 | WINONA COLISEUM? |  |
MEGA-ARENA PLANNING FUNDS
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The Legislature has approved transferring a $250,000 grant originally for pre-design of a Shakespearean festival theater in Winona to pre-design for a multi-purpose mega-arena that also could accommodate Winona State varsity basketball games. Redirection of the planning money was approved last week in St. Paul, according to City Manager Eric Sorensen. Sorensen said he was encouraged that the change made it through both the Legislature and the governor in a year with lean state revenue predictions. "The governor didn't even line item veto this request -- and he vetoed a lot of other requests that came to him," said Sorensen. "It is a very positive thing to have both the governor and the Legislature on board with this project."
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Sorensen said there was one change in the request that the city had not asked for -- that Winona State must be folded into planning. "In the approval papers, it says that Winona State University has to be a partner," said Sorensen. "Although unexpected, this is definitely not a problem. We knew that Winona State had to be involved somehow."
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Sorensen said he already had spoken to Winona State President Judith Ramaley, who he said was pleased with the decision. Ramaley, however, has not issued a statement on the issue. The campus and larger arts community have been disgruntled at how their Shakespeare plans had been subsumed into the larger coliseum project that was developed without their knowledge by university executives and deep-pocket civic boosters.
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The next step in the process is picking a consultant from a state architectural group list, Sorensen said. "We hope to have construction underway in 2010," Sorensen said. "I'm just really happy this grant got approved. This multipurpose facility could do so much for Winona." Early discussion has had the coliseum, which could consume 30 square blocks, between downtown and the main Winona State campus. Also discussed has been the ld residential neighborhood between the main campus and the old College of St. Teresa.
Reporter: Courtney Cosgriff
Background: Coliseum intimate enough for theater?
Background: City manager sees Oregon fest as model
Background: Prof doubts questions coliseum "plotters"
Background: WSU fund-raiser sees long road ahead
Background: Mega-arena plans announced
| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 30, 2008 A student reported a hit and run just east of Mark and Huff streets at 10:43 p.m. Police were notified. |
O'Shea home to England, then Stateside
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The student president at Winona State University, Rotney O'Shea, who will be graduated with a degree in Spanish and political science Friday, said he plans trip back to England to visit family and friends. Then, O'Shea said he plans to return to the United States for a year to look for work. He sees himself as a community organizer. e "would like to work in a poor neighborhood," he said.
This was a tumultuous year for O'Shea, who began in the fall as a senior senator but became Senate vice president in November with the death of President Jared Stene. In March, when new President Emily Feehan resigned under pressure, O'Shea moved up to president. Said O'Shea: "I am glad that I am done with Senate and I am not going to miss this year's Senate." Reporter: Rebecca Erdmann |  ROTNEY O'SHEA Sees community organizer role ahead |
SHOEMAKER SEEKS $600 JOB
FROM NEW STUDENT PRESIDENT
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- A recently elected sophomore student senator at Winona State University, Alexandra Shoemaker, who is the girlfriend of student President-elect David Obray, has applied for a $600 position as a Student Senate committee chair. It is Obray who appoints committee chairs. Senate confirmation is required but historically granted routinely. The appointment, said one observer, would compound the Senate's image problem as a clubby group that's out of touch with students overall and focuses instead on taking care of it own. This being final exam week at Winona State, neither Obray nor Shoemaker were maintaining Senate office hours to take reporter questions.
Several sources confirmed, however, that Shoemaker wants to chair the Diversity Awareness Committee, which pays $600. As a committee chair Shoemaker would be be part of the Obray's eight-member cabinet. Shoemaker was elected to the Senate in February. Shoemaker then served on the Student Services committee, which carried no compensation. As a newby, she didn't establish a record of accomplishment. In March she was re-elected to the Senate. Although she wants to chair the Diversity Awareness Committee, Shoemaker has had no involvement with the committee's events or projects.
Shoemaker acquired an early reputation for cronyism. In one spring semester election she ran for both a freshman and a College of Business seat and won both. She chose the business seat and was frank that she did so in order to allow a runner-up for the freshman seat, her chum Chris Brignull, to become a senator.
Shoemaker's political base is largely among Senate insiders, who, including associate members, comprise a large voting bloc. On her Facebook site she has emphasized her connections in good-timing party social circles, another voting bloc.
Obray had intended to jumpstart his year as student president with an April 21 deadline for applications for committee chairships. He said he wanted to present his choices at the final Senate meeting of the spring on April 23 so the Senate could function over the summer, but he did not do so. Unclear is whether a factor in Obray's delay was the Shoemaker application and the eyebrows it raised. Obray said esrlier that he was serious about committee appointments and had created a more detailed application form than had been used in the past.
Obray has six appointments to make to Senate committee chairships. Liberal Arts Sen. Ian Galchutt has confirmed he applied for the Public Relations Committee, and sophomore Nathan Lynne for the Technology Committee and senior Sen. Josh Martin for either the Student Affairs and the Academic Affairs committees. Obray has not listed who else has applied. All the chairs carry a $600 stipend funded by mandatory student activity fees assessed on all students. Galchutt, Lynne and Martin are among few seasoned senators retyurning thie coming year, which has left Obray with slim pickings in putting together an exeorience cabinet. The Cabinet is comprised of the six appointed committee chairs and the Senate vice president and treasurer |
CAMPUS ITEM Alexandra Shoemaker David Obray Shoemaker puts Obray on the spot in applying for committee chair job that carries compensation  CAMPAIGNING ON FACEBOOK Shoemaker and, no, that's not Diet Pepsi she's clutching |
Background: Switcheroo leads to cronyism charge
Background: Three senators confirm chair applications
New rector for SMU seminary named
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- An alum of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary at St. Mary's University, Andrew Breeman, will be the new rector, Bishop Bernard Harrington announced. The seminary trains parish priests for the Winona Catholic Diocese. father Breeman succeeds James Steffes, who has been appointed to a post with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Breeman, ordained in 1996. has served parishes in Rochester, Luverne and Ellsworth. Most recently he has been academic dean of the Immaculate Heart seminary.Background: SMU priest to U.S. Bishops post
Prof: Fuss over Wright overblown
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The controversy surrounding Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's connection with Rev. Jeremiah Wright has been made into a bigger spectacle than it warrants, a Winona State University political science professor said. The fuss probably will blow over, Yogesh Grover said in an interview. The flamboyantly offensive and widely denounced remarks of Rev. Wright do not deserve the focus that they have been getting, Grover said. "This whole issue is in my mind, blown out of proportion," he said. "The campaign is about Obama and not about Rev. Wright."| MORE |
Grover doesn't think that Rev. Wright's remarks, even his infamous "God damn America" speech, warrant such a strong backlash. "I do not find those remarks that offensive," said Grover. "His remarks such as, 'God Damn America,' are expressions of anger, and lots of people are angry with the American government."
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Grover believes that Obama has taken the necessary precautions to distance himself from Rev. Wright. the next step for Obama, he said, should be simply to move on. "He should concentrate on his campaign, concentrate on the issues that matter," Grover said. "His former pastor is not running the campaign, so he should not be an issue."
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Grover hopes that the American public will also shift its focus from Rev. Wright's loose cannon remarks to Obama's stand on issues that matter. The American public's focus on people like Rev. Wright is damaging not only to Obama but also to all politicians and even the political campaign process because it creates unfair evaluation of candidates. "I hope the people will evaluate them not on the basis of what their pastors say but instead on the basis of what they say," Grover said.
