JANUARY - Jerry Boardman doesn't remember exactly when he started collecting acorns in the fall. But the thousands upon thousands of them he gathers to share with people working to improve habitat along the Mississippi River makes the 81-year-old resident of De Soto, Wisconsin, a small village, a pretty big deal… On December 12, the day after Gays Mills resident Geraldine Smith’s 89th birthday, she received an unexpected phone call from President Joe Biden. Emile and Camille Smith, small business owners from Seneca, were invited to the White House after they worked on a project called the American Rescue Plans and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with President Biden. This project was a part of President Biden’s ‘Investing in America’ agenda… Acting on an item tabled at their November 2024 meeting, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board voted unanimously to adopt a land acknowledgement at their January 9 meeting… The Crawford County Highway Committee voted unanimously to recommend a change to the county’s ATV/UTV ordinance to the Crawford County Board of Supervisors. The recommended change to the county’s ordinance would make the speed limit for ATVs and UTVs on county trunk highways the same as the posted speed limit… Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources presented the primary results of the Southwest Wisconsin Chronic Wasting Disease Deer and Predator Study to the Natural Resources Board The figures from the study indicate that CWD is substantially reducing the annual survival probability of both male and female white-tailed deer. Reduced female survival lowers the growth rate of the population, and when sufficiently suppressed, may result in population decline.
FEBRUARY - The 77th Alice in Dairyland, Halei Heinzel, visited Solar Meats in Soldiers Grove last Friday. Alice in Dairyland represents all sectors of agriculture in the state, and was seen at Solar Meats wearing a mink vest, reflecting Wisconsin’s fur industry. This was in honor of ‘National Meat Week’… It was the preliminary meeting between some members of the Tainter Creek Watershed Council and the Village of Gays Mills to discuss co-operation around water-trading credits for lowering phosphorous levels in area streams… In the public input portion of their February 6 agenda, the Soldiers Grove Village Board learned about the Madison BMW Club’s plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their annual ‘Great River Road Rally.’ Each year, club members camp in the village park in May, and enjoy riding their motorcycles on scenic Driftless Area roadways… The Crawford County Land Conservation Committee covered a lot of ground at their meeting on Feb. 11. The action-packed agenda included a recommended revision to the county’s Animal Waste Storage Ordinance, a recommended job description of a position in the Zoning & Sanitation Department, planning for an update to the county’s 10-year Land and Water Resource Management Plan, and more… The North Crawford Playhouse is thrilled to present Ken Ludwig’s ‘Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,’ a high-energy, action-packed comedy that brings the legend of Robin Hood to life like never before. The story of Robin Hood is one nearly everyone knows. This classic tale of courage and adventure is based on the English ballads of the 14th and 15th centuries and is filled, like its hero, with thrills, romance, and a deep belief in justice.
MARCH - In the North Crawford School District, the special education department is extremely important to the staff, students, and community. At North Crawford, 18.8% of the student population requires special education services. The school’s special ed department is often considered one of the best in the area… A rare astronomical sight was seen by the western hemisphere on Thursday, March 13, with a total lunar eclipse visible to the Americas, at around 1:30 to 2:30 a.m. Central Daylight Savings Time. While the total eclipse only lasted about an hour, the entire duration of the eclipse was just over six hours, with each of the six phases lasting about an hour… The Wisconsin Newspaper Association held their annual convention in Madison last week and three employees of the Crawford County Independent-Kickapoo Scout attended. The local newspaper did very, very well in fact, taking five first place awards, five second place awards, five third places and one honorable mention… On March 16, a demonstration took place at Effigy Mounds National Monument located near Marquette, Iowa, directly across the Mississippi River from Prairie Du Chien. Approximately 55 people peacefully assembled to petition the government for a redress of grievances. These grievances include concerns about current federal policies that lay off workers, reduced funding for environmental protections, and violations of religious rights and practices… At their March 11 meeting, the Crawford County Land Conservation Committee discussed hiring processes and various projects. The department is currently working to hire a Sanitation & Zoning Technician, and a summer Invasive Species Coordinator.
