Milwaukee Journal Sentinel features Winona-Fountain City-Trempealeau in photo gallery of Mississippi River Towns

The recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel feature by Mark Hoffman provides a visual tour of several small Mississippi River towns along the Wisconsin/Minnesota stretch of the Great River Road, showing how these communities have leaned into tourism, food, and the arts to stay vibrant. Highlights include:

Trempealeau, WI
The Trempealeau Hotel is the centerpiece — one of the only buildings to survive a devastating fire that swept the town in 1888. Today it’s a hub of local life: the gallery captures a packed, dancing crowd at a live show by Them Coulee Boys, all under a painting of the historic village hanging on the wall. The hotel’s restaurant is known for its walnut burgers, served with river views as barges pass by. The town itself is marked by a catfish statue greeting motorists at its entrance, and nearby, people boat and fish along the river.

Fountain City, WI
The focal point here is The Corner Store, a restored 1920s soda fountain now selling souvenirs. It’s run by Mike Adank, who grew up in the town, moved away to live in New York City, and eventually came back to buy and restore the old fountain — a small-scale story of local revival. Just outside town (between Fountain City and Cochrane) is the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden and Museum, built by Herman Rusch after he retired from 40 years of farming; he kept creating sculptures until his death in 1985, just 11 days after turning 100. The Kohler Foundation bought and restored the site in 1992.

Winona, MN
Winona blends culture with working river life. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is shown with a visitor admiring a painting titled “Pushboats and Pelicans” by Adam Turman — fitting, since the town’s port handles over 1,100 barges a year, mostly moving soybeans and grain for export. Away from the industrial waterfront, Frog Slough is lined with floating homes, many used as year-round residences despite limited utility access — an unusual, low-key housing community tucked into the river’s backwaters.

Together, Winona and neighboring river towns show a similar pattern: old buildings and industries repurposed — a fire-surviving hotel, a century-old soda fountain, a working port town — into places that now draw people for music, art, and small-town character.