Valley Sentinel - 05-01-2025 by Valley Sentinel

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Inside

this Pages 1, 3, 11-15

Village of Arena updates, as clerk/president/trustee resign Gov. Evers makes a visit to Spring Green

Arena trustee questions clerk/treasurer report at village

Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter

At its April 8 regular board meeting, the Village of Arena Board of Trustees discussed a discrepancy in the clerk/treasurer report, voted on ordinance changes

Valley Sentinel shares WNA awards, AAN membership

1, 13

regular April meeting

and the purchase of a new truck and heard maintenance updates for the village.

During discussion of the clerk/treasurer report, prepared by Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger, Trustee Becca Raven Umi-

nowicz questioned the reasoning for the March 20 candidate forum—which was promoted on the Village’s website—not being present on the report.

“I don’t understand why [the candidate

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

Village president, trustee, clerk resign while village weathers multiple elections and open meetings complaints

Following the April 1 election, the Village of Arena has three new trustees joining its ranks, but is left without a village president, one trustee and a clerk/treasurer following a streak of resignations and election complaints.

Following the election complaints, ﬁled by Village Trustee Becca Raven Uminowicz, and resignations, the newly-sworn in board held special meetings to ensure governmental operations and continuity.

Village of Arena Trustee ﬁles election complaints against Clerk/Treasurer and Chief

Elections Inspector On April 7, Uminowicz ﬁled a complaint

under 5.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes with the Wisconsin Elections Commis-

Gov. Evers visits Spring Green, tours Wintergreen property as DALC eyes purchase

Gov. Tony Evers hiked through the wooded paths of the Wintergreen property in Spring Green near Taliesin on the morning of April 23, ﬂanked by conservationists, state oﬃcials and community members from across the Driftless region. The stop, part of the governor’s statewide Earth Week tour, aimed to spotlight a proposed $1 billion investment to renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, a statewide grant initiative that funds land conservation, outdoor recreation and public access projects across Wisconsin—an environmental initiative whose fate rests with the Republicancontrolled Legislature. But for the

forum] wasn’t on the board agenda, which was two days before. We should have approved whether or not we were doing this,”

continued on page 11

sion against the Village’s Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger and Acting Chief Election Inspector Kristen Shea regarding the April 1 election. Uminowicz’s complaint alleges procedural violations and vote total irregularities.

This complaint follows a previous complaint by Uminowicz under 5.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes from March 21 which alleges procedural violations that Naeger did not hold a legally mandated second randomized drawing after the Feb. 18 primary to redetermine the order of village trustee candidates on the April 1 general election ballot, and instead reused the previous ballot order and merely

continued on page 11

While the visit emphasized Evers’ environmental agenda at the Capitol, it also shone a spotlight on DALC’s eﬀort to purchase and restore the nearly 250-acre Wintergreen property. Once home to a ski hill, the land stretches along nearly a mile of biodiverse Lower Wisconsin Riverway. Now, a renewed conservation push could secure it permanently for public use.

DALC is a nonproﬁt land trust working to protect the natural and agricultural heritage of southwest Wisconsin. It works with landowners, government agencies and other nonproﬁts to conserve working farms, native prairie,

continued on page 13

Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter

Picture by Taylor Scott, Managing Editor

The new Village of Arena Board meets April 15. From left: Helt, Wilkinson, Uminowicz and Hipsky.

Driftless Area Land Conservancy, the visit was more than symbolic—it was a chance to spotlight a local project with huge implications.

Taylor Scott, Managing Editor

Picture via the Oﬃce of the Governor Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers speaks with stakeholders during his April 23 Spring Green visit.

OPINION/EDITORIAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

On April 5th, there were massive coordinated national protests involving over three million angry citizens. This protest was entitled “Hands Oﬀ!” Sign carrying protesters rejected massive cuts to essential government programs relied upon by many millions of elderly and disabled citizens. They also vehemently objected to a shift by Musk/Trump away

Dear Editor,

Do you remember being in a history class in grade school learning about voting, campaigns, etc.? I remember having to come up with platforms, having a mock election, and then a mock inauguration. And now? We have a president who mocks the entire process, and a House of Representatives who mock our right to vote.

Yes, I am talking about the SAVE act. The act that Republican legislators put together, saying it was to prevent fraud in voting. (Remember, it has been prov-

Dear Editor,

These are among numerous complaints and objections. He has:

• refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good called together legislative bodies . . . fatiguing them into compliance with his measures

• obstructed laws for naturalization

from loyal Allied democracies to an embrace of the Russian dictatorship and the war criminal Putin.

Here in Richland County, we’ll be negatively aﬀected by the massive cuts to these social programs. Richland’s average age is about 64 according to the county’s statistical reports. This number is typical throughout the Driftless/rural region. Nearly half of our ageing resi-

en over and over that there were less than .0001% fraudulent voters in the US elections.) It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote - so why burden legal, citizen voters?

But what they really want to do is prevent legal immigrant citizens from voting, and also..WOMEN! Yes, if a woman took her husband’s name when she got married, she now needs her birth certiﬁcate (to prove she was born here), a marriage license (to prove she is married to her husband) and a valid ID. And immigrant women who are now citizens may

of foreigners

• obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers

• made judges dependent on his will alone

• sent hither swarms of oﬃcers to harass our people

dents are at retirement age and rely on programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to survive.

On April 19th, another Anti-Musk/ Trump protest will take place across our nation. This protest will focus on the “hostile government takeover” by the Musk/Trump Administration. Be informed, active, and a vocal part of the solution. Our Constitution and free-

have a much more diﬃcult time getting some of the necessary documents from another country.

The House Representatives say it’s just to protect the honor of voting. BS!! It’s to prevent women from voting, because preventing the women’s vote would change the direction we are going in… from a Republic to a Dictator state. Women think. Women vote. Republicans don’t like that.

Just ask Derrick Van Orden, my Representative from the 3rd District. He voted for the SAVE act, and then tried telling

• cut oﬀ our trade with all parts of the world

• deprived us . . . of the beneﬁts of trial by jury . . . transporting us beyond seas . . . for pretended oﬀenses

• establishing therein an arbitrary government

• altering fundamentally the forms of our governments

Legal Editor's Column: Law and Politics— Five Considerations on

Gary Ernest Grass, esq., Legal Editor

When a citizen observes that something potentially unlawful has happened, and reports it to the authorities, that is something normal and expected. But there are any number of circumstances under which that action becomes questionable. Maybe defamation law is weaponized by a corporation to keep its own illegal actions hidden. Maybe alleged abuse within a family produces no outcry until there is a contentious custody proceeding. Maybe an aggrieved member of a minority community falls back on an urban police force known for racial violence. Maybe phony corruption charges are publicly levied against a political candidate two weeks before an election.

Recent local events have seen complaints against village oﬃcials, coun-

On the cover

“Under New Management” (2025) Mixed Media Illustration, by AI/Valley Sentinel

We didn't have much time to play around with the new image generation AI features on ChatGPT and our graphic designer was too busy to help — but we think this is a fair, albeit hillariously bad, representation of the Arena Village Hall after some recent changes.

We won't get into the habit of using AI, as it absolutely cannot and should not replace human work. However, this was too good of an opportunity not to pass up, even if it's not a great represenation of the village hall.

With the resignation of the village clerk/treasurer, the new village president and another trustee, along with the election of three new trustees, the Village of Arena is truly under new management in all senses of the phrase.

tered by accusations of harassment and threatened responses.

When legal complaints enter politics, it quickly becomes a mess. A principled answer would be one that could be consistently applied across situations, from the concerned citizen to the jailhouse snitch to the woman who says she was raped by the presidential candidate. (Yes, that one, but also the other one too.) I don’t know anyone with all the answers. But I think I can fan away some of the haze that clouds people’s thinking by pointing out a few things.

First, a complaint to a watchdog or enforcement agency is typically more like a witness statement to an investigator than it is like a civil lawsuit where the complainant is seeking damages in an adversary proceeding. Agencies vary in

doms are quickly slipping away! The legislature has been neutered, some Supreme Court members have forgotten what morals and ethics entail, and the Musk/Trump duo have relentlessly attacked democracy. Time is of the essence!

Lee

D. Van Landuyt Hillsboro, Wisconsin

us that it’s a good act. Never mentions that it’s not. He tried to use the “illegals voting” statement…when we know that hasn’t happened….fear tactics, the Republican way.

Instead of me, having to prove that I AM a citizen and have a right to vote, why don’t they pass an act where they have to prove that I am NOT a citizen. Why should the burden fall on me, when it’s their inane, insane, idea anyway?

Barbara Voyce Lone Rock, Wisconsin

• excited domestic insurrections amongst us

The year was 1776. These complaints and objections, excerpts from our own the Declaration of Independence, refer to America’s ruler King George III.

Dorothy Thompson Richland Center, Wisconsin

Whether a Complaint is Legit

their level of discretion and their power to sanction. Sometimes parties ﬁle something and their role is actually just done. Other times, the complaint is a ﬁrst step in a lawsuit.

If I apply for unemployment beneﬁts or ﬁle a discrimination complaint with the Equal Rights Division of the DWD,

I am essentially saying, “I think I might be entitled to something. You decide.” If I complain to the District Attorney of an Open Meetings Violation, I am saying, “I think the law may have been broken. Please check it out.” Sometimes, the agency asks what remedy I am seeking, sometimes not, but they are often authorized to give certain remedies whether they are asked for or not; they may not be limited by what is requested and the request may just be viewed as informational.

Each of these ﬁrst steps ends in a determination that can lead to further steps. Sometimes the answer is, “Thanks for letting us know. We got it from here.” Sometimes it is, “We are not interested, but our passing on our option to Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

continued on page 6

OPINION/EDITORIAL

On the evening of April 8, a week after an election that included some interesting results, some procedural issues and more than a few complaints to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Village of Arena Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger resigned.

As a result of the election, three new trustees were elected, joining Becca Raven Uminowicz and Matthew Schroeder as an independent bloc against what we’ve previously described as an oftentimes-in-lockstep voting bloc aligned with outgoing Village President Kate Reimann (trustee Kristen Shea — who was likely improperly appointed in the ﬁrst place by the board — declined to run again, trustee Brittany Carney failed to receive enough votes and trustee Kathy Stoltz — running for both village president and re-election as trustee – somehow, improbably got 60 votes less as trustee than she did in her apparent winning bid for village president and failed to be re-elected as trustee).

This left trustee Melissa Bandell (with a term ending April 2026) and putative incoming village president Stoltz as the two remaining members of the old voting bloc — a voting bloc that instigated a public health and safety crisis in the village by ripping up joint ﬁre/EMS and automatic aid agreements alike, at the same time as extralegally holding a series of closed meetings (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with too many is-

EDITORIAL

The chaos that ensues: Where the Village of Arena goes from here

sues to list here that will take years for the Village to dig out of). This election result flipped the board from what was effectively in practice a five vote monolith, to a five vote independent board — with the previous bloc now numbered at two.

On the evening of April 14, the last day of the oﬃcials’ terms before the new trustees assumed oﬃce, Bandell resigned as trustee — seemingly while at a gathering at Reimann’s house that included Reimann, Stoltz, Bandell, Shea and Carney, an illegal and unnoticed quorum of the village board. State law rebuttably treats this as an unnoticed illegal meeting.

On the morning of April 15, hours after ostensibly assuming the oﬃce of village president, Stoltz resigned.

Just hours later, Uminowicz and newly-elected trustee Don Helt had a special emergency meeting properly noticed and called. On the meeting notice? Receiving removal petitions that assumably would have sought to remove Stoltz and Bandell. With that item no longer needed, the meeting agenda more importantly included items urgently needed to preserve the integrity and continuity of the Village — a village now in crisis after a lack of action by outgoing president Reimann and incoming president Stoltz to call any sort of meeting in the week following the sudden resignation of the clerk.

Instead of leaving gracefully, instead of wishing the new board well, instead

of seeing if the new majority would rise to the challenge: Stoltz instead, hours before the emergency meeting, chose to take to a public Facebook group and engage in name-calling in a fact-challenged post that sounded less like a leader rooting for a village and more like a loser rooting against it.

While ignoring the irony of failing to take any accountability for her role in the current state of the Village, she signed oﬀ with: “...hope you’ll hold the new board accountable for the choices they make and you can thank them for the chaos that ensues.”

We’ll come back to that — and you know what? We will hold the board accountable and educate them when they do something wrong, and we trust they'll learn from their mistakes better than the previous board ever did.

Area residents that have attended meetings fact-checked Stoltz's post, notably: “I’ve attended many village board meetings. I walked away feeling like I had just attended an awful circus or possibly the worst puppet show imaginable. If anyone even attempted to question the agenda. They were snapped at or ignored.”

Faced with a Village taking on water (really underwater if you consider it’s substantial debt and current little wiggle room for solutions due to a current situation manufactured mostly over the past six years), we come back to the new board — with new trustees Helt, Joe Hipsky and Steve Wilkinson joining

Uminowicz and Schroeder.

We see a board that felt the need to take decisive action April 15, with an emergency agenda covering items such as appointing a president pro tem to ensure the Village has an acting village president, to taking action to ensure the integrity of the Village by locking down account/record/building access, to contracting for temporary accounting/clerk/bookkeeping/payroll services, to hiring a new village attorney and conducting a forensic audit of the water bills and the last month and a half for all Village accounts to ensure a clean slate.

This is messy stuﬀ, never fun, and it was handled by the elected adults in the room with poise and urgency. There will be many future meetings needed as well to iron out the details and right the ship. It’s going to be a marathon, not a sprint—and there will be so much learning to do.

What we saw during the emergency special meeting April 15 and meetings since wasn’t chaos. It was orderly, calm leadership from a new board left in a lurch by oﬃcials that likely failed their ﬁduciary duty to the village. It was a far cry from the circus previously described and the chaotic situation the previous board majority left the Village in.

If the meeting April 15 represents “the chaos that will ensue”, bring it on: Chaos quod subsequitur

Editors' Column: On the recent changes to local journalism, acknowledging our limitations

Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief and Taylor Scott, Managing Editor

With the recent changes in local journalism we've gotten a huge inﬂux of subscriptions, interest, emails, comments, oﬀers of help and more.

First we want to say: THANK YOU!

We truly wish the newly-merged Independent Star News well, while saying we're sad to see the Home News go. Just like we do many things diﬀerently than they do, they provide important services we don't currently (and would be unable to do currently with our infrastructure, manpower and resources). A depth of local journalism is always a positive.

