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PEPIN, Wis. (WKBT) — “Once upon a time… a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.” This opening line launched a legacy.

Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up to chronicle the joys and hardships of frontier life—stories that later became the beloved "Little House" books and, eventually, a hit television series "Little House on the Prairie", starring Melissa Gilbert as Laura. Today, fans still travel to western Wisconsin to see where it all began.

Pepin, Wisconsin—Wilder’s birthplace—is home to a museum dedicated to her life and the memories that inspired her first book, "Little House in the Big Woods". The story focuses on her early years in the region and includes scenes readers still remember decades later: encounters with a bear, tales of Cousin Charley, and the famously odd “pig’s bladder” moment.

Wilder was born in 1867, about 10 miles from Pepin, in the small log home referenced in her writing. The routines of her family—her father hunting to provide food, her mother cooking and preserving for long winters, and young Laura playing alongside her sisters Mary and Carrie—became the foundation of the world she later put on paper...

RIVER FALLS - The annual Pierce County Economic Development Corporation Awards Breakfast recognized the 2026 award winners Thursday, May 7 at Junior's Restaurant & Tap House in River Falls. 

Awards winners included: 

Cornerstone Award: The late Jack Hines, the organization's highest honor for an individual who demonstrates extraordinary leadership and long-standing dedication to Pierce County's future. 

Professional Business Leader Award: Bevcomm is a fourth generation, family owned communications company founded in 1895 providing telephone, internet, video surveillance, managed IT, web  and cabling solutions throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Small Business of the Year: River Road Coffee, owned and operated by Megan & David Gooselaw, is a mobile  coffee café offering specialty espresso drinks, fresh brewed coffee, teas, handcrafted cold brew, flavored lemonades, bakery items and more.

Tourism & Hospitality Award: Crysal Cave in Spring Valley, home to Wisconsin's longest cave, multiple tour options, mini golf, gem panning, prairie habitat and more. 

Economic Boost Award: Foley Company in Prescott, established in 1934, has a long-standing tradition of innovation and excellence in manufacturing high-quality grinding equipment for the turf industry. 

To learn more about events and resources, visit pcedc.com

See a Google Interactive Map Here!

The Brief

• The former Lincoln Middle School in La Crosse will be converted into 51 affordable apartment units called Heritage Lofts at Lincoln Middle School

• Construction begins next January with completion expected the following year

• The historic building closed in 2023 due to a major school district deficit and has remained vacant since being sold

LA CROSSE (WKBT) — The former Lincoln Middle School in La Crosse will be converted into affordable housing.

The school closed in 2023 due to a major school district deficit. The building was awarded historic status in 2024 and sold the following year. The property has stayed vacant ever since.

In 2027, the site will become the Heritage Lofts at Lincoln Middle School, including 51 apartment units along with a community space.

Construction will begin next January and is expected to be complete the following year...

Ken Note: If you would like a weekly newsletter featuring Workforce Housing opportunities in Wisconsin please take a look at WWHNews.com, Leo or I will be happy to sign you up for free..

Before helping a turtle cross, drivers need to keep their safety top of mind. This means turning on hazards and safely pulling over to let surrounding traffic know the vehicle coming to a stop. Drivers should check both ways before heading into traffic.

Officials at the Wisconsin DNR provided tips on how to safely move turtles across the street.

"Most of our smaller turtles, like painted turtles and map turtles, they're easier to just kind of pick up by the shell," said Andrew Badje, a Wisconsin DNR conservation biologist. "However, if you're dealing with a larger snapping turtle, they can be a little feisty."..

Tackling the ups and downs of rural prosperity

Wisconsin’s rural communities face challenges such as housing shortages, aging populations, and, for some, the loss of schools and healthcare facilities. 

But through collaboration, cooperation, and community involvement, rural regions are attracting new residents and achieving economic development gains. 

Those successes were among the highlights of the Wisconsin Rural Partners Summit held April 29-30 in Prairie du Chien. The conference featured a series of panel discussions focused on life outside the state’s bustling urban centers. 

Navigating challenges together

Rural trends are changing, and communities within those regions should consider working across municipal boundaries and taking advantage of a growing range of opportunities, speakers said in a session about the state of rural Wisconsin. 

“Rural has become the new buzzword,” said Melissa Hunt, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Association, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education foundation. “That makes the work we do even more important right now.”... 

MADISON, Wis. — FixWIBridges.com launches today, providing the public, local officials, and policymakers with transparent, easy-to-access information on the condition of nearly 17,000 small local bridges and culverts across Wisconsin.

These critical local structures, spanning just 6 to 20 feet, have never been included in federal and state tracking systems. As a result, Wisconsin policymakers and communities, like in most states, lacked comprehensive data on the safety and stability of these structures and the potential impacts on the routes they depend on every day.

“We have long known that our local small bridges were aging, but we could not fix what we did not measure,” said Debby Jackson, executive director of the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin (TDA). “This website takes years of data and puts it directly into the hands of the taxpayers and leaders. It provides another reason why Wisconsin requires a clear roadmap to fund our most urgent needs and prioritize future investments.”

