You’re reading issue 10 of Menomonie News Net. If you missed past issues you can always catch up on the website. We’re adding articles there during the week in addition to the weekly newsletter. Plus we’re expanding the MORE section with info such as Resources and Public Meeting Notes. Explore the site. Subscribers are up to 689; keep sharing! And because of your donations we can offer Menomonie News Net for free…as well as explore adding part-time staff.

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Editors: Layne Pitt & Becky Kneer; Tech Support: Tracy Glenz

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In this Issue…

• Shooter’s Fire Determined to be Arson

• Optimists Honor Olive Yonko as Youth of the Month

• Stepping Stones Director Stepping Down

• League of Women Voters Makes Dues More Affordable

• Lions Club Car on the Ice

• Emergency Blood Shortages

• Dunn County’s Nursing Home Improves Fiscal Picture

• CVTC President’s List for Fall Semester

• Public Meetings this Week

• Election Update

• Menomonie Collegians - Kellen Aure, Cody Kwak

Shooter’s Fire Determined to be Arson

Man in custody according to updated press release

1-18-25 Dunn County Sheriff’s Office Press Release (Facebook Page)

On Saturday, January 18th, 2025 shortly before 5am, the Dunn County Communications Center received calls from passing motorists on 1-94 of a building on fire. The location provided was Shooters Showgirls, on 850th St. in the Town of Elk Mound. Upon arrival the building was fully involved.

Elk Mound Fire along with Menomonie Fire, Colfax Fire, Rock Creek Fire, Sand Creek Fire, Township Fire, Chippewa Fire District, Wheaton Fire, Boyceville Fire, Bloomer Fire and Colfax Rescue worked to put out the fire. At this time, the cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation by the Dunn County Sheriff's Office and Elk Mound Fire Dept.

If anyone has any information related to this case or if you observed any vehicles parked in the immediate area between 2am and 5am this morning, please contact the Dunn County Sheriff's Office at 715-232-1348. Information can also be provided anonymously through the Dunn County Crime Stoppers website or the P3 Mobile Tips app.

Updated information: 1-21-25 The structure fire at Shooters Showgirls has been determined to be an arson. Deputies and investigators continued to review video evidence and follow up on leads throughout the weekend. This morning investigators interviewed Colton Jansen from Comstock WI. Colton admitted to his involvement in the case. He was taken into custody with the assistance from Investigators of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Editor’s Note: we will continue to update this story on the website as information becomes available.

Optimists Honor Olive Yonko as Youth of the Month

By David K. Williams

The Menomonie Optimist Club led off the new year by honoring Olive Yonko, a senior at Menomonie High School, as the January Youth of the Month. Optimists have honored seniors from Dunn County’s high schools each month for over 30 years.

Olive Yonko’s range of school involvement is both wide and deep. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Club, Student Council and currently serves as vice president of the graduation committee. Olive is captain of the Forensics team and has played on both the soccer and gymnastics teams at Menomonie High School. Teachers note her willingness to help new students, and especially students from other countries, to acclimate and feel comfortable at Menomonie High School. Olive is focused on a career in Animal Science, which she plans to study at the University of Minnesota, leading to a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Olive is the daughter of Gretchen Yonko and Richard Yonko.

Menomonie Optimists, in addition to the Youth of the Month program, also have worked with the DNR on projects at Hoffman Hills since the 1980s, hosted the Menomin Meander, a family-friendly bike ride around Lake Menomin each August, and have provided dictionaries to every third grade student in Dunn County for many years.

David Williams is a Menomonie resident and a retired UW-Stout administrator.

Stepping Stones Director Padraig Gallagher Leaving Position

MENOMONIE - Padraig Gallagher will be leaving his position with Stepping Stones of Dunn County to serve as executive director of Feed My People Food Bank. His last day with Stepping Stones will be February 26.

“I have been so fortunate to be part of the growth and important work of Stepping Stones over the past four years”, said Gallagher, “I look forward to being a partner to the organization and watching what the Dunn County community accomplishes in the future.”

During his time at Stepping Stones, Gallagher was instrumental in the development of the Cairn House Shelter and the expansion of their Food Pantry and Community Connections programs.

“He has been key in advancing the connection between Stepping Stones and the people of Dunn County, not only in service, but also in event fundraising, ongoing monthly giving, and personal connections", said president of the Stepping Stones board of directors Barbara Fagan. “Padraig's tenure marks an outstanding growth for the organization and prominence of Stepping Stones in the community. The Board is excited for Padraig and for a smooth transition. We will support what has been developed and ensure our mission thrives in an ever-evolving community”.

