Category Archives: Local

Community, Local, Winona

Mason Jar bar finishing final stages of reconstruction

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By: Zach Bailey and Madelyn Swenson

The downtown Winona building that housed the Mason Jar bar is back under construction after almost entirely burning down four years ago.

Greg Karow, building official for the City of Winona, has been following the reconstruction process of the building at the corner of Third and Walnut streets since the fire occurred.

The building sits on the corner of Third and Walnut streets. It was originally built in 1888. Since it was built there have been three renovations on the building.

“At first we looked at the building and it was designated as a hazardous building. The only thing left standing was the exterior walls, free standing without support,” Karow said. “The owner wanted to rehab it, and it’s a historical building on the registry; that process kept running into delays and that’s why it sat there.”

Karow and Bert Kimman, property manager of Walnut Apartments, agreed a main concern was stability of the walls.

The fire had destroyed all of the internal building, leaving only the original brick on the outer layer untouched.

“I had seen movement, so they had a company brace it all up,” Karow said. “It is a very unique building because it was old, the outside walls were structurally not able to carry any load. The construction technique was to build a superstructure inside the building, so nothing sets on the outside walls, they’re just tied to the inside. They built a building inside of the shell.”

Kimman described the process as building a new building inside of old walls.

“All the columns are steel columns,” Kimman said. “It’s basically a steel frame inside the brick.”

Construction on the main structure has been completed. Now, windows and doors are being put in place.

“We have a lot of work to do on the outside yet,” Kimman said. “By no means is it close to done.”

A worker nails in the trim in one of the 21 apartments in the building.

According to Karow, construction is nearing the two-thirds or three-quarters mark of completion, with most of the work left to do being plumbing, drywall and mechanicals.

Karow said city inspection staff has visited the property 12 to 15 times.

“There is inspection criteria for any building that we’re able to get in,” Karow said. “We look at things in milestones before things can get covered up. Because of the unique character of the building, we’ve been down there consulting quite a bit.”

Though the building is now under construction, the possible future of this building was different two years ago.

In June 2017, the Winona City Council announced plans to begin the demolition process of the building, after it sat vacant for more than two years.

According to Karow, interest to “salvage the building due to its historic nature” was what ultimately saved the building from demolition.

Building owner, Chase Hoffman had been pushing for renovating the building at the time, but was not finishing paperwork and meeting deadlines on time, Karow said.

“Even with the bracing up it was still a very temporary situation,” Karow said. “From my perspective, I needed to push [Hoffman] off dead center, either you are or aren’t, here’s a drop dead date, what are you gonna do?”

After the city “saved the building” from demolition, plans began to be made for what the building would house in the future.

Kimman and Hoffman plan to make the first level a commercial space, with 21 apartments throughout the rest of the building. No plans have been made as to what will open in the commercial space.

Kimman said it will not be another bar or restaurant because they did not put in the vents needed for that kind of business. He said the space will most likely be some kind of retail.

The apartments will range in pricing from $400 to $950 a month. Kimman has a few tenants lined up for the leasing year starting June 2019.

Though the building is in the final stages of the renovation process, this is not the first time the building has been under construction during the building’s time in Winona.

Since being built in 1888 the building has had three editions. Originally the building was only about half the size it is currently.

As construction nears the end, Karow shared his thoughts on the process the building has gone through during construction.

“It’s been a very difficult path and has taken a long time to get this thing going,” Karow said. “Now that it’s moving forward we see light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a very unique building, this is a considerable step up. We’re not done, but we’re getting there.”

Community, Food, Local, News

Lake City restaurant to open doors in Winona

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Traveling from one river city to another, Lake City’s Nosh Restaurant will move to downtown Winona in three months.

Nosh first opened its doors in June 2004 in Wabasha, Minnesota. Greg Jaworski, owner of Nosh Restaurant, moved to their current Lake City, Minnesota location in April 2007.

With almost a dozen years experience in Lake City, the Jaworski family initially looked at the lot formerly occupied by Godfather’s Pizza in Winona, but finalized their plans to open their restaurant on the corner of Walnut and Second streets.

