REVELING IN RANKINGS
TEN (MORE) COOLEST CITIES IN THE MIDWEST Eau Claire made this MSN.com list (our kubb capital status helped a lot)
NINTH SMARTEST REGION The Chippewa Valley (or, to be technically, the “Eau Claire-Menomonie combined statistical area”) was ranked among the smartest regions in the nation by Lumosity, a purveyor of online brain games
20TH MOST SECURE SMALL CITY WE DON’T LIKE TO BRAG, BUT WE ALL KNOW THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY IS A PRETTY AWESOME PLACE TO LIVE. (OK, we’re bragging, but it’s true!) This year a few more rankings solidified our opiniton:
Eau Claire cracked the top 20 among cities under 150,000 people in annual rankings by Farmers Insurance
NO. 1 IN NCCA DIVISION III HOCKEY The UW-Eau Claire’s men’s hockey team won a national title in March with a 5-3 victory over Oswego (N.Y.) State
QUICK HITS JANUARY
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FEBRUARY
Bon Iver’s two full length albums go gold in the same week Chippewa Valley music and art stalwart Leah Rule dies Eau Claire’s Lazy Monk Brewing starts canning their brews Downtown grocer Charly’s Market shuts down after a short run City Council approves new rules for fire dancers
The writers, musicians, artists, and artisans of this area are an increasingly important part of the identity of the place. Plus, rivers are particularly good for writers. No one knows exactly why.
13¢ ANNUAL PER-CAPITA STATE ARTS SPENDING IN WISCONSIN
putting the state 47th in the nation
CHEESE CHAMP CROWNED MARIEKE MATURE GOUDA, MADE BY WESTERN WISCONSIN CHEESEMAKER MARIEKE PENTERMAN of Holland’s Family Cheese in Thorp, won the grand championship in March at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay. Penterman’s take on traditional Dutch Gouda was judged the best among 1,700 entries.
-- Max Garland, who was chosen as Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate in January and will serve for two years. Garland, a UWEau Claire English professor, has traveled around the state in his role as Poet Laureate speaking, giving readings, and encouraging art and creativity.
Taste Of The Valley partners with Community Table for 2013 Eau Claire snow sculptors take first at U.S. National Snow Carving Championship UW-Stout apparel design grad has swimsuit featured in Sports Illus-
trated’s Swimsuit Issue
Eau Claire launches the Public Spirit Fund for citizens to donate to community projects
march
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april
Post Office chooses old Burger
King lot on Madison St. as new location
Weezer’s bass player shows some love for Dwarfcraft Devices on PedalsAndEffects.com Locally made Marieke Gouda wins U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay
CITY COUNCIL GETS FIVE (MOSTLY) NEW FACES NUMEROUS FRESH FACES JOINED THE EAU CLAIRE CITY COUNCIL LAST SPRING when voters choose among 10 contenders for five at-large seats. The winners were Michael Xiong, Catherine Emmanuelle, David Strobel, Eric Larsen, and Monica Lewis. Only Emmanuelle was an incumbent, and she had only served a few months after being appointed to fill a vacancy. The new councilpersons hit the ground running, dealing with thorny issues ranging from budgets to snowplowing to the Confluence Project. And the new year could bring new changes: Incumbent City Council President Kerry Kincaid is up for re-election in April.
City Council considers an official city coat of arms
John Menard continues a steady
rise on the Forbes 400 list, becoming the 53rd richest American
Clubs Choice Fundraising brings sweet, sweet cookie dough factory to Eau Claire Record label and music collective
Totally Gross National Product
reunites in Minneapolis
Shouting Matches reunites and releases debut full-length, GROWNASS MAN
Poet Laureate Bruce Taylor given the a-OK for a second two-year term