The stress and fear associated with the choice of college is something that plagues almost every student.
Joel Odoom’s decision was more nerve-wracking than most as an international student in Minnesota.
Odoom was born in Ghana, Africa, and moved to Qatar in 2010 where his family still lives.
He had to adapt to a new environment and a new language, English, which he uses as his dominant language.
Leaving Ghana, his home country, proved difficult as his move would be permanent.
“Moving to Qatar was a real shocker for me,” Odoom said. “Leaving a place where I was comfortable with people with the same cultural background to going to a foreign place for me was very hard.”
A candid picture of Joel Odoom outside of Lourdes Hall at Winona State University West Campus.
Stepping outside of his comfort zone tested Odoom. He said it helped him experience life in a new way.
“It was a new opportunity and it helped me very, very much,” Odoom said.
Past obstacles moving to a “foreign” place early in life served as a factor in his decision to come to the US for college.
“I thought to myself, where’s the best place I would feel comfortable with?” Odoom said. “I thought the U.S. It seemed like the land of opportunities.”
He highlighted a few opportunities such as experiencing what the US will be like outside of what he sees in movies and television.
Why Minnesota?
Odoom said he wanted to stay near his aunt and uncle and his extended family who live in the twin cities and have a safety net if things don’t turn out the way he envisions them.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have family in Minnesota. My parents didn’t want me to struggle.” Odoom said.
Why Winona State University?
Odoom said that he wanted to find a college that was affordable, dense with diversity and international students to make him feel more accepted and supported in the path he wanted to take in school.
Odoom analyzing a book that’s located at the Darrel Krueger Library at Winona State University.
Odoom said he didn’t want to feel like an outcast.
He wanted to become his own person, branch out and discover new things.
“I told myself, let me find the friends who I truly believe are my friends. It doesn’t matter if they’re from the same country as me or if they’re international or not.” Odoom said. “I’ll just do whatever to make myself feel comfortable.”
After being at Winona State for two years, Odoom’s perspective and expectations changed for the better.
He explained that he gets along with everyone.
People don’t see him as an international student, and he doesn’t feel as if he is confined to a clique.
“I feel as if I am an anomaly,” Odoom said.
Odoom hinted at the reason may be because he doesn’t have a “stereotypical” accent that other international students have.
“I feel as if they would treat me differently if that was the case.”
The Winona State University women’s basketball team leaves today at 3:30 p.m. for games in Marshall, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
I, being the radio guy, cannot miss the bus as the men’s team does not arrive before the start of the women’s game.
Time to pack my bag and prepare for the fourth weekend on the road this season.
I’m a bit nervous as I’ve never really got on talking terms with any of the players.
They all do their thing while I sit there quietly and mind my business.
I’ve covered the WSU basketball teams for three years while working at the campus radio station, 89.5 KQAL, so you’d think I’d have a better relationship than this.
It’s just not the case.
I get to the bus stop, say hello to Coach Scott Ballard, and take my seat.
I’ve debated sparking conversation, but I don’t feel like the team is interested in my small talk, plus I feel like they discuss basketball enough as it is already.
Hours later, we arrived in Marshall.
They eat their team meal together at Texas Roadhouse or Pizza Ranch, I usually eat off to the side, then we head to the hotel for the night.
I’ve said two words since the start of the trip.
Team meal at Pizza Ranch in Marshall, Minnesota.
Being secluded and keeping to myself isn’t what I’d like to be doing, it just happens.
The nerves of saying something stupid or sitting where someone else wants to sit triggers my anxiety.
My boss and longtime radio professional Doug Westerman explained that it’s not unusual for radio personal to be introverts off the air.
“They just want that high energy ‘Hey everyone! Blah blah blah we got a great day in store for you!’ then all of sudden you’re walking down the hallway and they give you a nervous ‘hi.’”
How could someone be an introvert and be on the radio where you talk for hours?
Pat Broe, former KQAL Program Director and Sports Director, described the flipping of the switch from off-air to on-air as being trapped in a corner with no way out.
“There’s something about when that red light comes on that you have to start, you can’t do anything but be that person,” Broe said. “You’re trapped in a corner, you are live on air, there’s thousands of people listening to you, and you have to figure out a way to entertain them.”
Sounds pretty intense, but I found that to be accurate.
Waiting in the hotel lobby until the team leaves for their shoot around.