Thanks to $12.5 million in the 2023-2025 state budget, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), in partnership with local government associations, county highway departments, and stakeholder organizations, completed the first statewide inventory of these small structures. The effort identified nearly 17,000 small bridges and culverts...

FixWIBridges.com

The Wisconsin DNR says some safety changes include operators and passengers are now required to wear a seatbelt in a UTV and no towing objects bearing any person on a trail or route.

La Crosse County Sheriff John Siegel says the changes are aimed at increasing safety.

“We’re seeing more and more ATV and UTV trails and routes open up. Some of it is evolving with that, things like having to wear seatbelts and making that a requirement, not being able to tow somebody behind the ATV or UTV down a trail or on a roadway. Things that are going to keep people safe,” said Siegel.

There are also new safety rules regarding eye protection and front window tint.

VIROQUA Wis. – After years of planning and fundraising the long awaited rebuild of Eckhart Park’s main playground is now on a firm timeline with demolition set for mid July and a community build week scheduled for late September.

Parks and Recreation Director Kale Proksch told the Viroqua Public Works Committee last week that design details are nearly finalized and that the next few weeks will focus on ordering materials lining up volunteers and preparing the site.

He said the city is working from updated playground drawings that shift equipment slightly away from mature trees and fine tune the location of picnic tables and fencing to meet safety standards.

MINDORO, Wis. (WEAU) - At Stello Farms in Mindoro, FFA students spent the day teaching Melrose-Mindoro Elementary students about agriculture.

The day is part of the high school’s Food for America program. The program helps students develop leadership skills by engaging with peers and youth to share information about agriculture.

“It’s a great opportunity for the high schoolers to take everything they’ve learned throughout their time in high school and middle school agriculture classes, play the role of the teacher, and get the opportunity to educate the younger generation,” Melrose-Mindoro FFA advisor Maddie Dobbs says.

Around 50 elementary students get to visit 12 different stations, ranging from working with animals like cows, pigs, and sheep to agronomy and farming equipment...

VERNON COUNTY, Wis. – Vernon County took a major step toward reshaping two of its most flood prone watersheds Thursday when officials announced that federal funding has been approved for engineering designs to remove or rebuild a system of aging flood control dams on Coon Creek and the West Fork of the Kickapoo River.

The announcement came at the May 14 meeting of the Vernon County Conservation and Education Committee where County Conservationist David Hettenbach laid out how the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service will pay for detailed design work on the PL 566 dams that were built for flood control in the mid twentieth century..

Nitrate pollution is especially acute in rural areas and has been linked to disease. More than 80 groups nationwide say immediate action is needed

Crawford, Vernon, Richland counties

LA CROSSE, Wis., (WLAX, WEUX) – The Great River Road has been named the #1 Scenic Drive in America for the second year in a row my USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Explore La Crosse says the Great River Road spans 3,000 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast traveling through areas such as La Crosse...

LA CROSSE, Wis., (WLAX, WEUX) – A project that looks to bring together people of all ages in a shared environment is now welcoming adults.

Some adult programs are beginning to open up at the Hillview Life Center.

The center held a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier this month to mark the beginning of programs.

LA CROSSE, WI — The City of La Crosse has been awarded a total of $2.4 million in 2026 Housing Tax Credits from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) for the 7^th St. Residences and Heritage Lofts at Lincoln projects.

"As our city continues to grow, increasing our housing supply is important for social and economic development,” Director of Planning and Development Andrea Trane said. “This is a huge win for increasing access to affordable housing for all residents and for the City’s workforce housing needs.”

WHEDA awarded $47.8 million for multifamily housing tax credit developments throughout the state, with La Crosse receiving $1,110,800 in federal credits for 7^th St. Residences. Heritage Lofts at Lincoln received $721,713 from the federal government and $521,401 from the state...

Nature is anything but predictable. Just ask hunters who spend many hours in the woods.

That certainly was the case recently for Carson Bender, 19, of Wisconsin Rapids, who was attacked by a bobcat when he was turkey hunting near Nekoosa on April 18.

Bender caught the bobcat on video and it stalked the hunter, lunging at him and striking his left arm just before Bender took a shot at a gobbler that was near him. Bender was scratched but otherwise unharmed as the bobcat ran away...

SPARTA, Wis. (WKBT) -- Sparta Middle Schoolers transformed a new local park. 

90 students in the STEM program, 6th through 8th grade, spent Tuesday afternoon planting over 800 flowers. The flowers are in the shape of the sun. 

Wisconsin Pollinator Conservation Specialist Kathryn Prince says it's the perfect age to get involved with nature.  "This is the next generation of scientists coming out here and learning about this stuff. And this is when people start to get excited about things and decide what they're going to do for the rest of their lives... so having the opportunity to explore native plants and animals."

They can be found on the intersection of Long Ct. x Short Ct. in Sparta. The Google Maps location for the garden can be found here...

Western Wisconsin Regional Outdoor Recreation Plan for Rural Areas 2025

Working together to make the Mississippi River Region a great place to live and work.

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