Sometimes, bad days are a blessing in disguise, but you don’t know it at the time. I have learned that whenever I have a bad day, it is not a time to get discouraged or sad. A bad day is often a door that opens up something I never expected. Last week, for example, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had plans to spend three days in St. Augustine with...

The 31st Annual Breakfast on the Farm is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 16 in Weyauwega. The event, sponsored by the Weyauwega-Fremont FFA takes place at the Waupaca County Fairgrounds. The event helps provide scholarships as well as costs for FFA conferences and conventions. Planned activities include a petting zoo and hay ride for kids, and a 50/50 raffle. Children ages 4 and younger are free, while...

That’s what Big Ag and its loyal boosters at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) appear to be doing to make sure their new project, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, a hoped-for 3-billion-gallons-a-year jet biofuel market by 2030 and 35 billion gallons annually by 2050, flies despite market gravity and basic science. To clear the way for corn-based ethanol to become the dominant SAF feedstock, “qualifying producers can earn a minimum $1.25 tax credit per gallon” that can “increase to as much as $1.75 gallon” explains...

The Town of La Pointe has bought a boat. Well, five, to be exact, as part of the recently-finalized purchase of the Madeline Island Ferry Line. The town purchased the ferry line Chairman Glenn Carlson considers its “lifeline” for roughly $17.3 million after word the previous owners were interested in selling the operation. Longtime La...

WHITEWATER — The world saw some of the worst human rights atrocities in history during the Holocaust. It’s now been nearly 80 years since World War II came to an end and prisoners were liberated. As time passes, their stories become woven deeper in history. Steven Russek continues to tell the Holocaust survivor story of his mother, Dora Russek. He shared it in a presentation on the UW-Whitewater campus Tuesday. ...

Chris’ telltale greenish-gray truck pulls into the barnyard early in the morning as we’re doing chores. Shearing season once again has arrived on the farm, and the 120-odd sheep are ready. As the temperatures tentatively climb out of the deep freeze, their heavy wool coats will soon be too intense for their comfort. In the wild, sheep naturally shed their fleece in the spring, rubbing on trees and rocks and anything else that will help them peel off winter’s fibers, just as the bucks do...

In every community, nonprofit organizations help to ensure our neighbors have life’s essentials — food, clothing and housing. And, at the heart of most nonprofits are volunteers, people who want to give back to their community and help others. Mission Nutrition, a food resource for families and older adults within the DeForest Area School District, relies on those who give their time and talent to help sort, pack and distribute food to clients. Many find the work satisfying for a number of reasons, including Kristin...

After I graduated from high school in 1952 I enlisted into the US Navy for three years. Because I served during the Korean Conflict, I was eligible for the G.I. Bill. With their help, I began my college education at Mission House (now Lakeland University) in 1956 and graduated in January, 1960. As I was looking for employment, I agreed to meet with Edgerton School District’s Superintendent at a motel in Oshkosh for an interview for an opening in a teaching/coaching position. Fortunately, I was...

PHILLIPS — It was a much larger crowd than usual when the 2024 Spring Hearing of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress convened. They had a full agenda. At stake were their votes on 49 fisheries and wildlife-related questions the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will consider for regulation changes this year. WDNR officials reviewed the options before the votes. Fisheries Team supervisor Royce Zehr was present from the Woodruff office; DNR...

Editor’s note: Country Today contributor Larry Scheckel sent us this account of seeing the total eclipse just after the event but, unfortunately, our pagination schedule meant it couldn’t make the paper until today. “Oh, my God, that is so cool,” gushed a teenage boy next to our telescope set up. He was one of nine high school fellows from Purdue, Indiana that caravaned in two cars for two hours to view this once in a lifetime event. These lads were not playing hooky. All Indiana...

A number of years ago my sister Karen and I went on a girls' camping trip in the state forest over at Big Lake in Iron County. While we were setting up our camp, the campground manager came over to check for contraband firewood (FYI, we were in compliance). The well-meaning host then pointed out a hazard on the campsite: a "bee nest" in a birch tree that he said he would come back later to exterminate. Concerned about the possibility of actual bees and...

The first (and second) rules of Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club” are the same: “You do NOT talk about Fight Club.” Members of The Dull Women’s Club, however, love sharing why they joined. Rebecca says, “I like putting my slow cooker on and coming back and enjoying the contents, crocheting so much that everyone now has a wardrobe, and displaying toadstool ornaments so our house is full of dotty mushrooms.” In...

The results of a spring vote have put the future of a proposed campground expansion in doubt. Voters have rejected future development along 16 acres across Holman Lakeview Driven near the waterfront. A portion of the acreage encompasses Thompson’s West End Park, where a project to expand the campground was in the works. As a result, plans to add four yurts to the campground as part of an expected $1.2 million project to expand the site can’t move forward without asking the public’s permission first. ...

If the third time is a charm, Michael Happ might finally make an impression on federal lawmakers and administrators with his fact-filled, 24-page report on the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) continued financing of Big Ag’s big manure habit. This is Happ’s third detailed look at EQIP, USDA’s nearly 30-year old Environmental Quality Incentive Program, in as many years. In each, Happ, a climate and rural communities associate at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), has focused on where USDA often directs chunks of...

When it comes to games, I am not a good player. I lose more times than I win, and I can’t remember the last time I won. A week before April Fools’ Day, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage asked me a rather silly question. “When was the last time you had an Apple Fritter?” I was very suspicious of this question because I’m not allowed to bring them into...

A farm kid asked his mother, “Where is Dad?” The mother replied, “He’s plowing over at Jensen’s.” The farm kid inquired further, “Why is he doing that?” To which the mother responded, “It’s the right thing to do.” It’s always been that way in rural America. Farmers helping farmers, neighbors helping neighbors. If a farmer gets sick, or hurt, or tragically passes away, neighbors pitch in to sow the crops, milk the cows, care for the livestock, cut wood, do butchering, harvest the crops, and...

It’s a beautiful Monday evening here on the Eicher homestead. We had such a nice sunny day, which made for a good laundry day. The solar eclipse was today. How amazing is God’s creation. The temperature reached 72 degrees. Our rhubarb is coming up very nicely. Before long, we should be able to use it. The asparagus is peeping through. Tonight, we had dandelion greens made into a salad along with steamed potatoes, bacon, and cheese. I always look forward to that meal in the...

SPOONER — One of the oldest state buildings in Spooner will soon be getting a badly needed facelift. Friends Into Spooner Fish Hatchery (FISH) plan to begin renovating a building built in 1913 and served as the area’s first fish hatchery. The structure sits on the south side of Highway 70 across from the DNR’s Regional Headquarters. “We hope to begin working on this project as soon a nice weather permits,” said Jim Bishop, FISH’s renovation project leader. “The old building is in rough shape.” ...

Well, there wasn't much to see for our partial solar eclipse in the Northland this week thanks to the dense cloud cover. You couldn't even do the best partial eclipse activity there is after watching (with eclipse glasses) the sun shrink: holding a colander up to the sky and seeing all the little holes turn into little crescents. But I'm happy almost all my friends and family in the totality zone had a break in the gloomy weather that allowed for perfect viewing. And I...

CHIPPEWA FALLS — Two Democratic candidates announced Wednesday they will be running for the 92nd Assembly District seat, which now stretches from Menomonie to Chippewa Falls along the Highway 29 corridor. Caden Berg, 14312 47th Ave. in Lake Hallie, was elected to the Chippewa County Board in 2022, defeating incumbent Charlene Kervina. However, he lost his seat earlier this month, losing to challenger Joe Roshell. Berg was born in 2000 and he would be the youngest member of the Legislature. ...