In the morning I checked out of my room at 11 a.m.
I sit in the hotel lobby until we leave for the game at 3 p.m.
5 o’clock rolled around and I plugged in the comrex, got my mics into position, and waited for my producer Ryan “Baby Shaq” Mandli to send the call my way.
“That’s going to do it for the Warrior Tip-Off Show as Buck Wallert is waiting in the R/A Facility in Marshall Minnesota, take it away Buck,” Baby Shaq said.
And I picked it right up with, “Welcome to the R/A Facility over here in Marshall Minnesota as we have a good match up in store for you tonight as your Winona State Warriors take on….”
Like that flip of a switch, I was in a zone.
Calling the Tip-Off Show before the women’s game in Marshall.
From saying two words in almost an entire day, to rattling off names, stats, and match up history, you would think I knew these players their whole lives.
Anything to paint the best picture possible for the listeners back home, as according to Doug Westerman, “radio is the theatre of the mind.”
Not talking at all, to saying thousands of words, then right back to not talking after the game bothered me.
It just didn’t make sense.
Mike Martin the original KQAL radio jock and now the guy who keeps the radio station going, met with me the next day and explained how radio gives you confidence.
“It makes you think on your feet, spontaneously, and being kind of a shy kid, you’re doing it in a room by yourself, so that kind of helps too,” Martin said. “You’re talking to people, but they aren’t right in front of you. You’re by yourself, but you’re not talking to yourself, there’s maybe hundreds of people.”
Thinking of the amount of people listening to me makes me even more nervous, do I sound okay? What if I say something I shouldn’t or panic?
And panic is just what I did the first time on air.
Pat Broe reflected on the first time we were thrown into the spotlight.
“It’s a day you and I will never forget. I was producing and co-hosting, you were hosting, and neither of us knew what the heck we were doing. TJ Leverentz and Tyler Jeffries kind of just gave us the keys and let us go and let us fail, and we did,” Broe said. “I think we went to commercial 25 or more times; we didn’t turn our mics off one time, and there might have been a word that the FCC doesn’t like that got on the air. Basically, anything that could have gone wrong went wrong.”
That was just over three years ago.
Now when I go on air, I have fun with it, take it and run.
Notes or no notes I was going to think of something.
“It’s so funny too, I thought I was prepared for that day, I thought I had enough information to put a show together, but I was not even remotely close,” Broe said. “Now putting together a pregame show is easy.”
But it’s not always as easy as he says, when you’re having a bad day, you still have to be happy go lucky on air.
Martin explained this well when talking about his experience as a disc jockey.
“I had been just having a horrible bad day or something, and I was just grumpy…. Then I flip the mic on and immediately I’m cheering and I gotta play the role, I gotta play the radio guy,” Martin said. “Flipped the mic off again and went back into grumpy mode. This other guy in the control room with me said ‘how did you do that, how did you just change personality like that.’ And I’m just like ‘hey, that’s what they pay me to do.’”
I receive $20 for each game I call, as well as the free hotel rooms and couple of meals.
But, the radio has given me a voice, so I’d say I’m living the dream.
Everyone always talks about what communities do for universities but not what the universities do for communities.
Winona is no stranger to that. It is a thriving community with plenty of support for the three colleges and universities in the area.
At Winona State University there are at least 180 cubs and student organizations on campus. These range from sports clubs, Greek life, academic clubs, honorary societies, faith-based clubs and diversity organizations.
For most of these clubs and organizations, community service and philanthropy work is a significant part of how those clubs run.
The president of the university, Scott Olson, said, “First and foremost, community engagement is a great way for students to learn. It allows us to put theory into practice and allows students to try out different settings and professions to see how they might dedicate their lives.”
One subset of campus organizations where community service is an important aspect to is Greek life.
Lindsay Marosi-Kramer, an activities director on campus, said, “Our seven organizations all have both national and local philanthropies, many groups require students to host volunteer hours while not many have actual relationships with outside places like Greek groups do.”
According to Marosi-Kramer, during the 2018-2019 school year, the Greek community volunteered more than 800 hours in community services.
Students can walk off most WSU sidewalks and be in neighborhoods or in close proximity to local businesses.
Some community members have opposing opinions when it comes to living in a town with three colleges.
