Winona County meeting summaries, agendas, and minutes

Winona County Board to discuss 2027 budget, joint law enforcement letter

The Winona County Board will hold a working session on the 2027 draft budget and consider a letter to the City Council about maintaining joint law enforcement services at its Aug. 25 meeting. No decisions were made at recent county meetings: the Aug. 20 Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment meetings were canceled, and the Aug. 11 board meeting was agenda-only with minutes not yet published.

Recent meetings

Aug. 11 — County Board (agenda only)

The board's agenda included conditional use permits for James and Sheila McNally, and William and Jacqueline Underhill (two items); an office space lease renewal with Project Fine; purchase and installation of replacement emergency communications repeaters from ANCOM Communications; a discussion of a potential scenic byways moratorium; and a discussion of the 2027 draft budget. No votes or decisions were reported because minutes have not been published.

Aug. 20 — Planning Commission (canceled)

The meeting was canceled by Planning & Environmental Services. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17 at 6:00 pm.

Aug. 20 — Board of Adjustment (canceled)

The meeting was canceled by Planning & Environmental Services. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17 at 1:00 pm.

Upcoming meetings

Aug. 25 — Winona County Board

The board will hold a working session on the 2027 draft budget, including major cost drivers and levy implications. It will also discuss a potential letter to the City Council about maintaining joint law enforcement services. Regular agenda items include a legislative update, a grant application, and discussions on a scenic byways moratorium and dispatch center structure. Consent items include approval of an LG220 gambling application for an exempt permit (Team Vogel), approval of CSAH 12 and CSAH 25 inslope repairs, and approval of a Safe and Secure Grant application.

Aug. 27 — Economic Development Authority Board (canceled)

The meeting was canceled by Planning & Environmental Services. The next EDA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24 at 4:30 pm in the County Office Building, 202 West Third St, Winona, MN.

Coming up

• **Sept. 17** — Planning Commission, 6:00 pm
• **Sept. 17** — Board of Adjustment, 1:00 pm
• **Sept. 24** — Economic Development Authority, 4:30 pm, County Office Building

Winona County meetings: Budget, law enforcement center, storm damage, ransomware on agendas

The Winona County Board of Commissioners held a working session July 28 to discuss the 2027 draft budget and consider a professional services agreement for law enforcement center planning. The board's agenda also included a labor agreement with AFSCME 65, treatment court funding, a DocuSign contract renewal, and a possible library funding freeze. The Emergency Coordinating Committee met the same day to review storm damage assessments and receive an update on a ransomware attack affecting county systems. A Parks & Environment Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for August 4 was cancelled.

County Board working session

The board's July 28 agenda included:

• Approval of AFSCME 65 Labor Agreement 2025-2027
• Professional Services Agreement with Klein McCarthy Architects for Law Enforcement Center Planning
• State of Minnesota 2026-2027 Cooperative Agreement for Treatment Court Funding
• Renewal of DocuSign Contract
• Discussion on potential library funding freeze at 2026 level

Minutes have not yet been published, so no decisions or vote tallies are available.

Emergency Coordinating Committee

The committee's agenda included a disaster declaration and preliminary damage assessment for recent storm events, as well as an update on a ransomware attack affecting county systems. The committee also heard agency updates and a dispatch report. Minutes have not yet been published.

Parks & Environment Advisory Committee cancelled

The Parks & Environment Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for August 4 was cancelled by Planning & Environmental Services. The committee's 2026 meeting dates are listed as February 4, April 7, June 2, August 4, October 6, and December 1.

Coming up

No upcoming meetings are listed for the next 14 days.

County Board eyed 2027 budget, labor deal, and law enforcement center study; no outcomes confirmed yet

Winona County residents saw a busy end of July on the government calendar, but official minutes have not yet been published for the county's key meetings. That means no decisions can be confirmed from the public record at this time — only what was scheduled for discussion or action.

County Board — July 28 working session

The Winona County Board of Commissioners held a working session on July 28, 2026. According to the published agenda, the board was scheduled to consider several items, though no vote tallies or outcomes are available because minutes have not been posted.

Agenda items included:

• Approval of the AFSCME 65 Labor Agreement for 2025–2027.
• A Professional Services Agreement with Klein McCarthy Architects for Law Enforcement Center Planning.
• The State of Minnesota 2026–2027 Cooperative Agreement for Treatment Court Funding.
• Renewal of the DocuSign contract.
• Discussion on a potential library funding freeze at the 2026 level.
• Discussion of the 2027 draft budget.

