Valley Sentinel - 03-17-2021

Inside this edition

‘The last drop of frozen sunshine’— by Jen Sat

Nina’s Department Store celebrates 150 years

Page 8

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Pages 13-16

Business Spotlight: Lone Rock’s Tortilleria Zepeda

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Wednesday, March 17, 2021 Vol. 2, No. 11 Free, Single-Copy

School board approves sale of school forest, continues equity conversation Taylor “Quincy” Scott, Managing Editor The River Valley School Board moved forward and narrowly approved the sale of 120 acres of school forest property in Arena at their March 11 meeting, along with continuing the equity, diversity and inclusion conversation that was started at last month’s meeting.

Public Comments

The meeting started with public comment from board member Dan McGuire announc-

ing that this meeting would be his last.

“This is my last meeting. It was not an easy decision,” said McGuire. “I’m getting back into officiating [sports] full time. And I got to a point with all these boards on, I was either going to quit a couple of boards or get out of officiating.”

McGuire went on to describe his experience on the board as a good one, saying he learned a lot.

“I have a renewed respect for all of the

committee heads, I understand all the work you’d have to do to run your committee,” said McGuire, before leaving the meeting.

The board then heard from district resident Brad Hutnik regarding his opposition to the sale of the school forest property.

“I’ve always admired our community for striving to support the common good. It is understandable and admirable that a rural school district should look at every means at its disposal to ensure a quality education

for its students and should not do so at the expense, however, of conservation as a value.

As a value, Aldo Leopold defined conservation as teaching students to live on a piece of land without spoiling it,” said Hutnik.

“Unfortunately, selling a school forest with the expressed hope that it’d be platted for development, or cleared for farming teaches them something else. It teaches them that conservation is a convenience, not a way of

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Lone Rock’s Tortilleria Zepeda to be featured on state-wide business pitch show Nicole “Emilie” Aimone, Editor-in-Chief Husband and wife team Heidi and Julian Zepeda will appear on the ABC show “Project Pitch It” this weekend, to pitch their hand-made tortilla business out of Lone Rock.

The pair started Tortilleria Zepeda in 2018, and was nominated by the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative to audition for the “Shark Tank” style statewide pitch show, and will be featured in the season five premiere locally on WKOW March 20 at noon.

The show features three entrepreneurs per episode who present their small business to three judges for the chance to win one of three awards.

The awards include a $10,000 cash award, business guidance services from University of Milwaukee’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center along with a $5,000 cash award and a new award this year the American Family Insurance award, which pairs entrepreneurs with a specialist to provide human resources, IT, marketing and finance support.

The show filmed in early January, with Heidi and Julian heading to Milwaukee to film with the other contestants. The contestants filmed the show together, but interacted with the judges via Zoom to observe COVID-19 restrictions.

“It was super exciting and really legitimized our business and what we’re doing,” said Heidi. “First to have been nominated to audition was just really rewarding and then to be chosen, it was like ‘wow we must have a good story and a good business.’ It was exhilarating.”

Photo via Heidi and Julian Zepeda Julia Zepeda, left, and his wife Heidi Zepeda show off handmade tortilla’s from their small business out of Lone Rock, Tortilleria Zepeda.

The couple and business will be featured on “Project Pitch it” this weekend.

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Iowa County announces $5,000 donation from Vortex Optics to fund volunteer meals Iowa Conty Health Department

The pandemic response in Iowa County has been full of challenge and hardship.

However, it has also demonstrated residents showing tremendous diligence and fortitude. Residents, businesses and organizations have additionally shown incredible support, in a multitude of ways.

Community vaccine clinic operations, held now, at the Lands’ End Comer Center, are working smoothly. This space is an extraordinary gift from Lands’ End. Furthermore, over 100 people have signed up to answer the call to volunteer. Dozens are assisting with multiple

aspects of the community vaccine clinic.

Other volunteers are assisting with answering phones, scheduling hundreds for their vaccine, and many other tasks.

Today, we want to acknowledge another extraordinary show of support. Vortex, a local corporation in Barneveld, has come forth with an extremely generous donation of $5000 to fund meals for the volunteers and staff at the community vaccine clinics. “We’re incredibly grateful to the Iowa County Health Department and the many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to help keep our communities safe,” says Joe Hamilton owner of Vortex and son of founder, Dan Hamilton.

“We are well on our way to getting Iowa County residents vaccinated by the thousands,” stated Keith Hurlbert, Director, Iowa County Emergency Management. “With the help we’ve received from businesses such as Vortex and Lands’ End, Iowa County continues to be an area leader in our efforts to mitigate COVID-19 and distribute the vaccine”, Hurlbert added.

The COVID-19 pandemic response is nearing its 12 month mark in duration.

“It has been the challenge of a lifetime and it is sincerely incredible that we are able to provide hope and optimism, in the form of vaccine,” stated Debbie Siegenthaler, Director/Health Officer,

Iowa County Health Department. “This incredible donation from Vortex is not only critical to operations, but is beyond heartwarming,” added Siegenthaler. The volunteers who are assisting are in addition to dozens of paid staff from across many county departments helping the Health Department with this herculean task.

As March 8, 2021, 24.2% (5,740) of Iowa County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID 19 vaccine and 15.5% (3,670) residents have completed the vaccine series. In addition, 78% of those age 65+ have received at least one dose of vaccine.

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opinion

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Legal Editor Column: A look at ‘Sunshine Laws’ and where we go from here be stopped by a minority) and even when the body meets to collect information rather than make a final decision.

The penalties could probably be improved. An innocent member of a village committee that blunders into ten violations at a single meeting must theoretically be fined a minimum of $250 if anyone were to sue, whereas a single corrupt act that shields a multi-million dollar deal benefiting a state senator’s sponsor tops out at a maximum fine of $300.

But it may be possible to void the action taken at the meeting, so that’s nice.

One thing that Wisconsin has done pretty well is provide good public explanations for what might otherwise be a dauntingly complex area of law for a layperson to navigate. The Department of Justice has published comprehensive Compliance Guides for both the Open Meetings Law and the Public Records Law. The UW Extension Local Government Center has a series of short videos on you-tube that show village and town boards and committees how to comply with the Open Meetings Law. There are still tons of mistakes, but we have at least the basis of a sound infrastructure to address them.

Most government bodies are pretty conscientious about complying with public records laws, though some authorities don’t even realize they have public records duties and some custodians can be jerks.

Gary Ernest Grass, esq., Legal Editor If I had to write all the world’s sunshine laws, I’d start with Wisconsin’s Open Meetings and Public Records Laws, because those are the laws I know. We tend to view these laws as some the best in the world, which they could well be, but how many people really keep tabs on other states or countries’ laws? Wikipedia has a huge article on the public records laws of Finland, but I’ll bet you haven’t read it.

Sunshine laws comprise a few other things, like whistleblower protection, laws that require records to be kept in the first place, and policies that extend access, such as by broadcasting important meetings (think Wisconsin Eye or C-SPAN), but open meetings and public records are the core.

Wisconsin’s open meetings laws are guided by the principle that as much public access should be provided as possibly can be without making it impossible for the government to function.

There’s a lot of room for improvement in practice, but the idea is good and the basic rules make sense. Every meeting of a governmental body must be preceded by notice and must be open to the public, unless some confidential matter requires a closed meeting. The exemptions are specifically listed and relatively narrow.

The law can apply even when less than half the members of a body get together (because some government actions can

SUNSHINE

EDITORIAL

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Public notices: Many governing bodies are good about getting VS. public notices with plenty of advanced notice.

Zoom: Many governing bodies have adapted to the pandemic and are using Zoom, phone conferencing or live online streaming for their meetings. These measures should continue indefinitely to foster constituent engagement and access.

Clear agendas: Many governing bodies in the area have clear agendas

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SUNSHINE

WEEK

Good Examples of Open Government that make it obvious what is being considered. Those that have occasionally been vague have been willing to update agendas for clarity and to ensure that action items weren’t improperly closed (Plain, keep it up!).

Public records: Many governing bodies are quick and respectful of responding back to public records requests, even when there’s wrinkles to be ironed out regarding specific requests (Arena, thank you!).

Literally anyone may request records (though there are restrictions on some confined and incarcerated people). You don’t need to cite any laws, just ask for what you want, and in most cases the custodian will try to be helpful. Remember that the law covers records, not general information, so the law isn’t automatically invoked whenever you ask a question. If you want to see a document, you will need to be able to identify the document or at least describe it. It may be smart to talk with the official about what records are kept, so that you know what to ask for. Make sure if you describe a set of records that you limit the date range or content in such a way that you aren’t describing hundreds of times more records than you really need. The response could take hundreds of times longer and cost hundreds of times as much, but more likely will be rejected.

Responses to record requests must be prompt. The DOJ recommends acknowledging receipt within 10 days and fulfilling the request within that time if possible. Responses should come as quickly as the record-holder is able to respond, should cost no more than the direct cost to the body, and should be as complete as possible: if a whole record cannot be produced because of information it contains on page 7, it has to be released with that information blacked out.

There are a long list of exemptions, which mostly make a lot of sense, though

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some could stand to be limited. The rules seek to preserve the privacy of state employees, so that if a city sanitation worker is criticized by his supervisor for tardiness or making a personal call, that isn’t regarded as a public issue. This is logical in a land where privacy is valued, but one wonders if the same logic should really apply to a police officer’s record of violating civil rights or using racial epithets on the job.

One inherent problem with public records laws is that the duty to respond is on the same official who may have an interest in hiding a record. There is no independent auditor to intervene in making responses or spot check compliance.

One issue for the future is how we are to reconcile the goal of transparency in the public sector with the near-complete opacity of private actors who affect the public welfare. A few semi-private entities and public contractors have disclosure obligations similar to public agencies, but most private firms are required to disclose extremely little. Generally, this is good. As noted above, we love us some good privacy here in America. But shining a little sunlight on mega-corporations and major campaign contributors seems like a logical expansion if we treat the importance of government openness seriously. But it’s a hard question best saved for another time.

EDITORIAL

WEEK

Bad Examples of Open Government

Public notices: VS. is still having a hard time getting some public notices, they need to be sent to news media that request them (Lone Rock, we’re looking at you!).

Zoom: Some governing bodies don’t offer a Zoom or conference call-in option.

It’s 2021, pandemic notwithstanding, the option to Zoom or call-in needs to be offered.

Recording meetings: None of our municipalities record their meetings. Several have done so in the past, but none do so now. This becomes difficult in times like this week where technical glitches lead to VS. irretrievably losing two village board audio recordings. It’s 2021, recording devices are $20-30 or free on our phones.

Municipalities please record your meetings!

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Opening sealed bids: Sealed bids for sale of public property are different than procurement and major construction projects and their required public opening, but it’s still bad practice to open sealed bids before a governing body meeting and without the governing body present, even if done for efficiency (School district, keep it classy!).

Hiring without an agenda item: Now that Spring Green has incorporated the village administrator position into ordinance, they need to revisit and reaffirm the hiring of Wendy Crary in that position. Everyone agrees that Wendy is amazing, but the hiring of the position wasn’t publicly noticed and the hiring was improper. Please go back and fix it, no harm, no foul

EDITORIAL

River Valley School Board needs to formally charter work group, equity is too important not to As covered in the March 11 River Valley School Board story, board member Sara Young proposed an ‘Equity and Understanding Work Group’, composed of teachers, administrators, a community representative and a parent, who would be charged with admirable equity, diversity and inclusion tasks, including proposing district policy.

We should applaud this and applaud the work Young, Board President Kathy Jennings, District Administrator Loren Glassbrenner and others

have done to have hard conversations and make equity, diversity and inclusion a priority at every level of the district.

However, because these conversations are hard and because the topic is so important, this work group needs to be formally charged by the school board as soon as possible, with a list of tasks and a charter of members and appointment authority to the work group clearly delineated. The public deserves to be part of these conversations, especially those these future policies will affect most.

According to the Wisconsin Trans-

parency Project, under Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law, every meeting of a “governmental body” must be held in open session and preceded by adequate notice of the meetings’s business. The term “governmental body” covers virtually any committee, board, or council in government. Closed sessions are allowed in only a few specific instances.

Common Open Meetings Law violations include: vague agenda items, improper closed sessions, and claims that a body is a “work group” or something else not subject to the law.

Glassbrenner says: “We are moving ahead with the blessing of the River Valley School Board of Education as a work committee.” But there was no action taken by the school board, and equity, diversity and inclusion issues are too important not to take action on.

School board: Please formally charge the work group, publicly notice its meetings, and include the greater community in these hard discussions so we can all move forward and be better together.

opinion

WednesdaY, march 17, 2021

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Editor’s Column: We’re excited about the future of Valley Sentinel Nicole “Emilie” Aimone, Editor-in-Chief It’s hard to believe that Valley Sentinel has been publishing since October— that’s nearly six months. I say that it’s hard to believe because for me the weeks have flown by and I feel like we have come so far in this endeavor.

From the very beginning, we’ve been open about our use of pen names, both in our masthead and when the question came up from members of the community. The reason for needing pen names has always remained the same, many of our editors, myself included, started this endeavor while also holding positions at various different corporate media platforms, corporate media platforms that have contracts containing big, scary non-compete clauses with intimidating and threatening legal language.

While we all made the choice to

create and put the work in for Valley Sentinel because we believed in the community and believed in building something different than the corporate world we lived day in and day out, many of us didn’t have the option to leave our full-time corporate jobs let alone risk violating their non-competes and risk being fired or sued by large corporations, bills still had to be paid and necessities bought.

We’re excited though to share, that has come to an end. We can now continue providing good, local journalism to our community without the need for our pen names or the fear of large corporations.

You might ask what that means, or what the difference will be. The answer, nothing. Our names will look different but we are still the same group of people trying to build a community we

love, a life we love and careers we love.

We are still the same people who cashed in savings bonds and retirement funds to get this started, those funds are what have subsisted us, along with some ad revenue along the way.

