WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 19 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Girls and boys basketball teams win by nail-biters. PAGE 10
Hemp production, processing come to Osceola BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
SUBMITTED
Boundary and location of the North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area .
Two states, many stories, one shared heritage St. Croix Heritage Area seats board A group working to promote the St. Croix region’s story as one of national significance has seated its first formal board of directors and is launching new programs in 2019 to benefit the St. Croix watershed. In 2019, North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area will provide an online calendar for events sponsored by regional businesses, historical societies, chambers of commerce, arts groups and other organizations. It will support and expand the St. Croix Master Watershed Stewards program and will launch a watershedwide speakers bureau, among other activities.
Generous contributions from the Whitson Foundation, the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, and the Polk Burnett Electric Cooperative as well as individual donors are helping NWW reach its goals on behalf of the region. The NWW board will oversee the effort to designate the St. Croix watershed of Minnesota and Wisconsin a national heritage area. The designation will underscore the region’s unique landscape and contributions to American history. A volunteer group has been working for several years to document and gain support for status as a national heritage area, a federally recognized title that requires CongressioSEE HERITAGE, PAGE 8
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In the year since Wisconsin legislators legalized industrial hemp grown through state-monitored pilot programs, at least one Osceola farm grew and harvested an experimental acre. Another Osceola business has started turning the raw plant material into cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD oil. Hemp, a non-psychoactive strain of cannabis, can also be turned into textiles, paper, biodegradable plastics, even food. With market researchers forecasting rapid growth in the hemp industry over the next few years, SEE HEMP, PAGE 20
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Nina Utne helps harvest industrial hemp at Lily Springs Farm. In 2018, Lily Springs participated in a pilot program for growing hemp through the state’s department of agriculture and trade.
How much did the Discovery Center cost taxpayers? BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Now that the construction dust has settled at the Discovery Center and the doors are officially open, what’s the final tab for Osceola taxpayers? The short answer: about $3 million. Here’s the breakdown: A $2.4 million bond issue was approved
in a 2015 referendum. Another $400,000 was spent on pre-construction site work and additional costs around the property including improvements to utilities, according to Village Administrator Joel West. “The village voted on the $2.4 million because in order to fund general government it needs to be approved by the voters,” West
said. “The other work incorporated in the $400,000 is related to site work and utility work, which can be done under our normal bonding and capital improvements. It’s not specifically tied to general government.” An additional $60,000 was drawn from the sewer and water SEE CENTER, PAGE 2
THE SUN
Revenues attributed to the village indicate taxpayer spending. Mill Pond Learning Foundation revenues indicate private funding sources. All told, construction cost the village $3,141,617. According to village records, the Mill Pond Learning Foundation is paying approximately $4.19 million in construction costs, roughly 57 percent of the $7.33 million total.
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In addition to the $2.4 million bond, the village borrowed $400,000 for site work and utility work, $60,000 from sewer and water, and about $59,000 from general funds. Not included in the graph, the village estimates it may need to pay an additional $94,000. More research must be done on those costs before deciding how they will be paid.
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