Klutch Chronicle April 2015

volume 2, Issue 4

April 2015

Beer. W Cheese. ine.

FesT. La Crosse Show s Off Its Sconnie Pride

Local F ood & You The “Dirt” on Our

Food System

MeeT Marinel and The Comple te Underwater

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

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Package

30 Days for Set$30 your roots and GROW with us!

Root Down Yoga is La Crosse’s first hot yoga studio offering Power Vinyasa yoga a style of yoga that is accessible to everyone regardless of age, ability or experience.

“Vinyasa” means to link movement with breath. We place a lot of emphasis on helping you remember to inhale and exhale as you move from pose to pose. You’ll also have the opportunity for silence and space in what has become an overly busy world. We’ll help you focus on the here and now. We know and trust that this practice works.

It creates vitality and reminds us that anything is possible. By discovering what is possible on our yoga mats, we shine light on new possibilities everywhere in our lives.

We offer a variety of yoga classes, heated and non-heated, that will help you develop or deepen your practice.

Power Vinyasa • Foundations • Absolute Beginner’s Class Yin Yoga • Guided Meditation • Prenatal • Yoga Nidra New students welcome! Your first class is FREE! 1217 Caledonia St., Suite A, La Crosse, WI 54603 Phone 608-519-2467 • www.rootdownyogastudio.com

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• Farmers’ market • Food booths • Live music • Healing arts room • Marsh walk & talk • Raptor demonstration • Drum circle • Children’s activities • Door prizes • Grand green prizes • Recycling Fair • Shuttle bus …and much more!

Sunday, April 26, 2015 11am–5 pm at Myrick Park & Myrick Park Center for more information and schedules CouleePartnersforSustainabilityLaCrosse 2 April,: 2015 //like KlutchChronicle.com

•

www.EarthFairLaCrosse.com

Our 2nd Location is Now Open in South La Crosse!

4222 Mormon Coulee Rd. La Crosse, WI 54601 • (608) 787-9663

Same great services, same great care!

WEEKLY SPECIALS BEGINNING AT 4PM MONDAY: All You Can Eat Shrimp and All You Can Eat Boneless Wings and a Pint of Beer TUESDAY: $5 Appetizers WEDNESDAY: $1.25 Burgers and $.50 Wings THURSDAY: Steak Night FRI FRIDAYS: Prime Rib and Fish SATURDAY: Prime Rib

CATERING - HERE THERE & JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE Call us for any Special Occasion

- is an award winning - comedian and an Peter Dunn award winning financial mind. Mix those two things together and you will be laughing your way to a healthier financial approach to life. This is for EVERYONE, any age, any wage, and any income level.

April 22, 2015 6:30- 7:30 pm UW-La Crosse 260 Graff Main Hall Brought to you by: KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

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EDITOR’S NOTE Casey Kulinski Last night my roommate asked me who sang those famous words, “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” While I was wrong about who sang it (of course), it got me thinking. They say “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone,” and that is definitely true in my life. As the seasons change I always seem to be so excited for either the sun to shine or the leaves to fall, but I quickly begin to miss all the great things from seasons past; the things I was sick of seem to be just a distant memory.

As the rains come and the trees bloom, I am once again excited to break out my shorts and sunglasses in place of boots and scarves, but I know that is fleeting; I will eventually be ready for the cooler temperatures again. So I urge you all to welcome this great spring we are having and revel in it! The changing of the seasons is my favorite, and I can’t wait to get outside and enjoy our beautiful region. As we all know, too soon, the winds will begin to change. Enjoy our April issue!

CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT IN THE COULEE REGION ISSUE NO. 4 // APRIL, 2015 WWW.KLUTCHCHRONICLE.COM

ABOUT KLUTCH CHRONICLE Klutch Chronicle brings a fresh and edgy look into the dynamic culture, lifestyles, and entertainment scene in the Coulee Region Community!

Connect With Klutch: OFFICES: 3120 South Ave La Crosse WI 54601

A WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

PHONE: 608-796-8780

Michelle L. Jerome For everyone who is able, I hope you have been enjoying your days outside as much as possible. I’ve been jumping on my fat bike to ride into town through the marsh trails.

One of my favorite meetings with another local professional featured my backside covered in an inch of mudsplash that had kicked up from my bike tires. I wore it proudly as a sign of spring. The fact that I didn’t have time to change didn’t really give me the choice to be embarrassed. Embracing the natural surroundings of my commute was more important.

An elderly man in my neighborhood knows what matters too. He walks nearly every day, year-round … with a walker. Each step he takes is labored and hard. He doesn’t care; he’s alive and not quitting, even if his body has other ideas. People like this man remind me to get outdoors and feel alive. My wish is that you’ll get out there too.

EMAIL: info@muellermediacorp.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/klutchchronicle www.klutchchronicle.com

THE KLUTCH CREW:

ARTWORK ON THE COVER “Hope”

Acrylic on Canvas

inside

by Pita Daniels

Working out of a small shared studio in Viroqua, artist Pita paints thematically and accepts commissions. He collaborates with individuals and/or businesses to identify a theme. The finished painting goes through an intuitive process, with Pita analyzing elements as they emerge before allowing the “heart” to determine the final outcome. In addition to “Hope” displayed at ILR’s office in La Crosse, Organic Valley displays a purchased piece at corporate headquarters in La Farge, and Quality of Life Chiropractic in Viroqua has also displayed Pita’s work. Other paintings hang in the homes of individuals throughout Wisconsin, Montana and England. Pita may be contacted at virarts@gmail.com or 608-637-2315.

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Klutch Live What’s Up

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Volunteer Do onto others...

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Hometown Headlines The Scoop on our region

28

Klutch Calendar Coming down the pipe

12

Special Feature Local Food & You

16

Family What’s most important

18

Technology Geeks unite

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A&E A monthly dose of culture

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Health and Fitness Taking care of you

this issue 4 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

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8 The Word from City Hall 8 WTF? Stories 9 Attraction of the Month 10 Meet & Cheese 17 Beer, Wine & Cheese Fest 18 App Review 20 Lovin’ Local Artists 24 Tunes 30 On the Flip Side

Publisher: Rick Mueller Associate Publisher: Michelle Jerome Editor: Casey Kulinski Creative Director: Jason Keeney Graphic Designers: Will Adamany and Josh Walker Advertising Strategists: Rachel Albrechtson, Alli Seitz Copy Editor: Susan Miller Photographers: Bruce Defries, Bob Good and Clay Riness Distribution: Citywide Marketing Services Advertising Info: You know you want to be seen in Klutch! Contact us by email or call 608-796-8780 for more information on rates, distribution, and sizes.

Contributor/Submissions: Please submit art and writing samples for our submissions pages at http://klutchchronicle.com/writing-art-submissions/.

Interested in contributing to Klutch? Please contact info@muellermediacorp.com Internships/Jobs: Internships are available at Klutch!

Check us out and apply at klutchchronicle.com

www.klutchchronicle.com

R E E R A C R U YO RE.

E H S T R STA

!

W O N L L EFINNANRCOIAL AID IS AVAILABLE

ALIFY U Q O H W E S O H FOR T AKE-UP M , S C I T E H T S E , Y COSMETOLOTGHYERAPY, NAIL TECHNOLOG MASSAGE AT GET STARTED

DU .E Y M E D A C A O SALONPR

Get your lab results right at home.

Friday, April 10 at the La Crosse Center Ballroom

An evening of team competition benefiting people with disabilities served by Riverfront

It’s fun for a good cause!

Join us for an exciting, live-action game show right here in La Crosse. Complete with live music, a game show host and teams playing games on stage in The Ultimate Game Night living room!

With our Patient Online Services, you can review your health information right from your computer. Communicate directly with your care team through secure messaging, request prescription renewals and schedule appointments. All when

Riverfront will donate $1,500 dollars of the proceeds from this event back to two school special education programs. This $1,500 dollars will be up for grabs in the championship game.

Purchase a $30 ticket and rally on the competing teams of GAME ON!

Enjoy live music, raffle prizes, snacks and cash bar

www.riverfrontinc.org Proceeds Benefiting:

it’s convenient for you. Check your information

Jason Munz, Angela Strangman, Dustin Cunningham, Esti Tierney

Mathews Archery

Dawn Jaehnke, Aaron Brooks, Christi Bender, Dave Weninger

Coulee Bank

Joe Zoellner, Jeff Kumfer, Sarah Danielson, Mike Gargaro

Ol’ Lady Os

Karla Stanek, Sue Dillenbeck, Julie Bartels, Florence Aliesch

Fab Four

Mary Mickelson, Randy Mickelson, Sandi Ritchie, Matt Ritchie

Pretty In Pink

Tiffany Padgett, Kaitlin Sill, Kendra Frase, Alexis Krank

Riverfest Commodores Domin8ers

John Schmidt, Jennifer Livingston, Bill Graul, Kyle Dimke

Presenting Sponsors:

mayoclinichealthsystem.org/onlineservices r e a l e s tat e s o l u t i o n s , l l c

Media Sponsor:

4.625” x 5.875” / Klutch

Gray Matter

Mike Diveley, Mike Hartigan, Dawson Strutt, Janet Miller

on the go with the Mayo Clinic Patient app.

Franciscan Healthcare

2015 Game On! Teams

Produced by:

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

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April 8

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2015

at

6-9pm

Hourly door prize drawings

Lo

LIVE music at 8pm:

la cal P ces

PEEPS PLACES

Hannah von der Hoff Come on down for a night at The Root Note with us!

Bring your coupon for a FREE Pearl Street Brewery tap beer or Brewed Coffee and hang with the Klutch crew!

Each month we will be bringing Klutch Live to a new venue around the Coulee Region- you don’t want to miss this event!

First

FREE

one’s on us !!

Pearl Street Brewery tap beer OR

Brewed Coffee On April 8th, 2015 during the Klutch Live event at The Root Note.

Valid April 8th, 2015 at The Root Note from 6-9pm only. Limit one per customer.

Coupon may not be copied or reproduced in any way without permission from Klutch Chronicle.

6 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

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MARCH KLUTCH LIVE EVENT BLUE MOON RESTAURANT

e had such an excellent time at the March Klutch Live event! The Blue Moon filled up with folks who took advantage of tasty half-price appetizers, free wine and beer (with their trusty Klutch coupons), and prize drawings. Delicious burgers, scrumptious chicken wings, and spinach artichoke dip were favorites of the crowd.

The weather was warm and the view of Lake Onalaska was amazing! Bicyclists even pedaled over for a free brew and camaraderie. Everyone present was entered into a prize drawing, and prizes

were given away from the Blue Moon every half-hour including T-shirts, a halfbarrel keg party, and even a 32” flatscreen TV! Thanks to all who came out, and be sure to join us at this month’s event! We look forward to seeing you there.

When you’re ready for a meal and some drinks, head on over to the Blue Moon at 716 2nd Ave. North in Onalaska (right across from the huge sunfish on Highway 35). Don’t forget to enjoy the scenery from the deck!

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

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HALL

THE WORD

CITY

headlines FROM

HOME TOWN

COMMUNITY POLICING UPDATE The community policing program in La Crosse has been active for just over a year, and a review of the program was given to the City Council during their March planning meeting. Community policing, funded in part by a grant through the Department of Justice and through community donors, stations four neighborhood response officers (NROs) in the city, placing two in the Washburn neighborhood and two in the lower north side neighborhood. These officers are an addition to normal policing services. According to one NRO, community policing efforts are one way the La Crosse Police Department can contribute to neighborhood revitalization. Activities range from patrolling to attending community events and opening up dialogue with citizens and businesses to find out what neighborhood needs are, which serves to connect community members to their police department. Because NROs aren’t directly responsible for calls of service, they are available to be present and involved in neighborhoods, offering a significant crime prevention advantage. More specifically, in late February, La Crosse NROs arrested a suspected drug dealer, seizing over 600 grams of marijuana, over $7,000 in cash, a handgun and two stun guns, operating in response to complaints about illegal drug activity. Police Chief Ron Tischer said he hopes the community policing efforts will be expanded into other neighborhoods, and the department is in the process of looking for funding for two more officers.

NEW STUDENT HOUSING A new mixed-use development located on Badger and 13th streets has received the property rezoning it needs to move forward. The Aguilera, proposed

by Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions, features 57 three-bedroom units on top of office and retail space, a gym and shared green/patio space. Parking is still being negotiated, with the possibility of the university leasing spaces to the developer. Three Sixty still needs to come back to the council with finalized plans for approval.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CHALLENGES BNSF PERMIT Midwest Environmental Advocates is challenging the DNR’s permitting process for the planned BNSF rail expansion on the grounds that the DNR didn’t comply with state law when performing environmental analysis. The group filed the challenges on behalf of nine members of the Citizens Acting for Rail Safety (CARS) group, a La Crosse-based group that describes itself as “a group of Wisconsin and Minnesota residents working with the public and legislators toward rail transportation that respects the health, safety, and quality-of-life of citizens and the environment.” Specifically, the group is questioning the permit BNSF recently received to build a bridge over the river and fill in over 7 acres of wetlands in the marsh. We’ll be sure to give you an update as new information becomes available.

PROPERTY SOLD FOR NEW HOTEL DOWNTOWN The city sold what’s colloquially known as the “Hooters Lot” on the corner of Second and Jay streets in downtown La Crosse for $750,000 to Weber Holdings. What’s currently proposed by the developer is a 107-room hotel with an expected assessed value of $7 million. In addition to this development, Weber Holdings is also developing the Ross Furniture building into the boutique Charmant Hotel, which has 67 rooms, and also the Lot C mixed-use development of housing, office and retail.

inside scoop

CELEBRATE RECORD STORE DAY Celebrate Record Store Day with Deaf Ear Records.

There are holidays dedicated to love, religion, freedom, presidents, soldiers … and even groundhogs. I found myself wondering why there isn’t a holiday for music. This is when I found out about Record Store Day, which is an international celebration of music and the local, independently owned record stores that bring it to us.

Since 2007, people around the world have been gathering to celebrate their favorite record stores on the third Saturday of April. The purpose of this day is to celebrate the unique culture of the independently owned record store and the special role these stores play in their communities.

Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for this day. Record Store Day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world.

There are stores on every continent except Antarctica participating in Record Store Day. At Deaf Ear Records in downtown La Crosse, the preparation for this day starts months ahead of time. Deaf Ear goes through release lists and selects the products for this special day. Besides records, they will run sales on various other products as well. The items featured range from

extremely limited edition to those that are less rare.

Deaf Ear usually sees a line form outside of the store a few hours prior to opening. Record Store Day is like Deaf Ear’s version of Black Friday!

Deaf Ear Records has been open since 1978, selling new and used CDs, new and used vinyl, as well as used movies. It also carries new and used comics, magic cards, Warhammer, board games, collectible toys and statues, T-shirts, incense, posters, body jewelry and disc golf, in addition to a fully stocked smoke shop! What more could you want in a record store?! (Seriously, if you want more, the staff wants you to let them know, and they’ll see what they can do.)

Check out Deaf Ear Records on April 18 to enjoy this epic celebration!

For more information, “like” Deaf Ear Records on Facebook.

- By Cody Fortney

WOMEN MOVING AHEAD Women Moving Ahead Conference to be held at UW-La Crosse.

Don’t miss the Women Moving Ahead (WMA) conference April 17 and 18. Larry Sleznikow, UW-La Crosse learning technologies coordinator, has spearheaded this conference after feeling moved by the book, “Lean In,” by Sheryl Sandberg. As a father of three girls, the book really resonated with some of the challenging workplace situations his daughters have encountered, so he wanted to share this information with women of the Coulee Region.

WMA will work to raise awareness about the challenges women and girls in all cultures encounter in their lives and their careers. The goal of this first WMA event is to make women aware of the skills and techniques they need and how to use their voices effectively for positive change.

Sleznikow says, “Many times women hesitate to become involved in a discussion with men, whether it’s at school, at home or at work. Women

have valuable perspectives and ideas, and they need to feel comfortable expressing them when men are present. We need everyone’s voice and skills at the table to help solve the world’s most challenging problems.”