Construction continues on the soon-to-be Nosh location on the corner of Second and Walnut streets in Winona.

“We were approached by people from the city of Winona who had private investors behind them,” Jaworski said. “We loved the community in Lake City, but winters were too long, and when we were contacted we ended up deciding to make the move.”

Pat Mutter, executive director of Visit Winona, was one of the people involved in the process of bringing Nosh to Winona.

“I am part of a group that has been working on trying to talk to people about what kind of restaurant they want in town or what is missing and what’s needed,” Mutter said. “Nosh came about from checking with certain chefs and passing word along that we’re trying to get restaurants in town. It was great that it turned out that (Jaworski) was interested, and we were very happy to go along that path.”

Though Jaworski was initially approached to bring Nosh Restaurant to Winona, Mutter said Visit Winona does not always approach companies to relocate to Winona. Mutter continued by saying the mission of Visit Winona is to market and promote Winona as a destination.

“When we talk about great things in Winona, one thing we hear about is having more restaurants. We have a very good selection of casual restaurants in town, but we’re working with corporate businesses who are looking for places to bring their clients and more places you could actually sit down and have a different experience,” Mutter said.

Mutter said even though they are working on bringing more businesses to town, this does not mean they no longer care about current Winona businesses.

“We want to support restaurants in town, we just want to make and give value to customers to have as many choices and variety as possible,” Mutter said. “We don’t usually go out, but when we travel the question is always there, what kind of restaurants do they have? People are always looking for something local, and more variety is better for residents and people who come to town. The more choices we have, the more hope we have of them staying in town to eat.”

Mutter said one of the main reasons they approached Nosh was due to their current brand.

“Nosh has a great reputation, and it will be great to have them here as a destination restaurant,” Mutter said. “They are a known and popular product. They will bring loyal customers with them.”

With construction underway, Jaworski said they plan to open their Winona location in June, while keeping the Lake City location open until a few weeks before the Winona location opens.

In between closing the Wabasha location and opening the Lake City location, Jaworski said there was about a week when neither location was open. Jaworski said this time the transition might take a bit longer.

“We expect to be in Lake City until May, then shut down and take two or three weeks to prepare for Winona and do it correctly from day one,” Jaworski said. “The trip from Lake City to Winona is much longer than Wabasha to Lake City, so it will take us longer to move everything to this location than it did for the last move.”

With construction a few months from completion, Jaworski said not much will be changed, but certain aspects will be improved.

“It would be foolish to try to tweak what has been successful, changing wasn’t the aim of bringing Nosh here,” Jaworski said. “Continuity of our existing reputation will just shift to Winona. There will be slight tweaks, a larger grill, and focusing more on what’s trending, woodfire, smoke, fresh breads. There will be improvements, but I don’t like the word ‘changes.’”

An improvement to the bar area is one other aspect Jaworski is planning.

“We will be trying to take a more modern approach to the bar program,” Jaworski said. “We will be redesigning the bar, and hope to focus more on that and trends. Status quo is the goal.”

Along with slight changes to the restaurant itself, Jaworski described how the change in location will affect the environment of the business.

“It’s kind of interesting, Lake City is right on top of the Mississippi and the sailboat arena, all with a stunning view of the midwest,” Jaworski said. “The new location is more focused inward in Winona, there’s not a whole lot to look at, which will make what’s on the plate or in the glass more important. It will be challenging to be focused solely on what we’re providing as opposed to the benefit of the view.”

Tom Wynn, the business manager of Nosh, spoke about another one of the challenges Nosh might face when transitioning to Winona.

“I think one thing that’s going to be a challenge is workforce,” Wynn said. “Although we have a much broader pool here in Winona than Lake City, it’s still a challenge to find qualified servers and workers.”

It will not all be challenges, as Wynn also talked about aspects he is excited for during the move.

“There’s so much going on in downtown Winona, I think our timing is going to be excellent to take advantage of the new apartment buildings, Fastenal coming down, and I think we’re going to give Winona something that they’ve needed for years and years,” Wynn said.