Reporter: David Schneider
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Stuedeman, Ewing pace WSU victory
LA CROSSE, Wis., April 30, 2008 -- Winona State University swept a nonconference softball doubleheader with an 8-0 victory over University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 8-0 in five innings and then a nightcap 5-3 victory. Annie Stuedemann and Chelsey Ewing paced the Warriors in the opener. Stuedemann went three-for-three with a run scored and three runs driven in. Ewing tossed a two-hit complete game with two strikeouts. One of Stuedemann's hit was a solo home run in the Warriors' five-run third inning and another was a two-run double in the fifth. Chelsea Rosenow added two hits and two runs scored to the win.| MORE |
In the second game Winona State came up with two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings for a 5-2 lead. Rosenow, Jenny Wilmes and Callie Givens all had two hits and two RBIs apiece. Kristen Fossell came on in relief in the second inning with the Warriors trailing 2-1. She notched the game with five hits and five strikeouts.
Stats: Game One
Stats: Game Two
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Hellenbrand, WSU split with Concordia
ST. PAUL., April 30, 2008 -- Ross Hellenbrand pitched and hit Winona State University to a 3-1 baseball victory over Concordia University St. Paul in the first game of a Northern Sun conference doubleheader before the Warriors lost the nightcap 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the first game Hellenbrand retired the first 14 batters he faced. he went on to toss a four-hit complete game with eight strikeouts. Hellenbrand also came up with three of the Warriors' eight hits to go with a run scored and a run driven in. Teammates gave Hellenbrand all the support he would need with three runs in the fourth inning. Consecutive hits by Hellenbrand, Joe Kley, Brent Maxwell and Jamie Soyk did the damage.| MORE |
In the second game Hellenbrand came up with two more hits, but a walk-off home run gave the game to Concordia. Winona Sate had come back to take a 7-6 lead with two runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth only to have the Golden Bears tie the game at 7-7 with a run in the sixth and then win the game in seventh with one out. Mike Brabender, Jared Anderson, Soyk and Sam Henriksen all had two hits apiece, while Brabender and Maxwell scored twice and Anderson drove in two runs.
Stats: Game One
Stats: Game Two
Ceremonies to be streamed, televised
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The Winona State spring commencement, with more than 900 grads, will be streamed live on the Web, the university announced. The morning ceremony begins at 9:30, Friday, for business and liberal arts. grades and the afternoon ceremony begins at 2 for education, nursing and science grads. The university said that the ceremonies also will be broadcast live over Hiawatha Broadband channel 20 in Winona and in markets served by HBC. In the Rochester area, Charter channel 20 will carry the ceremonies live. Hiawatha channel 25 will rebroadcast the morning ceremony Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and afternoon ceremony at 7:30 p.m.Background: Duellman, Kurkiewicz to carry banners
WSU frosh arrested in shoplifting
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- A Winona State University freshman was arrested Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Wal-Mart after a shoplifting complaint. Police said two curtains valued at $33.99 had been taken.Reporter: Sawyer Derry
McCain blames 35W collapse on earmarks
ALLENTOWN, Pa., Aporil 30, 2008 -- The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge that killed 13 motorists and injured 143 last summer was the result of porkbarrel politics that diverted money to less essential projects than infrastructure maintenance, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said. "The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money," McCain told reporters. "The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects." The comments came as a blow to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is co-chair of McCain's election campaign. Pawlenty had been considered a leading candidate for the vice presidency.| MORE |
McCain, an Arizona senator, has promised to eliminate earmarks that allow members of Congress to fund less than necessary projects in their home districts. Earmarks ran $18 billion last year. Said McCain: "I think there is a long, long list of earmarks which went to unnecessary and unwanted projects that I think should have gone to the bridge in Minnesota."
Background: Campaigns that campus people are watching
Former dean back heading WSU liberal arts
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- A former liberal arts dean at Winona State, history prof Peter Henderson, has been appointed to the job again, this time on an interim basis, by university President Judith Ramaley. Henderson, who earned good marks as dean from 1996 to 2001, had been asked to serve again. No one else applied. Ramaley said he had "graciously accepted." A search is scheduled to begin in the fall for a long-term successor to Troy Paino, who is leaving for a $150,000 position as chief academic officer at Truman State in Missouri.
Before serving as dean the first time, Henderson directed the Winona State paralegal program, from 1991 to 1995 and again in 2004 and 2005. He directed the university's honors program in 2002. Henderson holds a doctorate from the University of Nebraska and a law degree from Vanderbilt. Last year he wrote a history of Winona State, "Her Star Shall Not Dim," for Winona State's sesquicentennial.
An announcing Henderson's appointment, Ramaley repeated her appreciation to Paino. Ramaleyb said that she was proud of his accomplishments and that he would be missed. |  PETER HENDERSON Veteran history prof |
Background: History prof up for deanship
Background: Two finalists for associate deanship
Agencies deny "Smiley Face Murders"
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- A claim by two retired New York police detectives that links the drownings of at least 40 men in 25 cities, including one in La Crosse and another in Minneapolis, is not supported by evidence, according to statements from the FBI and the Minneapolis police. The only common denominator in most of the drownings is that they were alcohol related, the statements said. The New York theory, dubbed the "Smiley Face Murders," has picked up national attention.Econ prof: Gas prices have bright side
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- Rising gas prices may have positive effects on the economy as well as the environment, according to a Winona State University economics prof. William Yu said in an interview that revenue generated from higher gas prices will help the economy, while any reductions in gas purchases and increased use of alternative transportation will help the environment. Yu believes that gas prices will continue to rise over the summer, which he sees as speeding up the economy's recovery, not slowing it down. "Demand for gas is high right now," said Yu, "and when demand is high, prices go up."| MORE |
A Winona gas station employee said that he hasn't noticed a decline in gas purchases because of the increase in price. "We have the same amount of customers, just more unhappy ones," said Oliver Sternberg, shift manager at the Kwik Trip on West Sixth Street.
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Yu said also that high gas prices can help fight global warming. People will be looking for other means of transportation this summer, Wu said. He expects an increase in public transportation, bike riding and other environmentally friendly alternatives to driving.
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Asked what shape the economy is in now, Yu said: "Not so good." He added, though, that the slowdown is short term. "The economy is resilient," he said. "It will bounce back." People who can afford to go on trips will, said Yu: "Those who can't will have to wait."