Friday presenters include a former IBM executive, Wisconsin senator, Wisconsin representative, professors and more. Saturday will feature a half-day salary negotiation workshop facilitated by the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Registration for tickets is required. For registration prices and additional information about the WMA schedule and the presenters, check out www.womenmovingahead.org.

- By Cody Fortney

#WTF!?

She Made Yogurt from What?!

DEADLY DUMPSTER DATE

A UW-Madison Ph.D. student recently concocted a batch of yogurt with bacteria from her very own nether regions. To carry out the experiment, she used a wooden spoon to collect some of her yeast, added some milk, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, she tastetested her experiment for breakfast. Finding it comparable to Indian yogurt, she added some blueberries to sweeten the taste. You’re probably wondering how yogurt can be made from your lady parts (don’t worry, we did too!). One kind of bacteria that is found there is also the bacteria that’s sometimes used in making yogurt. The Ph.D. student got the idea when she stumbled upon a yogurt recipe that called for sperm but couldn’t find the female equivalent. Our inner feminists say, “You go girl!” … but we can’t seem to silence the other part of us that is already running to the bathroom to vomit. Experts are warning against making your own yogurt this way, as there are many other kinds of bacteria that can live downstairs as well. So ladies, seriously, do not try this one at home.

We all may not make the best decisions after having a few, but a couple in Florida nearly ended their lives as a result of their poor judgment. During a night out at the casino, they were stranded when some friends left them behind. In this moment, a normal person might call a cab, but this couple decided to find shelter in a dumpster until they could sober up. Don’t be so quick to judge. This was a 5-star, environmentally-friendly dumpster with plenty of bags filled with recyclables to soften the landing and extra-large cardboard boxes to cozy up with.

This dumpster date turned deadly when they passed out and somehow didn’t notice they had been dumped into the back of a garbage truck. Just as they were about to be compacted, the truck driver heard them yelling.

They walked away complaining about back pain from being in the truck, but come on, they slept in a dumpster. What did they expect?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/vagina-yogurt-woman-uses-bacteria-5146255 - By Cody Fortney

8 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

www.upi.com/Odd_News/2015/02/12/Drunk-couple-fell-asleep-in-dumpster-rode-ingarbage-truck/4781423764125/?spt=sec&or=on - By Cody Fortney

to p f i v e

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Any day now, the snow will melt away and we won’t see any sign of it for at least another six months. The trees will begin to bud and blossom, and you’ll even see a trace of grass. Grass! What’s that? During the season when the world around us transforms to green, we are reminded that our mindsets should spring into green as well.

weird runs you’d actually want to do.

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Tough Mudder: This run is not for the faint of heart, featuring around 10 extreme obstacles with names like “Shawshank,” “human hamster wheel,” “birth canal,” and “arctic enema,” and includes elements like fire and electric-shock wires. The run is a total of 10-12 miles, but what’s cool is that Tough Mudder puts camaraderie over competition; all Mudders pledge to help each other finish the race.

So far Tough Mudder has hosted over 100 events and has raised over $6.5 million for the Wounded Warrior Project.

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Boston Urban Iditarod: Replacing dogs with people, and sleds with shopping carts, this race requires participants to stop in at five designated bars and perform challenges in the style of “Minute to Win It.” Runners decorate shopping carts and themselves, often fitting into a team theme, and collect food items to benefit Boston pantries. Special awards are given for teams that have the best costumes and talents.

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.01K: One of the shortest runs in the world, this race requires you to run 32.8 feet from start to finish, ending at Brothers in downtown La Crosse on Saint Patrick’s Day. Participants barely break a sweat as they shuffle down the street to “Chariots of Fire,” assaulted by volunteers throwing green paint at them. At the end, runners receive a beer and a T-shirt for completing the challenge. All proceeds go to the La Crosse Hunger Task Force.

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Food Challenges: Krispy Kreme Challenge, New York Hot Dog Challenge, Chocolate Run, Marathon du Medoc: Okay, this is kind of cheating, but these races are grouped together because they feature FOOD/DRINK stops! The races involve downing 12 Krispy Kremes, 10 hot dogs from food carts, tons of different kinds of chocolate, and a large variety of fine French wines, respectively, and per person.

We’re still calculating the possibility your stomach will rupture — look for the final numbers in next month’s Klutch.

Each April, the nation celebrates Earth Day and the concept, “think green.” With all of the natural beauty in our Driftless region, it’s fitting that La Crosse throws an all-out Earth Fair. Where can you find a better location to celebrate the earth than Myrick Park? It’s cozied up next to the marsh between the beautiful bluffs and river.

We will be showcasing a special shout out section in the May issue dedicated to Mom! One lucky person who sends in a shout out will win a beautiful Mother’s Day bouquet from Flowers by Guenthers valued at $80!

(Brownie points and a free gift- you can’t go wrong!)

The local Earth Fair is fun for people of all ages. It is a free event with plenty of activities. You will find live music, food vendors, children’s crafts, outdoor tours, green workshops and vendors, a live raptor demonstration and more. Plus, don’t miss the first-of-the-season farmers market!

Door prizes are given out throughout the day alongside a Grand Green Prize drawing at the end of the day. There will also be tours of Western Technical College’s energy-efficient Passive House at 751 24th St. North, and the annual Recycling Fair will be held nearby at Emerson Elementary from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Send us your shout out to Mom on our Facebook page

www.facebook/klutchchronicle!

truths 2 anda lie

Earth Day edition

By: Katie Svitavsky

An aluminum can is recycled and returned to a grocer’s shelf as a new can in as little as two months.

A bus will provide shuttles to and from the YMCA on Main Street and the La Crosse Library North. If you prefer to be extra-“green” and ride your bike to the fair, a bike valet will be provided. Don’t miss this fun-packed event!

- By Cody Fortney

Though in large quantities aluminum can be recycled, you can’t recycle aluminum foil.

To produce enough paper for Sunday papers, 500,000 trees need to be cut down for every weekly run.

The lie: You actually can (and should!) recycle aluminum foil, even from Hershey’s Kisses. An estimated 80 million Kisses are wrapped in foil each day, using enough foil to cover almost 40 football fields.

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The Sparta Zombie 3K. Run for your lives in this apocalyptic almost 2-mile run. “Zombies” try and grab flags from runners flag-football style as they run through Sparta’s River Run Golf Course and Memorial Park. Prizes are given to those who collect the most flags and the survivor who crosses the finish line first. This is a non-timed event intended purely for an apocalyptic good time. Can you survive the Spartapocalypse?

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Where: Myrick Park in La Crosse Cost: Free to attend. Bring money if you intend to shop at the farmers market or any of the vendor or food stands.

1ST ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATION!

By: Katie Svitavsky

modernbodyskincare.com • (608) 788-0022 4010 Mormon Coulee Rd., La Crosse, WI

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

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More information can be found at www.earthfairlacrosse.com and on the Coulee Partners for Sustainability Facebook page.

at Marineland

’s t a h W DIVE CENTERS S E R V I N G Sign up for one of our scuba

SCUBA DSINCE I V E1968 RS MARINELAND

diver courses and receive a $100 in-store gift certificate.

Once your course fee is paid in full, you will receive the gift certificate and can use it on anything in the store.

Check out our web page, www.divecenters.com, for a full list of class dates. Then stop in and sign up for your class. Special ends April 30, 2015, but sign up early as dates often fill up quickly.

412 Oak Forest Dr Onalaska, WI 54650

(608) 783-3186 www.divecenters.com

k

c on De

Come start your day with Bean Juice and the Klutch Chronicle!

Tuesday April 7th 9:30-11:30 AM Family story time with Debbie from 9:30-10 Register to win free yummy prizes!

Bean Juice Coffee Roasters Jackson Plaza 1014 19th St S www.beanjuicecoffee.com La Crosse, WI 54601

(608) 784-8487

Interested in hosting a Meet and Cheese event?

Visit our website www.klutchchronicle.com or call 608-796-8780 for more details.

PET CENTER 10 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

A Complete Underwater Package and More.

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Article: Becca Dargatz

MARINELAND

eff Zilliox has been involved with Marineland since 1985 and, as you can imagine, a lot has changed over the years, both for the shop and Zilliox’s job title. Zilliox first became involved with the dive equipment, and now, almost 30 years later, he is involved with every aspect of the shop on a daily basis as the owner.

Marineland can look a little deceiving from the outside, but once you walk in the front doors, you might find more than you may expect. Scuba diving classes, diving equipment and tropical fish are only the tip of the iceberg. A lot more fish, reptiles, birds and other small animals are housed inside. Basically, Marineland is raining everything but cats and dogs. The shop also carries the things you need to take care of the animals, and it does not stop there.

About seven years ago, Zilliox and Marineland created a relationship with the DNR to rehome sick or unwanted animals. Through this arrangement, all animals get the proper treatment and are placed in an appropriate home or environment. The members of the crew at Marineland also help maintain aquariums and ponds outside the shop at hospitals, private businesses and homes, and most recently, Cabela’s.

Another large component of Marineland is the scuba side of the shop, which Zilliox has been involved with in some way from the beginning.

Marineland offers many classes, which range from basic snorkeling skills to scuba diving instructor training, as well as many diving events throughout the year. During the summer, to help keep up with demand, Marineland also has a dive shop located 5 miles from Lake Wazee in Black River Falls.

“We have a lot of ongoing events that change throughout the year,” says Zilliox.

“During the summer, at least one Sunday a month, we do a fun dive at Lake Wazee where people just show up and go diving with a dive master, and on the first Tuesday of every month we do a discover

Jeff Zilliox and Tamaime Nimmo scuba event.”

Aside from the scuba classes and diving events, Marineland sells and services all required equipment, takes trips to tropical places, trains dive teams, works with the fire departments, offers certification for scuba diving, performs commercial diving, and participates in underwater environmental studies and surveys.

Marineland usually has about 10 or 11 staff members, depending on the season, and while each employee has their own expertise, they are all considered jacksof-all-trades. Everyone works in each department and is happy to do so.

“We have a very knowledgeable staff, and they are here because they are interested in what goes on here; not just for a Friday paycheck,” says Zilliox.

Tamaime Nimmo, Zilliox’s girlfriend for over seven years, previously helped with water aerobics at Marineland, but also helps with cleaning tanks at different businesses, office work, and anything else that needs to be taken care of at the shop.

Marineland has a pool they would like to see used more frequently, and Nimmo has been spreading the word that it would be a great place for water aerobics, swimming lessons, or for physical therapy patients.

“We built the pool for our use, but we would really like other people to get use out of the pool, too,” says Zilliox.

For Nimmo, the best part of the job and being involved with Marineland is the treasure hunt that occurs every year, for the past 24 years, on the second Saturday of August. Marineland gives away $2,000 to $3,000 of prizes during the hunt. People show up at the lake for diving, eating and a good time. There are little plastic treasure chests weighted down with coins that are placed in various areas of the lake on Friday night; the next day the divers take off and dive for the chests.

“I met so many people when I first became involved with Marineland, and the camaraderie between the people that KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

11

might only see each other one time a year is incredible; there are just so many nice people,” says Nimmo.

Marineland prides itself on not only the variety of what is offered at the shop, but also on raising healthy fish, reptiles and other animals. Zilliox holds his shop to a high standard of quality that can sometimes get lost at large department stores. The staff at Marineland wants to answer questions and provide consistency so customers know what to expect.

“We are here, we are open, and there is a lot more going on in this building than most people could even imagine,” says Zilliox. “From the number of people we have trained here, all the way down to the number of fish we actually sell, it blows my mind sometimes.”

Zilliox says his favorite part of the job is the dive travel, but after he shared a couple stories about finding engagement rings in different rivers, and a few stories about nursing animals back to health, it is no secret that his favorite part of the job is everything he does. His passion, perseverance and patience know no bounds.

Marineland is located at

412 Oak Forest Drive Onalaska, WI

608-783-3186 www.divecenters.com During the summer, a dive shop is located at

9603 W. Bauer Road Black River Falls, WI

715-284-0455

LOCAL Food &

YOU

Turning “Food System” into “Food Web”

by Wendy Allen

An amazing number of people — kids and adults — believe milk and bread simply come from the store shelf.

What they were beforehand … well, does it matter?

Yes. It absolutely does matter.

“Food system” conjures the image of a classic beginning-to-end structure, where each entity has a single job, and that’s the only place they touch the process: Farm g Buyer g Processing Plant g Warehouse g Retailer g Consumer g Landfill It’s one long line and you — the consumer — are a blip toward the end of it.

On the other hand, a “food network” looks much different. Imagine yourself in the center of a big spider web, and each string connects you to a place your food comes from, and other strings connect those places to other services, and some of the strings are two-way streets:

La Crosse County farms Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Local restaurants

On-farm, backyard or community compost

Food co-ops and other grocers that carry local foods Mississippi River and trout streams

Farmers markets Backyard gardens; trades with neighbors

It’s our local food web, and instead of a blip on the timeline looking at only the retail shelf and landfill on either side, you are in the center of it all, able to see every link of the web, every point your food touches.

And you have the ability to influence it all.

Step one: Shop Your Local Farmers Market.

The Cameron Park Farmers Market has 35 farm and artisanal food vendors, all from within 100 miles of La Crosse. Nell Saunders-Scott, market manager, says farmers markets are an important part of a healthy local food system because they not only provide a direct connection between the farmer and consumer, but they give people “independence and the ability to make decisions about how they eat. If they have a healthy farmers market with a variety of vendors close to them, it’s easier to choose to eat locally and healthy.”

Step two: Join A CSA. “Ask me. Come see,” says Aaron Kane of Knapp Creek Farm (www.knappcreekfarm.com) near Westby. He and spouse Andrea grow more than 100 varieties of certified organic vegetables on 6 acres. They have been 12 April, 2015 // ofKlutchChronicle.com selling at the Viroqua Farmers Market and are now embarking on their first year Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA).

The idea of a CSA is that everyone shares in the successes as well as the burdens of food production. In a linear food system, when one part fails, the next point in line compensates so they don’t lose money as well. For instance, if there’s a drought and farmers don’t get a good crop, the buyers will compensate by jacking up prices so at least they still make money. We see our food prices go up at the store, but we’re so far removed that we can’t see the faces affected by the drought.

As part of a CSA, members have a personal stake. They pay upfront in spring for a share of the harvest all season and Aaron Kane of Knapp Creek Farm receive a box with locally grown food each delivery.

Just as it’s important for eaters to put a face to their food, “it’s really gratifying to us as farmers to know the person who purchases our food,” says Aaron. “It’s both: Know your farmer and know your customer.”

Step three: Meet A Local Farmer.

On the other geographic side of our food web, Steve Fruechte raises pastured bison at his farm, Buffalo Hills Bison (www.buffalohillsbisonmeat.com) in Caledonia, Minn. He has been a vendor at the Cameron Park Farmers Market since 2004 and is the market’s current board president.

He started out with about 12 bison in 1993 and has since grown his herd large enough to create a sustainable, interesting source of meat for our area. “Once you have the fences built, they’re easier to raise and more disease resistant than beef cattle,” says Steve. “You can kind of leave them alone and let them do their own thing.”

Meat can be a polarizing subject these days, but livestock are as important as vegetables to a healthy local food network, especially in the Driftless region’s hilly landscape. “To help conserve the soil and prevent erosion, we have contour strips, where every other strip is grass,” says Steve. “If you’ve got this land that you can’t do anything with, it just seems a no-brainer to put some animals on it and let them graze it.”

Steve & Linda Fruechte of This concept goes for any pasture-based animal, but bison are Buffalo Hills Bison unique in more ways than the obvious. Steve says bison digest feed more efficiently than beef cattle, so farmers can make use of lower-protein pasture that wouldn’t be suitable for cows. Bison meat is also lower in fat, calories and cholesterol, and higher in protein, iron and vitamin B-12.