We’re lucky that our weekly overhead is low. Our goal is to get news in front of as many eyes as possible, that’s why we’re passionate about remaining independently, majority female owned and free. We are excited to be a part of this community, and we’re giving to the community what a group of journalists knows best.

This week’s edition is a sort of milestone for us. It’s the largest edition of the paper that we’ve put out, and it’s stuffed full of content that we’ve written and hand picked because we believe it provides a compelling community interest, informs our community or

brings us closer together.

It features a variety of stories covering local municipalities, local arts and culture, sports, schools, local businesses—it provides so many layers to our community. Behind the scenes it marks the smoothing out of our workflow and the coming together of some really great minds to make this all happen.

People often say it takes a village to raise a child—but that’s also the case for raising a newspaper (in our cases, it’s at least four different villages).

Valley Sentinel is constantly growing and evolving, as we always knew it would, we will only continue to grow if the community grows and we will only continue to evolve if the community continues to support us.

We’re so excited, we hope all of you are too.

Newspapers excel as your collective ‘eyes and ears’ Jim Pumarlo, News Leaders Association My days of sitting behind an editor’s desk have passed, but I’ll never lose my newspaper blood. I regularly enjoy my first cup of coffee while scanning newspaper websites. It’s a great way to keep current on what’s happening in communities.

Public affairs have always been a passion, so I pay particular attention when the broad arena of issues is addressed. The role of newspapers as watchdogs of the dynamics in both the public and private sectors bears underscoring during Sunshine Week, March 14-20, and its theme, “Your Right to Know.”

Some recent headlines: From the Chanhassen Villager: “Build, invest or tear down are all options for some District 112 elementary schools.”

From the Rochester Post-Bulletin: “Court records show troubling past of Wabasha County administrator applicant.” From the International Falls Journal: “Campus officials talk gap years, hopes for fall enrollment.”

From the Duluth News Tribune: “Do Duluth’s legislative priorities reflect the community’s?”

From the St. Cloud Times: “What are local economists expecting in 2021?”

These headlines, though from Minnesota newspapers, are representative of the breadth of public affairs reports delivered regularly by newspapers.

Some stories are firsthand meeting reports. Some reflect enterprise initiatives.

Some are the result of digging beneath the initial set of facts. Some take the additional step of offering editorial perspective.

And they all are delivering news that is valuable but not always readily available to readers.

The examples reflect a personal philosophy. Community newspapers, at their best, are stewards of their communities. The news columns are a blend of stories that people like to read and stories they should read. The advertising columns promote and grow local commerce. And the editorial pages are a marketplace of ideas.

The news media landscape has never

been more fractured. Newspapers have never been more challenged due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

Yet, the need for trained journalists to gather, deliver and interpret the news – the need for citizens’ “right to know” – is more important than ever as we navigate the effects of the coronavirus. I remain a firm believer that local newspapers have an advantage in today’s crowded media terrain by being the premier clearinghouse of information in your communities. They deliver the news on a range of platforms from print to digital.

The value of trained journalists in collecting and interpreting information is especially important within the context of local public affairs.

Citizens are increasingly challenged to keep abreast of actions of a city council, school board, county board, or any of the numerous other local governing bodies.

Then they have to decipher what the decisions, singularly and collectively, mean in their personal and business lives.

You have an advocate in your communi-

Contact us

PO Box 144 Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588 USA (608) 588-6694 editor@valleysentinelnews.com valleysentinelnews.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Nicole Aimone Managing Editor Taylor Scott Legal Editor Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

Interns Graphic Design/Pagination

ty newspapers.

Make no mistake. Editors and reporters are challenged as well in gaining access to everyday sources during the pandemic.

At the same time, they have the tools that others may lack.

Journalists have relationships with government officials and staffs.

Journalists have been trained in the routine. They know how to flesh out information that is not readily volunteered or available. They know who to contact.

They know where to look. They know the questions to ask.

Bottom line, journalists are undeterred in their role as your community’s collective set of eye and ears. They thrive on delivering the news; it’s their full-time job. Readers can rest assured that editors and reporters will continue to present a full menu of news during the ordinary and extraordinary times.

Sunshine Week is a great reminder that energized newspapers are at the foundation of energized communities.

Deadlines: The display and classified

Valley Sentinel is published in Spring Green, Wisconsin every Wednesday by Lower Wisconsin River Valley Sentinel, LLC. ISSN 2694-541X (print) — ISSN 2694-5401 (online) Anna Stocks-Hess Graphic Design/Infographics Whitney Back Editorial Adeline Holte Graphic Design/Editorial Nicole Hansen Editorial Matthew L. Beyer

Editorial Adam Meyer Distribution/Photography Kalen Scott Regular Contributors Arts & Culture/Editorial Bill Gordon Arts & Culture/Editorial Alison Graves

advertising deadline is Monday at noon for that week. If you would like our design team to design the ad then please allow extra time for the creative process and proofing.

Ad team: ads@valleysentinelnews.com Arts Jen Salt Columns Grace Vosen Sports Mike McDermott

Our team will be growing and changing as we settle into publishing regularly, please stay in touch. Thank you to all of our contributors, by name and by pen, for believing in our community.

Editorial Policy

On certain topics in areas of great community interest, the editors of the Valley Sentinel may take positions they believe best represent and serve the interests of the community. Any opinions or positions taken by the editorial board are separate and distinct in labeling and substance from the community journalism that appears in the rest of the publication and does not affect the integrity

Letter to the Editor Policy

Letters submitted for consideration are subject to fact-checking and editing for space and clarity.

Submissions must have a compelling local community interest. Letters to the editor must fit within a 500-word limit, and include name, city and phone number. Phone numbers are for office use only and will not be published. Letters of a political nature, without chance of rebuttal, will not be published the week before an election.

and impartiality of our reporting.

Est. 2020 igne conflatum “Forged in Fire”

Valley Sentinel is a free, weekly single-copy news publication, available on newsstands in the area.

Covering Arena, Lone Rock, Plain, Spring Green and the surrounding areas.

Column Policy

Editors may feature opinion columns written by public figures, members of the public or other publication staff. Columns reflect the opinions of the individual contributors and do not represent positions of the publication. Guest columns of an anticipated length more than 500 words should seek prior editor authorization.

Subscribe Want the paper delivered to your home or business? Subscribe online at valleysentinelnews. com/subscribe or subscribe annually with your name, phone number, address and $30 sent to: Valley Sentinel, PO Box 144, Spring Green, WI 53588

Community Discussion Policy

From time to time the editorial board may select letters to the editor of a particular compelling community interest where a public figure or accountable public action is the recipient of criticism and allow, in the same issue, the subject of the criticism chance for rebuttal, with expounded independent input. The format shall be point, counterpoint and expert analysis. This community discussion shall serve as a moderated dialogue that presents multiple views of important community topics.

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opinion

WednesdaY, march 17, 2021

Bids to alter Wisconsin elections fall mostly along partisan lines Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Watch

Proposals to change Wisconsin’s voting system could determine how one of America’s top swing states picks congressional candidates, how it awards its 10 Electoral College votes, how fast results can be announced and who can use the increasingly popular method of absentee voting.

But the political divisiveness that caused Wisconsin to flip from red to blue by the slimmest of margins in the 2020 presidential race will likely continue, stymying all but the few changes that enjoy bipartisan support. A Republican-led Legislature and a Democratic governor mean that purely partisan priorities are unlikely to make their way through, experts told Wisconsin Watch. And a sweeping Democratic bill to broaden access to voting and thwart partisan gerrymandering nationwide faces a steep climb in the U.S. Senate after passing the House on a party-line vote late Wednesday.

In recent weeks, lawmakers nationwide have proposed hundreds of bills to change states’ voting laws in the wake of the contentious November presidential election.

Wisconsin is no exception.

Democrats are generally seeking to make it easier to vote, citing national security assessments that the 2020 contest was among the most secure ever. Republicans insist the high-turnout election was rife with fraud — although election officials of both parties and judges at all levels have rejected those allegations — and are generally seeking to add more restrictions and safeguards.

In late February, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature began circulating a slate of bills that would, among other changes, tighten absentee voting and the definition of “indefinitely confined” voters, two components challenged by President Donald Trump’s campaign in Democratic-majority Dane and Milwaukee counties in a failed attempt to throw out votes. Three Democratic members of the Assembly Elections Committee called the proposals “a full-on assault on our elections and the ability for Wisconsinites to vote.”

But dramatic changes to Wisconsin’s election laws are unlikely in the short term, said David Canon, a political scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Any efforts aimed at making it easier to vote aren’t going to happen because the Republican leadership and state Legislature won’t want to do that. Anything that’s aimed at restricting access to voting won’t happen because (Democratic Gov. Tony) Evers would veto that, and they wouldn’t have enough votes to override the veto,” Canon said. “I think we’re in status quo mode for the next two years, at least, with nothing really changing.”

A spokesperson for Evers declined comment on which bills he was likely to sign or veto, but referred Wisconsin Watch to the governor’s proposed budget, which includes proposals to establish automatic voter registration; expand the timeline on absentee voting; and require the Legislature to consider the recommendations of Evers’ People’s Maps Commission when drawing new political boundaries this year.

Atiba Ellis, a law professor at Marquette University who focuses on voting rights, said both election security and voter access are important. “They do not have to be at odds,” Ellis said. “But I think for politically motivated reasons they are put at odds, and that then justifies passing laws that are stricter than what the political science data says they need to be.”

There is some bipartisan agreement, including a proposal to bring ranked-choice voting to Wisconsin. In that system, congressional primaries would be nonpartisan, with the top five finishers, regardless of party, moving on to the general election, when they would be ranked by voters.

Another bipartisan idea, which failed to make it through the last session, would allow clerks to process absentee ballots before Election Day, which supporters say would enhance voter confidence by preventing a delay in declaring statewide winners.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 43 states are weighing more than 250 bills to restrict voter access, largely on the basis of claims of electoral fraud in 2020 — claims that have been widely disproven and rejected by local, state and federal courts. At the same time, a different set of 43 states is weighing at least 704 bills that would expand voting access. Lawmakers are particularly focused on absentee voting, the Brennan Center found, because of the

COVID-19 pandemic, which kept a significant portion of the electorate from going to the polls on Election Day.

Process ballots sooner

In Wisconsin, Republicans and Democrats find some agreement around when absentee ballots can be processed. Wisconsin law bars processing until polls open on Election Day. In November, this meant that workers at Milwaukee’s central count, for example, worked until the wee hours of the morning, opening, unfolding and running hundreds of thousands of ballots through tabulating machines.

The Trump campaign capitalized on the late-night count to falsely claim that Milwaukee had “dumped” ballots that swung the election for President Joe Biden.

“What people didn’t understand is those votes came in in Milwaukee at 2 in morning because that was the first time the elections officials had the chance to get to the machines and feed in the ballots,” said Kathleen Dolan, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

An easy fix would be to allow absentee ballots to be processed in advance of Election Day, experts say. In the last legislative session, lawmakers debated bipartisan legislation to allow this to happen — but the bill languished amid disagreement over the details, including how different municipalities would adapt that practice. Republican lawmakers are again taking up the issue, but divisions are emerging over whether to opt for early processing, or change the rules for early voting. Rather than placing ballots in envelopes that election workers process later, some lawmakers are proposing letting early in-person voters directly feed their ballots into voting machines.

Diane Coenen, Oconomowoc city clerk and former president of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association, favors the latter method. Coenen said that allows voters to remake their ballot immediately in the event of an error — rather than discovering a rejected ballot on Election Day. It would also buy time for clerks and poll workers to work with in-person voters, without needing to also process all absentee ballots at the same time.

“In today’s political environment,” Coenen added, “everyone wants the results fast.”

Congress mulls big changes

Nationally, Democratic lawmakers are pushing a sweeping voting reform package, HR 1, which includes measures including automatic voter registration and barring voter ID and witness requirements for mail-in voting. It also seeks to reduce “dark money” in campaigns and require states to create nonpartisan redistricting commissions to thwart partisan gerrymandering.

Republicans have decried the package, and Trump attacked it during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). They argue that the bill would restrict free speech and allow the federal government to take away states’ rights.

Many also oppose changes to redistricting processes.

The ACLU has also called for changes to some campaign finance and lobbying provisions in the bill, saying they would limit free speech and could harm political advocacy.

The bill has passed in the House, but, in the face of this opposition, pundits say it faces a steep hill towards passage in the Senate. It would need unanimous Democratic support — and 10 GOP votes unless the Senate filibuster rules are changed — to land on Biden’s desk. He has signaled that he will sign it. On Sunday, the president took his own action, issuing an executive order requiring federal agencies to expand dissemination of information about registration and voting and studying ways to improve access for military and overseas voters, Native American voters, voters with disabilities and people in federal custody.

Biden issued the order to mark the 56th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when troopers beat and tear-gassed voting rights activists, including the late Rep. John Lewis, in Selma, Alabama.

Electoral College, drop boxes debated

Wisconsin is one of several states also considering changing how to award electors.

As proposed, Wisconsin would award them by congressional district, rather than winner-takes-all. In 2020, this would have resulted in six of the state’s 10 electors going for Trump, rather than Biden, who narrowly won the state’s popular vote. Because of Wisconsin’s partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, experts say the proposal would redistribute electoral power

Photo via Morry Gash, AP Pool Gov. Tony Evers gives an elbow bump to state Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, after Democratic members of Wisconsin’s Electoral College cast their votes at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Dec. 14, 2020. Some Republican lawmakers want to award Electoral College votes by congressional district — a proposal that would have given President Donald Trump six of the state’s 10 votes. Joe Biden got all of the votes because he won Wisconsin. away from the areas that hold Wisconsin’s urban — and mostly Democratic — strongholds.

Republican lawmakers supportive of these and other proposals say they would restore faith in the fairness of elections.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, who is sponsoring many of the not-yet-introduced bills, said he is concerned about the huge jump in the number of people who claim to be “indefinitely confined,” meaning they can vote absentee without presenting a photo ID. Stroebel also criticized the proliferation of drop boxes in the November election. These are not regulated by state law, although elections officials say they comply with federal guidance on how they should be secured. The bill would require that boxes be “tamperresistant and moisture-resistant” with a slot “only large enough to allow for the insertion of an absentee ballot.”

