WINONA, Minn. – The president of the Winona of Chamber of Commerce, Christie Ransom, declined to respond to a request for the names of businesses to which $1.8 million in public funds was distributed for CoVid relief. The request was for Round 2 data in the government’s CoVid relief program. The Chamber had been contracted by Winona County to be the distribution agent. To a similar request for a list of Round One recipients a year ago, Ransom said she was “not at liberty” to release the list. She explained that Winona businesses had been through enough trauma because of CoVid. It would be wrong, she said, to create further trauma for them. The list eventually was acquired by the Winona Journal from government records, to which citizens have access through transparency laws. The laws were designed to assure accountability in the disbursement of public moneys.

Earlier: Round 2: CoVid relief grants to local businesses

Earlier: : State grants eased businesses’ Co-Vid losses