Reporter: Jenna Cameron
Tuition hikes outpace instructional budgets
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008 -- College students are paying more tuition than ever even though college spending on instruction has slowed since 1998, according to a report. The Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity, and Accountability reported that tuition at public four-year institutions in 2005 was up from 37 percent in 1998. Colleges, however, are using a smaller share of tuition revenue for direct instructional purposes. Instead, the report said, the college have shifted a large share of tuition revenue to financial aid.Workshop to address educational access
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The superintendent of Rochester, Minn., schools, Romain Dallemand, will be among speakers at a workshop on cultural diversity at Winona State University. Organizers said the session is to promote a discussion on education access and opportunity.Date: Wednesday, May 14
Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place:Purple Rooms, Kryzsko Commons
Cost: Free; reservations required; lunch included
Contact: Diversity Dialogue
Flooding closes Maine campus
FORT KENT, Maine, April 30, 2008 -- Students were evacuated from dorms at the University of Maine at Fort Kent as the Fish and St. John rivers overflowed their banks. About 150 students were relocated to the University of Maine at Presque Isle and at Northern Maine Community College. Flood waters, loosened by torrential rains that melted a heavy snowpack, damaged the municipal sewer plant, disabling dorm showers and toilets. Classes were canceled for a week.SMU priest to U.S. Bishops post
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- The sacramental minister at St. Mary's University since 1996. James Steffes, has been named executive director of the U.S. Bishops' Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. Since 2002 Father Steffes also has been rector of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary at the campus. In his new position Steefes will be in Washtington.Inquiry lays blame on jinxed Ghana study tour
SEATTLE, Wash, April 30, 2008 -- A study-abroad trip that went bad under the direction of a University of Washington counselor who was in over her head, an investigation concluded. The five-week trip, to a remote rural village, was a "major undertaking" beyond the ability of the director, Linda L. Iltis, who failed to "appropriately handle" the challenges, the report said, The trip was cut short after the medical evacuation of eight of 17 participants from the equatorial west Africa nation. Meanwhile, the university already has refunded $2,500 to each student.| MORE |
The university commissioned the review, which was conducted a lawyer in personnel matters. The report found a "significant breakdown" in communications between Iltis and students as well as with a nongovernmental organization in Ghana that was a local partner for the program and also university administrators back in Seattle. The report, drawn from interviews with participants, quoted students that they had been minimally fed, neglected by Iltis, and given poor instruction by local college professors.
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Iltis is quoted in the report that her group was "hijacked" by the nongovernmental organization. She said the organization mishandled funds and isolated her from her students. Iltis herself fell ill on the trip.
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Tanning: More risk vs. benefits sparring
WINONA, Minn., April 30, 2008 -- College students and anybody else who chooses to tan indoors must understand the risks and benefits, says the director of student health at Winona State University. Diane Palm calls indoor tanning an avoidable health risk. Palm, who has been at Winona State 10 years, said that she sees the effects of tanning in her patients on a daily basis, from redness, swelling and pain to serious signs of skin cancer.| MORE |
Not everyone agrees. A Winona tanning salon owner, Peter Freese denies any risks, just benefits. Freese, who has owned GQ and Electric Beach, said: "Indoor tanning makes people feel good, especially in Minnesota. It provides the Vitamin D our bodies need and doctors now are even prescribing it for acne and psoriasis," said Freese. He claims upward of 300 tanning customers a day, more than a third of whom he said are college students.
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Palm said no dermatologist she knows would prescribe tanning, an irreversible skin ager, for a temporary problem like acne. About melanoma, Freese acknowledged that it is a serious skin cancer but that it comes with deep burning and blistering and rapid skin aging, which he said in most cases is hereditary. "I have been tanning myself for over 30 years, and I don't think that I look any older then my age," Freese said.
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But Palm cautioned that many young people don't see the consequences: "They don't realize that they aren't going to look 20 the rest of their lives." The Skin Cancer Foundation is on Palm's side. Indoor tanning has been found to increase the chance of melanoma by 15 percent, according to the society. Even so, it's estimated that n 2.3 million U.S> teenagers visit tanning salons a year.
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Freese said that he has never enforced a time limit on customers who tan and has never felt the need to confront those whom he calls "tanaholics."
Reporter: Amie Hylton
| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 29, 2008 A trouble alarm went off in the Maria dorm at 6:31 p.m. An engineer was notified. A parent was concerned at not hearing from a son for some time. Security guards checked and located the student. |
Stress-busting tips for students
WINONA, Minn., April 29, 2008 -- One technique isn't enough for stress management, a counselor said at a workshop ahead of final exams at Winona State University. Wayne Theye suggested a range of activities, including to-do lists and re-labeling perceptions. More challenging activities, Theye said, are pushing oneself to work out everyday. Theye said that many student find a useful stress-buster in the "be here now" method. This method was first presented by David Ellis, author "Becoming A Master Student," calls for concentrating on certain tasks, say reading or listening to lecture, and putting aside other thoughts. In other words, concentrate solely on the task at hand. Theye suggested self-empowerment, Students can tell themselves "I choose," rather than "I should."Reporter: Shannon Burgess
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Two finalists for new WSU associate deanship
WINONA, Minn., April 29, 2008 -- Two finalists for a new No. 2 position in WInona State University's liberal arts college include an internal candidate, communications prof Ted Reilly, and an external candidate, Nancy Holland of Hamline University. The position, associate dean, would report to the liberal arts dean, also an open position but for which former interim Dean Peter Henderson is the only candidate.| MORE |
The associate dean search committee issued mini-profiles and announced these interview times for campus people:
Nancy Holland: Since 1981 on the Hamline University faculty. Involved at Hamline on the Faculty Council and numerous committees. Former member of the Advisory Board of the Minnesota Center for Women in Government. Holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's and a bachelor's, also in philosophy, from Stanford. Open forum: 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 30, Dining Room G Kryzsko Commons.Background: History prof up for deanship
Ted Reilly: Since 1997, on the communications faculty at WInona State. Has served on numerous Winona State committees, including space and finance. On the presidential search committee in 2005. Holds a doctorate in speech communication from Louisiana State and a master's from the University of Maine and a bachelor's from Northern Illinois, both also in speech communication.Open forum: 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 5, Purple Room 104. Kryzsko Commons.
SMU plans $20 million science renovations
WINONA, Minn., April 29, 2008 -- To update its science facilities St. Mary's University has launched a $20 million fundraising campaign. The project includes 520yearold Hoffman al and 22-year-old Charles Hall. A 40,000-square foot addition is planned for the Adducci science building. To reporter Nolan Rosenkrans of the Winona Daily News, academic Vice President Thomas Mans said that the facilities are at the end of their useful life cycle. Groundbreaking is expected in the fall. | VIGIL FOR SLAIN TEENAGER At Winona State the death of Lawrence King is remembered in a vigil as a day of Silence sponsored by campus gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals. In the light of their candles are Nathan Stone, Mary Mellesmoen and Alyssa Stuart. Photographer: Sawyer Derry |
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OF BEING GAY
VIGIL MARKS
DAY OF SILENCE AT WSU
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- A candle light vigil in memory of an eighth grade boy named Lawrence King who was shot for being homosexual marked the Day of Silence at Winona State University. The vigil, presided over by Pastor John Carrier, followed a forum sponsored by Winona State's Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transsexual Alliance, about the hardship of members' sexuality. It's hard being open, said panelist Adnan Nazeer, a senior in mass communication: "You don't know what people are thinking." Fourteen people participated, not as many as organizer Mary Mellesmoen would have liked, but she said that 30 other vigils were also going on throughout the nation.
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This vigil was one of the campus events for National Day of Silence Week, which began Monday. Most of the panelists said that although they worry about how open they are about their sexuality, most said feel safe at Winona State, Mellesmoen said that she chose Winona State because the GLBTA is out and visible. Even so, panelists agreed that they hear a lot of derogatory remarks about homosexuals such as, "That's so gay." Senior Jason Staskus, a mass communications, said he knows of harassments situations on campus over sexual orientation.
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The panel also discussed when and how they told others that they were gay. Freshman Nathan Stone, a nursing major, said" Coming out is one hard because you don't know who will support you. "It's never easy because you don't know how they will react and however they react is just how it will be," he said. Some panelists said they don't have a problem telling others that they are gay depending on the situation. Some prefer not to mention it at work. Freshman Alyssa Stuart, a mass communication major, said a girl she used to lunch with told her she couldn't join her anymore for lunch after learning that she out Stuart was lesbian.
