• WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 • VOLUME 83 • NO. 28 • 2 SECTIONS
New Miss Grantsburg crowned
Reknowned fiddle artists to perform
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School retains law firm to investigate allegations Allegations of adult-educator bullying were raised at meeting of Unity School Board earlier this month PAGE 3
Civic rehab cost numbers are set Historic theater project will soon go to bidding PAGE 3
Electronic Armegeddon Brendan Kutz showed his first-place medal for finishing the Frigid Five race with a time of 17:41 minutes last Satuday morning, Feb. 20, in Grantsburg. More photos in Currents section. - Photo by Priscilla Bauer
FIRST READ STATEWIDE - The number of Wisconsin farms decreased slightly in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. State officials say these numbers reflect a broader trend in agriculture. The state lost 100 farms and 100,000 acres of farmed land last year, a decline of less than 1 percent. Greg Bussler, the USDA’s state statistician in Wisconsin, said it’s hard to draw conclusions from a single year’s data. But he said last year’s high yields combined with low prices for both dairy and crops hurt producers that rely directly on farm income. “I think that kind of hurt some of the middle-sized farmers because they receive less prices but their input costs were higher,” he said. Wisconsin is following a national trend in agriculture, Bussler added, with small farms becoming more popular and large producers expanding even more, making it harder for mid sized operations to compete. Bussler said several factors affect the number of farms and amount of acres farmed each year. “You have to look at kind of what’s going on as far as production yields,” he said. “And also what the farm income is, the (amount) farmers are receiving, and then you can kind of see trends.” Bussler said urban sprawl and converting farmland to conservation areas can also affect each year’s numbers. - Hope Kirwan | WPR News ••• MADISON - A controversial plan that would have made it harder for school districts to ask voters to raise property taxes has failed in the state Legislature. The bill would require school districts to hold property tax referendums on regularly scheduled election days only, rather than calling for special elections. It would also require school districts to wait a year before retrying a referendum that failed. After drawing heated testimony at public hearings in December and January, the bill failed to be called for a vote before Assembly lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session last week. Alma Superintendent Steven Sedlmayr said he’s relieved by the news. “They dropped that bill because of pressure from people across the state,” said Sedlmayr. “And it does make you feel pretty good that the message got out about what this bill would do.” In December, Sedlmayr testified that state funding for schools is no longer certain, and referendums allow for communities to decide whether they want to spend more or not. Proponents said the bill would have encouraged higher voter turnout and more awareness of referendums. In January, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he supports schools’ ability to ask voters to raise taxes, but added that referendums should be “regularly scheduled so there aren’t any additional costs for taxpayers if there’s no need.” The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, was unavailable for comment. - Laurel White |WPR News
Time to prepare for electromagnetic pulse attack, county board chairman says PAGE 11
Local woman faces federal charges of fraud, tax crimes Former bookkeeper for Frederic business allegedly filed false tax returns PAGE 3
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Knutson buries his 1,000th point See front page of
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• Ice-fishing contests at Siren, Webster • Vintage snowmobile show @ Webster • Winter Nationals Lawn Mower Drags @ Webster • Nordic Fiddlers Bloc @ West Denmark • POCO Winter Olympics @ Wolf Creek • Cross-country ski event at Danbury • Basket Bingo @ Siren See Coming Events for details
James M. Delany Monna Kaye Leggett Ila M. Ludden Daunne LaVonne Muehlhauser Newman Murphy Phyllis Ione Christensen Monte Scaff Edward “Ed” Elzer Durand Rosemary Rothbauer Edward “Ed” Elzer Durand
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