A Winona man who lives nine blocks east of campus, who wished to remain anonymous, said he didn’t appreciate having college students as neighbors.
He has lived in Winona his whole life and only left when he went to college.
“It’s not that I hate college students,” the man said. “I just don’t like living with around them.”
He brought up how high school and college students would leave garbage on his lawn or how loud college student neighbors are.
He said it was extremely difficult to find housing since “20 percent of each block” was rented to students or would only be rented to students.
“I do appreciate there are students and groups who will go around and clean up the garbage, especially after big events,” he said.
Kendra Weber, WSU’s director of Student and Community Engagement, arranged the clean and sweep after homecoming.
“If we know a certain amount of this is going to happen, what can we do?” Weber said.
The first year she held this event, around 30 people showed up and they ended with around 40 bags of garbage.
In 2018, the event had about 90 people sign up to pick up trash and more than 100 participants showed up.
An event like this has both community and university involvement. Weber directs the event and buys pizza for students who volunteer. The American Legion has allowed the group to use their space for free and the city allocates certain stop signs for the group to set the bags of garbage.
Chart from www.mnstate.edu that covers the financial benefits and engagement that is done between the community and Winona State University.
Olson has had community members reach out to him regarding students.
“Most of the comments I get from members of the community are very complimentary to WSU students, Olson said. “Probably the largest volume of negative comments I hear are about students walking across Main or Huff without looking up at the traffic, but I only hear this a dozen times a year or less. There are often concerns around Homecoming, but lately students have really been careful to be safe and respectful while having fun.”
In 2013, the university applied to get the Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching.
To be considered for this classification, the university had to have proof of engagement and co-existing with the community.
In 2015, Winona State University was awarded the Community Engagement Classification.
For many in Winona, the Super Bowl may not mean as much as it did a few weeks ago when the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings still had a chance at winning the championship. For one Winona company, the Super Bowl proves to be the busiest time of the year.
Headquartered on 960 E Mark St. (pictured), Wincraft, a sports merchandising company that has license rights for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and the NCAA; the Super Bowl is one of their biggest events of the year.
According to Wincraft’s director of sales and operations, Derek Horvath, the company has been making 60 different products for each team in the big game such as decals, pennants, and a variety the sports memorabilia. The company also produces the signature Gatorade towels that are handed to the players at the conclusion of the big game.
Horvath confirmed the Super Bowl is the biggest money-making event for the company throughout the year.
“Playoffs are a great and a hot market for any sport,” Horvath said. “So, the Super Bowl is one of our best-performing events, and usually production picks up significantly from the second week of January through the balance of February.”
Horvath also noted this year’s game is especially marketable given the competitors in the game, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that have not been in the Super Bowl in more than five years.
“Market-specific, demand changes a lot,” Horvath said. “Last year with the Rams and the Patriots was good, not great. This year with the 49ers and the Chiefs, it is going to set records. The fan support is all new. Fans that really want to capture the first time for them in their lifetime or, something that has not happened for a long time.”
Horvath also noted the teams’ lack of success compared to a dynasty like the New England Patriots, who have appeared in four of the last five Super Bowls, means that their fans are more likely to purchase products that a typical Patriots fan.
“If you think about it, the Patriots were dominant for a long time in the league, so often the market actually said ‘you know, AFC Champs, we don’t need as much AFC Champ product, we are just going to focus on the Super Bowl Champ,’” Horvath said. “While with these two markets, the Chiefs and the 49ers, AFC/NFC Champ product is in high demand. So, they want to prepare for this Super Bowl and then compound that with the Super Bowl.”
A team like the 49ers also creates the need for a new product that would not be made if any other team had been in their position, such as special edition seven-time NFC Championship apparel.
Despite this being the biggest event for the company, Horvath has said they have not had to rely on overtime for employees. Instead, shifting their focus ahead of time before the event.
AUDIO: Does Wincraft make Super Bowl Champion merchandise for teams before the big game? Wincraft’s director of sales and operations, Derek Horvath address the longtime rumor.
Horvath dispelled the rumor that Wincraft makes a certain amount of Super Bowl Champion apparel ahead of time, saying the company waits until a champion is determined to “hit the presses.”
While the NFL’s biggest game proves to be the biggest event for Wincraft, the company is still constantly busy throughout the entire year.
