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Senate OKS more foreign student aidWINONA, Minn., July 31, 2005 -- Foreign students at Winona State University could receive a significant increase in financial support if recent U.S. Senate passage of a $440.2 million international education bill makes it all the way through Congress. The bill allocates $10 million more than President Bush suggested. Terri Markos, director of international services at Winona State, said the added funding would hugely benefit foreign students at all universities. Currently a similar bill is working its way through the House.
Although Markos is unaware how much of the $440.2 million would be seen by Winona State students, she said the total is significant compared to previous years. More and larger scholarships can be expected, she said.
Melinda Voss, state college system spokesperson said,too, that she was also unaware of how much money Minnesota colleges would see. Voss added, though, taht she was impressed with the amount agreed on by the Senate. "In a time when state funding is steadily decreasing for college students, the federal government has felt added pressure to help fund colleges," she said.
Edward Guernica, a political science professor at Winona State, said the bill illustrates the benefits of both political parties cooperating to approve a bill to better education by allocating an amount above the amount originally suggested. Guernica added that this bill is the first real effort to encourage foreign relations since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The bill expressed support for increasing exchange programs with Asian countries, specifically China, along with increasing the funding for study-abroad programs for American students to study in other countries.
Reporter: Dustin Sharstrom
RECENT DAYS IN THE CITY
POSTED JULY 31, 2005
CATHOLIC CHANCELLOR. The Catholic Diocese of Winona has its first woman chancellor, Pamela Jean Thompson of Rushford. The chancellor helps the bishop provide assistance and leadership for clergy and lay people.
MR. BASEBALL. The business manager of the Winona Chiefs amateur baseball team for more than 25 years, Al Smith has been elected to the Minnesota Baseball Hall of Fame.
WHITHER APPLEBEE'S. Wisconsin Hospitality Group, a restaurant franchise-holder, has one month to close a deal on property near Wal-Mart for a proposed Applebee's, said city econonomic director Judy Bodway. The company says it hasn't decided whether to proceed. Background
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Business calls for more hard-science gradsWASHINGTON, July 30, 2005 -- The Business Roundtable, an association of corporate chief executives, called for the number of college grads science, technology, engineering and math to double by 2015 to correct declining U.S. prominence in those fields. Fourteen other business groups signed on to a Roundtable report. Among recommendations:
Improve K-12 curricula in science and math.Offer incentives for college students to major in the fields.Reform visa policies so more foreigners can study at U.S. colleges.
The report fretted that mathematicians, scientists and engineers could become "an endangered species in the United States."
WSU SECURITY REPORT
WEEK ENDING JULY 31, 2005
July 28: A skunk fell into a window well outside of Kryzsko Commons at 9 a.m. Animal experts removed the skunk.
July 27: A gas smell was reported in the Maria dorm at 3:45 p.m. Firefighters and security guards checked building but found nothing.
July 26: Minor damage to a door in the Phelps classroom building was reported at 10:53 p.m.
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R.I.P.: Inez Minerva WilhemsonSPRING GROVE, Minn., July 30, 2005 -- A Winona State Teachers College grad, Inez Wilhemson, 97, died at a nursing home. Early in her career she taught at Rauk Rural School in Blackhammer Township near Spring Grove, where she had gone to school herself as a child. Later she taught in Pine Island, Minn.
Belligerant diner takes knife in handWINONA, Minn., July 29, 2005 -- A 20-year-old Winona man was taser-subdued by police at his downtown apartment after a knife-wielding fracas at a sandwich shop. The man, said police, had resisted arrest -- and then, cuffed, he threatened officers in the squad car en route to jail. Police had been called to Erbert and Gerbert's Subs and Clubs, 105 W. Third St., after the guy, a regular, began eating his sanwich at the ordering counter and refused to move to a table, a clerk told police. According to the clerk's account, the guy leaped onto the counter, grabbed a knife and threatened the employees. In the confusion, the knife fell and hit one sandwich-maker in the forearm. Then the man and a male companion fled.
Police went next door to the man's walk-up apartment, where, after scuffling, they made the arrest. The man showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 percent -- almost triple the legval definition for drunkenness, police said. Two of the man's companions, both 19, were also arrested.
There's not much doubt what happened at Erbert and Gerbert's. The shop's video surveillance camera shows all. Also, two of the arrested men, housemates next door, had paid for their sandwiches with credit cards.
Erbert and Gerbert's is a favorite of the college after-the-bars-close crowd. Bulls-Ete Beer Hall and Brothers are in the same block. Schyde's is a block away.
COURT CONVICTIONS
WEEK ENDING JULY 29, 2005
IN WINONA COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
UNDERAGE CONSUMPTION
Benjamin James Alker, 20, Rochester, Minn., $77.
Mary Elizabeth Hartman, 20, 177 Carimona St., $502.
Tyler William Leech, 21, 78 E. Eighth St., $377.
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WSU Gildemeister project on scheduleWINONA, Minn., July 29, 2005 -- Renovations on three offices and the creation of a new conference room in Gildemeister Hall are expected to be completed by mid-August, said Winona State University facilities coordinator Steve Ronkowski. The university filed a building permit July 1 for the four-room project on the second floor of the academic building, which houses the education and math departments. The project, with a total cost of $42,680, will include an upgraded ventilation system, a newly carpeted classroom, an updated communication closet to contain computer network equipment and wiring, and cosmetic changes such as new doors and paint.
"The purpose of the renovation is to get the rooms up to university standards," Ronkowski said. "We are going to spruce it up and make it more functional." The project has a completion target of Aug. 17, Ronkowski said. So far, the project is on schedule, Ronkowski said. The schedule allows, however, for extra enough time should a problem arise, to assure the rooms will still be in time for classes to begin on Aug. 29.
Reporter: Alison Patnaude
Packers cut hamstring-hurting Samp| GREEN BAY, Wis., July 29, 2005 -- The Green Bay Packers cut injury-dogged Chris Samp, a Winona State University All-American, the morning before full-squad practies began. A hamstring injury suffered at the Packers' June mini-camp had been bothering Samp. Said Mike Sherman: "Chris, God bless him, is a good kid and really worked hard." The injury, however, was a concern, Sherman said. The Packers had signed Samp, a hometowner from nearby Algoma, as an undrafted free agent in April. On the Packer roster, taking Samp's place, is undrafted rookie Quintene Newhouse of Northwestern Louisiana State. |
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CHRIS
SAMP
Harlon Hill finalist |
Background: Training injury for WSU's Chris Samp
WSU children's garden dedicatedWINONA, Minn., July 29, 1005 -- The new children's garden south of Winona State University's Gildemeister classroom building is a living tribute to recently retired university President Darrell KJrueger whose "visionary leadership was integral to the transformation and beautification" of the campus, says a plaque at the site. The garden was dedicated in a ribbon-cutting in the last week that Krueger was in office. In the ceremony Krueger said tearfully. "It means a lot." Senior groundskeeper Amy Welch said that plans for a fountain came together at the last moment. Her crew worked hard on the project assisted by student workers, she said. The garden was possible with a gift to the WSU Foundation from Mark Swart. More than 100 people attended.
