The agenda for the meeting is attached below. The meeting included a slightly contentious discussion about board ethics and the work that Board President Dan Paulson and his work with other organizations. In particular the issue was raised that Mr. Paulson is a member of the group Menomonie Cares, which has written to the board objecting to the money expended on the second development phase of the Sports Complex.

Breakfast enthusiasts understand the importance of a quality maple syrup. But the real stuff often isn't in the big bottles that line grocery store shelves — no, genuine maple syrup is a product resulting from a meticulous practice of tapping trees and cooking sap. And even though it's produced in the spring, maple syrup is a year-round household staple.

Now that you have voted - you have voted, right? you are probably wondering how you find out who won. State-wide, the AP collects data from various counties and reports results. Many news organizations in the state are AP members, and so will have access to the returns. If you are interested in local results, it's usually fastest to look at the elections on your own county website. We've listed some of our favorite links below.

The recent horrific accident in Chippewa County that took the lives of three local Girl Scouts and an adult supervising them on a road clean-up has shaken both the scouting community and everyone in the area. A vigil last night helped the grieving process in the Chippewa Valley and this process will unfold for a long time to come.

“Hard to wrap my head around,” the woman shared as she considered Foxconn. Just what do big budget decisions mean to us?

Work has begun on crafting the next state budget. Over the next few months, this work will continue in earnest. One hefty unbudgeted expense added to upcoming budget math is a large taxpayer funded payment to a foreign corporation.

School referendums around Wisconsin have been steadily increasing in the 2010s, particularly years when a general election is held. In 2017, the state Legislature enacted Act 59, a biennial budget bill that limits a school board from approving no more than two resolutions in one year authorizing school funding increases. But it has not slowed the number of school districts that have chosen to go to referendum in 2018.

The League of Women Voters of the Greater Chippewa Valley sponsored a candidate forum on October 22 at Bloomer Middle School. Rob Summerfield and Wren Keturi fielded a wide array of questions submitted by the audience, which numbered approximately 35. This video will be the last of our video coverage of area candidate forums. 

Please keep the candidate responses to the questions in these forums and in the various voter questionnaires in mind when you vote on Nov. 6. 

What happens to state money given to companies to create jobs? Do the jobs get created? How do we ensure the money is not misspent?

These questions came to mind as I recently communicated to a constituent who feared state economic development money was being misused. I encouraged, among other actions, a call to the Legislative Audit Bureau’s Fraud, Waste and Mismanagement Hotline (877-372-8317).