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Menomonie City Council for 3/18/2024

Note that due to scheduling conflicts we will not be streaming this city council meeting, but you may watch it at the link on the agenda below.

CITY OF MENOMONIE COUNCIL MEETING CITY

COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 PM Monday – March 18, 2024

AGENDA

Pledge of Allegiance

1. Roll Call & Special Recognitions

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Public Hearings

a. Public Hearing regarding Resolution 2024-07, Final Special Assessments for CTH B Utility Extension.

b. Public Hearing regarding Ordinance 2024-04, an Ordinance Amending Title 10 Farming regulations.

Menomonie School Board discusses upcoming budget shortfall, employee compensation

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE MENOMONIE AREA
NOTICE OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE CENTER 215 PINE AVENUE E., WISCONSIN

MONDAY, MARCH 18 2024, 5:45 P.M.

This meeting will be live-streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCq2Z68-Z717wExwN1mChOQ/streams

AGENDA

I. OPENING ITEMS

A. Call to Order

B. Roll Call and Quorum

C. Pledge of Allegiance and Reading of Mission Statement

D. Agenda Order and Approval/Revision

E. Recommendations & Commendations

F. Highlight on Youth

G. Student Representative Communications

H. Community Communications

Big Changes Coming

Big changes are coming to WisCommunity. Soon. You may have noticed that there have been fewer articles lately, which is largely because I have been working on a new website. .We will leave this site that is full of features that are never used (due to years-old plans that never happened) and will be moving to a new site built on much newer technology that will be moe maintainable in the long term. For those of you who care, it will be a move from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10. I hope the new site will launch sometime next week. 

There are other changes in the works. I hope that next month we will be expanding staff and bringing you more coverage of life in the Chippewa Valley.. Stay Tuned. 

Gun incident at Kwik Trip

At 9:03 PM on Friday, March 15, Menomonie Police responded to an issue at the Kwik Trip at 3M drive in Menomonie about shots being fired. The police secured the area and looked for the source of the gunfire. They located shell casings near a semi in the parking lot and evacuated the area. 

The driver of the truck was initially non-responsive. The police called in the SWAT team, and the driver eventually did respond, but refused to leave the truck. After further negotiations the driver came out of the truck with no further incidents. 

The driver was identified as Saul Juarez, 37, of Illinois. He was charged with intoxicated use of a firearm and 2nd degree recklessly endangering public safety, along with other pending charges. 

Senate to adjourn with election fixes unlikely, leaving conspiracy theories to flourish

The state Senate plans to meet Tuesday for the last time this session, and it appears unlikely it will address a pair of election-related issues that, without legislative action, could fuel conspiracy theories come November.

One issue is the challenging task of counting all of Milwaukee’s absentee ballots on Election Day. The other is a flaw in the state’s system for tracking adjudicated incompetent voters.

Lake Menomin 'Klunker' Update: Where It Is Now?

Last year, true to the car on ice tradition of Menomonie and the spirit of the Lions Club, a “klunker” car was placed out on Lake Menomin, symbolizing the turn from winter to spring within the community. As most community members noticed this year the long-running tradition came to a pause. There is no car on the ice. Without the sturdy support of the ice, there was no klunker this year.

 

Lion Community Service Chair and self-proclaimed life-long member of the Lions Club, Jon Hove shed some light on this. “Yes, we sold tickets but, Mother Nature did not provide the main ingredient—ice for the car. So, it was never safe to put it out from January 1st to now,” Hove said.

Weekly News Quiz for 3/8/2024 Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Meet Your Local Candidates Event goes over big

Approximately fifty local voters attended last night's Meet Your Local Candidates event held by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Chippewa Valley. This was a neighborly community event allowing voters to meet the 34 candidates who attended. There were animated conversations between voters and candidates, and many of the candidates took time to speak to each other as well. The event was held at the Rassbach Museum. 