Reporter: Alison Patnaude
COMMENT: WSU SECRECY
EVERYONE'S BURDEN OF DOUBT
A grave injustice was done Judith Ramaley by a sloppy process when Winona State University was searching for a new president last winter. Campus people were not apprised until too late that Ramaley had been asked to leave the University of Vermont, where she was president, in 2000. When the record began emerging in bits and peices, all kinds of stories arose about Ramaley's Vermont experience, some right on, some not. That what happens with less than full disclosure.
Why the information void in the crucial period that Ramaley was being interviewed?
Had the Florida-based head-hunters who identified Ramaley as a candidate vetted the Vermont record, Ramaley might now be beginning her Winona State tenure without people laboring any doubts. This is a sad way to start things out.
The Florida search company's failure was compounded by the campus search committee, which from all indications did little more than scan resumes. To its further discredit, the committee overextrapolated the state rule on not identifying candidates publicly before choosing finalists. The committee kept a tight veil on everyhing it did. Secrecy backfires, always. As far as outsiders can tell, Ramaley was never asked, "Talk to us about Vermont."
Campus people had lots of time with Ramaley in three days of campus interviewing but were hobbled in framing the right questions. They didn't know enough of Ramaley's history because of the head-hunters and the search committee's failures. Only later did news reports begin piecing together the history that campus people had needed earlier. When the chancellor whirled into town, Ramaley in tow, to announce his choice. it all was a done deed.
Too, there was a journalistic failure. We expect the Daily News to provide depth coverage community issues as important as the selection of a new Winona State president. Alas, the News merely regurgitated pap on the five Winona State presidential finalists, as provided by the university's publicity machine. Winona Radio did no more. The Post? Well, the Post was the Post. It was student journalists who did the legwork on Ramaley's Vermont saga, albeit too late.
Even with her baggage, made all the worse by the search's shortcomings, Ramaley is starting her Winona State tenure as a strong president, ready, it seems, to make tough decisions, as she did in Vermont. Everybody hopes they're the right tough decisions. Importantly, Ramaley espouses commitment to consenses-building on a campus with unprecedented distrust between students and administrators. This is all good. And it's almost a certainty that, had there been a full airing of linen last winter, Ramaley would still have been tabbed as president.
But what a better start she would have now if the airing had been then. |
Background: Ramaley's Vermont saga
RAMALEY'S VERMONT SAGA
Misjudging a love of hockey
and other things too
BURLINGTON, Vt., July 31, 2005 -- When Judith Ramaley rolled into Vermont in 1997 to become president of the state's premiere institution, the land-grant University of Vermont, it was a career high point. She was taking over a university with a $310 millon budget. A president's mansion was provided, complete with a staff. Her salary was $176,391 a year plus full benefits. They university even leased a Jeep Grand Cherokee for her. If things didn't work out, her contract called for severance pay.
Things didn't work out.
After a two-year break from university administrator ranks, after being forced out at Vermont, Ramaley now is president of Winona State. What happened at Vermont has leaked out in bits and pieces at Winona State, some of it accurately, some mangled in the retelling. The fact is that university people in Burlington are all over the board, now, five years after her departure, in evaluating Ramaley's three years in office. Some are critical, some sympathetic.
What led the Vermont State Universities Board of Trustees to ask Ramaley to resign in 2000, with a year yet to run on her contract, began with a hazing problem on the hockey team. The incident might have been handled routinely and openly, but coaches attempted a coverup. And they lied to Ramaley, who, as the truth came out, was outraged at being conned. The scandal escalated. Caught in athletic department lies, Ramaley cancelled the remainder of the 1999 season -- which to normal mortals might seem a reasonable thing to do, but Vermnont is hardly normal about hockey. Ramaley had misjudged the passion of Vermonters for their national championship hockey team. Fanatic alumni were outraged. The trustees, some of them hockey boosters, saw no exit strategy other than booting Ramaley.
Other issues had other constituencies upset. Ramaley had irritated faculty by a budget decision to allow the highest-paid profs to retire early and go unreplaced. Some academic departments were left understaffed. The faculty president, Jean Richardson, saw the university going down the tubes. Hyperbolically, Richardson said: "We are on the verge of becoming the most expensive community college in the country."
Even so, Ramaley's budget decision had defenders. They note that Vermont provides one of the lowest levels of state university financial support in the country. State funds provide barely 11 percent of the University of Vermont budget, contrasted to roughly 60 percent in Minnesota, which meant students, through tuition, would be saddled with almost all the shortfall. Too, the university was operating at a deficit.
Then there was the faculty union issue. A unionization movement had been brewing among faculty long before Ramaley arrived, but it crystallized as discontent mounted over Ramaley's decision to trim the faculty through early retirements.
The university's communications officer, Enrique Corredera, recalled in a recent interview that faculty perceived Ramaley as anti-union. When she brought in a consultant to deal with an existing staff union, as well as the growing sentiment for a faculty union, she was branded a union-buster. Faculty members began a petition of no-confidence on Ramaley, which can be a death knell for a university president.
Despite her problems, Ramaley defused some issues. City officials had been displeased with the number of student-rented houses in Burlington. Although Ramaley's predecessor had agreed to build more dorm housing to relieve pressure on the campus neighborhood, it didn't happen. Ramaley was able to repair city-university relations when she built an on-campus dorm to house 400 students.
The bottom line on Ramaley's Vermont tenure depends on to whom you talk. The chair of the state trustees, Bruce Lisman, noted that Ramaley inherited a growing university deficit. Also, he noted, the university and the city of Burlington were at odds. Those were major problems. Then came the 1999 hockey season. Factors contributing to Ramaley's departure were not all her fault, Lisma said.
Ramaley left with nine months severance pay with benefits, an additional two years of her vehicle lease, $4,500 in transitional living expenses, and moving expenses. | |
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JUDITH
RAMALEY
New WSU president |
Reporter: Ryan Richardson
Background: Ramaley Vermont record praised
Background: Ramaley called "outstanding" choice
Background: Ramaley's record on free expression
Background: Vermont race problem intractable?
Background: Ramaley record on unionism
NEWS AND COMMENT
WINONA MEDIA WATCH |
FAREWELL TO A MENTOR
After 22 years covering Winona sports, 15 as sports editor, Jim Kohner has retired his byline at the Daily News. Kohner, known fondly as "Bear" around the newsroom, hasn't said what's next. For sure his passion for the field and the court will have him in the crowds.
For Winona State University student journalists, Bear was a patient mentor in the days of the old Winona Campus Life and then the Independent, which were produced at the Daily News. For his entire tenure he also mentored dozens of student journalists as part-time employees on heavy game-nights, taking scores for the next morning's paper and spinning out occasional stories. Bear's quiet counsel, often merely a deft touch with the blue pencil, albeit a cursor in recent times, improved copy when it was rough around the edges and left valuable lessons. His was a real-life classroom.
It's hard to imagine a stronger local sports section than Kohner's in terms of game coverage. Nary a high school score ever missed the paper. In contrast there were voids on unpleasant sports news, most notably the football recruiting scandals and the player drunknness record at Winona State. But with a sparse staff, Kohner held his focus on what could be done well -- and that was his first love, the game. Winona sports has had no more loyal fan.