He sells his bison online and to some area food co-ops, stores and restaurants, as well as directly to consumers at the Cameron Park Farmers Market. “It’s fun to be [at the market] and visit with the customers,” he says. “You get to know them, and when they don’t show up on a Friday, you wonder where they are. That’s one really nice thing about the market.” ____________________________________________________ Andrea Kane says, “It’s like a web. You’ve got your vegetable people and your bakers and your meat people, and they do all kinds of work together.” Aaron continues, “And you have the local restaurants and the co-ops and all the people making prepared foods who need ingredients. It’s really vibrant.”

“It’s all interrelated,” says Andrea.

Food flows to us from every direction — apples from La Crescent and Gays Mills, fish from the Mississippi and the Driftless area’s exceptional trout streams, fresh vegetables from every county that touches ours. Even in winter, we have so many small businesses and farms that provide preserved and stored foods. La Crosse’s local food web is rich with variety and personal connection.

Aaron puts it perfectly: “It’s a journey that keeps progressing and keeps getting better.”

LOCAL Food &

Farm Fresh Factoids

YOU

by Wendy Allen

Down Slowing w Food with Slo eans low food” m

There are 35 farms and food artisans represented at Cameron Park Farmers Market (2014).

The Cameron Park Farmers Market accepts SNAP benefits (food stamps), giving even more people access to fresh, healthy, local foods!

has established a goal to purchase 20 percent of its food locally.

at a farmers market or for a CSA share

For each $1 you spend …

$1 goes to the farmer

at a grocery store 84 cents goes to marketing and distribution

200+

16 cents goes to the farmer

Increasing our area’s local food consumption to 25% could mean

Average farm size in southwest Wisconsin:

183 acres

$33 million in

new income to southwest Wisconsin farms.

Average foods: Local foods:

Farm to School programs in Wisconsin

Commonly imported foods:

Age:

12 hours or less.

Grapes: Chile Tomatoes: Mexico and Netherlands Garlic: China Rice: Thailand Asparagus: Peru and Mexico Cherries: Chile

Distance traveled:

100 miles or less to your table.

Distance traveled: Age:

14 days or more.

“s e suggests, d think As the nam e to cook an food m ti g in k ta , n where the slowing dow traditions, d o fo ffect the r u o t abou r choices a u o w o h d n a al Slow comes from internation e h T s. u d 1980s n world arou t began in Italy in the n e activists Food movem a group of d n a i in tr e P onald’s in after Carlo g of a McD in d il u b e an 1,500 protested th re more th apters a re e th y a with 175 ch Rome. Tod 0 countries, 6 1 in Wisconsin. rs te p cha ing five in d u cl in ., .S U to further across the ize events n a rg o rs te cooking, These chap und food, ro a s n io n to it the discuss ns and our connectio io it d g (or even regional tra ed in joinin st re te in www. e all. If you’r Crosse chapter), visit a L starting a .org. slowfoodusa

1,500 miles or more to your table.

*Within a week after picking, vegetables lose 30-50 percent of their nutrients.

Food m

iles There’s m ore to food miles than the food tr just how fa av r only the fi eled from farm to p nal leg. Th la e miles a tr te. That’s bring feed uck drives , pesticide to s and ferti farm; the lizers to th miles a tr actor driv e fields; the es throug mil h the and harve es other farmers dr st the feed ive to plan for t comes befo re the trip animals — all of tha t the food m grocery sto akes to yo re. This m ur ea type of fo od (vegeta ns, depending on th bles or m e of produc eat) and tion (chem type ical-based the unsee or organic n miles ca n tu ), 1,500 mil es into 3,0 rn the oft-publiciz ed 00 or 6,0 miles. Th 00 total fo at’s a lot od of carbon the atmo spewed in sphere. S to o simply ab out choos “food miles” is n ing local. o choosing It’s also a t to suppor b o u t t farmers w ways that ho farm reduce th in e emissions miles (an d therefor ) that add e, up before leaves the the food e farm. ven

Did You Know?

Ready to Start your Own Garden?

You can “borrow” seeds from the La Crosse Public Library at no cost? The La Crosse Seed Library is going into its second year with a program that allows anyone with a library card to obtain seeds and grow plants and food from them, in hopes that they will save seeds to bring back for the next season. The library holds workshops to teach people proper seed saving techniques.

Monroe County Extension Office: 608-269-8722

La Crosse Seed Library

Learn more by visiting the library or online at www.lacrosselibrary.org/seed-library or calling 608-789-7100

Here’s a few Resources:

La Crosse County Extension Office: 608-785-9593 UW-Extension gardening information: hort.uwex.edu/topics/vegetables Composting information: KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015 13 www2.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home

Pitch In at a Community Garden Want to be even more hands on with your food?

Why not help grow your own produce? Our area has a lot of great community gardens you can become a part of!

Washburn Community Garden The Washburn Neighborhood Association operates a community garden in La Crosse. Owned by Mayo Clinic Health System, the garden began in 2010 with just 18 plots; last year, 54 plots were rented out by 48 people, with proceeds going to St. Clare Health Mission. In addition, about a tenth of what is grown in the garden goes to food banks and charities. The garden also has community connections, including the students from Lincoln/SOTA II/Coulee Montessori, who are invited into the garden for classes and hands-on activities; Hillview Urban Agriculture Center, which used funding from Mayo to create a hoop house; and volunteers from several organizations around the La Crosse area. During 2015, the garden will see an expansion to include a rain and butterfly garden.

900 block of Division St., La Crosse Kane Street Community Garden Established as a part of The Hunger Task Force, the Kane Street Community Garden on La Crosse’s north side supplies 25,000-30,000

pounds of organic produce each year. Though the city of La Crosse owns the actual land, The Hunger Task Force and hundreds of volunteers work to till, plant, weed, water and prune.

Produce is given to volunteers, people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to purchase it, or anyone interested in healthy eating.

801 Kane St., La Crosse South Side Community Garden Several community organizations came together to create and maintain this garden, including AmeriCorps, Hamilton Elementary, the city of La Crosse, and Gundersen. The garden has a cool relationship with Hamilton Elementary — students learn about healthy eating and growing plants by helping in the garden, and produce goes to students’ families and other community members. The garden, located on Gundersen property, has been around since 2003, and AmeriCorps has been involved since 2007, providing a full-time garden coordinator as well as dedicated volunteers.

Bennora Lee Ct., La Crosse Hillview Urban Agriculture Center Though it looks very different now from when it first began on North 24th Street in La Crosse, Hillview Urban Agriculture Center began over 100 years ago as Hillview

by Katie Svitavsky

Greenhouses. Through a series of ownerships every operator made their mark on Hillview, whether it was through growing the business, implementing more sustainable practices, or transitioning Hillview into a nonprofit. The nonprofit operates a community garden and performs education and outreach with students and other community members. In 2010, Hillview received a grant from UW-L to begin vermicomposting, which is creating fertilizer from worm castings. Later this fall, Hillview will move to Western Technical College, where it will be housed in the new Horticulture Education Center. www.hillviewuac.org/ Clearwater Farm Garden Located in Onalaska and established in 1999, Clearwater Farm is a nonprofit utilizing volunteers to plant, tend and harvest a communal garden.

Instead of renting out designated plots, volunteers share produce and also help decide what is grown.

760 Green Coulee Road, Onalaska www.clearwaterfarm.org Mayo Clinic Community Garden Located right next to Mayo Clinic in Onalaska, the garden is a collaborative effort of the clinic, Onalaska Parks and Recreation, and the La

Crosse Hmoob Cultural and Community Agency. Gardeners rent 12-by-20 plots for $30 per year. Ten percent of the produced food goes to food pantries and monetary proceeds go to the Hmong Youth and Elder Project.

Midwest Dr., Onalaska La Crescent Community Garden A collaboration between the La Crescent Area Healthy Community Partnership and Messiah Lutheran Church, the garden was established in 2006 and offers 10-by-10 plots. The garden is located at the corner of 9th Street and Jonathan Lane, and the plot fee is $15. While members keep produce, much of it is also donated to local food shelves.

Jonathan Lane and N 9th St., La Crescent Wapasha Prairie Community Garden Located in Winona, space for the Wapasha Prairie Community Garden was secured with help from Winona Health. The garden is funded through grants and began in 2009 by receiving a grant from the Frozen River Festival. In its first year the garden had 30 plots but has expanded to 50, with 8-by-8 or 8-by-16 plot dimensions. At the end of each week, extra produce is donated to local pantries.

Winona Health Center, Mankato and Hwy. 61

Get the scoop on the poop!

What is vermicomposting?

The short answer is worm poop that is used to organically fertilize soil in gardens, but the process is pretty involved. Hillview received a grant from the UW-L Green Fund to take food waste from UW-L and Mayo Clinic in the summer to “turn garbage into gold” using worms. First, food is collected and taken to the complex where it is then weighed and added to the compost unit.

Hillview staff add the material about 100 pounds at a time, three times a week, and then cover it with a mixture of coffee grounds (from UW-L) and sawdust (from a Westby Amish sawmill). The finished compost, which is the bottom layer of the unit, is harvested and then dried for about a month. Finally, it’s sifted and packaged as Vermigold, which is sold at the People’s Food Co-op, Myrick Park, and a few area Ace Hardware stores. When the system is running at capacity, it processes 400 pounds of food waste per day! Holy crap (totally pun intended)!

MOSES Conference Returns to La Crosse The 26th annual MOSES Organic Farming Conference was held in La Crosse February 26-28, 2015, organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES).

In its first year, the event drew a mere crowd of 90. This year, over 3,500 people were in attendance, illustrating the dramatic growth of organic agriculture. “It was really a highenergy event with lots of opportunities to network, learn about the latest research on organic farming, hear how other farmers are tackling issues — plus great entertainment Faye Jones, MOSES the executive director, speaks to in the crowd. evenings,”

by Katie Svitavsky

Worm-Poo-Pa Palooza

In order to supply nonprofit and school gardens with vermicompost, Hillview has created a new fundraiser called Worm-Poo-Pa Palooza! Schools have distributed information about vermicomposting through school newsletters and online, and interested donors can sponsor virtual worms for $5 per worm; check out the partner gardens and fundraising goals at Hillview’s site, www.hillviewuac.org. You, too, can sponsor a worm now through April 26, when the fundraiser concludes at the Earth Fair taking place at Myrick Park in La Crosse (though donations will continue to be accepted after that date).

by Michelle Jerome

said Faye Jones, MOSES executive director.

Longtime organic farmers Center has been helpful “Farmers tell me this event inspires them Greg and Mary Reynolds of to address their needs of for the growing season.” Growth in organic Riverbend Farm in Delano, multiple-size exhibit rooms, agriculture shows that people are demanding Minn., received the 2015 a dining hall, a keynote untainted food. Many folks are growing and MOSES Organic Farmers speaker hall, and catering raising their own food, and when they aren’t, of the Year award at the exclusively organic food to they don’t want chemicals used in their food conference. The Reynolds thousands. Jones elaborated system. Organic farmers are answering these grow vegetables and small that “La Crosse is, to me, needs. grains on their certified 10the perfect example of a city The MOSES Conference included 67 acre organic farm, selling to that maintains a unique and workshops, 10 pre-conference all-day courses, restaurants, co-ops, nursing wonderful ability of a real an exhibit hall with 177 vendors, and organic homes, hospitals and schools. town that feels welcoming ... meals. Participants came from all over the They are building resilience a real Midwest town.”

Greg and Mary Reynolds, U.S. and several other countries, including in their systems by selecting 2015 MOSES Organic FarmEvery year, the MOSES Nigeria. seeds from crops that fare best ers of the Year, receive their Conference educates and award at the Conference Keynote speaker John Jeavons, executive in the changing Minnesota inspires members of the KickOff. director of the nonprofit Ecology Action, climate. organic community, bringing shared how his “biointensive” methods are When asked why MOSES together farmers, researchers helping small-scale farmers in 151 countries continues to choose La Crosse as the host for and educators to discuss and share new ideas, yield more using less water and resources, their conference, Jones explained that “the products and organic farming practices. The making organic farming truly sustainable. first reason is that we love La Crosse!” She conference is just one of the educational He told the packed auditorium, “Organic also claimed the venue is easily accessible and services the nonprofit MOSES provides to agriculture is a major step in the right that the size of La Crosse fits well with the promote organic and sustainable agriculture.

14 April,but2015 // toKlutchChronicle.com direction, we need keep walking.” audience of the conference. The La Crosse Learn more at mosesorganic.org.

LOCAL Food &

YOU

Make Farmers Markets Part of Your Shopping Routine

Now that spring has sprung (sorta), we have many things to look forward to. Flowers will start blooming, gardens will be planted, and farmers markets will be popping up every day of the week. Goodbye winter, hello again cheap, fresh produce!

Not only can you find fresh veggies and fruits, many of the local farmers markets offer crafts, baked goods, live music, hot food carts and more.

Check out one of the many local farmers markets once they start happening in May and June.

DIY

LA CROSSE – CAMERON PARK 4th and King Streets May through October Fridays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (or dusk, whichever is earlier) FoodShare (EBT/ Quest) and debit cards accepted. Go to www.cameronparkmarket.org for listings of vendors, products and winter market schedule.

NEW! Cameron Park Farmers Market has been extended to two days a week!

Now you can get your fresh produce and other great finds on Saturday mornings as well from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. That’s two days a week people!

HOLMEN - FESTIVAL FOODS PARKING LOT Holmen Square, 600 Holmen Drive Last week in May through October Wednesdays, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

ONALASKA - FESTIVAL FOODS PARKING LOT 1260 Crossing Meadows Drive June through October Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WEST SALEM Parking lot, corner of Jefferson and Mill streets (bike shelter) June through second week in October Wednesdays, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

IT ISN’T THAT HARD, RIGHT?

Straw Bale Gardening

by Michelle Jerome

Step 1

Get some straw bales. Decide whether you have room for just one bale or several. Whatever you do, make sure it’s NOT hay.

Straw versus hay: Straw • Yellow • Ends look like cut off hollow straws • Dry • Used as mulch and a growing medium Hay • Greenish color • Somewhat moist • Seed ends are left on

(and will take over!)

• Used as animal food

Step 2

LA CROSSE – HMOOB CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY AGENCY 1815 Ward Avenue Last week in June through October Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. www.hmoobagency.org

LA CROSSE – RIVERSIDE PARK Harborview Plaza, 100 State Street Second week in May through October Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon

LA CROSSE – BRIDGEVIEW PLAZA Parking lot, 2500 Rose Street June through October Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Position your bales. Your straw bales are your new garden bed, so place them in an area with a lot of direct sunlight. Place the bale with the cut side up. Twine should wrap around the

long perimeter of the bale. If your bale doesn’t meet this description, it can still be used as long as the bale is secured around the perimeter so it doesn’t fall apart.

Bales can be arranged in a number of ways.

Some folks have even created a cart with casters for single bales or placed their bales on wooden pallets on top of concrete since they didn’t have soil to grow in! Traditionally, rows of five bales are lined up with the short ends touching. A great optional addition would be to add this easy trellis and greenhouse structure: 2-by-4 wooden posts or metal posts (7-foot high) can be installed at the ends of the rows with a bracing piece on top. Wire can be strung from one post to the other, at 10 inches intervals above the bales. The first two sets of wire should have two wires each. All of the wires can be used to string up beans or hold tomato vines and the like. The first two double sets of wires can also be used to thread a sheet of 2-3 mil thick plastic through to cover the bales. This plastic sheet will create a greenhouse effect to keep the warmth in your straw bale garden, allowing for an earlier start to your growing season. Just tuck the ends of the plastic under the bale!

Step 3

Condition your bales. This is a very important step!! Some people have tried to use straw bales without conditioning them and didn’t get quality results (if any). Conditioning the bales is a process of watering and fertilizing the bales so microorganisms want to party in

by Cody Fortney

LA CRESCENT FARMERS MARKET Crucifixion School parking lot, 420 South 2nd Street Mid-May through mid-October Tuesdays, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Check lacrescentfarmersmarket. blogspot.com for winter market dates, typically held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 336 South 1st Street, in the La Crescent Community Center (fire station building).

