WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletters

November 6, 2025

Upcoming important dates

• Tuesday, Nov. 11 – Veterans’ Day: MN help desk AVAILABLE; state office CLOSED.
• Wednesday, Nov. 19 8:00 p.m. – Monday, Nov. 24 7:00 a.m. – Infoview UNAVAILABLE.
• Thursday, Nov. 27 – Thanksgiving Day: MN help desk CLOSED; state office CLOSED.
• Friday, Nov. 28 – Black Friday: MN help desk AVAILABLE; state office CLOSED.
• Monday, Dec. 1 – Training environment UNAVAILABLE for maintenance.

Infoview version 4.3 update

Due to security issues, Gainwell will be updating Infoview to version 4.3. Infoview will be unavailable between Wednesday, Nov. 19, 8:00 p.m. – Monday, Nov. 24, 7:00 a.m. The update is being installed partly during the week to ensure Gainwell has installation support from the Infoview software company. You will not be able to run any Infoview reports during this time. Please plan to run any daily reports (such as One Call, etc.) before 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday Nov. 19.

Infoview 4.3 has an updated interface and different navigation from the current version. New Infoview training modules are now available on the Other Information System Training webpage under Infoview. These modules will take about an hour to complete.

• Infoview Training 1: Overview of Reports and Navigating 4.3 - 16 minutes (Script - PDF)
  An overview of Infoview 4.3 and other available reports, logging in, and the home page.
• Infoview Training 2: Search, Folders, Templates, and Reports - 15 minutes (Script - PDF)
  An overview of Search, personal and public folders, Infoview templates, and the interface for running reports.
• Infoview Training 3: Prompts and Running Reports - 16 minutes (Script - PDF)
  An introduction to prompts, navigating outputs, date prompts, and answer ID prompts.
• Infoview Training 4: Saving, Exporting, and Input Controls - 14 minutes (Script - PDF)
  An overview of saving, exporting/printing reports, and using input controls to further filter report outputs.
• An optional module, Infoview Training 5: Advanced Concepts, will be available soon.

A high-level Infoview 4.3 Quick Reference (PDF) is also now available on the Infoview webpage.

After installation of 4.3

You can use your current username and password to login to the updated Infoview.

All of the reports you’ve previously saved to your My Favorites, should now be available in your Personal Folders.

If you have any issues with Infoview after the update, please call the MN Help Desk at 1-800-488-8799, press 2, 2.

WINNIE Training database UNAVAILABLE Dec. 1

WINNIE Training will be UNAVAILABLE on Monday, Dec. 1, for some behind-the-scenes maintenance.

This will not impact your existing training accounts.

Food packages 7 and 7+: one lb. of cheese is still required

This information was previously provided in an email sent to WINNIE users on Oct. 27.

In order to prepare for the implementation of the new food package rules in 2026, some changes were made to the milk substitution rules in the back-end of WINNIE in Release 3.5. Since the new food rule removes the 1 lb. of cheese that must be currently issued as part of food packages 7 and 7+, as well as decreasing the milk food benefit, these back-end changes removed the 1 lb. of cheese from our default food packages 7 and 7+. 2.

The state was able to correct for this by increasing the maximum amount of milk allowed on the backend. However, by doing this, you are able to potentially over-issue milk if you inappropriately remove the extra lb. of cheese provided in food packages 7 and 7+.

To ensure you are issuing the correct amount of milk, food packages 7 and 7+ must always provide 1 lb. of cheese. Do not remove the cheese if the participant doesn’t want it because they cannot be issued the extra 3 quarts of milk to replace the cheese, even though WINNIE will now allow it. Advise the participant that they don’t have to purchase it.

Maximum amount of milk allowed:

• FP 7: 24 quarts milk (no yogurt + 1 lb. cheese)
• FP 7+: 36 quarts milk (no yogurt + 1 lb. cheese)

Reminder! When contacting the MN Help Desk, you must provide…

This is just a reminder that when you contact the MN Help Desk, you will be required to provide the following information:

• Your first and last name.
• Agency ID.
• Description of the issue.
• State WIC ID or Household ID (if appropriate).

This information allows both the Help Desk and the State to track issues that may be occurring at agencies and for specific users.

You can contact the Help Desk by calling or via email:

• Call: 1-800-488-8799, press 2, 2 (non-critical)
• Email: mnhelpdesk@gainwelltechnologies.com

Reminder! Infoview reports still need corrections

This is just a reminder that there are many Infoview reports that still need corrections since our transition to WINNIE. Any reports that provide information about new certifications, local use answers, state use answers, and staff ID will require revising to ensure accuracy. At this time, the State Office is only correcting reports based on requests from local agencies to prioritize revising reports that are currently being used. You can view corrected reports on the Infoview Report Revisions and Corrections page.

