Nerd Nite Winona

Our May 2026 Nerd Nite will be on Wednesday, May 27th starting at 7:30p at No Name Bar. Check back for further details on our speakers!

Join us for a Puzzle Palooza of pontificating pedagogues providing pedant & poignant presentations on a plethora of puzzles! We’ll be at No Name Bar on Wednesday, April 22nd at 7:30pm listening to:

Talk #1: “Word Building: The Quizzical Quest to Construct a Crossword” By Analise Zocher

Learn how fantastical artificers called cruciverbalists construct the linguistic labyrinths we know as crossword puzzles. See what skill proficiencies you need to crack (or craft) a puzzle yourself.

Analise Zocher is a lifelong word nerd who learned how to solve crosswords from her mom. She took up constructing crosswords as a pandemic hobby and had a puzzle published in 2021.

Talk #2: “Going to Pieces? Get it Together!! (The Innies and Outies of Speed Puzzling)” By Jennifer Anderson, Connie Dretske, Michelle Monerson, & Liz Russell

We will talk about the history of speed puzzling, how the four of us got together, some tips and things we’ve learned, and why this is the best hobby ever!!

“Get It Together” is a competitive speed puzzling team out of Winona made up of Jennifer Anderson, Connie Dretske, Michelle Monerson, and Liz Russell. Our “Puzzle Coven” has been together since August 2024, we meet monthly (or more) to practice and, in the words of true Minnesotans – “We’re not that bad!!”

Talk #3 – “That’s Three in the Corner! An Introduction to the Wonderful World of Variant Sudoku” By Cody Lamarche

Have you ever been in the middle of solving a vanilla-flavored sudoku-puzzle and thought, “I wonder what could make this more interesting?” If you have, then prepare to have your mind blown! In this talk, we’ll explore the wacky and wonderful world of variant sudoku, at the intersection of traditional sudoku, arithmetic, chess, and number theory – no prior experience required! Along the way we’ll laugh, sing, perhaps shed a tear for the sheer beauty of pure logic that exists in the universe, and maybe, just maybe, even reveal the very secret of sudoku itself.

Cody Lamarche is an astrophysicist and faculty member at Winona State University. (You may remember his Nerd Nite talk on infrared astronomy two years ago, where he wore a trash bag – for science!) In his spare time, Cody enjoys playing the piano, growing orchids, playing pub trivia, and solving variant-sudoku puzzles.

March yourself right in to No Name Bar on Wednesday, March 25th at 7:30pm to hear some great talks at Nerd Nite #53, including:

Talk #1: “Self-addressed stamped emotions: Why I collect autographs of former ballplayers.” by John Casper

John politely asks retired athletes to sign old cards. They keep saying yes. Hundreds of them, and he can’t get enough. A talk about nostalgia, memorabilia, history and the U.S. Postal Service. There will be giveaways!

John Casper is a former journalist and current school communications professional who loves that he’s found a hobby where he can be reminded of what it’s like to be 10 years old. He encourages you to find your old cards and join him.

Talk #2: “Pneumothorax as a Predatory Goal for the Sabertooth Cat (Smilodon fatalis)” by Ted Wilson

Sabertooth is always shown graphically slashing the throat of its prey, but that’s impossible because their fragile teeth were rarely broken. Learn how sabertooth won and then lost its pneumothorax arms race to become extinct soon after humans arrived in North America with a better pneumothorax delivery method (spears and arrows).

Ted Wilson is a physiologist at the WSU Biology Department whose 8 year old son Dirk (Now a WSU Nursing Student) identified the problem and earned his first co-authorship in 2013 (doi: 10.4236/ojas.2013.31006).

Talk #3: “Pole 101: From Strip Clubs to Sport” by Ashley Wagner

Pole dancing has a long and complicated history rooted in strip clubs and sex work, but it has also evolved into a global fitness movement and competitive sport. In this talk, we will look at where pole came from, how it transformed into the athletic art we see today, and why it is far more inclusive than people expect. From strength and artistry to the supportive community around it, pole is for anyone willing to give it a spin.

Ashley Wagner is the owner of Perception Body & Pole, a pole dance and fitness studio in Winona. She has been pole dancing for 9 years and teaching for 5, and loves sharing the strength, creativity, and confidence that pole can build.

Nerd out with us this February 25th (Wednesday) starting at 7:30p at No Name Bar. Details on speakers coming soon!

We’re back for 2026’s Winter/Spring series of Nerd Nite Winona! Come join us for our first show after our winter break, starting at 7:30pm on Wednesday, January 21st at No Name Bar to hear:

Talk #1: “Can’t Get to Ken’s Basement? Let’s Play D&D Online!” By Ken Graetz

The best way to play Dungeons and Dragons is around a table, overflowing with snacks, in someone’s basement. If you can’t get together in person, you can still have a magical experience online. I’ll show you how.