Though the company will face challenges, Jaworski said he is excited for the new location.

“There’s more people to appeal to in Winona, there is a niche that isn’t quite being hit on,” Jaworski said. “We’re not fine dining, not trying to compete with Signatures, but we have a nicer feel than some of the existing restaurants, with an emphasis on locally-sourced food.”

Health, Local, Outdoors

Winona Ice Park brings climbers from across the midwest

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For a region plagued by negative temperatures for nearly half the year, rock climbers in the Minnesota area needed to find some way to scratch the adrenaline-filled itch.

After multiple years on the west side of Winona, the ice park relocated next to Sugarloaf on the east side of town.

After multiple years on the west end of town, the Winona Ice Park begins its first year off the Sugarloaf Trailhead on the east end of town.

About 1.5 miles up the Sugarloaf Trailhead is a man-made wall of solid ice, spanning nearly 70 feet high and three times as wide.

Caleb Hammel, a recent Winona State University Mass Communication graduate, first climbed his way into the world of ice climbing two years ago.

Having been a rock climber for the past four years, when the city created their ice park during its first year, Hammel decided it might be fun to try.

Hammel heard of the ice wall through his work with Winona State’s Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (OERC) while he was still a student. With help from Eric Barnard, director of OERC, Hammel was introduced to the ice wall.

Though Barnard is not employed by the city, Hammel said Barnard has tried to promote things through the city.

“With him being an expert in the past, he wanted to bring students up (to the ice park),” Hammel said. “Winona State was starting to run trips up there to use a sweet resource of the city, so, as an employee, I was able to go up a lot with students and with (Barnard).”

The wall is free and open to the public for use, but visitors are on their own as far as gear needed. People scaling the wall can be seen wearing everything from the bare minimum of a belay device, helmet, ice picks and crampons (shoe spikes to dig into the ice), all the way to assorted pick cleaning gear, ice stakes and extra rope.

One climber begins his way up the ice at the Winona Ice Park.

Though the ice park may be newer to the Winona area, it is getting recognition throughout the region.

Hammel, who moved to Aspen, Colorado, after graduation, said he has heard people talking about the Winona Ice Park in his new hometown.

“All the way out here people are talking about it,” Hammel said. “People from Chicago who have heard about it travel to climb it, I can only imagine it will bring more people to town. There’s not a lot of places you can go and safely climb; it will put Winona on the map.”

Michael Sullivan, who has spent his free time for the last four years traveling across the region to different ice parks, is one of many who has made the near 3-hour drive from Madison, Wisconsin, to climb at the Winona Ice Park.

Sullivan first heard of the Winona Ice Park through a rock climbing podcast titled, “The Enormocast,” where Barnard was a guest on the show speaking about the park. As word of the park got around, a group of fellow climbers decided to make the trek to Winona.

“This park has a lot of potential,” Sullivan said. “It’s definitely taller and wider as a single ice wall than anything in Wisconsin that I’ve seen.”

Sullivan said the design of the wall was one of the main drawing points of the Winona Ice Park.

“Usually you’ll see an overhanging sandstone cliff and then a frozen waterfall will come off, so it’s mostly just big columns,” Sullivan said. “They’re really cool and fun to climb on, but it’s just the one so people have to compete for it, where this is just a big sheet where people can go wherever.”

Michael Sullivan, Madison, Wisconsin, nears the top of the ice as he climbs his way up the Winona Ice Wall.

For those that have enjoyed rock climbing in the past, Hammel said it’s a great activity to try, but is not exactly like the warm-weather alternative.

“The similarities between rock and ice climbing end at belay devices, harnesses and helmets,” Hammel said. “The ice is always changing. Rock climbing routes are similar, the rock won’t fall or melt, but with ice climbing it’s different every day. Conditions change, weather makes muscles more stiff and not able to do things.”

Though it is different than the more well-known sport of rock climbing, Hammel said he would recommend ice climbing to anyone that might be interested.

“It’s a great way to both mentally and physically push yourself,” Hammel said. “If you calm down and focus its unlike any other activity out there.”

