The Sun 12.04.19

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019

Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897

VOL. 122 NO. 18 www.osceolasun.com $1.00

SPORTS: Winter sports season has begun. PAGE 10

Polk County and the Ice Age Trail featured at Outdoor Expo

The National Scenic ice age Trail that starts in Polk County’s Interstate Park, was featured at the 70th bi-annual Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Adventure Expo held Nov. 22-24 in Minneapolis, Minn. Polk County Tourism Council and Ice Age Trail Alliance members provided Expo visitors with information about the 1,100 mile hiking trail across Wisconsin that follows the southern edge of the glacier that covered a large portion of the state and then retreated, 10,000 years ago, leaving behind the geography of our state we enjoy today. They also distributed Polk County Visitor’s

Guidebooks, maps and area promotion information. Over 10,000 people attend the three day Expos, held in November and April each year. The Ice Age Trail has over 1.2 million visitors a year, who bring $113 million to the state and local economies. Destination marketing is important to Polk County, where visitors spent over $91.7 million in 2018. Polk County serves as the western terminus of the trail in Interstate Park and has many interesting segments, including the recentlycompleted trail segment SEE EXPO, PAGE 12

As wolves recover, calls in Wisconsin to end endangered species listing grow Conflicts with farmers and hunters continue as the state’s wolf population has risen from extinction in 1960 to more than 900 animals today BY RICH KREMER WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO

In November 2018, wolves killed Laurie Groskopf’s 11-year-old hunting dog in Oneida County. That was nine years after wolves killed another of her dogs. “These animals were trailing bear

at the time, and one was trailing bobcat,” Groskopf said. “They were attacked by wolves without any provocation and killed. And for us, it’s been really, really traumatic.” Wisconsinites subsidized Groskopf’s loss. She received $5,000 through an obscure Department of Natural Resources program that compensates animal owners for losses to wolves. But Groskopf said the payments — $2,500 for each dog — could not make up for the loss of pets she treated as family. Nearly 60 years after gray wolves were considered extinct in SEE WOLVES, PAGE 11

GARY KRAMER | U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Nearly 60 years after gray wolves were considered extinct in Wisconsin, the population has rebounded dramatically, to more than 900 in the state. But the conservation success story has turned into a nuisance for hunters, farmers and others whose animals are increasingly encountering wolves — with deadly consequences.

Military moms send the holiday spirit to troops in Afghanistan BY MATT ANDERSON EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM

Those serving in the United States Military are always on the minds of many, but when it comes to the holidays, they are especially missed by loved ones, and respected for their commitment away from home. The case is no different for Bravo Company 1-128 IN BN, a group of local soldiers recently deployed to Afghanistan until summer of 2020. In order to help those soldiers feel the holiday spirit away from home, Bravo Company moms, Debra Minnick and Jill Steel, organized an event dedicated to collecting and sending holiday care packages to the soldiers overseas for the holidays. “In September, we were told that our Family Readiness Coordinator resigned,” said Minnick. “Normally,

she would have been the one to get the holiday care packages going. I was concerned our soldiers wouldn’t have any, so I asked the exiting coordinator who to contact. She gave me VFW Post 10818 Commander Ron Ramos who told me that Karen Cline, the treasurer, might be overseeing it this year.” From there, Minnick found her team for the event including Auxiliary members Karen Cline, Jen Donaghue, Gayle House, and Jill Steel. Though they had a plan in place, and a group to organize the project, there was still plenty to do in order to collect, package and send the 98 packages to Bravo Company. “Jill and I were given the green light to run with the care packages idea this year,” said Minnick. “They said they usually do it every year, but never had a group this size before…Initially, we

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Bravo Company moms, Jill Steel and Debra Minnick worked with VFW Auxiliary women Karen Cline, Jen Donaghue, and Gayle House to organize an event to send holiday care packages to Bravo Company troops in Afghanistan.

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