A Year in Review: October, November, December 2022
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Messenger began publishing weekly in April of 1897 and is still publishing weekly 126 years later.
Here are the top news stories from October, November and December of 2022.
October 5, 2022
The Colfax Rescue Squad has been awarded an Emergency Medical Services Flex grant in the amount of $105,915 to put toward a new ambulance or for a stretcher autoload device or updated computers or other equipment.
Masons from the Menomonie Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Wisconsin gathered at the Dunn County Judicial Center the evening of September 27 to present Fire Suppression Tools to the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, the Boyceville Community Fire Department, the Colfax Rescue Squad and the Elk Mound Community Fire Department.
Two of the suspects from Missouri allegedly involved in a burglary in Menomonie and a high speed chase with law enforcement have made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court. Miltiano T. Johnson, 42, and Anthony M, Jordan, 32, made an initial appearance before Judge James Peterson September 30.
October 12, 2022
The Colfax Village Board has decided to put the $106,000 Flex grant toward a new ambulance.
If the Dunn County Board were to approve the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District, then the county would be able to vote during the annual meetings if the county’s 14 parcels remain in the proposed district.
Based on recommendations from the employee relations committee, the Elk Mound Village Board has approved pay raises for village employees that are in addition to the already agreed upon 3 percent increases.
The Colfax Village Board has decided to move forward with Cedar Street as the 2023 reconstruction project at a special meeting October 3.
October 19, 2022
Colfax/Elk Mound freshman Belle Kongshaug finished second in the WIAA Division 2 girls’ state golf championship held October 10-11 at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison.
After a delay of several years and a price increase of $1 million, the project to stabilize the stream bank so the Red Cedar River does not wash out Colfax’s wastewater treatment lagoons is nearly finished.
The Colfax Community Fire District Board has approved a budget of $112,700 for 2023 with a property tax levy of $94,700. The 2023 budget and levy is essentially the same budget and levy the fire department has had for the last 10 years.
The Colfax Village Board has tabled a request from the Colfax Woman’s Club for financial assistance with sponsoring Music in the Park. The concerts have been part of summer evenings in Colfax for many years.
October 26, 2022
The Dunn County Board has approved the Planning, Resources and Development Committee’s report on the proposed lake district and has sent the issue back to the PR&D committee to draft a proposed resolution.
The Elk Mound Village Board has approved a temporary overtime policy that establishes the village president as the first contact for approval of overtime and the village clerk-treasurer as the second contact. The temporary policy will be in effect from November 1 to January 1.
The Elk Mound boy’s cross country team are the Dunn-St. Croix Conference champions.
The Dunn County Board has reviewed a $92.5 million proposed budget for 2023.
After being paid $10 per hour since 2016, deputy medical examiners in Dunn County will now be placed on the county’s wage grid. Dunn County entered an agreement with Eau Claire County for medical examiner services, and a number of deputy medical examiner positions were created to be able to fulfill the agreement.
November 2, 2022
Brenda Brewer, the new Colfax Elementary school counselor, believes she has landed in the right place. Brewer has been working in education for 16 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from UW- La Crosse, and then after receiving encouragement from her husband, went back to school at UW-Stout for school counseling.
Heather Logslett and Jeanna Berge, the masterminds behind Colfantastic Events, are planning “Christmas in the Village” for December 3.
The difference between students open enrolling out and students open enrolling into the Colfax school district will cost the district an estimated $254,707 for the 2022-2023 school year.
The Elk Mound Board of Education has approved a total tax levy for the 2022-2023 school year budget of $3,098,000 with a mill rate of $6.36 per $1,000 of property value.
The Colfax Board of Education has approved a property tax levy of $2,814,833 for the 2022-2023 school year with a mill rate of $5.98 per $1,000 of property value.
November 9, 2022
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be awarding $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds as grants to replace, reconstruct, treat or abandon contaminated wells.
The Village of Colfax Zoning Board of Appeals has recommended the denial of a rezone from multi-family to agriculture for a two-acre parcel on Dunn Street.
The Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee is recommending that the Dunn County Board approve a rezone from General Agriculture to General Commercial for Classic Protective Coatings in the Town of Sherman on state Highway 25 north of Menomonie.
The St. Croix County district attorney is waiting for DNA results from the state crime lab related to a stabbing incident on the Apple River in July that left four injured and one dead.
The Dunn County Facilities Committee has told the county’s corporation counsel to move forward with developing a process for leasing the transfer station west of Menomonie on state Highway 29. The transfer station closed in 2020 after the majority of municipalities in the county withdrew from Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling to run their own programs for collecting trash and recyclables.
November 16, 2022
The Elk Mound Village Board has approved a 10 percent sewer rate increase.