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WSU publicist leaves for TV jobWINONA, Minn., July 28, 2005 -- The public information director at Winona State University, Lisa Klein Scholl, resigned to take up 5 and 6 p.m. anchoring duties at La Crosse, Wis., television station WKBT. She had been with Winona State 1-1/2 years. Before that she was a WKBT reporter. On air she will revert to her maiden name, Lisa Klein. She said the new job will allow her more time with her 4-month-old daughter. "Babies change everything," she said.
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| A CUP NEVER FAR AWAY
Judith Ramaley kept a cup of coffee nearby when interviewing to become WSU's next president. She took the job despite a cup of "swill," her term. |
Did WSU's future hinge on a tepid brew?WINONA, Minn., July 28, 2005 -- One thing for sure about Judith Ramaley, the new president of Winona State University: She loves her coffee. "The world needs good coffee," Ramaley said in a recent interview. "I am a dedicated coffee drinker, and I like coffee that knows itself well." She has sent out word to her lieutenants to devise a plan to install a mini-cafe, built around coffee, in a snack room in the Somsen administration building. The university's food service executive, John Ferden, is working out details with contract caterer Chartwells.
If Ramaley has her way it won't be just just another coffee-vending machine but a place with real brew -- where students can hear about the different choices of coffee and learn about the philosophies of the different companies that might offer their brews, along with taste tests. Ramaley thinks the Winona State creed can be incorporated. "Everything we do ought to be consistent with 'A community of learners dedicated to improving our world,' so if you are going to drink coffee, think about all of the implications -- for world ecology, for Third World countries, for management of the working landscape, and for creating opportunities for people who live in places that don't have much to offer," Ramaley said. "The question is, while we're drinking coffee, can we have it serve some larger purpose at the same time?"
Ferden, according to Ramaley, is having fun with the project and getting a lot of feedback. "We have a miniature cyber-cafe associated with our plans for our next catering contract," Ramaley said.
The project had its genesis in a bad cup of Winona State coffee at a dinner in Kryzsko Commons when she was being interviewed as a presidential candidate last winter. About the coffee, she said she "could read a newspaper through it." Her reaction? "I looked at and the thought that went through my head, which I kept to myself until I was safely president-elect, was this is coffee-colored water -- it's swill."
Ramaley, who swears she doesn't harbor bad feelings about "swill," said she simply wants to provide students and potential students with a good cup of coffee. "A lot of people coming in to explore the university might enjoy having access to a good cup of coffee and all that comes with it," Ramaley said. The cafe would be just down the hall from the university's admissions office, where prospective students and their parents show up. Except for vending machines, the nearest coffee now is across campus at Kryzsko -- a long walk, especially on a wintery day.
A coffee cafe was never on the agenda of Ramaley's predecessor, Darrell Krueger, who for religious reasons never touched the stuff.
Reporter: Tess Beckman
Bad checks in Gabby's till| WINONA, Minn., July 28, 2005 -- Two forged checks, for $100 and $50, were passed at Gabby's a downtown bar, police were told. |
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GABBY'S
179 E. Third St. |
Blue Heron closes, to fly nearer riverWINONA, Minn., July 27, 2005 -- At the Blue Heron Coffeehouse on Huff Street, across from the main Winona State University dorm complex, the sign on the door said it was closing for the last time at the address at 7 p.m. But by 11 o'clock, people were still there, sharing stories about convivial pasts in the neighborhood gathering spot and comforting owners Larry and Colleen Wolner. Only a few days earlier, the Wolners had decided to shut down the Blue Heron, known for great breads and sandwiches, from organic foods as much as possible, as well as for the coffee, and move to a vacant building about eight blocks north.
There had been troublesome moments with campus Lutherans, who own the building, but the Wolners deferred questions about that. The last hours in business at Huff and Howard were to be a celebration with their customers. At times upwards of 120 people crammed in, as many as 30 or 40 people overflowing onto the sidewalk on a pleasant summer evening.
The site has been a campus landmark, even predating the McVeys who were known to generations of Winona State students for the ice cream they churned in the basement. When the brothers McVey retired, the last of the family to run the place, the building changed hands. Finally a campus Lutheran group took ownership and with an eye to the cafe as a brethren's gathering place. The restaurant side of the facility was leased to the Wolners, whose espresso and sprouts found a steady following.
Whether the campus crowd will follow the Wolners to Second Street is an open question. Or how quickly new customers will find them. Not until October do the Wolners expect to operating in the new location.
| NEW UNIVERSITY / WINONA EXPERIENCE |
What killed WSU tuition surcharge planMOORHEAD, Minn., July 27, 2005 -- The president of Minnesota State University-Moorhead upstaged Winona State's ballyhooed tuition surcharge proposal by showing state college trustees a video of Moorhead's experiential learning initiatives, which are being implemented at no extra cost to students. The video sealed the fate of a proposed Winona State tuition surcharge for similar initatives. The trustees, meeting two weeks ago in St. Paul, told Winona State enthusiasts for their program to go home and make-do with available resources. It was a setback for the Winona State project, an ambitious move known variously as the New University and the Winona Experience, for which the university sought four successive years of additional $250 tuition surcharges.
In an interview, Moorhead President Roland Braden said his university's changes are similar to the Winona's New University, but with one catch: Moorhead has been using already-available funding. Barden said that within-the-budget funding would continue to be used to improve how students are prepared for success in a fast-changing society. The Moorhead project, he said, could be further implemented within the 7 percent cap that state trustees put on tuition increases statewide. Winona State, with the first of the four proposed surcharges, had wanted to hike tuition 10.4 percent.
At Winona State, student President Ryan Flynn said he was impressed with the Moorhead video. Flynn was elected in April on a platform opposing extra tuition for the NewU. Students had expressed overwhelming opposition in two referendums.
Moorhead already has hands-on learning experiences installed in the core curriculum as part of every student's experience, Barden said in an interview. The mission, he said, is to develop knowledge, talent and skills for a lifetime of learning, service and citizenship at an affordable price. The changes have been made to give students the best opportunities at a state university cost, said Barden. Tuition at Moorhead ranks in the lower tier of universities within the MnSCU system at $4,485, said Barden.
Barden said Moorhead has taken an all-inclusive approach to learning, partly through partnerships with area businesses. Also, businesses on campus have been created for the experiential learning. Moorhead political science prof Andrew Canteh said the university has set itself apart and also set the pace for educational reforms at other MnSCU campuses. Another prof, Mark Wallert of biology, noted a biotechnology services company, Dragon Tech, which is run by students who are mentored by faculty. Students receive hands-on experience providing research and development services for pharmaceutical companies, Wallert said.
Barden, the Moorhead president, cited these initatives:
New Rivers Press, a publishing company at which mass communication and English majors engage in the entire publishing process.Summer "college for kids" programs.Math and science outreach programs.Teacher programs for education majors to teach and encourage ninth-grade students on a teaching career.Art galleries for students, faculty too, to display their work.The only music industry program in Minnesota.