Stepping Stones seeks to foster a community that prevents hunger, homelessness, and isolation throughout Dunn County. There is significant and growing need in the community and the organization currently serves one-in-nine households of Dunn County. Stepping Stones will continue to build on the work Gallagher has provided to continue meeting the increasing need.

The board of directors has begun the process of searching for a new executive director to lead Stepping Stones of Dunn County. An announcement regarding the appointment of a successor will be made in the coming months.

By Corissa Villeneuve, Asst Director, Development & PR at Stepping Stones. She may be reached at 715-235-2920 × 211

League of Women Voters Makes Dues More Affordable

Learn more at January 23rd meeting in Menomonie

By Ellen B. Ochs

The League of Women Voters – Greater Chippewa Valley will be holding a General Meeting for members, and persons interested in joining the League, on Thursday Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the Dunn County Judicial Center, 815 Stokke Pkwy, Menomonie.

The national LWVUS (League of Women Voters-US) has arranged with an online platform, ChapterSpot, to provide a way to join or renew regardless of which League they are joining, consistent across Leagues throughout the nation, and more accessible to those who may find dues a barrier. The new dues structure allows a member to pay what they can afford, from $20 per year on up. This new system will go into effect in February 2025. It will take some work to adjust.

Come and learn about it, and get to know some amazing volunteers, women and men!

The League of Women Voters is a non-profit, nonpartisan political organization of volunteers dedicated to encouraging and helping people get registered to vote, to calling attention to elections, and to studying and promoting issues that benefit the community.

The meeting will also be recorded, and a copy of the presentation will be sent to members after the meeting.

 Ellen Ochs is president of League of Women Voters - Greater Chippewa Valley and can be contacted at [email protected]

Lions Club Car on the Ice

Emergency Blood Shortages: Please Give Blood or Platelets NOW

Several Menomonie locations scheduling appointments

Source: American Red Cross

Severe winter weather and wildfires have forced thousands of blood donations to go uncollected. There is an emergency shortage of platelets, as well as types O negative and B negative blood. Donors are needed TODAY!

Upcoming blood drives in Menomonie are:

Thurs Jan 30:  Dunn County Government Center, 9am - 3pm

Thurs Feb 6:   1) UW-Stout, 302 10th Ave E, 10am-4pm; 2) Phillips Medisize, 428 Technology Dr, 10am-4pm; 3) Christ Lutheran Church, 1306 Wilcox St, 12pm-6pm

To find upcoming blood donor drives in Menomonie, and/or to make an appointment click here.

You can also call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Dunn County’s Nursing Home Improves Fiscal Picture

Administrator Carmen Meyer reports on The Neighbors of Dunn County’s good news

MENOMONIE - A change in Medicaid reimbursement rates by the state of Wisconsin has significantly improved the financial picture for The Neighbors of Dunn County, the county-operated nursing home in Menomonie.

Administrator Carmen Meyer told the County Board of Supervisors recently that the facility would have an operating budget surplus of $1.2 million for 2024, after two years of budget shortfalls.

Additionally, Meyer said, “the next five years are all projected to be in the black.”

County Board Chair Kelly McCullough said supervisors know how important The Neighbors of Dunn County is for their constituents, and the improved fiscal picture is outstanding news.

“We know that government-owned and operated nursing homes consistently get better ratings for care than for-profit facilities,” McCullough said, “and the fact that we can provide a better standard of care for our aging population with little to no tax impact shows the value of public services run by public entities.

“The Neighbors is an absolute gem and will help many of our older citizens stay close to home when they need a skilled nursing facility.” McCullough said.

The good news about The Neighbors of Dunn County’s finances comes as an increasing number of publicly owned nursing homes and similar facilities are either being sold to for-profit companies or are closing. In Wisconsin, just 14 percent of nursing homes are publicly owned, with for-profits owning 54 percent and non-profits owning 32 percent.

Since 2016, Meyer told the County Board, 66 nursing homes have closed in Wisconsin, and 12 nursing homes within 50 miles of Dunn County have closed since 2016. These include Dallas Care and Rehab in 2018 and Colfax Health and Rehab in 2023, and three in the Eau Claire area.

Additionally, the number of licensed nursing home beds decreased from 28,719 in March 2020 to 25,891 in October 2022.