The labor agreement and the law enforcement center planning agreement are the items most likely to affect county spending and services, but residents should watch for the published minutes to learn what, if anything, was approved.

Emergency Coordinating Committee — July 28

The Winona County Emergency Coordinating Committee met the same day. The agenda called for agency updates, a dispatch report, and discussion of storm-related disaster declarations and preliminary damage assessments. Members were also scheduled to receive an update on a recent ransomware attack affecting county systems.

No outcomes or damage figures are available from the public record. The agenda indicates the committee was reviewing the situation, but minutes have not yet been published.

EDA meeting canceled

The July 23, 2026, meeting of the Winona County Economic Development Authority was canceled. The next regular EDA meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2026.

Coming up

• **August 4 — Parks & Environment Advisory Committee:** This meeting was canceled by Planning & Environmental Services. The committee's remaining 2026 dates are October 6 and December 1.
• **August 27 — Economic Development Authority Board:** Next regular meeting.

Residents seeking confirmed outcomes from the July 28 County Board and Emergency Coordinating Committee meetings should check the Winona County website for published minutes.

Winona County boards set to weigh 2027 levy, farmland variance, and large event permit

Winona County residents have a busy stretch of local government activity to track. The County Board, Board of Adjustment, and Planning Commission all met or were scheduled to meet between July 14 and July 16, with agendas covering the 2027 preliminary levy, a proposed boundary change from the DNR, several contract awards, and public hearings on land-use permits. Minutes have not yet been published for any of these meetings, so outcomes are not yet available in the public record.

County Board: 2027 levy, contracts, and abatement policy

The Winona County Board of Commissioners agenda for July 14 included a preliminary levy resolution for 2027 and an allocation related to SEMMCHRA. The Board was also scheduled to hear a proposed boundary change presented by the DNR.

Several contract and bid awards were on the agenda:

• A 2027–2031 Recycling Collection Services Contract to Harter's Quick Clean Up.
• A bid award for two dump box and snowplow packages to Universal Truck Equipment Inc.

The Board also planned to consider approval of a Winona County Abatement Policy.

Because minutes are not yet published, it is not confirmed which items were approved, tabled, or amended.

Board of Adjustment: Variance for dwelling on prime farmland soils

The Board of Adjustment held or scheduled a public hearing on Docket BOA 07-16-26-01, a variance request from Mitchell McNally and James & Sheila McNally. The petition seeks a variance from Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.4.7.6 to allow a single-family dwelling on Class I–III soils in the Agriculture/Resource Conservation district.

The property is in Homer Township, Parcel ID 06.000.4760, along McNally Ridge Rd. According to the staff report, the applicant seeks to build on a roughly 6-acre parcel carved from a 79-acre farm, with surrounding cropland retained.

Staff analysis found the variance meets all eight approval criteria and recommended approval subject to conditions, including obtaining a conditional use permit. No neighbor comments had been received as of the staff report. The legal notice was published in the Winona Post on July 1, 2026.

Outcomes are not yet available in the public record.

Planning Commission: Six permit petitions, including 499-person gathering

The Planning Commission agenda featured public hearings on six conditional and interim use permit petitions.

• **PC 07-16-26-01:** Nyhus Schaffer, on behalf of Chariots4Hope, seeks a permit for a one-day public gathering of up to 499 people in the Agricultural-Resource Conservation (A/RC) Zoning District.
• **PC 07-16-26-02:** James & Sheila McNalley and Mitchell McNally seek a permit for a new dwelling on less than required acreage in the A/RC district.
• **PC 07-16-26-03:** William & Jacqueline Underhill and Skip Wieser seek a permit for a new dwelling on less than required acreage and within the Shoreland Overlay District in the A/RC district.
• **PC 07-16-26-04:** Underhill and Wieser seek a permit for a new dwelling on less than required acreage in the A/RC district, listed as a second petition.
• **PC 07-16-26-05:** Underhill and Wieser seek another permit for a new dwelling on less than required acreage in the A/RC district, listed as a third petition.
• **PC 07-16-26-06:** Underhill and Wieser seek a permit for a new dwelling on less than required acreage and within the Shoreland Overlay District, listed as a second Shoreland petition.

The commission was also scheduled to consider altering its meeting start time and to receive updates from the Board of Adjustment and County Board.

Outcomes are not yet available in the public record.

Coming up

• **July 23, 2026 — Economic Development Authority Board:** The July 23 meeting has been canceled. The next regular EDA meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2026.

Residents seeking confirmed outcomes from the July 14–16 meetings should watch for published minutes from the County Board, Board of Adjustment, and Planning Commission.