A perfect example of a service oﬀered by the former Home News and the newly-merged Independent Star News that we

PO Box 144 Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588 USA (608) 588-6694

editor@valleysentinelnews.com valleysentinelnews.com

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief/Publisher

Nicole Aimone

Managing Editor/Publisher

Taylor Scott

Legal Editor

Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

Editorial Policy

do not currently oﬀer is obituaries. Our model, design and resources have never been set up to support publishing these types of pieces and we don’t expect that to change any time soon.

However, recently we have received requests from families to publish information about their loved ones passing, and while we are honored by their choice we unfortunately are not in a place to provide this service currently. As always, we send those requests on to other area papers. You may notice in this edition a display ad that resembles an obituary, and we want to emphasize that the space it holds within our paper was paid for as a display ad, and will not be a regular practice. We of course can, and have, declined advertising requests—but this was an instance

Graphic Design

Julianna Williams

Democracy, Society & Edu. Columnist

Beverly Pestel Calender & Events Coordinator Vacant

On certain topics in areas of great community interest, the editors of the Valley Sentinel may take positions they believe best represent and serve the interests of the community. Any opinions or positions taken by the editorial board are separate and distinct in labeling and substance from the community journalism that appears in the rest of the publication and does not aﬀect the integrity and impartiality of our reporting.

where we were told the family specifically requested publication. When someone buys a display ad in our paper, they are welcome to utilize the space advertising whatever they choose, and in this case it is in effect an obituary. There is a huge difference in resources and manpower needed to create display ads (a service which we already provide and have a well oiled workflow for) and providing obituary services. This display ad is the exception, not the rule.

We bring this up to illustrate another point. Ads are denoted in our publication by a .25 pt stroke weight line around them and/or a handshake ad/partner content logo. Recently, a subscriber said they didn’t appreciate the Wellness Warrior column we printed, for various reasons.

Literary Journal Editor (At Large)

Alex Prochaska

Reporter

Luukas Palm-Leis

Administrative Contributor

Bonnie Ostrander

Letter to the Editor Policy

Letters submitted for consideration are subject to fact-checking and editing for space and clarity. Submissions must have a compelling, local community interest. Letters to the editor must ﬁt within a 500-word limit, and include name, city and phone number. Phone numbers are for oﬃce use only and will not be published. Letters of a political nature, without chance of rebuttal, will not be published the week before an election.

Column Policy

Columnist Barb Garvoille

It’s important to note that the column has both our stroke weight border around it and the sponsored ad content disclaimer. We are not responsible for the editorial content of ads. It is not content we produce. It is content that someone pays to publish.

We’re always happy to answer questions about the content in the paper, we hope there’s never a need to cancel a subscription over an ad.

If you’re opening us for the ﬁrst time after the recent changes in local journalism, you will notice that we do things differently in many ways than perhaps what you’d read locally before. In many ways we are more direct and in-depth. We are

continued on page 5

Covering Arena, Lone Rock, Plain, Spring Green and

Deadlines: The display and classiﬁed advertising deadline is Monday at noon for that week. If you would like our design team to design the ad then please allow extra time for the creative process and prooﬁng.

Crossword Contributor

Nick & Jen Zaborek

Literary Contributor

Amanda Thomas

Editors may feature opinion columns written by public figures, members of the public or other publication staff. Columns reflect the opinions of the individual contributors and do not represent positions of the publication. Guest columns of an anticipated length more than 500 words should seek prior editor authorization.

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Subscribe online at valleysentinelnews.com/subscribe or subscribe annually with your name, phone

Community Discussion Policy

From time to time the editorial board may select letters to the editor of a particular compelling community interest where a public ﬁgure or accountable public action is the recipient of criticism and allow, in the same issue, the subject of the criticism chance for rebuttal, with expounded independent input. The format shall be point, counterpoint and expert analysis. This community discussion shall serve as a moderated dialogue that presents multiple views of important community topics.

The Tools of Conversation — Part 9: A Thoughtful Detour

Beverly Pestel, Columnist

This series explores how our tools of conversation—from speech and print to television and social media—have shaped the way we think, learn and interact, often steering us into a state of fragmented discourse and misinformation. By examining seminal works on information networks, critical thinking and media influence, each column digs deeper into why our collective capacity for thoughtful conversation and civic engagement appears at risk. As we navigate new technologies and grapple with the merging of entertainment and news, we confront a crucial question: can we harness our evolving tools of communication to foster truth, community and meaningful dialogue, or will we be “amused into indifference”? Join me on this journey through reading, reflection, and inquiry, as we seek practical insight into building a more informed, empathetic and civically engaged society.

From the FB site Weird and Amazing Stuﬀ:

“One day, I was strolling along the beach with some friends when one of them gasped dramatically, pointed ahead, and yelled: "Look! A dead bird!" Another friend immediately looked up at the sky and asked, "Where?"

I just… I had no words. They Walk Among Us…” I doubt this is true – but I also doubt that any of us think it couldn’t be true. At any rate, this helps illustrate the point I’m about to make.

And then there is this…

From President Donald J. Trump: Ofﬁcial Support Page: “I intuitively KNEW beyond a doubt that….” and then the post proceeded to repeat an easily debunked conspiracy theory.

They walk among us.

I need to explain that in writing these columns have an ace in the hole – a former student and friend of 40 years who got her PhD in the Learning Sciences. We have shared our interests in that area for all of those years. She is also one of my unoﬃcial pre-editors and has been engaging in useful conversations and suggesting pertinent resources. It was she who recommended I read Political Animals: How our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics by Rick Shenkman, I’ve gotten to the part about

System 1 and System 2 thinking, a diﬀerentiation of two modes of thought proposed by Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow” (2011). “Fast thinking (also known as System 1) …is easy. It doesn’t require us to dwell. It really doesn’t require us to think at all, at least as most people deﬁne thinking. That’s because it mostly happens in the unconscious…” (Shenkman pg.53)

According to www.tutor2u.net, System 1 thinking is “fast, automatic, and uncon-

scious...characterized by a lack of eﬀort and control…typically associated with emotions, intuition, and gut feelings… responsible for many of the judgements and decision that people make quickly and without much deliberation…System 1 thinking is generally fast and eﬃcient, but it can also be prone to errors and biases.”

Hence, you hear the word bird – and you look up. Or intuitively you are convinced that you “know” things that can be pure nonsense.

System 2 thinking, on the other hand, is “controlled thinking or conscious thought…slower, more eﬀortful…associated with logic, analysis, and reasoning… also more accurate and less prone to errors and biases.” www.tutor2u.net

In fairness, Shenkman points out that System 1 thinking has served homo sapiens well for thousands of years. Any Stone-Age ancestors who deliberated over whether to run away from the charging sabretoothed tiger didn’t live to perpetuate their gene pool. The System 1 thinker acted instinctively and survived. As a result, System 1 thinking has been embedded in our genes for thousands of years. System 2 thinking did not become as essential until much later. So here is where we get into trouble.

“…Daniel Kahneman reminds us…our brain is lazy. It is far easier to slip into System 1 thinking than to engage in System 2 thinking. System 2 thinking literally requires more energy: more neurons have to ﬁre, more oxygen has to be consumed, and more chemical synapses have to be made. So when our brain has a choice between System 1 and System 2, what does it do? It engages System 1. That is the default system. We don’t make a conscious decision to

use System 1. We just do.” (pg. 56) We are in trouble, because unfortunately, we have too many who are stuck at System 1 thinking, and System 1 thinking is not suﬃcient for much of our more complex world, and certainly not for politics. Our Stone-Age brain gets a head start when we engage with anything and that gets in the way of smart politics.

I skirted around the edges of this issue talking about metacognition and its importance as a missing element in our conversations and interactions in Part 6. But the signiﬁcant scholarly research highlighted in the Political Animals book adds fascinating details.

I’ve ﬁnished reading it now – but, boy, is it dense. It’s going to take me a while to absorb it and possibly condense it into a column.

I do want to continue this column, however, with the “I instinctively KNEW…” folks, the ones who seem to see facts as irrelevant. In addressing this Shenkman refers to James Madison in Federalist No.10, he paraphrases, “we love our own opinions because we love ourselves. And if those opinions conﬂict with the fact? We’ll choose our own opinions…” (pg.124)

Shenkman continues,

“We are drawn to conspiracy thinking by instinct. No one has to teach us to think conspiratorially. We just do…Deciding to go down that path is usually irrational, but once we do, everything makes sense. The reason is that we settle on conspiracies that build on an existing base of knowledge and worldviews. They don’t just come out of nowhere.” (pg. 122)

“…you are going to ﬁnd ways to dismiss [the fact] or ignore it. One

Bev Pestel's column sponsored by: Economic Equity Now! — a nonpartisan community organization striving for a fair tax code for all. More information at Facebook.com/EconomicEquityNow or at economicequitynow@gmail.com continued on page 5

CROSSWORD & CHESS PUZZLES

Puzzle created by Jen Zaborek, edited by Nick Zaborek

Thomas Dawson 1915

Beverly Pestel

Editors' Column: On the recent changes to local journalism, acknowledging our limitations

continued from page 3

also uncompromising watchdogs for good governance and from that we will not back down. If that’s new or unfamiliar to you, we ask that you give us a chance and come back each edition with a new mind to see what we’ve scraped together and to imagine how much more your local paper can be and the force for good and building community it can serve as. If you don’t see yourself reﬂected in these pages, then reach out and give us some ideas on how we can better do that. But we’re willing to bet there’s something for everyone.

Valley Sentinel, its owners and all of our volunteers are constantly working to grow and expand our oﬀerings, but it can’t happen overnight and we are regularly assessing the directions we want to take

this publication. We won’t ever be able to make everyone happy, and we won’t try to, but we do take pride in working hard to provide something for everyone. We want to mention that there will be (and is) pressure on us to step up and do things the way the Home News used to, but that we can’t currently—and aren’t in a position to do so. Nor did we ever set out to do things in any way but our own. That said, we know that we need to grow and there is an expectation of consistency and coverage that didn’t exist before. It’s not an occasion we’re currently equipped to rise to, but we will keep growing with your help. Please bear with us. We’ve said it a dozen times and we’ll say it again, we’re a community paper and we are what you make us — we can’t do this without you. We’ve also shared our oft-mentioned

The Tools of Conversation — Part 9: A

continued from page 4

reason for this is that our opinions reﬂect our general understanding of the way the world works. And who wants to question that? Who wants to change the assumptions underlying our understanding of the word? No one. Rethinking assumptions is hard. And we know from Daniel Kahneman that our brain takes the easy path whenever possible, because, as he instructs us, our brain is lazy. We’d

Thoughtful Detour

much rather not think. Thinking takes cognitive energy.” (pg.117)

And we end up with “I instinctively KNEW…”

I need to ﬁnish with this. In December 2024 I wrote a letter to the editor writing about what Trump might do, but we couldn’t know yet, so we needed to wait and see even though I had read Project 2025 and knew how bad it could potentially get.

Was that my System 1 brain telling me to be optimistic and hopeful that the sabretooth tiger wasn’t waiting for me as

newsroom motto as well: first make it work, then make it work better. We’re still in the beginning of the making it work phase, but we think we’re getting better. With the influx and sheer magnitude of emails and other messages we've gotten in the last month or so, we are trying to work through them at the same time as tackling some very time and resource intensive initiatives — for our paper, for the community and for the public good. For example, recently — in addition to our other obligations — our editors were invited by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to judge the playoff round of the Wisconsin High School Civics Games. We will be judging the State games as well the day after this edition publishes, for our third year. Opportunities like these are an important part of what makes doing this

I exited my cave? I couldn’t hide in my cave forever, I had to go out to get food. It probably was System 1 telling me that without optimism I was going to starve in my cave. But there is also this from Shenkman…

“…we respond much better to problems framed in an optimistic manner…Voters…do not want the truth. We want hope. If the truth robs us of hope, we don’t want to hear it…Given a choice between a hard truth and a softheaded optimism, which are we likely to se-

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-Website posting/design

-Agriculture reporter/columnist (current events) -Inside sales (commission available)

We have the infrastructure set up for most of these areas, we're just in need of manpower from passionate community members.

hard job so special.

Again, just because we have not gotten back to your emails doesn't mean we don't need help, doesn't mean we're not interested in your column or writing idea or doesn't mean we don't want to run your ad. We're working through it. Please, again, bear with us.

We also want to again set a foundation of information about Valley Sentinel. Most truly don't understand how bare bones our operation is—or how close we are to not publishing each edition. We may have won Best in Division in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in the past, but that doesn't mean that we have the resources that even most resource-light newspapers have. We are all-volunteer,

continued on page 11

lect? Optimism.” (pg. 115)

We are living in a time of hard truth, the sabretooth tiger is visible at the cave entrance, but we also desperately need optimism. I’m not sure we have a brain suited to that.

Beverly is a retired professor. She lives in a remodeled farmhouse and tends 40 acres of woodland in Richland County. When not in the woods she spends her time reading, writing and enjoying the beauty of the Driftless Area. Beverly may be contacted at bpestel@msn.com.

Savanna Institute Employment Opportunity

Want to help advance agroforestry? Savanna Institute seeks ﬁeld crew member to join our Spring Green team. $48k-$52k/yr + beneﬁts. Learnmore and apply at www.savannainstitute.org/jobs/.

Application deadline: May 4, 2025.

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association recognized the state’s newspapers for their exceptional work during its 2024 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet. The event took place March 7 at The Madison Concourse Hotel in downtown Madison. Among the winners, Valley Sentinel came away with four awards—placing in every category the paper entered in, during a busy year that lent itself more to work than celebration. Valley Sentinel co-owners, publishers and editors Nicole Aimone and Taylor Scott were also invited to speak on a panel during the convention preceding the awards banquet.

Annually, newspapers from across the state can submit entries in the awards for editorial and advertising. Publications are divided into most categories based on circulation size and daily versus weekly publications.

The 2024 contest received 2,134 entries from 105 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024, and were judged by members of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

Having entered more categories, at last year’s banquet Valley Sentinel earned 17 awards and in 2022, in its ﬁrst year eligible, Valley Sentinel earned Best in Division E. Out of the other Sauk, Iowa and Richland county papers, the Richland Observer (Division E) took home second place for Best Large Ad and second place for Best Use of Color; and the Dodgeville Chronicle (Division D) took home honorable mention for Best Video. Other area Wisconsin Newspaper Association member papers, the Baraboo News Republic (Division B), the Home News (Division E), The Democrat Tribune (Division E) and the Reedsburg Independent (Division E), were not represented at the awards.

