Winona State University (WSU) is home to distinct types of clubs, ranging from athletics to academics. One of the larger clubs on campus is The Warrior Entertainment Network. The Network hosts activities for students throughout the year on campus and around the town.

The most recent event, “Downtown Winona Night,” took place on Wednesday, October 26 and included student discounts and deals from Blooming Grounds Coffee House, Toppers Pizza, Muddy Waters Yoga Studio and Nate and Ally’s.

At Blooming Grounds, students were offered a buy one, get one half off specialty drink. Muddy Waters offered one free class using a specific code. Toppers had a deal to buy one “stix,” get one free on triple orders of them all day, and Nate and Ally’s offered 10% off any purchase.

Community Outreach Director of The Network and third-year student, Maxim Davis, explained how the process went to get these companies to agree and provide discounts.
“I tried to include as many downtown, local businesses as possible,” Davis said. “I emailed all the places we considered, and within a week we had two yeses. I grabbed an additional one about a week later.”

Davis organized this same event last year, but he claimed it had little success.

“I was not able to be in the office that much because I was recovering from a broken arm injury, and by the time I came back, the event only had one ‘yes,’” Davis said. “I literally had to go into the businesses and talk to someone in person to get a few more to agree.”

Fourth-year student, Morgan Liebau, shared her happiness with the deals they had.

“I think this was a perfect time to do an event like this because it’s mid-week and mid-semester,” Liebau said. “I’d never miss an opportunity to get a discounted coffee.”

Davis stressed the importance of events like these for The Network and campus, but claimed its real importance is to the community.

“Winona is a very local-busi- ness-driven town,” Davis said. “It is important that we promote these small businesses because they are particularly important to our community. There is a rich history here in Winona and it is important that we make sure that our local businesses are supported.”

Liebau agreed and mentioned her personal connection to the community.

“It’s important for the students to be more involved in the community because it connects us to the place, we’ve chosen to call home for the last four years,” Liebau said. “These local businesses are some of my favorite spots around town and they deserve to be supported.” Davis explained that as a club,

The Network has an idea of what events they want to do each year, but they try to keep it fresh and exciting, and Downtown Winona Night fits in those categories.

“Every year we want to try and make something different,” Davis said. “It is what we have not seen yet and what the people want to see. I ask friends or random people on campus, ‘What would you like to see more of?’ and they tell me what they want to see happen more often and I try to make it happen.”

Liebau appreciated the event and commented on campus events in general.

“I think we have some of the most unique events at WSU,” Liebau said. “Between concerts, game nights and then events like this, students are constantly given opportunities to appreciate Winona.”

Davis encouraged that students and clubs on campus push for more collaborative events between the campus and the community.

“I highly recommend moving forward with community-driven events,” Davis said. “The only
way we can keep doing these is if the students keep supporting our events and keep coming to them. Without their support, we physical- ly and monetarily cannot do these events.”

Davis made sure to mention that engaging in the community provides students with an opportunity for education.

“If people go and support the businesses, it gives more of an incentive to the students getting more opportunities like this in the future and more opportunities to experience Winona and the town itself,” Davis said. “Enriching yourself into Winona culture and Winona community is extremely important.”