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Menomonie News Net
Feb 19, 2025, Issue 14
Thanks for reading Issue 14 of Menomonie News Net. To view past issues click HERE. Speaking of past issues, last week’s contributed photo of the heart sculpture is actually located in Sanna Park on North Broadway, not in Wakanda Park!
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Editors: Layne Pitt & Becky Kneer; Tech Support: Tracy Glenz
Website: menomonienewsnet.org Submit News: [email protected]
In this Issue…
Local Couple Recognized as Red Cross Heroes
Jerry & Kim Porter routine blood donors for nearly three decades
Kim & Jerry Porter donate as a couple. Photo: WEAU 13 News
Source: NW Wisconsin Red Cross
Jerry and Kim Porter of Menomonie will be recognized at the 2025 Red Cross Northwest Wisconsin Heroes Breakfast on March 13 in Eau Claire. They are award recipients in the Blood Services (From the Heart) Heroes category. As a couple, Jerry and Kim donate platelets the maximum allowable number of times per year which is 24. They have been regular donors for 29 years.
Other categories being recognized at the breakfast include: Community Impact Hero, Emergency Responder, Good Samaritan, Hero of a Lifetime, Military, Youth and Young Adult (under 24)
The Heroes Breakfast also serves as the annual fundraising event to support programs and services provided by the Northwest Wisconsin Chapter of the Red Cross.
The event will take place on Thursday, March 13 at 7:45 a.m., Florian Gardens Conference Center, located at 2340 Lorch Ave, Eau Claire.
To make a reservation click here. Tickets are $50, and all proceeds support the Red Cross of Northwest Wisconsin.
For more information, email executive director [email protected]
Editors Note: Upcoming Blood Drives in Menomonie include: Mon Feb 24: Menomonie United Methodist Church, Noon - 6 p.m. Tues, Mar 4: UW-Stout, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. To find future upcoming blood donor drives in Menomonie, and/or to make an appointment click here. You can also call 1-800-RED CROSS.
Cairn House Weekend Meals
By Becky Kneer
Our local homeless shelter in Menomonie, Cairn House, is seeking volunteers to provide an evening meal for guests in the shelter on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. Cairn House is part of Stepping Stones of Dunn County and located at 1620 Stout Road.
Typically 3-4 persons team up to do this together. The food is prepared onsite in the shelter kitchen with ingredients purchased and brought in by the team. Approximately 15 guests are fed at the evening meal. The meal is served and clean-up follows.
The Lead Cook generally plans the menu and makes sure the ingredients are purchased or available in the kitchen. The Prep Cooks (2-3) assist the Lead but this can be flexible in how it’s divided up. Teams usually share the cost of the ingredients.
The hours listed on the sign-up are from 4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. but this may vary slightly.
Online sign-up is available for the remainder of the weekends in 2025. Click here to view which dates are open. There are 4 slots listed for each date, one as the Lead and three as Prep.
For more information, call Cairn House at 715-231-1404.
Becky Kneer has volunteered for meal prep at Cairn House as a Prep Cook.
Candlelight Ski Feb 28
Don’t forget the rescheduled Candlelight Ski Feb 28, 6-9 p.m. at the Depot, 824 Hudson Road. Ski the Red Cedar Trail, see the ice wall, walk the Junction Trail, snowshoe at Riverside Park. Photo: Debra Bell
MHS Grads: Where are They Now?
