Recently I joined 700 community members at Carson Park for the Sharing Hope Walk, a fundraiser to promote awareness for suicide prevention. Before the walk began, I read a board describing the walk’s importance. Right below the board, there were hundreds of shoes lined up neatly along the course. When I read the bottom of the board, I learned the empty shoes symbolized the number of community members that died by suicide.

In a news release today Dunn County announced that they are considering implementing a $20 vehicle registration fee for vehicles "normally residing" in Dunn County. This would be in addition to the already-raised state registration fees. The fees would be used to help pay for county transportation needs, primarily roads and bridges (although the money could also be used for trail maintenance, sidewalks, etc.) 

Politics is everywhere around us – when you turn on the television, open a newspaper or scroll through Facebook. It’s hard to get away from it all. When we see the divisiveness all around us, it’s easy to think our system is broken.

The state legislature has been holding meetings across the state on issues of water quality. On Sept. 4 the committee held a meeting in Menomonie. We have video of the entire session, but have only edited this section so far, which is the public testimony. Earlier in the day there were multiple testimonies from invited guests including local government agencies and agricultural groups. Those videos will be available later in the week.