Valley Sentinel’s staﬀ and community contributors were recognized with four awards. Co-owner/publisher/editor-in-chief Nicole Aimone, co-owner/publisher/managing editor Taylor Scott, intern/reporter Alex Prochaska, intern/reporter Luukas Palm-Leis and graphic designer Julianna Williams. Many more contributors lent their work to categories that were won by the paper as a whole.

Valley Sentinel’s awards include ﬁrst place in the Environmental Reporting (Prochaska), Ongoing/Extended Coverage (Prochaska and Palm-Leis, with contributions and editing from Aimone and Scott), Health Coverage (Aimone) and honorable mention for Best Front Page (Staﬀ) categories.

Legal

Prochaska’s award-winning environmental reporting piece was a proﬁle on the Savanna Institute.

Of the piece, the judges said: “Good, informative story. I felt like I had learned a lot just by reading this story.”

“Alex is a natural journalist and has instinct that is born, not taught,” Aimone said. “This was his ﬁrst article for us and he brilliantly took the complex topic of agroforestry and presenting it in a way anyone could understand.”

Winning for Ongoing/Extended Coverage was the paper’s Arena Public Safety Series. Written by Prochaska and Palm-Leis over nearly a dozen installments over a year they outline the unraveling of public safety in the Village of Arena at the hands of a voting bloc of the board of trustees. Automatic aid agreements are shredded, police departments dismantled and joint ﬁre & EMS agreements torn up—culminating in a

Editor's Column: Law and Politics—

continued from page 2

act means that you can sue now if it’s important to you.” Sometimes it is, “We have come to a ﬁrst-impression answer, but you’re free to appeal if you don’t like it.”

So there is potentially a big difference between filing an initial report, versus following up with an appeal or a lawsuit. Usually, there is a benefit from allowing the agency charged with enforcing a rule to learn of potential violations and exercise discretion guided by their specialized expertise in the area applying standards that at least in theory were developed under democratic principles to support the public. Failing to report may deprive the agency of the ability to do the job, and essentially represents the silent witness imposing their own result of no action being taken. On the other hand, when an agency finds no cause to proceed and the witness appeals or files their own lawsuit, they are no longer the watchdog that barks but now the champion that bites.

A second point is that the law often protects or promotes the complaint process. Sometimes a report is made

17 hour lapse of ﬁre & EMS services for the Village and Town of Arena.

Of the series, the judges said: “What a mess! Credit to you for keeping track of the mayhem. Good luck to all those in Arena.”

Winning in Health Coverage was Aimone’s piece on the standoﬀ between Sauk Prairie Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and ultimately the loss of in-network coverage.

Of the story, the judges said: “Really important story, covered with the attention it required. Clear writing and solid reporting that worked to present both parties’ statements in context to give readers a clear and balanced picture.”

Valley Sentinel has been serving the Spring Green area community since October 2020, covering local news and events, meetings, arts & culture and more as an all-volunteer, editor-owned newspaper. This year was Valley Sentinel’s third year eligible for the

WNA awards. The publication is committed to growing and providing quality journalism, while navigating and pioneering what the future of community news can look like and all the ways in which our communities can engage with it.

Valley Sentinel editors speak on panel Aimone and Scott were invited to speak on a panel during the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Convention preceding the awards. Moderated by Debbie Anslem, executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association and joined by David Eliot, owner and publisher of the Peninsula Pulse in Door County, the panel—the future model of (homegrown) local journalism—was a discussion about innovative ways for newspapers to think about business models, funding and covering community news.

Valley Sentinel joins AAN Publishers

Recently, Valley Sentinel was approved to join the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Publishers.

The Association of Alternative Newsmedia is a 501(c)(6) organization representing over 100 news media outlets across North America. Its mission is to support members in strengthening narrative, investigative, and community journalism while providing tools to boost revenue and build sustainable, thriving organizations. Through training sessions, conferences, vendor partnerships, and shared resources, AAN helps increase the impact of its members, all in service of high-quality journalism and meaningful community engagement. Though diverse in size and style, AAN’s member publishers share a commitment to local news, culture, and the arts; a focus on point-of-view reporting and narrative storytelling; a respect for individual freedoms and social diversity; and a dedication to covering issues and communities often overlooked by mainstream media. United by a drive to speak truth to power, AAN members work to fulﬁll the essential role of a free press in a vibrant democracy.

Joining Wisconsin staples like Madison’s Isthmus, Eau Claire’s Volume One and Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express, Valley Sentinel is the only WNA publication that has also been conferred membership in AAN. AAN’s annual convention will be held in Madison this year.

Five Considerations on Whether a Complaint is Legit

mandatory by law, such as in the case of professionals who observe signs of abuse of children or other vulnerable persons. Professionals often are held to codes of ethics that require them to report the misconduct of their peers.

Even when not mandatory, reporting is often supported and encouraged by legal and ethical rules. Sometimes, there are exceptions to confidentiality requirements to allow reporting. Defamation and privacy torts have carveout privileges to encourage official reporting of unlawful activity. We have whistleblower protection statutes. There is a line of reasoning, reflected in some non-majority opinions of the state supreme court, that would create exceptions to disorderly conduct and other statutes. If you thought the First Amendment had something to do with all of this, you wouldn’t be wrong: complaints against public officials are at the core of protected political speech. And retaliation against witnesses and complainants is often prohibited at law. In cases of employment discrimination, for example, one can sue if an employer subjects them to adverse action for making a complaint or participating in a proceeding. There are criminal laws

against intimidating witnesses. Use of one’s oﬃce or public employment to interfere with an oﬃcial inquiry is the kind of ethical violation that can result in jail time.

And it’s also worth noting that some conduct that would otherwise be deﬁned as unlawful harassment is exempt from being considered as such when it has the purpose of supporting or participating in an investigation of possible wrongful conduct. That it is recognized as a legitimate purpose for doing things that may annoy or importune people.

3 A third point is that the merit of the complaint is really really important, and so is, critically, the seriousness of the oﬀense. There are a variety of arguments back and forth about why we should not sweat the small stuﬀ, but in the end it is unassailable that some small things should in fact be let go. Generally speaking, worrying about the marginalia of others’ wrongdoing is mentally unhealthful and socially frowned upon. There's a social expectation to go along and get along, and when someone refuses, they can get branded as aggressive or disruptive even if they're simply exercising their rights.

This expectation is strongest and makes the most sense when the rights and the sleights at issue are minuscule. But worrying about the important things is logical and healthy.

There are lots of rules and lots of violations of rules, so many that investigating and sanctioning them all would be impossible. Sometimes people say things that sound obvious, like “a violation of the law should be punished,” but it has been estimated that the vast majority of us have committed at least some kind of criminal oﬀense, even if we don’t realize it. Life would come to a halt if all crimes were punished, but the systems for adjudication would collapse long before that.

Flooding investigating agencies with trivial accusations may not always be helpful. They have limited resources, after all. (But sometimes an agency might not see something as being as trivial as you do, so erring on the side of reporting is typically encouraged.) It is not only the size and scale of the illegality, but also whether the duties of the oﬃcial were clear, longstanding, uncontradicted, and ministerial. This continued on page 7

Photo by Paige Gilberg

Members of Valley Sentinel pictured with the publication's awards after the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's awards banquet in Madison March 7. Pictured from left: Nicole Aimone, co-owner, publisher, editor-in-chief; Alex Prochaska, reporter; Luukas Palm-Leis, reporter; Taylor Scott, co-owner, publisher, managing editor.

Bi-Weekly Sword Tip

Got Stress or Anxiety These Days?

As we embark further into the craziness of this new administration…the seemingly daily threats of “eﬃciency cuts” and market swings due to tariﬀ uncertainty, is creating an anxiety and potentially stressful economic tsunami for our country as well as the rest of the world. Even though many people don’t equate needles with stress relief…it’s been proven over the centuries that Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine is a very viable option for our modern stress epidemic.

Naomi Kovelan, a certified acupuncturist, graduated from Midwest College of Oriental Medicine and is an important sponsor of this column. Naomi studied briefly in China as well in 2006 and has been in practice here in Richland Center since 2005. Since many may not automatically think of this healing practice, she feels educating on the benefits of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture regarding stress would be helpful.

Upon doing an internet search, Naomi felt the following article titled “10 Reasons Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Can Help With Stress” on the site titled Village Remedies is a timeless excellent educational tool:

Legal Editor's Column: Law and Politics— Five Considerations on Whether a Complaint is Legit

continued from page 6

will be a surprise to many, but back in 1984 the U.S. Supreme Court opined that it would be unfair to open public officials up to lawsuits just for breaking the law, because they make many close decisions and “are subject to a plethora of rules, often so voluminous, ambiguous, and contradictory, and in such flux that officials can only comply with or enforce them selectively.”

“At Village Remedies Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine clinic we like to reframe the concept of stress, normally people associate stress as not being able to cope, being burnt out or being overwhelmed, but these extremes do not encompass the full spectrum of stress nor the varying origins of stress.

“We prefer a more scientific approach to the definition of stress which is simply a physical, mental or emotional factor causing a load on the body. Examples of extra load on the body can be anything such as getting up early and not getting enough sleep, being busy at work and having to rush to make a deadline, or doing a lot of exercise and not fully recovering. All these things have varying effects on our body, some bigger than others but all are contributing factors to the overall load on the body which can force our autonomic nervous system into the sympathetic response a.k.a. fight or flight response.

“Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine and the unique eﬀects of the rest and digest response can help with multiple areas of life and can help you better deal with stress. Below are 10 reasons acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help with stress:

1. Aid Digestion: Stimulates the digestive system…nudging the body from ﬁght or ﬂight mode to the rest and digestive healing state.

2. Assist Sleep: By switching you from the ﬁght or ﬂight mode to rest…it can assist you in getting to sleep and staying asleep.

3. Help Boost Energy: By helping with the previous point of sleep, your body will better recover from the day, giving you more energy to tackle the rest.

4. Relieve Pain: Acupuncture and acupressure has been used extensively for pain management whether during child labor, post-operative or various forms of chronic

Sherry Hillesheim, R.N.

pain…thereby decreasing stress.

5. Tailored For You: A unique formula of Chinese Herbal Medicine can be put together by your practitioner to not only assist with stress, but also address speciﬁc symptoms to help you heal, rest, recover and feel happier overall.

6. Daily Treatment At Home With Chinese Herbal Medicine: A unique formula will be made up to suit your particular condition and by taking your regular doses every day, it’s almost like you’re giving yourself a daily treatment without needing to come into the clinic as often. Herbs and acupuncture work best together but for some, herbs may be enough to keep you improving…oﬀsetting stress.

7. Has Minimal Side-Eﬀects: Unlike most western drugs and medication, acupuncture is extremely safe.

8. Help Enhance Mood: By reducing pain and tension, improving sleep quality, aiding digestion and increasing energy… all have a positive eﬀect on your mood and how positive you feel. It’s been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve which, in turn, triggers the brain to release anti-stress hormones such as prolactin, oxytocin and vasopressin…the feel good hormones.

9. Time For Yourself, No Distractions: An acupuncture session lasts about an hour, this hour is all about you and your health goals. No work, kids, family, screens or electronics, just you and your time to recharge your own health…enjoy!

10. Useful Lifestyle Advice: Chinese Medicine Practitioners can also provide traditional advice on diet, exercise, breathing techniques to arm you with useful tools for managing and reducing the impacts of stress in your day to day life.”

If I can personally attest that I have beneﬁted from Naomi’s gentle and knowledgeable expertise. yoIf you are not feeling your best or simply want to ﬁnd out more about acupuncture treatment, call Naomi today (608) 576-0047.

Spiritual Meditation: If you woke up today there is a beautiful, divine source that believes in you. - Daily Medicine

Political Humor: John Oliver on the tariﬀ situation? “We thought we dodged a big one, but the monkey still has the gun”.

My blog and contact information: www. holisticseekers.com; 719-213-9963

Your ad here, same size as above, for ONLY $20 /edition!

There is the familiar argument that holding oﬃcials up to too much scrutiny will deter people from entering public service. But for over 40 years our highest court has been saying that it’s expected that they’ll violate a few laws here and there, so just stop complaining. But at least one noted federal judge has said, this doesn’t apply to the big stuﬀ.

The fourth point is that sometimes the accusation itself is the punishment. The norm upon which our systems are built is that an accusation is just the starting point, not the end, and made essentially harmless for the innocent accused because they have due process and will not be punished unless they are guilty. We all know that is not exactly true.

The law does not typically care, at least not usually, but decent people do care, that sometimes an accusation just rolls oﬀ of someone because even the potential punishment is not much of a threat, whereas others are extremely vulnerable to an accusation. The consequences can be immense, depending on the accused, their resources, their position, the reliability of the agency that receives the accusation, and the timing of the charge.

Sometimes those who face accusations have liability insurance, employers who indemnify them, or just lots of money to cover legal fees. Other times they have to sell their home to fight off a charge that is just robust enough not to be deemed frivolous. For a public figure whose main asset is reputation, a mere accusation that is sufficiently inflammatory can be ruining. For a political candidate it may mean an election. For a sensitive field, it may mean the loss of a security clearance or license needed for one’s livelihood. If the agency receiving the complaint is itself lawless, one may be subject to immense harm. (Fortunately, we do not anticipate anyone in Arena will be beaten by lawless police or renditioned to El Salvador or Guantanamo for open meetings violations.)

But even if one is accused who is particularly vulnerable to an accusation, I think we should not stop there but think about all the implications of this. We should think about how that punishment by accusation actually operates and whether it is appropriate. If someone is denied a security clearance and they actually would otherwise threaten to compromise security, that is not a bad thing. If someone’s reputation suffers, is it because of a frivolous accusation, or is it because there was real evidence against them that people saw or that gave the accusation legs?

Finally, we come to the last point, which may be the most important but is also in many ways the trickiest. Motive. Popular sentiment and the law tend to look at motive diﬀerently. For example, when one undertakes a legal action, ﬁles a motion, or calls a witness, the law says this is supposed to be done only for a proper purpose, not for vexatious reasons like harassment or delay. But whereas the public may look with distaste upon a greedy or vindictive party

to a lawsuit, the law considers that a proper goal may well be greedy or vindictive, so long as it is legally proper. Often the whole purpose of a criminal prosecution is to punish, and often the whole purpose of a civil action is to get money damages. The point of an administrative proceeding may be to take away someone’s professional license or residency. is important in some contexts more than others.