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Panelists also said that parents can be a problem. Nazeer said he knew he was gay by the time he was in middle school but that father still talks about him having a wife and kids. Currently, he said, his mother is looking for a good wife for him. Nazeer said that he has always dreamed about getting married and is crushed that he can't legally do that now. Mellesmoen said it's not fair that homosexuals can't have the same rights as straight people.
Reporter: Sawyer Derry
WAS BROKEN
WSU FOOTBALL FRESHMAN
FACES ASSAULT CHARGE
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- A Winona State University varsity football player, Chad Cheek, has been charged with assault for an October incident in which a second person was punched in the face. The guy's nose was broken. Cheek, 19, is a 6-foot-3 190-pound centerback who enrolled at Winona State last fall as a freshman. He was recruited from East Ridge High in Clermont, Fla. As of Thursday, the day he was charged, Cheek was still listed on the Winona State football roster. The charge, assault causing substantial bodily harm, is a felony with penalties of as much as five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Cheek has been ordered to appear before a judge May 15.
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Police said they were called to the Winona hospital emergency room at 1:45 a.m., Oct. 20, the Saturday of the home against Bemidji State. The criminal complaints, based on a lengthy police investigation, alleges this sequence of events as put together from two guys who had been tossing a football around when one made a bad pass, which, they say, provoked a derogatory remark from the other guy. Apparently thinking the remark was aimed at him, Cheek approached and got in his guy's face. The friend said he tried to pull them apart but Cheek hit the guy in the face three times and then ran away.
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Cheek's account, also in the criminal complaint, is different. Cheek says he asked one of the guys to throw him the ball. Instead, the guy called him something derogatory and directed some explicit comments atr him. Cheek confronted the guy who, Cheek said, spit in his face. The blows followed.
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In high school Cheek played quarterback Back then he was listed at 6-2 and 195 pound and noted for his speed. He was courted not only by Winona State. At one point he signed at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and was on short lists at Georgetown and Columbia,
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WSU POSITION ON ASBESTOS:
CAPUS IS SAFE, SAFE, SAFE
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- Winona State University has provided all documents that a federal agency has requested about its policies and practices regarding asbestos abatement, according to the assistant vice president who has been assigned to be the sole source of public information from the university about a federal complaint of negligence in handling asbestos in maintenance projects. Cristeen Custer, whose job is university marketing and communication, said in an interview that she is not sure of the status of the university response in the federal review process. The seven federal citations filed in November all concerned asbestos.
Custer repeated in the interview that the university position is that, despite the allegations, neither employees nor students are in any danger of asbestos exposure. The charges of lapses in university safety practices came from an on-site August inspection by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA said that 80 workers had been exposed.
In an interview, Custer chose not to discuss specifics of the OSHA charges. The university has been silent about which buildings where OSHA claims there were problems. Custer in the interview emphasized that employees who work in facilities are "unsung heroes" who have made Winona State a safe campus.
Although the university has challenged the OSHA charges, the case remains unresolved. Meanwhile, the university has put a lid on employees who are knowledgeable about the OSHA inspection and issues: No interviews. All questions are referred to Custer, who is in her first year in the university's image division.
Custer said that more than two-thirds of the 35 campus buildings were constructed with asbestos before the product was banned in the 1970s for debilitating health dangers. The buildings containing asbestos pose no danger, Custer said. In the 1980s, she said, a survey was done statewide to identify every public building that contained asbestos. As long as the asbestos, used mostly as insulation, is left undisturbed it is benign. When asbestos particles become airborne, however, they can lead to adverse health effects. These effects include cancer, respiratory problems, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Custer said said that the two-thirds of campus buildings that contain asbestos are more than 40 years old. However, she said this excludes buildings that have been renovated or demolished in the last 10 years.
Custer said that before any major campus renovation or demolition, all asbestos is removed. Buildings that have been completely abated, or all asbestos removed, included the razed Lincoln School at Huff and Sarnia and the recently renovated Maxwell Hall on the main campus, she said. Custer said she assumed that other renovations, such as the Pasteur science building, included abatement also.
Winona State has spent $1.4 million on asbestos removal since 2005, Custer said. She said that this includes hiring outside contractors to remove the asbestos.
Custer said that she anticipates asbestos will have to be removed from Memorial Hall when construction begins on a new indoor running track, gym, cardiovascular center and classrooms. |  CRISTEEN CUSTER Assistant WSU vice president for communication and marketing |
Reporter: Chelsey Swanson
Background:
Federal charge: 80 WSU workers exposed
Inspector: WSU ignored worker safety
WSU exec: Asbestos e-mail was groupthink
Student services chair: What, me worry?
Judge upholds prof's right to negative views
LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 28, 2008 -- A prof who used the words "fraud," "guilty" and "plagiarism" in criticizing an article in a scholarly medical journal was within his First Amendment rights, a judge ruled. The prof, Bruce Flamm, who teaches obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California at Irvine, called the decision a victory for academic freedom. One of the authors of the article sued Flamm for libel. Judge James Dunn, of Superior Court, originally allowed the suit to continue but now has granted Flamm's motion to disallow the case.| MORE |
The case involved a 2001 study in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, which purported that prayer by anonymous people in North America and Australia had doubled the success rate for South Korean women undergoing fertilization procedures even if the women were unaware of the prayers. Flamm found the study absurd. "This may be the first time in history that all three authors of a randomized, controlled study have been found guilty of fraud, deception, and/or plagiarism," he wrote.
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One author, Rogerio Lobo at Columbia University, later withdrew his name from the study. A second author, Daniel Wirth, a lawyer who studies the paranormal, has since pleaded guilty to mail fraud and bank fraud in an unrelated case. The third author, Kwang Cha, a prominent fertility specialist in South Korea and California, continued to defend the artice and filed the libel action.
Thrill Kill? No, says WSU expert
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- The motivation for a pair of Detroit, Mich, teens convicted in a brutal murder and mutilation case has been incorrectly identified by police as a "thrill kill," a Winona State University professor of criminal justice said. Helen Dachelet said in an interview that thrill is an impossible motive. "I don't think that there is such a thing as a 'thrill killing,' Dachelet said. "Why would one person kill another person, especially stab them a dozen times? That means that there was a lot of anger."| MORE |
On Nov. 26, Alexander Letkemann, 17, and Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 18, lured Daniel Sorenson, a 26-year-old acquaintance, into a garage and stabbed him 12 times, slit his throat and sawed off his head before burning his hands and feet with a blowtorch and dumping the body.
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"It would be unreal for someone to kill someone else without some kind of problems," she said. Dachelet, who spent decades as a felony probation officer and has a doctorate in psychology, says that violence of this caliber comes from childhood abuse. "Anybody who can kill in a brutal fashion or be a mass murderer was probably abused," she said. "Nobody can do that unless they were somehow in their childhood abused by someone who purports to love them."
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Dachelet said that the Letkemann and Orlewicz must have felt tormented by Sorenson and viewed killing him as their last remaining option for dealing with him. "They get pushed too far," she said. "They had lots of rage and hate and anger against him. At some point they probably said, 'This is enough. If we don't kill him we'll always be tormented by him and be at the bottom rung.'"
