Colfax could be gateway for Red Cedar Watershed National Heritage Area
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by LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Village of Colfax, and more specifically, the Colfax Railroad Museum, could be the gateway for a National Heritage Area in the Red Cedar Watershed.
The St. Croix Valley is in the process of becoming a National Heritage Area, and the Red Cedar Watershed is under consideration, said Herb Sakalaucks Jr., curator of the Colfax Railroad Museum, at the Colfax Village Board’s October 14 meeting.
A National Heritage Area is a federal designation of local areas with historic context. The Red Cedar Watershed is under preliminary evaluation, and the Colfax Railroad Museum would be the main focus, Sakalaucks said.
According to the National Heritage Areas’ website, which is under the U.S. Park Service, “National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes. Consequently, National Heritage Area entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.”
The website goes on to say that the first National Heritage Area, Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Area, was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
President Joe Biden signed the National Heritage Areas Act into law on January 5, 2023, which establishes a National Heritage Area System that provides a framework for the National Park Service’s role in the administration of National Heritage Areas.
As of 2023, there were 62 National Heritage Areas, although none of them are located in Wisconsin, according to the National Heritage Areas website.
Minnesota also does not have any National Heritage Areas.
Michigan has the MotorCities National Heritage Area, while Iowa has the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and Illinois has the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area and the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area, in addition to the the first National Heritage Area signed into law by Ronald Reagan.
Five years
Becoming a National Heritage Area is a five-year process that goes to the National Park Service for consideration first and then to Congress for approval, Sakalaucks told the village board.
A total of $500,000 per year is then allocated to the National Heritage Foundation to operate the National Heritage Area. The National Heritage Foundation does not own any property, and it is not a property tax authority, he said.
A Christmas festival is under consideration either in Colfax or Rice Lake as a kick-off to start identifying sites that would be part of the National Heritage Area, Sakalaucks said.
The Red Cedar Watershed covers 1,900 square miles and starts north of Rice Lake in Washburn County and Sawyer County and extends south to southern Dunn County.
The people who are interested in developing a Red Cedar Watershed National Heritage Area are interested in the Colfax Railroad Museum as an information and visitor center for the National Heritage Area covering the Red Cedar Watershed, Sakalaucks said.
Process
Designating a region as a National Heritage Area is a legislative process that starts with a feasibility study and then the introduction of a bill to Congress. The bill must be passed by Congress, and then the bill becomes a law to create the National Heritage Area, according to the National Heritage Area website.
There is no application or nomination process. The National Park Service, as the federal body charged with managing the NHA program, testifies at the request of Congress about whether a region meets the 10 feasibility study evaluation criteria for a National Heritage Area, the website states.
National Heritage Area feasibility studies can be under the coordination of community groups or the National Park Service, which only does an NHA feasibility study when an act of Congress orders a feasibility study, according to the website.
Some of the evaluation criteria for a National Heritage Area focuses on whether the landscape has historic, cultural and natural resources that tell a nationally important story.
Other evaluation criteria include a focus on opportunities for improving the quality of the resources by conservation, recreation and education as well as ongoing traditions and customs that are associated with a nationally important story.
The evaluation criteria also considers whether there is an organization that exists the has the financial and organizational capacity to coordinate activities in the National Heritage Area and whether there is public support for a National Heritage Area, according to the website.
Grant background
Sakalaucks told the village board he has a background in federal grants agreements and in the 501.c.3 process that will make him an essential contributor to the process of establishing a National Heritage Area for the Red Cedar Watershed.
One question is whether Colfax is interested in being a visitors’ center for the National Area Heritage, he said.
The Colfax Railroad Museum has not yet been successful in getting a roof over the rolling stock and will be working on another Department of Administration grant application. The grant packet is expected to be available in the next two or three weeks, Sakalaucks said.
Eventually, if village board members agree that they are interested in being part of a National Heritage Area, Sakalaucks said he would be asking for a letter of support from the village.
Succession
The Colfax Railroad Museum has two new members who have a background in promotion and are interested in setting up bus tours, Sakalaucks said.
Sakalaucks told the village board that his wife will be retiring from her job in the next three months at Cardinal Glass and will have more time to help at the museum.
The information center would create two or three jobs, Sakalaucks noted.
If the village board is interested, Sakalaucks said he would continue pursuing the idea of a National Heritage Area, and if the village board is not interested, Sakalaucks said he would not pursue the idea.
“I think it will be a draw to Colfax in the long run,” he said.
“What’s in it for you?” asked Gary Stene, village trustee.
If the Colfax Railroad Museum could be part of a National Heritage Area, it would create a situation where the museum would be in a position to hire a curator, Sakalaucks said.
Hiring a curator would be a way for the museum to continue operating and a way to know the museum will continue when he can no longer take care of the museum, Sakalaucks explained.
The Colfax Railroad Museum has had interns from UW-Eau Claire for the past several years that help them be trained on the job for the use of their degrees, Sakalaucks said.
Sakalaucks said his replacement could be someone with a history major and who would also be responsible for promoting and advertising the museum.