The people at law-enforcing agencies who decide which cases to bring have broad discretion to decide as they wish. They may bring cases against prominent targets because they consider it an eﬃcient way to set a very visible example and increase deterrence. But there are some motives that are prohibited: retaliating against targets for doing what law and policy encourage or require, targeting them based on race or religion, or targeting them in order to achieve some private gain for the deciding oﬃcial rather than the public good.

In the circumstance where a legal proceeding is directed at a public oﬃcer or political candidate, the question of whether the action is taken simply to damage them politically or whether it is based on the substance of the actual case is fundamentally important question to most people, sometimes even overriding the issue of whether the case has fundamental merit.

The law often holds back (or falls down) on issues of motive, however, for a couple of reasons. First, motives are usually mixed: plaintiffs who have suffered grievous injury are entitled to come to court to receive recompense, but are often justifiably furious at those who have caused them harm, and it would be unrealistic to expect their motives to be entirely free of any bitterness.

Second, motives require looking into what someone is thinking. Generally speaking, motives are notoriously difficult to prove up. Still, often one can find good evidence in their statements or actions. If someone is raising complaints against a public official, one might look to whether the claims are timed to do maximum political damage; whether the complaint is lodged quietly, or accompanied by a press conference; whether the facts brought to the enforcing agency are accurate and even-handedly presented; whether the complainant has any stake in the outcome, and whether that is dependent upon, or independent of the political effects.

And a further problem is that when politics become involved, people fall into distorted thinking, seeing things in a manner comfortable to their own side. Trying to discover neutral principles for a decision and to stick to them is one way to try to minimize this eﬀect.

I hope this has been helpful or at least interesting.

Gary Ernest Grass, esq. graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2003. Gary has previously served as editor for news publications, hosts a radio show and was on law review in law school, winning several awards for scholarship and writing. Gary’s special assets include a creative and original mind able to ﬁnd new arguments and approaches overlooked by other attorneys. Gary's special handicaps include depression, under whose past diﬃculties Gary has constructively turned into advocacy for the underdog and open government in the public interest. Opinions expressed of a legal nature do not constitute legal advice. Gary is an attorney, he is not your attorney.

Events for May 1 - May 15

Thursday, May 1

COmmunitycalendar

The Community Calendar is curated by Bonnie Ostrander and designed by Julianna Williams. Events are subject to change, always check ahead for up-to-date information on any events you are interested in.

Monday, May 5

Tech Drop-in 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St, Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/tech-drop-6 • Free drop-in help with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop—no appointment needed. Knowledgeable volunteers or staﬀ assist with email setup, social media, software issues, and more. Part of a rotating weekly series across River Valley libraries. More info: rvbroadband.org/techhelp

CLASS: Line Dancing 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St, Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/line-dancing • All ages • Beginners welcome for this lively session featuring classic and contemporary line dances. No experience necessary—take it one step at a time and enjoy the fun!

Spring Green Recreational Soccer 5:30 PM • Spring Green North Park, behind the pool • For more information, look up "Spring Green Recreational Soccer" on Facebook • Ages 12+ • Tuesday and Thursday evenings (weather permitting). Casual and fun community play for teens and adults.

FILM SCREENING — Frank Lloyd Wright: Phoenix From the Ashes 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM • Taliesin Hillside Theater, 6604 Hwy 23 Trunk, Spring Green • aftontickets.com/event/buyticket/68x2g5qkjg • All ages • Free (suggested $10 cash donation at the door) • This documentary explores Wright’s life through rare footage, photographs, and interviews filmed inside Wright-designed buildings. Includes a 53-minute film followed by a Q&A with award-winning filmmaker Dr. Sigrid Faltin. Seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

Friday, May 2

LIVE MUSIC: The Growlers 7:00 PM • Arthur’s Supper Club, E4885 US Hwy 14, Spring Green • For more information, look up Arthur’s Supper Club on Facebook • Friday Night Live Music is back with The Growlers! Enjoy dinner and drinks with live tunes to kick oﬀ your weekend!

Karaoke Night 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM • The Shed Bar & Grill, 123 N Lexington St., Spring Green • shedbarandgrill.com • Step up to the mic and sing your heart out during Karaoke Night at The Shed’s Garden Patio. Fun for singers and spectators alike.

Saturday, May 3

Spring Green Farmers Market 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM • Downtown Spring Green, Corner of Jefferson and Worcester Streets • For more information, look up Spring Green Farmers Market on Facebook • Shop fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, and crafts as the Spring Green Farmers Market kicks off its summer season. Open every Saturday through October, rain or shine.

May Day Celebration! 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM • Various locations in Spring Green • Full events at: readinutopia.com/events • Celebrate May Day with creative workshops, music, and food throughout Spring Green.

FD/EMS Open House 11:00 AM • Spring Green Fire/EMS Station, 327 S Winsted St., Spring Green • For more information, look up Spring Green Fire / EMS on Facebook • All ages • Tour the station, meet local ﬁrst responders, and learn more about emergency services during this family-friendly open house hosted by Spring Green Fire and EMS.

LIVE MUSIC: Driftless Bluegrass Band 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM • Spring Green General Store, 137 S Albany St., Spring Green • All ages • Enjoy an afternoon of bluegrass with Driftless, a group of local musicians playing vocals, guitar, banjo, ﬁddle, mandolin, and upright bass.

Succulent Workshop 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM • Kraemer Library & Community Center, 910 Main St. Plain • For more information, look up Kraemer Library on Facebook • All ages • Blend vibrant plants and unique blooms to design your own succulent garden centerpiece. Sign up at the library’s front desk, call 608-546-4201, or use the online signup link provided on their Facebook page.

Derby Day and May Day Celebration 3:00 PM • The Shed Bar & Grill, 123 N Lexington St., Spring Green • For more information look up The Shed Bar & Grill on Facebook • All ages • Celebrate Derby Day at The Shed with mint juleps, racing on eight TVs with surround sound, with a live performance by The Low Czars in the garden. Come dressed in your best derby attire! Part of the town-wide May Day festivities. Kentucky Derby Hat Contest After the race • Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shiﬄet Rd., Spring Green • For more information look up Wisconsin Riverside Resort on Facebook • All ages • Watch the Kentucky Derby and enjoy mint julep! Wear your best Kentucky Derby Hat for a chance to win a gift card!

Spring Fling Dance Party 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM • Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret, 137 W Jeﬀerson St., Spring Green • slowpokelounge.com • Celebrate the end of the 1st Annual May Day Celebration with an energetic Spring Fling Dance Party—open dance ﬂoor, disco ball spinning, and music cranked up. Come as you are!

Sunday, May 4

LIVE MUSIC: The Guthries 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM • Spring Green General Store, 137 S Albany St., Spring Green • All ages • The Guthries have a lot to share with you: rock, folk, country, and blues. They cover the full range of modern and classic Americana. Plays Out Loud – “Anna in the Tropics” by Nilo Cruz, hosted by Bruce and Jan 2:00 PM • Spring Green Community Center, 117 S. Washington Street, Spring Green • Adults • FREE • Inviting guests to read plays aloud. Scripts provided; participation encouraged, or simply listen in.

LIVE MUSIC: BRETT NEWSKI & The Bad Inventions with Violet Palms 7:30 PM10:30 PM • Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret, 137 W Jeﬀerson St., Spring Green • slowpokelounge.com • $15 advance / $20 at the door • Wisconsin’s lo-ﬁ alt-rockers

BRETT NEWSKI & the Bad Inventions headline with Violet Palms opening, blending ’90s alt nostalgia with modern inﬂuences.

Introduction to Zazen 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM • Wyoming Valley School, 6306 State Road 23, Spring Green • Donation-based • A weekly Rinzai Zen meditation class covering posture, breathing techniques, and mindfulness. Includes a tea and discussion period from 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM. Arrive 10-15 minutes early; meditation cushions and chairs provided. Contact bethany.morehouse.howlett@gmail.com with questions. Trivia Night 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM • Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret, 137 W Jeﬀerson St., Spring Green • slowpokelounge.com • Test your knowledge at Trivia Night hosted by Kyle Adams. Teams will compete for prizes, with the ﬁrst question at 7:00 PM. Expect 2 to 2½ hours of fun and friendly competition.

Tuesday, May 6

Movies, Munchies, and More: Common Scams & Frauds 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/movies-munchies-and-more-common-scams-frauds • Learn about common scams, fraud warning signs, and what to do if you or someone you know is targeted. Presented by Jeﬀ Kersten, Outreach Specialist for the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Spring Afternoon Storytime 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM • Kraemer Library & Community Center, 910 Main St., Plain • kraemerlibrary.org • Kids and family • FREE • A cozy half-hour of storytime for young children and their caregivers in the library’s community room.

Yarn Rocks! 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/yarn-rocks-1 • Meet fellow knitters, get beginner to mid-level knitting help, learn new skills, and enjoy the social and health beneﬁts of craft work. Drop in anytime; no registration required.

Wednesday, May 7

Spring Tea with the Animals 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/spring-tea-animals • Kids and family • Children ages 2–9 are invited to bring a favorite stuﬀed animal and enjoy a formal tea party with real tea, other beverages, and fancy snacks. Formal attire is optional but encouraged.

Live Viewing Party: Vertical Gardening 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/live-viewing-party-vertical-gardening • Learn how to save space, create privacy, and beautify your landscape with vertical gardening techniques. Gardening expert Melinda Myers hosts the live webinar screening

Yoga with Rural Remedy 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM • Wyoming Valley School, 6306 WI-23, Spring Green • ruralremedy.com • Evening yoga class welcoming all levels. Drop-in rate is $20 per class. Pay-it-forward option available to support others in the community.

Thursday, May 8

Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM • Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St, Spring Green • springgreengeneralstore.com • FREE • The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome. CLASS: Line Dancing 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St, Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/line-dancing • All ages • Beginners welcome for this lively session featuring classic and contemporary line dances. No experience necessary—take it one step at a time and enjoy the fun!

Tech Drop-in 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM • Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock, WI • springgreenlibrary.org/tech-drop-6 • Free drop-in help with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop—no appointment needed. Knowledgeable volunteers or staﬀ assist with email setup, social media, software issues, and more. Part of a rotating weekly series across River Valley libraries. More info: rvbroadband.org/techhelp

Lone Rock Farmers Market 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM • Center Park, 326 E Liberty St., Lone Rock • For more information, look up Lone Rock Farmers Market on Facebook • All ages • Shop local produce, baked goods, and handmade items as the Lone Rock Farmers Market kicks oﬀ its 2025 season. Held every Thursday through the growing season. Lego Builders Club 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM • Kraemer Library & Community Center, 910 Main St, Plain • kraemerlibrary.org • We supply the Legos, you supply the creativity. Kids of all ages are invited to free build or take on weekly Lego challenges in the Community Room.

SOLD OUT: Kiss the Tiger with TAE & The Neighborly 7:00 PM (Doors 6:00 PM) • Sh*tty Barn, 506 E Madison St., Spring Green • shittybarnsessions.com • All ages • Advance tickets sold out. That said, tickets often come up that people can't use, so check out SH*TTY TICKET SWAP, which helps to connect ticket buyers and sellers • Fronted by Meghan Kreidler, Kiss the Tiger brings raw, theatrical energy to classic rock and roll. Opening set by TAE & The Neighborly.

Saturday, May 10

Basic Gardening Workshop 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM • River Valley Area Community Gardens, 900 N Westmor St., Spring Green • Free • Doug Rouse will be demonstrating garden techniques and answering questions. Please bring a lawn chair and your questions. You don't need to have a plot at the Gardens to participate. All gardeners are welcome.

Events for May 1 - May 15

Bluegrass Jam 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM • Spring Green General Store, 137 S Albany St., Spring Green • For more information, look up Spring Green General Store on Facebook • All ages • Come to play or come to listen—everyone is welcome at this casual bluegrass jam session hosted by the General Store.

Soul Impressions Organ Trio 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM • Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret, 137 W Jeﬀerson St., Spring Green • slowpokelounge.com • $12 advance / $15 at the door • The Soul Impressions Organ Trio delivers vibrant pop, soul, and jazz from the ’60s and ’70s, featuring original arrangements and classics by artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

Spring Green Recreational Soccer 5:30 PM • Spring Green North Park, behind the pool • For more information, look up "Spring Green Recreational Soccer" on Facebook • Ages 12+ • Tuesday and Thursday evenings (weather permitting) Casual and fun community play for teens and adults.

Puzzle Night 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/puzzle-night-0 • All ages • Enjoy puzzles, snacks, and beverages during this relaxing community gathering. Bring your own puzzles to share or enjoy a variety from the library’s collection.

All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM - 11:30AM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org • All ages • FREE • Stories, songs, crafts, and playtime with Ms. Kate—perfect for young children and their caregivers. Wiggles welcome!

Thursday, May 15

Tech Drop-in 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM • Arena Village Hall, 345 West St., Arena • rvbroadband.org/techhelp • Free drop-in help with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop—no appointment needed. Knowledgeable volunteers or staﬀ assist with email setup, social media, software issues, and more. Part of a rotating weekly series across River Valley libraries.

CIVICS & SERVICES

CIVICS & SERVICES CALENDAR

This calendar is a place listing (for free) the typical meeting dates for area governmental bodies, and Please email us with these meetings, or use the form on our Community Calendar page — let's build community together: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

May 2:

VOLUNTEER: Driftless Trail Building Workday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM • Taliesin Welsh Hills, south of Spring Green • driftlessconservancy.org/volunteer • Help build the Driftless Trail at a special all-day work session. Tools and basic training provided. No prior experience needed. Register online under “Trail Diggers and All-day Trailbuilding Workdays.”

May 3:

SERVICE: Friends of the Library Book Collection 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • springgreenlibrary.org/friends-library-book-collection-26 • All ages • Donate up to four boxes of gently used books, DVDs, or CDs. No damaged books, encyclopedias, or textbooks accepted. Proceeds support library programs.

May 3:

Gardeners Pre-Season Meeting 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM • River Valley Area Community Gardens, corner of Westmor St. and Locust Dr., Spring Green • rvacg.org • New and returning gardeners will review guidelines and preview the season. Unregistered gardeners are welcome. New gardeners receive a tour and plot orientation; returning gardeners may begin work after the meeting.

River Valley Players Annual Meeting 3:00 PM • Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St., Spring Green • Lookup River Valley Players on Facebook • All are welcome to this community theater annual meeting. Includes a social with snacks at 3:00 PM, board elections at 3:30 PM, and optional happy hour at The Shed following the meeting. New members encouraged to attend. Interested in running for the board? Please contact Patrick Hagen at hagenp2@gmail.com or just attend and express interest!