Reporter: David Schneider
Bye-bye to East Lake's armory parking
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- Students living at Winona State's East Lake dorm apartments will lose parking availability when the next-door armory is remodeled into a veterans' clubhouse, said the university's dorms chief. East Lake tenants have been parking in front of the armory, which has been abandoned for years. Paula Scheevel, who manages WInona State dorms, said she dies expect the American Legion to negotiated a new contract for student parking.| MORE |
Construction of a new Legion post, including a bar, is planned for summer. Exterior construction probably will be completed by the time students return in August and disruption for students should be minimal, Scheevel said.
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Scheevel acknowledged that the Legion bar, adjacent to the dorm, may be a problem. Veterans bars are normally open to the public, she said, adding that she hopes that bartenders will follow constraints and will be responsible in checking identifications and serving drinks. The university cannot control who its neighbors are but hopes that students will be responsible.
Reporter: Chelsey Swanson
Scandal-stricken West Virginia dean quits
MORGANTOWN, W.Va, April 28, 2008 -- The business dean at West Virginia University, Steve Sears, has joined the provost in resigning for the retroactive awarding of an advanced degree to the daughter of the governor without a record of her completing her coursework. Earlier, long-time provost Gerald Lang resigned amid demands that heads roll in the transcript doctoring scandal. Faculty have called for university President Mike Garrison also to step aside or be removed.| MORE |
Insiders said that Garrison appears have support from the university's governing board to remain. Lang and Sears were mentioned prominently in a report by independent panel last week. Even though Garrison was not so prominent targeted, some faculty are proposing a no o no confidence. Said one proponent of forcing Garrison out, physics prof Boyd Edwards: "He is not going to be a credible leader here in the future because of the perception that he has been involved in this scandal."
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The investigative panel's report called for Garrison to make various administrative changes to prevent another transcript scadal. The panel, howeverm did not call for any firings.
Background: Provost quits in transcript scandal
Historian equates Iraq, Vietnam wars
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- The war in Iraq and U.S. conflicts over the latter 20th century represent attempts to address political, economic and historical problems with military solutions that mounting evidence suggests don't work, a Winona State University historian said. Prof Steve Tilson, who teaches U.S. History through 1865, draws parallels between the Iraq and Vietnam wars. "In the Vietnam conflict, the war dragged on with no seeming end or resolution in sight causing public opinion and support to erode similar to what has been happening more recently," Tilson said. The conflict in Iraq, he noted, is now the longest conflict the United States his been in since Vietnam. Just like previous wars, he said, the Iraq conflict was supposed to be limited in scope or duration.| MORE |
Because there is still no clear answer as to when the troops will be coming home, Tilson believes the number of people supporting the war has shifted to over the past few years. "Americans are starting to think the war was ill-advised to begin with and will not have any kind of positive outcome, whatever we do," said Tilson.
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As for differences between the present day conflict and wars that have occurred in the past, Tilson said he thinks there is less publicized moral outrage today. "I think people now are more careful to voice their support for troops, publicly at least, than was the case in past wars. This might be a result of the emotional environment created by September 11th," said Tilson.
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Tilson said he often uses the United States current situation with Iraq to make connections with his students so they better understand the similarities and differences of how society deals with war.
Reporter: Taylor Laitsch
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LORI WOODWARD, Women's Resource Center TARA HOHIFF, WSU Environmental Club JULIE SCHWEMER, Women's Resource Center COURTNEY AULT, WSU FORGE club ERIKA STAUB, Nursing Students For Choice STAN BREITLOW, Women's Resource Center BECKY EK, Nursing Students For Choice |
Anti-violence concert raises $2,000
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- A check for $2,000, raised at the Rock Against Violence concert two weeks ago, was presented to the Women's Resource Center. Organizer Courtney Ault, representing three Winona State clubs, including two feminist groups, proclaimed the event a success.Report: Accreditors ignore part-timer issue
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008 -- College accrediting agencies ignore their own advice on the growing number of part-time faculty, who are hired cheap, and ignore their swelling ranks in higher education. The American Association of University Professors, which titled the report "Looking the Other Way? Accreditation Standards and Part-Time Faculty," said that accreditors are have been "largely silent" about adjunct faculty, who teach assigned courses but have none of the other traditional responsibilities of faculty, including curriculum development and academic governance.Wisconsin-Madison breaks confidentiality
BUFFALO, N.Y., April 28, 2008 -- The cat is out of the bag that the research vice president at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Jorge Jose, is job-hunting. By mistake the University of Wisconsin-Madison released Jose's name as among 55 applicants for chancellor. Generally universities announce names only when the pool of candidates is down to three or four, sometimes five, unless a candidate says confidentiality is not an issue. But the university released the names of nine of the 55 candidates who, it said, had not requested confidentiality. Wrong. Jose had. The university has apologized, So has Academic Search Inc., the head-hunting firm that is handling the search.Provost quits in transcript scandal
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., April 28, 2008 -- Te provost of West Virginia University, Gerald Lang, resigned amid growing criticism for cover-up of the fact that the daughter of the governor had not earned the degree she claimed. Lang acknowledged that he had ratified a dean's decision to adjust the transcript of the governor;s daughter. In his letter of resignation Lang said: "Given my history with West Virginia University, I am very sorry that my one action in ratifying a dean's decision in a single situation has had a negative impact." He noted that a panel the panel that investigated Bresch case did not find any willful misconduct, but, he added that he hoped that his resignation would begin a healing process for the institution.| MORE |
The panel had concluded that administrators had violated procedures and displayed poor judgment in awarding an executive M.B.A. to Heather Bresch. She had not completed her course work when she got the degree.
Background: Probe: Governor's daughter has no M.B.A.
Judge to Ouellette: Wait in jail
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- Gadfly Todd Ouellette, who has said he may run next for mayor, said he would begin a hunger strike after being ordered if jailed during a pre-sentence investigation on a misdemeanor assault conviction. Judge Mary Leahy order Ouellette behind bars any way. Leahy noted that Ouellette had refused t o cooperate with the pre-sentence investigation but, the case being only at the misdemeanor level, should be complete quickly. Ouellette, 40, was convicted of attacking State House of Representatives candidate Nick Ridge, a Winona State University student, on a downtown street. Ouellette was ordered to replace Ridge's $80 watch. He also faces 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
To the judge, Ouellette said the fine and restitution for the watch isn't possible. He called himself a bankrupt alcoholic and said had to hitchhike to Winona for his court appearance. He explained he hadn't cooperated with a pre-sentence investigation because the results were a foregone conclusion -- the maximum sentence. Among issues in the pre-sentence investigation is chemical dependency and mental problems.
Ouellette ran or City council in 2006, losing to incumbent Gerry Krage. he was gigged by the state Ejection Commission for campaign shenanigans. Also, prosecution is pending for a claim that he lived in Ward 2, a requirement for the candidacy. He claimed his address was his car. A less mobile address was never confirmed. |  TODD OUELL- ETTE Vows to refuse food, water |  NICK RIDGE Timepiece still smashed |
Background: Ouellette guilty for punches over flags
Bail granted in pulltab case
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- A Winona man arrested for the theft of $1,400 in gambling pulltab money from the Draught Haus bar, where he worked, has been released on bail. Michael Wittig, 24, was ordered to stay in Winona and away from the Draught Haus until a hearing on a felony count of felony theft.| MORE |
Wittig was arrested April 2 in Wisconsin after Draught Haus owner Kiel Jenkin arrived about 6:10 p.m. and realized that the bar had been left open and Wittig was no where to be found. "The first place I looked was in the till and then the pulltab box," Jenkin said in an interview. About Wittig, Jenkin said: "I thought he was a pretty down-to-earth kid." Wittig had been an employee at the Draught Haus for several months and frequently opened the bar in the afternoons.