In the coming year, even without the requested special funding, Winona State will be heading in the same direction as Moorhead. The Winona Experience, crafted by now-retired university President Darrell Krueger, will provide students with a more hands-on learning experience through internships and study-abroad opportunities. But Moorhead and Winona State will not be alone for long. The chair of the state trustees, Robert Hoffman, said in an interview that other universities, including Metro, St. Cloud and Bemidji State, also are integrating more career-related opportunities into their curriculums. Hoffman said he was mystified at Winona State's push for extra funding to do what's being done elsewhere without special tuition charges.
Winona State ran up major expenses to develop its New University concept -- $761,000 over two years. There has never been a full public accounting of where the money came from or how it was spent, despite numerous requests to academic Vice President Steve Richardson, a key administrator in the project, or to Scott Ellinghuysen, the university's chief financial officer.
The new Winona State president, Judith Ramaley, was unavailable to comment on the question from Hoffman, chair of the state trustees, about why the New University, which she favors, would cost so much. Ramaley has said, however, that she feels the board made a reasonable and difficult decision by placing a 7 percent cap on tuition on all state colleges. She said Winona State will begin implementing its project this fall with incoming freshmen and hopes for full implementation within two to three years. | |
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NEW
UNIVERSITY
a.k.a. The Winona Experience
ROLAND
BARDEN
MSU-Moorhead president |
Reporter: Teri Root
Background: Formal Ramaley-prof NewU dialogue set
Background: Ramaley: NewU will proceeed
Background: How WSU spent $761,000 to plan NewU
At Maria, it sure smelled like gasWINONA, Minn., July 27, 2005 -- Firefighters responded to the Maria dorm on the Winona State University West Campus after a report of a gas smell at 3:56 p.m. Firefighters couldn't smell it and found nothing awry.
Ramaley sees WSU as Rochester "bridge"WINONA, Minn., July 27, 2005 -- As new Winona State President Judith Ramaley sees it, the university will continue to provide a large part of higher education in Rochester despite talk of being squeezed out by a proposed, new four-year college. Ramaley described Winona State's curriculum in Rochester as a "bridge of education" linking the two-year Rochester community college and the University of Minnesota program, which is oriented to graduate and professional studies.
Expressing her concept of Winona State's future in Rochester doesn't mean she's unconcerned about the proposal of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which, although evolving, at one time included creating a stand-alone four-year university in Rochester to displace patched-together programs from other colleges. In an interview, Ramaley listed Winona State's future in Rochester as her priority as president, second only to implementing the controversial New University experiential learning project. She noted that about half of the Winona State undergrad nursing students are in Rochester.
In his State of the State address in February, Pawlenty said that Rochester, Minnesota's third largest city with approximately 100,000 residents, could be better served by a single four-year institution. Pawlenty has formed a commission to examine the feasibility of such a new university.
Currently the University Center Rochester, of which Winona State is part, shares buildings with the University of Minnesota and Rochester Community and Technical College. Rochester people seeking a baccalaureate degree take courses at the community college and then transfer either to the University of Minnesota or Winona State at the combined facility. Winona State offers 11 undergrad programs and five graduate programs. The majority students are in nursing. Both Winona State and the University of Minnesota nursing students do studies at Rochester's Mayo Clinic. | |
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JUDITH
RAMALEY
New WSU president |
Reporter: Ryan Richardson
Background: Rochester talks start Friday
Phone reported stolen at downtown bar| WINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- A woman told police her cell phone was stolen Sunday at Schyde's Drinkery and Whatnot. She valued the phone at $180. |
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SCHYDE'S
102 Johnson St. /small> |
Flynn seeks tighter club money practicesWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- The Student Senate at Winona State will work this fall to ensure that student life fees are used correctly, said student President Ryan Flynn. The issue is how fee revenue, $132 a year from a typical student, is disbursed to clubs and organizations, said Flynn. So students know exactly what their money is being used, the Senate is moving to requiring clubs to submit an annual budget on how the money will be spent.
Flynn said there are a lot of unused club funds, which is unfair to the students. In past year, he said, many clubs have used their funding incorrectly or not at all, defeating the purpose of the student life fee.
The university has a policy not to carry over policy club funds, said student affairs Vice President Cal Winbush. This means unspent student life fee revenues, even after distributed to clubs, go into the university's reserve fund at the end of schoool year. The money then is available only to university administrators to spend as they want. Mistakenly figuring they could stockpile money, some clubs have let the funds go unspent, Flynn said. An informational packet will be prepared for fall explaining university policies, said Flynn. | |
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RYAN
FLYNN
WSU student president |
Reporter: Teri Root
Background: Ramaley: NewU will proceeed
Planner: Let's de-Wal-Mart campusesWASHINGTON, July 26, 2005 -- Community colleges should replace their drab, lowest-bidder campuses to look more collegiate, maybe even plant some ivy, the president of the Society for College and University Planning said at the society's convention. Gail Mellow said aesthetic upgrades would improve recruiting. Community colleges located in old high school and factory buildings or abandoned shopping centers, she said. "When the campus faces the road, you're reinforcing the image that the community college and the Wal-Mart are the same," she said. "Make them all look like Harvard."
WSU public relations chief at $115,000WINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- The Winona State University public relations vice president, Jim Schmidt, will earn a $115,000 this coming school year. Schmidt, at Winona State since December 1998, received his last raise in 2001, a 2.4 percent increase.
Reporter: Alison Patnaude
Background: Technology veep salary unchanged
COMMENT: BUZZ WORDS
CONFUSING A UNIVERSITY
WITH A MARINE REGIMENT
A week into the job, and already Judith Ramaley is putting her stamp on Winona State University. The era of silly campaign labels, for example, may be over. A scientist and intellectual, Ramaley is frank about the hollow monikers she's found applied to serious endeavors -- like the Winona Experience for the package of educational reforms championed by the now-retired Darrell Krueger. "The Winona Experience? What's it mean?" she asks, rhetorically. It's catchy, sure, but a university ain't Madison Avenue. Or shouldn't be.
And New University? Just as superficial.
Ramaley's thought, appropriate for an institution of higher learning, is to bypass trivializing rallying cries. This is, after all, a university, not a regiment of 18-year-old Marines.
Winona State has been through a plethora of faddish, in some cases ill-conceived campaigns. Remember the project to excite everybody about TQM? Total quality management was the buzz word of the 1980s. It sure buzzed here. Then there were the Seven Principles, trendy too. When "civility" was suddenly the buzz word of the 1990s, it even trumped free expression as a core university value.
It's good to move on. |
Background: Ramaley: Maintaining quality, value
Message to NCAA: Drop beer adsWASHINGTON, June 26, 2005 -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association should ban beer advertising at sporting events and during televised sports broadcasts, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said. In a new report, the center said the NCAA needs to recognize that in actively trying to attract young consumers to its brand, it also is exposing young people to beer advertisers. Said George Hacker, director of the center's alcohol policies: "The NCAA is the beer industry's pied piper."
| NEW UNIVERSITY / WINONA EXPERIENCE |
Formal Ramaley-prof NewU dialogue setWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- The faculty leadership at Winona State will sit down formally with new university President Judith Ramaley at a specially called meeting on Friday to discuss the funding setback for the New University project.
The two-item agenda includes the state Board of Trustees refusal to hike Winona State tuition 10.7 percent to fund the New University. The agenda also includes how to expand the project with less than the requested funding.
