WINONA Minn. – The president of Winona State, Scott Olson, has been bothered for years that first-time visitors to campus pick up a confused feel for the university when they arrive from Highway 61 on Huff Street. These visitors drive past the lake and see see a handsome WSU welcome sign at Huff and Mill streets, and think they’ve arrived, but the campus proper is hardly in sight, Olson pointed out. The campus is three blocks away – beyond the parking lot, beyond a Kwik Tip, beyond Gordie’s gas station, beyond some shabby structures, and then up and over the Canadian mainline. It’s no wonder that Olson has been attracted to a land swap with Kwik Trip at Huff and Sarnia. The swap would allow the university to raze Kwik Trip and create a parking lot nearer campus. The new lot would be more convenient to campus. And with a few property purchases on Huff, there would a more cohesive and clear entrance to campus. “The idea is that that gateway to campus would really be that corner of Huff and Sarnia,” Olson explained.
Campus? Where? The flag-bedecked grand entrance is at a remote parking lot and three blocks from campus. Image: Steve Lunde