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Stoughton

We are the hand on your shoulder to help you graciously through these tough times.

F AMILY O WNED & O PERATED S INCE 1869

Thursday, November 2, 2017 • Vol. 136, No. 15 • Stoughton, WI • ConnectStoughton.com • $1

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FOLKS aims to reduce pollution Pilot program will collect, deposit leaves AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group

Photo by Amber Levenhagen

Isaac McGonagil, dressed as a lion, watches the Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancer performance during Destination Weekend.

Destination Weekend 2017

Destination Stoughton returned for its sixth year this weekend. The featured event was a holiday bazaar offered by the Wisconsin State Rosemaling Association, as well as a presentation about Norwegian folklore at Livsreise. The Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancers performed Saturday after a costume contest, which was then followed by trick-or-treating

down Main Street. The Opera House had performances throughout the weekend: An Evening with Junior Brown was held Friday and Jeff Daniels and Ben Daniels Band performed Saturday. Livsreise, the Stoughton Historical Society and the Sons of NorwayMandt Lodge were open for tours and events.

Inside See more photos from Destination Weekend Page 2

Town of Dunn

Easement would preserve 210-acre farm PDR program could cost $700,000, protect land around Town Hall

their farm into a permanent conservation easement under the town’s purchase o f d eve l o p m e n t r i g h t s What: Town meeting to (PDR) program. That would consider conservation prevent development on easement the land if town residents When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, approve of the acquisition. Nov. 14 Dunn Planning and Land Conservation director Erica Where: Dunn Town Hall, Schmitz has estimated the 4156 County Road B cost to purchase the easeMore info: 838-1081 ment at $700,000. The town has been awarded a Department of Agriculture grant to cov- the easement is a requireer half the cost of the con- ment of the PDR program. servation easement for the Related to the transfer Gausman farm. Acquiring is the town’s decision to

If You Go

BILL LIVICK Unified Newspaper Group

Town of Dunn residents will be asked to vote on a conservation easement for the 210-acre Gausman farm at the town’s annual meeting Nov. 14. Owners Bill and Roz Gausman are hoping to put

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purchase two acres of the farm last month. The Gausmans’ farm, on Keenan Road, completely surrounds Town Hall, and town officials had hoped to acquire it as “sort of a safety net” should they ever have to expand or rebuild Town Hall or construct another building on the town’s current two-acre parcel, explained Dunn business manager Cathy Hasslinger. “We’re a little tight and have built right up to our lot

The fall colors are starting to wilt, as most trees are dropping their fiery leaves. What many people don’t know, though, is those beautiful leaves have a dangerous impact on the surrounding water systems, and a local organization is working to fix that. Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society, FOLKS, created a Leaf Committee earlier this year as part of a goal to eliminate 80 percent of phosphorus going into the waterways by properly managing leaves. The organization is partnering with the Metropolitan Sewer District, Town of Dunn and Town of Pleasant Springs to help accomplish the goal, and a recent grant from Yahara WINS is helping move things along. The committee started with a goal to collect and properly deposit leaves in the towns of Dunn and Pleasant Springs, but took it a step further when FOLKS was awarded a

$20,000 grant from the Yahara WINS program. That money, in addition to a $5,000 grant directly from FOLKS, allowed Dunn to purchase a pull-behind style vacuum to collect leaves from 400 homes on the lake. FOLKS will pay for collections from 150 of those homes to help with the pilot program, while volunteers will collect from 150 homes in Pleasant Springs. Collections will begin after the vacuum is picked up Nov. 3. The Town of Dunn will release information to the affected homeowners about when pickup will begin, though the dates are tentatively Nov. 6 and 13.

Dangers of phosphorus When leaves become s a t u r a t e d w i t h w a t e r, they produce a phosphorus runoff that eventually leads into lakes and rivers, and is especially harmful when leaves are deposited directly into the water. FOLKS board member and Leaf Committee chairman Gary Smithback said phosphorus from leaves is important to monitor because of the harmful impacts algae has

Turn to FOLKS/Page 5

Inside

Trick-or-treat photos Page 2

Turn to Easement/Page 10