EDA members Amanda Johnson and Doug Hill listen to the discussion about hosting the Mankato Moondogs for Winnebago Night at the Winnebago EDA meeting on Wednesday, May 7.

Exciting news about the Winnebago Hearts project was the highlight of the Winnebago Economic Development Authority (EDA) meeting on Wednesday, May 7.

Mayor Jean Anderson provided an update on the ongoing Winnebago Hearts project, sharing that the first heart, which will be displayed at City Hall, has been fully funded and is estimated to be complete by mid-June 2025.

“There will be 11 hearts total, and the first, which is going to be painted blue to match our city’s logo, will be installed in front of City Hall,” Anderson explained. “This first one has been fully funded, but to support the cost of the other hearts, I have applied for the FY 2025 Minnesota State Arts Board grant, and am in the process of applying for the POET Community Change grant and the T-Mobile Hometown grant.”

The various hearts of the Winnebago Hearts project will be located around major areas of Winnebago, including the swimming pool, the Muir library, the three city welcome signs, and the museum. Local Winnebago artist Tyler Nepp of TNepp Metals has been commissioned to create the hearts.

CEDA representative Macey Becker presented the EDA with an update on various grants during her staff report.

“We were not selected to receive the GFAP grant that we applied for to help with the equipment replacement at Marketplace Foods, and we chose not to apply for the REAP grant due to decreased funds available,” Becker explained. “However, we have found a new possible funding opportunity through the MPCA, and we may pursue that option in the future once we learn more about it.”

Becker also mentioned that there was some potential interest in splitting the open Super Value lot into two separate parcels, and wanted to know if the EDA would be willing to proceed with that action.

“If there’s someone interested in buying the property, then we would need to conduct a survey of that parcel before we can split it,” EDA member Doug Hill remarked.

“I just wanted to ask what our options were – personally, I’m not optimistic that it would work, as I believe that splitting the lot would decrease the property value,” Becker replied.

After some further discussion, a decision was made to table the issue until the next EDA meeting.

Becker presented the EDA with an update from Genesis Classical Academy regarding their availability for Winnebago Night for the Mankato Moondogs.

“GCA has informed us that July 11 will work the best for their students,” Becker shared. “There will be 20 students in attendance to sing the national anthem, and tickets have been set aside for them.”

City administrator Judi Hynes reminded the EDA members that, should they choose to host Winnebago Night and proceed with selling tickets, the city is not allowed to sell the tickets directly, and would have to be distributed through other methods.

“We have to purchase 100 tickets, which will cost us $1,000, and the city cannot sell them directly – we have to hand them off to local businesses to sell them,” Hynes remarked. “Also, if we are buying these tickets, the funds will be coming out of the Community Club’s budget, which means they will have less to host other events such as Frosty Fest.”

Following further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to go ahead with hosting Winnebago Night for the Moondogs and the purchase of the tickets. The motion was passed unanimously.

Other business discussed at the Winnebago EDA meeting included:

• Rehab loan application approval requests for Lori Yackley, Evelyn Burch, Kateri and Dillon Johanson, and Patrick Leigl were all unanimously approved.

• A Commercial Exterior Grant approval request for the amount of $1,306.66 for Johnathon Hynes was approved unanimously. EDA member Johnathon Hynes abstained from the vote.

• A request for Macey Becker to attend the South Central Minnesota Workforce Summit in Mankato on May 20 was unanimously approved.

• A request to apply for the Compeer Financial General Use Grant to host Mainstreet Businesses Focused on Food and Agriculture (MBFFA) Lunch & Learn sessions in Winnebago was approved unanimously.

• A request from the Martin and Faribault County EDAs for the Winnebago EDA to join them in submitting a collaborative application for a Public Outreach Grant to support education and outreach efforts for the Minnesota Paid Leave program, which is set to launch Jan. 1, 2026, was approved unanimously.