May 6:

Village of Arena Board Meeting 7:00 PM • Arena Village Hall, 345 West St., Arena Plain Lions Club Meeting 7:00 PM • Plain Village Hall, 222 Main St., Plain • Monthly meeting.

May 7:

Plain Fire Department Meeting 7:00 PM • Plain Fire Station, 1065 Cedar St., Plain

May 8:

MEETING: Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board 5:00 PM • Riverway Board oﬃce, 202 N. Wisconsin Ave., Muscoda • lwr.state.wi.us • The Riverway Board will hold its regular monthly meeting, featuring a presentation by DNR Wildlife Biologist Annie McDonnell on land management activities from Muscoda to Wyalusing. The meeting will also be available via Zoom; access details will be posted on the LWSRB website. A portion of the meeting is reserved for public comment.

Plain EMS Meeting 7:00 PM • Plain EMS Station, 1045 Cedar St., Plain

May 9:

VOLUNTEER: Ridgeway Pine Relict Volunteer Day 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM • Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area, Hwy H parking lot, Ridgeway • dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/StateNaturalAreas/volunteer • Join the Friends of Ridgeway Pine Relict for a volunteer workday to cut garlic mustard. No experience necessary; training provided. RSVP preferred (contact BobScheidegger@yahoo.com or 608-319-2083) but not required.

WHAT’S HANGINg

Spring Green Community Library Art Exhibitions Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St, Spring Green Monday-Thursday: 10 AM - 7 PM • Friday: 10 AM - 5 PM • Saturday: 9 AM - 1 PM •

Vicky Lilla is the featured artist in the Community Room Gallery. She is a working artist with a studio in southwest Wisconsin. While living in Wisconsin Vicky became fascinated with the local landscape, rural buildings and regional wildlife especially the native sandhill cranes and the endangered whooping cranes. Her work is included in private and corporate collections throughout the United States. Her current work is an exploration of reﬂection and transparency, color and contrast. My goal is to recreate and share with the viewer a venue or impression indicative of the Midwest experience. The exhibit is available for viewing in the Community Room Gallery during regular library hours. Please ask for the key to the Community Room at the circulation desk.

Don Greenwood’s photography exhibit is in the Glass Case Gallery and is sponsored by River Valley Birders. Greenwood‘s adventures in photography began more than 60 years ago when he received a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera as a birthday present. Since that time he has been a photojournalist, a camera store manager, and, in retirement, a wildlife photographer. He especially enjoys spending time observing and photographing the incredible spectrum of species found in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway and the surrounding Driftless Area. The photo display is viewable during regular library hours.

Bi-Weekly Sword Tip

Who Am I To Judge?

That’s how the late Pope Francis responded to an interview when an Italian journalist asked him in 2013 how he might act as a confessor to a gay person, his response was with this important question: "Who am I to judge?"... keying up a more liberal and compassionate stance than previous Popes. And his compassion extended in many other ways beyond the LGBTQ community.

What a unique soul our past Catholic Pope was. And yes, I said “our” even though I’m not Catholic. Since Pope Francis considered himself the “people’s Pope” I have no doubt he always considered his mission to be very inclusive for all of us. Admittedly, the closest that I get to any church these days is Episcopalian…you know, that Catholic lite religion…one third less the guilt. Growing up, my conservative church taught (as many still do) that they were the only church/religion that had “the” answers…and certainly that included the Catholics since we were told “they” prayed to Mary and were required to confess their sins to their local priest. In fact, Dad loved to tell Catholic jokes. One I recall was about a man who did something that brought him to confess his “sin”, afterwhich, the Priest told him to say 5 Hail Mary’s and to leave $10. This “sinner” opted to say 10 Hail Mary’s and leave $20. He said was paying double for the next time he made this sinful indiscretion.

Sherry Hillesheim, R.N.

ed: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, this rule points us in a clear direction; let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves."

Although he was a pontiﬀ well-attuned to the concerns of most Catholics…no one is perfect. Sadly, Pope Francis had a surprising blind spot when it came to the abuse crisis. His election took place at a time when the problem of sexual abuse of minors by clergy was well known. While important steps had been taken to address some abuse scandals during his predecessor’s tenure, there was still much more the church needed to do.

Survivors of church sexual abuse say the next pope needs to do more to tackle clergy guilty of abuse and hold bishops accountable when they mismanage cases.

Recently, I found a PBS special highlighting Pope Francis’ life that I found so enlightening. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio (the oldest of ﬁve children) in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents of modest means.

At 21, Bergoglio entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1958. He studied humanities, philosophy, and theology in Argentina and Chile. Ordained a priest in 1969, he took his ﬁnal Jesuit vows in 1973. He served as a teacher, spiritual director, and later as provincial superior of the Jesuits in Argentina from 1973 to 1979, navigating the turbulent years of Argentina’s Dirty War, a period of military dictatorship and human rights abuses. His leadership during this time remains a bit controversial, with some accusing him of insuﬃcient resistance to the regime, though he has denied complicity and is credited with protecting vulnerable individuals.

Elected pope at 76, Bergoglio chose the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, signaling his commitment to poverty, peace, and environmental stewardship. Known for his warmth, humor, and accessibility, Francis often engaged directly with people, from washing prisoners’ feet to embracing the disabled.

In 2015, Francis was the ﬁrst Pope to address our US Congress where he stat-

Nevertheless, Pope Francis has reshaped the papacy’s tone, prioritizing humility, dialogue, and social justice in a very positive way. His emphasis on a more collaborative Church governance…culminating his focus on a “Church of the poor” and ecological responsibility has left a lasting global impact. May the newly elected Pope reinforce his love and compassion for all.

Spiritual Meditation: “Essential to the attainment of these national goals is the moral imperative of ensuring social justice and respect for human dignity. The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It bids us to break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed, scandalous social inequalities. Reforming the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor ﬁrst requires a conversion of mind and heart.” - Pope Francis

Political Humor: How did the GOP shoot themselves in the foot? With a Cult 45.

My blog and contact information: www.holisticseekers.com; 719-2139963

Lexington & Jefferson

Eau Claire-based band Them Coulee Boys release album

Them Coulee Boys have always lived comfortably in the pocket of bluegrass and Americana, however with their newest release Ain’t No Fun in the Chrysalis, the Eau Claire-based band delivers a collection of songs that’s both familiar and fresh — the album brings a light and upbeat sound, but as is typical of the group, lyrics full of the heart that’s long deﬁned their sound and soul.

This album feels like a summer drive with the windows down — easygoing and bright, but not without its moments of introspection. I’ve been a fan of TCB for years now, and have seen them many times live, at a recent show, vocalist Soren Staff, made an off hand comment at the end of the show that the band started as a bluegrass band but they weren’t that anymore. When I first heard the album I was brought back to that antidote and laughed. On it’s surface, Ain’t No Fun in the Chrysalis is one of the most bluegrassy/Americana sounding album, with the lyrics still lamenting passionately and personally upon the woes of the world and life and love, but on a deeper level and the more you listen you hints something different.

Banjo riﬀs and sweet harmonies still thread

through the songs, grounding the record in the band’s signature folk-driven sound. But there’s a newfound willingness here to experiment. Subtle electronic ﬂourishes, unexpected string sections and ambient interludes give the album an almost cinematic arc. Songs move and breathe, sometimes swelling unexpectedly, like the song “Ghosts in 4 Parts”? sometimes ﬂoating quietly, like “Mornings” and the lyrics sometimes feel like thoughts you didn’t know you needed to have.

Some of my favorite songs include “Mountains” which feels like a classic love song with a TCB melancholy twist. “Harvey and Margie” tells a deep, narrative love story along with overarching counsel on life. “I am Not Sad” is a reﬂective narrative on the feelings following a depressive period and uplifting message on what you have to look forward to in life.

All of these songs have signature elements of TCB, but oﬀer diﬀerent styles and musical sounds than usual and could not be mistaken for pasts songs.

The title itself nods to growth, and the music follows suit — evolving, stretching and soaring without ever losing its core.

Coulee Boys

Poetic Wonderer

Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief

Arena trustee questions clerk/treasurer report at village regular April meeting it in the clerk report? That’s the question that needs to be answered one way or another.”

continued from page 1

Uminowicz said. “It’s been the biggest secret, it’s all very suspicious. I don’t quite understand it and so I’m wondering why it’s not on the clerk report, because that would be the place to put it since DaNean took it upon herself to do this. I need more information about why this took place, why the village resources were used, and nobody's talking about it.”

A candidate forum for trustee and village board candidates took place on March 20 at Grandma Mary’s in Arena. In the weeks leading up to the forum it was unclear who was organizing it, with Naeger stating “concerned citizens” had asked her to post the forum on the Village’s website.

At the forum, moderator Peter Huebner stated that Naeger had asked him to moderate the forum and that he assumed the Village was “putting it on”.

“It was a beneﬁt to the community. Nobody, nobody paid for it. There was no money exchanged,” Village President Kate Reimann said, without elaborating on how the space was rented, or ownership of the paper and printer used for the candidate name signs at the forum that were printed and placed by Naeger, or if Naeger was using her personal or professional time to coordinate the forum.

“It's passed. No, it's passed” Reimann said, speaking over Uminowicz’s questions.

“I'm asking why this was not done through the village board, since we used the village board website to promote it?”

Uminowicz asked once more.

“Because the village board didn’t do it, didn’t put it on,” Trustee Kathy Stoltz said in reply.

“Why did we use the village board then to advertise it?” Uminowicz then said. “We don't advertise community things other than the tech support…It's always just been Village activities.”

It’s clear from the exchange that Uminowicz was referring to Village of Arena activities as a governmental body, not general activities happening in the village of Arena.

Uminowicz remarked that the Village’s website does not promote any events on its calendar other than village board-related meetings and events or its monthly tech help sessions which are hosted at the village hall.

In the past year the Village website has only featured one non-village board or Village-related item on the calendar, being the village-wide garage sales in June 2024.

“This is a [V/v]illage activity,” Naeger said in response, without being clear as to if she meant Village of Arena activity endorsed by the government or an activity within the village. Uminowicz took Naeger’s response to mean the former.

“It was a Village activity? Okay, so who determined we were doing this? This is what I'm saying,” Uminowicz said. “Why was it not brought to the board?”

“If DaNean did this in her oﬃcial role, it should be in the clerk report, if she didn’t do it in her oﬃcial role then it's not in the clerk report,” Trustee Matthew Schroeder said. “The question was if DaNean took this on and sought out people, why isn’t

The question was not answered. No members of the board or Naeger provided a response to the questions posed by Uminowicz or Schroeder in discussion.

Village maintenance updates

Zach Adams of MSA Professional Services, the village’s engineering ﬁrm, gave a brief report on Village projects. Adams noted that the Village’s sewer and well projects have been closed out and that necessary equipment purchases have been approved.

The board discussed the purchase of a new maintenance service pickup. The Village received several quotes for heavy duty up-ﬁtted pickup trucks as a replacement for the Village's 2001 Dodge. Trustee Kristen Shea motioned to purchase a 2025 Ram 4500 pickup truck for $93,569.50.

All trustees except Uminowicz and Schroeder voted in favor of purchasing the truck.

Shea also provided a report from public works that noted a lateral sewer line on a homeowner’s property had broken and leaked sand into the sewer main and necessitated the Village call in a water jet cleaning company to prevent sand from damaging the Pine Street lift station.

Public Works Superintendent Richard Meili noted the eight inch sewer line had ﬁlled with three to six inches of sand for 167 feet.

Public works required the village board’s action to allow the bill for sewer jetting to be sent to the resident due to the issue stemming from their property. The

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

continued from page 1

adjusted the numbering of those that survived the primary. Uminowicz additionally ﬁled on the same day a complaint regarding the same issues under 5.05 of the Wisconsin Statutes that argues that Naeger’s inaction constitutes election fraud.

Naeger has since ﬁled a response to the March 21 5.06 complaint conceding she did not conduct a second drawing, but denies willful intent or fraud.

This previous complaint from March 21 also alleges that the existing ballot order provided candidates which support former Village President Reimann’s administration and voting bloc an unfair advantage of 1-3% based on studies, over non-administration supporting candidates appearing towards the bottom of the list.

The April 7 complaint, titled “5.06 Com-

plaint Against Village Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger and Trustee/Acting Chief Election Inspector Kristen Shea” notes alleged observed deficiencies and missteps within the April 1 election process. Uminowicz was acting as an election observer when she observed these issues. As described in the complaint, Shea was not sure the Village had an operating and compliant accessible voting machine or voting station, and Naeger took down the paper ballot accessibility station early, the Village ran out of official ballots, which necessitated Naeger make copies using the office’s copy machine, did not properly keep track of the number of copies or inspect the blanks for markings or blemishes that would identify tampered ballots, removed signage and moved the voting tabulation machine prior to 8 p.m. which could have dissuaded last-minute

voters, did not properly notice the municipal board of canvassers meeting for election certiﬁcation, and did not follow procedure during vote counting regarding the resolution of mistakes, as well as for a time keeping privacy shields between ballot counters and observers, which partially obscured the view of election observers.

Also noted were statistical irregularities within the village president and trustee ballot counts. In the village presidential election, the hand-counted ballots, which sequestered and counted any ballots that contained write-ins as well as the copied ballots that the voting machine would not accept, were counted as 34 votes to candidate Paul Pustina and 24 votes to candidate Kathy Stoltz, a 17.2% lead for Pustina.

After the machine tabulated votes were

motion to send an invoice to the property owner passed, with Reimann, and Trustees Shea, Uminowicz and Schroeder voting in favor, Trustees Brittany Carney and Melissa Bandell opposed and Trustee Stoltz abstaining.

Other board actions

The application for the Mary Jones and Yolanda Peterson Memorial Fireworks event and Sharon Street closure was discussed at the meeting. The board approved the application to close the street for the parade and the ﬁreworks application for July 19.

The board heard comment from Brandon Dilley on behalf of the village’s little league baseball team, and unanimously voted to waive the park use fee for little league use.

An addition to Ordinance 18.10.010 was considered by the board as part of a discussion to rezone a plot of land in the village for use as a “hospitality center”.

The proposed addition would add the following deﬁnition: “‘Hospitality Center’ means short term rentals consisting of one or more residential units or similar facility that provides recreation, entertainment or lodging either to the general public or to private members.” The board voted unanimously to add the deﬁnition to the ordinance.

