WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 122 NO. 09 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola football beats Amery. PAGE 10
School board denies dual athletics at OHS BY MARA MARTINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
At their Sept. 25 meeting he Osceola School Board voted against a proposal that would allow athletes to participate in two sports each season. While dual sports have occurred in the past, according to Pete Kammerud, board members unanimously denied this request. In their reasoning, board members expressed concern over how dual athletes would strike an imbalance among competing sports, resulting in practice and game conflicts. Before voting against, Brian Meyer built on the Board’s resistance by clarifying that dual sports are offered in middle school, when students are determining what they would like to pursue and by high school, students should know which sports interest them. Next, the Board approved the 2019-20 Parent Contract for Transportation to Non-Public Schools, specifically, St. Anne’s Catholic School in Somerset. Business Manager, Lynette Edwards has been in the process of finalizing pupil counts before she reports them to Department of Public Instruction in early October. The Official 2019 Summer School Pupil Count was 97 this year, which is down from previous years. As of Sept. 20, Edwards estimated the district’s student count at 1591, which is also down from previous years. However, she noted that the 2019 senior class was “pretty big so we did not gain that much in our incoming 4-K class this school year.” At the moment, Edwards is waiting to hear from other districts regarding how many students in our district are attending those districts because she has to report that number to DPI too. Final numbers will be ready at the Oct. 9 meeting. The next Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. The next Regular Board Meeting is set for Oct. 9, at 6 p.m.
MATT ANDERSON | THE SUN
Osceola Village President Jeromy Buberl, Tourism Board of Directors Amy Kelly, Village Administrator Benjamin Krumenauer, Polk County Information Center Director Colleen Foxwell, Main Street Advocate Nancy Beck, Osceola Chamber Director Germaine Ross, and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Sara Meaney, take a quick stop at Cascade Falls before continuing Meaney’s tour of Osceola and Polk County.
Secretary of Tourism visits Polk County Sara Meaney Keynote speaker at tourism conference BY MATT ANDERSON EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The Polk County Tourism Council and St. Croix Regional Tourism hosted the St. Croix Valley Tourism Conference September 26 in Dresser. Local business owners and community leaders shared ideas and listened to several speakers, including the newly appointed Secretary of Tourism, Sara Meaney. “Without question, tourism drives revenue into local business owners’ pockets,” she said at the event. “It brings in tax revenue
into the communities to support education, infrastructure, trails and recreation and health. It’s one in the same! Communities thrive because of tourism.” Secretary Meaney was appointed on Jan. 7 and is enjoying her new position. “It is a delight, an honor, and a pleasure,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s also some of the most fun work I’ve ever been able to do.” On her tour of Polk County, Meaney visited several communities including Dresser, Amery, and Osceola. “I was thrilled to see how alive and well Main Street is and how close the access is to the trail, the river, and the waterfalls,” she said of Osceola. “It’s nature and town. The proximity of those two
things is the perfect combination for attracting tourists while also being a wonderful place to live.” Of course, Meaney’s job is to focus on the aspects of Wisconsin tourism that need strengthening, and every community has certain areas that can be improved upon. Speaking to those areas of improvement at the conference, Meaney revealed several ideas for Polk County and all of Wisconsin to promote tourism in local towns. “The community clearly seems to be rallying around the success of the town, now it’s a question of making sure people know more about it,” she said, “Marketing SEE TOURISM, PAGE 8
Wisconsin DOT fees will rise in October BY JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation(DOT) will be raising a number of fees, including annual registration fees and title fees, starting October 1. The DOT announced the increases in August as the 2019-2021 biennial budget was going through the state legislature. “The increased fees will be
assessed for current registrations expiring September 30, 2019, or later and for new registrations with a starting operation date on October 1, 2019, or later,” according to the DOT website. Vehicle title fees will go from $69.50 to $164.50. If the vehicle is being transferred after the death of a spouse or partner the title fee will increase from $62 to $157, the same increase will also apply to low-speed vehicles.
For regular automobiles (no weight class) the registration fee is set to rise from $75 to $85. A light truck, 4,500-pound weight class, fees will increase from $75 to $100. The 6,000-pound weight class fees will rise from $84 annually to $100. Terry Walsh of the DOT told the Sentinel the money from the increase in fees will go back into the state’s transportation fund. There will also be a surcharge of $75 for electric or hybrid vehicle.
JONATHAN RICHIE | SENTINEL
Next time you go to pay to register your car the fee will be increased. The DOT says the additional fees will go into the state’s transportation fund.
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October 4 - 302 2nd Ave, Osceola
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