Questions/suggestions from Local Agencies

Mobile Management

We now have to enter the Multi-factor Authentication in Mobile Management. Could we get a Remember Me toggle like we have for WINNIE?

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) was introduced as part of a new security requirement. Similar to WINNIE, Mobile Management enforces a 15-minute inactivity timeout. The key difference is that we were able to successfully advocate for a 30-minute timeout in WINNIE, whereas the security team maintained the 15-minute limit for Mobile Management.

Regarding the "Remember Me" toggle, this feature has been added for consideration in a future Mobile Management release.

Race/ethnicity selection

Can there be an “Other” option for race/ethnicity if a participant does not feel any of the race options align with how they would describe themselves?

Unfortunately, we are limited by federal requirements on the selections we can provide for race and ethnicity. The Racial and Ethnic Data Collection (PDF) tool includes some helpful descriptions that can facilitate a participant’s selection, including some ideas for those who identify as Hispanic or Latino, and there is some clarifying information on the WIC Civil Rights Resources page as well. Please note that if a participant refuses to self-select, you must select based on your perceptions of the participant.

Benefit redemption

For a family with multiple household members (a woman, child over 2, and child under 2) with the WIC-allowed milk food item:

If they are buying evaporated milk, whose food package does it come off from? Does the fat content of the evaporated milk purchased make a difference?

The fat content is important since 1–2-year-old children, in general, should be receiving the Whole Milk (WIC-allowed) food item while children over 2 and women are receiving the Fat Free/Skim Milk or 1% (WIC-allowed) food item. If they buy a combination of lower fat and whole evaporated milk, it will pull the low-fat item from either the older child or woman’s benefits and the whole from the 1–2-year-olds benefits. If they buy only whole evaporated, it will only come off the 1–2-year old’s benefits.

How about soy milk?

Soy beverage is different in that it can only be purchased if issued the Fat Free/Skim Milk or 1% (WIC-allowed) food item. You can issue this to 1-2 year old children because it is the only option for soy (and goat milk). Please refer to the Food Package Changes to Implement on June 9 (PDF) memo for this information and reference.

Is there an order to which household member a food item is removed from first, such as for the cereal or the fruit and vegetable benefit?

No and yes. For most food items that are issued to multiple family members, the order appears to be random (it is actually based on some internal number assigned by the eWIC processor but looks random to us). For example, although two members may both have cereal and eggs, in one transaction, the eggs may be removed from member 1 while the cereal is removed from member 2. This is why Adjust Benefits aggregates food items issued to multiple members, so that regardless of the benefit transaction, as long as the household total is greater than the redeemed, you can still make changes to the food item for any of the members issued that food item.

That said, there are certain food items, like yogurt that is removed from the member issued the more “restrictive food item” first. For example, mom is issued the Yogurt (low fat/nonfat) option while her 1–2-year-old child is issued Yogurt (any WIC-allowed). The low fat/nonfat food item issued to mom is more restrictive because only low fat/nonfat yogurt can be purchased while both low fat/nonfat OR whole yogurt can be purchased with the any WIC-allowed option. So, when the family buys a low-fat yogurt, since that is the more restrictive food item, it will come off of mom’s benefits first.

Please note that although this information may be helpful to staff in some way, participants should always be referred to their aggregated benefit balance in the app.

October 2, 2025

Upcoming important dates

• Tuesday, Nov. 4 – Training environment UNAVAILABLE for database refresh and maintenance.

WINNIE release 3.5.1

Installation
Gainwell will be installing WINNIE release 3.5.1 on Saturday, Oct. 25. All WINNIE environments (Production, Training, Mobile Management, and Infoview) will be unavailable from 8:00 PM on Friday, Oct. 24 through 7:00 AM Monday, Oct. 27.

On Oct. 27, the first day of clinic after installation, it may take longer to login as the system pulls down new information to your computer.

Release document
The WINNIE Release 3.5.1 Document (PDF) is available on the WINNIE Release & Update Documents page on the MDH WIC website and should be reviewed by all WINNIE users prior to Oct. 27. This document details system/software changes and bug fixes included in release 3.5.1.

WINNIE Training database refresh on Nov. 4

WINNIE Training will be UNAVAILABLE on Tuesday, Nov. 4, for a refresh of the database.