The board then discussed the rezoning of the property in question. The owner, who was present, noted that the intended use for the property after rezoning would be as an Airbnb rental. The board unanimously voted to refer the owner to the plan commission to have the property rezoned from commercial to residential.

read into the record by Naeger, Stoltz ostensibly received a total of 189 votes to Pustina’s 174, a 4.2% lead for Stoltz—and an overall swing of 21.4%.

The complaint states that such a shift in percentage from hand-counted to machine-tabulated ballots is highly unusual for a municipal election, and that such a change is statistically unlikely given the lack of a cause for such an occurrence between the two groups. Stoltz also received 60 more votes in her race for village president versus her run as village trustee, a discrepancy which the complaint notes as suspicious and irregular, as well as a high roughly 66% voter turnout in the village, which would intensify the need for strict statutory compliance for the election.

The complaint also notes that Chief

continued on page 12

Editors' Column: On the recent changes to local journalism, acknowledging our limitations

continued from page 5

even the owner-editors (who work other jobs as well). We started in 2020 with less than $5,000 and have taken out no loans and have since been building out — likely in the hardest way possible. We're independently owned by our editors and free from outside inﬂuence, hedge funds and large-group or corporate ownership. We are literally a community newspaper in every regard. What you see each edition is only possible because of our community contributors and our readers.

Our contributors live here in the area, our editors live in Spring Green, we are a part of the community, we shop and go to events here, we serve on nonproﬁt boards here. If you don't think you see our smiling faces enough it's likely because we're more busy than we want to be (or because the Village of Arena is doing something ridiculous again).

We love hearing all of your ideas for what you want to see and what you value in your local news. Please understand that we are still a VERY SMALL startup. But we are bucking the trend we see in journalism

towards cutting services and value, and instead we are building out—but that has and will continue to take time. Because we are so small, every edition right now is still only a proof of concept. It's proof that we can do this, rather than the product you see being the end goal of what we want to do and where we want to go with it. As we often share, there is so much more that we want and plan to do and hope to have in our pages, and also do in community involvement. But we can't do it without you. We are exploring some exciting expansions and hope to share them with the community soon, these include things like exploring regular bi-weekly or monthly “meet the press” type of events at local businesses where we have a chance to connect with our community and hear about what they’d like to see from us. By popular demand from supportive community members, we are also exploring platforms for recurring memberships that encourage both support and opportunities for community feedback and input on our editorial policies and content. And truly, we need your support. Advertising alone will not

support us and we lose money on mailed subscriptions. If you enjoy what you read, if you see our vision, and are able, please reach out and ask how best to support us.

While we’ve been keeping our heads down hard at work, trying our best to keep our community informed on the most pressing issues, we’ve also marked some exciting milestones that we haven’t even had the chance to share with you all. We hope to have time to share these accomplishments soon, in a meaningful way, but for right now, covering the issues in our community is so much more important than reporting on our own accomplishments. But maybe this will be the edition in which we share.

How can you get involved?

While it may be silly to say our inbox is overﬂowing and then ask for more emails, please email us if you have any ideas about any of the above or anything else: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

Subscribe to our bi-weekly newspaper at: valleysentinelnews.com/subscribe/ (We oﬀer a subscription fund as well that is funded by $5 set aside from every advertising invoice that allows readers to

subscribe at no cost to them. We don't believe ﬁnancial inability should be a barrier to local news.)

And we should note, currently — after many recent postage cost increases — our subscription rate doesn't cover postage for mailed subscribers.

If you have the ability and you appreciate our product, please consider a donation to support local journalism: www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id= GCFL2SZFTU7SJ

Or send a check to Valley Sentinel, PO Box 144, Spring Green, WI 53588, or email us to ﬁgure out how best to support us.

Or if you are passionate about our journalism and have the ability, consider sponsoring a journalist fellowship for a beat or area you're passionate about so we can expand our coverage. Or sponsor a graphic designer so our editor can stop laying out the paper and it can look even better and free up more time for news stories and editing.

We’re up for all your creative ideas, just let us know.

But more than anything, thank you.

In Loving Memory

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

Elections Inspector Shea is herself a village trustee, and belonged to the same voting bloc that stood to beneﬁt from the ballot order, which introduces a conﬂict of interest. Guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission also noted that overlapping roles, as Shea had undertaken, should be avoided.

ent election was compromised, the ﬁnal results which were arguably shaped by questionable election administration which fosters distrust in the candidates and electorate at large, and that the lack of an accessible voting station disenfranchised disabled voters and tarnished the elections validity.

RICHARD G. HETZEL SR.

November 24, 1937 - April 8, 2025

Richard G. Hetzel Sr. passed away peacefully with family by his side on April 8, 2025, at the age of 87 in San Antonio, Texas.

Richard was born in Spring Green, Wisconsin, on November 24, 1937, to Louis and Hilda (Feiner) Hetzel. He graduated from Spring Green High School in 1955 and attended the University of Wisconsin and Electronics Vocational School.

Richard served our country for 18 years. He enlisted in the Air National Guard in October 1955. In April of 1958, he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at Harlingen Air Force Base while attending Navigator school. He left the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and continued serving in the Air National Guard until April 9, 1973.

He met Bobbi Joann Carter in San Antonio and married her on June 6, 1959. After a couple of years in Texas, they moved to Milwaukee, WI where Richard worked for AC Sparkplug as an Electronics Technician. In 1967, he obtained his pilot’s license, and the family moved to Rockford, IL where he went to work for Hartzog Aviation, beginning his lifelong career in Aviation. Texas came calling in 1977, and San Antonio became home again. Richard joined Chaparral Aviation as a facility manager. He was quickly promoted to Operations Manager, overseeing 5 FBO locations in Texas until 1989 when he accepted a position with Beechcraft Holdings in Indianapolis, IN. Throughout his career, Richard and his wife Joann relocated multiple times before ultimately returning to San Antonio, where they retired in 2002.

In retirement, Richard enjoyed pursuing his passions for golf, gardening, woodworking and travel as well as cherishing quality time with loved ones. Known as the neighborhood “MacGyver,” Richard was always willing to assist his neighbors and friends with any task, showcasing his vast knowledge and skills in fixing things. Richard was a 55+ year member of QB’s (Quiet Birdmen) in the Rockford, IL and San Antonio Chapter where he spent time with fellow aviators. His fun-loving personality and compassionate nature will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Richard is survived by his best friend and partner, Betty Zook; children, Richard Hetzel, Jr., John Hetzel, Cindy Bostick and Katy (Bob) Bryant; grandsons, James Bostick III, Kevin Bostick; sister, Jerayln (Arthur) Meyer; brother, Gary Hetzel; and brother-in-law David Bowman. He is preceded in death by his wife, Bobbi J. Hetzel; brother, Melvin Hetzel; brother, Robert Hetzel; and sister, Suzanne Penfield. Visitation was 10:00 am Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Porter Loring Mortuary North. The funeral service followed at 11:00 am, after which he was buried at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery at 12:30 pm.

The complaint provides a list of statutes which were potentially violated by these observed actions, which include violations for a lack of an accessible voting system or solution, open meetings laws violations regarding the improperly noticed municipal board of canvassers meeting, and violations to Wisconsin statutes §§ 5.25, 5.85, 7.15, 7.51, 5.60, 5.72 and 5.05, which entail elections administration, proper ballot handling, machine setup and accessible voting requirements and election laws violations.

This complaint focuses on the following allegations: during the election, the fundamental right to a fair, transpar-

continued from page 11 continued on page 13

Driftless Grace: Screen Time

I have spent a great deal of time in this still-new year reﬂecting on my use of technology. While I’m choosing to rely less on electronics in my life outside of work, news from the wider world shows technology playing a bigger role than ever in human existence.

A friend recently gave me a gentle reminder that I was using “too many screens” when she saw me simultaneously consulting my phone and scrolling on the computer. (It was for work, but I agree with the sentiment.) This happened around my birthday, and it caused me to think about how much the landscape of technology has changed in my lifetime. When I started school, the concept of a “screen” was narrower and didn’t seem all that dangerous.

One of my earliest memories is of riding in the car with my parents to drop oﬀ our clunky VCR at the repair shop. To young Grace, technology was the videos I checked out from the library and the little drawings Dad would fax to our house when he got bored at work. I also listened to stories on cassette tape every night before bed. We only owned a handful of tapes, so I soon memorized them. It made me happy to be so familiar with the stories that their narrators were like old friends. I couldn’t imagine a world where someone could carry most of the stories ever told in the palm of their hand.

Computers came into my life early on. I was adept at figuring out how to play games in every new format – from floppy disks to websites. As an only child, I also used our computer as a source of inspiration and creative identity. I could take my art and writing ideas and turn them into finished products (which, at the time, I still printed out).

The complaint requests that the WEC direct an investigation of the election, and conduct a formal and independent audit of the April 1 Village of Arena election, and if the result of that investigation found that the election was compromised, potentially order a rerun and special election. It also requests a forensic analysis of voting equipment, ensurance that the Village has properly conﬁgured accessible voting equipment and proper signage, that Naeger be prohibited from overseeing future elections without further training or oversight, direct Shea to recuse herself from serving as election inspector in future elections if she remains part of a politically aligned voting bloc, issue guid-

the sight of Dad’s beloved printing press getting hauled away. Perhaps appropriately, this was right around when the digital era took oﬀ.

In 2005, we got our ﬁrst digital camera and began recording our family’s life in great detail. A few years later, my friends

were begging me to make an account on Facebook so I could join them in the online world. Screens started appearing on the dashboards of cars. Classmates started to show up to school with iPods. And when the ﬁrst smartphones hit, I clearly remember thinking of them as music players that could also make calls. Speaking of music, we all went through multiple transitions to new audio and video technologies. Each time, it felt like we’d somehow been duped into buying so much of the previous format. Only Dad’s favorite Christmas albums have withstood the test of time, having been migrated from vinyl to cassette to CD to digital ﬁles that still live on my laptop today.

You are invited to sign the Guestbook at www.porterloring.com

Arrangements with PORTER LORING MORTUARY NORTH 2102 NORTH LOOP 1604 EAST SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78232

I remember my parents presenting the computer as something I would be learning in school and something I’d need to know how to use as I got older. This could be a whole essay in itself, but I will never understand the negative comments that are leveraged against young people who use technology. My peers and I didn’t choose to grow up in an era when computers were being aggressively marketed to schools and families.

My parents’ lives were tied to technology trends in other ways. Shortly after they’d started dating, my dad had opened his own printing business and my mom had begun selling stationery. Later, ﬁnancial need dictated that they both get other jobs. I will never forget

All this to say: the pace of change seems to be getting faster, and there does seem to be such a thing as “too many screens.” I don’t believe society is doomed if we accept a new technology. But neither do I believe that technology will save the world like its promoters want us to think. Being new and being good are two completely diﬀerent realms. I will always seek out music, stories, and connections with loved ones in my life. I will always be interested in documenting such a life in words and images. I’m grateful that I have numerous opportunities to do it all. As my own story unfolds, it hasn’t made much of a difference what technology is in my hand (or on my desk) along the way.

Grace Vosen is a writer and conservation educator living in Spring Green. She blogs about both the human and nonhuman communities of our region at DriftlessGrace.com.

Grace Vosen, Contributor

Grace Vosen

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

continued from page 12

ance to the Village regarding the conﬂict of interests of a chief elections inspector, issue immediate remedial training to Naeger regarding election procedures, and consider referring any future noncompliance to the district attorney.

In addition to the election complaints, Valley Sentinel has been made aware of other complaints against the Village, trustees and clerk.

These complaints include another election complaint against Naeger by Pustina for denying his recount request, at least two ethics complaints against Stoltz for conﬂicts of interest for votes she took as a trustee which had the potential to directly increase her property value as well as failing to include a required disclosure on election campaign materials, a complaint against Naeger for ballot order and misconduct, and another for tampering with public records, forgery and misconduct. Most of these complaints are outlined in an editorial on Valley Sentinel’s website.

Valley Sentinel has also ﬁled an open meeting complaint against the village board as it was constituted before the April 1 election, except for Uminowicz and Matthew Schroeder—who voted against the motions, for improperly noticed meetings and closed sessions.

The open meetings complaint, which is civil and procedural in nature, alleges that board members Reimann, Stoltz, Melissa Bandell, Shea and Brittany Carney have repeatedly and knowingly violated Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law—laws meant to ensure government transparency and protect the public’s right to know. The complaint lays out a pattern: board members held multiple closed-door meetings about critical public safety issues without giving proper notice or legal justification, even after being warned their actions were likely illegal. Despite being put on notice, the board continued to meet in closed session, excluding the public and the press while making decisions that directly affect the safety and well-being of Arena residents. Despite being warned the very first time,

it appears that every closed session, four in total, from October through February was held improperly.

Another open meetings complaint from Uminowicz alleges that Reimann, Stoltz, Bandell, Shea and Carney held an unnoticed illegal meeting at Reimann’s house on the evening of April 14, the last day of Reimann, Shea and Carney’s tenure as Village oﬃcials. State law treats gatherings such as these with a quorum present rebuttably as meetings, which need to be publicly noticed.

Stoltz was set to have her term of oﬃce for trustee expire the next day, April 15, as she took oﬃce as village president. Bandell’s term was set to end in April 2026.

Resignations

On April 8, Naeger submitted her resignation as Village of Arena clerk/treasurer, eﬀective April 8 at 9 p.m., following the board meeting that evening. In her letter, Naeger did not provide a reason for her resignation. She had worked for the Village since 2019.

Reimann did not call a special meeting of the board to address continuity of Village services following Naeger’s resignation before her term ended April 15.

The next week, Bandell submitted her letter of resignation April 14 at 7:35 p.m. in an email to the now vacant clerk/treasurer’s email address. Bandell did not provide reasoning for her resignation in her letter.

Stoltz submitted her letter of resignation as Village of Arena president at 7:52 a.m on April 15, hours after assuming the ofﬁce, and provided no reasoning for her resignation in the letter.

However, Stoltz did submit a post that evening to a public Facebook group in which she gave reasoning and directed criticism towards members of a “cast” whom she said engaged in “a calculated eﬀort to create chaos and push their agenda.” She speciﬁcally named village presidential candidate Pustina, current village trustee Uminowicz and an editor of this newspaper, Taylor Scott, as responsible.