APRIL - About two years ago, the North Crawford School District began the process of building a greenhouse. Now, it has become an integral part of the agriculture department in the district. The greenhouse has been a great addition, with new experiences and more hands-on learning for students in the agriculture department having, as well as supplying student-grown, fresh produce for school meals, with boundless opportunities for the future… Dane County Judge Susan Crawford was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 1, solidifying liberal control of the body until 2028, and marking a sharp rebuke by the state’s voters of the policies of President Donald Trump and the financial might of his most prominent adviser, Elon Musk… Natural Resources Board member Marcy West announced that she was not seeking reappointment at the board’s April meeting. West was originally appointed to the board in 2020, and has served for five years… The issue of the suitability for siting of a landfill on the underlying karst bedrock under the Vernon County Landfill is increasingly creating barriers to the county’s proposed expansion of the facility. While some, including county board members and the board’s retained hydro geologist, dispute the site is underlain by karst, `Wisconsin DNR has reserved judgment pending further investigations… Late last week, the Aspen Institute announced that Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, one of 16 colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System, is the winner of the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition for high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The winner, two finalists with distinction, and rising star—along with the six finalists—demonstrate what is possible at America’s approximately 1,000 community colleges.
MAY - A dedicated group of folks, led by Tree Board members Cindy Kohles, Beth and Niels Jensen, and Craig Anderson, planted a tree at the Log Cabin Village Park in celebration of Arbor Day. The tree was a Chinquapin Oak, a seven-year-old seedling. Kohles and the Tree Board went on to plant a number of other trees in the village… A new kind of bike shop is rolling into the Driftless Region. Ten Hill Cycle, founded by Gays Mills resident Ben Eby, will open its doors in the Gays Mercantile Center. More than just a place to buy bikes and gear, Ten Hill Cycle is built on a philosophy: Repair–Rebuild–Recycle. Eby is focusing his business on restoring high-quality older bicycles, custom bike builds, and offering full-service repairs… At their Earth Day meeting, the Vernon County Flood Mitigation Alliance discussed funding and stream monitoring stations. They also heard a presentation from one of their partners, the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council…After 120 years, there’s been a lot work putting out what is calculated to be 6,235 editions of a paper known originally as ‘The Crawford Independent’; then, ‘The Crawford County Independent’; and finally, the ‘The Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout’… Seneca High School’s Class of 2025 Valedictorian is Gabriel Hamann and the Salutatorian is Brett Stark… Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced today that North Crawford is the recipient of a state grant to fund new fabrication laboratory (fab lab) facilities, which will equip Wisconsin students with essential skills. North Crawford was awarded $25,000 to create a fab lab. 20 school districts throughout the state are being awarded over $496,000 in Fab Lab grants this year to establish or expand their fab labs.
JUNE - UW-La Crosse River Studies Center graduate student Evan Sirianni has launched a study aimed at identifying habitat in streams for the Mottled Sculpin and Slimy Sculpin in the Kickapoo River drainage. In addition, the study will identify the way different species of fish are distributed and coexist within a particular environment… There is good news for summer travel in northeast Iowa and western Wisconsin as the Iowa DOT is reopening the Iowa 9 / Wisconsin 82 bridge across the Mississippi River connecting Lansing, Iowa, and Crawford County, Wisconsin. The bridge will be opened to traffic starting approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, June 9… As is often the case, the public input portion of the agenda at the June 10 meeting of the Soldiers Grove Village Board was lively. Village resident Phil Carey once again appeared to bring up issues he is experiencing with flooding on Baker Creek, and ponding of water in his backyard… Local bar owner Jill Riggs is putting on a two-day music festival. The Mount Zion Pub First Annual Music Fest is scheduled for this weekend, Saturday, June 28 & Sunday, June 29. The music festival is being hosted by Countryfied, one of the 15 bands scheduled to play for the two-day event… New Crawford County Dairy Royalty for 2025 was crowned at the first Crawford County Coronation Banquet. New members of Dairy Royalty are Junior Fairest of the Fair Erin Nolan, Fairest of the Fair Brooke Mitchell, Dairy Princess Hayven Smethurst, Little Miss Squirt Ashlin Nolan, and Little Miss Squirt Attendant Layla Brandes.