“Throughout 2020, gaps, loopholes and outright violations of the clear intent of the law plagued the election process,” Stroebel said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch.

“The COVID-19 pandemic combined with a hotly contested presidential election were a tremendous stress on the system, and offered the Wisconsin Elections Commission and some — but not all — local election officials a chance to disregard the plain meaning of the law.”

Tammy Patrick, a senior advisor at the Democracy Fund, a Washington, D.C.based voting advocacy group, favors the increased use of drop boxes that were prevalent during the November election. The city of Madison also created Democracy in the Park,in which voters handed absentee ballots to election officials at city parks.

GOP proposals would limit both practices.

One bill would dictate that each municipality must have no more than one drop box — so hundreds of thousands of voters in Milwaukee would have the same number of absentee ballot boxes as a town with a few hundred voters.

Another measure would appear to ban events like Madison’s Democracy in the Park in which poll workers gathered completed ballots at more than 200 sites in late September and early October. This proposal would require a single site for collecting ballots no more than 14 days before an election and at a location that is “as near as practicable to the office of the municipal clerk.”

Stroebel said these and other measures are aimed at introducing uniformity across the state to create “complete trust in our elections” and to ensure that absentee ballot procedures “comply with existing statutes.”

Patrick countered that drop boxes are “embraced all across the country” but Republicans demonized them in 2020 as “somehow jeopardizing the integrity of the election — and that is really problematic.”

False fraud claims persist

In fact, false claims of fraud continue to motivate many GOP proposals — and raise concerns among the public. Prior to the November election, one Reuters poll

showed that three-quarters of American voters feared electoral fraud would tip the election. In late January, after Biden was sworn in, a Monmouth poll found one-third of Americans believed his victory was due to fraud.

Trump’s allies continue to repeat spurious claims of widespread election fraud. But erroneous or fraudulent voting was exceedingly rare in Wisconsin’s Nov. 3 election.

The Wisconsin State Journal examined thousands of complaints to lawmakers about the election, finding a lot of “hearsay or minor administrative errors” but just 28 allegations that were specific enough to examine.

And the newspaper found only one claim could be partially substantiated — that ballots from 42 early voters who died before Election Day were counted. UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer said maintaining a high level of security is “absolutely crucial,” but fraud of the kind that was claimed in 2020 is “vanishingly rare.”

Wisconsin voting mostly smooth

Experts say despite the rancor, Wisconsin’s elections tend to be well-run. “By and large, people who are in charge of our elections do their jobs well and acquit themselves well,” Dolan said.

The glaring exception was the April primary at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw long lines in Milwaukee and thousands of rejected ballots statewide as clerks scrambled to staff the polls and hundreds of thousands of voters switched to absentee voting, many for the first time.

As the pandemic ground on, election officials adjusted, and the Nov. 3 election was largely a success, with a record 72% of all eligible voters turning out, according to a report by a coalition of Wisconsin groups that favor expansive access to voting.

Problems in November were “limited and site-specific, rather than the result of a generalized inability of the system to handle a large turnout amid changes in the law,” the report found. One marker of success: a plunging rate of rejected ballots, 0.2% in November compared to 1.8% in April.

Mayer, who studies election administration, said while there was a lot of talk about fraud in the 2020 general election, the bigger danger to election integrity is voter disenfranchisement.

“You have to worry about the things that are actually real,” Mayer said. “And one of the things that undermines the integrity of the election process is when you have lots of people … who are unable to vote, whether it’s long lines or (voter) ID (requirements) or other things — that that’s actually a threat to the integrity of the system.”

The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

Community

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Page 5

School board approves sale of school forest in 4-3 vote continued from page 1

living with the land… Above all, it teaches them that values can be sold. The school district may make money, but our students and our community will be impoverished.”

Hutnik reiterated that land management should be informed by values and suggested ways in which the land could be developed as an educational showcase and natural community management.

Hutnik suggested re-writing the current master plan before considering any sale, “We could also pursue easements looking specifically at education on the property integrated into a sale. An easement similar to a conservation easement could retain the use of the land for educational purposes, managed according to an approved management plan.” “[Land use] needs to be informed by conservation as a value and requires both creativity and an eye to the future,” said Hutnik. “Exploiting the school forest for short term gain does none of these. I urge you to reconsider accepting bids for the rebel High School forest.”

The board then heard from Mary Lockman, a district resident who lives just south of the school forest on Coon Rock Road. Lockman described the sale as “sort of short term” and expressed concerns that any bid that proposes clear cutting the forest for farming would lead to wind erosion of the soil, causing dust.

Lockman said that she wouldn’t mind some development, with an emphasis on business, but that if it’s a choice between clear cut farming and housing, she’d choose housing.

However, she suggested there might be other business development opportunities to look into for the property.

“When we bought our land, we were told that George Hudson gave it to the school with the stipulation that it could never be sold,” said Lockman. “I’ve been trying to check that out but all of your records show that there’s no public record.”

“I know a lot of my neighbors don’t want it to happen,” finished Lockman. “But what can we do about it?”

Consideration & Action on Sale of School Forest Property in Arena

The deadline for the school district to receive sealed bids to consider regarding the sale of the school forest property was 4pm March 10. District Business Manager, Brian Krey shared with the board that the district had received two sealed bids.

According to Krey, the bids were opened in the District Office by administration the morning of March 11, preceding the school board meeting.

In a previous meeting that evaluated the sale of the school forest, the school board decided it would take not less than $4000 per acre for the property.

The first bid proposal read was from Traci Holverson, of $480,000 for the property, which is $4,000 an acre, for the purpose of building a housing development.

The second bid proposal read was from Larry Alsum/Alsum Farms, of $498,000 for the property, which is $4,150 an acre, for the purpose of agricultural use.

“Is it too late to put the brakes on this?”

Board member Mark Strozinsky expressed his concerns after the bids were read. “I’ve never been in favor of this. I don’t think it’s a good idea. … It’s not going to solve our problems. Fund 49 will get a boost, a one time boost. But we can’t use Fund 49 for many of the things that we need in the near future.

It’s not going to solve our student problem or referendum problems.”

According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WI DPI) Fund 49 is used for transactions financed with bonds, promissory notes and other sources of revenue such as gifts, grants, sale of capital equipment, buildings or sites.

“It’s not going to make the people of Arena very happy, I don’t think. But this is not like

closing the school that was needed. That was necessary. I do not think that this was needed or necessary,” said Strozinsky. “So that’s my point. I speak for the trees.”

Board member Kiley Cates expressed her opposition to the entire bid process, “I didn’t really see what the purpose of selling the school forest was other than to see what we could get for it.”

“To see the school forest clear-cut… our waterways and the river valley waterway is very precious and it’s vulnerable,” said Cates.

“And to see that happen on that scale would just be devastating.”

Cates also expressed her concerns that the sale of the forest was being considered for the wrong reasons.

“I don’t see how this is going to help the referendum ...we’re not in a position where this amount of money is going to change us going to referendum, it doesn’t really do anything to change the amount in any substantial way,” said Cates. “And I do wonder that if we weren’t in the situation of going to referendum, and we had this very robust budget, would we be considering this?”

Cates expressed a need for workforce housing in the area but stated that, “I don’t think this is a solution to it.”

School board member Sara Young stated that she hasn’t gotten feedback from district residents on the sale of the school forest, “I don’t have one, I still to this day, don’t have anything in my email box. I haven’t gotten haven’t gotten a phone call.”

She expressed frustration that she hadn’t heard anything from residents until now, “it’s a little frustrating to me that this is the point that we’re finally hearing from people.”

Strozinsky stated that he had heard from eight to nine people wishing the board wouldn’t sell the property.

Board member Deb Nelson shared her opposition to the sale and the feedback she’s heard from residents.

“I have yet to have a single person tell me, from the public, that it’s a good idea to sell this. I have heard the other side of it, of it ...it’s a part of a conservation area and It could be used as an educational spot for children. And that was the thing that I heard from people,” said Nelson. “I didn’t support it, when we voted to put it up for proposals either. But I have yet to hear from anyone outside of my fellow board members that brought this to us that we should sell it.”

Board member Frederic Iausly brought up possibility of public access to the property and the investment that would need to be made to cut trails, make walking paths and put up a parking lot to make the property accessible to the public, but that the opposite was happening and that sort of public access management plan should have been made in the past.

Currently, the property garners roughly $29,000 every 15 years from timber sales.

“The value of the land is the conservation of that land,” Cates stated. “I recognize that there is nothing happening on the land, because that’s just what’s happening right now. ...It has value to the community for access.”

Nelson suggested contacting the DNR Forestry Department to look at the land and provide consulting on conservation, use and management, raising the possibility of grants being available for those goals.

Young suggested postponing the vote for a month to better vet the proposals and discuss conservation of the property.

Krey clarified that the notice to prospective purchasers of real estate didn’t allow for a delay and required closing to occur no later than March 21, 2021.

The board ultimately approved a motion to accept the bid from Traci Halverson, of $480,000 for the property at $4,000 an acre, with the following vote John Bettinger: Yes Cates: No Iausly: Yes Kathy Jennings: Yes

Nelson: No Strozinsky: No Young: Yes McGuire: Absent Jeff Maier: Absent.

Equity Conversation and Future Steps Jennings shared that Young and District Administrator Loren Glassbrenner have been meeting this month to talk about potential next steps following last month’s discussion regarding equity, diversity and inclusion that was initiated after a district parent brought concerns to the board.

Young again thanked district parent Susan Lee for speaking at the last regular meeting regarding issues her children had faced.

Young also clarified her statements from the last meeting.

“I believe that I commented that there’s never going to be a good time to start on this. And that was inaccurate for a couple of reasons. First, it’s not that it’s never a good time to work on this, but rather, it’s always a good time to work on issues around equity.

Second, equity inclusion work is in fact going on in our schools all the time. And it comes in many different forms,” said Young.

“This work by our staff members and our administrators is valid and valued and we want to make sure that they know that.

However, we believe it’s time to put some extra focus around the areas of equity and anti-racism in our district.”

Young then proposed an ‘Equity and Understanding Work Group’, comprised of a group of teachers, administrators, a community representative (who Young suggested would be Sue Quale), a parent (who Young suggested would Susan Lee) with the charges of: —Developing a statement, which states the district’s commitment to equity and understanding.

—Researching professional development, training and opportunities that may be needed by staff, and recommend a plan to administration for that training.

—Researching and recommending a consistent rapid response protocol to be used when students or families experience inequity in the schools.

—Assessing the current curriculum to see if it represents a sufficiently wide range of perspectives, including that of black, indigenous, and people of color. If it seems that changes are warranted, the work group will research and recommend changes to the administration.

—Communicating the work group’s progress to all stakeholders to include offering public forums for family and community to respond and offer thoughts on further action.

“We hope that this work group will be a welcome resource for the school district.

The objective is not to call anyone out,” said Young. “Rather, we want to call people into a conversation by which we can better understand people with different perspectives, and different experiences to make every student and every family feel welcome.”

Jennings praised Young for acknowledging the strives the district has made.

“I’m glad that you pointed out that this is ongoing and continued work. And we’re just going to focus on it more now,” said Jennings. “But it is something that’s been happening. Thanks for pointing that out.”

Glassbrenner shared that the district was currently working with CESA #3 to do a curriculum audit.

“So that as we choose materials, as we look at websites, as we do these things, that we have a critical eye, a good lens on it to make sure that it’s representative of what we want it to be,” said Glassbrenner. “It just puts another layer in there to make sure that what we choose, what we talk about, what we teach is representative of equity in all populations.”

The appointment process and frequency of work group meetings wasn’t immediately clear at the meeting.

“We are moving ahead with the blessing of the River Valley School Board of Education as a work committee,” said Glassbrenner in a follow-up email.

However, the board stopped short of formally charging a ‘Equity and Understanding Work Group’ at the meeting, with no vote taken on any action regarding the work group.

Glassbrenner and Young stated that the next step would be administrators helping identify teachers that were excited to serve on the work group.

Update on School District Operations from Administration Glassbrenner stated that all district employees and school personnel have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine, sharing that the vaccines have brought hope.

“The total number of school district employees that have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine is 226,” said Krey in a follow-up email. “We are not tracking whether or not employees have obtained one vaccine or completed a series.”

Glassbrenner warned that administrators are on the lookout for side-effects of the second dose when considering the difficulty of getting substitute teachers right now.

Elementary Principal Carla Peterson stated that on just March 9, six elementary staff members had to go home after being administered the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Peterson shared that two subs were able to fill six positions across two buildings and thanked the staff for stepping up.

“From 4k to fourth grade, we welcomed 48 students back into the building between January and this Monday [March 8], 31 of those were kids that had been virtual, three were homeschoolers that we brought in, six were open enrollments that we brought in,” said Peterson. “We’re still not at our same enrollment number of last year, but we’re definitely seeing more kids in the building and more parents comfortable with their kids being in the building.”

Middle School Principal James Radtke shared that the middle school gained about in the 20 students back in the same timeline, with there being roughly 50 out of approximately 310 students in the middle school virtual still.

All principals touched on returning to a positive climate and feel, as spring approaches and the pandemic lulls.

“I want to thank the school board and our staff,” said High School Principal Darby Blakley. “I mean, we really fought hard this year. We really have allowed our students to be here face-to-face and went through some tough adversity but still found a way to keep coming back in the building and working with our kids and a lot of districts that didn’t do that.

Blakley let the board know that he was working with Krey to plan a face-to-face graduation outside to finish the school year.

District Activities Director Jaimie Hegland updated the board on the transition to spring sports, with spring sports being granted 15 contact days. The high school has also opened up spring strength and conditioning.

Start date for spring sports is April 19 (except girl’s soccer, which will start on April 26).