 | By Judy Foust Joe Leventhal (class of 1991), the subject of our first article of the series, was one I couldn’t resist—mainly because Joe wrote it himself. If you know him, you may remember Joe’s amazing sense of humor. In his own words… |
Some days, the better question to ask is “What have I done now?” Normally, I wouldn’t respond to a “send news” inquiry, but I figured that with the amount of homework I didn’t turn in – in Judy Foust’s class, I maybe owe her this. The first self-interview question that popped into my head was “How have you changed?” That is an easy one – I’m significantly older, stouter, and grayer than I was 34 years ago. I still have no filter, still get in trouble for running my mouth, and still don’t care. Unfortunately for my wife Catherine, my 3 children (Marianna, 19; Benjamin, 16; Emily, 14) have inherited that attitude. After leaving MHS, I admittedly had no real direction. I spent 8 years at 2 universities and changed majors 9 times with a degree in none of them. After building Café Matisse in the late 90’s with Peter and Jenny Kuhr, I went off to the world of hospitality management and despised most of it. I was a chef, a hotel manager, a restaurant manager, and entirely not happy about it. My wife of 25 years, that I met at Stout (in the Den actually) was, and is, happy and successful still in that industry, and I dutifully followed her finally landing in Fond du Lac, WI. After some job jumping, a customer in a restaurant that I managed told me she was looking for a manager for her Debt Collection Agency. I hated what I was doing, figured it couldn’t be any worse, so in May of ’08, I started at Professional Collectors Corp and fell in love with my job – so much so I purchased the agency in 2016. I quickly became active in the state association and was on the board – | ending with a Presidency – for 10 years. In my final year, I formed a group of agency owners and we developed the GLCCA – Great Lakes Credit and Collection Association, combining the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois state associations. Through the people I met, I have had the opportunity to purchase 4 other Wisconsin agencies in Kenosha, Janesville, Fort Atkinson, and Baraboo. During all this chaos, while raising 3 children, I found the time to be President of the Fond du Lac Humane Society, on the board for the local Habitat for Humanity, and thanks to my father’s influence as to the importance of mental health, I currently have a seat on the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Fond du Lac board. Knowing that my mother also subscribes to Menomonie News Net, I have included a photo that is sure to cause her grief…some people never grow up.  Judy Foust is a retired longtime 7th Grade Reading Specialist at Menomonie Middle School. To submit info to her to request an interview she may be contacted at [email protected]. |
Community Foundation Topic of Feb 22 Community Conversations
Georgina Tegart to speak at monthly event
By Lorene Vedder
Please join us for the Community Conversations for a presentation by Georgina Tegart, Executive Director, Community Foundation of Dunn County on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. at the Menomonie Public Library.
Her presentation is entitled: Philanthropy That Stays Home: How Community Foundations Strengthen Rural Communities
Session description:
What if every charitable dollar stayed right here in our community-supporting local schools, nonprofits, and families? That’s exactly what a Community Foundation makes possible.
In this session, the following will be explored:
What a Community Foundation is and how it works
Why rural communities need local philanthropy
How the Community Foundation of Dunn County strengthens nonprofits, donors, and local causes
Ways individuals can ensure their charitable giving makes a lasting local impact
I have been delighted to learn about the work of our Community Foundation under the direction of Georgina. She has shared real stories about how individuals have worked to support our community. Come find out how our Community Foundation helps nonprofits, community projects and allows financial support in difficult times when there isn’t funding by local, state or federal government or during times of uncertainty as with the recent Covid pandemic.
Lorene Vedder is a retired physician and the originator of Community Conversations. She may be contacted at [email protected]
School Nutrition Angel Fund
How to help a school district family with meal debt
Source: School District of Menomonie Area Website
Are you looking for ways to help in our community? Consider donating to the Menomonie School Nutrition Angel Fund.
The SDMA does not turn children away from being fed at school. Despite other meal assistance programs, families in the SDMA are currently facing thousands of dollars of meal debt.
What is the School Nutrition Angel Fund? The Angel Fund provides assistance to families struggling with meal debt. How Can You Help? Every donation, no matter the size, goes directly to a family that needs assistance.
You can send your donation to: Menomonie School Nutrition Angel Fund, 215 Pine Ave East Menomonie, WI 54751 -- or drop it off at the district office.
(Are you) looking for assistance in paying your meal account? Please reach out to contact listed below.
For more information, please contact: Stacy Nelson, Director of Food & Nutrition Services 715-232-1642 ext 11064 [email protected]
The SDMA Nutrition Angel Fund Page can be found by clicking here.
Middle School Science Olympiad Update
Menomonie Middle School Science Olympiad Team Photo: Contributed
By Amy Zuber Seguin
The Menomonie Middle School Science Olympiad is continuing in the competitive season. So far, the team has competed at the Unity Invitational, the Boyceville invitational, and the Medford Invitational. Varsity has placed in the top 3 at each meet and medals have been earned by all members of varsity and many members on the JV teams.
The 4 teams were scheduled to participate in the area Regional Saturday February 8, but were delayed by weather. We look forward to competing at Regionals on March 8 and at State the first weekend of April.
The teams are also very grateful to have received grant funding from the Menomonie Rotary and the Community Foundation of Dunn County.
