|
|
|
|
Click here for NOAA Mississippi River Stage information
CONTACT US for picture reproduction of photos in our paper...reasonable prices!
July 28, 2010 |
By Jen Schultz
Badgerland Financial is sponsoring a voting competition on their website for all of the county fairs within Wisconsin.
Currently Crawford County is in second place with 1,767 votes. Columbia leads with 1,817 votes. In third place is Lafayette County with 894 votes.
The cooperative is accepting votes until August 15 for people's favorite Wisconsin county fair. Voters are allowed one vote per day. Simply go to www.badgerlandfinancial.com and click the "County Fair Survey" in the Customer Corner section.
The top county will get a $2,500 cash prize, followed by $2,000 for second and $1,500 for third place.
Youth organizations from the top three counties will then be able to submit funding requests for service project ideas that directly benefit their local county fairs.
"This gives us the opportunity to support some of the local fairs and give youth the opportunity to do a service project for their fair," explains Tammy Beard, senior marketing coordinator for Badgerland Financial.
Crawford County Fair Coordinator Heather Moore admits that there are plenty of service project ideas that youth groups could do for the county fair. She listed new buildings, cleaning and educational projects as just a few ideas.
"We have many youth groups involved in our county fair including 4-H, FFA, Jr. Holstein Association, Pals 4 Good, various church groups and more," states Moore.
"Badgerland Financial has always been a great sponsor for our fair. Not only do they sponsor trophies, but they also provide one meal ticket for each 4-H kid to eat at the 4-H foodstand each year of the fair," says Moore.
According to their website, Badgerland Financial provides financial products and services to people in rural Wisconsin. They are part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, created in 1916 to provide dependable credit and related services to agriculture and rural America.
Badgerland Financial serves over 8,000 customers within Wisconsin, includes over 21 branch offices within Wisconsin and employs 240 people.
By Dani Jo Mumm
Nashville comes to Prairie du Chien with Country on the River August 6 and 7. Country music's hottest acts will take stage on the beautiful St. Feriole Island.
Prairie du Chien's Chase Clausen, Scotty Sheckler, and Greg Webster have organized the event. The three, which have been planning the event since last August, have been working around the clock.
"Chase was in charge of the vendors, Scotty with the camping and ticket sales and I booked the bands and worked with the city," Webster said. "I'm very happy with the results, the city worked very well with us."
Friday's lineup starts off at 2:30 p.m. with the local favorite Back Home Boys, Trailer Choir at 4:30, Gloriana at 6:30, Joe Nichols at 8:30 and Diamond Rio at 10:30 p.m. Saturday's entertainment includes the Back Home Boys opening up at 2:30 p.m., Lost Trailers at 4:30, Emerson Drive at 6:30, Terri Clark at 8:30 and Blake Shelton at 10:30 p.m. There will also be the bands Midlife Crisis, Country Twist and 8-seconds playing in the beer tents.
A bass fishing tournament sponsored by Cabela's and Country on the River will be held on August 7 before the opening act starts. Those wishing to participate can still sign up on the Country on the River site.
"The gates open up to the general public at noon each day," Webster said. "There will be plenty of parking around the event site."
Camping space for all sizes is available for those who wish to spend the night.
"People can set up camp after 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 5," Webster said. Campers must have a two-day ticket to be admitted to campgrounds; tickets can be purchased at the camping registration on festival grounds.
Empty coolers, chairs and blankets are welcomed at the Country on the River site.
"We will be selling ice at the event and there will be discounts on purchasing beverages," Webster said.
There will be numerous food stands and vendors at the event. Fourteen vendors will be there with merchandise such as t-shirts, cowboy hats and more.
"The main food vendor will be Elite Concessions; they will have six different stands selling anything from fresh lemonade to cotton candy," Webster said.
Local high school sports teams will be running the pop and water stand. The Prairie du Chien Fire Department will be running one of the beer tents.
Donations will be accepted at the event to go towards two high school scholarships for students who want to further their education in music.
The entire Prairie du Chien Police force, 36 of the event's own security members, Interstate EMS's ambulance service with 14 EMTS and the Wisconsin State Patrol will be present at the event for everyone's safety.
"We have over 5,000 tickets sold to date and tickets will still be for sale at the gate until the event is over, " Webster said. "We will need more support to make this event better next year."
For more information contact Greg Webster at 412-2760 or visit the website at www.countryontheriver.com
By Ted Pennekamp
A former standout athlete at Prairie du Chien High School has realized one of his athletic goals. Joe Delagrave was recently named to the United States National Wheelchair Rugby Team and is preparing to compete in the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships scheduled for Sept. 19-26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
There will be 12 countries competing in the event, including the United States. Delagrave said that he is excited to have made the 12-man roster and is looking forward to the trip.
Delagrave, 25, lives in Chandler, Arizona with his wife April (Esser) Delagrave and competes on a club team in Phoenix. He first tried out with the United States Developmental Team in December of 2008 and has been working towards making the National Team ever since.