Health, Local, Outdoors

A Hike Up John A. Latsch State Park

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Written and photographed by Nicole Girgen

The sky was overcast on Sunday afternoon, and a light fog started to wrap around the bluffs as I drove towards my destination for the second time this weekend.

John A. Latsch State Park sits along highway 61 on the Mississippi River, roughly 20 minutes north of Winona, Minnesota.

The site was founded in 1925 when Winona businessman, and a supporter of conservation work John A. Latsch donated 350 acres to the state of Minnesota for park use. Latsch also donated land in Whitewater State Park and Perrot Sate Park in Wisconsin.

Mounts Faith, Hope and Charity are the three bluffs included in the park, named by steamboat captains in the 1850s who used these peaks as landmarks while traversing the Mississippi.

The development of the park was slow, due to the landscape the only level ground was in small ravines which separate the three bluffs. In 1933 the Mount Charity Riverview Trail was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps and remains the only developed trail in the park to this day.

An analysis of the park in 1971 recommended the area be reclassified as a scientific and natural area, no action has been taken to reclassify the area and it remains a state park.

A parking area nestled in a small clearing opens to a small picnic area at the bottom of the bluff and a short walk leads to the trailhead.

Wood steps embedded into the hill sets the path winding through the forest and up the bluff, the half-mile trail is rated difficult by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and not even a third of the way up it was clear why.

The entire trail rests at varying stages of an incline that gradually gets steeper the higher you go, and I was already slightly out of breath.

About half way into the hike there was a break in the steady stream of cars along the highway and the entire atmosphere of the park changed, a stillness echoed over the bluff, not a single leaf rustled in the wind and no bird calls descended from the trees.

A view of the peak from a small out crop.
A view of the peak from a small out crop.

The crunch of my boots against the snow-covered steps and the dull roar of the highway was a constant reminder of human presence in those woods, but in that moment of peaceful stillness I felt truly alone.

It was over in an instant.

The low rumble of a car just rounding the corner of the next bluff broke the stillness and, shaken from my moment, I continued to climb.

When I reached the peak, a light mist began to set in, an early sign of the coming fog I could see over the panoramic view of the ice-covered Mississippi, and as much as my legs burned from the hike up it was nothing compared to how I’d feel after the trip down.

Photo from top of the trail
A panoramic view from the peak of Mount Charity.

Though the park is open all year the stairs were not cleared of snow on my trip. This was my first time on this trail in the winter and I am unsure if the trail condition is normally this way or if the recent cold snap prevent usual trail maintenance

Because of the warmer weather, melting snow and extra condensation in the air the stairs became slick and the snow covering compacted into a slippery surface.

The slipery path
The trek down should be done with caution in the winter as the melting snow creates a slick surface, making it easier to slip.

Each step was taken slowly and one at a time, foot placement was key, and I still slipped several times with one resulting in a fall. The long stretches of stairs with no railings or support also made the trip down much more difficult.

I would recommend this trail in any season, but extra precaution should be taken in the winter to avoid dangerous situations.

Brewery, Community, History, Journalism, Local, Winona

Winona brewing continues almost 200 years

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Winona had a brewery before the town had its own flour mill. The history of Winona breweries can be traced back 170 years.

That first brewery in the area was Gilmore Valley Brewing which started in the 1850s shortly after Winona was settled by immigrants. Later Gilmore Valley Brewing became C.C. Beck.

The Rochester Post Bulletin reported the first breweries had a few things in common.

One was that all of them changed owners and names a few times before they closed.

The other was that most of them were founded by a German immigrant.

Bub’s Brewing Company, which exists today but in the form of a bar restaurant, was started after the Gilmore Valley Brewing Company. The company does not make beer anymore.

Originally the brewery was named Weisbrod Brewing Company and was run by Jacob Weisbord.

Bub’s Brewing company was one of the original brewing companies in Winona. The company stopped brewing beer eventually. Today Bub’s is a bar restaurant.

Peter Bub, who would eventually own the company started as a brew master and foreman.

When Weisbrod died of Typhoid fever in 1870, Bub became the manager of the brewery.

