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This Weeks Articles for 5/26/2026 ...

Wisconsin dairy breakfasts celebrate June Dairy Month. Agri-View is publishing a calendar weekly in print, as well as online, with updates as we receive them.

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Elevate Vernon Grants Open

Vernon County is excited to announce the opening of the 2026 Elevate Vernon Grant Program. Elevate Vernon is a small business grant designed to help local small businesses and entrepreneurs take the next step in starting, growing, strengthening, or transitioning their operations. In addition to financial support, the program has the option to help increase capacity for business owners to invest in their own growth through technical assistance and business skill development...

Video news story at the link!

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 'Big Woods' story lives on in Pepin, Wisconsin

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...

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PCEDC honors business, community standouts of the year

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

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Where history lives: Inside one man’s mission to preserve Monroe County

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, there is a natural pull to look back — to reconsider the people, places and moments that shaped the nation.

In Monroe County, Wisconsin, that reflection carries a certain irony. The county bears the name of James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president, even though he never set foot in the region. Yet the story of Monroe County is not defined by its namesake, but by the generations of people who built lives there — and by one man who has spent more than two decades making sure those lives are remembered.

For more than 20 years, Jarrod Roll has served as director of the Monroe County Local History Room and Museum, a position that is at once highly visible and largely unseen.

Visitors know him as the person who can guide them through exhibits, answer obscure questions, or help trace a family lineage. But much of his work happens quietly — behind the scenes, in the steady, meticulous effort required to collect, preserve and interpret the story of an entire county...

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Regional Economic Development Entities

Mississippi River Regional Planning Commision	SouthWest NorthWest State	Coulee Regional Business Center	THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI MANUFACTURING ALLIANCE
	Vernon Co. Economic Development	La Crosse Area Development Corporation	SBDC La Crosse
Economic Development	Community Development	Economic Development	Economic Development

Trempealeau County Economic Development	The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC)	Vernon Economic Development Association	Workforce Connections, Inc.
The Pierce County EDC EDC quarterly	Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council	Job and Business Development (JBD) Program
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority	USDA Rural Development Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Economic Development	Economic Development

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New site FixWIBridges.com shining light on Wisconsin’s nearly 17,000 local small bridges, including Vernon County

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

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Wisconsin Rural Partners Summit stresses collaboration to achieve success

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.”...

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Between Minneapolis and Madison is a Wisconsin antique village with fishing and camping

Antique lovers can find lots hidden gems throughout the Midwest, which is why it's such a great region for traveling by car, like this road trip to one of these Midwest towns that are time capsules of 1950s Americana. Between Minneapolis and Madison, you'll find a small Wisconsin village with a surprising treasure trove of antique shops: Hixton.

With a population of under 500 people, Hixton is a tiny village with an antique scene that's worthy of a much bigger city. In fact, Hixton is home to four large antique shops, leading one YouTuber to dub it "the town of antique malls" that "has more vintage than population." Local magazine Volume One calls Hixton "the Antiquing Capital of Wisconsin" with more antique stores "than the number of taverns and churches." Serious antique hunters say that it's easy to spend full days in Hixton, combing through antiques in search of a gem...

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Safe Routes To Schools

MRRPC can help create your Safe Routes to School planning and implementation programing. Safe Routes to School programs encourage children in grades K-8 to walk and bike to school by creating safer walking and biking routes. SRTS programs improve walking and biking travel options, promote healthier lifestyles in children at an early age, and decrease auto-related emissions near schools.

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Flood control dams in Coon Creek and West Fork Kickapoo one step closer to removal with approval of design funding

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..

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The Great River Road

MAP		Discover Wisconsin Great River Road Video

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Mississippi River groups tell feds to act on nitrate contamination

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

Mississippi River conservation groups are among a broad coalition urging the federal government to take action against nitrate contamination in drinking water, which they say has reached "crisis levels" and is a public health emergency.

Nitrate, which forms when nitrogen-rich sources combine with oxygen, has long been found in the country’s surface waters and groundwater, where it can end up in people's drinking water. Consuming water with elevated levels of nitrate is linked to birth defects, thyroid problems and some cancers.

Agricultural fertilizer and manure are the most common sources of nitrogen to groundwater, with septic systems and lawn fertilizers also contributing. An April analysis from the Environmental Working Group found that about 18% of the U.S. population from 2021 to 2023 used drinking water from community systems with 3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or more of nitrate, the threshold at which the Environmental Protection Agency says indicates contamination.

Advocates say nitrate contamination has struggled to capture public attention but is costly and hazardous to those it affects...

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Turkey hunter sits face to face with bobcat in Wisconsin woods

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...

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First intergenerational center in Coulee Region begins adult programs

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.

It will work as an intergenerational center. Bringing together older adults with mild dementia and young children in a shared space.

“It helps individuals feel connected to their community. It has better health outcomes for the children, as well as the adults. That community connection really makes a difference in outcomes for individuals who are starting to have early onset dementia and cognitive decline.”

The YMCA, UW- La Crosse, and the La Crosse County ADRC are providing the programming.

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Sparta Middle Schoolers plant hundreds of flowers at park

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...

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Tourism Resources and Events in Our Region

Western Wisconsin Regional Outdoor Recreation Plan for Rural Areas 2025

Monroe County Events Calendar	Crawford County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Vernon County Events Calendar Visitor Guide
La Crosse County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Trempealeau County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Buffalo County Events Calendar
Pepin County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Pierce County Events Calendar	Jackson County Events Calendar Visitor Guide

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Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC)

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

The Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission provides planning and economic development services to improve the region`s environment, economy and quality of life. We serve a nine county region, providing studies and planning services, resources and data to help with your grant applications or reporting needs, and business loans.