8/22/19 Stoughton Courier Hub

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City of Stoughton

Riverfront plan coming next week Brink proposal set to arrive Aug. 26 JUSTIN LOEWEN Hub correspondent

Photo by Kimberly Wethal

Town of Pleasant Springs farmer Nathan Moe stands in his acre of hemp. Moe is a part of a pilot program with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection where he’s growing hemp for the first time this year.

New yield in the field Stoughton area farmer adds hemp to the mix

KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Stoughton farmer Nathan Moe is a 10th-generation farmer, tracing his family history all the way back to Norway, with not a single generation skipping the tradition. But this year, he’s trying something new. Moe is growing an acre of hemp, and plans to sell the CBD oil harvested from it. He’s the only farmer in the Stoughton area doing so, he said, by participating in the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Research program. DATCP did not return multiple

calls to confirm. “It’s kinda a learn as we go, step by step thing,” he said. As part of the pilot program, Moe has to have state inspectors check his crop prior to harvest to make sure the percentage of THC isn’t too high. THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in the cannabis plant family. To qualify as hemp, the plant must have less than 0.03% percent THC. It’s a catch-22, he said, because as the crop sits in the field longer, the more CBD oil the plant contains. But if the plant is in the ground for too long, and the percentage of THC is too high, he has to plow under or burn the entire

crop that he invested $10,000 in. “The longer you let it grow, the more oil content that plant is going to have, and of course that’s what we’re after, the oil,” he said. “You want to let it grow as long as you can to get all of that oil but not so long that you get over that THC threshold.” There were a few farmers Moe knew that grew hemp last year who had to destroy their crop after heavy August rains prevented them from getting into the field to harvest, he said. Moe wanted to be a farmer since he was a child, but there was “no room” for him at the family farm, he said. So he bounced around for a while after

Turn to Hemp/Page 7

City of Stoughton

Power plant landmark boundaries approved Historic Places. The building, once connected to the Yahara River dam, was built in 1911, according to an entry in the Wisconsin Historical Society archives. JUSTIN LOEWEN In a resolution Tuesday, Aug. 12, the Common Council unanimousHub correspondent ly approved the Landmarks ComThe power plant building on Fourth mission’s definition of the landmark Street is now eligible to be registered boundaries for the power plant. The on the State and National Register of building could not be registered as a

Alders debate unknown southern edge in river

landmark until the city created boundaries to cut the building out of a larger parcel that includes the former public works building. The commission designated the northern and eastern boundaries 30 feet and 50 feet from the power plant, respectively, and it defined the western and southern boundaries using the

After four months of courting developers for its riverfront project, the City of Stoughton Redevelopment Authority is preparing to receive a detailed proposal from the only remaining interested party. Curt Vaughn Brink LLC’s redevelopment proposal is due Monday, Aug. 26, and the RDA has approved a form for evaluating the plan, with a hope for ample green space and sustainable building practices outlined in the proposal. RDA chair Roger Springman told the commission he will review it with city staff and might ask for clarification on details. T h e R DA p l a n s t o review the proposal Sept. 11, and Brink plans to be present to answer any questions. Brink had presented his vision for the proposed

riverfront redevelopment project in a public meeting Wednesday, Aug. 7, and Springman reported that it generated an “enthusiastic” response from the crowd of 75 attendees. Brink also explained the project did not involve Mandt Park, as was a misconception and concern of many in attendance. The redevelopment vision space includes space for small businesses, homes and a variety of apartments, including single bedrooms at around $1,000 a month, two bedrooms at $1,500 and three bedrooms for $3,100. The RDA asked consultant Gary Becker, at his suggestion, to revise the RDA’s 2007 redevelopment plan once the plan approval process begins, showing how Brink’s project would be built. That is expected to be finished around November, Becker said. The redevelopment

Turn to RDA/Page 16

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