All existing training accounts are deleted as part of the refresh process. Any agencies wanting to use WINNIE Training after the refresh on Tuesday, Nov. 4, will need to contact the Help Desk after the refresh has been completed to have your training account re-created. The earliest the Help Desk can re-create your training account is the day after the scheduled quarterly training database refresh, or Wednesday, Nov. 5.

To contact the MN Help Desk: call 1-800-488-8799, press 2, 2 or email them at mnhelpdesk@gainwelltechnologies.com.

Reminder: Inactive Food Items Oct. 31

This is just a reminder that the infant CVB food item Fruits and Vegetables – (FRESH ONLY) and the non-standard milk food items (lactose free, soy beverage, fresh goat milk, and nonfat powdered milk) will be inactive on Oct. 31.

You will not be able to issue any of these food items on benefits with a Printed First Date to Use (PFDTU) after Oct. 31. If you try to issue benefits containing any of these inactive items, a message will display informing you that the benefits cannot be issued because the food prescription has an expired item, and you will have to create a new food prescription to be able to issue the benefits.

WINNIE Questions & Answers webpage removed

We have removed the WINNIE Questions & Answers webpage since it was created to house local agency questions and answers before we transitioned to WINNIE. Any still pertinent information has been moved to the WINNIE User Tips page.

Please contact the MN Help Desk (1-800-488-8799, press 2, 2 or mnhelpdesk@gainwelltechnologies.com) with any information system (WINNIE, Mobile Management, Infoview) questions.

The following forms are still available on the Local Agencies webpage (in the WIC Forms for Local Agencies section >> Information System dropdown):

• WIC IS Software Change Request Form – suggest potential changes to the information system.
• WIC App Suggestions – suggest changes or enhancements to the WIC mobile app.
• Local Agency Reports & Data Request – submit data requests or report questions.

End-of-Month (EOM) information in Weekly Update

Beginning in September, we have started providing EOM information the week prior to running EOM in the Weekly Update – IMPORTANT section. It will include when EOM will be run, when the Infoview Year-to-Date Participation report can be run after EOM, and when initial and closed-out participation counts will be available on the Monthly Participation webpage and Local Agency Portal.

September 4, 2025

Due to the NWA Technology Conference, there is no WINNIE the Scoop for this month.

August 7, 2025

Other language access added to eWIC customer service line August 7

An option to go directly to a customer service representative that can connect the participant to the Language Line has been added to the eWIC Customer Service line and will be available beginning August 7. The following has been added after the voice prompt to press 2 for Spanish:

• "For other, press 3."

Once the participant presses 3, the voice prompt says:

• "I’ll transfer you to a representative who can help you. Please hold."

When the customer service rep answers, state the needed language, and the rep will use the Language Line for the remainder of the call.

This information has been updated in the eWIC Customer Service training module. The revised version is now available on the WINNIE Training page.

July 3, 2025

Request training accounts AFTER database refresh

There has been some confusion about when to request new training accounts when a training database refresh has been scheduled. Since the quarterly refresh completely wipes out all access to the database (accounts or usernames and passwords), if your agency uses a training account, you will need to contact the Help Desk after the refresh has been completed to have your training account re-created. The earliest the Help Desk can re-create your training account would be the day after the scheduled quarterly training database refresh.

Reminders about entering dates into prompts in Infoview

Timestamps (12:00:00 AM) can cause issues when running reports in Infoview, which is why you shouldn’t use the calendar icon in the date prompt fields. When selecting a date from the calendar, Infoview automatically inserts the timestamp which can cause the report to err out or not run correctly. Always type the date into the field. Once the report is run, Infoview will again insert the timestamp, but as long as it’s been inserted by the system after the report is run, the timestamp will not impact the report if running for those dates again. 

June 5, 2025

New weekly Mobile Management purge begins June 15

Beginning June 15, a new purge of Mobile Management records will occur every week on Sunday. This regularly-scheduled purge will assist agencies in managing their conversations by removing old conversations and their attachments. This may also improve its processing speed. This purge will include:

• Closed conversations: 1 month after the closed date.
• Open conversation and any attachments:
  • 1 month after the date of the last response.
  • 1 month after being created if have never been replied to and/or viewed.

May 1, 2025

Call the MN Help Desk First if You Have Signature Pad Issues

If you are having an issue with your signature pad, please call the Help Desk to first trouble-shoot the issue before requesting a new signature pad. Often, the issue can be resolved by updating drivers or with other assistance. In general, we will not replace signature pads if a hardware request is submitted and there isn’t a call to the Help Desk documenting that you are having problems with your signature pad and that troubleshooting did not resolve the issue(s).