“It is a really dynamic business because we hold so many licenses. Every month something is going on,” Horvath said. “You have the Super Bowl in February, you have March Madness, you have NBA/NHL playoffs when May and June hit, then in July and August you hit training camp and back to school.”
Horvath also noted how it is important for Wincraft to keep a local presence in Winona throughout the year, despite their sales being nationwide, citing their relationship with Winona State University.
“WSU is one of the great partners of Wincraft, we love to volunteer and talk to students, prepare them for the real world, tell them how a pro-sports license company works, and what to expect post-graduation,” Horvath said. “We have speaking events at WSU and St. Mary’s. We volunteer on boards around town and we try to help as much as we can with young professionals and help them understand what Winona has to offer.”
Some of the products Wincraft makes on display at the Winona Walmart. Products like these will be made for the Kansas City Chiefs to commemorate their Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers.
For residents of Winona, Minnesota, a college city on the
Mississippi, the possibilities on how to get from Point A to Point B are plentiful.
The city offers a four-route shuttle bus system, a taxicab company and a recreation center equipped with canoes, rollerblades and bicycles.
If all else fails, a scenic stroll can get someone almost anywhere worth going in about 20 minutes.
One thing Winona didn’t have until 2018 was Lyft, a direct driver-to-rider, cashless car service controlled solely by cell phones.
As part of the Rochester Area radius, the service extends from Red Wing to Albert Lea.
The first step in the Lyft process is to create a rider or driver profile.
Once the profile is created, users input a debit or credit card which allows money to be withdrawn as a rider and deposited as a driver.
From there, riders can type in their point for pick-up and drop off.
What happens next?
The nearest driver will be on their way to the designated pick-up point.
All drivers who have made it through the company screening process of their driving record, license and insurance will be able to mark their vehicle as Lyft-certified with a sticker in the front and back.
While the idea of getting in a stranger’s vehicle may make some
uneasy, Lyft implemented the ability for riders and drivers alike to watch a digitized progression of the ride.
Lex Lea, a Winona State University junior (in the featured photo above), jumped at the chance to join Lyft this past summer and make money doing an enjoyable task for her: driving.
She’s been a driver with Lyft for six months.
Lyft ran a background check, driver’s record check and confirmation of her license and insurance.
Every element of the application is approved individually. Drivers cannot begin until all parts have passed Lyft’s driver screening.
Lea said Lyft periodically offers instructional videos to help prepare drivers to handle situations with riders.
While she likes Lyft for its flexible hours, Lea said she uses it for fast cash and not as her primary income.
It can take a considerable amount of drives with the minimum rate that starts at $3.64 and goes up per mile.
Part of the payment for her though is the entertaining riders.
Riders can tip and rate drivers on quality and efficiency of the rider’s trip. Lex Lea boosts her rating with a conversation-starting element to her car: a car ceiling decked out with her collectible-button collection.
One of Lea’s favorite interactions came from a group of drunken girls who “hyped her up” by persistently calling everyone in the car, Lea included, “on point and so pretty.”
“It’s interesting that drunk people always think that they’re found to be annoying by sober people. I don’t mind, though. It’s entertaining and much better than sitting at home.”
Kaitlyn Tenney, a Winona State senior, started with Lyft in October as she saw her dad go through the process, which she described as “super easy.”
When Tenney drives, she said she prefers Thursday to Saturday nights until bar close around 1 a.m.
Despite drunken antics, Tenney said the service makes sense for Winona.
“It’s a useful service for the bar scene and convenient because
almost everyone has a phone,” Tenney said.
According to Tenney, she’s had riders who use it if they’re unable to drive and need to get to work, pick up groceries and get to
treatment groups.
As more people learn of the service, Lyft may become the primary way to get around Winona.
Winona State University has seen a limit on the amount of parking permits given to students along with limited space to park which for some leads to frustration.
Winona State Parking Services have a cap on the number of parking permits they sell for residential and commuter parking lots.
For residential lots, with silver, green, tan and maroon parking permits, the cap is the same as the number of spots the university has in those lots.
All Winona State parking permits have to be hung on the rearview mirror of vehicles at all times while in a Winona State parking lot. Failure to have the permit hanging could result in a parking violation.
For the silver, green and maroon lots, the annual price of a parking permit is $155. The tan lot parking permits are $85 because there are conferences often at the Tau Center which is where the tan parking lot is.
