Stories you might have missed from across Wisconsin.
Whitefish Bay: City approves $5.5 million contract to fix sinkhole.
Summers are a great time to go to the park. Unfortunately this summer was a tough one for the people in Whitefish Bay who experienced a giant sinkhole at the entrances to Big Bay and Buckley Parks. Now, in what Village president Kevin Buckley said is one of the most expensive projects in village history, the city has approved a $5.5 million contract to repair the sinkhole. Reporting in the Journal Sentinel says that the sinkhole formed after the failure of 90-year-old storm sewer infrastructure 70 feet below ground. A unanimous vote by the Village Board approved the contract and final price with both the construction company and the engineering firm that will handle the project. According to Director of Public Works Matt, Collins the project will include both temporary and permanent repairs that will fully restore the collapsed utility infrastructure and also landscaping at the parks. The $5.5 million contract is a guaranteed maximum cost, which means that if the construction firm overseeing the project exceeds that amount, they’re the ones on the hook. If the project comes in under budget, the village will get back 75% of the remaining funds with the construction firm getting 25%. The project is expected to be completed by May 2025. Full Story
Stella: Hunters asked to submit deer tissue samples.
We talk about PFAS a lot on this show because it is a serious issue. Usually the discussion focuses on water, but now the Wisconsin DNR is concerned about PFAS in deer. The DNR is asking hunters to submit deer tissue samples for PFAS testing near a small Oneida County town. WPR reports that last year, the DNR said some of the Highest levels of PFAS contamination in the state and country were found within private wells in the town of Stella. Sampling showed levels as high as 35,000 parts per trillion for two of the most widely studied chemicals: PFOA and PFOS. Now, the agency is asking hunters to submit about 100 grams of muscle and liver tissue, or samples about the size of a thumb, from deer harvested within three miles of the northern Wisconsin community. A wildlife toxicologist said that they hope to collect as many samples as possible. The DNR had previously detected concerning levels of PFAS in fish in the Moen Chain of Lakes. PFAS are a class of chemicals used in cookware, food wrappers and firefighting foam that don’t break down easily. High exposure to the chemicals can lead to a variety of serious illnesses. Full Story
Brodhead: Conservation group bringing back popular “Guerilla Cookies”.
Is there anything better than a warm cookie right out of the oven. For decades, the Madison area had it’s own favorite cookie that according to legend, was also a political symbol. The Guerilla Cookie, sold by Ted Odell in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s was thought to be a thing of the past, but a Brodhead conservation group is resurrecting the cookie for a good cause. A WPR feature says that Odell stopped making the cookies in the early 90’s and the recipe was thought to be lost after his death in 2021. In reality Odell had gifted the recipe and some land to the Southern Wisconsin Land Conservatory. They operate the Three Waters Reserve on land in Brodhead that had been in Odell’s family for generations. The cookies are being brought back by the Land Conservatory to raise money for conservation efforts. So, what is a “guerilla cookie”? They’re really wholesome, heavy, full of what was called wholemeal, so whole wheat flour and a whole variety of other ingredients that most people don’t necessarily think of as ingredients in cookies. This is really an “if you know, you know” situation. Full Story
