentler, kinder America," said club leader Parker Hjelmberg.

Other April nonsense

WHAT UN-STORIES WOULD YOU LIKE TOLD SEND US A MESSAGE

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

CAMPUS FLAGS

Counterclaim: GOP wanted plaques

WINONA, Minn., March 26, 2004 -- Student Republicans in fact discussed posting plaques commemorating their club next to flags they proposed be mounted in every Winona State University classroom, campus activist Todd Oulette said. A claim by Republican leader Nick Ridge that the club never wanted any plaques is "a balatant lie," Oulette said. He said Ridge lobbied for plaques at a meeting of four people, including univerity President Darrell Krueger." Said Oulette: "Nick even admitted to me that the plaque was discussed. Nick only dropped the plaque idea after he realized it would derail his plan." The plaques have become a centerpiece in the debate over Republican intyentions with the classroom flag proposal. Critics say the proposal bespoke an ulteriuor partisan motives. In a letter to newspaper opinion pages, Oulette said Ridge is wrong to label opponents of the classroom flag plan all as liberals. Many Democrats supported the flag proposal until Ridge made "divisive statements that proved the true nature of his effort," Oulette said. Background: Ridge: Plaques never in plan

OULETTE "Utter disbelief" at Ridge plaque denial Oulette says many Democrats supported the GOP flag plan early on, some even calling for larger flags

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

UNLIKELY JOURNALISM APRIL FOOLERY, PART 10 We are still compiling ideas for April Fool's coverage. Recent suggestions: Campus health educator Ruth Schroeder said all 110 WSU football players signed up for sobriety training. WSU bought the downtown Bar Strip. "We will convert these palaces of sin into a K-12 charter school," said university President Darrell Krueger. The WSU Student Senate accepted the revised constitution of the campus Wine Tasting Society to expand tasting at Smaug meetings to include mixed drinks and beer before 10 o'clock classes. Campus health educator Ruth Schroeder cited new research that student class participation improves with three shots before classes. She proposed pre-class Power Hours.

Other April nonsense

WHAT UN-STORIES WOULD YOU LIKE TOLD SEND US A MESSAGE

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

Berkman jazz quartet to WSU

WINONA, Minn. March 26, 2004 -- The David Berkman Quartet, on a Midwest tour, will include Winona State University for its "Taste of New York Jazz" concert, said music prof Rich MacDonald. "The performers are all first-rate jazz musicians with extensive performing and recording experience," MacDonald said. David Berkman, on the piano, has released four albums as a leader on the Palmetto Records label.

Date: Tuesday, April 6 Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Main Stage, Performing Arts Center Cost: $3 to $5 Contact: Rich MacDonald

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

WSU DEPART- MENT NOTES POSTED MARCH 26, 2004

CHEMISTRY: Bill Ng is in his third consecutive term as chair. His term will be up June 30. Reporter: Dana Zuhlke MUSIC: Catherine Schmidt was elected to a second three-year term as chair. Reporter: Sarah Lang SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK: Ruth Charles is finishing her second year in a three-year term as chair for social work. Reporter: Carrie Guler FOREIGN LANGUAGES: Lillian Ramos' second three-year term as chair expires in 2005. Reporter: Kelly Joyner

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

SOLARIUM Bigger Smaug

Solarium facing next approval level

WINONA, Minn. March 26, 2004 -- With plans to build a solarium addition on to the Smaug approved at the university-level, now Winona State student activities director Joe Reed is waiting for the blessing of the state colleges board of trustees. "Haven't heard officially as of yet, but I did hear it sounds good," Reed said. He said he understands that the MnSCU board may not have the solarium on its agenda until after spring classes are out. Reed said that MnSCU is booked with different projects until then, and that is why it will be reviewed at a later date. When the trustees review the proposal, Reed said he probably will go to the meeting with a team comprised of Dick Lande, campus facilities manager; John Ferden, who is in charge of university auxiliary enterprises, including the Smaug; and Tom Marcella, architect.

Reporter: Katie Stater
Background: Solarium on trustees' agenda

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

WSU SECURITY REPORT MARCH 26, 2004

Several students were cited for an alcohol violation in the Quad dorm complex at 9:35 p.m.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

UNLIKELY JOURNALISM APRIL FOOLERY, PART 9 We are still compiling ideas for April Fool's coverage. Recent suggestions: Music prof Suzanne Draayer composed a new WSU anthem to the tune of a Rodrigo sonata. "The CD, available for purchase, can bring Iberian tranquility to Warrior games," she said. Football coach Tom Sawyer volunteered for the mandolin at halftime. Psych prof Richard Deyo founded a chapter of the Sigma Theta Rho antivivisection fraternity at WSU. Comptroller Scott Ellinghuysen cancelled spring graduation to keep WSU seniors one extra year. "To maintain quality programs, we need to generate more tuition revenue," he said. Gov. Tim Pawlenty resigned to pursue a divinity degree so he can perform same-sex marriages for members of the Inter-Faculty Organization.