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As police have pieced together what happened, Wittig paid a friend $145 the afternoon of April 2 to drive him to Madison, Wis. When the driver realized that money had been stolen cash, the driver dropped Wittig off at a gas station near Sparta, Wis. From the station, Wittig hitchhiked to Ho Chunk Casino in Baraboo, Wis., where he was later arrested.
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Wisconsin police said that Wittig had only $12 at the time of his arrest at the casino.
Reporter: Ingrid Alm
Background: Arrest in Daught Haus pulltab theft
Driver stopped; cops find booze breath
WINONA, Minn., April 28, 2008 -- A Winona State University student was arrested after police pulled her over at 2:50 a.m. after, they said, she swerved and missed a red light, and then failed a sobriety test. The driver, 21, blew a 0.08 percent in a blood-alcohol, police said. She was stopped after missing the at Sixth and Franklin streets.Start-up firm offers free textbooks
NEW YORK, April 27, 2008 -- A new digital-textbook publisher, Flat World Knowledge, announced a list of free online, peer-reviewed, interactive, user-editable textbooks for the Spring 2009 semester. Co-founder Eric Frank said the first titles will be business, economics and advertising textbooks. Texts in other disciplines will come later. Frank and partner Jeff Shelstad, both veterans in the textbook industry, most recently at Pearson Prentice Hall, plan to make money by selling supplementary t study guides and print-on-demand hard copies. The company will also sell user-created study materials sold through the Flat World site.The books will include images, audio and video. and Students can chat and share notes with one another while reading. Faculty adopters will be able to edit the texts any way they want to fir their courses.| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 27, 2008 A student reported at 11:42 p.m that somebody was damaging vehicles in the Maria dorm parking lot. Individuals fled when security guards arrived but t were apprehended. The individuals had been placing erasable chalk on the vehicles. No permanent damage was done. |
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Two underage boozing charges
WINONA, Minn., April 27, 2008 -- Two Winona State University students old enough to know better but too young to do it were caught drinking, one Saturday night and one early Sunday, police briefing officer Scott Bestul reported. One student, age 20, was caught at 365 West 10th St. at 11:19 p.m. and charged with minor consumption. Later, at 1:34 a.m., another student, also 20, was pulled over by police for drunken driving. His blood alcohol level was = 0.09 percent, Bestul said. The man was arrested dor driving under the influence.Reporter: Jenna Cameron
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Student dies after coma at prof's home
PHOENIX, Ariz., April 27, 2008 -- A psychology prof at Paradise Valley Community College, Michael Todd, was placed on paid administrative leave after one of his students fell into a coma at his home and died. Police said the death of Andria Ziegler, 19, is considered a homicide. The cause of death has not been determined, police said. Toxicology tests are pending.| MORE |
An emergency medical team responded to a call about an unconscious woman early Sunday, April 20. On Monday afternoon Ziegler's parents reported her missing, and police linked the woman's body, which had not been identified, with the family's description. At the college, a spokesperson confirmed that Todd called in sick on Monday and Tuesday. He was placed on leave after college officials learned of Ziegler's death. Meanwhile, a private detective says that Ziegler's best friend reported that Todd had tried to date Ziegler but that she had declined.
What's a night of boozing without a sub?
WINONA, Minn., April 27, 2008 -- When the downtown bars scoot customers out the doors at the legally mandated 1 a.m. closing time, the rush begins at Erbert & Gi;bert's and at Jimmy John's sandwich shops. "Crazy," said Shannon Weaver, who works at Jimmy John's, in describin the bar crowd in an article by Andrew Link in Bravura. A lot of revelers are screaming at each other as they pack the place, Weaver said: "It is hard to hear the customers." Thursdays through Saturdays means bulking up the sandwich shop staffs. At Erbert & Gilbert's it's as many as 11, compared to seven or eight on other nights. To judge how big the crowd will be be, managers send scouts into the bars before closing time to gauge what's ahead. Do the shops ever sell out? At Winona State's homecoming weekend, Weaver remembers running out of bread three times on night.RELIEF AFTER A YEAR:
SON NOW BACK FROM IRAQ
WINONA, Minn., April 27, 2008 -- That his son might be emotionally damaged or wounded was a Winona State University prof's biggest fear when his son shipped off for Iraq a year ago. "The first two weeks were terrible," said Tom Grier. "My son Jeff didn't know how to work the communication system yet, so if four days went by and I still hadn't heard from him I got worried." It was relief for Grier, who teaches masscom, when Jeff, 23, returned home two weeks ago. "Jeff is adjusting well," his father said in an interview. "He can sleep without the sound of bombs in the background blowing up every time he falls asleep.
Jeff was able to come home once during his year in Iraq. He choose the days of Oktoberfest in La Crosse, Wis. Now he's back long term. "We are glad to have him home safe," said his father.
Grier has three months of downtime before deciding to re-enlist in the Army Reserve or perhaps the regular the Army. If he stays with the Army he can expect will eventually go back to Iraq. As a reservist, he could also be activated for regular duty but could be limited just to drills one weekend a month.
Jeff Grier enlisted in the Reserve when he was 17 and completed three years at Winona state, majoring in masscom, before he learned he was Iraq-bound. He then three months of training in 2007 at Fort Dix, N.J. before shipping out to Baghdad, Iraq. Last year he was promoted to sergeant by Gen Da.vid Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq.
"Jeff enlisted because of his sense of patriotism and as a career move," said Tom. "There is so much help with paying for school when you join." |
ARMY SGT. JEFF GRIER MASSCOM PROF TOM GRIER So long a year |
Reporter: Briana Jandrt
WSU cigarette butts on exhibit
WINONA, Minn., April 27, 2008 -- A student grounds worker whose job is yo vacuum up cigarette butts and other debris at Winona State University, Bryce Fogelson, decided in late March to collect the butts. Fogelson put them on display last week to make a point about litter. In an interview published in the Winona Daily News, Fogelson said he's tired of picking up other people's garbage. Noting he's on the state payroll as a litter collector, he said: "The school shouldn't have to pay me to do it." His display has more than 150 butts and 13 wads of gym.| NEWS
AND COMMENT WINONA MEDIA WATCH |
MILWAUKEE, Wis., April 26, 2008 -- The manager of Winona Radio operations, Pat Papenfuss, was awarded the Marquette University professional communications achievement award. Papenfuss is a Marquette journalism grad. She and husband Jerry Papenfuss own 14 Minnesota radio stations, including five in Winona.
Malaysian student opts out on U.S. food
WINONA, Minn., April 26, 2008 -- American food seemed wonderful at first but soon came to all taste the same, says Sue Lynn Lee, a Malaysian who's transplanted herself to Winona for college. "A lot of dishes here have cheeses, creams and grease, which at times tastes so similar," Lee said in an interview with Travis Rush in Brvura. Like many foreign students at Winona State, Lee came to cook more and more at home. she opts for lots of vegetables. "Unique and spicy," she calls her preferences. Buying in bulk and saving leftovers, Lee can feed herself for a $35 a month. Her favorite: Curried pork.| COURT CONVICTONS WEEK ENDING APRIL 26, 2008 IN WINONA COUNTY DISTRICT COURT UNDERAGE BOOZING Jordan M. Babach, 18, New Ulm, Minn., $177. Matthew J. Bezdicek, 18, Cottage Grove, Minn., $177. Cody J. Brommerich, 20, Whitehall, Wis., 15 days and $277. Jonathan L. Stensgard, 18, Elgin, Minn., 15 days and $277.
