Coming to No Name Bar on Wednesday, February 28th is Nerd Nite #34. Join us at 7:30 PM to learn from our speakers:

Talk #1 – Little Warriors Drumline by Andre Bailey
Since 2019, Little Warriors Drumline has been a free activity in Winona that brings kids together with music. The group started out practicing on Menards buckets but has now grown to almost 100 members aged 6-17 who perform over 50 times per year at events like Steamboat Days, Midwest Music Fest, and Game Day Experience at Winona State. Come hear more about this amazing group from founder Andre Bailey!

Andre Bailey is one of the founders and instructors of Little Warriors Drumline. He and his wife, co-founder Tara Bailey, received the 2023 John A. Latsch award from Winona’s Human Rights Commission. The award honors organizations that have helped “reduce barriers to persons of protected classes and have fought discrimination…”.

Talk #2 – “It’s Not the Island’s Fault!” How to solve Winona’s Housing Crisis by Dan Wilson
Winona County just finished a comprehensive housing study outlining how bad our current housing market is and the steps we can take to fix it. In his talk, Dan Wilson will summarize the results of the housing study, national trends, and proven policy ideas that can transform Winona from an unaffordable hot mess to a vibrant, affordable community for everyone.

Dan Wilson works as a Policy Assistant at Engage Winona and has been researching Winona’s housing woes for the past year. He has provided emergency housing services in Winona and elsewhere. He enjoys Winona housing gossip and beer.

Talk #3 – Carbon, Capitalism, and Natural Climate Solutions by David Ruff
This talk will give a quick explanation of what carbon credits are and how they work, then explain some of the main issues that have caused them to be controversial as a strategy for fighting climate change. It will then look specifically at how forest management can be changed to store more carbon and generate carbon credits. In the end, it will look at how the controversial aspects of forest-based carbon credits can be addressed and what the debate around their use is really about.

David Ruff is a native Winonan, and a Conservation Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy. He gets to spend his days working to protect and restore habitat for nature and people in Minnesota’s corner of the Driftless Area, which still involves a surprising amount of time on Zoom. He also works on the Midwest region of the Family Forest Carbon Program, a partnership between TNC and the American Forest Foundation that brings the resources of the voluntary carbon market to family forest owners.

Events are free and RSVP is not required. More details on our Nerd Nite Winona event page.