VILLAGE OF TREMPEALEAU FARMERS MARKET Central Park, 4th and Gray streets June through September Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WINTER MARKET: SPECIFIC DATES, LAST ONE IS APRIL 25 Time: 9 a.m. to noon East End Rec Center, 210 Zumbro Street BLACK RIVER FALLS COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKET 133 County Road A, front lawn of Scholze Ace Home Center May through October Tuesdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SPARTA FARMERS MARKET 124 West Main Street, downtown next to library May through October Wednesdays, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

VIROQUA PARTNERS MAIN STREET FARMERS MARKET Corner of Rock Avenue and Jefferson Street Begins in May and ends in October Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WINONA FARMERS MARKET 2nd and Main Street North May through October Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Photos: Pete Soldberg

your bales and get the bales cooking (literally), which makes the inside of the bale decompose to create your growing medium! This step will take about 10-14 days, so schedule this into your gardening plan. Water your bale every day during the conditioning period. On the first day, and every other day for six days, pour about 3 cups of organic fertilizer across the top of each bale. If you can, use a sprayer so the pressure from the water will force the fertilizer into the bale. For days seven through nine, pour about one and a half cups on each bale, each day. On day 10, add three cups of phosphorus and potassium (bone meal and ash mix is an example). If you stick your finger in a bale, you will feel the warmth and eventually see the straw becoming black and even a bit soil-like. If your bale is still hot at 10 days, continue to water the bales without adding additional fertilizer until the interior of the bale isn’t too hot for your plants. NOTE: If you see mushrooms pop up, leave them there. This just means your efforts are working and the bale is decomposing properly!

Step 4

Plant! If you’re transplanting seedlings, grab your trowel or use your hands to create a small hole only big enough for the root base of each seedling. You may add a little sterile soil (not dug up from your yard) in the hole to protect the root base. If you’re planting seeds, you may add an inch or two of sterile soil to hold the seeds in place. As the seeds germinate they will send their roots into the bale, which is the goal. Use the spacing guidelines and instructions for each seed variety. Some implied exceptions would include plants like squash and watermelon since bales don’t require mounding.

Perennials are not recommended at all since the bales are only good for one or two seasons, and top-heavy plants like corn are not a good idea for the straw bale gardening method. Flowering KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015sides 15 plants and herbs can be planted on sunny

of bales for added beauty! Remember, if you are using the plastic sheet greenhouse method, on warm sunny days you can slide the plastic to the end of the row and remove it completely when summer is in full force.

Things to Consider Watering. String a soaker hose along the top of the bales, held down with u-shaped “pins” over the hose. Adding a timer will make your job even easier. On no-rain days, 15 minutes just after dusk and 15 minutes an hour before dawn seem ideal, but judge the amount of water needed by feeling the bales and keeping an eye on your plants and the air temperature.

Weeding. Weeding is almost null with this method. You might spend five minutes weeding your bales … all season.

Plants per bale. Follow the spacing guidelines per variety, but here are some suggested plant quantities per bale. Tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, zucchini: 2-3 each. Beans, peas: 12-15. Cucumbers: 6. Peppers, potatoes: 4.

(When growing potatoes, just kick the bale open at the end of the season!)

After harvest. The finished bale can be used for mulch and nutritious compost for the next growing season!

Further Information. Swing over to Christen Farm Nursery in Onalaska to chat with some straw bale gardening experts or give them a call to see when their next straw bale gardening seminar is at 608-526-9731. Buy or check out the book “Straw Bale Gardens” by Joel Karsten, straw bale garden guru.

family

uff fun st THE

KLUTZ

Perhaps awkwardness is simply coded into our DNA.

Article: Andrea Culletto

FOR FAMILY

I

couldn’t breathe. My 6-year-old son had taken off running at a dead sprint. He had reached the hall corner, where I had watched him turn ... a moment too soon.

WHAM! He plowed face-first into the drywall.

He ricocheted off in slow motion, flopping back onto his rear end as our pictures rattled against the walls like an earthquake. He opened his mouth to emit an indignant shriek. I wanted to run to him, but I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.

I was laughing too hard.

I felt bad, even as my abdominals convulsed in involuntary glee. I just couldn’t help it. It was hilarious. I was raised on “Looney Tunes,” which may have skewed my sense of humor and ruined my empathy.

This was not the first time that this little scenario had played out. My son is perfectly healthy and normal in every

FOR THE FAM

way. He just tends to run into things ... and drop things ... and trip ... and fall ... a lot. We once counted four full, facedown, tumbling sprawls in the 40 feet it took him to walk from our car to a rest stop bathroom. Fortunately, and against all odds, he never seems to actually hurt himself. So, at least there’s that.

I blame my son’s oversized head for his clumsiness. My husband and I are both large-headed, and my son seems to have inherited it all. It’s hard to stay upright when your head is practically in orbit, constantly throwing you off balance. Hopefully he’ll grow out of it, as his musculature catches up with his cranium.

My husband, however, doesn’t buy my theory. He blames me. He might not be wrong. Like my offspring, I was a massive klutz. I still am. Perhaps awkwardness is simply coded into our DNA. When I was about the same age my son is now, my parents and I attended a big Sunday dinner at a friend’s house.

There was roast, garlic green beans, salad and, of course, fresh, steaming, buttery mashed potatoes.

I was asked to carry the latter downstairs to the dining table. I happened to be dressed in my Sunday best at the time. It was the mid-80s, so I was sporting a floral dress with a large,

Grab your pals & head to Decorah, Iowa for another fabulous women’s weekend out | decorah, iowa

friday & saturday, april 10 & 11, 2015

Get away from it all & indulge in the finest in shopping, dining, & entertainment!

Entertainment & parties

including an All Iowa Drag Queen Show!

Style show & brunch check our facebook page for ticket info

Fashion & accessories party

jewelry, scarves, purses, shoes & party!

Classes & demonstrations

lace chest plate. This was accented with white tights, slip-on shoes and a bow the size of Jupiter in my gravity defying, tightly curled hair.

I had made it down only three steps, out of what seemed like roughly 1200, when my 6-year-old brain decided that my shoes were unacceptable and must be removed immediately. I lifted one leg and kicked the exiled shoe from my foot. I watched, with satisfaction, as it tumbled through the air, landing on the floor below with a gratifying thump. I shifted my weight and moved the other leg in an enthusiastic kick, intended to outpace the first shoe’s distance exponentially.

This slight motion forced my entire body into an involuntary cartwheel. My feet jetted out from under me. My lower torso jerked forward, while my upper body freewheeled back. My arms flung straight up, at exactly the right angle to smash the massive bowl of mashed potatoes onto my face, like a clown being hit with a pie.

I came crashing down the stairs, all arms and legs and neon underwear showing through my treacherous tights ...

I landed below at an unfortunate angle, with mashed potatoes wrapped from ear to ear and my once massive bangs nothing but a sad smear of buttery white.

Like my son, I was rarely injured by my frequent wipeouts, and this time was no different. My main concern was how to get the mashed potatoes off my face, out of my orifices and back into the bowl without anyone noticing. While I don’t remember what I tried, I do remember that it didn’t work.

Now, I am raising a little klutz of my own. Just last week, he fell on the ice at hockey. Not because it was slippery ... but because the waist of his padded hockey pants fell down to his ankles and tripped him up.

Luckily, I know that klutzes turn out ok.

I will teach my child to laugh at his many fumbles, mostly because they’re hilarious, but partly because it develops resilience. Humor is how you handle socially dysfunctional DNA. I already know that. He will learn it. One day, he may even find himself doubled over in hysterics at his own children’s mishaps.

For now, my son will likely survive childhood with all the extra character and charisma that comes from living life like a cartoon duck.

Believe me, I know.

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16 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

EVENTS CHILDREN’S MUSEUM EVENTS: TUESDAYS: Sparkling STEMs Science at 10:30 am WEDNESDAYS: Peek Into the Past at 10:30 am THURSDAYS: Little Learners at 10:30 am FRIDAYS: Wee Move @ 10:30 am. All free with admission ($6). For ages 1-7 with adult.

For more information, see www.funmuseum.org.

FAMILY STORYTIME: All preschoolers welcome! 10:30-11 am and 5:30-6 pm on Wednesdays @ La Crosse South Library. Join us for fun and exciting stories for the whole family!

TINKERTOY: Build Your Imagination traveling exhibit, Jan. 17 to May 24 @ Children’s Museum of La Crosse. Giant replicas of the classic Tinkertoy construction set provide the framework for fun, educational activities that turn imagination into working solutions to real world challenges.

NIGHT OUT AT THE MUSEUM: April 10 and 24 from 5:308 pm @ Children’s Museum. Parents get a night out on the town ... kids get a night out at the Museum! Includes supervised museum exploration, stories and light snack.

Children should eat dinner before arrival. $11 members, $16 nonmembers; pre-register and pre-pay. For ages 3-11 without adult.

Special Events READ TO ROVER (AGES 5+): April 7, 5:45-6:45 pm @ La Crosse North Library. Free to attend. Dogs and their caregivers from the Coulee Region Humane Society Pet Therapy group want to listen to new readers! The dogs love to be read to. Register for a 10-minute session by calling the library at 608-789-7102.

INSIDE-OUT CAMPOUT (AGES 6-10): April 8, 2-3 pm @ La Crosse South Library. Free. Discover outdoor adventure inside the library, thanks to the Boy Scouts! Learn about what to bring camping, make an indoor “campfire,” and more.

IN ONE BASKET: April 11 with shows at 11 am and 1 pm @ Frederick Theatre in Morris Hall, UW-La Crosse. Tickets are $5 for children, $8 for adults. A compilation of 12 relatively obscure folktales, told in the storytelling fashion.

LIBRARY LEGO PINEWOOD DERBY (AGES 4+): April 11, 10 am–Noon @ Valley View Mall. Free. The library has their own track at the annual Pinewood Derby, thanks to Seven Rivers District Boy Scouts of America. Participation at this track is free, and all the LEGOs you need to make a ready-to-race LEGO car on the spot will be provided.

Drop in any time between 10 and noon, and bring your imagination!

TEDDY BEAR CLINIC: April 12 from 11 am-2 pm @ Children’s Museum. Join Gundersen Health System for hands-on activities and information to help your child feel more comfortable about seeing the doctor. FREE admission from 11 am to 2 pm (regular admission resumes 2-5 pm).

STUFFED ANIMAL SLEEPOVER (AGES 3+): April 13 from 5:456:15 pm @ La Crosse North Library. Bring your favorite stuffed friend for bedtime stories and crafts! Then, leave your stuffed animal for a sleepover at the library, and pick it up the next day. You’ll even get a photo of all the fun your stuffed friends had overnight! Free to attend.

RED RIDING HOOD AND THE NOT SO BAD WOLF: April 19, 3 pm @ Viterbo University. Tickets range from $10-$14 for adults and $8-$12 for children. Presented in American Sign Language and spoken English by deaf and hearing performers.

HEALTHY KIDS DAY: April 26, 11 am-4 pm @ Myrick Park.

Join the YMCA for several fun and educational activities for children, teaching them the importance of protecting our environment. There will also be fitness activities including the Earth Day Dash. This celebration is a part of the larger Earth Fair held at Myrick on this day. Adults can enjoy green vendors, live music, farmers market, presentations and more!

EARTH DAY DASH: April 26, 10:30 am @ Myrick Park.

Free, but registration required. Sign up at either of the La Crosse YMCA branches. This will be a dash around the park with obstacle stations, including a sack race and fruit relay.

NASCAR RACING: April 26, 2-4:30 pm @ the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wis. Join us for the 2015 season opener! Cost is $12 for general admission, $6 for students (age 12-17), and $3 for kids (age 6-11).

The Smokin’ Bandits

WIN Festival Tickets!

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13 Annual th

Beer, Wine & Cheese Festival It’s back! And better than ever.

by Alyssa Schulte

The three things every Wisconsinite needs: beer (of course), wine (even better), and cheese (no additional commentary required). Now toss the word “unlimited” into the mix. Never before have four syllables shined with so much beauty and potential.

Celebrating its 13th annual year, Between the Bluffs Beer, Wine & Cheese Festival is back with a vengeance, and promising a whole new look, even more cheese, and a beer competition that will have your taste buds praising your culinary decisions. This year’s event, to be held Saturday, April 25, will boast over 75 vendors and bring together more than 200 top-notch beers, 45 types of wine, and the chance to sample and purchase the pride of our home state, gourmet Wisconsin cheese.

For the fifth year running, Between the Bluffs is partnering with local establishments to offer a Friday night (April 24) of specials and fun, cleverly dubbed “Tasters Eve,” before the fest the following day. Vendors include many well-loved area bars and eateries, including Bodega Brew Pub, Boot Hill Pub, Del’s Bar, Dublin Square, The Old Crow, The Root Note, State Room, and Stolpa’s Stein Haus. In addition to playing the role of vendor for this event, Pearl Street Brewery will also be hosting the VIP party, as well as the Brewers Reception (open to the public).

In addition to the beer, wine and cheese (like you really need another reason to attend), there will be live music by the Smokin’ Bandits, a high-energy and unique group that got their start here in La Crosse. Winona native, Mike Munson, will be opening the show with his distinctive sound of guitar-infused invigorating blues.

Mike Munson

According to Jeremiah Burish, director of sports sales and events at the La Crosse Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, the impact the fest has on La Crosse is overwhelmingly positive. By making the fest a two-day event the past four years, they’ve seen an increase in lodging, food, beverage, and other purchases made by visitors. So, basically, the fest is helping local establishments make a whole lot of cheddar (I’m sorry … it had to be done).

Through purchases and donations, the fest supports local businesses, the La Crosse County Tavern League Safe Ride, and many nonprofit community service organizations. All cheese puns aside, it’s great for our community and our local economy.

The event was originally created by La Crosse’s own City Brewery in 2003, known then as the Between the Bluffs Beer & Cheese Fest, as a way to “celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and to educate beer drinkers about the blossoming of the craft brewing industry,” according to Burish. In 2008, City Brewery elected to hand the reins over to the La Crosse Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau “with the intent that the organization would grow the fest to a nationallyrecognized event and … to market the La Crosse area as a premier destination for meetings, conventions, and leisure travel.” With attendees in previous years coming from all over the country (representing over 12 states), it’s safe to say this goal has been realized.

The year 2008 was a banner year for the fest; not only did ticket sales increase by nearly 50 percent, but they added wine, more craft breweries, and a home brew and winemaking contest to the festival. And, present day, they are still improving year after year.

Interested in attending the fest? All tickets come with a souvenir glass, access to the Tasters Eve events, and shuttle access. However, if you’re feeling “Very Important,” VIP tickets come with a plethora of extra perks, including a Friday night VIP party, VIP parking, early admission and tent access.

Sponsors of this event include Woodman’s, Pearl Street Brewery, City Brewery, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, La Crosse Radio Group, and SSE Music.

When

Where

VIP admission

General admission

Saturday, April 25 Southside Oktoberfest Grounds

$70, Advance purchase only Ticket outlets: Pearl Street Brewery (limited quantity/must purchase in person), La Crosse Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (limited quantity/ may purchase in person or by calling)

$40, Advance $45, Gate

Ticket outlets: Festival Foods, Pearl Street Brewery, Bodega Brew Pub, La Crosse Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau

Contact / Tickets

800-658-9424 or 608-782-2366 www.betweenthebluffsbeerfest.com

Must be 21 or older to enter - No children allowed - No exceptions

For more info on the festival visit www.betweenthebluffsbeerfest.com.

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

TIME

VIP admission 12:30-6 p.m.

General admission 2-6 p.m.

Last call at 5:45 p.m.

17

technology

t

APP REVIEW: CHARITY MILES

An app that’s making the world a better place.

Article: Cody Fortney

connec

YOUR INNER WITHGEEK

running or biking. After that you only have to press “Start,” and the app will track your distance, time, and money raised for charity. The creators of Charity Miles also provide a website at www. charitymiles.org with information about the app, including FAQ, videos about the app, and a blog that features app users.