Other April nonsense

WHAT UN-STORIES WOULD YOU LIKE TOLD SEND US A MESSAGE

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

MSUSA budget: 70% hike for travel

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 25, 2004 -- The Minnesota State University Student Association will increase travel spending 73.5 percent if its Delegate Assembly approves a budget proposed by association Chair Sam Edmunds and Vice Chair Gordie Loewen. The plan is to pay for more students to attend MSUSA conferences, said Edmunds. The proposed travel line would go from $40,000 to $70,600. Currently the association pays for six students from each member campus, including Winona State, to attend conferences. With the change, Edmunds said, campuses won't have to cut the number off at six. Edmunds said this will help the bigger campuses like St. Cloud State and MSU-Mankato, to have more representation. Larger campuses have complained they have been under-represented in MSUSA. Indeed, St. Cloud State has threatened to secede. MORE Also, said Edmunds, a new associate director position for campus relations, will mean more travel. This person will do a lot of traveling to the campuses, said Edmunds. "I don't think there will be any controversy over the increase in travel spending, but people will certainly question and want to know how we plan to spend the money," said Edmunds. The travel budget for junkets to Washington would go from out-of-state travel would grow 25 percent, from $20,000 to $25,000, under the Edmunds-Loewen plan. Reporter: Katie Pillsbury

MSUSA is funded through a mandatory fee assessed on students at all member campuses. At 39 cents per credit, this is $6.24 a year for typical students. The association focuses mostly in influencing public policy in the interests of students at public universities.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

WSU Republicans ponder a newspaper

WINONA, Minn., March 25, 2004 -- College Republican Chair Parker Hjelmberg wants a conservative newspaper at Winona State University for the fall campaign season. Money is an obstacle, he said. Hjelmberg figures the cost would be $4,000. Only with an investor, he said, could the club afford the project. Hjelmberg said the he asked State Sen. Bob Kierlan, R-Winona, for funding of the paper as a GOP function but did not receive a commitment. With or without a print outlet, Hjelmberg said there will be an online conservative news source for Winona State students. Already the club has a web site. Reporter: B.J. Puttbrese

HJLEM- BERG Seeks new forum

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

HAVE A NEWS TIP? TELL THE CYBERINDEE

BUSY TRACKS Now 39 trains daily pass WSU. Number expected to double

Funds sought for under-track tunnels

WINONA, Minn., March 25, 2004 -- Two tunnels, estimated to cost $8 million, are expected to be bored under the railroad tracks near the main Winona State University campus -- but when, nobody's quite sure. The project depends on funding, said campus facilities coordinator Dick Lande. He has met with members of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, Sens. Mark Dayton and Norm Coleman and Reps. David Oberstar and Gill Gutknecht about federal funding. "These guys are the key players for us," Lande said. "Gutknecht represents our district and Oberstar represents is on the transportation committee." MORE Lande said he hopes the funding will be in bills in both the Senate and the House: "I wanted to increase the odds of getting federal funding for the project, just in case the bill doesn't make it in one of the houses." Lande said he hopes to find in May or June how the funding has been drafted into legislative language. A requirement of federal funding, he said, is that the state and the city are expected to come up with 20 percent of the cost. The tunnel project was initiated because of concern for the safety of students who cross the Canadian Pacific tracks every day, Lande said. A safety study in 2003 found that 5,100 people cross the tracks at Johnson Street and 4,700 people cross at Winona Street daily. Thirty-three trains a day pass the campus. "I've seen students cross the tracks while a train is standing in front of them and they either crawl under the train or cross between cars," he said. Lande said that the number of trains coming through Winona is expected to double in coming years. He also said that because the project is focusing on safety, the tunnels themselves will include many features that make them as safe as possible. "These tunnels will be well lit, they will probably have cameras for surveillance, and we will have a system electronically monitoring its integrity," Lande said. Reporter: Nathan Bortz

LANDE WSU facilities chief Tunnels would facilitate access to new parking across the tracks

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

Bush Pell plan worries WSU aid officer

WINONA, Minn., March 25, 2004 -- President Bush's 2005 budget will not keep Pell grants apace with the pending 15 percent Winona State tuition increase, according to the university's financial aid director. As a result, Greg Peterson said he expects Winona State students will continue turning to alternative loans to pay for college, instead of federal loans. The Bush education budget would leave federal loan limits -- except for freshmen, whose limits would be increased $2,625 to $3,500. Peterson said the Bush plan will lead many students to reconsider attending college. He noted that alternatives, like the Wells Fargo Collegiate Loan program, usually carry higher interest. They should only be used as a last resort, he said. Peterson said that eight times more Winona State students borrowed from alternative loans this year. The Bush plan would leave the Pell limit at the current $4,050. Thirty percent of Winona State students currently receive the Pell, Peterson said.

Reporter: Megan Taitt

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE

RECENT DAYS IN THE CITY POSTED MARCH 25, 2004 FOR KEEPING UP-TO- SPEED Winona Daily News Winona Radio Winona Post EARLIER NEWS

DREDGE TALK. Mayor Jerry Miller promised more informal hearings at the Acoustic Cafe on plans for the proposal for the four-story, 285-foot dredge William A. Thompson to be a tourist attraction on the riverfront. Earlier story MORE PICKWICK SEDIMENT. The Pickwick Mill Association plans to deepen the pond behind the historic mill to 15 feet. As much 24,000 cubic yards of sediment will need to be removed. MORE YMCA UPGRADE. The YMCA announced a $1.4 million renovation that includes new locker rooms.

TO EARLIER ITEMS TO TOP TO HOME TO NEWS ARCHIVE