Winona preps newest first responders (5/12/2021)
After months of preparation and public discussion, the city of Winona’s Alternative Response Team (ART) is finally close to fulfilling the promise of trained mental health professionals responding to emergency calls alongside police.
The details of the program are still being hashed out between the city of Winona, whose budget is footing the bill, and Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center (HVMHC), whose employees will be the ones going out on calls. Once contract negotiations between the city and HVMHC conclude, HVMHC can then hire the team, anticipated to take place in June. The first deployment of ART will likely take place in July.
We can do better than alternate side parking (12/23/2020)
I read with interest the article on possible alternatives to our current system of alternate side parking (ASP), particularly since I was the one who submitted the question to the League of Women Voters mayoral/city council forum this fall (referenced in the final paragraph). I’d like to address a couple of points. Despite Brian DeFrang’s comments, my experience has shown me that using ASP absolutely does not make plowing the streets more efficient or quicker. And how many of you have parked on the “correct” side of the street only to find your car plowed in the next morning? Police Chief Tom Williams also claims that it’s not a “cash cow” for the department; the article states that all parking fines amount for only 0.15 percent of the city’s budget. That being the case, eliminating these ASP fines shouldn’t affect the city in any way. And it would free up those officers and st