‘There’s music everywhere but the Driftless is definitely magical for me’
A local artist from our very own River Valley area recently returned home after representing Wisconsin on the national stage as part of NBC’s “American Song Contest”. Jake’O performed an original song on the show last month and shared his inspiration and thoughts with us on the journey.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation recently announced the creation of the Taliesin Institute, a new collection of programs that seek to advance the principles of organic architecture, seen as the core of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. However, other stalwarts of Wright’s legacy debate the need for such an initiative following the Foundation’s final split in 2020 from the school of architecture previously in residence at Taliesin.
On Tuesday, February 22, at 8 a.m. the Village of Arena Personnel Committee met, made a recommendation to accept the resignation of Arena’s superintendent of public works effective March 31, and started right in working on interviewing for a replacement. If nothing else, the committee moved with laudable speed to fill a hole that was not even official yet.
On Feb. 15, Village of Arena’s Public Works Superintendent Michael Schmidt submitted his resignation, with a month and a half notice. By the next week, the village was already holding a meeting to interview internal candidates. That rush to hold an interview resulted in several village officials having open meetings law complaints filed against them.
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’s column is going to be a bit different but is a very real type of story in the form of a very successful, annual, kids fisheree that is held by Jim and Deb Bires – owners of Bires Northside Mobile in Mauston, Wisconsin. The point of this story is to tell about volunteers and how without them, this world would be a very different place.
We’ve shared many times some of the quotes that grace the wall of our newsroom. We’ve definitely focused on the first, making things work and then making them work better. We’ve definitely focused on the second quote and we’ve called people and powers-that-be out where necessary. The third quote we haven’t covered enough because — frankly — in the moment or in retrospect, we don’t think we’ve been able to adequately taste life enough.
Local favorite Lake Louie Brewing, formerly of Arena and now part of Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona, recently sent over a couple cases of their newest product — hard kombucha!
Valley Sentinel lends platform in print and online to foster community ideas
We are pleased to announce the (soft) launch of Valley Sentinel’s Impulse Initiative. It has always been our goal to build community and over the past year plus we’ve been talking to area residents every day about their wants, hopes and dreams for the community. We’ve asked many times in print what ideas you had for the community and how we go about doing them. This initiative is a culmination of those things.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers visited Spring Green Tuesday to tour two businesses that received “We’re All In” grants, in the midst of a proposal that would seek to change how federal moneys, including those that fund grants like these, are allocated and by whom.
We finally had the chance to Waltz by and try out the newest dining and social club in the Valley. Pairing veteran businessman Mike Haight as owner and general manager with classically trained executive chef David Moreno, Roarin 20s Dining and Social Club (1170 Main Street, Plain) adds art deco charm to downtown Plain. In full disclosure, we were surprised to find out that dinner was on the house, however that has no bearing on our review. Unflappable, we took the opportunity to review some of the menu and drink options and ask Haight and Moreno some questions.