My months are marked by these open threads, and they always seem to go quickly.
We start the month with a pivotal election in Kronenwetter. Ken Charneski challenges current president Chris Voll for village president, and five will face off for three village board seats. With one seat left open since Joel Straub tried for the president’s chair (he lost in the primary in February) at least one and possibly three village board members will be newcomers.
The Wausonian covered the forum at village hall, and you can read all about it below:
Kronenwetter took up a lot of real estate in The Wausonian last month. Not by design, but I kept getting information about new stories to write - and they’re legit stories. I have calls to answer on Monday as well, possibly with more.
Other stories this month include:
And:
But that’s not all The Wausonian covered this month. The community was devastated when North Central Health Care announced, and then made good on that announcement, that they were closing the Community Corner Clubhouse. Well, its director Mike Frankel never gave up on the project, and started a new non-profit to do just what Clubhouse did. And it could be open as you read this (I need to follow up to see if the new Granite House was able to open on April 1 as Frankel hoped - he did say that soon might be a long-shot).
The story I didn’t write
A survey came through Tom Tiffany’s email list asking for input on wolves. Tiffany just introduced the Trust the Science Act that calls for wolves to be delisted from the federal endangered species list.
I took issue with this way of gathering data since the vast majority of his email list is going to be his supporters (as would any politician’s email list), and most others in the district wouldn’t even know about the survey. Other than a link buried in a press release about the proposed legislation on his site, I see no other mention of the survey; not on any of Tiffany’s social media, or say a banner on his website.
I decided to hold off on a story other than to mention it on this past week’s Weekly Wausonian with a link to the survey.
The main reason I held off on a story is I want to see how he will actually use the results. If they are presented as a survey of his supporters, fine. But if they’re presented as a survey of the CD7 as a whole, I will need to call that out.
The wolf situation is complicated, as that future story will show.
Coming up
The homelessness issue keeps getting more complicated, and The Wausonian is keeping an eye on the situation. Last week’s tour was eye-opening; most disturbing was that people were actually living under the the west side of Scott Street Bridge. I think I failed in my stories last week to truly illustrate how treacherous the path to get down under the bridge there is. It’s the steepness of a waterslide and is pure ice straight down and there isn’t much to stop someone from sliding right into the water. Unbelievably, homeless individuals make their way down there to sleep, and police sometimes have to get down there themselves in cases of emergencies.
Another is that volunteers appear to be trying to cover up the problem. They cleaned the area prior to the tour on Tuesday, making the situation look different than it normally is, according to Deputy Chief Matt Barnes. Parks Director Jamie Polley said they take out one-ton trucks of trash on a regular basis, and took out two loads over three days recently.
It’s staggering to think that anyone lives like that, and even more mind-boggling to think someone would choose to live like that. I recently came across a post talking about solutions to homelessness and the writer explained that there is a spectrum, from folks who are one warm shelter and meal away from getting on the right track, to those who need an extensive array of services to get into a situation even remotely stable.
There’s a lot more to be said on the issue, and expect more about the situation soon.
But first, Tuesday’s election which The Wausonian will be following closely.
Today’s topic of discussion (remember, it’s open to everyone): How do you think the election will go in Kronenwetter Tuesday?
As far as Tiffany goes, yes he has reached out to his constituents which is ANYONE who chooses to receive his newsletter. Democrats and liberals can do this. Since the Twitter file drops, we now know there is a governmental/media-orchestrated and pervasive suppression and silencing of conservative voices. That is not conspiracy; that is now proven beyond a doubt. If you don't hear about these various topics, blame the liberal media and anyone who shuts down/out conservative voices. They are there; you have to be willing to read and listen to that voice. It is not their fault they are not being heard. And why would they reach out to media outlets that deliberately mock and misrepresent them?