For commuter lots, the gold and purple parking permits, the cap is a little more than the number of spaces in those lots.
Alisha Syrmopoulos, Winona State’s Parking Services office manager said they do that because people do not stay in the lot for long periods of time.
Gold parking permits are $225 per calendar year. Purple parking permits are $105 per academic year.
Sustainability parking permits are available for students who live in the sustainability house for $155 and Circle or Grey parking permits are offered for motorcycles and mopeds for $35.
Winona State Parking Services also offers a blue parking permit for those with a state-issued handicap permit for $105.
Faculty, staff and students have the ability to purchase handicap parking spaces provided they have a state issued handicap permit. The Winona State handicap permits are $105 per academic year.
Winona State meets ADA regulations when it comes to handicap spaces but Syrmopoulos said she receives complaints that the amount of spots is not enough.
Syrmopoulos said she gets complaints about not having enough handicap spaces.
With a handicap parking permit, the permit holder is able to park in any open spot on campus. Syrmopoulos said even if someone cannot find a handicap spot Parking Services stills wants to get them as close as possible.
Syrmopoulos said they do the best with what they have.
“We are kind of landlocked. You kind of got to work with what you have and use the space,” Syrmopoulos said.
This is why not everyone who applies for a parking permit will get one.
Syrmopoulos said there is a stack of applications from faculty, staff and students who want a parking permit for this school year.
The process Parking Services use to decide who gets a parking permit is first-come-first-served.
Syrmopoulos said there have been professors who go into the Parking Services Office and tell the student workers they should have priority to get a parking permit.
“I have had faculty sit here and yell at my students and tell my students that they should have priority to these parking permits because if it wasn’t for them the university wouldn’t even be running,” Syrmopoulos said.
She said her response to these professors has been that if there were no students there would be no need for faculty.
“It’s a co-op effort,” Syrmopoulos said.
First-year Winona State student, Kalli O’Brien said she believes the process of getting a parking permit is fair.
She does not agree with the cap on residential parking.
“I live in Sheehan and I’d say I have parked in that parking lot in front of Sheehan less than 10 times for sure,” O’Brien said. “It is so frustrating because I do morning shifts and walking far away in the morning when it’s freezing out sucks.”
At the beginning of the semester, O’Brien was almost going to give up her parking permit because she did not believe it was worth the money.
After talking to her parents O’Brien decided to keep the parking permit because she knew in the winter she would be happy to have it.
Another aspect of the parking permit that frustrates O’Brien is when students in residential parking spots have a permit but never move their car.
“I live on one of the top floors and my roommate and I look down and we can see the cars that have been there for weeks,” O’Brien said. “Why do you even have a car if you’re not using it?”
O’Brien said she believes students who use their cars on a regular basis should be the ones with the parking spot right outside the building.
O’Brien said she would not recommend getting a parking permit to anyone because it is not worth the amount of money.
“Alternate side parking it’s kind of a hassle but it’s more of a hassle doing [a parking permit] and wasting your money,” O’Brien said.
CBD oil has seen an increase in popularity in recent years but not much is known about the new supplement.
CBD stands for cannabidiol. It comes from the hemp plant which is a cousin of the marijuana plant.
According to Island City Vapors, Harvard Medical School and other sources, despite popular belief, CBD cannot get a person high.
According to the World Health Organization CBD also has no dependence or abuse potential.
“To date, there is no evidence of public health-related problems associated with the use of pure CBD,” the World Health Organization stated.
Because of its close relationship with marijuana Katie Jensen, Winona State University health and wellness promotion coordinator said she believes CBD has been more popular.
“I think that is why people are drawn to it a lot of the time,” Jensen said. “It’s almost like a forbidden fruit.”
One way of applying CBD for pain is through a balm like this one. Someone who uses this kind of product will rub the balm on the skin of the area that causes pain.
According to Harvard Medical School, CBD is legal on some level in all 50 states. The federal government puts CBD in the same class as marijuana but doesn’t enforce it regularly.
In Minnesota, as of Jan. 1, 2020 products with CBD can be legally sold if conditions outlined in Minnesota Statue 151.72 are met.
CBD products are sold now because products derived from hemp were removed from controlled substances laws which many took as an indication that selling CBD products is legal, according to a MinnPost article.