Amounts of 10 or 25 cents may not seem like a lot, but if you run a few miles a week, it can add up. There’s also a cool feature that allows you to create or

I

f you’re like me, you struggle with finding motivation to exercise regularly. Sometimes it’s hard to fit it into my schedule; other times I find any excuse to avoid the gym. Luckily, I have discovered the Charity Miles app, which has the best motivating factor: It allows us all to be sponsored athletes, just like the pros, but we’re exercising for charity.

For each mile you run, walk or bike, the app donates a small chunk of change to a charity of your choice. You can raise 10 cents for every mile you bike, and 25 cents for every mile you walk or run.

There are over 30 charities to choose from, covering a range of different causes including poverty, health, disease, veteran support, helping the environment and more.

Charity Miles is super user-friendly and easy to navigate. Setting up your account takes seconds, and then the list of charities is presented to you. Once you pick a cause, you select whether you are indoor or outdoor walking,

yo! follow us! world, there are some minor cons.

Charity Miles doesn’t always record indoor miles with 100 percent accuracy.

A significant number of users have complained about this, but since the app does record the majority of your exercise, you will still be able to make a difference. Also, more information on each of the charities would also be nice, with perhaps a mission statement and an update on how much has been raised for each charity.

Charity Miles could use some improvements, but it is still a great concept for an app. We applaud the creators for making an app to change the world, rather than to simply entertain us. This app can be the motivation you need to better yourself and the world on a regular basis. Plus, if you’re already exercising, why not turn on Charity Miles and raise a little money for charity in the process?

join a team. When you’re working with a team to raise money for a specific charity, you’re sure to see the donation amount go up faster.

While this app is doing good in the

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18 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

The New Face of Customer Service One of the things I like about going into a brick-and-mortar store is that there is a good chance I’ll interact with a human being, even if it’s only in the checkout lane. Many merchants have self-service lanes, but I seldom use them.

It’s not that I don’t want to use the technology or that I crave human contact, but more because a surprising percentage of the time, the self-service system causes as many delays as it’s intended to mitigate, at least for me! It’s amazing the number of times I end up having to call the attendant over because the system couldn’t handle some part of my transaction: “Please rescan your purchase,” “Please place the item on the checkout platform,” or “Your credit card is over-limit” (wait … maybe that last one is my fault!).

In reality, self-service checkout lanes are an efficient, economical, and sometimes faster method for getting through the purchasing process. It’s a rather banal way to leverage technology that gives good customer service, yet saves money for the merchant (one clerk can manage several self-service lanes). But isn’t there something to be said for human contact, with the merchant interacting directly with the customer through human employees in ways no technology can?

Take, for example, “free sample day,” when a merchant will hire a throng of temporary employees to prep, display, and sometimes even cook little samples of specific products in hopes of enhancing sales of those products. Real people give the experience a “homey” touch.

But technologies exist or are being developed that may one day relegate the “free sample” sales person to the same level of nostalgia as the corded telephone. Increasingly, merchants are installing technologically advanced kiosks that “sense” when a patron is nearby.

The device can be programmed to provide a human-sounding greeting (something like, “Would you like a free sample?”) and a description of the product, special pricing, or any type of information, including interactive voice “conversations” and multimedia video presentations. While I’m not a fan of the impersonal touch, I’ll admit it’s a lot easier to walk away from an automated free sample kiosk hawking its wares than a matronly grandmother who genuinely looks hurt if I take a sample but don’t purchase the product!

And if stationery robotics, like self-service systems, aren’t enough of an incursion on traditional customer interaction, how about replacing an entire fleet of sales associates?

Lowe’s, that venerable paragon of big-box, do-it-yourself home repair, is prototyping technologies to help customers locate, select, and purchase an item using the latest advancements in robotics. You may one day be greeted at Lowe’s by a chatty robot rather than a human sales assistant. Using “science fiction prototyping” (designing future technologies based on science fiction), these robots, called OSHbots, are designed to not only identify and locate merchandise, but to speak to customers in their own languages and assist them with the purchase right there in the aisle. The robot looks like a white pillar with a couple of flat screens stuck on the front and back. In its “head” is a 3D scanner and smart

laser sensor that can detect and identify a human body standing in front of it, along with a second smart laser in the base for collision avoidance.

While there are many permutations of how this technology could be used, one logical conclusion could be a greatly reduced need for actual humans in the workforce.

Think of it: an entire robotic sales force, all programmed with exactly the same information for all departments and products — a daunting feat for any human. As a bonus, the robot has instant wireless Internet access to do an advanced product look-up or give doit-yourself advice. No need to retrain staff or

IT...

ABOUT

LETS TALK

like IT,

get IT?!

sure, technology in retail has enhanced the purchasing experience … but at what cost?

Will the new face of customer service be a robot? And what’s to become of those matronly grandmothers giving out free samples? With respect to customer service, are we at the beginning of “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”? Or maybe I should just succumb to the directive of “The Borg” from “Star Trek”: “You will be assimilated; resistance is futile!”

even worry about turnover; robots don’t tend to desire a career path … yet. No need for a break … well, maybe to literally recharge the batteries. I wonder how an OSHbot would react if I asked it, “So, Oshie (that’s what its friends call it), I need to fit a 1-inch diameter, 45-degree brass elbow joint into a three-quarter inch PVC connector. How do I do that?” And what if I need to speak to the robot’s manager? Are robots promoted to manager based on the number of bytes in their database, a higher version number of firmware … a more advanced motherboard?

We are only a few decades into the socalled “Technology Revolution.” To be

- By Brian Boettcher Brian is vice president of information technology at Altra Federal Credit Union and public speaker on technology topics.

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LOVIN’ LOCAL ARTISTS Jakob Burgos

J

By: Becca Dargatz

akob Burgos is one of the only people I have ever met to understand my diverse array of Netflix choices, and while he probably silently judged my decision to watch every season of “One Tree Hill,” he admits to watching everything — the critically acclaimed, and the … not so critically acclaimed. He used to work at Blockbuster, which certainly contributes to the fact that he considers himself a “crazy movie and TV buff,” and also explains why we started talking about television shows and movies within the first five minutes of our conversation.

Burgos was born in Alaska and moved to the area when he was 7 years old.

While he has lived in other places, he has settled back into the Coulee Region and has been a designer at Metre Agency for the past year. He advises on branding and marketing, and executes graphics. Burgos also assists with logos, websites, pamphlets and anything else the clients need.

Prior to his job at Metre, he was doing freelance design and worked as a production assistant for independent films. Burgos went to school for design, and has serendipitously found that his work and his hobbies have a lot in common, which means he does a lot of illustrations in his down time.

“I got into illustration when I was a kid. Some kids go through the stick figure stage, and I really didn’t, I drew figures right away. All the adults around me would tell me it was so good, and it was the only thing I was good at, so I kept doing it,” says Burgos.

When Burgos got out of high school, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in writing, but he also wanted to have a steady job, and one that took advantage of his artist skill sets, so he earned a degree in design. Burgos continued to write and has entered screenplays into a few contests; he has also won a few contests.

He enjoys hanging out with friends, but a lot of his time is spent working, either for his full-time job or on his own personal work. It is how he likes to relax, and it allows him to watch movies and television shows.

Today, all of the design work that isn’t for his full-time job comes from decompression. He picks things that interest him, whether it is superheroes or bringing a sense of realism to monsters.

On the technical side of design, Burgos is interested in keeping up-to-date on the newest design programs and software.

“Old Man Gipetto”

20 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

“The Penguine”

“Superman Goes Nuts”

Stages in the 3D graphic design process. Creation design by Jakob Burgos

“I probably know about 30 different art and design programs. I just enjoy learning the new programs, and that’s actually how I got into 3D modeling,” says Burgos. “3D modeling is really difficult, so that’s what interests me about it.”

Burgos says there are programs that now allow an artist to show a director or a client what something looks like with the packaging that has been designed for the product, or what a monster will really look like, not just what the illustration looks like, so they are able to turn it around and see everything.

“It’s getting to the point where 3D artists can work as quickly as 2D artists, and create results that 2D artists simply can’t do, and that’s going to change what is required in the design industry,” says Burgos.

Burgos appreciates the new and challenging projects that his position at Metre presents him with.

“When we build something for a client, we are changing a lot of things for them and how they are perceived. It has a large ripple effect,” says Burgos. “It is not just the cup of coffee they are being served right now, it is an ongoing effect on their business. That sign or billboard might be there for years to come.”

Moving forward, Burgos hopes to continue to learn even more to advance his career with design, and to continue being an outstanding member of the community.

To check out some of his work, or to contact Jakob Burgos about work: www.artstation.com/artist/jakobburgos darqjakob.deviantart.com/gallery/ jakob@metreagency.com

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21

A&E visual arts PART TWO

k La Cross n u p m a e e St

Milliner Extraordinaire Story and Photos by Clay Riness

I

n our last issue we did our best to explain what steampunk is, featuring a local business specializing in handcrafted armor and accessories. Steampunk, a unique and creative subgenre of science fiction and fantasy, includes literature, art and fashion. In this issue we introduce you to Deborah Olson, Milliner Extraordinaire, whose creations appeal to, among others, steampunks.

Millinery is a rather lost term in today’s world. It comes from “Millaners,” merchants from Milan, Italy, who traveled to northern Europe (first observed in the early 16th century) and traded in silks, braids, ribbons, ornaments and other finery. Eventually, the term milliner came to mean someone who makes fashionable hats for women. Deborah specializes in “fine, handcrafted, periodcorrect Victorian, Civil War and Steampunk ladies’ millinery.”

Like Louis K in our previous story, Deborah is involved with Coulee Region / Driftless Area Steampunk (Facebook page) and spends much of her time attending events like conventions and fairs (often with her husband, Steve) at which she sells her products and services.

Steampunk has come to play an important role in her success.

“At events, we generally set up in a sutler’s row or square,” she explains. “Sutlers were civilian vendors that followed armies around in the Civil War and provided soldiers and officers with goods … tobacco, sugar, needles and thread, fabric, even luxury items like candy.” And, while she sells far more than her fabulous hats, modifying merchandise choices for different events, it’s the hats that are her constant, and what she is best known for.

Deborah grew up loving hats, she says, and wore them routinely. She started making them when a friend and costume designer for the La Crosse Community Theatre, noting her love of them, asked if she could make some for the cast of “The Music Man.” She started by repurposing existing hats, but was soon making them from scratch. Thus, she found her true calling. She then became involved in rendezvous, cowboy and Civil War reenacting, eventually discovering steampunk.

Her business can be divided into two halves: Bustles and Britches services the pre-1900s customers while Deborah Olson, Milliner Extraordinaire is about her more contemporary work that appeals to the steampunk market.

Although one can buy many hat blanks and buckram frames, she creates her headpieces

from scratch. “I buy buckram, a heavy cotton fabric, in bulk, and I use millinery wire. I’ll flat cut the patterns and hand sew them together, put the wire on and build the hat around the frame,” she says. “But, some are blocked; you wet the buckram and stretch the fabric over a frame.”

Her introduction to steampunk came in 2010 when she was approached by a girl at an event who asked, “Do you do steampunk?”

“I told her I didn’t really know what it was, but if there were hats involved, she could just send me a picture and I could replicate it,” she happily admits. That led to her doing some research, meeting people involved in steampunk and discovering events like the award-winning TeslaCon, an immersive annual convention in Madison. The first year she attended that event, she says, she looked around and said to herself, “These are my people. I know these people!”

“I’ve always been a Victorian at heart,” she admits, “and vintage sci-fi and adventure, Sherlock Holmes, H.G. Wells. This is me. This is us. Steve and I have always been steampunk.

We just didn’t know it.”

When asked if she thinks steampunk’s star is rising, she answers, “I think it’s gone mainstream. Some people who really love it don’t care for the fact that it has, because they’d prefer it to be more intimate. But, the future of steampunk, I believe, is not with the gigantic conventions, but in the smaller, more regional events. If you get too big, the intimacy and the brotherhood of it gets messed up.”

While it’s easy enough to go to Amazon and order a steampunk costume, that’s not really what the subculture is about. Deborah feels that steampunk is a lifestyle, not just a facade.

She continues, “A lot of us have normal lives outside of steampunk. You have to … but like rendezvous and Civil War re-enactment, steampunk is an escape from the everyday into a fantasy where you can just check it at the door and let go.”

One thing is for sure. Steampunk is, by all accounts, very inclusive. You will find all colors of the rainbow, from old to young with a multicultural sea of diversity, and all of it steadfastly sailing on a love of fantasy, history and science fiction. And, there is most certainly an honored place for a milliner extraordinaire, her adventurer husband and their tasteful pith helmets.

22 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

Contact Information: Milliner Extraordinaire Email: bustlesandbritch@aol.com

608-790-5949 Web:

www.facebook.com/ deboraholsonmillinerextraordinaire www.etsy.com/shop/ MillinerXordinaire

A&E showtime THE PLAY IS

yep

THE THING

“O, how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day; Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, And by and by a cloud takes all away.”

- William Shakespeare The Two Gentlemen of Verona (I, iii, 84-87) April is most uncertain here in the Midwest, but this April we can count on a month filled with love, romance, music, magic and the words of the world’s greatest dramatist.

Both universities are producing plays by William Shakespeare this month. A complete coincidence I was surprised to discover, since both plays deal heavily with magic.

“The Tempest,” from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, gives us Prospero, the Duke of Milan, who uses magic and sorcery for justice. In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” from Viterbo University, we are introduced to the fairies Oberon and Puck, who use their magic for love and leverage.

Let’s begin with “The Tempest.”

According to most scholars, it is believed to be the last play Shakespeare ever wrote. It is placed in a special category between tragedy and comedy called the late romances of Shakespeare. I will forego the plot summary and discuss what we can expect from UWL’s production.

According to the director, Walter Elder, assistant professor of theatre arts, we can expect a straightforward telling of the story.

Scholars believe Shakespeare wrote “The Tempest” as an in-depth discussion into the morality of colonialism, a current event in Shakespeare’s day. However, that will not be the focus of this production, thank goodness. Instead, Elder hopes to simply tell this delightful story, full of magic, music, adventure and romance. He is more than equipped for the challenge. This is his first time directing the play, but he played Ferdinand for a touring production with the National Shakespeare Company and has been an assistant director for the play twice.

To aid him in his storytelling, he has a talented cast comprised of mostly juniors and seniors. This season we have witnessed the depth of the department, and I for one am looking forward to what they bring to this classical piece of theatre. There are no time

period changes in this production, but we will see a few gender changes. Male roles, most notably Prospero, will be played by women.

Adding to the excitement of this production is the technical direction. The UW-L theatre department recently installed a brand new, state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. I imagine we will witness just what it is capable of!

Expect solid acting performances, traditional and cutting-edge theatrical magic and a timeless story. Sounds like it could be a perfect storm. Don’t miss “The Tempest” at UW-L. Across town at Weber Center for the Performing Arts, Viterbo University is conjuring its own magic with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” After talking with the director, Rick Walters, associate professor of theatre and music theatre, I think this production sounds undeniably fun and unforgettable. Special guest Kit Mayer, scenic designer, said to Walters in an early production meeting, “I’ve been listening to a lot of Beatles music. You should too.”

The result is a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that is not necessarily set in the 60s and early 70s, but has the sensuality, mysticism and exploration of individual identity found in that time period. Expect bright, vibrant colors from India. Magic will be conjured through movement and light. This will be a very physical play for the actors.

Piquing my interest even more is the costume design of Jeff Stolz, Viterbo faculty.

Titania, Queen of the Fairies, will be dressed in a costume influenced by a dress Cher wore in a 1975 photo shoot for the cover of Time magazine. I had to look it up. Yes, this going to be a fun, sensual and arousing experience.

Not to be missed.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most widely produced plays.

If you have never seen Shakespeare, this is a great one to start with — funny, smart and beautiful.

Both theatre programs are chock-full of young talent being guided and instructed by some of the finest theatre professionals in the country. It will be a thrill to see them both tackle the Bard back to back this April.

- By Michael Scott

Spring Fling!

