Courthouse Annex will be remodeled into meeting facility

A number of steps have been taken at the Winneshiek County Courthouse in recent months to improve security.  The changes have come at the urging of the state and federal governments, which want courtrooms and courthouses to be secure.

One of the changes in Winneshiek County has been to stop holding evening meetings of county boards and commissions at the Courthouse and moving them on a temporary basis to Decorah City Hall.

Now county officials are moving ahead with a plan to remodel the Courthouse Annex building and turn it into a place where evening meetings can be held.  The Iowa Department of Human Services has been leasing space in the Annex, but that lease ends September 30th.

Winneshiek County supervisors now are planning to get bids from area contractors on the remodeling of the Annex space.  The county will use federal grant money to pay for the remodeling, money that comes from a fund set up to improve security at courthouses and courtrooms across the country.