Refreshments were provided by the Menomonie Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters staffed a table to provide information for voters  and to help prospective voters with registration. The Rotary Club and WisCommunity were also sponsors of the event. 

Dunn County is again offering free well water testing
 
Dunn County is again offering free well testing following its 2023 project that tested nearly 1,000 wells in the county for nitrates and metals.
 
“The sampling is planned to be started in July of this year with staff collecting the samples again,” said Heather Wood, water resources specialist for Dunn County.
Help to improve local news - take a survey

The Local News Group in Dunn County has been working to improve the state of local news in the county. They (and indirectly we) are asking for your help. The News Group is trying to learn more about how people in the area obtain information and news. If you we would all appreciate it. 

Menomonie City Council Meeting for 3/4/2024

CITY OF MENOMONIE
COUNCIL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
7:00 PMi

Monday – March 4, 2024

AGENDA

Pledge of Allegiance

1. Roll Call & Special Recognitions

All in attendance but Yonko and Solberg.

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Public Hearings

NO Hearings

4. Public Comments

No public comments

5. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business. 

6. New Business

Gov. Evers Announces Wisconsin has been Selected by U.S. Department of Energy for Rural Clean Energy Demonstrations

Collaborative partnerships between local and Tribal government and industry will bring economic and clean energy benefits to rural Wisconsin communities

Driver in fatal HWY 25 crash identified

The driver in the fatal crash on Highway 25 north of Menomonie has been identified. The crash took place on Sunday near the intersection of 25 and Northline Road. 

According  to a press release from the Wisconsin State Patrol:

On February 25, 2024, at approximately 12:49 pm, a 2-vehicle crash occurred on Highway 25 near Northline Road in Dunn County. Preliminary investigation shows a pickup truck traveling southbound pulled into the northbound lanes to pass a vehicle and drove head-on into a passenger car traveling northbound. The driver of the passenger car was fatally injured as a result of the crash. The driver of the pickup truck received minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital.  

Weekly News Quiz for 3/2/2024
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Menomonie, Dunn County, UW-Stout collaborating on new economic development position

Note that this position will be discussed at the Menomonie City Council meeting on Monday, March 4.

Meet your local candidates in Dunn County - see which candidates are attending

WisCommunity is proud to be one of the sponsors for this event. Please see the event .

Steve Hanson, Publisher of WisCommunity is a board member for the League of Women Voters of the Greater Chippewa Valley.

A growing list of candidates have signed up to meet with voters on Thursday, March 7, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Holtby Hall, Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum, 1820 John Russell Road, Menomonie.

 

Candidates for Dunn County Board of Supervisors who have already pledged to attend are (Incumbents are indicated by (I):

Election analysts forecast tight race as Eric Hovde readies bid to challenge Tammy Baldwin

The 2024 election season is being catapulted into focus this week with Gov. Tony Evers signing new legislative maps and wealthy Republican businessman Eric Hovde launching a long-anticipated bid for the U.S. Senate against two-term incumbent Tammy Baldwin.

Menomonie School District Board Meeting for 2/26/2024

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE MENOMONIE AREA
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE CENTER
215 PINE AVENUE E., Menomonie, WISCONSIN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024, 5:45 P.M.

This meeting will be live-streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCq2Z68-Z717wExwN1mChOQ/streams

AGENDA

I. OPENING ITEMS

A. Call to Order

B. Roll Call and Quorum

C. Pledge of Allegiance and Reading of Mission Statement

D. Agenda Order and Approval/Revision

E. Community Communications

II. PERSONNEL CONSENT AGENDA

Weekly news quiz for 2/24/2024

The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz

Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
School District of Menomonie Area referendum defeated

All of the votes have been counted in the School District of the Menomonie Area school referendum. The referendum was turned down by the voters. 

YES - 1891 - 41%

NO - 2768 - 59%

 The unofficial vote tally is attached below as a PDF file. The official vote canvass has now been completed and is identical to the election night results. The canvass certificate is attached below.

The turnout for the election was 31%.

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