Stories you might have missed from around Wisconsin.
Sheboygan: Employers use different strategies to offer access to child care.
Working parents have a big worry that is more important than their jobs, child care. It is a challenge that is not lost on their employers. Several Sheboygan County employers are finding ways to support staff with persisting child care challenges. The extent to which employers can support child care needs may be constrained by budgets and staffing, but flexible scheduling was a benefit offered across several local employers contacted by the Sheboygan Press. The Sheboygan Press reported that more than 400 people who responded to a Sheboygan County Child Care Impact Survey said flexible scheduling was one offering that makes workplaces more attractive. Other attractive offerings included child care stipends, PTO policies and on-site providers. The survey revealed 53% of respondents reported child care was the largest reason they weren’t working. Ryan Wilinski, director of Community partnership for Children said community members at a survey results meeting said they felt their employers didn’t prioritize child care. “They just feel that their employer doesn’t care, doesn’t understand what they’re going through,” he said. At least six employers in Sheboygan, including Aurora Health Care, and the Children’s Museum offer flex scheduling to their employees. Full Story
Oshkosh: Young woman spears 4th largest sturgeon ever.
You might have read the old man and the sea, but have you heard the one about the young woman and the lake. Settle in because this isn’t just another “big fish story”. 22-year-old Hayley Herzig, who caught the fourth-largest Sturgeon ever speared on the Winnebago system on Saturday, Feb. 8. Herzig’s F4 female weighed 180.5 pounds and measured 79.3 inches long, almost dwarfing her in size. Herzig’s sturgeon was one of 82 speared on opening day. According to reporting in the Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website, the Winnebago system holds one of the largest lake sturgeon populations in North America and one of just two where lake sturgeon can be speared. Spearing sturgeon dates back to 1932 and despite regulations changing the method of spearing hasn’t changed in almost 100 years. Full Story
Fond du Lac: Sons of American Legion Squadron 75 Freezin’ for a Reason to raise funds for homeless vets.
Sons of the American Legion Squadron ’75 will host its second annual Freezing for a Reason fundraiser Feb. 15-16 at American Legion Post 75, including 50-50 and bucket raffles throughout the weekend. The evening will start with a $10 spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 15, followed by Military Appreciation Night at the Fond du Lac Bears game next door. As described in the Fond du Lac Reporter, Sons members and other participants will camp outside Post 75 overnight to raise awareness for homeless veterans and the fact veterans are twice as likely to experience homelessness than those who didn’t serve in the military, according to member Shawn McCrary. After the sun rises Feb. 16, a $7 pancake-and-sausage breakfast will finish the weekend from 9 a.m. to noon. Last year’s event raised almost $15,000, all of which went to to aiding homeless and at-risk veterans. Full Story
