Local News
Winona County gets bid to buy one government building
WINONA, Minn. — La Crosse County has been busy the last few years, selling its old courthouse and moving county offices into a former bank.
Now, Winona County is going through a similar re-organization. This week, Winona County received a bid from Fastenal founder Bob Kierlin to buy the county government center for $700,000.
The county has been making plans to move offices into another of its buildings in downtown Winona. County administrator Ken Fritz says saving money is a big motivation.
“Depending on what the sale of the government center would bring to the county, it looks like we can save about ($1.5 million) over 10 years,” he said.
Fritz says since there’s extra space available in the county office building, so it makes sense to move departments out of the government center:
“There’s almost a whole floor available,” Fritz said. “We’re only moving 44 people. So it’s not a gigantic move.”
A licensing center might still remain in the government center, even if Kierlin or another party buys the property.