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Wed
08
Feb

Beware of Super Weed

Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 11:36

Palmer amaranth in a newly seeded Conservation Reserve Program field. (Photos courtesy of Bob Hartzler)

Palmer amaranth can reach seven feet tall. These weeds were pulled from a corn field and are displayed here by Meaghan Anderson, an Iowa State University extension field agronomist.

 

Fast spreading weed becoming a serious threat

By Ted Pennekamp

 

Area farmers might have another insidious weed that is relatively new to the region to think about for this upcoming planting season. Palmer amaranth has been found in Clayton County, Iowa and in Grant and Iowa counties in Wisconsin and has a proclivity for crowding out crops. 

Wed
08
Feb

You never know what ‘bargains’ you find at Couleecap boutique

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 11:35

Jann Sturmer is the new coordinator at the Couleecap Bargain Boutique and Food Pantry. She’s excited about sharing with the public the necessities and valuable buys they can find at the thrift store, all for the benefit of the local food pantry. (Photo by Correne Martin)

By Correne Martin

The Couleecap Bargain Boutique is one of the most bustling businesses in downtown Prairie du Chien. Household decor, clothing, accessories, books, children’s items, kitchen necessities and electronics, among other treasures, are in clean used—yet reusable—condition.

Merchandise is sold to sustain the Couleecap Food Pantry, which is housed in a back room at the store and provides Crawford County’s low-income families, once a month, with about two days worth of food. It is stocked by a food truck, which delivers monthly, but mostly by donations from the public.

In addition to three paid employees, an army of about 30 volunteers, who help varying hours throughout the month, make up the workforce. Additional volunteers are needed.

Wed
08
Feb

City, police union sign six-year contract

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 11:34

On Tuesday night, Jan. 7, the Prairie du Chien Common Council approved a historic contract with its local police union. The city and union have an agreement that will be six years in length, from 2017 through 2022—the longest contract, in terms of years covered, ever agreed to by both entities.

The contract calls for a 2 percent annual increase in salaries for the police department in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and 2.5 percent increases in 2021 and 2022. The contract also raises the minimum salaries for future officers who are hired.

Wed
08
Feb

Ice causes several Crawford County accidents

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 11:32

Icy road conditions caused several accidents on Crawford County roads on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department was notified of three separate accidents on Highway 179 near O’Brien Lane in Eastman Township.

•At about 7:30 a.m., Shannon Sprosty, 43, Steuben, Mary Lou Rooney, 70, Steuben, and Debra Bahlmann, 48, Steuben, were all traveling westbound on Highway 179 in three separate vehicles. All three slid into the ditch due to the ice-covered roadway. All three vehicles sustained moderate damage. There were no injuries reported. Bob’s Towing assisted with the accidents.

•At 7:28 a.m., the sheriff’s department was notified of a two-vehicle accident on Tavern Road in Clayton Township with no injuries.

Mon
06
Feb

AARP Tax-Aide program free to low-, middle-income over 55

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:13

The AARP Tax-Aide program will help prepare 2016 federal, state and Wisconsin Homestead Tax Credit income tax returns for Crawford County residents. This free assistance is offered to low and middle-income people 55 and older of age.

AARP counselors will not be able to assist for the following:

•File a business income tax schedule C if income is over $5,000 (along with a few other stipulations)

•Persons who are using filing status “Married Filing Separately”

•A married person qualifying as “Head of Household”

•A person whose divorce became final during 2016

•No farm taxes

•No Iowa taxes

•No gambling winnings from out-of-state.

The tax counselors will be in Prairie du Chien at the Crawford County Administration Building, 225 N. Beaumont Rd., on Wednesdays starting on or around Feb. 15.

Mon
06
Feb

Man found safe after reported ice fishing scare

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:10

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department investigated a report of an intoxicated man ice fishing near Prairie du Chien early Saturday morning.

At 4:57 p.m., authorities were notified that a 34-year-old man had gone ice fishing while heavily intoxicated. According to his family, he had been operating an ATV on the ice while fishing and hadn’t returned home. The reporting party stated they believed the individual went ice fishing on Gremore Lake, which is located between Ambro Road and County K.