Bub later married Weisbrod’s widow and became owner of the brewery, changing the name to Bub’s Brewing.

This was the only brewing company that was able to survive during the prohibition because they sold soft drinks and near-beer, which had an alcohol content of less than one percent, according to the Post Bulletin.

The brewery eventually closed because of lack of an advertising budget and struggle to find cans and bottles to fit the volume discount, according to the Post Bulletin.

The most recent brewery to open in Winona is Island City Brewing Company. The taproom and brewery opened in 2017 on St. Patrick’s Day.

There were some issues for partners ,Colton Altobell and Tommy Rodengen, when renovating their section of the building they share with Jefferson’s Pub and Grill.

Renovations started in May of 2016, according to the Island City Brewing Company’s blog.

Altobell and Rodengen started the process hoping for a fall opening date. The partners were caught in the licensing process for longer than they hoped.

In a video on the company’s blog, the two owners stated they wanted to be a part of the community and  by 2021 they wanted to be selling their beer regionally.

“As a member of the community of Winona we hope to exist as a landmark and destination in town. A place where families, friends and neighbors can gather to enjoy good conversation and enjoy fresh local made beers and house made sodas,” Altobell said in the video. “We hope to give back to the community too and be a part of Winona in every way we can.”

The brewery now hosts events like “The Battle of the Brushes” and a drag show with Winona State Full Spectrum, a LGBT club on the Winona State campus.

Altobell and Rodengen do not run the brewery. As of March of 2018, Douglas Irwin became the Chief Effective Officer (CEO) of Island City Brewing Company.

Irwin said in an email that his favorite part about running a taproom and brewery is the people who love it.

“I get to share my passion with many more people, and I get to do it as my job,” Irwin said. “The long days are worth it when you have strangers tell you that they love your beer and really enjoy your taproom experience.”

art, Campus, Campus, Community, Events, Family, Health, Local

Dancescape is a Rewarding Stressor for Students and Faculty

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Jenna Grochow Dancescape Interview

Adelle Vietor Dancescape Interview

The life of a dancer, despite popular belief, has never exactly been glamorous.

It’s hard work for little money and very strenuous on the body and mind.

The dancers and directors of Winona State University’s 2018 Dancescape agree and say they believe that the time spent is valuable.

Jenna Grochow, a production assistant, choreographer and dancer for Dancescape, said, “Dancescape is a really big time commitment. It gets stressful throughout the year and I have to sacrifice being with friends and going to other events because of it.”

The stress of spending six months working for one show can be tiring on the young college dancers and choreographers.

Dancescape’s Artistic Director, Gretchen Cohenour, said what the dancers go through reminds her of when she danced as a freelance professional in New York.

“It’s hard, worth it, but difficult,” Cohenour said. “When I danced, I also was a waitress and worked other odd jobs to make a living. That is what a lot of these dancers go through with school and part time jobs, however they can handle it and love to do it.”

The reward of a successful live show is what makes everything they do worth their commitment to the show.

Vietor dancing in front of a projected screen that she designed. This will be the first time dancescape has used this technology

Adelle Vietor; a WSU student, and choreographer and dancer for Dancescape, said it was meaningful time and energy in the end.

“I think it is worth it,” Vietor said. “At other universities, a lot of students don’t get this opportunity to be such a huge part of an experience.”

Vietor said she is most excited to get the feedback on her choreographed piece which is a piece that includes a projected video that goes with the dance.

A projector has never been used before in Dancescape and is something both Vietor and Cohenour are excited to see.

“We have some really talented student choreographers, and Adelle is one of them,” Cohenour said. “She is a graphic design major and she has made this digital projection, so it’s this beautiful round spherical background that multiplies and falls away and blooms and it’s just so wonderful.”

The excitement shows through all the dancers now that the live show is done and is a success, according to Vietor.

“Everything went so well,” Vietor said. “Every night we felt like there were so few mistakes, which is exactly what we want.”

In six to seven months from now, most of the dancers, except for the graduating seniors, will be gearing up to try out again for next year’s show.

