Sam Stetzer/ Winonan
On Thursday, Sept. 4, nearly one year after a fire ravaged through downtown Winona damaging Blooming Grounds, Sole Sport and the Islamic Center, another fire claimed the building of another business.
A fire broke out in the morning hours in the office area at KidSport on the corner of Fifth and Center street.
KidSport is a local gymnastics gym for athletes ranging from ages three to 18. The gym works with local schools on gymnastics programs and coaches girls involved in USA Gymnastics programs.
The gym also employs students from Winona State University.
Caylee Alves, a sophomore at Winona State, has been involved in gymnastics for most of her life and is currently employed at KidSport.
“I’ve been in gymnastics for about 16 years. I’ve been coaching since about eighth grade,” Alves said, “I came here looking to do something close to what I’m familiar with, and they were really welcoming right away and gave me the job right on the spot.”
KidSport was housed in the old YWCA building, and on the morning of the fire, Alves originally thought it was the new YWCA building that caught on fire. She quickly learned otherwise.
“Somebody texted me saying that, and I just automatically went online to see what happened. And it was just shocking. I didn’t think it was going to be bad, and then I started seeing pictures of a little bit of smoke because it was breaking news obviously,” Alves said.
The fire destroyed most of the building and caused severe smoke damage in the main gym, Alves said.
The roof collapsed as well, but no one was hurt in the blaze, according to reports by the fire department.
Originally Alves and her co-workers thought they would have to find new jobs, but she heard from her bosses they could all be back to work as early as this week.
“You know, they have girls from USAG here, like there is no way they can shut it down, but then I started getting texts saying, ‘Are you going to have to get a new job?’” Alves said.
“I have heard that there have been three possibilities for locations, and they told me to get ready to work this week. Things are moving pretty quickly,” Alves said.
Rob Murray, owner of the gym, built the gym from the ground up, including the equipment.
“The gym was his life,” Alves said, “It’s sad seeing everything that’s happened. But everybody’s just trying to move forward as a team, and it’s amazing all of the support we’ve gotten as a community.”
Alves and her co-workers are excited they do not have to look for new jobs and can return to KidSport, Alves said.
Other students at Winona State, like junior Jordan Gerard, expressed their concern for KidSport and the entire downtown area as well.
“I know fall can be a prime time for fires,” Gerard said, “You just have to hope that they can start again, and people can find jobs and a temporary place to keep their business going.”
