[Winona] Vehicle noise

[John N. Finn]

Winona has posted signs at the city entrances claiming to enforce vehicle noise laws. I've been told by the police that they make many arrests for these violations. However, I've never seen any such convictions printed in the Daily News or Post. Perhaps offenders have lawyers that are able to beat these charges. Or maybe the courts throw the cases out. Someone at the courthouse speculated that the charges might be reduced to something else so that the noise violation wouldn't be listed as such.   Anyway, to whatever extent Winona attempts to enforce vehicle noise laws, I maintain that the effort is woefully ineffective. That this is so can be verified by spending time at Windom Park or by the Interstate Bridge on a weekend. Motorcyclists especially seem to be immune to any possibility of receiving a noise citation. The adequacy of a particular muffler installation might require expensive technical equipment to verify. But shouldn't the absence of any muffler at all be an automatic, easily detectable, and uncontestable cause for a stiff fine?   Does anyone out there have any insight into this matter?