County

DANE COUNTY–Temperatures are predicted to be dangerously hot with heat indices approaching 105° Tuesday. The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from 11 a.m. Tuesday through 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Extremely high or unusually hot temperatures coupled with high humidity can have some serious effects on your health such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Over 1,000 deaths from extreme heat events occur each year in the United States. People most at risk from getting sick from the heat are older adults, those who work or exercise outdoors, infants and children, people without housing, and people with a chronic medical condition.

Here are some important precautions you should take to avoid serious health consequences related to this extreme heat.

Stay cool

DANE COUNTY–The Dane County Board of Supervisors made their committee assignments which were recently announced. The standing committees of the Dane County Board of Supervisors met last week and elected the leadership for the 2022-2024 term.

The election results are as follows:

Personnel and Finance Committee

Chair-Elizabeth Doyle (District 1)

Vice-Chair-Chuck Erickson (District 23)

Public Protection and Judiciary Committee

Chair-Richelle Andrae (District 11)

Vice Chair-Anthony Gray (District 14)

Public Works and Transportation Committee

Chair-Dave Ripp (District 29)

Vice Chair-Andrew Schauer (District 21)

Zoning and Land Regulation

Chair-Tim Kiefer (District 25)

Vice Chair-Jerry Bollig (District 31)

Health and Human Needs Committee

Chair-Heidi Wegleitner (District 2)

DANE COUNTY–The Dane County Cities and Villages Association (DCCVA) announces its 2022-23

Executive Committee, which was unanimously elected during the membership

annual meeting on May 1. They are:

President: Robert Wipperfurth, Village of Windsor President

Vice President: Carolyn Clow, Village of McFarland President

Secretary: Paul Esser, City of Sun Prairie Mayor

Treasurer: Bill Burns, City of Middleton Finance Director

Past President or Member-At-Large: Gurdip Brar, City of Middleton Mayor

The DCCVA promotes excellence in municipal government, provides opportunities

for officials to exchange ideas, advocates for cities and villages, and

develops a cooperative approach to municipal problems of importance in this

region.

DANE COUNTY–One of the most popular bumper stickers in Dane County, which may or may not come standard on any new Prius or Subaru, states a simple slogan: “No Farms, No Food.” But with rapid development in Dane County, local fields are being usurped by subdivisions and parking lots, and families who spent generations tilling the soil say goodbye to a way of life forever. 

CROSS PLAINS–The Cross Plains Lions Club and Cross Plains Chamber of Commerce is proud to sponsor Cross Plains Trout Days. Since 1984 Cross Plains has hosted Trout Days on the first Saturday of May, the opening day of fishing season. This annual community event has drawn fishing and outdoor enthusiasts to the Black Earth Creek area to fish and celebrate the spring season. 

Now in its 37th year, this growing event features food, live music, wine walk and a variety of fun outdoor educational activities for all ages and interests, with trout fishing and the area’s natural resources at heart.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–Despite a decline in reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Middleton Town Board last week decided to continue to meet virtually until June.

Like other public and private organizations, town committees, commissions and the town board shifted in March 2020 from in-person meetings to conducting meetings via Zoom.

Since then, the board has twice decided to extend meeting virtually including in late December when the Omicron variant spiked and created a third surge of cases.

While the City of Madison and Dane County are contemplating a return to in-person meetings, the town board was reluctant to follow suit.

“I’d like to proceed with caution…There are no windows that open at town hall,” said Town Chair Cynthia Richson.

Although the exposure to COVID-19 cases may have lessen, board supervisors noted that the virus continues to infect people ranging from House Speak Nancy Pelosi to local Costco employees.

CROSS PLAINS–Plans for a top-to-bottom restoration of a historic downtown building into and eclectic mix of entertainment, workshops and lodging advanced Monday to the Village Board.

Named after its address, The 2100 American Legion Drive project, plans to be a seven-day-a week event center for weddings, workshops, lessons, an art studio and activities for children and adults.

An art studio will operate in the basement featuring glass blowing lessons and retail sales.

Weddings, fundraisers, lessons, fitness classes, pop-up shops, music and corporate parties are among the uses envisioned for the main floor. Yoga classes and other lessons could begin as early as 5:30 a.m. and parties may continue to bar time, according to information supplied to the Cross Plains Plan Commission, which recommended rezoning the property Monday night.

A two-bedroom apartment is planned for the top floor and would be the village’s first short-term rental living unit.

MADISON–Although they would prefer that the Cardinal-Hickory Creek power line wouldn’t be built, officials in the municipalities the power line would cross said they would still welcome the money that comes with it.

Construction of the 345-kilovolt powerline, begun in November, has triggered the calculations of the one-time and annual environmental impact payments that six Dane County municipalities will receive.

The Town of Cross Plains would host the most miles of the line in the county and will receive the highest one-time distribution, an estimated $718,689, and $86,243 annually thereafter, according to American Transmission Co., (ATC) which co-owns the line with ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative.

The one-time payment about equals what the town collects in yearly property taxes, said Town Chair Greg Hyer, which creates a quite a windfall.

CROSS PLAINS–Maple sap needs temperatures above 45º during the day and 25º at night to flow up the trunk and through taps for syrup making. Cold temperatures this winter meant the sap wouldn’t flow, and during the Open Kettle Farms Open House last weekend, the business had produced just 30 gallons of syrup. 

“This is the latest it’s been since we started,” said Jan Noll, who started up the maple syrup production with her husband Tim 10 years ago.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” added Tim.

Tim wasn’t too concerned as temperatures reached that 45º mark on March 13 and the clear, sweet liquid began to drip from spouts on a stand of maples at the Cross Plains farm.

The goal this year is to produce 250 gallons of syrup, which Tim said comes at a ratio of 50 gallons of sap to one gallon of finished syrup. “We have a lot of red maples, and they’re not as sweet,” he explains. 

DANE COUNTY–A PFAS-based fish consumption advisory has been issued for Black Earth Creek by the Wisconsin Department of Resources and Department of Health Services (DHS). Following sampling in 2020, the DNR found elevated levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), a type of PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances), in brown trout sampled from Black Earth Creek near Cross Plains. As a result, the DNR and DHS recommend consuming one meal per week for brown trout harvested from the creek from Cross Plains to Blue Mound Creek.

According to Seam Strom, DNR Fish and Wildlife Toxicologist, this was the first time the Black Earth Creek corridor was tested for PFAS.

“Additional fish were collected in 2021 and we are still waiting on those results; [they] likely will not be available until later this year,” said Strom. “We also plan to collect additional fish (different species) later this summer.”

What are PFAS?