The seniors have a quick turnaround, in just two months they will be on stage again, for the Senior Dance Recital at the end of April.

The senior dancers have been not only prepping for Dancescape but have also started to work on their routines for the Senior Dance Recital.

Campus, Events, Local, Winona, Winona State University

Winona State Celebrates Frankenstein Anniversary

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Exactly 200 years ago, in 1818, Mary Shelly’s iconic Promethean creature was brought to life when her novel was first published.

In celebration of the 200 anniversary of “Frankenstein” being published, Winona State University is hosting a variety of events throughout January and February.

The events began Jan. 24 at 8 a.m. in WSU’s Science Laboratory Center atrium with a live reading of the entire 1818 edition of the novel.

The nearly eight-hour event hosted a constant influx of audience members, ranging from none to double digits at different times.

According to Dunbar, althogether there were an estimated 75 to 100 attendees.

The live reading was the brainchild of Ann-Marie Dunbar, an associate professor of the English department and director of the events.

“The bicentenary of Frankenstein’s publication gives us a great opportunity to celebrate one of the most original and fascinating novels written in English,” Dunbar said. “A novel that is just as relevant today as it was in 1818.”

The reading featured most of the University’s English department faculty, including Paul Johnson, an English and Film Studies professor.

Paul Johnson, WSU’s Film Studies director reads From Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” in character.

Johnson performed the first few chapters of volume two with enthusiasm, creating voices for the characters, making the event that much more noticeable for the students passing through the atrium, many of whom stopped for a moment to listen.

Johnson is the planner of the film series that is a part of the “Frankenstein celebration” at WSU.

The film series began off on Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Miller Auditorium at WSU with a double feature of the 1931 film “Frankenstein” and it’s 1935 sequel “The Bride of Frankenstein.”

Robert Pack, WSU Film Studies student, hosts a showing of the film “The Bride of Frankenstein.”

“For those of us who love the novel and love the tale and love Mary Shelly’s composition of it,” Johnson said, “simply being able to bring that to life for a day is a really rich source of enjoyment for us.”

The film series is the most expensive of the events, costing between $1,600 -$1,800 for public performance rights according to Johnson.

According to Dunbar, the English, Art, Mass Communication, and the University Theme committee are all sponsors working for and donating to the project.

The double feature began with an audience of about 75, most of which were students attending for class.

After an intermission between the films the audience decreased to about 25.

Audience waits for the double feature of “Frankenstein” and “The Bride of Frankenstein” to begin at WSU

Brittney Bluhm, an English and Film student at the university attended both features having read the book recently but never seeing the films.

Bluhm said that she liked the venue, but especially enjoyed watching the films together.

“I think that we could have had the five-minute intermission quicker. It was more like a 10 to 15-minute intermission,” Bluhm said.

Zachary Zaboj, an independent studies student who attended for class said he was surprised at how much was changed from the book to the films.

Johnson said he thought the first few events went well, the audience sizes being more than satisfactory.

Frankenfest will continued Feb. 19 with the next film in the series, “Young Frankenstein,” at 7 p.m. in WSU’s Miller Auditorium.

Community, Family, Local, Winona

Pumpkin Carving Creations

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Besides Christmas, Halloween is a kid’s favorite holiday, because you get to dress-up in costumes, scare friends and family, and carve pumpkins. Carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns is a popular Halloween tradition that originated hundreds of years ago in Ireland. Rachelle Tollefsrud, age 10, from Mabel, Minnesota demonstrates her carving skills of a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.

Pumpkin Carving Audio Slide Show

art, Community, Local, Outdoors, Winona

Winona’s 10 Annual Family Art Day

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Parents and children gather excitedly Saturday morning Sept. 2, 2017 at Jaycee’s Pavilion in Winona’s Lake Park for the tenth annual Family Art Day.

Sponsored by a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council this event helps introduce children to a variety of art mediums that may not be available to them otherwise.

Winona’s River Arts Alliance board runs the event with help from Winona Parks and Recreation and the Winona State University Art Department.

Aundra Arre paints on mural boards set up in Jaycee’s Pavilion for Winona’s tenth annual Family Art Day last Saturday.