Action on WIAA Spring Sports Considerations regarding procedures and spectators will be taken up next month by the board.

Rural Virtual Academy Charter School Option The board approved a cooperative agreement with a charter school of the Medford School District to offer virtual instruction to River Valley School District students for next year at a cost of $6,600 per student.

2021-22 Employee Benefits Glassbrenner shared that there will be a 6% increase in the district Quartz health insurance costs, and that the district would be interested in looking to find other insurance providers next year. The district had budget-

See page 6

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Community

WednesdaY, march 17, 2021

Plain Village board adjusting golf course management, rates Nicole “Emilie” Aimone, Editor-in-Chief The Plain Village Board voted to expand staffing and adjust rates for the municipal golf course at its March 10 regular meeting.

Following a closed session special meeting, prior to the regular meeting where the village discussed personnel details behind golf course staff, the board voted to contract with Nick Ruhland to take over the maintenance duties with the golf course that John Ruhland, village public works director, is currently performing.

“The individual won’t report to John, nor will John report to that individual,” said Village President Ray Ring. “They will work together harmoniously.”

While the village’s golf course committee did propose an outline of expectations and duties it would like to see Nick perform, the committee will be working to make a more concrete list and job description prior to March 29, which will be Nick’s starting date.

Nick’s contract will be a one-year term, with an annual salary of $4,000. The contract will be reevaluated in 2022.

The motions to create the position and contract with Nick passed unanimously, with Trustee and golf course committee chairman, Andrew Kraemer, absent, and trustee Brian Brey absent.

The village golf course committee decid-

ed to restructure annual rates to use the village-run course, by keeping rates the same but doing away with different rates for residents and non-residents.

Previously, non-residents paid a larger fee than village residents to use the course, with approximately half of yearly revenue coming from non-residents, said Ring.

In an effort to keep rates consistent throughout the village’s course and with other nearby courses, the committee decided to offer a single rate to use the golf course.

Golf course rates for 2021 include $250 for an individual, $315 for a married couple, $368 for a family and $90 for students, which includes tax.

“They talked about the golf rates and the issues with the last couple years, with not being able to play because of all the flooding and this year there’s going to be construction, so there will be a hole they won’t be able to use, so there was a big debate about how much to charge people to golf in the village of Plain,” said Ring.

Random inspections

The village public works department will start conducting random inspections of sump pumps to ensure the homeowners pump is not discharging into the village sewer, which is against village ordinances.

Homes with illegal sump pumps will be

In other news It’s officially Girl Scout Cookie season, and this year the cookies will be available at the Spring Green Farmers Market. Cookies will be available for pre-order and purchase at the market 10-11 a.m. March 20, March 27 and April 3 outside the community library.

To pre-order and pay online visit, https://app.abcsmartcookies.com/#/virtualbooth-landing/5bbd5f52-f75f-eb11-9889-a085fc312417 The Spring Green farmers market will begin meeting for extended hours, 10 a.m. to noon every saturday on May 15.

GET IN TOUCH WITH VALLEY SENTINEL Check us out on our website: valleysentinelnews.com or find us on social media! @ValleySentinel @vs_wisconsin @vs_wisconsin @valleysentinel

Let’s build community together.

fined $250.

“We’re hoping we can kind of slow that issue down, because it’s not so much of an issue with the spring snow melt, it’s with the rain. When it rains, the [sewer] plant gets flooded out. The plant shouldn’t get flooded out,” said John Ruhland.

The village will be sending a notice to utility customers via the annual consumer confidence report to make them aware of the inspections and warn of the possible fine for illegal pumps.

Trustee Melissa Marx questioned whether the lowest fine was large enough for illegal pumps, or if residents would potentially rather pay the fine to avoid paying more money to address the issue.

“So if I’m a homeowner, and I have my sump pump hooked up wrong, and now I get a letter and now I have to correct it, how much is it going to cost me to do that? Is $250 enough?” questioned Marx. “If I can pay a $250 fine and keep doing it the way I’ve been doing it, fine, but if I have to pay $2,000 to switch it over, I’ll just pay the fine.”

Trustee Merry Lynn Riek raised concerns about issuing fines immediately, instead of issuing a warning, however Ruhland advised the notice given to utility customers would serve as the warning for illegal pumps.

“I’m not bucking doing this, I’m bucking for the benefit of the village, maybe spell it out a little bit,” said Riek.

Other actions or discussions taken up by the board include: —Approving the acceptance of contractor bids for the Nachreiner Avenue restructuring project. The bid went to Gerke Excavating out of Tomah, who was the lowest bidder and came with a recommendation from Strand, the project engineers. The village chose this bid not only because it was the lowest, but because they are able to perform duties independently without having to subcontract.

—The village Fire and EMS will host its annual three-day festival in the village parks in July, following all applicable Center for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 guidelines and/or restrictions at the time.

—A first reading of an ordinance strengthening firearm and projectile ordinances, which state that no one except for police and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) agents will be allowed to discharge firearms in village limits, and the throwing of missiles or projectiles will not be allowed at any person, animal or target.

—The village pool will open for the season on June 4, with regular hours to be determined.

2.25% raise for all RVSD staff continued from page 5 ed for a 5% increase.

Glassbrenner stated that the 1% difference is roughly $20,000, which the school district will absorb so there are no changes to copays and HSA’s. Dental and eye insurance stayed flat.

The board approved the benefits changes unanimously.

Other items The board approved, along with corresponding agreements with the teacher unions, a base wage increase of 1.23%, supplemental wage increase of 1.02%, for a total of 2.25% increase across the board for all staff and employees.

The board accepted the resignation of high school spanish teacher Heather Hedges, who started with the district on August 27, 2020. She will finish the school year. Blakely wished her the best luck, applauding her work with students The board approved a 2021-22 CESA #5 contract, specifically for audiology work for student needs.

The board approved a $4,00 contract for a WASB Policy Manual “Quick Check” service The board approved granting the 2021-24 Snow Plowing and Related Services contract to J & J Total Lawn Care and Snow Removal, who have been doing it since 2010.

The board approved amendments to the 2020-21 Employee Handbook to include paying summer school teachers teaching credit recovery classes Lifetime Wellness and Health $30 an hour.

The board accepted a $50 anonymous gift to the RV Elementary lunch program.

The board also took the following action on Policy Committee recommendations: Discussed and recommended to the board for a second reading policies that accomplished goal setting through a multi-year strategic plan, strengthened staff involvement in board decision making, and clarified student activity fund management and disposition.

Approved various policy changes for a first reading including policies that cover Acceptable Use of Networked Computers, Electronic Mail, and Internet Safety Policy, Energy Management, Fundraising Activities (clarifying crowdfunding rules to ensure fundraised monies go to district account).

The board ended the open session of the meeting by adjourning to closed session, pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(a) and 19.85(1)(f) for Expulsion Hearing and Deliberation and Action

The school board is meeting next for a special meeting Wednesday March 17th at 6pm at the Middle School library and streaming live online on the River Valley School District YouTube channel for ‘consideration and action on extension of closing date on purchase of school property.’ ...

Fall Semester High School students failing more than doubles year-over-year In response to a request for information, District Administrator Loren Glassbrenner provided the following information.

—The number of students enrolled at RVHS (End of fall semester 19-20): 423 —The number of students failing at least one course at RVHS (End of fall semester 19-20): 35 —The number of students enrolled at RVHS (End of fall semester 20-21): 406 —The number of students failing at least one course at RVHS (End of fall semester 20-21): 71 —‘19-20 percentage: 8% —‘20-21 percentage: 17% Valley Sentinel: Do you believe these numbers are indicative of learning loss?

Loren Glassbrenner: We believe our teachers and our students are doing the best that they can during this pandemic. It is impossible, right now, to affirm if there has been true academic learning loss during this unprecedented time.

Every school district that I have communicated with has seen an increase in failures.

We will continue to monitor our students as they move through our educational programming to see if gaps or loss are present.

VS: While every student’s situation is different, what do you believe are the leading factors contributing to learning loss?

LG: As stated above, true learning loss will need to be determined by continued monitoring. However, this type of virtual learning and teaching is new to both students and staff. We will continue to provide our students with the best education possible.

VS: What are some specific ways the district is working to combat this? Is the solution as simple as getting students back in the classroom?

LG: We continue to monitor and analyze what needs are present for students and staff. We have provided technology support for our students and worked to make online learning as accessible as possible. Our administration continues to emphasize that our focus is on students. It is an incredibly complex and difficult time.

opinion

WednesdaY, march 17, 2021

Page 7

Experts offer advice on how to make voting easier in Wisconsin Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Watch There are many ways to measure a successful election, said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison.

Those include turnout, voter registration rate, voting wait time, how many ballots and registrations are rejected and the ease by which people with disabilities may vote. In studies conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center and MIT Election Lab, Wisconsin ranks highly in many of those measures.

In a December Election Law Journal article featuring a “cost of voting” analysis, researchers ranked the ease of registering and voting in all 50 states — considering changes like automatic voter registration and expanded early and absentee voting. They also measured convenience of voting, restrictions on registration and the existence of voter ID laws.

Wisconsin landed squarely in the middle, a drop from 2016. Researchers said the state can improve its ranking by implementing automatic voter registration through state agencies, letting people stay on a permanent absentee voting list, and setting Election Day as a state holiday, among other measures.

The state would also need to maintain certain existing practices, such as online voter registration, no-excuse mail-in voting and same-day voter registration. Same-day registration, enacted in Wisconsin in 1975, has been the “single most important best practice,” said David Canon, a political scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributing to the state consistently having among the highest voter turnouts in the nation.

Still, changes can be made to the administration of these elections, which would improve the experience for voters and election workers alike, he and other experts said.

Photo via Coburn Dukehart, Wisconsin Watch

Poll worker Kathleen Krchnavek, left, talks with chief inspector Meg Hamel at the Olbrich Gardens polling site in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 16, 2021. They were discussing the absentee balloting process. Some Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin want to make it easier to vote absentee while some Republicans are proposing additional restrictions, which Democrats describe as “a full-on assault on our elections and the ability for Wisconsinites to vote.” during the primary election on Feb. 16, election were tainted. But vote-by-mail Proponents say it offers a layer of authentication, while opponents say it 2021 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Democrat- has been used by voters of all parties, erects an unnecessary hurdle, especialic Gov. Tony Evers and Democrats and with Republican voters somewhat ly for people who live alone. more likely to use that tool in the Republicans in the Wisconsin LegislaIt also can lead to disenfranchisepast, said Mark Gaber, of the Camture have all proposed major changes ment: 1,434 ballots in November were paign Legal Center, which advocates to state election law in the wake of rejected for insufficient certification. for nonpartisan election adminis2020’s contentious presidential elecDiane Coenen, right, Oconomowoc tration. “It has not historically been tion, but experts say the state’s politcity clerk, checks into the District something that was seen as a partisan ical split will prevent major changes 3 polling station as she makes her issue,” Gaber said. that lack bipartisan support. (Credit: Add more time to request ballots rounds during a primary election on Darren Hauck for Wisconsin Watch) Wisconsin also should adjust the Feb. 16, 2021 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Wisconsin allows voters to apply for timing of when voters can request Coenen favors changes to election law ballots by mail for all elections in a Make absentee voting easier absentee ballots and when ballots to allow clerks to begin processing given year.

In the face of the coronavirus panmust arrive at clerks’ offices, Patrick absentee ballots before Election Day. Patrick said Wisconsin could estabdemic, about 60% of Wisconsin voters said.

Currently, voters have up to fi ve “In today’s political environment,” she lish a permanent list of voters who cast an absentee ballot, either by mail days before an election to request an says, “everyone wants the results fast.” want to always vote absentee, rather or during the early in-person absentee absentee ballot — often leaving insuffiThe Wisconsin Elections Commission period, for the Nov. 3 election. By con- than making a voter repeatedly reapcient time for postal delivery of ballots has advised that clerks who receive abply. The move would cut processing trast, less than one-third of voters cast to voters and back to clerks’ offices, sentee ballots with incomplete or misstime and costs while still authenticatabsentee ballots for the 2016 general she said. ing witness addresses “shall do all that ing voters the fi rst time they apply. election.

The state could also allow for postal they can reasonably do to obtain any “It also helps election officials plan,” According to Tammy Patrick, a senior delays by counting ballots that are missing part of the witness address” — Patrick said, adding that clerks could advisor at the Democracy Fund, a postmarked by Election Day and including making the correction thembetter allocate resources between abWashington, D.C.-based voting advoarrive within a set timeframe after the selves. A common error is people who sentee and in-person voting. cacy group, once voters experience the election. A federal court order initially witness their spouses’ ballots who do False allegations by President Donconvenience of absentee voting, they enacted the option before the April 7 not also fill in their address, which is ald Trump and his allies that mail-in tend to want to keep voting that way. election, but the U.S. Supreme Court required even if it matches the voter’s. voting enables fraud convinced many Diane Coenen, Oconomowoc city rejected that ruling hours before the Clerks may also contact voters to let voters that the results of the Nov. 3 clerk, takes care of her daily duties polls opened, leaving many would-be them know if their ballots are incomabsentee voters in the lurch. plete and arrange for them to fix it.

Enhance ballot tracking In November, the absence of a clear Another way to ensure on-time delaw around ballot curing led to mislivery is ballot tracking. Some munictrust of this process. The Trump camipalities in Wisconsin use barcodes paign’s recount petition challenged to track ballots being sent out from the authority of clerks to fill in witness clerks’ offices, but those trackers are addresses. not on the return envelopes — alIssuing definitive legal guidance though voters can still check the around how clerks can respond to inMyVote website to see if their ballot complete witness signatures would let arrived at the clerk’s office.