Stoltz stated to the Facebook group, Iowa County Confessions, that her resignation was due to an “unbearable” atmosphere created by these people where meetings are “dreaded”, and blamed them for public employees being “publicly scrutinized” and their actions putting the village in “disarray” while “reversing good policies.” This apparently despite the fact Stoltz has served on the village board for six years aligned within what has eﬀectively functioned as a voting majority bloc.

Stoltz further claims in the post, village residents are now “left to bear the ﬁnancial burden of their mismanagement.”

Village ﬁnancials show that the Village is well over $3,000,000 in debt, and has spent tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees in the last year at the same time as they pushed to renegotiate the joint ﬁre & EMS agreement with the Town of Arena.

In closing, Stoltz urges residents to hold the new board accountable and advises, “you can thank them for the chaos that ensues.”

All resignations were accepted unanimously by the, majority newly-elected, board at a special meeting on April 15.

April 15 emergency special meeting

On April 15—amid the resignations of the village president, a trustee and the clerk/treasurer—the newly constituted Village of Arena Board of Trustees convened an emergency special meeting to take immediate action on matters essential to maintaining government continuity, protecting village resources and ensuring fiduciary oversight. For the majority of trustees present, it marked their first day in office.

Four of the ﬁve currently ﬁlled trustee seats were present: returning trustee Becca Raven Uminowicz and newly elected trustees Steve Wilkinson, Joe Hipsky and Don Helt. Trustee Matthew Schroeder was absent.

With the oﬃces of Village President and Clerk/Treasurer vacant, the board began by appointing Steve Wilkinson as chair

Gov. Evers visits Spring Green, tours Wintergreen property as DALC eyes purchase

continued from page 1 and critical waterways across the region. In recent years, DALC has expanded its staﬀ and vision, positioning itself to take on larger, more complex projects—like Wintergreen.

With the land currently under an optionto-purchase agreement, DALC hopes to acquire the property later this year using a combination of private donations, federal grants, and—substantially— a

matching grant from the KnowlesNelson Stewardship Program. While the Knowles-Nelson program’s longterm renewal is in question, DALC’s application was submitted under existing funding approved in the last biennial budget, and the organization is optimistic about the outcome.

“This property has tremendous conservation value,” said Jen Filipiak, DALC’s executive director. “It has nearly a mile of shoreline on the Wisconsin River, habitat for threatened species, and it’s a cherished community resource. Our goal is to open it up for quiet recreation— hiking, birdwatching, snowshoeing—and to repurpose the building in a way that serves the community.”

In addition to its ecological value, the property features a 15,000-square-foot lodge completed in 1989 by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. While the ski hill closed shortly after due to inconsistent snowfall and rising insurance costs, the building has remained largely intact and has hosted a variety of private events. DALC envisions restoring the structure while preserving its architectural integrity, with potential uses ranging from shared nonproﬁt or public sector oﬃce space to a farm-to-table incubator kitchen, educational programming, or community meeting space and more.

Filipiak emphasized that no ﬁnal decisions have been made about the building’s use, and the group is currently gathering input through events, surveys, and one-on-one conversations with

pro tempore to preside over the meeting, and Joe Hipsky as clerk pro tempore to take minutes and manage oﬃcial documentation for the evening.

The board then unanimously voted to appoint Wilkinson as village president pro tempore, authorizing him to act as the Village President until the board formally appoints a trustee to ﬁll the role. Clerk/Treasurer oﬃce, Village records and audits

Securing the Village Clerk’s office was a key focus of the meeting. The board unanimously approved a motion to utilize the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office to lock down the clerk’s office and village records, retaining a chain of custody until the completion of audits or further board action. Trustee Wilkinson was designated as the point of contact to execute this directive. The board also approved the use of the Sheriff’s office and the Village’s IT contractor to coordinate with former Clerk DaNean Naeger and other officials to ensure all digital accounts and systems were secured and properly transferred, again with Wilkinson as the point of contact. To prevent unauthorized access going forward, the board repealed all prior building access authorizations and voted to restrict access to various parts of Village Hall:

• Common areas: accessible to trustees, public works staﬀ, auditors and law enforcement;

• Public works oﬃces: public works staﬀ only;

• Clerk’s oﬃce and administrative ofﬁces: access limited to auditors and law enforcement.

When asked whether there had been any access to the clerk’s oﬃce between April 8 and April 15, Public Works Superintendent Rich Meili stated he had been the only one to enter.

The board also voted to pursue two forensic audits:

1. A targeted audit of the smallest randomized subset of Water and Sewer bills, accounts and transactions continued on page 14

residents. Filipiak said that DALC plans to work with local residents and stakeholders to determine how the building can best serve the community’s needs.

“It would be amazing to have Lower Wisconsin State Riverway offices, DALC offices, and sharing that space with the community,” said Filipiak. “That would be great, but we don't know yet what will happen. And the way we're going to figure that out is by working with the community and asking them.”

The land itself will be managed as a nature preserve, open to the public for nature-based recreation and protected by deed restrictions tied to the KnowlesNelson program. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hunting and hiking will all be allowed, and a new trailhead is being considered as part of the long-planned Driftless Trail network.

But will it function as a ski hill again?

“It will not be a ski hill,” Filipiak said, with a laugh. “Cross country skiing? Totally. Snowshoeing, hiking, all that. That's all part of the Knowles-Nelson program too. We have to have it open for nature based recreation.”

DALC's plan contrasts with earlier proposals, including one from the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board that sought state ownership of the land. That eﬀort stalled due in part to concerns over the property's 15,000-square-foot lodge, which state agencies were reluctant to manage. DALC, having grown in both staﬃng and organizational capacity, is

now positioned to take on the complex ownership and stewardship of the full property, according to Filipiak.

Evers’ 2025-27 budget proposal would reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for 10 years at $100 million annually—its highest proposed level since inception in 1989. That funding, however, faces headwinds in the Republican-controlled Legislature. In 2021, GOP lawmakers slashed Evers’ proposal from $70 million annually down to $33 million and approved only a four-year extension. Without action in this budget cycle, the program will expire in 2026.

A spokesperson for the governor's oﬃce said in a statement that the administration remains "committed to ensuring every community in Wisconsin can beneﬁt from access to protected natural areas, and the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is a cornerstone of that commitment."

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee that’s currently taking up the budget, acknowledged the popularity of the program among constituents but ﬂagged division within his party. “I am supportive of the program and hope to see it continue, but many of my colleagues have reservations,” he said in a recent statement.

“We feel conﬁdent for the KnowlesNelson Stewardship Fund grant,” Filipiak said, of the project. “We want this to be a cherished community resource.”

Wandering the Driftless

The Wild Turkey: A Wildlife Success Story

As winter turns to spring in the driftless area, returning songbirds present a daily chorus that begins as the eastern sky begins to turn from black to gray to blue. This quiet, orderly chorus is suddenly and rudely interrupted by the thunderous gobble of a male wild turkey. Male songbirds “sing” to attract mates. Male turkeys gobble to do the same thing. Those ﬁrst gobbles of the spring bring wide smiles to a subset of humans known as turkey hunters.

Those that have yet to attain the rank of geezer probably assume that wild turkeys have always been part of the driftless landscape. You know what they say about those that “assume” anything. Aldo Leopold wrote much of his classic “A Sand County Almanac” on his family farm near Baraboo. One short sentence in the “Good Oak” section of the book says: “In 1872 the last Wisconsin wild turkey was killed, two counties to the southwest.”

The spring woods were “gobbleless” for a hundred years in the driftless area. Luckily, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was determined to bring those gobbles back. There had been a semi-successful attempt to bring the wild turkey back to the Badger State during the 1960’s. Turkeys were purchased from Pennsylvania and released in the Meadow Valley Wildlife Area, north and west of Necedah. The late sixties saw two limited spring hunts, but a couple of severe winters decimated the ﬂock and ended the hunting opportunity.

There were thought to be some game farm genetics in this ﬂock, that caused these birds to nest early, dooming the eggs to freezing, prior to the hen beginning the incubation process. Hen turkeys lay one egg each day in a ground nest and begin incubating when the clutch is complete. This ensures that all the eggs hatch on the same day, allowing the chicks to follow the hen away from the nest site.

The DNR was determined to do a better job the next time. They ﬁrst had to answer

two questions: 1. Where can we get 100% pure wild turkeys? and 2. Where is the absolute best place to release those birds for the highest chance of survival? The answers were: 1. Missouri and 2. The Driftless Area.

Wisconsin wildlife oﬃcials contacted their peers in Missouri and negotiated a trade. Wisconsin would send three ruﬀed grouse to Missouri in exchange for one wild turkey. Wildlife managers in each state devised methods to live trap birds for shipment to the other state. Eventually Wisconsin received 350 wild turkeys that were released in the western portion of the Driftless Area beginning in the early 1970’s.

This area was chosen for a couple of reasons. The steep, south facing slopes contained many mast producing oak trees and would be free of deep snow for much of the winter. Manure spread on top of the snow by local dairy farmers would also allow turkeys to eat waste corn that had passed through the digestive tract of dairy cattle.

These birds did well enough to allow for DNR personnel to trap some during the winter for release in other portions of the driftless area and eventually in all of southern Wisconsin. Historical records indicated that wild turkeys had originally inhabited Wisconsin south of a line from LaCrosse to Green Bay. This was the target area for reintroduction.

A set of three ﬁve day (Wed-Sun) hunting seasons were oﬀered in one small portion of Crawford and Vernon counties in 1983. Richland County was opened to hunting the following year. Most of the rest of southern Wisconsin were added to the list in the following years. As turkey hunting became a popular spring activity, folks in the northern portion of the state asked for birds to be released in their areas. The DNR agreed to give it a try. The turkeys surprised everyone with their ability to survive the harsh northern Wisconsin winters. Wild turkeys are now hunted in every county in the Badger State, except Milwaukee County.

There are now six hunting seasons that are seven days in length, with hunting allowed all day. Hunters apply for permits by December, for their choice of one spring season and hunting zone. Unsold permits are sold to avid hunters until the quota of permits for a season and zone are gone. Savvy hunters may hunt during ﬁve of the seasons and harvest numerous birds. There is also a two day youth season open to young hunters. Wisconsin currently oﬀers some of the best turkey hunting in North America.

There have been both successes and failures in our eﬀorts to manage wildlife in Wisconsin. It is important that we all realize that in the past ﬁfty years we went

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

continued from page 13

during Naeger’s tenure that could yield a determination.

2. A full forensic audit covering March 1 through April 15 (or whenever the clerk’s office is secured, whichever is later), specifically investigating unauthorized expenditures and access to records and accounts during the critical April 8–15 window. Both audits were authorized at a maximum rate of $500 per hour, with Wilkinson again designated as point of contact. New law firm, accounting services and financial oversight

The board voted unanimously to terminate Village Attorney Paul Johnson and the ﬁrm Boardman Clark . Trustee Hipsky was named as point of contact to carry out this action.

Immediately following, the board voted to contract with Axley Brynelson, LLP as the new municipal law ﬁrm at a rate not to exceed $400 per hour. Hipsky was again designated as the point of contact. Bill Cole of Axley Brynelson was formerly the Village’s attorney before the previous administration hired Johnson and Boardman Clark .

To maintain daily ﬁnancial operations, the board voted to contract with Johnson Block to provide temporary accounting, clerk, bookkeeping and payroll services, authorizing Trustee Uminowicz to act on the board’s behalf. She was also tasked

with pursuing the recruitment of a temporary part-time clerk/treasurer to work with the accounting ﬁrm for day-to-day operations in the village hall.

Finally, to ensure proper ﬁscal controls, the board moved to update the Village’s banking authorities. With the resignations of the clerk and president, former signatories were removed, and President Pro Tem Wilkinson and representatives from Johnson Block (or any temporary clerk) were designated as new authorized signers, with all expenditures requiring countersignatures.

April 21 special meeting to hear updates

The Village of Arena Board of Trustees met for a special board meeting on April 21, called by President Pro Tempore Wilkinson and Trustee Uminowicz. The meeting followed up on assignments delegated during the emergency April 15 meeting and aimed to take action on matters essential to maintaining government operations and accountability.

Update on Clerk/Treasurer oﬃce, Village account access and audits

Wilkinson reported that he independently arranged to change the locks and disable the keypad to the clerk/ treasurer’s office. This was completed on April 19, by Ray Johnson of Doerre Hardware, under observation by members of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office to ensure no tampering occurred. Wilkinson holds the sole key to the office.

The only confirmed access to the office prior to the lock change was by Public Works Superintendent Meili, who twice dropped off mail.

Trustees discussed the recovery of laptops from former oﬃcials and coordination with the village’s IT provider. Wilkinson and Trustee Hipsky had been working with Computer Doctors of Richland Center to revoke access and secure village systems. Laptops belonging to former oﬃcials Reimann, Carney, Bandell and Shea were accounted for; that of former Trustee and one-time Village President Stoltz remained missing.

The board voted unanimously to authorize Wilkinson to coordinate with the Sheriﬀ’s Oﬃce to review security footage between April 15 and April 21 for any unauthorized access.

Wilkinson also reported that former Clerk/Treasurer Naeger had placed a hold on all village accounts before resigning, with only the Public Works credit card and automatic utility payments remaining functional. Incoming ACH payments for utility bills continued to process, but no checks or outgoing payments could be made. The board would need to authorize new signatories and provide minutes or documentation to People's Community Bank to remove the hold.

Discussion also continued on the two forensic audits authorized at the previous meeting:

• A subset audit of Water and Sewer

from no turkeys to huntable populations across the entire state. Whether you love to turkey hunt or just enjoy the sight of a strutting gobbler courting a group of hens, remember that there were 100 years that our state went without a gobble. Those spring morning bird serenades were missing an important member of the chorus.

John Cler is a retired high school science teacher and principal residing in Richland Center. He is an avid hunter, trapper, ﬁsher and nature nut. He currently chairs the Richland County Deer Advisory Council and the Richland County Delegation of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.

accounts during Naeger’s tenure.

• A full forensic audit of all village accounts from March 1 to April 15 (or the date the oﬃce was secured).

Wilkinson shared quotes from two ﬁrms:

• Digital Forensics Corporation: $8,000 for 60 days with one investigator; up to $24,000 for faster turnaround with more staﬀ.