With two years on the board under her belt, event coordinator Tove Wiggs said she was eager to help organize Family Art Day.

Wiggs said “Many people who volunteer are from the arts community, art supporters, a handful of WSU students and members of the River Arts Alliance board.”

“The River Arts Alliance has all sorts of different artists as members and friends of the organization,” Wiggs said.  “I just really wanted to expand into some of the forms of art that are beyond 2D and 3D; into music, movements and poetry.”

With 23 art activities, around 30 artists, live music and food from Rubio’s, the event was busy from the start, with numbers close to the 550 people who participated in 2016 according to Wiggs.

The art stations included familiar arts like water color, pottery, finger painting and beading while adding more unique art mediums like movement arts, weaving, poetry, cosmic knots and wood carving with wire.

Potter Mickey Maslowski explains how to make designs on a pot while Kara Reller and her one-year-old son, Stevie, observe.

“I had a number of people that I ran into this week that told me they were really excited,” Wiggs said. “Their kids have been looking forward to this and asking about it.”

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum has participated in this event for 10 years.

This year, the museum introduced a type of art that included a small history lesson called cyanotype.

Cyanotype is photographic printing process that uses the sun to expose a special cyan paper to produce images of objects laid on top of the paper, some artists would use this medium to document plants along the Mississippi River.

“This isn’t just for kids, parents are doing activities too,” Wiggs said. “While this is primarily for children adults have just as much fun being here and trying things out too.”

Volunteer potter Amanda Griggs shows Odin Prigge-Mavl, 5, how to raise a pot at Family Art Day on Saturday outside Jaycee’s Pavilion.

During Family Art Day families can sit down with individuals who make their living as artists and learn from them.

Artists come from surrounding communities and sometimes from outside the state.

Like Sarah Johnson from La Crosse, Wisconsin is trained as a mental therapist and practices multi-media art as her hobby. She said she often uses art to aid in therapy.

“This is the first year I have been involved in this and I think it’s awesome,” Johnson said. “I’m loving watching the families creating art together, it’s really cool and makes me really proud of Winona.”

After hearing about the event from a friend, Johnson said she decided to become one of the artist volunteers.

“It’s right up my alley, I love are and love young people and seeing their creativity, anything that builds community I support.” Johnson said.

Brewery, Community, Events, Local, Outdoors, Winona

Big Muddy Brew N’ Que

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Winona’s Levee Park was the site of the second annual Big Muddy Brew N’ Que during Labor Day weekend.  People from Winona and the surrounding area had the opportunity to experience live music, wine and beer tasting, a bean bag toss tournament, and barbeque tasting.

The Clams’ Alex Miller and Eric Wittenburg, perform classic hits for all ages during the first day of the Big Muddy Brew N’ Que.

 

The Big Muddy Brew N’ Que had a new layout this year.  Due to construction at west end of Levee Park, the location was moved to the east end or the park near Godfather’s Pizza.  Another first, was expanding the event to a two-day event.

Joe Piper competes in the second annual Big Muddy Brew N’ Que bean bag tournament.

 

Ben Knuesel, 27, of Winona attended last year’s event, and was pleased with how the second year improved.

“It was fantastic,” Knuesel said, “Last year was the first time we had something like this on the levee, and utilizing the river, which is a big part of Winona.”

Winona’s Awesome Eats food truck offered their barbeque pulled pork sandwich at the Big Muddy Brew N’ Que at Levee Park.

 

Co-founder of Insight Brewing from Minneapolis, Ilan Klages-Mundt, returned to his hometown to experience the event for the first time.

“It’s awesome to try local beer, so for people to hear that we’re from here,” Klages-Mundt said, “there’s a little bit of pride to bring the beer back to Winona.”

Klages-Mundt said he couldn’t attend last year’s event he said he was pleased with the professionalism and organization of the second year’s event.

Klages-Mundt said the venue made the experience seem busy, but not over-crowded.

“It felt like there was a really good energy the whole time,” Klages-Mundt added, “People came back to the booth multiple times, and I didn’t hear any complaints.”