Ken is a psychologist, gamer, technophile, baker, director, library Dean, cyclist, father, partner, data geek, and forever D&D dungeon master who has lived in Winona since 2002 and works at Winona State with many awesome nerds.

Talk #2: “Rotational Grazing: climate change solution or greenwashing?” by Dan Wilson

Rotational grazing is either extolled as a paleo miracle cure for climate change or a scam designed to greenwash a climate criminal. Which is it?

Dan Wilson has been rotationally grazing cows since 2017, is a policy nerd, and loves a good power point. Hear him talk about all three!

Talk #3: “Build a sauna in your backyard. Saunas are probably good for you & it probably won’t burn down.” By Nathan Moore

Nathan Moore has lived in Winona for about 20 years. He’s been building sheds in his backyard for 12 years , an occasional sauna-goer at the Y for about 8 years, and he’s been building a backyard sauna for about 2 years, but the sauna burned down in November. He’s now a few weeks into building a second backyard sauna.

Come learn from Nathan’s mistakes!

Can you believe that Nerd Nite Winona has been going on since January 2018? Come join us on Wednesday, November 19 starting at 7:30pm at No Name Bar to celebrate our 50th nerdy event

Talk #1 – “Minivans, the Quintessential American Automobile” by Carl Ferkinhoff

For most folks, their first car always maintains a special place in their hearts. This is no different for Carl, but he thinks his first car should hold a special place for everyone! In this talk he will present why he thinks his 1st, 2nd and 3rd car (yeah they were all minivans) are truly the quintessential American automobile.

Carl is Nerd Nite Winona Co-Boss, Astronomer, and lover of minivans! So much so for the last, that the topic regularly comes up in conversations with friends.

Talk #2 – “Entropy: A Brief and Increasingly Disordered History” by Emily Ruff

It’s no secret that entropy is the coolest thermodynamic function – it’s been name dropped in popular culture for over 100 years. I’ll talk about the history of entropy and some implications for things like steam engines, extraterrestrial life, and time.

Emily is one of the co-bosses of Winona Nerd Nite. She can’t believe she first gave this talk almost eight years ago. She also teaches at Winona State.

Talk #3 – “I Made My Own Downhill Skis, and They F#kkin Rip!” by Rob Brault

Conversation on the ski lift: “Cool skis! Where’d you get those?” Me: “I made them.”

Rob is a retired English teacher who is currently substitute teaching to mold America’s future and to make money for more wild and expensive adventures. He has always loved making things out of wood: canoes, treehouses, and now, downhill skis.

What is a makerspace, and what goes on there? Join us on Wednesday, October 22 starting at 7:30pm at No Name Bar to learn about makers in the region and the efforts to create Winona Creators Collective. Come learn what a makerspace is and what ours will be like. Then hear three awesome “makers” get nerdy about their passions.

Talk #1: “3D Printing: How to spend the most time possible to make things the easy way!” by Eric Kerr-Anderson

Are you interested in learning more about 3D printing? We will pull back the curtain and look at the often not talked about challenges in getting started “making” with a 3D printer

Eric is a CME professor at Winona State University with wealth of experiences with 3D printing! In recent years he support WSU students in using 3D printers to design and build cars powered by rat-traps!

Talk #2: “Ceramics = Clay + Fire” by Anne Plummer

What can a shared ceramics studio look like? What happens there? Possibilities are endless, and we’ll explore what we might expect, soon and later.

Anne Scott Plummer is a retired WSU Art Professor, specializing in ceramics and sculpture. She now has a private studio “Island City Clayspace” where she produces pottery and sculpture, and conducts workshops.

Talk #3: “For Gourd and Country: How gourds are gonna save the world” by Rachel Pauli

Gourds have been a part of human history since humanities inception, they are ingrained in us and unite us in a way few things in existence can. Come learn about this absolutely amazing and under appreciated plant, its uses, impact and how the humble gourd will save the world.

Rach Pauli is an award winning local gourd artist that grows her own gourds right here in her backyard in Winona. She painted her first gourd at the tender age of 35 and has been “making” with gourds ever since.

We’ll have a vinyl talk! We’ll have a cider talk! We’ll have a highway talk! We’ll have three nerdy talks!
We’ll sing the songs that remind us of the good times! We’ll sing the songs that remind us of the best times!

Join us on Wednesday, September 24 starting at 7:30pm at No Name Bar for our next Nerd Nite Winona

TALK #1: “A Slice of Environmental Advocacy” by Lonna Simanovski

Advocating for the environment can take many paths. The talk will provide a little history of the environmental movement, some ideas on what can be done, and a lot of info about a favorite way to help: Adopting a Highway.