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy said selling CBD products is not legal, according to a MinnPost article but no enforcement ever happened.
Harvard Medical School also stated the legality of CBD is expected to change because of a bipartisan consensus in Congress to make the hemp crop legal. That would make it hard to prohibit CBD.
One major issue people have with CBD is the lack of research and information available.
Jensen said when typing CBD into Google or other search engines what most likely will come up is companies marketing the product and stating CBD a miracle drug or a cure-all.
“There has been a lot of inflations of how good it can be for different people,” Jensen said.
Research from Harvard Medical School showed the most effective use of CBD oil is for Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which are some of the worst child epilepsy syndromes.
The FDA approved Epidioles for these conditions which does contain CBD.
The FDA does not regulate CBD overall, which is the same for supplements and vitamins people take every day.
Another common use of CBD is for anxiety and insomnia.
Studies have suggested that CBD helps with falling and staying asleep.
There has also been research on CBD effects on chronic pain.
Studies have shown that CBD oil can help with pain. This is one way of applying CBD for pain. When using this kind of CBD a person can roll it over wherever they are having pain or tension.
According to Harvard Medical School, the European Journal of Pain used an animal model to show that when CBD is applied to skin it can help lower arthritis pain and inflammation.
“Another study demonstrated the mechanism by which CBD inhibits inflammatory and neuropathic pain, two of the most difficult types of chronic pain to treat,” Harvard Medical School stated.
For each of these conditions, there are options of how to take CBD.
Someone who uses it has the option of ingesting, apply to skin, smoking, among others.
An article on the Harvard Medical School website stated more human study needs to be done to know the true effects of CBD on pain and other conditions.
Ben Rayburn, first-year Winona State student, said he uses CBD oil for his Tourettes and Asperger’s syndromes, anxiety and depression.
He said he decided to use CBD oil because there is not any medication specifically for Tourettes and with his combination of health concerns it’s hard to find something that works.
This is what a bottle of CBD oil looks like. It comes in a small jar with a dropper for usage. Prices on this product can vary based on its purity and grade.
Raybrun said he has tried every anti-psych, ADHD, and anxiety medication, each time getting strange side effects.
He said he likes CBD oil because it’s easy to use and has helped with all of his conditions.
“When I use it regularly like I am supposed to it really reduces my anxiety and my Tourettes goes down,” Raybrun said. “They are reduced by I would say a good 75 to 80% of what they normally would be.”
Harvard Medical School and Jensen recommend talking to a doctor before using a CBD product.
“If you decide to try CBD, talk with your doctor – if for no other reason than to make sure it won’t affect other medications you are taking,” Harvard Medical School stated.
Rayburn said he was told by Island City Vapors, a local shop that sells CBD products that if a medication reacts poorly to grapefruit CBD products are not recommended. He did not know why that was.
Prices for CBD products range depending on the product, the seller and the quality.
Rayburn said at Island City Vapors a bottle of CBD oil that lasts about a month is about $150.
The Winona Area Public Schools school board met on Thursday, Nov. 21, for a hearing about the Worlds Best WorkForce and regular business after.
Maurella Cunningham, director of learning and teaching at the district office explained the results from the 2018-19 WBWA plan and described the WBWA plan for 2019-20.
In the 2018-19 school year, the district met two of their seven goals detailed in the 2018-19 WBWA plan.
Those two goals were to decrease the reading proficiency score gap between white students and students of color and American-Indian students and the district was able to raise enrollment in preschool.
The five goals not met included the four-year graduation rates from Winona Senior High School and the Winona Learning Center.
The goal for Winona Senior High School was to increase graduation rates from 93% to 94%. The rate ended up decreasing from 93% to 91.9%.
Another goal was to close the gap between white students, students of color and American-Indian students on the math proficiency part of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments.
“In Math, the difference in percent proficient on the MCA assessment between white students & students of color and American Indian students will decrease from 26.7% to 20%, for all grade levels tested,” the 2018-19 WBWF plan read.
Other goals not met included kindergarten letter sounds, third-grade reading level increase, and average ACT scores increase.
Cunningham described WBWF goals for the 2019-20 school year.
The basis of most of the goals did not change from the 2018-19 WBWF plan to the 2019-20 WBWF plan.
For example, the goal to close the gap in math proficiency MCA scores between white, colored and American-Indian students stayed the same. The only part that changed was the starting point to reflect the increased gap from the previous year.