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Gunfire closes Grambling State
GRAMBLING, La., April 26, 2008 -- Grambling State University went into lock-down after shots were fired on the campus following a series of fights. Five men were arrested. The arrests, outside a women's dorm, followed a brawl the night before at a college bar. The university issued a statement that shots had been fired into the air and that no one had been hurt. Classes were called off until after the weekend.| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 26, 2008 A false fire alarm sounded at 10:13 a.m. in the Pasteur science building. |
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Recording industry duns for illegal downloads
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2008 -- Students at several Wisconsin state universities are among 568 students targeted nationwide in a demand by the record ing companies for payment for unauthorized music downloads, In all, the Recording Industry Association of America mailed 569 letters in April, so-called "pre-litigation settlement letters," in a stepped-up crackdown on downloading, Students are told they an an option of paying several thousand dollars to avoid going to court.They are told where to mail their checks.| MORE |
Here at the colleges at which students were sent the latest RIAA letters:
California-Davis
California-Merced
California-Santa Barbara
Central Michigan
Columbia
Cornell
Drexel
Duke
Florida State
Georgia
Iowa State
Nebraska-Lincoln
New Mexico
Pennsylvania
Tennessee-Knoxville
Texas-Austin
Washington
Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Wisconsin-Madison
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Wisconsin-Parkside
Wisconsin-River Falls
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Wisconsin-Stout
Yale20
8
18
31
26
21
19
14
18
26
32
22
15
18
74
75
36
12
6
35
1
1
1
9
5
26
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WSU buys Wabasha Hall for $3 million
WINONA, Minn., April 26, 2008 -- Winona State University confirms it has concluded a lease-t-buy option and purchased the former Cotter Junior High and John Nett Recreation Center three blocks east of the main campus. The university made no announcement of the $3 million deal, but media liaison Andrea Mikkelson, when asked, said the deal was sealed Tuesday. The university has been renting the old buildings from the Cotter schools, which relocated two years ago to the old College of St. Teresa campus.| MORE |
Mikkelson said the Cotter buildings for the university's interim space needs. Some offices had been moved to the Cotter buildings during renovations at the old Maxwell library on the main campus are moving back in May, but at Memorial Hall. Also, she said, the construction of the $18 million workout gym and intramurals facility will create further needs for "swing space." The gym isn't expected to be completed until 2010.
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What uses the Cotter facilities will have for Winona State beyond 2010 haven't been articulcyted. The facilities were redubbed Wabasha Hall when the university assumed tenant.
NEXT WSU COMMON BOOK
TO STIR TALK ON OUR WATER
WINONA, Minn., April 25, 2008 -- A 2007 book full of narratives on how drinking water gets to your faucet, "The Blue Death" by environmental epidemiologist Robert Morris, will be not only recommended reading in the fall for Winona State University students but required for many. The committee running the university's Common Book Project announced the selection. English prof J Paul Johnson said the book will create a touchstone for community dialogue. Johnson noted Morris' subtitle in explaining the significance of the choice: "The Intriguing Past and Present Danger of the Water You Drink."
In October and again in March, Morris is scheduled to visit campus to propel discussion on issues raised in "Blue Death," Johnson said.
Morris calls for widespread action to preserve water as the most precious of natural resources. Morris is a leading researcher on drinking water and health. He has taught at Tufts University medical school, the Harvard University School of Public Health, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has served as an advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and the President's Cancer Panel. Said Johnson: "With compelling narratives both historical and recent, Morris examines the infrastructure of our drinking water supply and calls for widespread action to preserve this most precious of natural resources."
Johnson said that "Blue Death" lends itself to many Winona State disciplines, including nursing, biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, education, history, and first-year composition.
Winona State will be participating in a year-long community project, Our Drinking Fountains, Our Water, in connection with the selection of "Bluer Death," Johnson said. The project involves St. Mary's University, Southeast Tech, the city of Winona, the Southeast Minnesota Water Resource Board, and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater of Minneapolis. The year will culminate, he said, with the decoration of a public drinking fountain and a community-wide celebration on Earth Day.
A supporter of the selection, computers prof Joan Francioni, said that "Blue Death" provides science in the form of a fast-moving narrative by giving a fascinating history of water-borne diseases and mankind's quest for safe drinking water." The stories include accounts of early cholera epidemics, how scientists solved the mystery of the microbes in water, and the economic and political forces at play both then and now in controlling our water," Francioni said. |  DESTINED NOW TO BE WINONA BEST-SELLER Message: What you drink may kill you  ROBERT MORRIS Environmental epidemiologist |
Cotter buys Vila complex at CST
WINONA, Minn., April 25, 3008 -- St. Mary's University is cutting back its presence at the old College of St. Teresa campus. The 360 Vila Street complex, including the Bischel gym, the former library building, and the tennis center have been sold to Cotter Schools, which operate a junior and high school in nearby buildings. Terms were not announced. The president of Cotter, Craig Junker, said that after 16 years Cotter now is debt-free and owns all of the facilities that its uses.| MORE |
Junker also said that the purchase opens the way for a possible merger of the shrinking Catholic grade school system that operates independently from Cotter.
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Winona State also owns several St. Teresa buildings, including the landmark centerpiece Lourdes Hall, the Maria dorm and the Tau Center.
| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 25, 2008 A trouble alarm went off at the Tau dorm at 3:06 a.m. An engineer was notified. A brother asked for help at 4:15 a.m. to locate a sister who hadn't checked in for a while. The student was found to be OK. Police were called at 3 p.m. to assist with a matter that took place off campus. A trouble alarm went off in Maria dorm at 6:35 p.m. An engineer was notified. Several students were stuck in an elevator in the Quad dorm at 12:35 a.m. Firefighters freed the students. Police cited a student at 11:55 p.m. as a minor consuming near 10th and Main streets. A student reported at 9:05 p.m. that an iPod had been stolen from her room in the Sheehan dorm on April 11 A trouble alarm went off in Kryzsko Commons at 2:55 a.m. An engineer was notified. |
House burgled on East Fourth
WINONA, Minn., April 25, 2008 -- A 60-inch television, a Sony video player, and $720 in cash were stolen from 264 East Fourth St. on Thursday, police said. The homeowner, Sylvia Ada Overbach, said the thief entered through an unlocked door sometime between 2:30 and 7:50 p.m.Reporter: Briana Jandrt
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RECENT DAYS IN THE CITY POSTED APRIL 25, 2008 MUD SLIDE. A hillside gave way Friday, dropping mud onto the Highway 61 artery along the west bank of the Mississippi RIver downstream from Winona near the KOA campground. Mud in places covered the pavement a foot deep. Traffic was stopped more than an hour, The slide occurred at 4:40 p.m.