Meyer said The Neighbors of Dunn County traditionally has operated in the black, if depreciation was not included. But a change in Wisconsin’s Medicaid reimbursement rate in the last two years means that The Neighbors of Dunn County is expected to have a surplus in coming years, even accounting for depreciation.

For many years, Meyer said, the state of Wisconsin “had one of the worst Medicaid reimbursement rates in the country.” But that changed in the 2023-25 state budget, she said.

In 2022, the state Department of Health Services announced that in the 2023 fiscal year, Medicaid would cover an average of 91 percent of the cost of care provided in nursing homes, up from 77 percent in 2022. Gov. Tony Evers’ pandemic relief plan set aside $258 million to increase Medicaid reimbursements. Unlike previous increases, it guarantees minimum payments to providers.

Another aspect of the change means facilities can get more assistance as their costs increase, Meyer said, adding, “the reimbursement should keep increasing as costs increase.”

The nursing home will be even more important in the future as the Dunn County population continues to age, Meyer told the County Board. In 2010, residents 65 and older made up 12 percent of the county’s population, and that is projected to increase to 26 percent by 2040.

The Neighbors of Dunn County actually is comprised of three separately licensed skilled nursing facilities. It has a total of 137 beds. In the last year, 246 residents lived at various times at the facility.

Carmen Meyer, LNHA, is Administrator and Community Mentor at The Neighbors of Dunn County; Email: [email protected]

CVTC President’s List for Fall Semester 2024

CVTC News Release

Chippewa Valley Technical College announces that the following students have been named to the President’s List for the fall 2024 semester. To be eligible, students must complete a minimum of six credits with a semester grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

From Boyceville: Nathan Boesl, Anastasia Duss, John Garland, Jacey Guy, James Johnson, LaRissa Krueger, Rachael Montgomery, Riley Schutz, Evangeline Siemsen, and Jacob Wheeler

From Colfax: Micah Bailey, Megan Chapman, Megan Glaus, Sabrina Keesling, Gabriel Loew, Teagan Mayer, Brandy Mouledoux, Grandt Mueller, Kaydyn Nielson, Tyler Noll, Jordanne Nygaard, Aynsley Olson, Harley Paulson, Aliyah Rihn, Jaida Riley, Emily Rubenzer, Josie Seehaver, McKenna Shipman, Nic Strand, and Kayla Weihing

From Elk Mound: Alivia Baskin, Carson Baskin, Madisynn Bauer, Alyssa Boguslawske, Jacob Brendemuehl, Kaeden Burlingame, Olivia Clickner, Selena Clickner, Landon Cummings, Toby Czech, Kara Edington, Jessica Fox, Nicholas Goetsch, Heather Harsh, Madeline Her, Sarah Hurt, Janelle Jensen, Dustin Joachim, Kamryn King, Joel Krueger, Dick Lessard, Kelsey Mavis, Amii Moua, Savannah Nechanicky, Ari Nunez Maldonado, Jessica Pellett, Danielle Pingel, Ella Plath, Anna Roder, Erick Sandoval, Sierra Simpson, Gavin Sundeen, and Abigail Werner

From Knapp: Emma Chich, Rhyenne Fuerstenberg, and Devon VanDeWiele

From Menomonie: Halimah Alossaimi, Aiden Ayres, Isabella Bautista, Jasmine Blanks, Elias Boe Parish, Jensine Boesl, Max Brown, Jasmine Buttke, Terri Buttke, Gracie Casper, Cassandra Chase, Ellie Clarke, Mitchell Clarke, Cam Clausen, Chelse Cockeram, Bree Cook, Joey Cook, Corrina Denston, Alysen Duffy, Walker Ferguson, Emi Frank, Sydney Frigo, Hannah Goodman, Bruce Goplin, Daniell Green, Lilly Gregerson, Arabella Hackbarth, Kalley Hagen, Thea Lee Her, Samantha Hoff, Hunter Hoffman, Kaleb Holley, Journey Holt, Mackenzie Horwath, MacKenzie Illa, Shawn Janvrin, Riley Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Lauren Kado, Jenna Karrmann, Izabelle Klapak, Antonio Komro, Kinsey Krahenbuhl, Bennett Krueger, Alex Kruschke, Lorin Kuester, Claudia La Seure, Courtney Larson, Sarah Lee, Darwin Lopez, Vanessa Lor, Breanna Loyas, Vista Marconett, Alex Markham, Annie McFarlin, Kalynda McGlothlin, BriAnn McNaughton, Justice Meyer, Vincent Miara, Al Moran, Charles Morgan, Lydia Nielsen, Elayne Pahl, Emma Pax, Chloe Pearson, Ashleah Quilling, Michael Reynolds, Kylee Riek, Chrissy Ruscher, Kali Saxton, Andrew Schaefer, Jenna Schaefer, Nick Scheff, Max Schemenauer, Jessica Schmidt, Holly Schmutz, Anika Schoenberger, Maddy Schutte, Macy Skillings, Brett Smith, Jasmine Smith, Lucas Smith, Nico Sonnek, Delaney Souza, Josh Springer, Shaunti Stanek, Melissa Stuart, Chloe Styer, Evan Thao, Rashen Thao, Brian Thibado, Shelby Thornton, Allisa Vang, DJ Vang, Hailey Webb, Nicky Weix, Maggie Winsand, Kaci Wittig, Garrett Woodford, Sarah Woodruff, and Judy Yang