Wisconsin avoid even the appearance Implementing a two-way tracking of impropriety and create consistent system would increase transparency, enforcement of rules across municipalsaid Burden, and would likely earn ities, said Diane Coenen, Oconomowoc support from both parties. city clerk and former president of the “I think Democrats liked them, Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Associabecause their main worries are about tion. ballots not being received or returned, “We should make sure that everybody and a voter being disenfranchised,” does the same processes in the state so he said. “For Republicans, I think it there is no question of if things were provides some security about the indone right,” Coenen said. tegrity of the election …. If the election official ever thought that someone The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch was fraudulently stealing ballots out (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates of mailboxes and sending them, they with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news could simply check the online tracking media and the University of Wisconsystem, and the voter could do that as sin-Madison School of Journalism Photo via Darren Hauck, Wisconsin Watch well.” and Mass Communication. All works Clarify rules around ballot curing created, published, posted or dissemiDiane Coenen, right, Oconomowoc city clerk, checks into the District 3 polling station as she Wisconsin requires absentee voters to nated by Wisconsin Watch do not necmakes her rounds during a primary election on Feb. 16, 2021 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Coenen get a witness signature and a witness essarily reflect the views or opinions favors changes to election law to allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots before address on their absentee envelopes. of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

Election Day. “In today’s political environment,” she says, “everyone wants the results fast.”

“The good stuff.”

Page 8

Community/ Arts & Culture

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Art from around the Valley: ‘The last drop of frozen sunshine’ Painting via Jen Salt

One late afternoon in February, as the sun was about to disappear behind the distant treeline, I noticed a bright “spark” outside of my painting desk window on the patio.

There, a once-snow covered branch that morning grew icicles as the temperatures warmed Considerably during the afternoon sunlight. The setting sun had ignited the spark of brilliant light that fractured and became prism-like within the icicles.

I captured that momentary event on my camera and couldn’t wait to art the image!

Prismacolor pastels and pencils are the mediums used in this piece as I felt that the white chalklike pastel value would give me the purest light possible for that spark.

—Jen Salt, Contributor Jen Salt is an artist who lives in a place she calls “Crow’s Lair Cottage”-just outside of Spring Green where she’s lived for five and a half years. “The Wisconsin River was the draw to move here and I’ve never looked back, coming from a big city.

This is home.”

Lone Rock business to be featured on show for entrepreneurs continued from page 1

Judges for the show include Joanne Sabir, the co-founder of Sherman Phoenix, a business that offers space for local small businesses, David Gruber, the founder and CEO of Gruber Law Offices, a personal injury law firm and Peg Ann, owner and CEO of Empire Level Manufacturing, a construction company and Life Moves, a storage and

moving company.

“We were told that over 300 Wisconsin entrepreneurs applied to be on the television show for this season, and we were one of the businesses selected!” said Heidi.

For more information on Tortilleria Zepeda, see their business spotlight on page 20.

Viewing information What: Project Pitch It season five premiere When: March 20, noon Where: Channel 27 WKOW Screenshot via STOCK coaches Linkedin A screenshot of the “Project Pitch It” season five premiere, featuring the Zepeda’s tortilla business out of Lone Rock.

COmmunitycalendar Month-Long Event Brewhaha Coffee Fundraiser for the Spring Green Area Arts Coalition Through March, support the arts while you enjoy delicious Brewhaha coffee! Order online at:

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

https://www.brewhaharoasters.com/product-page/spring-green-area-arts-coalition.

Local pickup at Arcadia Books or have your order shipped directly to your door. All proceeds go to support arts related grants, scholarships, and community programs in the River Valley area.

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Arts & Culture

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Page 9

No fault in APT’s reading of ‘Dear Brutus’ Alison Graves, Contributor

“Dear Brutus” by J.M. Barrie (directed

by Kelsey Brennan) the second in American Players Theatre 2021 Winter Words series of virtual play readings, is centered around a walk in an enchanted woods on a beautiful night. Even without the stage set, it was easy to imagine a performance of “Dear Brutus” “up the hill” at APT on a starry midsummer night. After experiencing how the actors breathed life into all the characters, I’d love to see them bring this to the stage.

You may be familiar with J.M. Barrie as the author of Peter Pan, or for his lesser-known play, The Admirable Crichton, performed by APT in 2012. Brenda DeVita, the theatre’s artistic director, referred to “Dear Brutus” as “Peter Pan for grown-ups.” Written in 1916 and first performed on the London stage in 1917, the three-act comic-fantasy is named after a line in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.” That sentiment expresses the play’s premise—that we (dear audience) are responsible for the choices we make.

We are the creators of our own destinies.

The play draws heavily from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, with its Puck-like host and master of ceremonies, Lob, wonderfully performed

by Jim Ridge. Viewing the play via Zoom offered an almost-better-than front row seat to appreciate the contorted facial expressions of this bizarre character. At times, Ridge’s voice and wide-eyed distortions reminded me of Smeagol/Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”.

The scene, an English manor house and its garden—turned into a magical woods— is also reminiscent of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was challenging to keep up with the eight different characters and their stories in “Dear Brutus”, and I found myself having many “Wait…what?” moments, because the characters were transformed in the woods and represented different versions of themselves. In the woods, they experienced what could have been in their lives—different careers, different wives or different families. The play hit home for me as a reminder that

Screenshot via Alison Graves A screenshot of the character Lob played by James Ridge from “Dear Brutus”. even amidst the limitations and challenges presented by the pandemic, we have the power to write our own stories.

What might be lost on Zoom or in a reading by not having scenery or costuming, or even being able to see the actor’s full bodies, was made up for by the richness of the actor’s facial expressions and the pow-

er of APT’s great company of actors. While the entire cast was outstanding, Tracy Michelle Arnold as Lady Caroline Laney captivated me with her amusing speech pattern, dropping her “r’s” and pronouncing words like interesting and “intewesting” and married as “mahweed.” Colleen Madden enthralled as Mrs. Dearth. I wish my coworkers in Zoom meetings were as engaging and vividly expressed.

Beyond Shakespeare, not just any playwright could pull all the stories together and make the pieces fit, but Barrie and APT captivates in “Dear Brutus” with charm and humor.

The two remaining performances of APT’s Winter Words series are sold out, but if you can, find a friend or family member in your COVID-pod who has Zoom access and watch Elliot, “A Soldier’s Fugue” by Quiara Alegria Hudes, directed by Melisa Pereyra on March 22 and Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea by Nathan Alan Davis, directed by Ameenah Kaplan, on April 5.

APT The Road Back - Questions & Answers Part II American Players Theatre

APT is your theater. So we asked you what you think about the plan to return to in-person plays, and to share any questions you might have about the process. And you did not disappoint!

Q: When will you announce the season?

A: We hope to announce the season very soon – before the end of March, as a matter of fact. As we have discussed in Chapter 2 of The Road Back, we’ll need the labor unions we work with, especially Actors’ Equity Association, to sign off on our safety plan before the actors and artists are set to arrive. We’ll announce the season as soon as we have some indication from the unions that our safety plan is feasible and passes muster.

Q: Will any of the 2020 plays be staged in 2021?

A: We originally hoped to move the full 2020 season to 2021, but it became increasingly apparent that would not be possible for myriad reasons (more on that here). But, don’t be surprised if one or two of the 2020 plays make their way to an APT stage this season.

Q: When will tickets go on sale?

A: Tickets will go on sale when we get final approval on our safety plan, which we expect will be sometime in April.

Q: Have you set the ticket prices for this year?

A: Ticket prices for this year will be the same as they were in 2020. Also note that this year, because tickets won’t go on sale for the full season at one time, our 25% and Four Pack “preseason” discounts will be available through October, as long as there are seats available.

On the flip side, because of the abnormal schedule and temporary pause on our usual rotating repertory model, we’re unable to offer 40% off autumn shows on the Hill when you purchase summer tickets. We’re still working on pricing for the digital performances and will publish the prices when we announce the season. Read more about ticketing plans here.

Q: Will you require proof of testing or proof of vaccination to attend APT? A: Not for our audience members.

Instead, we will depend on masking, social distancing and asking people who feel ill – even just a little bit – to stay home. We encourage folks who feel they would like further measures in place to choose the digital version of plays.

Q: Will there be performances specifically for people who are vaccinated?

A: We do not plan to require people to be vaccinated before they come to APT, nor do we plan to have special performances for vaccinated folks where we have a higher capacity of seats filled. Iowa County Health Department officials, with whom we have been

consulting, emphasized that capacity limits will continue to be set according to case rates, not vaccination rates.

We hope that as vaccination rates rise, case rates will fall and that may lead to us being able to eventually have larger audiences.

Q: Who gets to buy tickets first?

A: First, let’s acknowledge that, because we are anticipating more demand for tickets than we have supply, this is something of a tough subject. It’s been a year of incredible support from our audience. It has also a year of difficult decisions, with more to come. We are currently working on a plan that establishes a number of priority ordering groups. In addition to recognizing our donors, we want to prioritize ticket buyers who stuck by us last year when we had to cancel the season. Also, we know that some regular buyers held off on their 2020 purchase in light of the gathering storm of the pandemic. These groups will be able to buy tickets before the general public. That said, due to the capacity caps on the theaters, and despite the hours of painstaking planning and infinite good intentions, we fear some people will be disappointed.

We ask for your patience and good will as we navigate this tricky situation. We will make the criteria public and notify patrons of their group before tickets go on sale.

Q: If my friend buys tickets for me, will I get to order?

A: Accounts will be tagged according to order group, so if your friend purchased tickets for you in the past, you should plan on them continuing to do so this year.

Q: If we attend with people outside our household, can we buy tickets which allow us to be socially distanced from them?

A: Yes, you can do this by purchasing two sets of tickets for the same performance, and APT’s ticketing software will automatically distance those two sets of seats. We’ll give you detailed instructions on how to do this as we get closer to when tickets go on sale.

Q: What do I do if I have credit on my account from last year or if I purchased Play Passes?

A: Account credits and from last year and Play Passes may be used to purchase tickets for this season – either for in-person or virtual performances.

We’ll offer detailed instructions of the steps to follow as we get closer to when tickets go on sale. If you aren’t ready to come back to APT, or are otherwise unable to use Play Passes or account credits this year, you can use them for “APT at Home” digital plays, or keep them on your account for use in 2022. For more

on how to use your 2020 tickets, visit our FAQ page.

Q: Will people be masked?

A: Yes! All patrons and staff, with the exception of actors on stage, are required to wear masks on APT property.

If you are actively eating or drinking, such as during your picnic or enjoying concessions in the lobby, you may remove it. But you will need to put it back on when you’re finished. Your mask must cover your nose and mouth. The mask requirement is in place to comply with current CDC recommendations, and the actors’ union currently requires all audience members to be masked for the safety of the performers. The actors will not be able to perform unless everyone is masked.

Q: Who will police the mask requirements?

A: Members of our house staff will be prepared to enforce the mask requirement, and patrons who refuse will be asked to leave. Patrons who are unable or unwilling to wear masks should consider the digital performances.

Q: Will you sell all your seats and how will you handle social distancing?

A: We will begin the season at 25% capacity or less, allowing for at least 6 feet between parties. If the CDC, local health authorities, and the labor unions with which we work allow, we may be able to make more seats available as the season goes on. Our ticketing system has a tool that will help us ensure that parties are 6 feet apart. We’ll also be arranging picnic tables, concessions lines and other APT features to allow for distancing.

Read more about safety precautions on the APT grounds here.

Q: Will there still be post-show discussions?

A: The actors’ union does not allow for any in-person contact with audience members outside of performances this year. So we’ll be moving these discussions to Zoom. While you won’t be able to ask your questions immediately after seeing the play, you can attend these events either live or tune into the recording. We’ll have more information on this before tickets go on sale. Our Beyond the Plays events – Play Talks and the Backstage Series – will also be held virtually this year. (Bonus: They’re free of charge!)

Q: Will assistive listening devices be available this year?

A: You bet! Also, since last we were together we have added an induction loop system to the Touchstone Theatre, similar to the one that we debuted in the Hill Theatre in 2017. This system allows users with hearing aids equipped with a t-coil to directly connect to our listening system for a better listening

experience. Patrons without a t-coil device can use a portable receiver and headset to connect to this system. The portable receivers are sanitized between each use.

Q: Will you hold matinees this season?

What about weekday student matinees?

A: We will definitely have weekend matinee performances this season as usual. As for weekday student matinees, we aren’t quite sure yet. It remains to be seen if school groups will be in a position take field trips in September and October, and the nature of our schedule this year (one play at a time rather than all in rotating repertory) isn’t as conducive to a student matinee schedule.

We hope to have at least one, possibly more. Stay tuned for more information on this one.

Q: What is the exchange or refund policy for patrons who can’t attend due to illness?

A: We do not want people who feel ill – even just a little bit – to come to APT. In these instances, patrons may contact the box office up until one hour before the performance to arrange an exchange, account credit, refund or a ticket to the digital version of the play.

We will be very flexible about this so we can keep everyone who does come to APT safe and healthy!

Q: Will the bus from Madison be running?

A: Unfortunately, not this year. With greatly reduced capacity in the theater and the reduced capacity that would be necessary on the coach, it isn’t financially feasible for us to offer bus service this season. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes; we plan to once again partner with Badger Bus to offer service in 2022.

Q: I’m worried about the ventilation in the Touchstone Theatre. What can you tell me about it?

A: HVAC upgrades are currently underway in several of our indoor spaces at APT, including the Touchstone Theatre. Read all about it in Chapter 4 of The Road Back.

Q: Will you publish a schedule of all the plays at once or just one at a time?

A: We’ve heard from a number of you who want to make your plans in advance, even though tickets won’t go on sale for all the shows at once. We will release a schedule for the full summer season very soon, so you can plan your annual outings through the summer.

Next week on The Road Back: An update on where things stand right now.

Arts & Culture

Page 10 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Movie Review: ‘Boss Level’ is a game winner Bill Gordon, Contributor Do you ever wish you could re-do a day? Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo), an off-duty special forces operator stuck in a 24-hour time-loop definitely does because he gets killed every day. “Boss Level” (directed by Joe Carnahan, 2021) is non-stop action from start to finish. Along the way, Roy discovers what his real mission is, and we tag along for the ride. Naomi Watts stars as Jemma Wells, a scientist and Roy’s former wife, and Mel Gibson as Colonel Clive Ventor, the owner of the company Jemma works for.