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City OKs Warrior Waddle run
WINONA Minn., April 24, 2008 -- The City Council has voted unanimously to support the Warrior Waddle, a five-kilometer run, during Winona State University's homecoming weekend. The city agreed to provide the Lake Lodge, Jaycee pavilion, East Lake bike path, large cones, emergency medical technicians and police for traffic control at corner Main and Huff streets free at city expense. Said Tom Slaggie, one of the organizers: "The City Council has always been a big supporter of events that get the community and university members involved together." The event, Sept. 20, will start at 8 a.m. the morning of the homecoming football game as a prelude to the annual parade.| MORE |
Slaggie and co-organizer Kathy Hovell, runners themselves, have directed previous events like this. To incorporate the community and the university, administrative details will be handled by Carl Miller of the university's alumni association Carl Miller. The race itself will be organized by Hovell and Slaggie.
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Slaggie and Hovell plan radio and newspaper advertisements. "We are hoping for 200 runners, but it's the first race so who knows," Hovell said. The event will cost $15 in advance and $18 on race day. The cost includes a Warrior Waddle long sleeve solar shield t-shirt, refreshments and breakfast snacks. The course will begin at the Lake Park lodge and run counterclockwise around East Lake Winona and finish at the Jaycee Pavilion. Proceeds from the event will go to the Winona State track and field and cross country scholarship fund.
Reporter: Amie Hylton
Background: Homecoming set for Sept. 18 weekend
WSU plans new Kryzsko entrance
WINONA, Minn., April 24, 2008 -- As soon as the Winona State University campus clears of students after final exams, construction will begin on a new entrance to the Kryzsko student student food court and bookstore. Joe Reed, building director, said he still needs to finish budget details. "We have estimates," Reed said, "but no figures to give out because we are going to have bids coming in starting next week." Bids from contractors will be due 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Energy efficiency, Reed said, is the main reason for the new entrance. "Within the next 10 years this project will eventually pay for itself," Reed said. Saving money on heat energy in the freezing months of Minnesota winter and air conditioning in the hot and humid summers is the key factor for the new entrance.
Currently the entrance has only one set of doors and rubber flooring. After construction, the entrance will have two sets of doors, making it vestibule or a passage between the outer door and the interior of the building. The rubber floors will be replaced with tiles to prevent slips and spills during the wet seasons.
Reed said he's wanted to get the project under way for six to eight years and is "This is one of the least intrusive projects we've had," Reed said, noting that plans are to be finished before classes resume in the fall. Reporter: Joe Ellestad |  EXTENDED PORTAL Up to ballroom, Baldwin and Purple rooms, and Kane cafeteria. Down and left to bookstore and right to Smaug.   |
$250,000 prize to campus speech codes foe
PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 24, 3008 -- A University of Pennsylvania historian who has crusaded against political correctness and restrictive campus speech codes, Alan Kors, has been awarded a $250,000 prize by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The citation recognizes Kors as both a scholar of European intellectual history and a defender of free speech. Kors is known mostly as co-author of "The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses," which was published in 1998 as no-holds-barred attack "campus Stalinists" bent on enforcing left-wing views. Kors and co-author Harvey Silverglate later founded the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to protect what they described as victims of political correctness. The group, called FIRE, has been outspoken against campus speech codes and as an advocate for people accused of violating the codes.Wednesday ritual: Wings 'n' beer
| WINONA, Minn., April 24, 2008 -- Deep-fried chicken wings, at a dime apiece, have made Wednesday nights as busy as weekends at Brothers in the competitive Winona downtown bar district. "We lose money, a lot," manager Jason Miller said in an interview with Cassie Busse in an interview in Bravura. "We do it because it gives people a place to come." On a typical Wednesday, Brothers serves 2,000 wings, starting at 8 p.m., with four sauces, your choice. Said Winona State University junior Caryn Maloney. "It's cheap. For $5 I can get 10 wings and four beers." Not unusual are orders of 20 o 30 at a time. |  BROTHERS' LOSS LEADER 179 W. Third |
SMU's Zimmerman promoted to head coach
WINONA, Minn., April 24, 2008 -- An assistant women's soccer coach at St. Mary's University, Eric Zimmerman, has appointed head coach. Zimmerman replaces the now-resigned h Chris Dembiec. Dembiec left after one year to focus on his responsibilities as the men's soccer coach. Before St. Mary's, Zimmerman was as an assistant for the Viterbo men's soccer program for five years. He also briefly was interim head coach for the V-Hawks in 2004| WSU SECURITY REPORT APRIL 24, 2008 A student was found passed out in Somsen Hall at 5 a.m. An ambulance took the student to the hospital for a medical problem. A student was cited for alcohol at East Lake dorm at 9:42 p.m. |
WSU blood drive falls short
WINONA, Minn., April 24, 2008 -- Winona State University people donated 957 units of blood in an April drive, short of the 1,000-unit goal. Student Sen. Caitlin Stene, the blood drive organizer, had no explanation for the shortfall other than that drive ran only two days compared to three days in the past. The drive, sponsored by the public relations committee of the Student Senate, which is chaired by Stene, was not widely publicized. Stene noted, however, that donations were 48 units ahead of a year earlier. Stene also said that the drive went better than one in February, when flu prevented many campus people from giving blood.Reporter: Rachel Becher-Cortez
College bans concert, panel; suspends club
OLYMPIA, Wash., April 23, 2008 -- Evergreen State College has suspended the campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society after the group planned an antiwar folk-music performance. At Evergreen State, concerts have been forbidden since February when a riot followed a show by the hip-hop duo Dead Prez. Students for a Democratic Society had planned two events: a panel discussion on what it called "police and government repression" after the Dead Prez performance and the folk concert. In banning both, college administrators said they were inextricably tied together.| MORE |
After imposing the ban in February, Evergreen State said it was a temporary measure intended to provide time to review campus security procedures. Students for a Democratic Society that free expression rights were being trampled. The suspension means that the club will lose its office, budget, and campus space the rest of the semester and be on probation until January.
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During the riot in february, police arrested a student whom they suspected of assault, which promoted other students to confront the officers. Police cars were damaged in the violence.
How much lead in synthetic turf?
EWING, N.J., April 24, 2008 -- Health regulators closed an athletics field at the College of New Jersey after samples of synthetic turf were found with high levels of lead. The action following growing alarm at scattered sites around on lead in turf products commonly used for college sports. Legislation in Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York calls for bans on new turf until health studies are completed on the ground-up tires that go into many turf products. There also is legislation pending in California and Connecticut on the environmental effects of synthetic turf. In New York City a proposal is being considered ti rip out all artificial fields. Meanwhile, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced its own studies of lead levels released from artificial grass.BREAK THE PROGRAMMING
PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR
CHARTS WAY FOR "MONEY GAME"
WINONA, Minn., April 24, 2008 -- It's not how much money you make but how much of that money you can manage to keep, a personal finance author told a few hundred students at Winona State University recently. "Eight percent of all bankruptcies this year will be college students," said Adam Carroll of National Financial Educators. The national financial educators is an organization founded to educate high school and college students on issues of making, saving and spending money. Carroll,who also is a certified hypnotist, explained to students that people, especially college students, are hypnotized by money. Break the programming, he said.
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To his audience of a few hundred students, Carroll said: "So what you came here to do, and that's graduate." Joking, Carroll said it's only a person who does not have to pay tuition who parties the crucial college years.
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Then he talked about his signature line, "The Money Game": "We all play a game with money and at any given point in our lives we are either winning the game or losing the game." Carroll explaining that in college students earn far less than they spend, largely because if credit cards. Credit card companies send out 8 billion credit card applications a year and most of those are to college students, Carroll said. Credit cards and spending habits, he said, create a perpetual downward spiral in college, causing a lot of debt after college.
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After college he himself, like most others, was i