Open House

Friday, April 10th - from 4 to 8 pm

Stores are open late to kick off new spring trends, products, fashions, food and special events!

Some promotions extend through the weekend.

L AC RO S S E D OW N TOW N . CO M DOWNTOWN MAINSTREET

If you go: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare

April 17-18, 24-25 @ 7:30 p.m.

April 19, 26 @ 2 p.m.

Weber Center for the Performing Arts 608-784-9292

April 24-25, April 30-May 2 @ 7:30 p.m.

April 26, May 3 @ 2 p.m.

Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts 608-785-8522

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

23

608-784-0440

Shen Teh

ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT

by Katie Svitavsky Shen Teh knows how to fill a room. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house on March 6 at The Root Note in downtown La Crosse. A diverse group of people made up the audience, from college students and 20-somethings to parents and children.

Lara Olson, who performs as Shen Teh, accompanied by Eric Gerke on drums, Michael von Muchow on guitar, and Colin Johnson on bass, had a concert/album release party to celebrate the release of her EP, “Alter Ego.” Partially funded through Kickstarter but fueled by the dedication of Olson herself, “Alter Ego” offers six songs and can be found available for download on Shen Teh’s website.

Olson is a master storyteller in this EP, weaving together narratives of characters ranging from a housewife trying to find adventure to a mermaid jealous of humans’ ability to walk on land. One of the markers of Olson’s work is the presence of what she calls “alter egos,” and she writes music and lyrics describing the lives, emotions, and sometimes even the deaths of these characters.

I had a chance to sit down with Olson to talk about her work as an artist. Check out her story below!

Katie Svitavsky: Can you give me an overview? What’s your story?

Lara Olson: I have always played music. I started playing the piano when I was five, so I played classical piano for a long, long time. I decided to go to school for music to be a music teacher.

My major was classical piano as well, and during my university studies I discovered my voice and did more and more singing.

I’ve always liked singing, and I had some really great teachers there who supported me.

I also went to school for English, and that led me to the U.S. I’m from Germany, and I wanted to do a year abroad. I applied to different programs, and ended up here. I was a teaching assistant at UW-La Crosse in the German department, and I really liked it here. I mean, it’s a small town. I just got to know a lot of people right away and felt at home. So then I met my husband after my year was over, went back to Germany to finish my masters, and then we thought, okay, should we do this?

KS: Would you say your sense of place influences your music?

LO: To me, it’s the experience of moving to a different continent that has definitely influenced my music, big time. Leaving my family and my friends and everything that I knew behind and taking a scary step. I almost didn’t do it … but I did it, and I’m very happy that I did. “The Ballad of Jeanne Baré” is definitely inspired by my own background and sailing away to an unknown place. I have that in me, I do, to just explore unknown places.

KS: You’ve described your music as telling stories of alter egos. Can you talk a bit about alter egos, and where the idea or inspiration came from?

LO: I don’t know where it started, but I started writing when I moved here. I had this waiting period until my green card arrived, where I was not allowed to work — bummer — so I had all day. I went for walks and I played the piano and I wrote a lot of music. The first song was [about] Jeanne Baré. Suddenly I had all these stories. Some were about alter egos, some were about me, too, and I thought, this is really interesting. Why am I writing about alter egos? And it inspired me and really set something free. On this EP, there are three very clear alter-ego songs: “The Forest Queen,” “The Ballad of Jeanne Baré,” and “My Pleasure.” It’s kind of a mix between my own experience and other people’s perspectives.

KS: So what does the name Shen Teh mean?

LO: Shen Teh is a character of Brecht’s play. Brecht is a German writer, and the play is called “The Good Person of Szechwan.” The main character of that play, Shen Teh, has a tobacco shop and everyone is taking advantage of her. She can’t really say no, she’s a good person. At some point she invents this alter ego, Shui Ta, who is her in disguise as a man. And he’s the complete opposite of her. So this idea came after I had many of the songs written … like, how do I want to present this? This isn’t really about Lara Olson, this is about something else. [The character in Brecht’s play] needed that alter-ego to be her true self, because she had the other persona in her, but she couldn’t live it. This is exactly what it meant for me. Those alter-egos, although they are stories and are kind of fictitious, help me to get out what’s inside me.

KS: What’s great about professionally pursuing music, and what’s challenging?

LO: I don’t even know where to start! The biggest challenge for me right now is to figure it all out. Although I’ve played music all my life, I’ve never put it out, never recorded a CD, never promoted myself that way. So first of all finding out how it all works, and then sitting down to write. I want to make sure I do it well, too. And working full-time is my biggest challenge, to manage of that. But the fun part! I absolutely love doing this, 24 April, 2015 // all KlutchChronicle.com

I love writing my own music, I love performing it. It is so great to be onstage with other really talented musicians, and they have really changed my music. Ever since I’ve played with a band, they’ve really brought everything to life. It’s so amazing; before that, I was just sitting by myself at the piano with my cat and my husband listening.

KS: What’s next for you?

LO: To play as much as I can! My next step is to leave La Crosse — to play other cities and grow. I want to write new music!

Shen Teh’s next show is April 18 at the Warehouse, but she’s heading out on tour this summer.

Hit up her website at www.shenteh.com for the schedule!

Klutch is giving away Shen Teh’s new album, “Alter Ego”!

Like Klutch Chronicle on Facebook to find out more!

Be sure to check out: The Ballad of Jeanne Baré (and the video online!)

Song About Nothing If I Had a God Snowflakes

www.shenteh.com Next La Crosse show: April 18 at the Warehouse in downtown La Crosse

A&E

tunes

tunes

REVIEW

Big Liquor Songs About Living, Loving and Drinkin’ Big.

Trout Steak Revival

by Cody Fortney

Brighter Every Day.

by Katie Svitavsky

T B

ig Liquor. It’s not what you’re probably thinking. No, it’s not the name of a giant mixed drink at your favorite pub. It’s not even a beverage conglomerate or the prevailing force behind a tipsy political agenda.

And it’s definitely not always watching. But you might want to keep an eye (and an ear) on Big Liquor, because it’s actually one of La Crosse’s up-and-coming bands. The members of Big Liquor got together around a year ago as they were sitting on band member Greg Tooke’s porch, sipping on some bloodies. They sensed a lack of their type of music in the Coulee Region, so they decided to bring it.

rout Steak Revival, fresh off winning the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition, is coming to The Root Note in downtown La Crosse on April 2! Based out of Denver, the quintet plays bluegrass music, but unlike a lot of other bluegrass bands, almost everything they play is original. The band is touring the country following the March 26 release of their third album, “Brighter Every Day.” Though the group is making the trip here all the way from Colorado, two members hail from Wisconsin, and we’re excited for them to bring their musical talents back to the homeland. For those of you unfamiliar with bluegrass, a banjo, mandolin, fiddle, stand-up bass, and an instrument called the dobro, which is a type of resonator guitar usually found in bluegrass and blues music, are the main instruments you’ll see in a bluegrass band. Hopefully you’ll also be able to see them come alive at the April 2 show! In the meantime, check them out at www.troutsteak.com or listen on Spotify.

Tickets: $8 advance/ $10 at the door.

Big Liquor has been described as alternative country, outlaw country, classic country and rock. The band member’s roots, however, are firmly planted in classic outlaw country, meaning you will never hear them cover a Luke Bryan or Carrie Underwood song. They believe true country music is found in covering some of the greats like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline. Tooke says, “If we play a song, it’s because we like it and think others will. We don’t play songs just because they’re popular or well-known.” Besides bringing the classic country music to La Crosse, Big Liquor is unique in that it features steel guitar and fiddle.

Although most of the band’s material consists of cover songs, the members have written a handful of original songs they’re excited to add to their set list.

They plan to keep it local for now, but have been kicking around offers to play outside the Coulee Region. According to Tooke, “We’re really happy with what we’ve got going. Look for more new songs, more new venues and fewer convictions.”

One of Big Liquor’s next shows will be at the Bodega Brew Pub on April 25, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. “Like” Big Liquor on Facebook and check out its website at bigliquorband.com to keep an eye on what’s in store for this seemingly notorious crew.

PS: Where’d they get the name, you ask? (So did we!) According to band member Greg Tooke, they chose their name because “most of our songs are about living, loving and drinkin’ big.” We think the intoxicating sound of Big Liquor might have something to do with it too.

Look for us at the Cameron Park Farmers Market!

KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

25

health & fitness REIKI Keep Calm and Try Reiki.

I

Article: Alyssa Schulte

ss wellne MIND, BODY

f you’re stressed out, overwhelmed and overworked; searching for a way to cope and relax, but really don’t dig massage therapy … well, have we got something for you!

It’s called Reiki (have no fear, pronunciation to follow), and, after doing a bit of research and getting the scoop from two real LOCAL Reiki master teachers (awesome, right?), I’ve come to conclude that it’s pretty darn awesome.

Reiki, pronounced RAY-KEY, is a controversial, but often highly praised, form of energy healing. While many experts in the scientific community disagree on whether there are really any long-term (or short-term, for that matter) healing effects to Reiki, those who practice it regularly are utterly convinced that the practice has changed their lives for the better.

Tina Keenan, a Reiki master teacher right here in La Crosse, is excited to call herself one of those people. Passionately stating her devotion to Reiki, Keenan considers the practice to be “one of the major tools in my

healing toolbox, both for myself and for my clients.” And Cathie Steinhoff, a Reiki master teacher with offices in Wabasha and Winona, is thrilled that Reiki and energy healing are becoming more “mainstream” and “loves teaching others how to use Reiki and watching them grow.”

Reiki has been around for nearly a hundred years, although it’s only recently begun to increase in popularity. So where did it all begin? Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese Buddhist monk who dedicated his life to the seeking of spiritual truth, founded Reiki (a Japanese word meaning “universal life energy”) in the early 20th century. According to many histories on the subject, Usui brought Reiki to the public in the 1920s after an earthquake struck Japan.

After this event, as well as going through his own personal spiritual revelations, he felt compelled to share his knowledge with others.

According to Keenan, Reiki is a completely non-invasive, but very comforting, form of therapy. As she states, “One cannot receive an overdose or be injured physically [using] only gentle touch and a meditative state of mind.” Although Reiki is often described as a spiritual experience, it has no connection to any religion. Again, as Keenan explains, “Reiki is not a religion; it requires no chants, mantras, sacred rituals or special words.”

Instead, it focuses on elements such as love, peace, understanding, and acceptance to provide physical and spiritual healing for those who seek it.

JUST TRI IT

PRESENTEd bY:

FOR &SOLE

The benefits, as described by Keenan, are vast. “In cases of mental and emotional disorders,” she states, such as “anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, anger management issues, irritability, and many side effects of withdrawal, are often reduced.” Although this has been widely debated in the scientific community, Reiki has also been credited with reducing blood pressure, correcting diets and helping break addictive behaviors.

Steinhoff, who has over 10 years of experience under her belt, strongly agrees with Keenan’s assessment of Reiki’s many benefits, sharing a personal story to back up her claims: “I used [Reiki] on both of my sons when they had surgeries … their recovery was quicker and they [experienced] less pain.”

So, if you’re nodding along as you read this and are curious to give it a go (now that you’re armed with knowledge … and how to pronounce it), what should you expect from a typical Reiki session, and how will you feel afterward? According to The Reiki Association, the experience and sensations felt during a session vary widely, often according to the individual’s personal needs. Typically, after providing you with a brief explanation of what they’re about to do, your practitioner will “place their hands gently on your body in a predetermined sequence of hand positions, spending several minutes holding each position.” The touch is described as “gentle, light and comfortable,” differing completely from the kneading of a massage. This is where

your experience will become wholly unique to you: You may feel heat or cooling, tingling or throbbing … or you may feel nothing at all.

You may feel completely relaxed and sleepy, or energized and motivated … or (you guessed it) you may feel nothing at all, your mood and energy level the same as when you entered.

The experience, essentially, is what you make of it.

So whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, you really won’t know for sure unless you give it a shot. And you may be surprised to learn that there are many places right here in the La Crosse area you can go to get your Reiki fix! Check ‘em out:

A Healing Path

James Vesely, Reiki master teacher 205 5th Ave. S, La Crosse

Balanced Bodywork Massage Therapy 46 Rose St., La Crosse

Kneaded Health Massage & Wellness 704 Sand Lake Road, Onalaska

Willow Center for Renewal Tina Keenan, Reiki master teacher 318 Main St., La Crosse

Dragonfly Wellness Studio

Cathie Steinhoff, Reiki master teacher 608-451-1960

st ANNUAL 1 2

GOT ENERGY TRIATHLON All proceeds benefit the Y’s Annual Campaign

M

a y 9 , 2 015

SUNdAY, JUNE 14 AT 7AM SwARTHOUT PARk IN wEST SALEM A triathlon with a time-trial start and sprint or intermediate distance making it perfect for the beginner or experienced participant. Swim clinics and short bike clinics offered in advance of event. To check out clinics and the event visit www.laxymca.org.

SPRINT OR INTERMEdIATE dISTANCE CORPORATE, TEAM & TEEN OPTIONS

A great fit for all abilities, beginners to elite.

26 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

Register at www.WisCorps.org La Crosse, WI | (608) 782-2494

WHAT

GET INVOLVED

BETTERMENT OF OUR FORCOMMUNITY

YOU CAN DO

AMERICAN RED CROSS - SCENIC BLUFFS CHAPTER: American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

Volunteers can support blood drives, train to respond to disasters, teach lifesaving First Aid/CPR classes, support our Armed Forces, assist at special events and more! 2927 Losey Blvd S, La Crosse, WI; volunteerwestern.wi@redcross.org; 877-618-6628 ext.

5822; www.redcross.org/wi/la-crosse.

BETHANY LUTHERAN HOMES: Volunteers may assist with recreational activities, read aloud to residents, help with writing, assist with special events, help with weekly outings, manicures, one-on-one visits, sing-alongs, gardening, mail delivery, crafts, playing games, helping with computers, doing errands or shopping, helping with walks or outdoor time, teaching a special talent, and more. Download a volunteer form at www.bethanylutheranhomes.org or call 608-406-3900.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF THE 7 RIVERS REGION: Volunteers enroll through Big Brothers Big Sisters and following an interview, references and a background check, are oriented and introduced to a little brother or little sister by BBBS staff. Regular support is available to assure that the relationship builds over time, and any logistical problems are resolved. For more info, please email Lyndsey Langer at llanger@7riversbbbs. org or Jeff Murawski at jmurawski@7riversbbbs.org or call 608-782-2227.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER LA CROSSE: Volunteers are a vital part of many programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs. Opportunities are available in many areas, including athletics, tutoring, game room management, recreation, special events and clerical areas. Your involvement and support is encouraged. For more information, please call 608-782-3926, or visit their website to fill out the volunteer application at www.bgcgl.org.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM: Lend a Hand! Volunteers are an important part of the Children’s Museum team. If you are enthusiastic, reliable and fond of children, check into current volunteer opportunities and contact us soon! Visit their website to fill out a volunteer application at www.funmuseum.org or call 608-784-2652.

COULEE REGION HUMANE SOCIETY: Volunteers needed to help care for animals and collect donations for animals. For more information, call 608-781-4014.

For a list of current opportunities, or to fill out an application, click the Volunteer link at www. couleehumane.com.

COULEE REGION UNITED SOCCER ASSOCIATION (CRUSA): Help with concessions, trash removal, fundraising events, and tournament staff at the La Crosse area Field for Kids Facility in Industrial Park. For more information about volunteering, contact Vanessa Machado (volunteer organizer) at crusasoccer@gmail. com or check out their website: www.crusa-soccer. com.

CROSSFIRE YOUTH CENTER: Crossfire seeks to transform the lives of local teens by providing safe and fun activities. Crossfire is always seeking volunteers who have a heart to serve. Volunteer opportunities include assisting in weight lifting, archery, outdoor activities, and our Friday night party alternative. 608-784-6565; amanda@crossfire4u.com; crossfire4u.com.

FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY CENTER: Volunteers provide the hospitality that makes FSC such a special place.

They provide refreshment setup, work at the front desk, greet visitors and help with special events.

Shifts are as little as one hour, primarily evenings and weekends. No special skills are needed. FSC is dedicated to anyone seeking God, meaning and wholeness. We’re at 920 Market Street, La Crosse.

Please contact Linda Kerrigan at lkerrigan@fspa. org or 608-791-5276. More information about FSC at FSCenter.org.

GREAT RIVERS UNITED WAY: Great Rivers United Way Volunteer Center hosts an array of volunteer opportunities. Give an hour. Give a Saturday. Give your best. We all have special talents. Things we can do to help. And when we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. There are hundreds of volunteer options available every day. Give the gift of you. Volunteer. 608-796-1400; jlarsen@gruw.org; www.greatriversunitedway.org/volunteer-2.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY/RESTORE: For Women Build, construction, Critical Home Repair, ReStore, special events or office work, contact Bekky Mayfield, Volunteer Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, at volunteer@habitatlacrosse.org or 608-785-2375 ext.1604.

HILLVIEW URBAN AGRICULTURE CENTER: The mission of Hillview is to create a healthy community through a local, sustainable, and accessible food system.

We have volunteer opportunities in the following programs: Market Baskets, vermicomposting, various gardening tasks, hoop house construction, fundraising, grant writing, and marketing. 608-786-0338; vicki@vsm5.com; www.hillviewuac.org.

HORSESENSE FOR SPECIAL RIDERS: Be a “side walker” or horse leader, exercise the therapy horses, muck out the barns, help with special events. Email executivedirector@hssrweb.org, call 608-791-4868 or fill out the online volunteer form at www.hssr.org.

HUNGER TASK FORCE Assist in the Food Recovery program. Volunteers are needed to pick up and deliver food items, stock and inventory food items, and assist with office/clerical work. Visit www.lacrossehtf.org/volunteer to sign up!

LA CRESCENT ANIMAL RESCUE: We are committed to being a no-kill shelter, which means we are always looking for both foster and permanent homes for the animals left in our care. At our facility, volunteer tasks available include cat and/or dog care, cleaning, clerical, and animal transportation. Must be 16 years of age. 523 S Chestnut St, La Crescent, MN. 507-895-2066; www.lacrescentanimalrescue.blogspot.com.

LA CROSSE AREA FAMILY YMCA: Volunteers are critically important to carrying out our mission, so we ask our program volunteers to go through an application and screening process similar to that of our paid staff members. This process ensures that the best fit is made between the new volunteer and the program they are matched with, while also ensuring the safety of our members, participants, staff and all of our volunteers.

View volunteer opportunities with La Crosse’s largest youth-serving organization and fill out an application at the Get Involved link at www.laxymca.org.

OUTDOOR RECREATION ALLIANCE (ORA): The Outdoor Recreation Alliance seeks to optimize world-class outdoor recreational opportunities. Volunteers are needed for various activities, including trail work. www.naturesplacetoplay.com.

WAFER Volunteers are needed to sort and stock food, help clients, and assist with general upkeep. If you would like to join their growing team, call 608-782-6003 or email info@waferlacrosse.org.

WARMING CENTER OF LA CROSSE: Volunteer for supplying dinner for the homeless, check-in, overnight watch, or morning clean up. Call Catholic Charities’ Mary Fitzpatrick at 608-782-0710 ext. 220 for more information or to volunteer.

WISCORPS: WisCorps engages youth and young adults in direct conservation projects on public lands across the state and provides nature education programs to area school children. Volunteer opportunities include trail maintenance, tree planting, event assistance, field trip naturalist guidance, and more! 608-782-2494; staff@wiscorps.org; www.wiscorps.org.

Place your FREE listing! Email info@muellermediacorp.com with your volunteer opportunity or calendar event. Listings are subject to approval and may be edited for content or space.

MOBILE MEALS

Volunteers needed for La Crosse meal delivery program.

Article: Jason Larsen

volunteer

Need more Klutch? ...of course you do! www.klutchchronicle.com

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helpin

Mobile Meals of La Crosse, established in 1971, has been delivering hot meals to La Crosse residents for over 40 years. Its mission is to serve seniors, disabled and/or home-bound individuals healthy nutritious meals. With the help of volunteers like you, over 30,000 meals have been delivered annually.

The program does more than simply fulfill the dietary needs of those they serve.

The staff constantly hears heartwarming stories from volunteers and meal recipients as they check in with each other while the meals are being delivered.

This is Henry’s story: After Henry’s wife of 42 years passed away, Henry wasn’t able to cook for himself; he was just too sad. Henry said, “Mobile Meals helped me to eat healthy foods, and I like to see the nice people coming to my door. They have been so accommodating. I recently moved to a high-rise and they were able to follow me from my old house on the north side to my new place.”

All meals are designed and prepared locally by professional cooking staff to meet the special needs of clients. This includes catering to low-sodium, gluten-free, and diabetic diets, a service that sets Mobile Meals apart from other meal delivery options. Meals are delivered hot and ready to eat. Both lunch and dinner can be delivered so clients are sure to have at least two balanced meals per day.

This is where you and your crew come in. Mobile Meals is in great need of volunteer drivers. It works best in crews of two and three. How does it work, you ask?

Individuals, groups, and even your workplace can adopt a route for a day, a few days, a week or even longer. You’ll pick up the hot meals and deliver them to a local route in the community. Each route has a max of 16 deliveries, and the routes can take about an hour to an hour and a half to complete. It’s great for workplaces and time-crunched volunteers.

As with most volunteer opportunities, you’re certain to get back more than you give. The smiles and brief conversations you’ll have when dropping off the meals tend to stay in the hearts and minds of volunteers indefinitely.

For more information on Mobile Meals or to find out how to volunteer, call Missy at 608-784-4623. For other volunteer opportunities check out Get Connected, the region’s premier online volunteer database at http://volunteer.gruw.org/.

Jason Larsen is the community impact director at Great Rivers United Way, a community-minded volunteer, and an occasional freelance writer.

Want to volunteer? Here’s some great ways to make a difference!

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ilresources.org KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

27

sup IN THE COULEE REGION (WHAT’S UP)

Local events calendar for April 2015 APRIL 1

FOOD AND DRINK: FREE WHEELIN’ WEDNESDAY 4-8 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free pint if you ride your bike down to the tasting room.

MUSIC: MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY 7:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse. Cost: $32 in advance, $36 day of show.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: LAUGHTER CIRCLE SOCIAL CLUB 7-8 pm @ The Ark in Viroqua. Cost: $2 per person; this class features laughter as exercise.

HOLIDAY: EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA 10:30 am-12 pm at the Children’s Museum in La Crosse. Cost: $6 member, $12 non-member, $1 adult; pre-register required.

MUSIC: FIELD TRIP 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

APRIL 2

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6:30-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. BYOB. DIY: EASTER CARD MAKING CLASS 1-3 pm @ La Crosse South Library. Free; please call 608-789-7103 to reserve your spot.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: BARLEY BROTHERS BEERS AND GEARS RIDE 6 pm @ Onalaska Library. Free; 20-25 mile bicycle ride with one or two beverage stops and dinner at Pogreba. Helmets required. For more info, see www. facebook.com/pages/Barley-Brothers/.

MUSIC: TROUT STEAK REVIVAL 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

NIGHTLIFE: MOONLIGHT BOWLING 7:30 pm @ All Star Lanes in La Crosse Cost: $5 for three games and free shoes.

SPORTS: HARLEM GLOBE TROTTERS 7 pm at the La Crosse Center. Tickets: $22.50-$79.50.

For more info: www.lacrossecenter.com.

HOLIDAY: EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA 5:30-7 pm at the Children’s Museum in La Crosse Cost: $6 member, $12 non-member, $1 adult; preregister required.

APRIL 3

TRIVIA: LIBRARY ADULT TRIVIA 5:45-8 pm, no entry after 6 pm @ La Crosse Main Library. Free; groups of 2-6 people compete against other teams for local gift certificates, bragging rights, and a place on the Wall of Trivial Knowledge.

MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE: FREE MUSIC FRIDAY 3-10 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free; come grab a pint and listen to free music starting at 6 pm.

MUSIC: WEATHERHEADS 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

ARTS: FIRST FRIDAY MEET AND GREET 6-8 pm @ Gallery La Crosse in downtown La Crosse.

Free casual artists’ reception.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6:30 am @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse. Free.

APRIL 5

MUSIC: SIMPLE ROOTS 12 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

APRIL 6

TRIVIA: ROOT NOTE TRIVIA 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6 pm @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse.

Free.

APRIL 7

MUSIC: ROOT NOTE JAZZ 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

FOOD AND DRINK: TEA TASTING PARTY 6-7:15 pm @ Dim Sum Tea Shop in La Crosse.

Tickets: $8; includes dumplings, egg tart and tea.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. Call ahead to register and BYOB.

APRIL 8

FOOD AND DRINK: FREE WHEELIN’ WEDNESDAY 4-8 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free pint if you ride your bike down to the tasting room.

MUSIC: HANNAH VON DER HOFF 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: LAUGHTER CIRCLE SOCIAL CLUB 7-8 pm @ The Ark in Viroqua. Cost: $2 per person; this class features laughter as exercise.

APRIL 9

MUSIC: OPEN MIC NIGHT 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: POCKET VINYL After Open Mic @ The Root Note. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

MUSIC: GREGG “CHEECH” HALL 7 pm @ Trempealeau Hotel Saloon. Cost: “Pass the Hat.” DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6:30-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. BYOB. NIGHTLIFE: MOONLIGHT BOWLING 7:30 pm @ All Star Lanes in La Crosse. Cost: $5 for three games and free shoes.

APRIL 10

HOLIDAY: EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA 10:30 am-12 pm at the Children’s Museum in La Crosse. Cost: $6 member, $12 non-member, $1 adult; pre-register required.

COMMUNITY: DECORAH WOMEN’S WEEKEND OUT ALL DAY IN DECORAH, IOWA In-store deals, restaurants & pubs offering great food & drink specials plus live music and entertainment!

APRIL 4

COMMUNITY: SPRING FLING OPEN HOUSE All day in Downtown La Crosse. Discover new spring trends, products, fashions, foods and fun! See www. lacrossedowntown.com for more info.

FOOD AND DRINK: BREWERY TOUR 12-5 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: COLE SWINDELL 7 pm @ the La Crosse Center Tickets: $25; up-and-coming country music star will put on a good show!

MUSIC: JACK LION AND INTELESCOPE 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

MUSIC: JAMIN BARTH & THEM COULEE BOYS 7 pm & 8:30 pm @ Trempealeau Hotel Saloon. Cost: “Pass the Hat.”

MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE: FREE MUSIC FRIDAY 3-10 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse.

Free; come grab a pint and listen to free music starting at 6 pm.

LECTURE: UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH BEHIND ISLAM, TERRORISM, AND JIHAD 7 pm @ Black River Beach Neighborhood Center in La Crosse. This is a free event with limited seating. There is a suggested donation of one nonperishable food item to be donated to a local food

28 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

All events are subject to change, call ahead for details. Listings in the calendar are free. If you have an event that you would like to include in an upcoming issue, go to our website www.klutchchronicle.com or call 608-796-8780. pantry. Snack items will be for sale. More info can be found at thestraightway.org. For seating questions, call 608-406-7110.

MUSIC: GENERAL B AND THE WHIZ 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6:30 am @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse. Free.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: THE ART OF ASSISTING WORKSHOP 3-day training @ Root Down Yoga Studio in La Crosse. This 3-day Assist Training is designed for all yoga students, yoga teachers, and yoga class assistants.

Register at rootdownyogastudio.com.

APRIL 11

COMMUNITY: DECORAH WOMEN’S WEEKEND OUT ALL DAY IN DECORAH, IOWA In-store deals, restaurants and pubs offering great food and drink specials, plus live music and entertainment!

For details: www.facebook.com/WWODecorah.

COMMUNITY: SPRING FLING OPEN HOUSE All day in downtown La Crosse. Discover new spring trends, products, fashions, foods and fun! See www. lacrossedowntown.com for more info.

FOOD AND DRINK: BREWERY TOUR 12-5 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: VON STOMPER 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: LAUGHTER CIRCLE SOCIAL CLUB 7-8 pm @ The Ark in Viroqua. Cost: $2 per person; this class features laughter as exercise.

APRIL 16

MUSIC: OPEN MIC NIGHT 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6:30-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse.

Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson.

BYOB. NIGHTLIFE: MOONLIGHT BOWLING 7:30 pm @ All Star Lanes in La Crosse. Cost: $5 for three games and free shoes.

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE: HEART OF LA CROSSE: CLASS REUNION IMPROV SHOW 7:30-9:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse.

Cost: $21 in advance, $25 day of show.

APRIL 17

MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE: FREE MUSIC FRIDAY 3-10 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse.

Free; come grab a pint and listen to free music starting at 6 pm.

MUSIC: TBA SHOW 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE: HEART OF LA CROSSE: CLASS REUNION IMPROV SHOW 7:30-9:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse.

Cost: $21 in advance, $25 day of show.

MUSIC: SHUFFLIN’ DUPREES 8 pm @ Trempealeau Hotel Saloon.

Cost: “Pass the Hat.”

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

MUSIC: HARMONIOUS WALL 7:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse. Tickets: $21 in advance, $25 day of show; a musical blend of jazz, swing and gypsy styles.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6:30 am @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse. Free.

APRIL 12

MUSIC: SIMPLE ROOTS 12 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: PHAT CATS WITH PAUL LEITHOLD, TERRY GROSSKOPF, AND PAUL ERICKSON 1:30 pm @ La Crosse Main Library. Free.

APRIL 13

TRIVIA: ROOT NOTE TRIVIA 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6 pm @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse.

Free.

FILM SCREENING: MONDAY NIGHTS AT THE MOVIES 6-8 pm @ La Crosse Public Library. Free; showing Moulin Rouge.

APRIL 14

MUSIC: UKELELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Tickets range from $26-$36.

FOOD AND DRINK: TAI CHI QUAN CLASS 6 pm @ Dim Sum Tea Shop in La Crosse. Tickets: $6.

No experience required; tea and snack included.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. Call ahead to register and BYOB.

APRIL 15

FOOD AND DRINK: FREE WHEELIN’ WEDNESDAY 4-8 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse.

Free pint if you ride your bike down to the tasting room.

MUSIC: SMOKIN BANDITS 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: THE FLEIS NIGHTFALL FROLIC 5:30 pm @ Rowe Park in Onalaska. Cost: $15.

APRIL 18

COMMUNITY: WINONA EARTH DAY 11 am-3 pm @ Winona State University, corner of 8th & Main streets. Free.

FOOD AND DRINK: BREWERY TOUR 12-5 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free.

EXERCISE & OUTDOORS: YAMAS AND NIYAMAS YOGA WORKSHOP Noon-5:30 pm @ Root Down Yoga Studio in La Crosse. In this workshop, Deborah Adele, teacher and author, provides opportunities for self-reflection as she challenges us to apply yogic wisdom to our lives today. Cost: $60. Register at rootdownyogastudio.com.

MUSIC: SMOKIN BANDITS 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE: HEART OF LA CROSSE: CLASS REUNION IMPROV SHOW 7:30-9:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse.

Cost: $21 in advance, $25 day of show.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: MICHAEL SCOTT’S “OLD SCHOOL VARIETY SHOW” 7:30 pm @ Heider Center for the Arts in West Salem.

Cost: $15.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: BALL IN THE HOUSE 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Tickets range from $26-$36.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: 18TH ANNUAL IBSEN FESTIVAL All day @ Commonweal in Lanesboro, Minn.

For more information, check out http://www. commonwealtheatre.org/.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: DELLA’S DINER 7:30 pm @ Heider Center for the Arts in West Salem Cost: $20 for adults, $18 for students and senior citizens.

APRIL 27

APRIL 19

APRIL 24

MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE: FREE MUSIC FRIDAY 3-10 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse.