Initial Contacts and Unexpected Participants in Infoview Outputs

We’ve seen a couple of instances whereby participants are displaying on the Initial Contacts Requirements Not Met Infoview report that show an Initial Contact has been completed when the modal is opened in WINNIE.

Explanation: Upon research, we have determined that this occurs when you complete the Initial Contact after the certification. When an Initial Contact record is created, it has two dates associated with it: the Initial Contact Date that you see in the modal and that you can change (up to 30 days prior to the current date) and the record’s Create Date/Time. The Create Date/Time is when the Initial Contact record was added in WINNIE and can only be seen in the database. The Create Date/Time is how we can determine that these Initial Contact records are being created after the certification is completed.

How Initial Contacts Work: When an Initial Contact is created, a record is inserted into the database with a blank Certification ID. If a certification is completed after the Initial Contact, but within 60 days of its Create Date/Time, the unique Certification ID assigned to that cert when it is completed is entered into the Initial Contact record, linking the Initial Contact to that certification. However, if the Initial Contact is created after the certification, the system does not retroactively link it to the cert. Instead, the Initial Contact record waits for a certification to be completed on a date that is after the Initial Contact’s Create Date/Time or it is removed during End-of-Day after 60 days, whichever occurs first.

While the Initial Contact record waits to be linked (within 60 days of its being added), it appears as if it has been completed correctly, especially if you have changed the Initial Contact Date to a date prior to the certification.

Initial Contacts and Infoview Outputs: Infoview reports that identify incomplete or unmet requirements compare the Initial Contact’s Create Date/Time to the Cert Start Date. If the Initial Contact’s Create Date/Time is after the Cert Start Date (and other report criteria are also met) the participant will display in the output as not having a completed Initial Contact.

April 3, 2025

Infoview Reports – Counting Certs/Recerts

This is just a reminder that in order for Infoview reports to correctly count certifications, they must be started and completed on the same date. This is due to the criterion used to exclude pseudo-certs, which requires the Cert Start Date (date started) to be equal to the Cert Effective Date (date completed).

March 6, 2025

All content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant OR has been moved to the WINNIE Bugs & Issues or WINNIE User Tips pages.

February 6, 2025

All content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant OR has been moved to the WINNIE Bugs & Issues or WINNIE User Tips pages.

January 9, 2025

All content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant OR has been moved to the WINNIE Bugs & Issues or WINNIE User Tips pages.

December 5, 2024

All content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant OR has been moved to the WINNIE User Tips page.

November 7, 2024

All content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant OR has been moved to the WINNIE Bugs & Issues or WINNIE User Tips pages.

October 3, 2024

WINNIE Training

“Cheat Sheets” and WINNIE Functionality

At this time, we are not providing “cheat sheets” for most of WINNIE’s functions. However, we’ve created two that address specific scenarios:

• Change Household ID – Direct Shipped Formula
• In Case of Participant Death

Both of these can be found under Change Household ID on the WINNIE Training page.

If, once you have reviewed the training modules, you feel there is another specific scenario that may require a cheat sheet, please use the WINNIE Questions about Training form to submit your suggestion.

September 12, 2024

Future Approved Change Requests for WINNIE

Any suggested changes to WINNIE must be documented by the State Office and assigned a severity, discussed with (and approved by) the SPIRIT Users Group (SUG), and then prioritized by the SUG for inclusion in a future release.

The following were suggestions provided by our pilots that will be included in a future release.

August 1, 2024

All previous WINNIE the Scoop content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant.

July 11, 2024

Training - Reference Documents Available

Per requests from local agencies, we’ve added a couple of documents to assist with training.

1. WINNIE Training Module Checklist (WORD) – lists all modules by topic and their duration and can be used to keep track of the modules or information in modules that you’ve completed.

2. Reference for browser settings based on your preferred default browser – “how to”: set your default browser, ensure your login isn’t saved, clear your browse cache, bookmark the WINNIE login page, set your zoom preference, allow pop-ups in WINNIE, ensure downloads are deleted daily, and open the Develop Console, which may be helpful when working with the MN Help Desk.

• Browser Settings for Microsoft Edge (PDF)
• Browser Settings for Google Chrome (PDF)

June 6, 2024 - November 18, 2020

All previous WINNIE the Scoop content has been deleted since no longer timely or relevant.