Tag: Columns

An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Sturgeon Spearing/The Big Chill

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

This week I made my annual trek over to Lake Winnebago (Stockbridge on the east side) to camp on the ice and try to spear a sturgeon. As always there is plenty to say so here goes.

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Column: Funding Our Priorities While Respecting Taxpayers

The Governor’s budget message, once again, is a wish list of things for Madison and includes several divisive policy items that should be discussed in the regular legislative process. Despite the fact that Wisconsinites have weathered an unprecedented pandemic, economic impacts and ongoing uncertainty, the Governor’s budget does not focus on our most important priorities, nor does it respect taxpayers.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Late Season Squirrel Hunt

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

Early this fall I decided that I was going to do a squirrel hunting story. I have been writing this column for almost 32-years and although I was an avid squirrel hunter as a kid growing up in Columbia County, I have not hunted squirrel since the 70’s.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Home on the Ice

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

This weekend all of my immediate family and much of my extended family was supposed to be having a great time celebrating our Christmas together for two nights and days of being together while fishing, eating really good food, and laughing. Covid 19 put an end to that and so Michelle Chiaro and I along with my pup Ruby went on a four day winter camping and ice fishing trip on the Mississippi River near Buffalo City.

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Legal Editor’s Column: Masks – What can Evers do? An analysis.

On February 4, the Governor issued two orders: one declared an emergency; the other cited that emergency to mandate the wearing of face coverings to combat the spread of COVID-19. The order applies to people in enclosed spaces other than private homes, when persons outside their household are present, subject to about 16 other exceptions. The order may be enforced with a 200 dollar fine. This mask order expires on its own on March 20, or could be withdrawn or superseded before that. The state of emergency expires after 60 days but could be revoked by legislative action or by the governor, or could be extended by the legislature.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Eleven Christmas Trees

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

This week I am writing to you about an annual trip to Sawyer County, where I ice fish and generally have a blast with six friends.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Beaver Trapping with Musky Joe

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

The fur market has been decimated the last five years by low or nonexistent fur prices. My guess is that at least 50-percent of the people that were trapping five years ago are not laying steel anymore. Joe Flater has come up with a simple solution that is not going to get him rich but at least his pelts are being sold and a small profit is being made. In his tavern he is selling hats and gloves from muskrat, beaver and other animals, and this process requires a tanner and a hat maker.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Good Times in Sawyer County

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

This week I am writing to you about an annual trip to Sawyer County, where I ice fish and generally have a blast with six friends.

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An Outdoorsman’s Journal: 2020, A Year on the Go!

Follow along each week on 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 on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

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Special Column: Your responses to River Valley Resolutions

For the past month we’ve asked the community to share with us some ideas they have to better the community. We asked to figure out the services/offerings/events, etc. that an area would need to have to want to settle down there. We asked what some things are that every community should offer its residents? Not just now during COVID, but in normal times too. What things represent that concept of community? Some things you’d wish your hometown had?

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Details remain obscure regarding Santa’s Christmas route

Santa may have highlighted certain stops on his holiday run this year based on his love of certain Wisconsin microbrews, according to an independent investigation by Valley Sentinel. Santa’s preferences may have provided increased media exposure to two Wisconsin villages by Santa including these destinations on an itinerary supplied to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, the investigation found.

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Legal Editor Column: What to make of claims of election fraud

I will assume, Gentle Reader, that it is not too late to write about claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Particular allegations and legal cases come and go, but there are always new claims, new cases. I’ve been an election official and an international election observer, and I’ve even practiced a little election law, so I’ve been curious to examine some of the legal actions in particular claiming fraud.

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