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Now - That's Scary
Weekly news quiz for Oct. 6, 2023 Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
City of Menomonie Announces Fall Curbside Yard Waste Pickup Dates

MENOMONIE, WI (October 2023) – The City of Menomonie will be picking up yard waste and brush curbside on the following dates: October 16, October 23, October 30 and November 6, 2023. Leaves, grass clippings and garden debris need to be placed in paper compostable bags not exceeding 50 pounds per bag. Brush must be bundled and not exceed four feet in length.

All materials for pickup must be placed curbside no sooner than one day before the collection and no later than 7:00 am on pickup day. Nothing will be picked up in the alley. If your regular garbage collection day falls on the same day as the city pickup, please segregate your garbage from the yard waste pickup items.

Volunteers needed for Treats on the Trail

The Dunn County Historical Society sponsors this fun annual event along the
Lion's Club Game Park Trail in Wakanda Park in Menomonie. Hundreds of
adorable treat-seekers come out for this event and we need your help! Here's
how:
* Volunteer as an individual or group. The event is 1-3 pm, volunteers show
up at noon. If you're interested contact Melissa Kneeland at

* Donate candy. You can drop it off at the Rassbach Museum in Wakanda Park.
Hours and location:

Concrete repairs to cause I-94 lane closure

Maintenance crews from the Dunn County Highway Department plan to make concrete repairs to westbound I-94 next week.

The work will result in the following closures from 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10:

  • One lane of westbound I-94 at Exit 41, the WIS 25 exit in Menomonie.

  • The Exit 41 on-ramp from WIS 25 to westbound I-94.

Stepping Stones announces name of their new shelter Thanks to our building committee, board of directors, staff, and the creative talent of - we would like to officially announce the name of our new shelter: Cairn House at Stepping Stones. "Cairn • /kehrn/ a stack of stones used to mark a path through barren or difficult terrain." Thank you for your continued support as we prepare to open the doors in just six weeks!
Banned Books event at UW-Stout

UW-Stout held its yearly Banned Books event yesterday in the Stout library. The Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation, along with University Library; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Center for Applied Ethics;, Honors College; and Literature committee sponsored the event, which was attended by about 40 people, mostly students.   The event was moderated by Tim Shiell of the MCSII. 

Shannon M. Oltmann is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky.  She gave the keynote speech at the event, documenting the rise in requests to ban books throughout the US. Due to a COVID infection Professor Oldmann spoke virtually. 

Burning down the House

“In yet another spasm of dysfunction, the batty House Republicans have now conspired to trash the very notion of sane governance…What we just witnessed was the most vivid example yet of the destructive power of Republican extremism… a party exhibiting all the cognitive sanity of a drunk driving into a tree.”

I wrote that. Eleven years ago.

GOP House in pieces

Today's cartoon is by Dave Granlund. Dave Granlunds cartoons have appeared in the New York TimesChicago TribuneChristian Science Monitor and Newsweek.

Jeff Smith - The Workers, United, Will Never Be Defeated

This past weekend, I was proud to stand with United Auto Workers in Hudson, who are among those striking for fair wages and better working conditions. I was inspired and galvanized to be there as workers stood up for long-overdue wage increases, cost of living adjustments and job security.

 

As corporate profits skyrocket, wages for workers have not kept pace. Auto workers, who accepted a wage freeze during the 2008 financial crisis, have seen their wages drop by more than 20% in the past two decades when adjusted for inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They also gave up cost of living adjustments, which are increasingly important as the cost of living soars.

 

Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

Editor note: - Please consider supporting your local news sources during National Newspaper Week, including WisCommunity. 

National Newspaper Week (October 1-7) compels me to acknowledge my journalistic catastrophe of fifth grade.

Based on my passion for reading Nashville’s two dailies, Miss Bunch handed me the plum assignment of launching a newspaper for our class.

I joyously composed articles of my own and proofread the contributions of classmates.

Alas, my mechanical ineptitude reared its ugly head and for the life of me, I couldn’t operate the mimeograph! So the project died without its first issue hitting the streets (er, aisles).

Trump Truth

Today we are starting a new experiment and will be bringing you political cartoons. Because we are in one of those periods where you need to laugh to keep from crying. Please let us know what you think by commenting or sending us a note. Thanks to for making this possible. 

Menomonie City Council Oct. 2, 2023

COUNCIL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
7:00 PM Monday – October 2, 2023

Pledge of Allegiance

1. Roll Call & Special Recognitions

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Public Hearings

4. Public Comments

5. Unfinished Business

a. Amending Title 14, Chapter 4 to adjust minimum lot sizes for unsewered lots created or modified on or after January 1, 2024 to one (1) acre – discussion and possible waiver of second reading.

The second reading was waived and will come back  to the city council at the next meeting. 

6. New Business

a. Proposed deer hunt on City-owned lands – discussion and possible motion approving

AI disinformation is a threat to elections ? learning to spot Russian, Chinese and Iranian meddling in other countries can help the US prepare for 2024
The intersection of politics and social media is fertile ground for AI-powered disinformation. AP Photo/John Minchillo
Bruce Schneier, Harvard Kennedy School
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer from San Francisco’s City Hall to Capitol Hill
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has died at age 90. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Weekly news quiz for September 30, 2023

The news quiz has been gone for a little while, but it's back today. Test your news knowledge.

Dunn County public meetings to use new door

Citizens who attend meetings of Dunn County government after normal business hours will use the lower-level entrance of the Government Center building beginning Sunday, Oct. 1. Signage on the entrance road and on the front door of the Government Center, 3001 Highway 12 East in Menomonie, directs people to the correct door, which is on the west side of the building, facing The Neighbors of Dunn County.

Community Conversations - The Future of Health Care

This was a very interesting talk about health care, with specific information about Mayo and the Red Cedar clinic and hospital in Menomonie. The slide deck for the talk is attached below. 

WisCommunity will livestream this Community Conversation on Sept. 30 at Noon. The meeting will take place at the Menomonie Public Library, 600 Wolske Bay Road in Menomonie. 

The next Community Conversations is this Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 - “The Future of Healthcare” - cosponsored with the Menomonie Public Library.  The session will be from 12 noon to 1:45 PM.  Our speaker will be Dr. Horvath from the Mayo Clinic.  The presentation will be in the Meeting Room of the Menomonie Public Library.  Hope to see you there!  Lorene Vedder

Jeff Smith - The shell game of politics

If you’re not familiar with the phrase “shell game,” it’s a trick as old as the hills. A fast-talking swindler places three shells (or cups) on a table and places a ball underneath one of them.

 

While they distract you with a lot of talk, they quickly move the shells around, too fast to track. Then they ask you to choose under which shell the ball is hidden. If you pick the correct one, you win the prize.

 

But often your eye has lost track of the moving shells, the fraudster has already pocketed the ball and there is no longer any chance of winning this rigged game. In many ways, politics can be a shell game. It’s certainly full of a lot of fast talking and a lot of misdirection.

 

Downtown Menomonie names new executive director

Downtown Menomonie has announced that Becca Schoenborn has been named as the new Executive Director of the organization. Becca will be leaving her position as Outreach and Education Coordinator at Menomonie Market Food Co-op, and will replace the outgoing director Phil Lyons. 

Ms. Schoenborn is also a host of the Menom Podcast. Tonight's public recording session for the podcast has been cancelled due to a COVID infection.