Lauren Reuteler/Winonan

Governor Dayton’s latest bonding proposal, totaling $986 million, plans to invest in Minnesota’s higher education programs, including Winona State University.

The plan will dedicate $100 million to projects in Rochester, Mankato and St. Cloud, while another $126 million will be used for necessary upgrades to complete the renovation of the State Capitol. The funding will include $80 million to help strengthen colleges across the state.

Winona State University has seen this first-hand through the reconstruction happening in Kryzsko Commons.

Joe Reed, Student Union and student activities director, said, “We had to get a $5 million bond for the job and borrow $2.2 million.”

Reed has been planning this project for roughly ten years after completing numerous other renovations within Kryzsko. Its first renovation began in 1965, and the building has been growing since.

Much of the reason for the renovation stems from the growing number of students being admitted into Winona State. The university has nearly doubled in number since 1975, and roughly 25 percent of all room reservation requests have had to be turned down due to limited space.

Through the entire renovation process, the bookstore has dealt with water leakage, loss of heat and occasional fire alarms.

Karen Krause, bookstore director, said, “There has been a little inconvenience, but that’s anything that’s under construction. You’ve just got to go with the flow.”

The bookstore will be completely moved out of its current home and into the Winonan room in the lower hyphen. This move is only temporary, and everything aside from books will be in the new space.

If students need textbooks following the move, prior requests will have to be made at the front desk of the bookstore.

The renovation will bring new sprinkler systems, an additional 600 square feet, a more modern look and an updated layout to the bookstore.

“We plan to have more room for books so the shelves won’t be as crowded and look as complicated,” Brittany Sutton, sophomore bookstore employee, said.

With so much change at the start of a new semester to buildings, students may also have faced the need to adjust.

“The biggest problem was the return line being more congested because of the shortened hallways, but the students did really well with it,” Krause said. There were more online orders this semester as well.

The renovation will bring eight new study rooms and a lot more open space and seating for students.

The project will be finished and open to the public in June, and the grand opening will take place when students return in the fall.

“We’ve got a big team with student and faculty opinions that will hopefully give us that ‘wow factor’ we’re looking for,” Reed said.

Contact Lauren at [email protected]