• SVA (based in Madison/Milwaukee): Estimated $10,000–$20,000; video call scheduled for follow-up. Neither firm could confirm hourly rates, which conflicted with the board’s April 15 vote to cap services at $500/hour. Several trustees, including Schroeder, voiced concerns over cost and lack of evidence justifying the expense. After discussion, the board unanimously voted to table audit decisions until the May 6 regular meeting, unless new information prompted an earlier special meeting. Search for accounting and clerk services; new law firm approved Trustee Uminowicz reported that Johnson Block, the village’s long-standing audit firm, was unable to provide temporary clerk, payroll, or bookkeeping services, citing potential conflicts with their annual audit. She had reached out to several local clerks without success. Wilkinson stated that a former clerk was willing to assist part-time or help train continued on page 15

John Cler, Columnist

Photo contributed by John Cler

The author's grandson, Reif, poses with his ﬁrst wild turkey taken during the 2024 Youth Hunt.

The Sauk County Gardener

Lily Care

“Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.”

— SD Gordon

I always like to buy an Easter lily or two to enjoy this time of year. I love the symbolism of the Easter lily, along with their fragrance and beautiful ﬂowers. In years past, I used to toss them on the compost pile after they were done blooming. It wasn’t several years ago that I discovered I could plant them in my garden and enjoy their beautiful blooms year after year.

Even though this lily will typically survive our Wisconsin winters, the Easter lily did not originate in an area with temps like the Midwest. The Easter lily species is native to just a few small islands in southern Japan. It wasn’t until after WWII that the U.S. started to produce these bulbs in earnest along

the Paciﬁc coast in southern Oregon and northern California. This is where the majority of the bulbs are grown for the U.S. commercial use today. Interestingly, this area along the Paciﬁc coast generally falls in zone 9, 10 and 11 Even in Japan, where these lilies are native, the climate is considered to be subtropical.

Even though our climate is much different from the Easter lily’s native home or the Pacific coast, you can still enjoy your Easter lily next year and after, if you do just a few things. First off is caring for it indoors. Easter lilies like bright, indirect light with an indoor temp between 65 and 70 degrees during the day and a little cooler at night. Water your lily when the top of soil is dry to the touch. When you water, remove the lily from decorative foil on outside of the pot as water likes to pool in the bottom of. Put it in the sink, water it until the water runs out the bottom and then let it drain

Making a Diﬀerence in our Community

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

— Muhammad Ali

Across Wisconsin and the United States, master gardener volunteers work tirelessly to make our communities incredible places to live. This week we recognize and celebrate all those master gardener volunteers who make a positive impact in our communities through hours of gardening community service. These volunteers answer diagnostic questions, conduct various workshops, provide teaching opportunities at local schools, maintain historical garden sites, grow and donate food to local pantries, and more.

In Sauk County, your local master gardeners are very active and making a diﬀerence in the gardening world of your communities. Some of our master gardener volunteers help out at Circus World Museum with their spring plantings. Others have been helping restore the gardens at the historic Van

Orden mansion in Baraboo. Along Hwy 33, just outside of Reedsburg, a group of volunteers continue to maintain the Phyllis Both Apothecary Garden at the Pioneer Village. This historic garden is representation of what pioneer-era gardeners would have grown in their gardens for nutritional, medicinal, or other household purposes. If you visit the Mid-Continental Railroad Museum, you can see the gardens that are maintained on the site by the Sauk County master gardener volunteers and are some of the ﬁrst gardens the group undertook. Sauk County Master Gardeners also maintain a partnership with our local schools. They provide instruction and materials and often assist with planting days and various other garden projects. Students learn horticultural techniques and valuable life skills. You can often ﬁnd master gardener volunteers at our local libraries, teaching workshops on gardening basics, seed starting and seed saving. Just recently, there were two workshops held at the CarnegieSchadde Memorial Public Library where attendees learned the gardening basics

for several minutes. You can then return it to the foil wrapping. As the flower blooms, remove the yellow anthers to prolong the life of the bloom. Once your lily is done blooming, remove the spent blooms, keep the leaves and place it in a sunny window until it’s warm enough to plant outdoors. Continue to water as needed. Fertilize it one or two times a month until you can plant it outdoors after the danger of frost is passed. This should be around May 15th. Before planting, you’ll want to harden off the lily just like you would do with seedlings. Start out in a shaded area for the first 2-3 days and then gradually increase the sun exposure. It should be hardened off in about a week and ready to plant in the ground. Choose a welldrained, full-sun location and plant the bulbs, about 6 inches deep and 12 to 18 inches apart. These lilies will grow to about 2-3 feet tall, similar to Asiatic or

and advanced seed starting skills. Similar workshops were held at the Reedsburg Community Garden.

You also find your master garden volunteers busy in our local community gardens. In Baraboo, the master garden volunteers maintain a tomato test garden and three teaching gardening plots. Throughout the summer, community members can attend garden “talks” where they can learn about square foot garden, growing tomatoes, and more. In Reedsburg, the master gardener volunteers provide support to local gardeners who rent garden space at the Reedsburg Community Garden at Madison College. Many volunteers there raise produce for the Reedsburg Area Food Pantry. They also provide garden talks throughout the summer. You can also find the Sauk County master gardener volunteers teaching classes at the Sauk County Fair on the FAME stage. They focus on topics relevant to the area and also provide gardening instruction and guidance at their booth. If that’s not enough, you can learn all about growing tomatoes at the Terrific Tomato

Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout

continued from page 14

someone new, and another retired clerk could provide limited Saturday availability. However, neither could fulﬁll the fulltime role.

Zach Adams of MSA Professional Services noted his ﬁrm could potentially provide interim administrative support if a temporary clerk was secured for day-today operations.

Due to time constraints—with payroll due April 24 and no clerk access to systems—no formal hiring action was taken. Separately, Hipsky confirmed the termination of municipal attorney Paul Johnson of Boardman Clark . Resident Stacie Prochaska questioned why the village attorney was fired. Uminowicz cited a lack of confidence in his prior legal guidance.

“At that time, I sat in the audience and when I heard some of the things that the attorney recommended that the board do, I questioned his judgment on those,” Wilkinson said.

Trustees unanimously approved contracting Axley Brynelson, LLP as the village’s new legal ﬁrm, with Bill Cole named as the primary contact. Cole quoted $273/hour for most services — signiﬁcantly lower than the $400/hour previously paid to Boardman Clark — and the board capped future billing at $400/ hour.

Village Communications

Due to the inability to access the Clerk’s

oﬃce and the village’s telephone and answering machine, the board discussed village communications. Wilkinson noted that the post oﬃce was holding the mail for the village and that when the lock was being changed, the phone’s answering machine had 35 messages.

He had suggested to the board that the telephone be moved outside of the clerk’s office under supervision of the sheriff’s office so that calls could be responded to.

Hipsky had suggested that he reach out to the new attorney for advice, as not to disrupt the clerk’s oﬃce prior to any upcoming audits.

The board unanimously voted to contact the attorney for advice on how to access the telephone and mail and how to conduct daily operations prior to audit. The board also unanimously voted for Wilkinson to take action upon recommendation from the attorney.

The discussion then turned to public communications with Village residents. The Village currently has an oﬃcial Facebook page, however, current board members are unable to access the account, as the login details are unknown. Hipsky volunteered to reach out to Naeger to attempt to retrieve login details, or have administrator rights transferred for the account.

Trustee Don Helt suggested utilizing the postal service to provide notice to Village residents, however, concerns were raised about the inability to retrieve the list of resident addresses from the clerk’s oﬃce,

Oriental lilies and will bloom around the same time. After a couple weeks, the plant will die back and should be cut down to the level of the surface. New growth will emerge later in the summer. Last year, I was lucky and got a second bloom later in the summer. Typically, the bulb will go dormant and won’t bloom again until next year in June or July. Keep in mind, not all Easter lilies are not reliably cold hardy without some winter protection. I have mine planted in an area that tends to be a little more protected in the winter, so I don’t provide extra protection. So far, I’ve successfully had them come back every year. This winter we had so little snow to provide extra protection so I’m not as conﬁdent that my previous bulbs will survive. If you haven’t planted your Easter lilies before, try it this year. You may ﬁnd yourself pleasantly surprised with beautiful blooms for years to come.

Workshop and plant sale in May. At the end of the summer, the group invites the public to come and vote on their favorite home-grown tomatoes.

Be sure to thank your local master gardener volunteers – they make a big diﬀerence in our communities!

Mark your calendar for the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association’s annual Tomato Plant Sale and Class. The class and sale are on Saturday, May 17th from 10 am to noon at the Baraboo Civic Center, 124 2nd Street, Room 14, Baraboo. Bring a friend, attend the tomato planting class, and then purchase your heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, and miscellaneous vegetables and herbs raised by Sauk County Master Gardeners.

This article is written by Jeannie Manis, a Wisconsin Certiﬁed Sauk County Master Gardener Volunteer. If you have any gardening questions, please contact the Extension Sauk County by emailing to trripp@wisc.edu or calling the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County oﬃce at 608-355-3250.

as well as postage fees.

Sue Pustina, who was in the gallery, offered to the board that information could be posted to the Arena Community Team Facebook page.

Uminowicz had also noted that the Village’s marquee sign could also be used to inform residents of meetings.

The board unanimously voted to allow the ACT Facebook page to post information on oﬃcial Village activities.

The board then transitioned to discussing streaming Village meetings to the public. The Villages of Spring Green and Lone Rock, as well as the River Valley School Board stream their public either through Zoom or YouTube. Hipsky had provided information on Meeting Owl, which is a smart web camera speciﬁcally for use in meetings, however, the primary concern for the board was the price of the equipment.

Schroeder also commented on the logistics of streaming the meeting, or providing public comment, as streaming would require the clerk or a trustee to use their laptop for the purpose and monitor the stream.

Schroeder also noted the previous board’s concern about ADA compliance and closed captioning. Both YouTube and Zoom provide automatic captioning as part of live streams.

The discussion on video streaming equipment was laid on the table until a later date, as the Board did not have access to accounts to make purchases or all

of the village’s laptops. Looking Ahead

The village board meets for its next regular board meeting on May 6 at 7 p.m. at the Arena Village Hall located at 345 West Street. This meeting serves as the board’s annual organizational meeting. Residents interested in serving as trustee or village president are encouraged to attend the May 6 meeting, and optionally send a letter of interest to s.wilkinson@villageofarena.net.

The board will need to fill two seats at the meeting, first filling a trustee seat that will be eligible for appointment by the board as village president, for a term ending April 2026—and conducting an oath of office for that trustee seat. Then electing from among its membership a village president to complete the remainder of the term, ending in April 2027—and conducting an oath of office for the village presidency. Then the board will need to fill the resulting trustee seat vacated by the trustee being appointed as village president, with a term to match the previous trustee’s unexpired term—and conduct an oath of office for that trustee seat.

Disclosure: Legal editor Gary Ernest Grass and Managing Editor Taylor Scott have been consulting oﬃcial(s) named in this story, especially on compliance with Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law. Any such advice is given in a capacity separate from the paper and does not aﬀect the content of the story or its editing.

Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certiﬁed Master Gardener

Easter

Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certiﬁed Master Gardener

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters, Columnist

Hello friends,

Once again this week I have more to write about than I have space. For the 3rd year in a row, I headed down to Dodge County near Burnett and spent a very positive weekend with 6 young turkey hunters and at least as many mentors. The action was good as well as the wildlife viewing.

Saturday, April 12th

High 58°, Low 30°

Yesterday I made the 2-hour drive to the Jeff and Melissa Pausma farm near Fox Lake where I would be hunting with 13-year-old Conner Thiede. After that I would head over to Burnett and join the entire gang for a turkey camp type of a weekend. I had just parked my truck in a very picturesque field, pasture type of setting when I realized that I forgot my turkey blind. Good thing I have friends in the area.

So here is the deal, six mentors would be heading out with six hunters and 2 parents, long before daylight and we would be scattered all over Dodge County. Conner and I have hunted together several times, and we had a blind to set up long before daylight. Pretty bad luck struck when we arrived at the same spot where Conner whacked a massive tom last year when directly above us was a flock of turkey in a burr oak tree. Turkey flew off in the dark and when it started getting light we could see a tom that was out of range and sitting in a tree.

Meanwhile Tanner Weber was mentoring his 15-year-old cousin

Joey Reifschneider on the Horicon Marsh. Tanner is 21, Joey had a baseball game the night before and on Sunday morning was scheduled to shoot 100 rounds for the Beaver dam high school trap shooting team. It took Tanner and Joey about 40 minutes to call in a tom and Joey put it in the frying pan.

My stepson Joey Dushek was mentoring over in Juneau County and had a golden eagle attack his jake decoy as in crushing it.

During the middle of the day and after dark all of the mentors share meals and a ton of laughs, these guys all grew up together near Burnett and were avid with plinking 22s and harvesting lots of game.

Want to read more? Check out previous weeks’ columns at www.outdoorsmansjournal.com

Follow along the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

Near Waupun 13-year-old Griffin Visser was hunting with his grampa, Jeff Visser and working together, Griffin bagged his first turkey.

The entire day Conner and I watched sometimes a flock of crows, sometimes a single crow that would find an owl that seemed to live by us and harass the heck out of it.

By 10 am the team of Jameson Klug, his mentor Jerrod Braun and father Jim Klug had been successful in getting Jameson who is 9 and came all the way from Greely,Colorado his 2nd tom in as many years. In other words, by before lunch, we were at 50 percent for our kids.

Another wildlife story is that of a hen mallard that we watched last April and then on September 1st for the Early Teal/Goose opener. She raised a brood of 9 or 10, she always seems to hang out in the same 20 square feet of marsh and she never quit quacking, the old girl was there again today.

Perhaps the most unique turkey whacking story of the day was for 14-year-old Carsyn Thiede who I have enjoyed many quality deer, duck and turkey hunts with. Justin “Beaner” Braun was her mentor, and her dad Tyler Thiede was also a part of the hunt. Beaner as he is commonly called has an obsession for turkey hunting and this trio spent much of the day chasing the same gobbler which just before dark made the mistake of getting to close to Carsyn.

The following morning Conner and I and chose no blind and hunted on the ground at the Pausma farm. We hunkered against a deadfall and Conner was asleep, about 20 minutes into daylight. I was working my dad’s call “dad passed away in 94,”and just like that 4 jakes flew down from the roost and were within 20-feet of us. Crazy thing is that Conner could only hunt till 8:30. The jakes knew something was wrong and were wondering away pretty steady. Conner Thiede made an excellent shot and just like that our group went 5 for 6.

I think Youth Hunts are a beautiful thing!

Sunset

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Photo contributed by Mark Walters Joey Reifschneider and Jameson Klug were done with their hunt early on Saturday morning.

A Great Youth Turkey Hunt

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Memories are made when you take kids on youth hunts.

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Griffin Visser with his first turkey.