July 2022

WISCONSIN–Cue the “Never Ending Story” theme song. The saga of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek (CHC) power transmission line has yet another chapter in it. 

The latest entry is a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that marks another victory for the line’s supporters and the Public Service Commission (PSC) that approved construction of the project, which will link wind and fossil fuel-generated power in Iowa to consumers in Wisconsin. 

In essence, critics of line, chief among them the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, had alleged that PSC commissioner Michael Huebsch had a conflict of interest when he approved the line, but the state’s highest court found no solid evidence that the allegations were true. In fact, the majority of justices said such claims were meritless and borderline frivolous. They also disagreed with procedural issues raised by the circuit court, but supreme court justices themselves could not agree on some of the procedural questions, either.

It was so hot in Raleigh, North Carolina last week that it seemed like you could hear the sun. It was like a movie in which the sun was a character, and I was talking about it, only to pause mid-sentence and gasp: “He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?!” We were visiting my little sister, who recently gave birth to her first child.

Cassie Geiger is six years younger than me, and in my mind, she is a sarcastic, independent, generous, Korean Peter Pan. One of my earliest memories is waiting for her at the airport with my parents, when I was six. It was as if she was being carried to us by a massive metal stork, in which passengers could still smoke cigarettes and move around the cabin, in those days. Today, I don’t only think of her as a baby, of course, but I do think of her always as my little sister, as a kid who tagged along, and each time I think of her, I must manually change her to an adult in my mind.

The 2021-22 school year marked a return to normalcy for most of Middleton’s sports teams.

It also meant another year of tremendous success.

The Cardinals enjoyed terrific seasons and individual performances in a bevy of sports.

Last week, we honored Middleton’s girls, and this week we’re recognizing the boys.

Team of the Year: Tennis

Marquette. Hartland Arrowhead. Menomonee Falls.

And almost everybody else that got in their way.

Middleton’s boys tennis team enjoyed a sensational season, rolling past almost everyone on its schedule. The Cardinals cruised through the Big Eight Conference with a 9-0 mark, won the conference tournament and reached the state semifinals.

But Middleton’s dream season ended there, when it dropped a 4-3 match to Neenah — a team the Cardinals had upended earlier in the year.

BLACK EARTH – When Shane Adler gets hot, the Ashton A’s veteran can carry a team.

Adler was on fire last Friday night, topping off a four-hit performance with his third home run of the season in Sunday League play and driving in two runs.

But Adler’s 4-for-4 performance wasn’t enough to keep host Black Earth at bay.

A one-two punch of starting pitcher Bryce Hopwood and reliever Tony Caminiti, a balanced offense along with a shut-down defense, sparked Black Earth to a 6-3 victory over visiting Ashton in a Home Talent League Northern Section Eastern Division baseball game.

The victory moved Black Earth (6-4) past Ashton (5-4) in the league standings and gave the Bombers the tiebreaker when it comes to seeding for postseason play. Black Earth earned a sweep of the A’s, following its 8-4 victory at Ashton on May 22.