JULY - With quick winds in the Midwest recently, Vernon County dealt with fears of tornados. Starting on Wednesday, June 25, a tornado warning was issued in Vernon County, after radar had indicated a tornado was headed toward the county. At that time, no tornadoes or funnel clouds had been reported, but Vernon County Fire Departments were on the lookout. Later, there was damage from the storm reported, but aside from a few fallen trees, damage was minimal… The Soldiers Grove Village Board held a special meeting to discuss two longstanding issues facing the village. The first thing discussed was the Swamp People Project. This endeavor involves a group of local residents who launched an effort to clean up and improve Lake Myrtle. Village officials had Swamp People organizers fined $500 for a beer violation, which had occurred earlier this month, which the group paid… Water service in the Village of Gays Mills was interrupted by a water main break in Highway 131 construction zone caused by digging alongside the roadway. The two-and-a-half hour suspension of water service lasted from about 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m… The public libraries in Soldiers Grove, Gays Mills, and Prairie du Chien have officially met their match—and then some. Each library was challenged to raise a minimum of $3,750, which would be tripled through a generous matching grant from the Schlecht Family Foundation, resulting in a base endowment of $11,250 per library… Late last week, news broke of an infestation of second-generation true Army Worms affecting certain crop fields in Southwest Wisconsin. What caught the Independent-Scout’s attention was that the initial report said a field near Steuben had been affected. Since, we’ve learned there’s been another field affected outside of Seneca, and scattered reports of the pest in Vernon and Monroe counties.
AUGUST - The Driftless Makerspace is in the works, located in the old Seneca feed mill office at 154 Main Street, next to Greeners Corner. Headed up by several community members, it aims to provide Seneca with a third space, a place where community can gather and learn, create things and open up new connections… This past weekend, the southeastern and southwestern sections of Wisconsin suffered a massive deluge of rain, causing flash floods in several sections of the state… Some welcome news broke last week that the Cassville Car Ferry will be deployed to ferry passengers, after the Blackhawk Bridge in Lansing is demolished this fall. The ferry will carry passenger cars and pick-up trucks from the Lansing Marina, across the navigation channel, and to the area where the Army Corps of Engineers has their sand pile… About 30 members of Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway joined a group paddle and annual meeting potluck on Saturday, Aug. 16. The group paddled the stretch of river between the Highway 14 Bridge and Peck’s Landing, with some paddlers venturing up Mill Creek to the base of the shot tower at Tower Hill State Park… U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders brought his ‘Fighting Oligarchy Tour’ to the Pierce Hill Performing Arts Center in rural Viroqua on Saturday, August 23. The event drew a large crowd on a beautiful late summer day to the rural venue, with most attendees drawn from Vernon, Richland, La Crosse, and Crawford counties. Joining the Senator at the podium were U.S. Third Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke, local crop adviser Adam Kramer, and Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden…
SEPTEMBER -
Crawford County supervisors saw what their $35 million is buying them after their board meeting on August 19. The supervisors, along with some county personnel, went on an extensive tour of the new jail addition, which included a look at the control center, holding areas, sally port and even the skywalk that connects the new building to the existing sheriff’s office and courthouse… It’s that time of year again when the cool, refreshing air and golden sunshine of September start to set the mood, for one of the Driftless Region’s iconic events – the Driftless Area Art Festival … Imagine being a tail gunner on a B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber in World War II, your plane riddled with bullets and plummeting toward the earth. Imagine further, being in the tail of the plane as it broke off and falling four miles down from the sky, without a parachute.. and surviving. That’s what happened to Eugene Moran of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. He wouldn’t call himself a hero, but he is part of the greatest generation of World War II. Except for a few stories after the war, Gene’s exploits remained untold until 1994 when he was introduced to a young history teacher named John Armbruster… New in the line of 1913 Kickapoo Orchard branded products this year are the Cider House ‘Cider Maple Drizzle’ and the ‘Apple Cider Dazzle.’ Packaged in three sizes of glass jars, the two products are intended for use as a syrup, cocktail mix, ice cream topping, and any other application you can dream up to enjoy their sweet goodness.