The meeting formally is called a Meet and Confer, which can be convened either by the university president or the Faculty Senate under their collective-bargaining state agreement. This will be Ramaley's first. During the academic year M&Cs are monthly. The faculty's executive committee, which usually convenes in closed session, will meet before the Friday M&C.
Date: Friday, July 29
Time: 10 a.m.
Place: Maxwell second floor |
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NEW
UNIVERSITY
a.k.a. The Winona Experience
MARY
KESLER
Faculty president
JUDITH
RAMALEY
WSU president |
Background: Ramaley: NewU will proceeed
| NEW UNIVERSITY / WINONA EXPERIENCE |
Ramaley: Maintaining quality, valueWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- Winona State will not be ranked as highly for quality and value in the 21st century unless it raises its sights and continues to modernize programs, according to Judith Ramaley, the new university president. The key for Winona State's reputation in the future is embodied in the hands-on, career-focused reforms in the New University concept crafted by her predecessor, Ramaley said in a 30-minute sit-down interview with three student reporters.
Although she embraces the New U goals, now renamed the Winona Experience, Ramaley has problems with the labels. "This university has been responding to changing times and changing beats very effectively for a number of years, so this isn't a 'new university.'" About the label Winona Experience, which has been used to suggest moving to something radically new, Ramaley said: "We already have a Winona experience that is very special." What's been been happening, she said, "is expanding the Winona experience and preparing it for the 21st century."
Whatever the Winona Experience will be called next under Ramaley's leadership, implementation of what emerged from two years of institutional self-evaluation will be one of her main focuses, she said. "Expanding the Winona State experience and preparing the university for the future leads to what we'll be doing the next year and the year after that," she said.
Ramaley acknowledged a barrage of bad press, student opposition, and a tuition cap imposed by state college trustees that will provide less than half of the funding that was sought. Even so, she said, the project will proceed although at a slower pace.
Although president less than two weeks, Ramaley said she feels she has a deep understanding of what Winona State is trying to accomplish with the Winona Experience. In her opinion, she said, the trustees made the best possible choice in capping a tuition increase at 7 percent given the financial constraints MnSCU institutions are dealing with. Winona Stte had sought a 10.7 percent hike to fund the New University.
"I listened very carefully to what the board had to say," Ramaley said. "You pay more attention when you are new because you don't always know what it is that you are hearing." she said. "There's a kind of special attention you pay when you are trying to make sure that you've got something, and that is the kind of attention I was paying as a new member of this system." | |
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NEW
UNIVERSITY
a.k.a. The Winona Experience
JUDITH
RAMALEY
She inherited the project's promises, the burdensome baggage too |
Reporter: Tess Beckman
Background: Trustees spurn last-ditch NewU plea
VERBATIM
THE CYBERINDEE IS YOUR NEWS SOURCE OF RECORD |
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New president on WSU's promiseWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- This is a newspaper column that Judith Ramaley, Winona State University's new president, issued to the press at the end of her first week in office:
July 18, 2005
Things have been moving at a rapid pace since I arrived in Minnesota. As you might imagine, it is quite a transition for me personally, and for the campus community. I am following a remarkable man who has served this institution and our community faithfully and wisely for sixteen years. Dr. Darrell Krueger has provided the leadership that has brought Winona State University to its current position of respect and recognition in higher education and we are all beneficiaries of his vision and passion.
My purpose for writing an opinion piece so early in my presidency is to share my own perspective on what took place at the MnSCU Board of Trustees meeting this week and what it means for Winona State University. The Trustees faced a difficult challenge in balancing three important priorities: to keep tuition increases to a minimum, to help campuses deal with the impact that previous years of budget cuts have had upon the core operations of MnSCU institutions and to encourage innovation and preparation for the future as well as institutional distinctiveness across the Minnesota State System of Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).
In my opinion, the 7% tuition cap is a reasonable solution during a period of serious financial constraint. It recognizes that students have borne an increasingly large share of the cost of their education. Institutions have been forced to make significant and painful cuts in their core operations while, at the same time, many campuses have found ways to invest in a 21st century education.
What makes this time so challenging for WSU is that we are just at the point where our early investments are ready to go to scale. WSU requested a 10.4 percent increase; five percent for expenses beyond our control, such as health care, employee compensation, energy costs, and debt service on our newer buildings. The additional 5.4 percent was for the first year of the expansion phase of our Winona Experience programming. The MnSCU Board action capping tuition increases at seven percent is short of our projected need but leaves us with the ability to move forward, albeit at a more modest pace and at a somewhat smaller scale than we had initially planned.
It is clear from the discussion that took place at the board meeting that this decision was a difficult one and that the Trustees fully recognize the impact of their decision on MnSCU campuses, such as WSU, that are undertaking large-scale change to create the ability to offer an education appropriate for the 21st century. Board members expressed strong support for innovation and creativity and made clear that the campus presidents were free to make decisions about the use of the tuition increase that would be in the best interests of their individual campuses. That confidence and support sets the stage for what we will do next at WSU.
So, what is the Winona Experience? It is the package of changes in how we deliver our curriculum, the educational environment we offer our students and the way we interact with the larger community beyond our classrooms and campus, both here and in Rochester, that makes it possible for us to deliver an education suitable for the 21st century. On another occasion, I will write more about that. We completed the first phase of our work on a 21st century education (the Winona Experience.) Approximately 1,000 students were involved in the projects undertook along with a number of faculty and staff.
Based on what was learned during the first phase, we will begin to move toward implementation this fall with the entering freshman class. In this intermediate or second phase, which we call the Expansion Phase, we will extend participation in several key aspects of the Winona Experience to additional students, faculty and staff, will study the impact of our efforts and use what we learn to prepare for full scale implementation 2-3 years from now. We will also continue to build the core technical capacity and campus infrastructure needed to support the Winona Experience. The third phase, which I call ÒGoing to Scale,Ó will be delayed by at least a year. We will move as quickly as possible to enlarge the scope of the programs to include every WSU student from the freshman to the senior year.
I have listened carefully to the questions raised by some of our students and by members of the Board of Trustees about the Winona Experience and I take their messages seriously. It is clear that we need to work to explain what we are planning to do, why it is so important to introduce the Winona Experience now and the differences it will make for our students, for our institution and for the communities we serve. I am eager to begin these conversations and am confident that we will make significant progress this year in implementing the Winona Experience, in building the case for it, and in generating deeper understanding and support for our efforts.
This is an exciting time to be involved in higher education. It's even more satisfying to be involved here, at Winona State, an institution that is unique among its peer institutions across the country. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members have dedicated themselves for more than two years to re-design, re-vision, re-energize our approach to undergraduate education. I came to WSU because I want to join this effort. I've been in higher education all my life and I do not know of any other institution that has taken on change of this magnitude.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas on this or any other topic related to Winona State University. Thank you again for making me feel welcome. |
Expert: Record suggests personality flawWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- The man indicted for murder in the strangulation deaths of a Winona State University student, her unborn child, and her 10-year-old daughter, exhibits signs of an antisocial personality disorder, according to a Winona State University psychologist. Prof Peter Miene said in an interview that he was loath to diagnose Paul Allen Gordon, but based upon the frequency and nature of Gordon's criminal record, as well as descriptions of his demeanor, Meine said Gordon "clearly meets diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder."