Amy Zuber Seguin is the Menomonie 6th Grade Math Science Olympiad Coach. She can be reached at [email protected]
Offerings for Caregivers
Dementia/Alzheimer’s info and support available
Source: ADRC of Dunn County
Carla Berscheit, Dementia Specialist for Dunn County and the ADRC (Aging & Disability Resource Center) announce FREE resources available related to dementia/Alzheimers’s.
How to Speak Dementia Tuesday, March 4, 2-4 p.m. Brewery Nonic (621 4th St West). Tips and strategies to improve communication with someone living with dementia. To register call 715-232-4006 or online at [email protected].
This is part of a free quarterly training series offered to increase skills as a caregiver. Other dates in 2025 are June 3, Sept 12 and Dec 2.
Women Connected: A Support Group for Women Caregivers. Wednesday, March 12, 11:30am, Menomonie Senior Center (1412 6th St). For more information call 715-231-2713. Offered 2nd Wednesdays of the month.
Otter Creek Cemetery
Reflections on exploring and embracing a graveyard in the countryside
Photo: Renee Carrell
By Renee Carrell
It’s a lonely two acre plot of land in the corner of a farm field on County Road N. Most people would drive right by and never realize it was a graveyard, if not for the old rusty sign that simply says Otter Creek Cemetery.
Most of the grave markers are modest, and many are broken off, like bad teeth. There are a few taller, more stately memorials scattered on the lot; there are also rumored to be some unmarked graves.
Established in the late 1800’s, the cemetery belonged to the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The congregation’s services were provided by “traveling preachers.” The church was destroyed in a fire sometime in the mid to late 1940’s with some of the stone foundation still intact across the road.
The land was gifted and passed through several hands before it was quitclaim deeded to the Town of Otter Creek and it became a municipal cemetery in 1992.
The town has a budget of a little over one thousand dollars per year, mostly for ground maintenance. The local resident who does the mowing often adds some extras, like digging out the old walkways between plots and such, on his own time. He has also offered to sandblast the rust on the sign’s frame. The sign is in rough condition and in risk of falling into disrepair.
The only revenue the cemetery brings in is an occasional plot sale. A single gravesite can be purchased for $250 but sales are far and few between. One plot was recently sold to Alan Sieger, who is not a resident of Otter Creek, but his parents, Emmett & Edith Sieger are buried there. In speaking with Alan, he related he has fond childhood memories of summer visits with his family in Dunn County.
I myself have considered securing a final resting place for my ashes in the cemetery. My father had his ashes spread over his favorite lake; now that lake has been developed and there really is no place or marker to pay him homage.
Every headstone tells a story and proves that we once existed. Old cemeteries are like outdoor history museums.
Some of the histories are sad, such as the Lee family, who lost four of their children to diphtheria in 1889. There are also two Civil War and two WWII veterans listed on the plot map. The taller monuments represent entire families and tell their history. The unmarked graves are reported to be three little girls in the same family who died from tuberculosis and had to be buried in secret at night, because the disease was so contagious.
Not all the tales are sad; some headstones just remind us of the rhythm of life. We are born, we love and we die.
Note: Background for this article was provided by Town of Otter Creek Secretary, Bev Bernier.
Renee Carrell is a Town of Otter Creek resident, attends Town meetings and is a poll worker since last fall. Renee may be reached at [email protected].
Public Meetings This Week
City of Menomonie
Wednesday, Feb 19: Urban Forestry Meeting - 1 p.m.
School District of Menomonie
Monday, Feb 24: School Board - 5:45 p.m., River Heights Elementary
Click HERE for the calendar with more details
Dunn County
Wednesday, Feb 19: Board of Supervisors - 7 p.m.; Thursday, Feb 20: Criminal Justice Collaborating Council - 4 p.m.; Monday, Feb 24: Judiciary & Law Committee - 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb 26: Facilities Committee - 5 p.m.
Click HERE for Calendar, Documents, Recordings & Public Commenting
Is Education Important?
By Joe Zydowsky (School Crossings Column)
Have you ever looked up something in an encyclopedia or used a dictionary to find the spelling or meaning of a word? When was the last time you used “long division” instead of pulling out the calculator on your phone? Do your kids or grandkids even know what an encyclopedia, dictionary, or thesaurus are? With so many advances in technology and with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence tools, it might be worth revisiting the simple question, “Is Education Important?”
Education is one of the most important aspects of personal and societal development. It empowers individuals with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities necessary to navigate the complexities of life. At its core, education opens doors to opportunities, shaping one's future and providing the foundation for achieving success in various fields.