OCTOBER – Many attendees were wearing t-shirts that stated, ‘SWTC–We’re In Our Aspen Award Era,’ as Southwest Wisconsin Technical College held a community celebration and open house to celebrate the Aspen Prize. The college’s celebration couldn’t have asked for better weather as many students, staff, alumni, donors, community members, and potential future college attendees turned out for Saturday’s celebration, which included college program demonstrations, tours, family friendly activities such as face painting, inflatable bounce house, and more… Main Street Lansing is planning an historic ‘Blackhawk Bridge Final Toast’ event to say farewell to the beloved Blackhawk Bridge connecting Crawford County, Wisconsin, to Lansing, Iowa. Citizens are invited to come together to bid farewell to the bridge, thanking it for nearly a century of service – connecting communities, holding memories, and standing strong since 1931… At BAPI (Building Automation Products Incorporated), technology and innovation work hand-in-hand to keep the company at the forefront of HVAC sensor design and manufacturing. The company is celebrating Manufacturing month… Joining a wave of over seven million citizens attending ‘No Kings’ rallies across the nation on Saturday, October 18; local rallies across the Driftless Region drew hundreds of supporters. Several hundred showed up to peacefully protest in Viroqua, and organizers in Prairie du Chien said the event there drew 150 citizens… The Seneca Softball/Little League Field was improved by the addition of 123 tons of gravel screenings, which greatly improved the playing surface of the infield. That was Phase One. At the October Seneca board meeting, the field improvement organizer Billy Oppriecht explained Phase Two of the project. It involves replacing and improving the net in the backstop behind home plate. The improvement will be 20-foot tall fence backstop that will run from dugout to dugout and cost around $20,000. It will replace the old net.
NOVEMBER - The Richland Resilience group had a big week at the end of October 2025. First, the group convened at the Brewer Public Library for a review of 2025 achievements and planning for 2026. Then, the group helped to host a Water Quality Open House to educate citizens about their well water testing initiative, and about threats to drinking water quality… Dairyland Power Co-operative in partnership with GridLiance Heartland have proposed building a 140-mile electric transmission line from Marion, Minnesota to Bell Center, Wisconsin. This transmission line would be a segment of much longer transmission line. The proposed line would use towers as high as 199 feet, substantially more than the current 70-foot high structures..., Hoo’s Woods received a call about this adult Bald Eagle found near Gays Mills. The bird was lethargic, weak, and easy to approach. She was critically emaciated, convulsing with a lead level too high to be read by our analyzer. Despite immediate care, she passed shortly after our arrival, while our director, Dianne, gently held her… Artie and Deb Johnson, owners of Johnson’s One Stop in Seneca, were awarded the 2025 SBDC ‘Small Business Persons of Crawford County,’ and then went on to win the 2025 ‘Small Business Develop Center’s Small Business Persons of Western Wisconsin.’
DECEMBER - The North Crawford School District is leaping into the merry whirl of holiday happenings, offering several community events prior to their winter break from December 22 to January 2. Those events include a special lineup of holiday concerts, their ‘Northpole Breakfast with Santa and his Elves,’ and their holiday cookies fundraiser to supply the lunch program with local beef… The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation will take the next step in the Mississippi River Bridge Project at Lansing with a planned implosion and removal of the main section of the existing bridge on Thursday, Dec. 18. The demolition is needed to allow construction of the new crossing to proceed safely with a planned opening in 2027… The Monroe County Climate Change Task Force continues to forge ahead with efforts to increase the county’s climate resilience. Two of those efforts in the last six months involved learning about other counties that have developed Climate Action Plans, and about their efforts to implement those plans… Driftless Area Land Conservancy has officially closed on the Wintergreen property in Spring Green, permanently protecting 245 acres overlooking the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway.