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by clinicians to diagnose patients identifies the disorder as a pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others."
To be classified as afflicted with the disorder, the manual says, an individual displays:
A failure to conform to social norms with repeated acts that are grounds for arrest. Gordon's litany of arrests include concealed weapons, assault, rape, murder, arson, terroristic threats, and drug possession with intent to sell.
Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure. Gordon's aliases included Allan Paul Gordon, Xaiver Jones, Xavier Jones, "X," "J," Leonard Gordon, Casino, Lil Casino, Paul Casino and Xavier Gibson.
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical assaults. Witnesses told police that Gordon beat a man in the head with a loaded 9mm gun. Gordon also admitted to police that he head-butted the woman he is accused of murdering, Stacy Smith. He is accused of choking and
raping a former girlfriend in Bentonville, Ark. He has been convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Bentonville, Ark.
Miene said that many clinicians and investigators prefer the concept of "psychopathy¬ to "antisocial personality disorder" because psychopathy is more thorough and is useful for diagnosing individuals without criminal records. The terms, he said, are different attempts to define the same disorder.
Gordon possesses many traits listed on Hare's Psychopathology
Checklist, the most widely used approach to assessing psychopathy:
Glibness and superficial charm. A Radio Shack store clerk, Nate Bortz, who sold a cell phone to Gordon, said, "I had a really comfortable feeling around him. He seemed like the type of guy if you bumped into at the bar you could talk to for a while and play a game of pool with." College students who encountered Gordon on the party circuit had similar recollections.
Parasitic lifestyle. Winona County prosecutor Chuck MacLean says Gordon "mooched" off people during the few months he lived in Winona.
Irresponsibility. According to police, three different women were simultaneously pregnant by Gordon, including Stacy Smith, who was seeking money from Gordon for an abortion.
Juvenile delinquency. At age 13, Gordon was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon. He was originally charged with assault with intent to commit murder in a Detroit drive-by shooting, but a plea agreement reduced the charges. When Gordon was 15, he was convicted of possession with intent to sell cocaine.
Criminal versatility. Gordon has been arrested with charges of concealed weapons, assault, rape, murder, arson, terroristic threats, and drug possession with intent to sell.
There is no treatment for personality disorders, said Miene. "It's not something that can be treated like other mental disorders, such as depression," he said. "There are no medications or therapies." Miene said that a personality disorder is not the same as insanity." The law is carefully written in a way that does not allow personality disorders to be used as an "excuse for murder," he said.
In Minnesota, the M'Naghten Rule, also called the Right-Wrong Test,
is used to determine whether a person has the mental faculties to
be held accountable. M'Naghten states that at the time of committing the act, "the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if
he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong." Psychopaths, however, know the difference between right and wrong, said Meine: "They
simply choose to do it anyway." |
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PAUL
PETER
MIENE
Psychology prof
PAUL
ALLEN
GORDON
Accused in Winona strangulation murders
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Reporter: Mollee Smith
Background: Aides ready to take over Gordon case
COMMENT: WASHINGTON IMPERIALISM
PRE-EMPTING THE PEOPLE
The Bush people again have intruded into Minnesota politics, taking sides even before the state's Republicans have a chance to decide whom they want to be their candidates. This happened in 2004 when worthy challengers to Norm Coleman for the U.S. Senate were arm-twisted to withdraw. Now it's happened again.
On Friday Vice President Dick Cheney quietly came to Minnesota and raised money for Mark Kennedy's Senate campaign -- a year ahead of the state party's endorsement and nomination process. It was $1,000 for lunch and $4,200 for couples who wanted a photo taken with the vice president. The total haul for Kennedy: $300,000.
This is a heavy-handed pre-emption of the state-level political process. There oughta be a law. |
Background: Campaigns campus people are watching
WSU peddles 494 Bardfest tickets
BARD FEST
7,324
seats
sold
"Much Ado About Nothing"
"Richard III" |
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| WINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- Winona State University people, dubbed Team Buckingham, sold 494 tickets for this season's plays in the Great River Shakespeare Festival. It was good for second place in a scheme by festival co-producing director Mark Hauck to involve the community. Team Benedict, sponsored by the Save Our Fine Arts community group, won the contest with 772 tickets. There were six teams in all.
One dollar of every ticket sold by the teams was promised to SOFA's fine-arts projects and scholarships if the festival, which ended last weekend, hit its 7,000 goal. The teams generated 1,952 sales. The festival sold 7,324 seats in all.
Background: What plays next season? |
| FACULTY CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS |
Charge: Chancellor dallies on contractST. PAUL, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- Faculty union negotiators say the chancellor's team has been dragging its feet in talks on a new contract for faculty at the state universities, including Winona State. Rod Henry, chief faculty negotiator, said the union has had an economic package ready for discussion since March: "We asked if the MnSCU team had a economic proposal ready-to-go and were astonished to hear that no, none was ready, but might be quickly prepared if they could get their finance people together.
Meanwhile, profs have been without a contract since the end of June.
Henry, a Bemidji State prof, said the chancellor's negotiators seem committed to pushing for year-round workload for profs. Henry called the proposal ill-conceived and rooted in "little knowledge of or appreciation for the research, service and other non-teaching roles performed by our faculty."
Why the dallying that Henry alleged? He says the chancellor's team seemed skittish about dealing with salary and economic issues while the Legislature was in session because of "their perception of the impact of such proposals on various political groups." As a result, there was no dialogue on across-the-board salary increases, changes in compensation for supervising graduate theses or teaching large classes, extra classes or, summer school.
WSU football squad organizing for fallWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- Winona State University football players check in Aug. 4 for twice-a-day pre-season drills that begin the next day. Co-captain Brian Hyjnes said he sees top contenders for starting quarterback as junior Aaron Boettcher, sophomores Drew Aber and Mike Reiter, and freshman Ian Gilworth. Hynes said he hopes to have wide receiver responsibilities, along with juniors Jeff Ellestad, Justin Moreland and Matt George and sophomores Scott Peters and Nate Skala.
The captains, besides Hynes, are senior defensive lineman Roy Kratt, senior tackle Dave Krystowiak, senior free safety Luke Lokanc, and junior running back Chad Sloden. The Warriors open the season Aug. 27 at Truman State in Missouri. The home opener will be Sept. 3 against Emporia State.
Reporter: Megan Wiebers
Aides ready to take over Gordon caseWINONA, Minn., July 26, 2005 -- The Winona County attorney, Chuck MacLean, now in the middle of the Sugar Loaf triple-murder case, said he expects to know by Aug. 15 whether he will be moving on. MacLean has applied for a judgeship in Waseca County and is on a short list from the state judicial selection committee.
The next step is to be interviewed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who will make the decision. "I've gotten a sense of what to expect from other judicial candidate's experiences," he said. Based on what he knows of the governor's interview approach, however, Maclean said the decision at this point is "not predictable."
The appointment would begin almost immediately, according to MacLean. The position has been vacent since Judge Renee Worked resigned June 9, leaving it to retired judges and judges from other counties to fill in.
