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Independent • Register The
The Official Newspaper of Brodhead and Green County
WWW.INDREG.COM • PAPER@INDREG.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2018
VOL. 158 • NO. 23
Decatur Lake sedimentation strikes some as not ‘same-old, same-old’ By Ryan Broege EDITOR
Mike Krause walked along the shoreline of Decatur Lake, pointing out fresh islands that have sprouted up since he bought the home and 2.5 acres in 2014. Krause, and his wife Jennifer, have concerns about the future of Decatur Lake. Both express concerns about the danger posed by the potential operation Pinnacle Dairy upstream, as well as perceived increasing sedimentation throughout the lake. Jennifer laments that a contaminated well would leave the family will a home nobody would buy. “We’re very concerned about water quality with the amount of manure being generated,” she said. Mike sees property values possibly plunging as the lake grows shallower. Krause said he grew up on the Sugar River in New Glarus, and when he saw the Decatur Lakefront property come up for sale, he purchased it in 2014. However, the lake is becoming increasingly unfamiliar, he said. Mike remembers waterskiing on the lake, where now 30-foot-tall trees stand. Jennifer has memories of spending time at her grandparents’ home near the golf course, riding pontoon boats and canoeing. She characterized the influx of islands sprouting up across the lake as “ridiculous.” Mike and Jennifer Krause counted at least three islands emerge above the currents since moving to the property 4 years ago. With more sand bars five feet from his dock, Mike predicted more will sprout by next year. Mike said he used to be able to catch walleye off his pier, but that is a thing of the past The heavy February rains, on the heels of freezing temperatures and frozen soil, brought changes nearly overnight to the lake, said Mike Krause. An island roughly 50 yards from their dock grew in size and scope, and the rivers brought more silt and “sludge” to the lake. “Where we’re at, it just pools here,” said Mike. The two lament the shallow
RYAN BROEGE PHOTO The Independent-Register
Mike and Jennifer Krause say sedimentation is claiming more and more of Decatur Lake, and they worry for its future.
depths around their dock, which they say has risen dramatically in the four years since purchasing the home. “At four inches deep, I’d be taking my canoe for a walk,” Mike said. Standing on the edge of their dock, the two pointed to channels and pathways through the water rendered newly impassable due to sedimentation and newly-formed islands. Krause acknowledged that De-
catur lake has “been filling in since it was a lake,” but said the pace of sedimentation seems to be quickening. A few houses down the road, Mary Lou McCormick agrees that the lake is fast-changing. She has been living in her mother’s - Nancy Blakslee - home on Park Road for the past three years. McCormick agreed with the Krauses about the falling depths and rapidly-forming islands.
She does not believe the lake was always so stagnant. “It didn’t use to look this way,” she said, gesturing toward her shoreline on the lake McCormick said she remembers children asking her parents for permission to swim off their dock as late as the 1990s. Now, she said anyone who tried to swim off the dock would “step in a foot of muck.” “It’s sad, but there’s nothing left to swim in,” she said.
McCormick said she, too, is worried about property values and fears well contamination like the Krauses. She said she has called the office of Gov. Scott Walker and passed along her concerns. “I don’t know if the DNR cares if Decatur Lake dies, but a lot of people here care,” McCormick said. “Our lake, our rivers need help,” said McCormick.
See LAKE, Page 8
Local church hosts event to relieve pressure on Mexican immigrants By Ryan Broege EDITOR
Rev. Peder Johanson teamed with Brodhead teachers Heather Lawrence, who teaches English language-learning, and Jen Wichita, a Spanish teacher, to bring the Mexican consulate to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church on April 28. The consulate, which Johanson describes as a sort of sub-embassy, brought a mobile office to the church, and assisted local residents with paperwork, included updated passports and other forms of identification. The consulate takes its mobile office to a different Wisconsin community on Saturdays throughout the year. Johanson and the teachers have been pursuing the idea of hosting the consulate since last year, but was unable to get on the schedule in time. Johanson said he was impressed
with the mobile consulate’s efficiency. “It was amazing, they rolled up in 4 SUVs and had everything set up in 45 minutes,” he said. “They could print passports right on sight, and could process government services from (the church).” Johnanson said a steady stream of Mexican nationals and families came to the church for appointments, both scheduled and drop-ins, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. While the consulate handled the paperwork, Johanson, the teachers and the congregation provided a warm, inviting environment for people to wait for their turn. The congregation and teachers donated snacks for people while they waited. “The guests that came to receive services all seemed comfortable and grateful to not have to take a day off work,” said Johanson, referring to the mobile nature of the office, an alternative to what is usually otherwise a day-long trip to Milwaukee during the week.
“I don’t know how far people drove, but even from La Crosse, it’s easier to get here than Milwaukee,” he said. Johanson said the efforts to reach out to immigrants grew out of the faith community’s response to President Donald Trump’s executive order last year. The orders “unified American Christianity in a way I hadn’t seen,” Johanson said. “The charge to care for the foreigner, to care for the migrant - that’s as old as anything God has commanded his people to do; that’s something we take seriously as people of faith.” “As far as I’m concerned, this is not a political conversation, this is a faith issue.” Johanson said the effort was a collaborative one, between himself, Lawrance, Wichita and his congregation. Johanson said the consulate plans to return to the Brodhead church next year, perhaps twice. Rev. Peder Johanson.
RYAN BROEGE PHOTO The Independent-Register
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