Lonna is not a person who does public speaking, but she is passionate about the environment, has big ideas, and when she jokingly said this would make a great topic, she was encouraged to do this by her most enthusiastic friends. She has been the leader of a group for 5 years.

TALK #2: “Vinyl Revival: Why Records Are Back and Vinyl Collecting Will Never Die” by Jim Cottrill

Since 2022, vinyl records – once thought to be a dead format – have surpassed CDs to become the highest-selling physical medium for music, building on an upward trend that has began in 2007 that shows no signs of abating. I explore the enduring appeal of record collecting and why so many people continue to love the format despite, as New Yorker cartoonist Alex Gregory notes, “the expense and the inconvenience” of it.

Jim Cottrill is a Professor of Political Science at Winona State University whose first record purchase was Elton John’s Greatest Hits Volume 1 way back in 1978. Jim’s other nerdy pursuits include trivia, board games, and occasionally writing and recording songs with Saint Wry.

TALK #3: “Cider Making or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pomme” by Josh Datta

Rack and cloth, bitter apples, spontaneous fermentation, Johnny Appleseed, petillant natural and exploding bottles – is it a cold war spy thriller or the US’s alcoholic beverage choice for most of the 19th century? Join me as we pull back the curtain on cider making and hopefully give you the confidence to try making this deceptively simple libation.

Josh Datta has been figuring out ways to turn sugar into alcohol in the most delicious way possible since 2011 when he fermented his first batch of cider in a recycled water jug. More recently he worked for Hoch Orchard as a field hand and currently works for Featherstone Farm (which took over management of Hoch Orchard).

We are back after our summer break. Join us on August 27th at 7:30p at No Name Bar as we kick off our fall set of Nerd Nite with talks about hiking, volleyball, and Tolkien & DND.

Talk #1: “Dungeons, Dragons, and Tolkien: The Influence Behind the Classic TTRPG” by Tim Galvin

This talk will go over the history of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and how it influenced the popular Tabletop Roleplaying Game, Dungeons and Dragons. Topics will include: the Tolkien estate lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast, the inspiration behind the different races of Faerun and many more..

Tim is a student at Winona State University who was captivated by Middle-Earth at a young age. Outside of getting lost in a good book or MMO, you can find him at Zaza’s, on campus, or hanging out on the town.

Talk #2: “A brief history of volleyball in Winona” by Andy Ferstl

When did volleyball first start in Winona, what are changes that happened since then, and what is the current state of the sport in town? Come find out the answers in this talk.

Andy has been playing competitive volleyball in the upper Midwest for the past 35 years, moving to Winona in 2000 and quickly joining the local volleyball scene. Andy is a professor of physics in their other job.

Talk #3: “Grand Canyon Backcountry Hiking (A Line on a Map)” by Ned Bryant

Lots of pretty pictures sandwiched between a discussion of different challenges, with solutions, related to off trail hiking in the remote backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park.

Ned am a polymer engineer at RTP specializing in the electrical modification of plastic materials who has been hiking in the Grand Canyon for 33 years.

The last Winona Nerd Nite for the Spring is coming up on Wednesday May 28 at No Name Bar, starting at 7:30pm! Our speakers are:

TALK #1: “Bias! We All Have It. Yes, even you” by Vanessa Perry

Even if we don’t want it to be true, we all have biases that affect our behavior and decision making. We will learn why we have bias, visit some “favorite” biases, and understand what we can do about bias.

Vanessa Perry works at the intersection of science and people. She cares deeply about helping people make smart decisions, even if she doesn’t always make smart decisions herself.

TALK #2: “10 Things I Learned While Coordinating a Homeless Shelter” by Amarissa Swenson-Ruiz

Street smarts, book smarts, and things in between. Are people actually homeless in Winona? Come learn about a local shelter’s record breaking season, the ongoing housing crisis, and how to bounce back.

Amarissa Swenson-Ruiz, former Winona Community Warming Center coordinator, continued advocate, and wave-maker. She has been a lifelong sociology nerd with a focus on social and humanitarian crises.

TALK #3: “Unlocking Truth Through Data Visualization” by Kristina Melnichenko

Data visualization allows us to transform raw numbers into compelling visuals, uncovering patterns and trends to better understand our world. In this talk, we will explore a use case that highlights how free and open source tools empower everyone to better understand our world.

Kristina is a Ukrainian-American data scientist with over ten years of experience helping organizations leverage the power of data and technology. Inspired by the pivotal role of technology in Ukraine’s defense against Russia and the historic role of knowledge in the pursuit of freedom, this talk illustrates the accessibility and power of data visualization, encouraging people to explore and dig into the data that matters most to them.