Quilts of Valor were presented to area veterans Gust Fehr and Al Stai during a ceremony at the Grapevine Senior Center following the annual Veterans Day supper that evening.
The Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee is seeking applicants to serve on the initial board of directors for the proposed Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District if the county board approves the lake district.
Cody Shafer, age 27, of Ridgeland, one of four men accused of illegal bear hunting in northern Dunn County, has been found guilty of obstructing a conservation warden and of possessing birds in excess of the bag limit.
November 23, 2022
Three members of the Colfax FAA who attended the National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana, in October say it was the experience of a lifetime. Allison Schmitt, Rosie Sonnentag and Amelia Schmitt spoke to the Colfax Board of Education at the November 14 meeting about their experiences at the FFA convention.
The estimated cost to build a campground in Stuart Park directly east of Tom Prince Memorial Park in Colfax is $175,000 to $190,000.
The Colfax Village Board has approved increasing the pay for trustees by $250 per year to $1,500 and increasing the pay for the village president by $450 to $2,000 per year and that the pay per meeting should remain at $20.
The Colfax Village Board has accepted a bid of $328,489, less $10,000 trade-in, for a new ambulance from Demers Ambulance at a final cost of $318,489.
November 30, 2022
A Dunn County jury has found Ryan L. Steinhoff guilty in the murder of Bruce E. McGuigan in the Town of Dunn on November of 2020 following Steinhoff’s plea of not guilty be reason of mental disease or defect.
The Dunn County Board has narrowly approved a resolution authorizing up to $1 million in borrowing for the $92.55 million budget for 2023 if it is necessary to borrow the money.
The Elk Mound Village Board has approved reducing the Elk Mound police department budget for 2023 by $6,280.
The application to apply for serving on the initial board of commissioners for the proposed Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District is now online and the deadline to apply is December 5.
December 7, 2022
The Elk Mound school district “exceeds expectations” on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s report card for the 2021-2022 school year.
The Colfax Village Board has approved switching from Health Traditions for employee health insurance to Liberty Mutual at an annual cost to the village of $102,248, resulting in a savings of about $5,000.
By next summer, a permanent gate is expected to be installed in the east pit area for the Red Cedar Speedway at the Dunn County Rec Park.
A Dunn County jury has rejected a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect made by Ryan L. Steinhoff for the murder of Bruce McGuigan at a Town of Dunn residence in November of 2020.
December 14, 2022
Colfax Lutheran Parish welcomed Pastor Mamy Ranaivosen on Sunday, November 20, 2022, with his official installation on December 4, 2022.
The Colfax Village Board has set a property tax levy of $485,082 on a budget of $1.31 million for 2023, representing an increase in the levy of $13,237.
The Elk Mound Village Board has approved a budget of $732,201 for 2023, with a property tax levy of $349,816, representing an increase of $11,125.
The 2023 Colfax Solid Waste and Recycling Budget is $353,132, which includes revenue and expenses for both the Colfax collection site and the Elk Mound collection site. The Colfax RU charges a per capita fee to member municipalities for a total of $177,700 for the Colfax site and $175,432 for the Elk Mound site.
The Dunn County Library Planning Committee is in the beginning stages of exploring the possibility of library services in Ridgeland becoming a branch of the Colfax Public Library.
December 21, 2022
Annual Christmas Greetings, “Letters to Santa,” “My Favorite Christmas” and “Remembrances of Christmas Past” are included in this issue.
Colfax’s three Tax Increment Finance Districts have a positive balance, according to a report from Josh Lowe of Ehlers, the village’s municipal advisor. The Joint Review Board for Colfax’s TIF districts met just prior to the Colfax Village Board’s December 12 meeting.
The Colfax school district “meets expectations” on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s report card for the 2021-2022 school year.
December 28, 2022
UW-River Falls student athlete Kameri Meredith was diagnosed with Type I diabetes on April 13, 2020, near the end of her senior year at Colfax High School and is now balancing college classes, diabetes and playing two sports for the Falcons: women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
Criminal charges have been dismissed for one of four men accused of illegal bear hunting in the Town of Sheridan in northern Dunn County, although his hunting privileges have been revoked for three years and the bear carcass was ordered confiscated. Adam Millermon, age 37, Glenwood City, appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court December 22 before Judge James Peterson for a plea and sentencing hearing.
Attorneys for Nicolae Miu, who is charged in St. Croix County in connection with a stabbing incident on the Apple River in July that left four injured and one dead, say they are planning to file a motion to suppress certain statements.
Dunn County is the only county that allows non-owner occupied multi-family housing in commercial districts, and the Planning, Resources and Development Committee is wondering if that should be changed.