MacLean has had three of his assistant county attorneys working the Sugar Loaf case, in which transient drug-dealer Paul Allen Gordon is accused of strangling Winona State University student Stacy Smith and her third-grade daughter and unborn child. If awarded the judgeship, Maclean said he hoped one of the three, Maclean 's assistant attorneys on the Gordon case are Nancy Bostrack, Kevin O'Laughlin or Thomas Gort, all with Winona roots. MacLean would recommend that one of them be put in charge. "I'd like to see home-grown justice for a home-grown crime," he said.
Prosecutors make recommendations, while judges make the ultimate decisions, MacLean said, calling a judgeship a "very high calling." Whether or not he is awarded the judgeship, Maclean said he would be satisfied with the outcome. About being the Winona County attorney, he said: "This is the best job I've ever had," he said. He called the legal community in the area "tremendously collegial." "There are terrific judges in Winona," he said. |
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CHUCK
MACLEAN
May be switching jobs
PAUL
ALLEN
GORDON
Accused in Winona strangulation murders
|
Reporter: Ruth Bailey
Background: Gordon hearing delayed
WSU president's base salary: $186,000WINONA, Minn., July 25, 2005 -- In her first year at Winona State, new university President Judith Ramaley will earn a base salary of $186,000, records show. That's 1.7 percent more than Darrell Krueger, who retired two weeks ago. With perqs, Ramaley can earn up to $219,200. Perqs include $24,000 for housing allowance and $7,200 for transportation and communication expenses that are not directly reimbursable under state personnel policies. Krueger received the same housing and transportation and communication allowance. The standard add-on percentage for state employees to cover medical care, pensions and other standard benefits is between 30 and 34 percent.
Ramaley's contract is for three years, ending June 30, 2008. which will take her past her 67th birthday. In the meantime, she is eligible for a $2,000 per year performance incentive from state colleges Chancellor JJim McCormick. If Ramaley meets or exceeds written expectations set by McCormick, or if he fails to establish expectations, Ramaley will receive the bonus for a $221,200 a year total. Ramaley may also receive three months salary as a severance bonus if she completes her three-year term.
Krueger had taken a 2.7 percent pay decrease last year. The five vice presidents of the university had a pay freeze over the past year. |
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JUDITH
RAMALEY
With perqs, perhaps $221,200
Reporter: Ryan Richardson
What next in Shakespeare series?
BARD FEST
2005 season
"Much Ado About Nothing"
"Richard III" |
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| WINONA, Minn., July 25, 2005 -- With the 2005 finale of the Great River Shakespeare Festival over the weekend, the question in the theater community turned to: "What's next?" Produing co-director Mark Hauck said the decision on the plays for next year will be made in August. Two plays again? Yes, he said. Again at the Winona State University main stage? Yes. The 2005 season, with "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Richard III," was a success at the box office, Hauck said. Sales passed the 7,000 goal last week, roughly 1,000 ahead of the inaugural season.
Background: Second season a record |
Fall Clipper trial delayed; more comingWINONA, Minn., July 25, 2005 -- The scheduled trial of Leon Maurice Bell, arrested in the Fall Clipper drug sweep last year, has been postponed. The trial had been scheduled for Monday. The postponement was granted after Bell's attorney, Ross Phelps, asked to be excused from the case because he has another client whom the prosecution has called to tetsify against Bell. In all, 15 people were arrested in the Fall Clipper sweep. Bell, 25, is charged on five counts.
In another Fall Clipper development, Mario Brainnard Davis, 24, pleaded innocent. Also, William Jay Blackmond, 25, pleaded innocent to third-degree concaine possession.
Background: Who cops snared last November
Firefighters to SMU false alarmWINONA, Minn., July 24, 2005 -- A fire alarm on the second floor of the Gilmore Creek dorm at St. Mary's University sounded at 6:35 p.m., but firefighters found no fire. Firefighters spent 30 minutes on the call.
College study: Rightists need not applyWINONA, Minn., July 24, 2005 -- The professoriate is decidedly left leaning with conservatives having a hard time getting in and keeping a teaching job, according to researchers Stan Rothman, Bob Lichter and Neal Nevitte. Being a political conservative or a Republican, statistically, reduces the chance of making it on the faculty of more prestigious instituions, the study concluded. Being a woman or Christian also hurt. The study was drawn from 1999 data gathered in a survey of more than 1,600 profs at 183 colleges. The profs ranked themselves as left-right scale.
The study found, though, that the most significant factor in profs' careers was academic achievement, measured by publications and research. Political orientation was a distant second -- about one-fifth as significant. Even so, Rothman said the study validated the notion that conservatives are discriminated against.
Reaction to the study was swift. Critics noted that Rothman and Lichter have a long record in designing studies that find a liberal bias. Also, the sample size was smaller than some other researchers thought sufficient. It was noted, too, that a lopsided presence of liberals could be explained by conservatives choosing against academic careers and going into, for example, business. The study did not get into whether a liberal orientation of faculty translates into political indoctrination of students.
Study: Winona chat project falls shortWINONA, Minn., July 24, 2005 -- The chatroom Winona Online Democracy is less the diverse forum that its founders proclaimed, according to a statistical analysis by two St. Mary's University researchers. Steve Schild and Kim Oren found seven contributors accounted for 42 percent of the postings in 2004. Two three-month periods in 2000 and 2002 were also studied. The Schild-Oren study appears in the peer-reviewed scholarly series Journalism and Mass Communication Monographs. The conclusion, in short, is that Winona Online Democracy falls short of its potential as a tool for broad-based discussion on public issues.
Schild and Oren also found participation was largely an elitist exchange of views. Most contributors, they found, were public officials, both in office and retired; highly educated professionals; and other influentials. The study flows from Schild's scholarship on reader letters in newspapers as a forum on public issues. His earlier studies focused on the Winona Daily News and Post.
Responding to the study, Online Democracy facilitator Roy Nastrom called the study "a realistic assessment." More diversity is a goal, he said.
R.I.P.: Rosemary (Grochowski) Clare VoelkerWINNA, Minn., July 23, 2005 -- A former Winona State University employee, Rosemary Voelker, 81, died at a hospice. She had worked, also, for St. Mary's University Press.
Kierlin to bow out of state SenateWINONA, Minn., July 22, 2005 -- State Sen. Bob Kierlin, R-Winona, frustrated at deadlock in the Legislature, announced he will not seek a third term in 2006. Kierlin said he made the decision several weeks ago, when the Legislature was still in session but delayed the announcement until the session was adjourned. Kierlin explained his decision as being stretched too thin with business, charity and political responsibilities and spending too much time on the road between Winona and St. Paul. Kierlin, who made a fortune as a founder of Fastenal in Winona, was elected to the state Senate in 1998. He has remained as chair of Fastenal.