From Wheeler: Alexis Wannemacher

By Alyssa Van Duyse, Chippewa Valley Technical College. She may be contacted at:

[email protected] 

Public Meetings This Week

Below are local public meetings for the week ahead. Click on the links to find location, agendas and digital links if available.

School District Meetings

Jan 27 - School Board 5:45pm Menomonie Middle School

Dunn County Meetings 

For the following click here and scroll down to Public Meeting Calendar to access details on each meeting.

Jan 22 - Facilities Committee 5pm CANCELED

Jan 23 - Neighbors of Dunn County 9am

Jan 23 - Committee on Administration 3pm

Jan 23 - Health & Human Services 6pm

Jan 27 - Board of Adjustment 10:30am

Jan 27 - ADRC Advisory & Nutrition Council 1pm

Jan 27 - Judiciary and Law 4:30pm

Election Updates

From the Dunn County Clerk web page:

• What you need to know about the February 18 primary: Click here.

• How to vote early (in-person absentee) by municipality: Click here.

Menomonie Collegians

Kellen Aure wrestling at Central Michigan, Cody Kwak at Minnesota State, Mankato

By Layne Pitt

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - During his high school senior season, Kellen Aure battled not only his opponents, but injury on his way to winning a state wrestling title.

Aure injured his knee, but toughed his way through the 2023 state tournament on his way to winning the 132-pound class with a 5-1 win in the championship match.

A red-shirt freshman, Aure is in his second season at NCAA Division I Central Michigan University. During his first season in Mount Pleasant, Aure redshirted the season, wrestling in a number of open meets, posting a 6-4 record in the 141-pound class, recording two major decisions and one technical fall. He finished fourth in the freshman/sophomore division at the Michigan State Open.

This season, Aure is in the varsity line-up and has posted an 8-11 overall record in the 141 weight class, recording one pin, one technical fall and two major decisions. The Chippewa have two other wrestlers at 141.

In addition to Aure's Wiscconsin state championship in 2023, Aure was the 2022 Wisconsin state runner-up at 132 and a two-time first team all-Big Rivers Conference (BRC) selection (2022, 2023) and a second team all-BRC pick (2021).

Central Michigan returns to action Sunday, Jan. 26 when they travel to Washington, DC, where they will face Campbell University at noon, host-school American University at 2 p.m. and CSU-Bakersfield at 4 p.m.

• Cody Kwak started off his collegiate career at NCAA Division III St. John's University, but transferred to NCAA Division II Minnesota State, Mankako, where he is seeing action at 285-pounds. Kwak is currently 3-2 overall, recording three falls at the Buena Vista University Open in December, finishing sixth overall.

At Menomonie, Kwak was a three-time regional champion, two-time team captain and earned first team all-BRC honors in 2022 and 2023. In football, Kwak was a three-time all-conference selection, a team captain and a member of the National Honor Society. At St. John's, Kwak participated in football and wrestling. Kwak finished his freshman year with a 19-11 overall record at St. John's, wrestling at 285 and leading the team in pins with 15.

Minnesota State returns to action Thursday, Jan. 30, when they host UW-Parkside.

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/

Menomonie Mustangs Athletics and Activities | UW-Stout Blue Devil Athletics 

For a Calendar of Events in the Menomonie Area, visit Kathy Weber’s Menomonie Minute.

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