“In Math, the difference in percent proficient on the MCA assessment between white students & students of color and American Indian students will decrease from 25.3% in 2019 to 20% in 2020, for all grade levels tested,” the 2019-20 WBWF plan states as the goal.
The only goal that changed was the four-year graduation rates.
For the 2019-20 WBWF plan, the goal is to have an increase in four-year graduation rates at the Winona Senior Highschool from 93% to 94% and an increase from 13.2% to 14% at the Winona Area Learning Center.
One goal was added to the 2019-20 WBWF plan.
The new goal is to have high school juniors who take a college or career readiness assessment to have scores no lower than 85%.
The board will hear a revised version of the 2019-20 WBWF plan on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Superintendent, Annette Freiheit reads through various changes to different school policies. These changes were mostly grammatical or were not what the school was doing.
School Board Chair, Nancy Denzer said she looks forward to seeing the plan written in a meaningful way.
“I really want to see some SMART goals and things that we can achieve and I really want to see the whole Worlds Best Workforce written in a way that is meaningful,” Denzer said.
SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.
In the regular meeting, the school board heard from speakers on a variety of topics.
“We want staff members to present not necessarily administrators,” Denzer said.
Teachers from each school in the district came to speak about the progress of the new Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. They reported that students and faculty and staff have been receiving the program well.
One presentation Denzer said she enjoyed was a report from staff members about the progress of a new program called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports.
Each school in the district has at least one teacher heading the program in that school. Each is seeing tremendous results in the beginning stages of implementation.
The school board also discussed the process of adding a student chair to the board.
School Board Clerk Michael Hanratty brought the idea to the board after attending the annual conference last year and meeting other district’s student representatives.
“He got excited about it and wanted to do it,” Denzer said. “So we are going to shepherd it in and see what happens.”
The next school board meeting will be Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. at Winona City Hall.
The Friendship Center in Downtown Winona needs more parking as it is the number one complaint from members.
The issue comes mostly because the Friendship Center serves the senior citizens of the area, many of whom have a harder time walking long distances or making it across the street in the time allowed.
Roxy Kohner has been a member of the center for almost 11 years. She said sometimes she will come to the center an hour before an event to wait out a close enough parking spot.
“I have driven by and without a place to park I had to turn around and go back because there wasn’t anything within the walking distance that I can do,” Kohner said. “I have also staked out parking. So I have come an hour ahead of time and I will park and do something in my car till I can watch and see someone pull out.”
Malia Fox, director of the Friendship Center, said this is the most frequent complaint the center gets.
A report from 2018 state there is adequate parking for the City of Winona.
The report titled “Parking Study: Downtown Winona” was created by Walker Consultants. They studied an area of 42 blocks between the Mississippi River, Winona Street, Broadway Street and Kanas Street.
Walker Consultants found that in the study area there were about 4,030 spaces available of which about 3,205 spaces were for public use.
Parking continues to be a problem for the Friendship Center despite the findings in the Walker report.
Across Fifth Street from the Friendship Center is the Main Street Square Development. The construction workers and equipment take up many spots that are closest to the center, which has caused more lack of parking.
Winona Major, Mark Peterson, said parking has been an issue for the center since it started 40 years ago.
“The complaints are very real which is why the city has been looking at a solution to solving the problem,” Peterson said. “The past couple of years the city has seriously been considering moving the center.”
There will be a meeting on Nov. 13 to discuss parking further.
There was talk from the city about knocking down the old middle school auditorium and creating a parking lot there.
According to Kohner, that would not fix the problem.
“That is a band-aid because many of us have limited mobility. So even if we do have parking you’re talking two blocks away,” Kohner said. “I won’t be able to go two blocks either. I can go a block if a stretch it, half a block is perfect.”
One quasi-solution the center had was making a deal with Wesely United Methodist Church which is next door to them. The Friendship Center can use the church’s parking area as long as the church does not have an event going on.
The parking the church said the center can use is not reserved for the Friendship Center. It is public parking.
The center has a membership of 1,000 people with an average daily attendance of 125. They also have staff coming in and out of the building every day.
According to Fox, the Main Street Square Development across the street has hindered their membership.
“In the last 6-8 months that this development has been occurring, we are watching our numbers drop for the first time in 25 years,” Fox said.