“Boss Level” joins “Palm Springs” (Max Barbakow, 2020) and “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” (Ian Samuels, 2021) as the third time-loop movie released in the past nine months.

These three films can be grouped with “Groundhog Day” (the 24-hour time-loop standard bearer) as they all involve comedy, romance, and personal growth. But “Boss Level” is different than the others as its narrative is built more around action than romance.

This movie is all Frank Grillo. The film is heavily (and expertly) narrated by his Roy Pulver character and he appears in virtually every scene. Michelle Yeoh stars as Dai Feng, a world class Chinese swordmaster who proves to be an important ally for Roy. A central theme of the film is “80s vintage side-scroller video games.”

Whenever Roy is killed and wakes up to try again, green text appears onscreen akin to an 80s video game and displays the attempt number. Roy underscores this when describes his experience saying, “It’s like being in a video game in a level you can’t beat.”

While “Boss Level” is not like Ready Player One or Tron where the story takes place inside a video game, the plot is structured like a video game where the player needs to eliminate a Boss (a powerful computer-created enemy) in order to win the game.

And just like a video game might have a variety of computer-generated opponents, “Boss Level” includes an eclectic group of killers, including the memorable Guan Yin (Selina Lo) as the confident and skilled swordfighter, and football star Ron Gronkowski as a helicopter gunner that wreaks havoc on Roy’s leased apartment.

Photos via Hulu Above: A movie poster for Hulu’s “Boss Level”. Below: A still from the movie featuring Frank Grillo, left, as Roy Pulver.

If you are like me and enjoy music from the 70s and 80s, you are in for a treat with this film’s soundtrack, which includes tunes from Boston, Badfinger, and Lynyrd Sknyrd and ties into the 80s video game theme. The sound and video effects in this movie are a feast for the senses.

“Groundhog Day” is one of my favorite films, I like its message that there is always another chance to get it right and experience personal growth. Boss Level continues this theme in a very entertaining action thriller.

4/5 stars.

Viewing information How to view: Hulu Release date: 2021 Duration: 100 Minutes Genre: Action-Thriller, Comedy, Scifi Rating: Unrated

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Community

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 Page 11

Governor Tony Evers and DHS Move Up COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin State Governor MADISON — Gov. Evers and the Department of Health Services (DHS) announced today that individuals age 16 and older with certain medical conditions will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning March 22, which is earlier than previously expected. This eligibility group includes individuals with medical conditions associated with an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

“Our vaccinators across the state are doing great work to get folks vaccinated and get this done, and because of their good work, Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in getting shots in arms,” said Gov. Evers.

“Moving up eligibility for this critical group will help us get over the finish line and sooner, and get us back to our Wisconsin way of life.”

The next eligibility group which will begin March 22, 2021 includes individuals age 16 and over with the following medical conditions: •Asthma (moderate-to-severe) •Cancer •Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood

vessels and blood supply to the brain) •Chronic kidney disease •COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) •Cystic fibrosis •Diabetes •Down syndrome •Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies •Hypertension or high blood pressure •Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant, blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines •Liver disease •Neurologic conditions, such as intellectual disabilities and dementia •Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 3039 kg/m2) •Overweight (BMI of 25-29 kg/m2) •Pregnancy •Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues) •Severe Obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2 or more) •Sickle cell disease

Richland County vaccine update Richland County Emergency Management Richland Center, WI: A collaborative partnership continues between the Richland Hospital, Richland County Health & Human Services, Center Pharmacy, and Richland County Emergency Management to develop a local plan to effectively and efficiently distribute COVID-19 vaccinations as they become available. This group meets weekly to clarify the details and progression of the local plan as instructed by the Wisconsin COVID-19 Response Plan.

Populations who are now “currently eligible” in Richland County will be expanded to include the following groups on Monday, March 15th: • Front Line Healthcare Worker • Police Officer • Sheriff Department • Fire Department • Age 65+ • Corrections Personnel • Funeral Home Worker • Education • Regulated Child Care Providers • Medicaid Long Term Care Program • 911 operators • Utility and communications infrastructure • Public Transit • Farmer or farm employee • On-site support to agricultural operations • Food production worker • Grocery store and convenience store workers • Hunger relief personnel • Non-frontline health care • Lives in employer based housing • Resident of housing that serves the elderly or those with disabilities • Transitional housing or shelter The following vaccine clinic partners are prepared to offer 1,200-1,400 vaccine appointments every week in Richland County if the vaccine is consistently available: • The Richland Hospital will offer COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and occasionally Thursdays from 8am-5pm.

Currently eligible populations should go to the Richland Hospital website at www.richlandhos-

pital.com/covid19 to register.

• Richland County Health & Human Services and Richland County Emergency Management will offer FREE COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics at the Richland Center Community/Senior Center on Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 8:30am4:30pm. Currently eligible populations should go to the Richland Hospital website at www. richlandhospital.com/covid19 to register.

• Center Pharmacy will offer COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment only on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 9am-5pm. Currently eligible populations should go to www.centerpharmacycares.com to complete a vaccine interest form. Eligible patient populations in Richland, Grant & Crawford counties will be contacted when vaccine is available.

Individuals needing assistance with making an appointment should call the Richland Hospital COVID-19 Hotline at 608-647-1820 or Richland County Health & Human Services at 608647-8821. When additional COVID-19 vaccines are received in Richland County, additional vaccination clinics will be offered and appointment availability will be announced.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that as of today 26% of Richland County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 19.2% are fully vaccinated. Richland County citizens age 65 and older who have received at least one dose totals 71.7%.

As of March 12, the total number of COVID-19 vaccines that have been administered by vaccine partners in the Richland County area at the following locations include: The Richland Hospital 6,014 Spring Green Medical Center 1,061 Muscoda Health Center 300 Richland Center Community/Senior Center 716 Center Pharmacy & Boscobel Pharmacy 2,750 TOTAL COVID-19 VACCINES DOSED: 10,841

Veterans For Peace offers scholarship David Giffey, Veterans For Peace

River Valley High School seniors, members of the Class of 2021, are encouraged to enter the 14th Annual essay contest sponsored by Veterans For Peace Chapter 25. Essays must be 500 to 700 words in length, and the topic is: “Why I Believe War Is Not the Answer.”

Writer of the winning essay will receive a check for $500.

Veterans for Peace is an international organization with members in more than 120 chapters worldwide. We are a nonprofit and raise money for our scholarship program through contributions. Our mission is to educate ourselves, our families, and our communities about the

human and monetary costs of war.

Students who enter the contest are encouraged to submit their essays and scholarship applications to the guidance office by March 24. The essays will be evaluated by the Veterans For Peace scholarship committee.

This is the 14th year Veterans for Peace has offered a scholarship to River Valley graduates. In addition to River Valley, Veterans For Peace scholarships are offered at high schools in Dodgeville, Richland Center, Boscobel, Baraboo, Riverdale, Wisconsin Heights, and Madison.

•Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder) •Current Eligibility Includes •Frontline health care personnel •Residents and staff in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities •Police and fire personnel, correctional staff •Age 65 and older •Educators and Child care •Individuals enrolled in Medicaid Longterm care programs •Some public facing essential workers •Non-frontline essential health care personnel •Staff and residents in congregate living facilities Additionally, DHS clarified current eligibility to include all clergy (as part of health care personnel who provide spiritual care to the sick), restaurant workers (as part of the food supply eligibility group) and further expanded public safety to include judges, prosecutors, and other essential criminal court personnel, in addition to public defenders.

Depending on vaccine supply, DHS still anticipates that Wisconsin will be able to expand eligibility May 1 to include all individuals age 16 and older. DHS will

continue to monitor vaccination coverage statewide and partner with vaccine providers in order to provide an updated vaccination timeline for the general public.

Individuals with the outlined medical conditions can access vaccine through a variety of options, including community-based clinics, health care providers, Local and Tribal Health Departments, and pharmacies.

Wisconsinites with a primary care provider may hear directly from their provider.

Visit the Wisconsin COVID-19 vaccine options page or call the toll free vaccine hotline at 1-844-684-1064 to learn more.

In the meantime, it is important to double-down on ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 due to emerging strains of the virus. Masking up, staying physically distant, washing hands, and getting tested continue to be crucial tools for protecting ourselves and our communities against COVID-19. Individuals who are fully vaccinated can review recently released post-vaccination guidance on the DHS website. For information, resources, and data related to Wisconsin’s COVID-19 vaccination program, visit the COVID-19 vaccine webpage.

Citizens of

RICHLAND COUNTY We would like to THANK YOU for continuing to wear your masks, wash your hands, and social distance.

You’ve done an AWESOME JOB with flattening the curve!!!

But we are not done and WE NEED YOU to hold the course.

We are all in this together, so STAY WITH US and continue these efforts.

BE PATIENT as the vaccines become available and GET YOUR SHOT when able.

These are critical steps as we move forward in DEFEATING THIS PANDEMIC!!!

T hank You For Helping Us Stop The Spread!

RICHLAND COUNTY BOARD RICHLAND COUNTY HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES RICHLAND COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Community

Page 12 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

COVID-19 Dashboard Wisconsin Summary

570,712 Positive Cases

Cases as of 3/16/2021

+3,078 from 3/9

2,672,681 Negative Cases +21,908 from 3/9

6,539 Deaths +29 from 3/9

Vaccine Summary Statistics Updated: 3/16/2021

2,406,245

316,790

Allocated

In Transit

2,006,295

2,043,125

Ordered

Administered

Percent of Wisconsin residents who have received at least one dose Updated: 3/16/2021

Richland County

1,294 Positive Cases +1 from 3/9 7,961 Negative Cases -16 from 3/9 15 Deaths +0 from 3/9

21.9%

1,273,705 Percent of Wisconsin residents who have completed the vaccine series

Iowa County

1,925 Positive Cases +38 from 3/9 10,970 Negative Cases +108 from 3/9 10 Deaths +0 from 3/9

Sauk County

Updated: 3/16/2021

5,381 Positive Cases +47 from 3/9 34,630 Negative Cases +123 from 3/9 43 Deaths +0 from 3/9

12.6%

721,389

The orange represents the population for whom the vaccine is authorized.

The gray indicates the population under 16 years of age whom the vaccines are not authorized.

Cumulative total confirmed COVID-19 cases by date in Wisconsin Cases as of 3/16/2021

Graphic by Whitney Back

Cases per zip code Cases as of 3/16/2021

Data From: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm

Community

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 Page 13

Nina’s Department Store celebrates 150 years in Spring Green As told to Jen Rubin, Love Wisconsin

Nina’s Department Store has been in our family for four generations. My great grandfather, Harris Marcus, started the business.

He was an immigrant from Russia.

Like countless other Russian Jews at the time, he fled religious persecution and in 1886 landed at Castle Garden, which was the forerunner of Ellis Island. He had relatives in New York, but when he made contact with them, he was told that so many family members had already come over, that they had no work for him. But there was a cousin in Chicago who might have a job for him, so they sent my great grandfather there by railroad. The same thing happened in Chicago. He met this cousin and the cousin said, “I’ve brought too many people into my business, I don’t have a place for you. But there’s another cousin, Max, who lives in the little town of Columbus, Wisconsin, who might have work for you in his store.” So Harris went up to Columbus and Max said, “I really don’t have any work for you in the store, but I can give you a pack with some fabric, thread, and needles and you can peddle.” This simple pack of merchandise is the origin story of Nina’s Department store.

For many Jewish immigrants, on the road peddling was their start-up occupation as they tried to make a living in their new home. Max told my great grandfather that there was an area along the Wisconsin River that’s not being covered. “That can be your territory. You can peddle our merchandise there.” My conversation with other Jewish historians who are familiar with how peddling worked said there was a respect for people’s territory amongst Jewish peddlers, and you didn’t step into somebody else’s territory. For seven years, Harris sold fabric and sewing supplies to farm women in this patch of the Wisconsin River Valley.

He went from carrying a pack on his back, walking down the country roads, to being able to afford a horse and saddlebags. This meant he could carry more merchandise, and eventually he was able to buy a wagon.

Changing from a horse and saddlebags to a wagon opened up his business opportunities. Now Harris was selling pots and pans and household items to farm wives.

And he was learning English as he went. By 1893, he was able to open his first store in Muscoda, Wisconsin, about 25 miles west of Spring Green. Turns out that the store was not a success, closed after a year, and my great grandfather went back to peddling.

But a year later he tried again. This time his eldest children helped him and they opened another store in Muscoda. That store, under the influence of my great uncle, Ben, and his brothers did well. By 1912 my family had built this big, beautiful department store.

In 1912, the Muscoda Progressive, which was the local newspaper at the time, did a story on the Marcus family, which they called “a rags-to-riches story.” From ped-

Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd Joel Marcus, owner of Nina’s Department Store in downtown Spring Green poses outside the current store holding a photo of the location when it was Cohen Brothers Department store in the early 1900s. dling to this “modern” department store; our family business became an American success story.

My great grandfather had five sons and one daughter; four of his sons followed him into the family business. He named the business Harris Marcus & sons.

The department store sold a variety of merchandise: men’s suits, women’s ready-to-wear clothes, shoes, groceries and household items. Because the sons were tripping over one another and had disagreements on how to run the business, they decided to expand and opened up a chain of stores, with branches in Boscobel, Viola, and Spring Green. They bought the Spring Green property from the Cohn Family, who had opened a department store in the spot in 1911. My great uncle, Abe, was sent to run the Spring Green store. In those days, they sold furniture up on the second floor, and according to family legend, Abe could often be found taking a nap on one of the display beds or sofas. When word got back to Harris, he called Abe back to the Muscoda store where he could watch him more closely. And he sent my grandfather, Sam, to run the Spring Green store. It was fortuitous that my branch of the family owned the Spring Green store, since it was the only store to exist after the Depression.

Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd Marcus poses inside of the modern day Nina’s Department Store.

Before the Depression, the stores were doing great. My grandfather and uncles were good promoters and would send postcards back to their customers from their buying trips in New York City. The postcard would say something like, “In New York, buying wonderful merchandise, thinking of you and your wife. You’ve got to see it—come into the store.” And the customers were thrilled because they got a postcard from New York City. During the Great Depression, our fortunes changed. We had the devastating financial loss that most businesses were dealing with at the time. But we also had the tragedy that the Muscoda store was destroyed by fire in 1934.

The Ku Klux Klan was very active in Muscoda at the time. The Wisconsin Historical Society has a lot of this history; the Klan burned crosses up in the hills, south of the river, and marched down Main Street. It was never proven but it was my family’s belief that the Klan was responsible for the fire.

During the Depression, all four of the Harris Marcus & Sons stores went bankrupt. In 1936, the bank took possession of the Spring Green building. My grandfather didn’t waste any time and rented half of the building from the bank so he could reopen the store the next day. He renamed the business The Economy Store, and sold five-and-dime merchandise. He knew it didn’t make sense to sell suits and furniture during the Depression. So the nature of the business changed to match the times. To this day, the older locals still refer to Nina’s as “the dime store.”

I am not certain when this actually happened, but by World War II my grandparents were able to buy the building back from the bank, and owned and occupied it again. In 1946, my grandfather put the business in my grandmother’s name, and it became known as Nina, Incorporated. The business adapted again and was mostly a variety store selling general merchandise at inexpensive prices. My grandfather died in 1946, and my grandmother inherited the business. The following year, my father fresh out of the Army Air Corps, came back to Wisconsin to run things.

My father saw his mission as serving the working people of the community. There were other stores that had men’s suits and fancy women’s clothing, but we primarily sold the workwear that the farmers needed.

Nina’s was the lower-cost store in town.

One of the pleasures of being rooted in a community for so long is that customers remember my dad. I have customers today that tell me stories about how they’d come

into Nina’s as kids and my dad fit their shoes for them. Mrs. Wright would bring the children from Taliesin for shoe fittings.

My father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 1978, and by April, he had died. I left law school in the middle of my second year and returned to Spring Green to close up the store. I had no intention of taking over the business. I think that by the fact that the store still exists, you can figure out how that turned out.

My heart just wasn’t in my law studies anymore. I thought about the family history, my grandfather starting with nothing as an immigrant and building a successful business, and my father building on that.

I thought about what the store meant to the community. And I just realized that this was where I wanted to be, and this is what I wanted to do. I took over the store and started to make some changes, but my mother was very resistant to change. It was a constant battle between us.

But then something happened that really necessitated a change. Walmart moved into Southwest Wisconsin in 1986. They opened their first store in Dodgeville, which is 18 miles south of us, and then Richland Center, which is 22 miles west. And that really changed the equation. People that used to hang out in our store every week suddenly just disappeared. We never saw them again. I realized we had to change our business model if we wanted to stay in business. Small local businesses don’t have the deep pockets of large chains. Stores such as Walmart can buy merchandise in much larger bulk quantities than stores like Nina’s, which means they buy each item at a lower price and they can sell it for less and still make a higher profit than us. So we needed to reinvent the store again. I was told that the only way to survive as a business was to become a dollar store, but that was not what I wanted to put my name on.

It made more sense to me to go full circle and return to our department store roots.

I started bringing in more clothing, upscaling our variety merchandise, but it was slow going until I met Judy. We married in 1999, and Judy moved to Spring Green. She has her own family history in retail that was just invaluable because of what I was hoping to do in the next couple of years. We knew we couldn’t fight prices with Walmart because they were always going to win. So we made the conscious decision to slowly upgrade.

Over time, we brought in new merchandise.

When the owner of the men’s store in town retired, we brought in men’s wear. Same

See page 14

Community

Page 14 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 continued from 13 page with the women’s clothing store. Judy has a textile background, and she built up a yarn department. We restored the storefront facade and won a Sauk County preservation award. I am proud of the work Judy and I did to build Nina’s into a working department and variety store that distinguished itself from Walmart.

While we were making these changes to the business I thought a lot about my father’s approach to running it. He was a strong believer in co-ops. He never had a desire to own a bunch of stores under his own name. But he belonged to a group of independent variety stores around Wisconsin that banded together to place merchandise orders so they could get favorable prices. These business owners became family friends. In the years after Walmart came in we started to witness stores closing down one after another. “Oh my goodness, the Barrs had to sell their store, the Carlsons closed down.” It was very personal. We saw the toll of these family businesses failing much like we saw the toll of family farms closing.

In 1979, there were about 22,000 variety stores in America. And now, we’re down to about 350. Every town used to have a store like Nina’s, and those of us that have survived are few and far between. It was depressing watching Walmart become the only game in town. My family’s business first opened in 1893, and I was willing to fight to keep it going. I think maybe that is the underpinning of Nina’s. This wasn’t just about a business venture—it was a battle to preserve a way of life.

Judy: Nina’s is an integral part of the community. We are a very service-oriented business. We make sure everybody is greeted who comes in the store and we provide a high level of service.

Judy: Our regular customers, in a way, become friends. In recent years most of our employees are retired teachers.

Joel: Our staff knows the community.

They’ve worked with what are now the young adults who grew up as their students.

So there is that sense of connection.

Judy: We have a lot of people in town who are very loyal customers. Many of our older customers, who have been shopping at Nina’s for more than fifty years, sadly, are starting to die. But there is a younger generation who totally gets it, who doesn’t

Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd Joel Marcus, left, and Judy Marcus, right in front of Nina’s Department Store. want to shop at a big-box store and shops with us. I have a knitting group that meets once a week, that draws people from around 20 miles in any direction of Spring Green.

Joel: Things were going great for Nina’s and for the Spring Green community. We have the American Players Theatre, all kinds of cultural attractions, music venues were popping up and bringing people to Spring Green. We have this vibrant and growing arts scene, and along comes Covid.

It’s like somebody pulled the emergency brake on a train—everything came to a dead stop. Covid hit our business hard.

Judy: We keep telling ourselves, the Marcus family business survived the 1918 flu epidemic, two world wars, survived the

Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd Marcus poses in front of Nina’s in downtown Spring Green.

Depression, and damn it, we’re going to get through Covid.

Joel: Our store was shut down for two months from mid-March till Mid-May. My initial thought was we provided an essential service and could remain open but with masks and distancing. I studied the proclamation, and I thought, “Okay, we’re an essential service. We can continue.” Judy was very nervous about my interpretation and had me file an application with the Wisconsin Department of Economic Development to get an exemption. But our application was denied, and we had to close down.

Judy and I tried to do mail order, but we were not set up to do it. We took phone calls and emails and tried to mail things out, but

not too successfully. At that point our sales went down 90%. We did get a Sauk County grant, which was great, but a drop in the bucket compared to what we lost. Once we were able to do curbside pick-up, things got a little bit better, but our sales were still down 80%. And not to mention the fact that everything was very difficult. Since we couldn’t do virtual carts, Judy and I were pushing real shopping carts. We ran up and down the aisles with our cell phones pulling orders. Since we offer a personal service, we had people … Instead of saying, “I want a box of envelopes,” and we would throw in the first box of envelopes, it was, “Now, tell me every envelope you have,” and we had to describe it all. We were exhausted at the end of the day and had hardly anything to show for it. We were very relieved when we were able to reopen to public traffic in mid-May. Judy: This summer we still saw plenty of tourists, especially people who travel in motorhomes. Their attitude was, “We love our Spring Green getaways and even though the theater’s closed, we’re still coming to town and we’re going to our favorite art galleries, shops and restaurants.” We were still down about 30% this summer, but that’s a big improvement.

Joel: By December, sales had bounced back to near normal levels. What we had lost in sales due to lack of out-of-town visitors we made up in increased sales to local customers. We were heartened by the overwhelming support we received from many new and younger shoppers. There seemed to be a renewed awareness in the value of supporting local businesses.

We are optimistic that when the pandemic is over we will be in a stronger position than when it started. Four generations after it all began with an immigrant peddler, Nina’s still continues to reimagine and reinvent itself to be relevant to a new generation of shoppers. After 105 years, we still provide our community with all the essentials of life, but throw in a lot of style, personality and fun in the process.

Love Wisconsin is a digital storytelling project that celebrates our state, our lives, and our shared future.

They can be found online at www.lovewisconsin.com.

See page 15

Community

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 Page 15

continued from page 13

Photos contributed by Joel and Judy Marcus A view of what now houses Nina’s Department Store in downtown Spring Green at the turn of the century.

A previous iterations of stores that called this Jefferson Street location home in the 1930s prior to Nina’s Department housing the location.

See page 16

Page 16 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Community

continued from page 15

Photos contributed by Joel and Judy Marcus

A photo of Nina’s Department Store in the 1940s, when it shared it’s current downtown Jefferson Street location with the Economy store.

An ariel view of Nina’s Department Store in the 19050s.

A turn of the century view of Jefferson Street and downtown Spring Green, featuring an early iteration of Nina’s Department Store, then H. Marcus & Sons Department store.

Community

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 Page 17

2020-2021 Winter All-Southwest Conference River Valley High School Athletes

Boys Basketball:

1st Team: Preston Hying 2nd Team: Zach Gloudeman Honorable Mention: Tyler Nachreiner

Girls Basketball:

Honorable Mention: Charlotte Ferstl

Gymnastics:

2020-2021 SWC Champions

Vault:

2nd Team: McKenzie Kruse Honorable Mention: Katie Forseth

Floor:

Bars:

2nd Team: Sofia Sanftleben, McKenzie Kruse Honorable Mention: Katie Forseth, Emily Noble

Beam:

1st Team: Sofia Sanftleben 2nd Team: McKenzie Kruse, Emily Noble

1st Team: McKenzie Kruse 2nd Team: Sofia Sanftleben, Katie Forseth, Emily Noble 2nd Team: Sofia Sanftleben, McKenzie Kruse, Emily Noble Honorable Mention: Madison Krey 1st Team: Sofia Sanftleben, Emily Noble

All Around:

Wrestling:

1st Team: Keeghan Kjos 160 2nd Team: Jimmy Jennings Landon Radtke Jackson Gilbert Honorable Mention: Braden Prochaska Cole White

138 145 220 113 132

River Valley Youth Wrestling takes part in state tournament Boys Born 2012-13 69

Colt Nachreiner’s place is 1st and has scored 26.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Colt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by fall over Isaac Heine (Sussex Sabercats) (Fall 0:48) Quarterfinal - Colt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by fall over Clayton Annis (Winneconne Wrestling Club) (Fall 0:43) Semifinal - Colt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by decision over Otis Canty (JJ`s Club Wrestling) (Dec 3-1) 1st Place Match - Colt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by decision over Grayson Mentink (Oostburg) (Dec 9-2)

Boys Born 2006-2007 S1 110

Wyatt Nachreiner’s place is 5th and has scored 15.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) received a bye Champ. Round 2 - Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by major decision over Carter Sterba (New Richmond Wrestling) (Maj 12-2) Champ. Round 3 - Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by decision over Jackson McGuire (RT Elite) (Dec 5-2) Quarterfinal - Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by decision over Ryan Michalski (Askren Wrestling Academy) (Dec 4-0) Semifinal - Caleb Dennee (Beast Cage) won by decision over Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) (Dec 4-2) Cons. Semi - Jackson McGuire (RT Elite) won by decision over Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) (Dec 1-0) 5th Place Match - Wyatt Nachreiner (MIDWEST STRONG) won by major decision over Caleb Lord (MIDWEST STRONG) (Maj 9-0)

Boys Born 2008-09 S2 88

Mason Schulte’s place is unknown and has scored 8.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Mason Schulte (River Valley) won in sudden victory - 1 over Cooper Feiner (JJ’s Club Wrestling (SV-1 2-0)

Champ. Round 2 - Blake Mikkelson (X-Factor Elite Wrestling) won by fall over Mason Schulte (River Valley) (Fall 1:29) Cons. Round 2 - Mason Schulte (River Valley) won by fall over Cole Pautz (Mineral Point Wrestling Club) (Fall 1:58) Cons. Round 3 - Mason Schulte (River Valley) won by fall over Ayden Michlig (Abbotsford/Colby) (Fall 1:24) Cons. Round 4 - Benjamin Wiza (Askren Wrestling Academy) won by decision over Mason Schulte (River Valley) (Dec 3-0)

Boys Born 2008-09 125

Blake Brickl’s place is 4th and has scored 16.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Blake Brickl (River Valley) received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - Blake Brickl (River Valley) won by fall over Elijah Johnson (Delavan) (Fall 1:34) Quarterfinal - Blake Brickl (River Valley) won by decision over Grant Salber (Marathon) (Dec 5-0) Semifinal - Liam Crook (Askren Wrestling Academy) won by fall over Blake Brickl (River Valley) (Fall 0:29) Cons. Semi - Blake Brickl (River Valley) won by decision over Trent Palubicki (Crandon Cardinals) (Dec 5-2) 3rd Place Match - Kysen Brown (Hortonville Wrestling Club) won by decision over Blake Brickl (River Valley) (Dec 8-1)

Boys Born 2006-2007 S1 115

Wesley Hatfield’s place is unknown and has scored 0.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Miller (Wrestling Factory) won by decision over Wesley Hatfield (River Valley) (Dec 9-4) Cons. Round 1 - Kaden Roth (Rocket Wrestling Factory) won by fall over Wesley Hatfield (River Valley) (Fall 3:23)

Boys Born 2006-2007 S1 120

Noah Radtke’s place is 4th and has scored 22.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Noah Radtke (River Valley) won by fall over Jacob Anderson (Menomonie wrestling club)

Photo via Matt Brickl, RV Youth Wrestling Seven River Valley youth wrestlers took part in the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation State Youth tournament on March 5, 6, and 7 at the Woodside complex at Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells.