Free; come grab a pint and listen to free music starting at 6 pm.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6 pm @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse. Free.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 2 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: 18TH ANNUAL IBSEN FESTIVAL All day @ Commonweal in Lanesboro, Minn.

For more information, check out http://www. commonwealtheatre.org/.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HULA HUSTLE 8:30 am @ United Healthcare in Onalaska.

MUSIC: SIMPLE ROOTS 12 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: LA CROSSE CHAMBER CHORALE 1:30 pm @ La Crosse Main Library. Free.

DIY: PAINT AND POUR 1-3:30 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse. Cost: $35; includes canvas, paint, instructed lesson and a glass of wine. Must be 21; enroll online.

EXERCISE & OUTDOORS: YIN YOGA CLASS 7:15-8:15 pm @ Root Down Yoga Studio in La Crosse. Yoga Nidra is a state of conscious deep rest. In this rejuvenating class, you will experience 20 minutes of gentle movement followed by 40 minutes of guided relaxation in savasana (corpse pose). Single class dropin is $11. Register at rootdownyogastudio.com.

APRIL 20

TRIVIA: ROOT NOTE TRIVIA 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6 pm @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse.

Free.

FILM SCREENING: MONDAY NIGHTS AT THE MOVIES 6-8 pm @ La Crosse Public Library. Free; showing Great Race.

DIY: PAINT AND POUR 7 pm @ The Pump House in La Crosse Cost: $35; includes canvas, paint, instructed lesson and a glass of wine. Must be 21; enroll online.

APRIL 21

MUSIC: ROOT NOTE JAZZ 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

FOOD AND DRINK: TEA TASTING PARTY 6-7:15 pm @ Dim Sum Tea Shop in La Crosse.

Tickets: $8; includes dumplings, egg tart and tea.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. Call ahead to register and BYOB.

APRIL 22

FOOD AND DRINK FREE WHEELIN’ WEDNESDAY 4-8 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free pint if you ride your bike down to the tasting room.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: LAUGHTER CIRCLE SOCIAL CLUB 7-8 pm @ The Ark in Viroqua. Cost: $2 per person; this class features laughter as exercise.

APRIL 23

COMMUNITY: HEARING THE VOICES: A PANEL PRESENTATION ON REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT STORIES WITH PROJECT FINE 6 pm @ Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Dakota, Minn. Free.

MUSIC: MIDWEST MUSIC FEST All day on 3rd Street in Winona. Cost: $25 for one-day pass, $70 for three-day pass. For more info, see http:// www.midwestmusicfest.org/.

DIY CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6:30-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse.

Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson.

BYOB. NIGHTLIFE: MOONLIGHT BOWLING 7:30 pm @ All Star Lanes in La Crosse. Cost: $5 for three games and free shoes.

MUSIC: MIDWEST MUSIC FEST All day on 3rd Street in Winona. Cost: $25 for one-day pass, $70 for three-day pass. For more info, see http:// www.midwestmusicfest.org/.

MUSIC: ROOT NOTE JAZZ 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. Call ahead to register and BYOB.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: THE TEMPEST 7:30 pm @ UW-La Crosse’s Toland Theatre in Center for the Arts. Cost: $16 adults, $14 seniors/non-UW-L students, $5 UWL students.

COMMUNITY: SPECIAL FOOTSTEPS OF LA CROSSE DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR 5:30-6:30 pm @ Location TBA Free; registration required at 608-789-7136.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: GROUP RUN 6:30 am @ Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse. Free.

APRIL 29

MUSIC: CATHY AND TED PARISH 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

MUSIC: ADAM STASICA 8 pm @ Trempealeau Hotel Saloon.

Cost: “Pass the Hat.” FOOD AND DRINK: BREWERY TOUR 12-5 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free.

FOOD AND DRINK: BETWEEN THE BLUFFS BEER, WINE & CHEESE FESTIVAL 2 pm @ Oktoberfest Grounds in La Crosse. Tickets: $40 in advance, $45 day of event; may be purchased online or at any of their ticket outlets. For more info: http://betweenthebluffsbeerfest.com/.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

COMMUNITY: MONEY SMART WEEK Attend this FREE, week-long public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. Seminar and activity topics include teens and money, financing your future, estate planning, Medicare, public policy and poverty, and much more. Programming is offered to all demographics and income levels. Events held at UW-La Crosse, Altra Operations Center, Black River Beach Neighborhood Center, Marine Credit Union, Western Technical College, and the Onalaska Public Library.

Contact Majel Olson at 608-784-8380 or Jackie Urban at 608-787-7527 for more information.

APRIL 28

FOOD AND DRINK: TEA TASTING PARTY 6-7:15 pm @ Dim Sum Tea Shop in La Crosse.

Tickets: $8; includes dumplings, egg tart and tea.

MUSIC: MIDWEST MUSIC FEST All day on 3rd Street in Winona. Cost: $25 for one-day pass, $70 for three-day pass. For more info, see http:// www.midwestmusicfest.org/.

APRIL 18-25

FILM SCREENING: MONDAY NIGHTS AT THE MOVIES 6-8 pm @ La Crosse Public Library in La Crosse.

Free; showing Love Punch.

MUSIC: BLUFF MOUNTAIN RAMBLERS 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Cost: TBA; “like” The Root Note on Facebook for more info.

APRIL 25

ONGOING EVENTS

TRIVIA: ROOT NOTE TRIVIA 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

MAY 1 – JUNE 5

FOOD AND DRINK FREE WHEELIN’ WEDNESDAY 4-8 pm @ Pearl Street Brewery in La Crosse. Free pint if you ride your bike down to the tasting room.

DIY: PLANTER PURSE CRAFT 5:30-6:30 pm @ La Crosse North Library. Free; call 608-789-7102 to reserve your seat. Join us in creating a planter out of a purse. All supplies are provided.

DIY FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS 6-8 pm @ Flowers by Guenthers in Onalaska. Cost: $28.

EXERCISE AND OUTDOORS: LAUGHTER CIRCLE SOCIAL CLUB 7-8 pm @ The Ark in Viroqua. Cost: $2 per person; this class features laughter as exercise.

APRIL 30

MUSIC OPEN MIC NIGHT 8 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

DIY: CANVAS PAINTING CLASS 6:30-9 pm @ All Glazed Up in La Crosse. Cost: $30; includes canvas, paint and instructed lesson. BYOB.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: THE TEMPEST 7:30 pm @ UW-La Crosse’s Toland Theatre in Center for the Arts. Cost: $16 adults, $14 seniors/non-UW-L students, $5 UWL students.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: THE TEMPEST 7:30 pm @ UW-La Crosse’s Toland Theatre in Center for the Arts. Cost: $16 adults, $14 seniors/non-UW-L students, $5 UW-L students.

EXERCISE & OUTDOORS: GRANDAD HALF MARATHON Enjoy the fabulous scenery and must-see landmarks of the Coulee Region! This two-day celebration gives area residents and visitors from across the country an opportunity to enjoy active, aerobic outdoor events amidst the breathtaking natural beauty of Grandad Bluff and the Mississippi River Valley. More information at http://festivalfoodsgrandadhalf.com.

COMMUNITY: LA CROSSE EARTH FAIR 11 am-5 pm @ Myrick Park in La Crosse Free; green vendors, children’s activities, live music, farmers market, presentations and more!

STOCK UP SALE for your

POOL SEASON

NIGHTLIFE: MOONLIGHT BOWLING 7:30 pm @ All Star Lanes in La Crosse. Cost: $5 for three games and free shoes.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: TIME CAPSULE IV 7:30 pm @ Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Cost: $16; in commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Viterbo University, this performance will feature works written in 1889-1890.

APRIL 26

COMMUNITY: DOWNTOWN WALK AROUND This event is a downtown discovery and walking challenge. Participate by obtaining a Downtown Walk-Around card and visiting each business to receive a stamp and qualify for great prizes. More information at www. lacrossedowntown.com.

MAY 1-2

APRIL 8TH-30TH You can receive up to 20% off! Restrictions do apply.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 2 pm @ Viterbo University, Lyche Theatre in La Crosse. Tickets are $20, all levels.

THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE: THE TEMPEST 2 pm @ UW-La Crosse’s Toland Theatre in Center for the Arts. Cost: $16 adults, $14 seniors/non-UW-L students, $5 UWL- students.

SPORTS: NASCAR RACING 2-4:30 pm @ the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wis. Join us for the 2015 season opener!

Cost: $12 for general admission, $6 for students (age 12-17), and $3 for kids (age 6-11).

MUSIC: SIMPLE ROOTS 12 pm @ The Root Note in La Crosse. Free.

MUSIC: LES FIELDS AND THE TURKEY RIVER ALL-STARS 1:30 pm @ La Crosse Main Library. Free.

MAY 9

EXERCISE & OUTDOORS: RIVER TO RIDGE 5-MILE RUN/WALK This route is engulfed in nature’s beauty! The trek starts at the Mississippi River in Riverside Park, winds through the La Crosse River Marsh trails, and leads to a lush, green view of the Mississippi River Valley from Hixon Forest’s bluff top. There will be awards for top finishers and a grill out celebration with live music! Sponsored by Mayo Clinic Health System.

Benefiting WisCorps. More information at www.

WisCorps.org.

1001 12th Avenue South Onalaska, WI 54650

608-783-4477

www.paradisepoolandspaonline.com KlutchChronicle.com \\ April, 2015

29

from a New Angle.

flip side

Information

on the

Dear Liv, I understand I’m living in 2015 in the United States and appreciate the fact that technology has a lot of benefits. What I don’t understand is why our modern culture and technology are killing my friendships and now my relationship with my boyfriend. No matter where we are or what we are doing, everyone has their cellphone out, scrolling through social media and taking stupid “selfies.” I can see checking in quick or taking a couple snapshots to commemorate the moment, but it’s become a disrespectful continual habit. The other day, some of us ladies were out dancing to a live band and one of the women we were with stood completely still in the moving, alive crowd like a brainless, soulless zombie, staring at her phone! My boyfriend is just as bad because most of our conversations include him half-listening while giving me complimentary, insincere grunts and sounds as if he were really listening, because he’s actually entranced by his phone.

I told him I didn’t want to spend time with him if he was just going to play on his phone when we could be enjoying each other and now he hardly comes over. What can I do about this?

Sadly, Where have all the Souls Gone?

Where have all the Souls Gone, I totally and completely empathize with your concern. I too have pondered this very question. It can feel hopeless when you find yourself in situations like those you mentioned. For some, it can even seem like modern society has become a sea of insincere, mindless, grunting zombies taking pictures of themselves. For others, it is an introvert’s heaven — an interconnected world of endless possibilities and complex technology allowing us to do almost anything and to stay connected at all times. Some love it, some hate it, but many live on the fence, appreciating what it has to offer but knowing when to unplug.

We can no more change contemporary culture than we can change the winds. However, this isn’t just about society at large but rather the individuals within this society that we have our closest, intimate relationships with; this is the arena in which technology can affect us deeply and personally. I have known friendships to suffer due to an addiction to technology, but society does not treat “tech-dependence” as addiction, and, in fact, we are all encouraged to become fully vested in it ourselves.

The only course of action you have with your friends and boyfriend is to talk to them openly and honestly. I would suggest choosing words other than “zombie” to describe their behavior during this discussion.

Tell them you are coming to them because you value your relationships with them. If they are still unable to put their phones down when you spend time together, there may be more wrong with the relationships than the phone/Internet. Be prepared to accept their responses. People change and people’s interests change. There’s nothing wrong with that if people are open, honest and accepting. Look at this as a difference in preferences and interests.

My final piece of advice is this: There is no shortage of people who are not “zombified” by the social media craze. The old-school adventurers are still out there, and maybe, waiting to become your new friends. So keep doing what you can to mend your current relationships, and keep yourself open to meeting new people with interests more aligned with yours. Above all else, stay happy and stay healthy!

Liv Need Advice?

Email Liv at info@muellermediacorp.com and skip that $250 therapy session.

TIC BARTENDER’S TALE: PART E H T A P M ONE E AN By: Briana Rupel

I

t wasn’t the fear of blood that made me swear off becoming a doctor; it was that seeing someone suffering always hit me in the gut the way a careless shot of Jameson does.

I spent many of my younger days visiting relatives in hospitals and nursing homes. I was six when our family sat in a waiting room while the doctor came back with news that my grandfather wouldn’t make it much longer.

Many afternoons I walked with my grandma to the nearby nursing home to visit not only my two great-grandmothers, but the other elderly people who never even had visitors.

Though it felt good bringing them treats and word-search puzzles, it still broke my heart. I couldn’t fathom how doctors could face a family being the bearer of bad news; how nurses could handle knowing that some of their patients had family that never came to see them, and then try to leave it all behind once they clocked out.

So when I took my first bartending gig with the promise of easy cash, I had no idea that a woman’s well-being would be something I’d take home with me and still ruminate on 12 years later.

I had been learning the ropes for about three weeks at a bar and grill on the shore of Lake Michigan when this spunky young woman came bounding in off the dock. Her wild, brunette curls accompanied her brash confidence and flippant attitude; I immediately pegged her as a girl who happily tossed back shots of Beam while she took her male poker buddies for all they were worth. I liked her already. Strutting slowly behind her was a grizzled man, maybe twice her age, whose slitted eyes and subtle head nods around the room seemed to say, “Hey Fellas, look what I snagged out on the lake today.”

After I carded her — she was only a few years older than me — Michelle picked her poison: Grey Goose on the rocks. The guy preferred Jack and Coke. They had taken his boat up from Chicago for a week with no itinerary, just free-sailin’ north along the lakeshore, bar-hopping in cities that looked interesting enough to stop in. The high summer sun, coupled with the carefree attitude that could only accompany their type of adventure, ensured the cocktails were soon flowing just as freely.

A few hours of drinking behind them, they enthusiastically asked me for a phone book. I handed one over.

“Where are you guys looking to go?” I asked in earnest.

Michelle stopped thumbing through the pages enough to peek up at me, beaming. She slammed a sturdy fist on the bar with purpose.

30 April, 2015 // KlutchChronicle.com

“We,” she stated proudly, “are going to get matching tattoos!”

It didn’t surprise me that they were serious and were soon up and gone. The bar had begun to fill up in the early evening now, and a group of classy older ladies moved in to take their seats. One of them gave a quick little cry of shock and jumped out of her stool as fast as she had sat down. The cushion was all wet, she complained. I apologized and came around the bar to replace it with another one. I gave a curious nod to my co-worker and she met me in the closet where I gripped the stool in both hands.

“What the hell?” she hissed under hushed breath. “I don’t remember a drink spilling, do you?”

I shook my head with pursed lips. We would’ve heard the commotion. “Dude. You don’t think that guy pissed himself, do you?!”

Suddenly we were rock-paper-scissoring to determine who would be the loser and have to do a sniff test on the cushion. It’s a well-researched fact that most women start with paper. I busted out my scissors, and soon she was nervously inching her face closer to the cushion. She jumped back in disgust. I doubted the artist would tattoo someone drunk enough to piss their pants.

It was already dark out when the front door whipped open and Michelle came crashing in — alone. Wet mascara had pooled under her puffy eyes, and she sniffled through her red nose. Unsurprisingly, they had gotten into a fight.

“Hey,” she said, her eyes brightening through tears, “I got this though!” She tugged up her shirt to show me the sparkly new gem adorning her navel.

The true seriousness of her situation began to unfold as I offered her a water and she explained what happened. In a fit of anger, he had ditched her and ran off to the boat.

She watched him speed off across the milky dark lake with all of her belongings in tow. She still had her ID in her pocket, but no cash, no credit card, no phone. The night had brought a chill that was rushing off the lake, and she didn’t have anything but the skimpy tank top on her back.

Not only was her situation presenting itself to be dire, but I also thought about the guy and how there’s no way he should be driving a boat, let alone in the dark. My natural instinct was to take her under my wing and help her, but I didn’t know how. We would be shutting down the restaurant in a mere couple of hours, and I couldn’t come up with an answer on what she could possibly do ...

To be continued …

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