WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 42 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola baseball continues conference climb. PAGE 12
Mammoths live on BY MARA MARTINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Mammoths are still among us, according to Dr. Sharon Holte, director of education at the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Last Thursday at the Ice Age Visitor Center at Wisconsin’s Interstate Park, Holte invited Ice Age enthusiasts to learn more about work the Mammoth Site is doing to not only uncover ancient animals from 140,000 years ago, but to examine them and gain more insight into the Ice Age period. The Mammoth Site was established in 1974 after housing developers discovered mammoth bones during their digging. When paleontologists Jim Mead and Larry Agenbroad were called in to begin excavation, Holte said, “They knew they had discovered something spectacular.” After uncovering a
couple mammoths quickly, Mead and Agenbroad did not know that the count would be up to 60 mammoths in 2018. With the highest concentration of mammoths in the world, Holte explained that paleontologists wanted to know why the animal bones were gathered there. Developing the Mammoth Site as a nonprofit education and scientific research institution ensured the safety of the site in preserving and protecting it. In fact, the institute was built around the site, allowing excavation, research, tours and educational programming to occur inside. Holte noted one other benefit, “We left the skeletons and skulls where we found them, for everyone to enjoy.” As they excavated, a story about the mammoths slowly emerged. Over 140,000 years ago, the present Mammoth Site was SEE MAMOTHS, PAGE 10
‘Discover New Worlds: Near & Far’ OPL announces summer learning program CONTRIBUTED OSCEOLA PUBLIC LIBRARY
MARA MARTINSON | THE SUN
Dr. Sharon Holte holds the skull of an adult bear found among the mammoths at the Mammoth Site.
Readers of all ages will explore the world and their imaginations this summer as the Osceola Public Library offers “Discover New Worlds: Near & Far” during the Summer Learning Program. Activities may include art projects, crafts, science and engineering experiments. The 2019 Summer Learning Program is open to young people from preschool to young adult, with programs, prize drawings, storytimes, visits from the Bakken Museum, Carpenter Nature Center, Captain Jack Sparrow and much more. Families with pre-readers are invited to join the Family Reader portion of the program. Registration for “Discover New Worlds: Near & Far” begins on June 1, 10:30 a.m. during the Kickoff Party at the Library located inside the Discovery Center. For more information, call the library at 715-294-2310 or visit our website, osceolapubliclibrary.org. All programs are free of charge and made possible by the generosity of First National Community Bank, Friends of the Osceola Library, and local businesses.
Wisconsin’s new hemp industry blooms Will marijuana be far behind? BY ELLIE COLBERT WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
When Abbie Testaberg married her husband, Jody, in 2010, she told him to quit his job. He had been working for a medical marijuana co-operative in California when the couple met in Wisconsin. “I wanted him to forget what he was good at and passionate about and get a real job and we could move on with our lives,” Testaberg said. For awhile, the Testabergs and Abbie’s mother ran a cafe in River Falls, Wisconsin. The couple had two sons, both born with congenital disorders. Abbie Testaberg began researching alternative SEE HEMP, PAGE 11
SUBMITTED
Celebrating Millie Handrahan’s 88th birthday in 2009. Front, from left: Bea Hinz (deceased), Lori Baillargeon, Millie Handrahan (deceased), Ev Krenz. Back: Judy Carlson, Mickie Baillargeon, Marion Neumann, Georgine Mielke, Pam Mielke, Laurene Traynor. Current members not pictured: Helen Demulling, Margaret Handrahan, Sara Handrahan, Celine Krenz, Kathleen Larson, Renee Neumann, Diane Newman, and Joan Tonnar.
East Farmington’s Cootie Club spans generations BY JUDY CARLSON CONTRIBUTED
EMILY HAMER| WI CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Jody and Abbie Testaberg are seen on their hemp farm, Kinni Hemp Co., along with their sons Aki, 8, and Ari, 6, in River Falls, Wis., on April 18, 2019.
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Since 1948, Evelyn (Hinz) Krenz has been a member of the Cootie Club. Originally a group of farm wives in the East Farmington community, members gathered to play pinochle and share a meal. When the game was done, various prizes were distributed. Then PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
the bountiful meal was served. An offshoot of Assumption Catholic Church Circle, members are partnered and host once each year. In earlier generations, some of the men came to eat before chores. Today, offspring of old-time members express fond memories of getting off the bus and coming into a lively
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house filled with women laughing, talking and having a grand time. Somewhere along the way, the game changed to Cootie, a silly progressive dice game. The group began calling itself the Cootie Club but the laughter and chatter didn’t change. Sometimes it’s really difficult SEE CLUB, PAGE 10
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