Pictured from left to right Wesley Hatfield, Blake Brickl(4th place) Wyatt Nachreiner(5th place) Colt Nachreiner(State Champion), Noah Radtke(4th place), Mason Schulte, and Treyton White. Results to the left.

(Fall 1:30) Champ. Round 2 - Noah Radtke (River Valley) won by decision over Colin Fischer (Bonduel) (Dec 6-3) Champ. Round 3 - Noah Radtke (River Valley) won by fall over Isaiah Guerrero (Askren Wrestling Academy) (Fall 2:43) Quarterfinal - Noah Radtke (River Valley) won by fall over Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt (Crass Trained) (Fall 2:31) Semifinal - William Schmitt (Revolution School Of Wrestling) won by decision over Noah Radtke (River Valley) (Dec 3-2) Cons. Semi - Noah Radtke (River Valley) won by decision over Carson Menehan (Sarbacker Wrestling Academy) (Dec 9-3) 3rd Place Match - Carter Freeman

(Wisconsin Rapids) won by decision over Noah Radtke (River Valley) (Dec 6-3)

Boys Born 2006-2007 S2 175

Treyton White’s place is unknown and has scored 0.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Zakery Wrobel (SBS) won by fall over Treyton White (River Valley) (Fall 1:24) Cons. Round 1 - Sabastian Soumphonphakdy (Oregon) won by decision over Treyton White (River Valley) (Dec 9-3) —Information provided by Matt Brickl, RV Youth Wrestling

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Get in touch with us today! www.butternutroadcoffee.com butternutroadcoffeetruck@gmail.com 608-459-5016 Butternut Road Coffee Truck butternutroad_coffeetruck Butternut_Road

Coffee & News A collaboration by Valley Sentinel & Butternut Road Coffee.

Stop by the coffee truck starting mid-week to pick up a copy of Valley Sentinel with your coffee, while supplies last.

Page 18 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Outdoors/recreation

Mid-March birding report: Spring migration Ryan Brady, DNR Natural Heritage Conservation Program Biologist

Migration continues to ramp up across southern Wisconsin, bringing more birds inching farther north almost daily. The return of sandhill cranes, Canada geese, red-winged blackbirds and American robins have been especially welcome for many bird lovers from Eau Claire to Wausau to Green Bay and southward. Other new arrivals include the first American woodcocks, tree swallows, turkey vultures, eastern bluebirds, song sparrows and American white pelicans.

Now is a great time to focus on waterfowl migration, especially if you are a new birder, as these species often provide good views and are relatively easy to identify, especially in the spring. Canada geese are pairing up and getting territorial. Flocks of greater white-fronted geese are being seen in open wetlands and agricultural fields. Tundra swans are increasing in numbers across eastern Wisconsin, while trumpeters dominate in western and northern areas. Ducks are prevalent in flooded fields, along Lake Michigan and anywhere with open water, including a wide variety of species such common goldeneyes, common and red-breasted mergansers, hooded mergansers, greater and lesser scaup, redheads, some canvasbacks, wood ducks, shovelers, pintail, American wigeon and even some early blue-winged teal. Raptor migration is also picking up. Bald eagles are staging in large numbers along the Mississippi River and most will head north in March, as will our smaller population of golden eagles. Rough-legged hawks have begun to depart but will remain across many areas through mid-April. The first red-shouldered hawks have returned, peregrine falcons are back to nest boxes, and numbers of northern harriers, American kestrels and merlins are on the rise. A few snowy owls re-

Photo via National Center for Atmospheric Research Bird migration was visible on radar the evening of March 9, as early-season migrants winged north overnight on southerly tail winds ahead of an approaching cold front with rain showers. main, while barred and screech owls have been commonly heard and seen. Now is a good time to start listening for saw-whet owls as well.

Other species of note in the south include northern flickers, cedar waxwings, eastern bluebirds, killdeer, great blue herons, belted kingfishers and common grackles.

Farther north, good numbers of

common redpolls continue, as well as a few evening grosbeaks and an occasional great gray owl. Rare birds were few this week but we should expect some oddities to show up as migration gains steam with each passing week.

The week ahead looks to have more seasonable temperatures with few days of favorable south winds so

we might expect a slower pace of migration overall. However, this weekend, and particularly Saturday, looks very nice for birding. Head out to see what you can find and help us track the migration by reporting your sightings to www.ebird.org/wi.

Enjoy the birds!

DNR Seeking Public Comment On Nitrate Pollution In Groundwater

Department of Natural Resources MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is currently updating the NR 151, Wis. Adm. Code regarding nitrate pollution in groundwater.

The rule amendment proposes establishing agricultural nonpoint source performance standards targeted to abate nitrate pollution in groundwater areas of the state which are susceptible to groundwater contamination such that com-

pliance with the nitrate standard can be achieved.

As part of this effort, the DNR is preparing an economic impact analysis (EIA) for proposed rule WT-19-19 relating to nitrate pollution in groundwater. A copy of the NRB approved scope statement for this rule is available for download here under Agenda Item 2D. A full list of the proposed permanent administrative rules currently being developed by the DNR, or

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which have been adopted by the Natural Resources Board (NRB) and are pending publication, are available here. Scroll down to WT-Watershed Management section for all related materials.

If you cannot access or download the information, for assistance please email: DNRNR151Revisions@wisconsin.gov The DNR will accept written comments on the EIA from the public until April 10, 2021. Please see the

notice for additional detail on the input requested. A separate public comment period on the rule itself will be held after the EIA is finalized.

Please submit written comments by email to DNRNR151Revisions@ wisconsin.gov or by mail: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources C/O Mike Gilbertson – WT/3 P.O. Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707

Outdoors/recreation

WednesdaY, March 17, 2021 Page 19

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters, Contributor

Return to Little Bay de Noc

Hello friends, This week I am writing to you about an ice fishing trip that I took with my good friend Doug Cibulka and my golden retriever Ruby. Back in 1997 I fished Upper Michigan’s Little Bay de Noc for the first time.

On that trip I was driving and sleeping in a Jeep Eagle and I did not catch a fish.

The following year I arrived with my Chevy pickup camped in a tent and caught a couple of walleyes in the six-pound range. The following year many of the guys from my deer camp came up with permanent shacks and we would spend three weekends each year catching big walleye and laughing a lot.

Friday, March 5th High 38, Low 2

On this day, the high was 56 in Necedah and 38 in Gladstone, Michigan. With a trailer loaded with my 550 Polaris “Classic” and lots of gear we drove on the ice as did hundreds of other people. Doug and I had one goal and that was to see at least one of us catch a walleye over 23-inches.

After building camp which is the Eskimo “Fatshack” two cots, three propane lights, and a kitchen, camp was built, and we began watching the three tip ups a piece that we had out.

Our neighbors living on the ice were from Wausau and Beaver Dam and both crews were seasoned veterans. Just before dark I had a flag, but no line was missing, and my minnow was fine. I reset it and five minutes later it was up again

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor Our camp on Little Bay de Noc.

and this time, line was being pulled off the spool at breakneck speed.

The fight and it was a great one, lasted at least five minutes and in the end, I iced a 27-inch walleye and thus the Friday night shin ding on Little Bay de Noc commenced and life was perfect.

Saturday, March 6th High 34, Low 10, brutal wind

Doug Cibulka loves to fish and hunt but so far, he had never caught a big walleye. This morning Doug had a flag which was followed by a great hand to line battle. In the end Doug iced a 26-inch walleye that was his personal best and once again life was very good.

Our neighbors from Beaver Dam caught a 26 and I believe a 21. Our neighbors from Wausau had no luck.

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor Ruby loves snowmobile rides.

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor This walleye put a big smile on Doug Cibulka’s face!

Sunday, March 7th High 37, Low 3

A side story would be the local bait shops and folks that rent out sleeper shacks. With the warm weather to the south many of the clients have concerns and this would especially play a fact the weekend after this trip.

Do you abandon ship and pull your shacks or do you stay the course?

Getting sleeper shacks off from weak, thin ice can be scary. Losing the biggest weekend of the winter’s revenue can also be scary.

We fished all day and tonight at 3:30 a.m. Doug had two flags and caught a 13-inch walleye which now made it so he had caught more fish than me but my comeback was mine is bigger.

Our neighbors from Wausau had a great night and caught “eyes” from 21 to 31.5 inches. The Beaver Dam guys had no luck.

I took my snowmobile off the trailer

and both Doug and I explored the bay. Ruby is addicted to the ATV and snowmobile rides and if I get on one or the other she is jumping on the seat, at home she takes naps on the ATV if it is parked outside.

We stayed one more night and had nothing happen even though we stayed up until 4:00 a.m. In reality after Doug caught his 26-incher everything was bonus time and we pegged out the fun meter.

I just about forgot an important part of this trip; I was airing out my sleeping bags at home and forgot to pack them. On my cot when I tried to sleep, I froze my hiney off and it was brutal. Even more than usual I came home with great memories and dead, dog tired!

—Sunset

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Community

Page 20 WednesdaY, March 17, 2021

Get in touch with Tortilleria Zepeda today! tortilleriazepeda.com tortilleriazepeda@gmail.com (608).520.3026 Tortilleria Zepeda tortilleriazepeda

prairie

Business Spotlight We are Tortilleria Zepeda, an artisan, nixtamalized corn tortilla company located in downtown Lone Rock. Our authentic corn tortillas are made from organic and non-gmo corn sourced from farmers within a 50 mile radius of Lone Rock.

Our mission is to play an integral part in the local food community by partnering with local farmers to source non-GMO and organic corn to produce authentic, Mexican nixtamalized corn tortillas.

Pictured below with Heidi and Julian Zepeda is John Wepking from Meadlowlark Organics.

Question & Answer

With owners, Heidi and Julian Zepeda Can you give us a brief background of Tortilleria Zepeda?

Heidi left Wisconsin in 2013 to seek adventure south of the border in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There she met her husband, Julian Zepeda, who was working as a Marine Biologist. In 2016, they decided to set roots in Madison, near Heidi’s hometown of Spring Green.

Disappointed with the lack of “authentic Mexican” tacos in Madison, Julian quickly realized the reason behind the missing Mexican authenticity, was the tortilla. He asked Heidi the following, “With fields upon fields of beautiful corn in Wisconsin, why is no one making fresh corn tortillas?” She responded, “great question!” …and this is how the business was born.

During Julian’s childhood and into adulthood, he spent hours in the kitchen observing and helping his grandmother and mother prepare traditional Mexican dishes. He already had quite a knack for preparing food and with the support of his family, only a Skype call away, he was confident he could recreate the authentic style tortilla he grew up to love.

Every year since Tortilleria Zepeda started in 2018, Julian travels to Mexico to further his tortilla education by working alongside leading tortilla masters around the country. He has participated in numerous hands-on apprenticeships, which has taught him how to perfect the pre-Hispanic nixtamalization process and create the most authentic Mexican tortilla.

Having grown up on a grass-fed beef farm in Clyde, Heidi is no stranger to the River Valley area. She is a farm girl at heart, who has a passion for hard work and agriculture. When searching for a location to start their tortilla business, she was reminded of Lonesome Stone Milling located in Lone Rock. She contacted Gilbert Williams and inquired about renting one of their mills to grind their nixtamalized corn. After a few griding sessions at Lonesome Stone Milling, Gilbert offered them to rent shared commercial kitchen space at the flour mill. Currently the flour mills have moved out of the space, and Tortilleria Zepeda is the sole occupant at the former Lonesome Stone Milling location.

Our tortillas are unique not only because we use locally sourced corn, but because we nixtamalize the corn. This process has recently been lost in the industrialization of tortilla production, so that the tortillas can have an extended shelf life. In the nixtamalization process, the corn is cooked in an alkaline solution (in this case, pickling lime/calcium hydroxide) and soaked for 24 hours. The wet corn is then ground in a volcanic stone grinder and later mixed with water and a small amount of salt. We do not add any preservatives or additives, our ingredients are simple and transparent.

Not only is the nixtamalization process the authentic traditional way to make tortillas, but there are nutritional benefits. There is a release of Vitamin B3 during the process and an increase in calcium and protein availability of the corn. Also, this process significantly reduces phytic acid, which blocks your absorption of zinc, calcium, and other important minerals. So not only do our corn tortillas actually taste like corn, but they are delicious and nutritious!

Why it important to use organic and local ingredients for your product?

It was always our mission to support local farmers to help strengthen our local food systems and our communities.

Our soil and environment have taken a toll over the years, and we believe we can make an impact on our planet and community by supporting organic and regenerative farming practices. We want to do what we can to contribute to a healthy community and healthy soils.

In additional, it’s important that we use local corn for our tortillas because we want to honor the authentic prehispanic practice of tortilla making, in which native corn of the region is used.

We believe that an authentic tortilla is made using authentic practices and using corn from the local area.

How has COVID-19 affected your business?

The major challenge for us during the pandemic, was pivoting our business model. Prior to COVID-19, we wanted to align ourselves with more restaurants and see our tortillas on more food menus. But with the closures of restaurants, we had to start focusing more on retail options. With more people cooking at home, and desiring a restaurant quality meal, this has contributed to an increase in retail sales.

We also think that providing a healthier tortilla option from a local Wisconsin food producer, has been a positive reason our sales have been on the incline.

What is your proudest accomplishment/endeavor with the business?

We have a few proud accomplishments to mention regarding our business.

The first is, simply starting a food business during a pandemic and still striving despite the global challenges.

We are also very proud of our recent appearance on a local television show called, “Project Pitch It,” which is a Shark Tank style show, who recognizes promising new Wisconsin entrepreneurs.

How do you believe you’ve made a positive impact on the community?

We are making a positive impact on the community by sourcing all of our corn from local farmers. We choose not to import corn from various parts of the country nor from outside the US, because we want our local farmers to continue to grow and strive. Our tortillas also have many health benefits, so we are making an impact on our community’s health by providing a wholesome, healthy food option.

“Delicious and nutritious!”

-Josiah Lent “Best tortillas I’ve ever had!”

-Desmond Hawkins