Stories you might have missed from across Wisconsin.
Peshtigo: Peshtigo River stream bank ready for renovation.
What should be done when erosion is reeking havoc on a river bank? Officials in Marinette County were faced with that issue and are ready to respond. Marinette County conservationists are ready to move forward on a project that aims to restore a 1,500-foot stretch of eroding river bank on the Hemlock Curve Nature Trail in Peshtigo. Reporting in the Eagle Herald said the Peshtigo River Streambank Protection and Habitat Improvement Project began in 2021 when the Marinette County Land and Water Conservation Division was alerted to erosion along the stream bank. There is currently a steep sandy bank along the river. There are also chunks of concrete that were discarded by a previous land owner. The stream bank project has been estimated to cost $700,000. Marinette County conservationists worked with a variety of environmental agencies to develop the plan. They’re almost ready to begin sourcing materials as hiring contractors. Full Story
Chippewa Falls: City comes together to send 600 care packages to US troops.
It’s great when a plan comes together and even better when a city comes together to execute that plan. Each November, Chippewa Falls comes together to assemble care packages to ship to active duty military personnel. This year’s care package event is a little busier than usual. Organizers of the event told The Chippewa Herald that this year they will ship 600 packages, an increase over 2023 when they shipped 367. In 2022 they shipped about 160. About 50 volunteers at the YMCA of the Chippewa Valley spent Friday sorting and packing the boxes which will soon be delivered to U.S. military personnel across the globe. Local residents are encouraged to submit names of active duty service members for the annual event. The packages get shipped to any soldier whose name, rank and mailing address is provided to the YMCA staff before the packages are put together. Area residents also help support the drive by donating funds and items to put in the packages. This is wonderful. It sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie. Full Story
Milwaukee: MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary gets federal money for new staircase.
Yesterday we were talking about the lack of funding for a local youth homeless shelter. Today we have some good news for a different facility. The MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary, a daytime shelter and resource center on Milwaukee’s north side, is receiving an important addition. The Journal Sentinel attended a press conference and reports that U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and MBHS president and CEO Sister MacCanon Brown announced that $500,000 earmarked from a community project fund has been approved to go toward the construction of a five-story stair tower at the sanctuary. The stair tower will support the ongoing development and use of all five floors of the repurposed warehouse, enabling MBHS to expand its services and programs. Rep. Moore approved and selected the project for member-directed funding from among more than 100 finalists. She said. “There were very many, very worthy projects …, but I thought that one of the proposals that really stood out to me was the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary-the construction of this project to really provide … very basic-level needs for people who are homeless or near-homeless.” Full Story