Kierlin expressed gratitude for being twice elected: "During the next 18 months I will continue to work hard for all of the people I represent, my service being the best 'thank-you;' I can offer." His term, meanwhile, continues through the 2006 session. Kierlin said he announced his decision early so people considering a campaign for the office "have ample time to communicate ideas and perspectives to the people." Kierlin's District 31 includes two House districts. The district is represented in the Minnesota House by Gene Pelowski, D-Winona, and Greg Davids, R-Preston. |
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BOB
KIERLIN
Bye to Senate |
NEWS AND COMMENT
WINONA MEDIA WATCH |
ARM-TWISTING
WITH DUBIOUS PRETENSES
Car dealer Butch Walz should be cowering in embarrassment. In an advertisement placed in both the Daily News and the Post, Walz not only has designed a sales pitch to look like a news item, one of the lowest and also fading practices in advertising, but done so with patently misleading and amateurish prose. Worse, both newspapers let Walz slip the label "Paid Advertisement" inconspicously under the ad -- not on top, which is standard practice in the U.S. newspaper business so readers don't get news and sales pitches confused. Shame too on the Daily News and the Post.
The Walz ad, stretching across a whole page and seven inches deep, proclaims that his 2005 Buicks are going for less than half price. That's literally true, at least if the model with a list price of $24,555 will actually go out the door at $11,995. But the 11 Buicks that Walz touts in the ad aren't quite what a typical reader, especially a quick newspaper reader, would infer. Deep, deep in the text-heavy ad, a careful reader might catch that these are "program vehicles," which is car-dealer lingo, obscure to the rest of us, for certain used cars. Even deeper the euphemistic adjective "pre-owned" is slipped into the copy. In the next to last sentence the discerning reader will see that these cars have as much as 22,000 miles. That's a lot of driving in just a few months for a current-year model, but that point is left undeveloped. Talk about stealth ad copy.
Then there are false implications. Buick is called "just one step down from Cadillac in GM's lineup. That would be the $40,000 Buick Park Avenue model, not the $25,000 Buick Century, which bears more engineering, design and manufacturing kinship to low-rung Chevies albeit with a few luxury cues bolted on.
The breathless tone of the ad seeks to establish at the outset that the Walz deal has somehow gotten national attention. The copy begins with a dateline, suggesting it was written for a far-away audience. Then it calls Winona "a southeastern Minnesota town," which is accurate but would hardly be necessary for a local audience.
This kind of advertising panders to the most vulnerable readers, exploiting their lack of knowledge about the product. Although masked as a persuasive argument for the Buick Century, the ad actually is coercive in being less than upfront. The ad may sell cars for Walz. But for informed consumers, the ad is an insult to intelligence. It's reason enough to buy elsewhere. You can find Buick dealers in La Crosse, even Lewiston.
The deception is partly in the ad masquerading as news, with newspaper design conventions like a present-tense two-deck headline; a byline, albeit with the nom de plume Franklin Taylor who's vaguely identified in a subline as Ad/Feature; newspaper body type; and a photo hanging frm the headline with a cutline. The news facade, however, is amateurish to all but the most naive reader. The singular noun "Walz Buick Pontiac GMC" is given the plural pronoun "their," enough to drive a grammar-school kid up the wall. Plurals and possessives are confused, with what should be Centurys, plural, spelled Century's, singular possessive. Compound adjectives appear without hyphens.
The amateurishness of the faux journalism is all the worse with flagrant violations of AP style that's taught in freshman journalism: 15, not fifteen; Minn., not MN.
Does any of this inspire confidence in Walz Pontiac Buick GMC? And how did both the Daily News and the Post forget their obligation to their readers as gatekeepers for high standards in the advertising they carry?
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COURT CONVICTIONS
WEEK ENDING JULY 22, 2005
IN WINONA COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
UNDERAGE CONSUMPTION
Joseph George Ferris, 19, Green Bay, Wis., $165.
Estle Roy Reed, 20, Minnesota City, Minn., $177.
John David Smith, 20, Johnsburg, Ill., $227.
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Who will run this time?WINONA, Minn., July 22, 2005 -- These are the 2006 races that Winona campus people will watching:
Annual WSU picnic set for Aug. 26WINONA, Minn., July 21, 2005 -- In her first general communication mailed to the Winona State faculty and staff, new university President Judith Ramaley issued an invitation to the annual Farmers Park family picnic. "I look forward to my first opportunity to get to know the members of the Winona State community and to greet each of you and your family members as we launch a new academic year." The picnic, with free food, begins at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26, at the Farmers county park, three miles west of Stockton at the Arches.
Film-maker David Lynch touts meditationLOS ANGELES, Calif., July 21, 2005 -- Hollywood director David Lynch, known for mind-bending movies like "Blue Velvet," "Eraserhead" and "Mulholland Drive," announced a 50-campus tour to promote meditation to overcome anxiety and stress. Lynch called meditation "a missing ingredient" from college life. Lynch himself closes his eyes 15 to 20 minutes twice a day and enters "the field of oneness." He's done it for 32 years, Lynch said. Lynch also announced the creation of the Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace to finance meditation classes for students, as well as institutional research on the physiological effects of the technique.
Council member Krage back in townWINONA, Minn., June 21, 2005 -- City Council member Gerry Krage has returned from a second National Guard tour in Iraq and will reclaim his Council seat. In Krage's absence, retired veterinarian Jim Kahl has represented the 2nd Ward.
VERBATIM
THE CYBERINDEE IS YOUR NEWS SOURCE OF RECORD |
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WSU president bids farewellThis is a letter of Darrell Krueger, Winona State University president, on his last day before retiring:
July 15, 2005
Dear WSU Colleagues and Members of the Winona Community,
As I leave the presidency of Winona State University, and as my wife, Nancy, and I prepare to move to Utah to be close to our families, we wish to express our sincere appreciation, gratitude and love for this community that has been our home for 16 years.
It is difficult to find words to explain how much this community has meant to us. From our first moments in Winona in 1989 when I was applying to become WSU's president, we were made welcome and felt we were among friends. Over the years we have had many opportunities to be involved in the community both on and off campus. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously as we worked, side by side with friends, co-workers and community members, helping to make Winona an always-improving place to live.
What pleases me most is the spirit of cooperation and commitment to betterment that is evident across our region of the state. Recently, I drove around Winona in a reflective mood and considered all that had changed in the past decade-and-a-half. At almost every turn I noticed things that revived stories in my memory of community accomplishments: a building, a park, a business, a community center, a tree.
To be sure, there have been-- and will continue to be-- disagreements in a community of this size filled with passionate, caring people. What sets Winona apart is that, even in disagreement, there is a common bond of civility and seeking better ways to do things more efficiently, more effectively.
I have visited cities and towns across this country and around the world, and I know of no other place that has the level of positive, cooperative working relationships focused on the common good evident here.
That is why it is so hard to leave this place that we love.
We'll be back from time to time, to visit friends, stroll the beautiful campus, enjoy cultural events, engage in meaningful discussions, and experience the gorgeous fall colors. We know that Winona will continue to change and evolve, always for the better. Our hope is that the core principles that guide decision-making, focused on the value and participation of all members of the community, will not change.
No matter where we find ourselves in the world, Nancy and I will always be Winonans at heart. Thank you for the kindness and generosity you have shown to us over the years.
Sincerely,
Darrell W. Krueger
President |
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UNDER-AGE
BOOZERS
WHO GOT
CAUGHT
BEING
STUPID
DON'T
TELL
THEIR
MOTHERS
|
CAMPUS
SALARIES
Judith
Ramaley
WSU president
2006: $217,200
Louis
DeThomasis
SMU president
2001: $155,245
Jim Joh |