"This was the big first step, but I still have a lot of hard work to do," said Delagrave, who is also striving to make the 11-man United States Paralympic Team so that he can compete in the Paralympic Games in 2012 in London.
"It will be a big challenge to eventually make the Paralympic Team," he said.
The 2010 World Rugby Championships will be Delagrave's first international competition. In preparation, Delagrave and his teammates practiced in a camp from July 22-25 in Jacksonville, Fla. The team will also train in Birmingham, Ala. from Aug. 12-22.
"You learn a lot about the game and a lot about life from the older players," said Delagrave, who sustained a spinal cord injury in a boating accident in 2004.
Delagrave, who played football, basketball and baseball at Prairie du Chien High School, enjoys the competitiveness of full-contact wheelchair rugby.
The game is played on a basketball court with a goal on each end. The players pass a volleyball to each other and try to roll through the goal with the ball. Delagrave said that due to the contact, four or five players get knocked down during a game. When a player gets knocked down, the game is stopped briefly and the player is helped up before the game resumes.
Delagrave earned a bachelor's degree in pastoral studies at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn. When he is not playing rugby, he enjoys inspiring others through various speaking engagements.
Delagrave is the son of Dan and Debbie Delagrave.
July 26, 2010 |
By Jen Schultz
A feasibility study recently completed by Leslie Kline Lukas, a public relations and fundraising company based out of Omaha, Neb., was the topic of discussion at the Hoffman Hall committee's meeting on Thursday, July 22. The executive summary along with the recommendations made by the Hoffman Hall committee will be given to the City Council at the Tuesday, August 3 meeting.
Earlier this year, the council approved having Leslie Kline Lukas prepare a feasibility study of Hoffman Hall for $20,000.
"The goal of the feasibility study was to provide the council with an educational tool for a decision in regards to Hoffman Hall based off of public opinion," states Pam Ritchie, chairman of the committee. The study would also show whether there is an ability to support a capital campaign for Hoffman Hall.
Approximately 85 people were asked to be interviewed by Leslie Kline Lukas for the feasibility study; 77 did so.
Leslie Kline Lukas told Park and Recreation Director Michael Ulrich that the number of respondents for the Hoffman Hall survey was outstanding compared to typical results, which is normally around 50 people.
The Hoffman Hall committee, which consists of city staff, council members and concerned citizens from both the private and public sector, was very happy with the number of respondents as it shows that there is a lot of public interest in Hoffman Hall.
Overall, the committee felt that the discussions between the respondents and Leslie Kline Lukas interviewers were positive and open-ended. Respondents included users and non-users of Hoffman Hall, council members, local business representatives and residents from Prairie du Chien and surrounding communities.
Leslie Kline Lukas interviewers asked general, open ended questions. Questions included general feelings towards the building, the direction of leadership and staff, the beliefs of the communities needs, as well as community support for programs. Also asked were whether respondents would help to financially support Hoffman Hall with donations.
The interview portion of the study took three days. Leslie Kline Lukas had two to three employees conducting personal interviews with the respondents for twelve to fourteen hours each day at the City Hall.
By Dani Jo Mumm
The Heroes of the Diamond baseball team played against the Prairie du Chien Storm Friday, July 23 at St. Feriole Island Ball Park as part of the Red, White and Blue Tour.
A crowd full of fans, active military personnel and Veterans came out to cheer on the Storm and the Heroes.
A pregame ceremony was held before the game. The Storm lined up on the third base line and the Heroes lined up on the first base line forming a V-shape.
The Heroes honored Dean La Pointe in the ceremony. La Pointe is an Army Veteran and the chairman for the Prairie du Chien Veteran's Memorial. " just want to thank everybody for their donations," La Pointe said after being recognized.
During the ceremony the Heroes handed La Pointe an American flag and he did a Walk of Honor in between the two teams. "Taps," "First Pitch" and the "National Anthem" were played during the pregame ceremony.
At 9:11 p.m. the game was halted and "America the Beautiful" was played for those who lost their lives in the attack of 9-11.
Fans got to enjoy watching Eastman native Mike Weber play for the Heroes. Weber is currently a member of ROTC and has been on the roster of the Heroes of the Diamond for a year.
"t's been a blast playing ball on this team, we meet a ton of new people," Weber said. " get to play baseball every day and I even get the chance to come back home to play."
The Heroes defeated the Storm 7-4 in an action packed game. Nick Lezendorf hit a home run in the first inning for the Storm to tie the game up 2-2. The Heroes' offense became too much for the Storm. The Heroes left the town of Prairie du Chien with a victory.
The Heroes have played in over 45 states and 12 different countries. The Heroes Red, White and Blue tour moves on to La Crosse and Milwaukee in the next few days. For information or to follow the Heroes of the Diamond and their Red, White and Blue tour go to heroesofthediamond.com.
