Inside this edition
Looking for an event? Check out the new community calendar
Art from around the Valley: Jen Salt’s “Frank’s Hill”
Memorial Day water safety tips
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Spring Green, Wisconsin
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Vol. 2, No. 21 Free, Single-Copy
Sauk County sees record high sales tax, focuses on tourism and placemaking Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief Sauk County is looking towards a historic start to 2021 with reports of record high sales and property tax revenue in just the first two months of the year. At the May 18 regular board meet-
ing, county Finance Director, Kerry Beghin and Administrative Coordinator Brent Miller, gave the board a first quarter financials update, which reported sales tax revenue for January and February up nearly 16% than the first two months of the previous
two years. “These last two months are the highest we’ve ever recorded for sales tax coming in,” said Miller. “Which, if you can explain that to me, I don’t know, I don’t understand it.” In January 2021, the county report-
ed over $613,000 in sales tax revenue, compared to the approximately $595,000 January 2020, approximately an $18,000 difference. February 2021 brought an even higher jump with the county report-
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‘Go outside. Take a snack.’ Wander Provisions opens, offering community the tools to do just that Taylor Scott, Managing Editor Albany Street in Spring Green has a new business, and they want to encourage you to head out and explore the area, snacks in hand. Wander Provisions held a soft opening May 21 and 22, showcasing an abundance of vintage picnic and camping supplies and curated, upscale, locally sourced snacks. “Wander Provisions brings together the best farmers and producers to provide locally sourced and environmentally packaged food for your next adventure in the Driftless region of Wisconsin,” shared owner Kyle Adams. In true locally sourced fashion, the Wander Provisions soft opening featured a wild ramp pistachio pesto tossed with Taste Republic (Madison) gluten free fusilli pasta, Nectar Bakery (Spring Green) baked goods (with wild ramp butter for the biscuits of course), boxes filled with cheese from Landmark Creamery (Belleville), Hook’s Cheese (Mineral Point), Cedar Grove Cheese (Plain), summer sausage from Cates Family Farm (Spring Green), crackers from Potter’s Crackers (Madison), Nutkrack (Madison) pecans, wild ramp pesto dip with Westby Cooper-
Photo by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief Wander Provisions Owner, Kyle Adams, left, chats and checks out customers at the stores open house May 22. The store offers hand-curated, locally sourced snacks, picinic options and vintage recreational items. The store can be found on instagram @Wanderprovisions.
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Village of Plain to see colorful, community oriented art installation Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief At it’s monthly board meeting, the village of Plain heard from leaders at the Wormfarm Institute about an interactive, community oriented art project being constructed in the village over the summer. Wormfarm Institute is responsible for hosting Fermentation Fest and the Art’D
Tour, which is an art tour throughout the state that aims to capture rural communities and farming culture through art. The festival had an art stop in Plain for the first time last year, and will now be returning to include the village in installations the organization is calling “Test Plots” which are interactive,
site-responsive art installations created by architects. Wormfarm Institute partnered with FUNdaMENTAL Designs and Kraemer Brothers Construction to install interactive, colorful ribbons in a prairie field behind the Driftless Extracts corporate building, the idea behind the project being to strengthen community partner-
ships and test different art features for the upcoming 2022 art tours, said Philip Matthews, the Wormfarm Institute director of programs. Three architects and an organizer from FUNdaMENTAL Designs will be living in Plain from June to July to develop the test plot, the three designers include Eli
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Richland County Board adjusts permit fees for incoming solar farm off Highway 130 Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief The Richland County Board made some adjustments to their solar energy permit fees in preparation for a potential solar farm being built in the southeast portion of the county. At its regular May 18 meeting, the board amended it’s ordinance pertaining to permit fees for residential use and solar farm use, as Savion Energy prepares to build a large solar farm on
either side of Highway 130 near the Village of Lone Rock. The amendments adjust the fees for permits from a per solar panel price to a flat rate price for the permit. To obtain a permit for a small residential shed or garage, the flat rate will now be $100, and the flat rate for a use permit for a solar farm will be $750, a large price drop for solar companies. Bindl said if the ordinance had not
been amended to create a flat rate price, Savion Energy would be charged nearly $6 million in just permit fees to bring the solar farm to life in Richland County. “There is a question as to whether they would come or not if we charge $6 million,” said Supervisor Ingrid Glassbrenner, of Richland Center. The solar farm is expected to be approximately 800 acres, starting north
of Highway 14, spanning both sides of Highway 130 all the way to Old Mill Road, where there is an existing electric substation, which Bindl said is a big draw for that specific location. Of those 800 acres, Savion says a minimum of 400 acres will be dedicated to permanent solar energy systems. According to Savion’s application for
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