Colfax
What would be in it for Colfax? Stene asked.
Jobs and people coming to Colfax who have money to spend, Sakalaucks said.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking at Dunn County as a destination area that would emphasize the bike trails and outdoor activities, said Carrie Johnson, village administrator-clerk-treasurer.
A National Heritage Area would “mesh” with a DNR destination area that would help promote local businesses, she said.
Adam Accola, the Dunn County economic development director, is interested in the idea of a National Heritage Area, Sakalaucks said.
The St. Croix project must be approved by Congress, then the next step would be to look at the Red Cedar Watershed, he said.
Accola is the new economic development director, and his position is unique in Wisconsin, Stene said.
Stene also serves on the Dunn County Board and on the Dunn County Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors.
Accola is employed by UW-Stout, Greater Menomonie Area Economic Development, the City of Menomonie, Dunn County and the Stout Technology Park, Stene said.
Finding out more about a National Heritage Area seems “benign” right now since no money is required from the village, he said.
Local support is important in developing a National Heritage Area, Sakalaucks said.
If Rice Lake is interested in being the information and visitors’ center, Colfax “might be punching above our weight,” Stene said.
Sakalaucks said his professional background would help with developing the National Heritage Area, which could be seen as an advantage that Rice Lake does not have.
Space
The railroad museum would need more space than is available right now for an information and visitors’ center, Stene said.
Space can be obtained, either through working with Synergy Cooperative for a portion of the parking lot, or south of the stone depot and east of the wooden depot in the area where the miniature train ride is set up, Sakalaucks said.
Anne Jenson, village trustee, asked if putting the visitors’ center in that area would mean that the miniature train ride would be removed.
Has the miniature train ride not worked out the way you thought it would? Jenson asked.
The miniature train ride would remain. There is room for a visitors’ center east of the miniature train ride, which is a draw for the railroad museum serving an events center for things like children’s birthday parties, Sakalaucks said.
The miniature train ride has had some mechanical problems with the engines this summer, but those problems are being resolved, he said.
Train show
Regarding the train show that the Colfax Railroad Museum held at the fairgrounds in August to celebrate the museum’s 25th anniversary, the train show was a “tremendous success,” Sakalaucks said.
All of the tables available were sold to vendors, and there were television stations that covered the event, he said.
The Colfax Railroad Museum also has received “good feedback” from the American Pickers episode, Sakalaucks said.
The museum has had a 25 percent increase in visitors this summer because of the American Pickers exposure, he said.
Stene offered a motion to authorize Johnson to work with Sakalaucks on following up and gathering more information about the process for becoming an American Heritage Area and then reporting back to the Colfax Village Board.
After the motion received a second, it was approved unanimously by the members of the Colfax Village Board.
“Our river is better for floating than the Apple River,” Stene commented.
Sakalaucks said he will be pursuing additional grant applications for the Colfax Railroad Museum and asked if the village board wanted him to come back to the board to let them know about the applications.
Village board members agreed that they would appreciate reports from Sakalaucks about the grant applications that he is submitting.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved bartender operator’s licenses from October 14, 2024, to June 30, 2025, for Nolan Prince (Viking Bowl and Catering), Kiah Christianson (Viking Bowl and Catering); Aubrey Swenson (Viking Bowl and Catering); John Riebe (Synergy Cooperative); Megan Vanyo-Wells (Synergy Cooperative).
• Received an introduction from Matt Flatland, Flatland Inspections LLC. Flatland said he works full time for the City of Altoona and that he has been a building inspector since 2017. He is a graduate of Colfax High School, a resident of the Town of Otter Creek, and he is slowly taking over the municipalities for which Fred Weber is the building inspector. Flatland said he is not trying to push Weber out of the inspection business, but rather, he is trying to take over being the building inspector for areas where Weber no longer wants to do building inspections.
• Approved a maintenance assessment agreement with Barbara Zempel in the amount of $950 per month, which is an increase of $50 per month. Zempel’s fees have not increased in many years, Johnson said. Zempel has been the assessor for the Village of Colfax for several decades.
• Approved changing the November 11 village board meeting at 7 p.m. to November 12 at 7 p.m. since November 11 is Veterans’ Day.
• Reviewed the proposed Colfax Rescue Squad budget for 2025 of $784,234. The 2024 budget was $619,451. The 2023 budget was $525, 508. The 2022 budget was $448,018. The 2021 budget was $414,206. The 2020 budget was $414,023. Since 2020, the rescue squad budget has increased by $370,211.
• Reviewed the proposed 2025 budget for the Colfax Public Library of $157,691. The 2025 budget will receive $18,000 less in Dunn County support, decreasing from $98,873 in 2024 to $80,499 in 2025, due to more Colfax residents using the library as opposed to county residents using the Colfax library. The revenue from Dunn County is based on a formula the county has used for many years, Stene said, adding that he is chair of the county’s library committee. Lisa Bragg-Hurlburt, director of the Colfax Public Library, said she and library staff members will be writing more grant applications to try to make up for the lost revenue.