First and foremost, education fosters personal growth. It allows individuals to explore their interests, cultivate talents, and develop a sense of purpose. Through the process of learning, people are exposed to new ideas, cultures, and perspectives, which broadens their understanding of the world. Education also builds self-confidence, as it equips individuals with the tools they need to solve problems, make informed decisions, and overcome challenges.
On a larger scale, education plays a crucial role in improving society. It helps break the cycle of poverty by providing individuals with the skills and qualifications necessary to secure better-paying jobs. Higher levels of education are associated with improved economic outcomes, as educated individuals tend to have more stable careers and contribute to the growth of the economy. Furthermore, education promotes social equality by giving everyone, regardless of background, the chance to succeed based on their abilities rather than their circumstances.
In addition to economic and social benefits, education is essential for the advancement of science, technology, and innovation. Through education, people gain the knowledge needed to push the boundaries of human understanding and make groundbreaking discoveries. Whether it's in medicine, engineering, or the arts, education is the catalyst for progress.
In conclusion, education is not only a means of personal development but also a powerful tool for societal progress. It enriches lives, strengthens communities, and drives innovation, making it indispensable for both individuals and society as a whole.
It may seem a bit self-serving for a school superintendent to write a column about the importance of education. “Of course the superintendent thinks that schools are important”, you might think. Well, if you really want your mind blown, go to ChatGPT and enter the prompt, “write me a 300 word essay on why education is important.” If you are not sure how to do that, perhaps ask your kids or grandkids.
Should school families or community members have any questions or concerns related to our schools, I invite you to contact your child’s school, or visit me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue. More information about the SDMA can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com).
Joe Zydowsky is Menomonie Schools Superintendent. He may be contacted at [email protected]
Menomonie Collegians
Carter Davis Playing Pickleball at the College Level
Carter Davis of the UW-Whitewater Pickleball Club returns a shot in a recent match. Photo: Contributed
By Layne Pitt
WHITEWATER - Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. For years it was characterized as a sport for the older set.
But check out any of the pickleball courts around the Menomonie area and one will see the sport is being played by all ages. Carter Davis, a 2023 Menomonie High School graduate, is one of the regulars from the Menomonie pickleball scene playing the sport at the next level.
A sophomore majoring in general business, Davis is playing for the UW-Whitewater Pickleball Club.
Davis has been playing pickleball for three years, picking up the game after his junior year in high school.
“My parents got interested in the sport and convinced me to play it one time,” said Davis. “After that I was hooked and played whenever I could during the summer with my family and other community members.”
Davis began playing at Whitewater the first week of school his freshman year.
“My first week at college after finishing classes I walked past the tennis courts that are used for pickleball and noticed people playing,” Davis said. “I asked if I could play and immediately was part of the club and have been playing three times a week since then.”
Davis said between 15 and 30 people come to open play times and the club welcomes any student to come out and play. But the club has a traveling team that has gone as far as Texas and Georgia for tournaments. The traveling team consists of four men and four women. After watching the level of competition around him, Davis didn’t have high hopes for making the traveling team as a freshman.
“I tried out for the team last year not expecting to make it but thought it would be fun to try,” Davis said. “I ended up making the team, competing in tournaments and traveling with the team.”
Davis plays both men’s doubles and co-ed doubles.
“This fall I didn’t compete because most of the tournaments were very far away and we couldn’t afford to bring all eight of our top team members, so instead only our top team went,” said Davis. “Our top team was very successful, placing second in the tournament, which is high enough to give our team a bid to nationals in the fall of 2025.”
Davis loves the competition that comes with pickleball and that comes at all levels and at all occasions.
“I love the level of competition there is regardless of age,” Davis said. “I fell in love with it first when my brother and I, at the age of 18 and 14, both athletic and competitive, were beaten by two players well into their mid-60s. I really like the fact that any age can be competitive.”
Layne Pitt is the retired UW-Stout Sports Information director and also worked more than a decade at the Dunn County News.
Menomonie Collegians is a regular feature of Menomonie News Net. The column is not limited to student-athletes, but may be a former MHS student in a play, forensics, music or any type of collegiate competition. If you know of a Menomonie Collegian, please email [email protected].
The column Menomonie Collegians by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
For a Calendar of Events in the Menomonie Area, visit Kathy Weber’s Menomonie Minute.
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