As the sheriff’s department was actively investigating the whereabouts of the man, he returned home unharmed, authorities said.

Mon
06
Feb

Man charged with meth, marijuana possession and felony bail jumping

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:09

A Viroqua man was arrested on drug-related charges over the weekend near Star Valley, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department.

On Sunday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 p.m., the Crawford County K-9 Unit initiated a traffic stop on a 1985 Chevrolet Astro Van, operated by Jon Fanta, 52. The traffic stop happened on County B near Star Valley. During the traffic stop, the deputy searched the vehicle and located methamphetamine paraphernalia and marijuana in the vehicle. Crystal methamphetamine was located on Fanta’s person, the sheriff’s department said.

Fanta was arrested and transported to the Crawford County Jail and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and felony bail jumping as he was on active bond through Vernon County for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine.

Mon
06
Feb

Flat tire causes accident

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:08

On Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m., the Crawford County Communications Center received a report of a one-vehicle crash on Highway 60 just west of Turtle Lane in the township of Wauzeka.

Bryan J. Hill, 40, Boscobel was operating a 1999 Toyota Camry westbound on Highway 60. The Hill vehicle lost control while negotiating a curve due to a flat tire. The Hill vehicle crossed over the center line and entered the south side ditch where it came to rest.

Hill was transported by Tri-State EMS to Crossing Rivers Heath for treatment of his injuries.

Hill was cited for operating without a valid driver’s license and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

Assisting the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department on scene were the Wauzeka First Responders, the Wauzeka Fire Department, Tri-State EMS and Terry’s Tire and Tow.

Mon
06
Feb

Spoil your sweetheart at dinner for Wauzeka veterans memorial

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:06

This bronze, fiberglass eagle statue was created by Sculptor David Oswald, of Sparta. It will serve as the centerpiece of the memorial. It is currently in storage.

By Correne Martin

The community of Wauzeka has raised $21,000 toward a memorial recognizing its veterans, past and present. This Saturday, for the Sweethearts Steak Dinner fundraiser, organizers are hoping to increase that amount significantly.

The Wauzeka Area Veterans Memorial project has been a difficult one for the committee of volunteers, who have, for the second time, relocated the future site of the memorial—this time to the Wauzeka cemetery. Originally, it was to be erected at the boat landing, but the Department of Natural Resources wouldn’t allow it in the floodplain. Then, in 2015, the site moved to a more visible location along Highway 60, across from Bassett Trucking, but the land was eventually deemed too small. Since then, the Wauzeka Cemetery Association donated a portion of its land on County N.

Mon
06
Feb

Prairie du Chien has a place in Ringling history

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:04

On the far right of this photograph, behind the house, is the old barn in Prairie du Chien in which the famed Ringling brothers got their start practicing trapeze in the hay loft. The barn was torn down, but stood along County K near the Calvary Cemetery. Pictured is the William and Ida Swingle family, which lived in and also owned the home when the Ringlings rented it.

Betty Nolan, of rural Prairie du Chien, was a Swingle—daughter of Dan Swingle and granddaughter of William Swingle. Her grandfather hob-nobbed with the Ringling brothers in their boyhood days and, at one time, owned the old Ringling home in Prairie du Chien.

By Correne Martin

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will host its final performance in May. After 146 years, the iconic circus is closing because high operating costs and declining ticket sales have made the circus an unsustainable business for parent company, Feld Entertainment, CEO Kenneth Feld announced last month.

While many associate the Ringlings with Baraboo, where the circus was founded in 1884, and several landmarks keep the legacy alive publicly, Prairie du Chien has a place in the family’s history as well.

German-born harness and shoemaker Augustus Ringling and his wife Marie Salome first moved from Milwaukee to Baraboo in 1855, then to Prairie du Chien somewhere around 1858-1859. In 1860, they moved to McGregor, where four of the boys—Charles, John, Henry and Alf T.— were born. The family home still stands at 14463 Walton Ave.

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