We have the perfect addition for Thanksgiving in the pantry! Cardinal Glass FG in Menomonie made and donated 240 awesome Thanksgiving side bags!
Each bag contains green beans, cranberries, stuffing, pie filling, pie crust, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Thank you so much @cardinalmenomonie for your donation.
Happy World Kindness Day!
What a perfect day to highlight a generous donation from WESTconsin Credit Union They made some fantastic birthday bags to distribute to those with a birthday in our food pantry!
In addition to the birthday bags, they sponsor our vehicles which allow us to serve our pop-up pantries, deliver food boxes to homebound seniors, and more. Thank you WESTconsin for your kindness and support of your community members!
Appreciation post for our wonderful volunteers and staff that have been working so hard on remodeling our Broadway Shelter backyard and keeping the shelter apartments clean
Over the last 6 months, the backyard has been transformed into a safe place for kids to play. A fence for privacy and safety has been added, a playhouse has been built, landscaping was completed, and so much more. Stay tuned for before and after photos.
Community members are invited to attend a meeting in early December to discuss the results of the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment and help plan next steps.
KT Gallagher, Director of the Dunn County Health Department, explained, "Every three years, we work with our partners to survey the community and find out what the biggest health issues are that need attention."
This year's results highlighted the following health priorities for Dunn County residents: access to childcare, water pollution and environmental concerns, access to healthcare, alcohol misuse, and access to safe and affordable housing. The full report can be foundHERE.
To address these issues, the Health Department and Health Dunn Right, a community health coalition, will hold a kick-off meeting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, at the Rassbach Museum, 1820 John Russell Road, Menomonie. The meeting will discuss the report and plans for future action. To attend and get a free boxed lunch, please register by November 27 by filling out this online form.
Gallagher said the Health Department encourages everyone in Dunn County who cares about these issues to come to share their ideas.
"We need the community's help to come up with solutions that make sense for Dunn County," Gallagher said. "Your life experience may be exactly what we need to help solve these issues."
Guest speakers at the event include Steven McCarthy, Executive Director of the United Way St. Croix and Red Cedar Valleys, and Dr. Corrie Norrbom from the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service. Speakers will discuss the survey results, next steps, and how the community can work together to take action.
There will also be small discussion groups at the meeting to talk about the different health priorities, where participants can help set goals for action.
Promotes The Drums Along the Red Cedar Music Camp Fund during live auction
The Dunn County community gathered on Nov. 2 to support the work and mission of the Community Foundation of Dunn County (CFDC) for its 14th Annual Jeans & Jewels Gala. Over 290 guests filled the Great Hall and Ballrooms at the UW-Stout Memorial Student Center to support the event, which included a delicious dinner and hors d’oeuvres, over 100 raffle and auction items, and a Dessert Dash. On the night, the community helped the CFDC raise over $100,000 net proceeds.
A new feature brought to the live auction this year was created to bring awareness to funds held at the CFDC. This year’s featured fund was The Drums Along the Red Cedar Music Camp Fund and the item auctioned was an Epiphone banjo.
Originally purchased by Marilyn Tye for her husband Dan Tye, the banjo carries a deep connection to music and philanthropy. Together, the Tyes started the Drums Along Red Cedar Music Camp Scholarship Fund, which provides opportunities for young musicians to attend summer camps and nurture their talents. Epiphone banjos are known for their quality craftsmanship and rich sound, making this instrument not just a musical treasure, but also a symbol of the Tyes' enduring commitment to music education. The winning bid supports this important fund, helping the next generation of musicians explore their passion. It is the Foundation’s plan to continue this new tradition, bringing awareness to a different fund each year during the live auction.
Attendees also participated in the Dessert Dash - a crowd favorite since 2018 - and raised an impressive $28,939 for charity in just a matter of minutes. Guests collectively bid as a table and designate a runner to “dash” for their table’s dessert. The highest bidding table dashes first, followed by the second highest, and so on until all desserts are claimed. This year’s winning bid was the highest amount in Dessert Dash history at $6,000.
All of the desserts were donated and prepared by both home bakers and professional bakers, ranging from layer cakes and creamy cheesecakes to fruit tarts and comforting pies; a perfect way to end an enjoyable evening.
Guests also enjoyed chances to win bucket raffle packages, four specialty raffles, and bid on over 40 silent auction items/packages and 21 live auction items/packages. All of our bucket raffle, specialty raffle, silent and live auction items were donated by local businesses and community members.
This special night was a record-breaking success, all thanks to the generosity of the Dunn County community. A special thank you to Platinum (Presenting) sponsor Waznik Heike Group, LLC; Gold Sponsors Cardinal FC, WESTconsin Credit Union, and Jim and Lori Lewis; and Silver Sponsor Mayo Clinic Health System.
The staff and Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Dunn County are humbled by the immense generosity displayed by the community and ask them to save the date and join in the fun next year on Saturday, November 1, 2025!
All proceeds from the Jeans & Jewels Charity Gala support the Community Foundation of Dunn County, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The Foundation works with individuals, families, and businesses to help them achieve their charitable goals to support the needs of communities in and around Dunn County both now and in the future. Grants are made to non-profit organizations that support arts and culture, health, and social services, education, the environment, and a wide range of community improvement projects.
Collaboration with St. Paul’s School introduces children to engineering; completed toys gifted to school
By Abbey Goers, UW-Stout
Menomonie, Wis. – On a warm fall morning, 17 kindergartners from St. Paul’s School of Menomonie recently joined a class of University of Wisconsin-Stout students in Assistant Professor Kevin Dietsche’s Design for Industry course, unknowing of what excitement and imagination their day was about to bring.
As part of a toy design project, a user-centered design experience, teams of college and kindergarten students would brainstorm, draw and build a prototype with craft supplies of their ideal toys. They would then create rapid prototypes of the toys through artificial intelligence software and later build the toys in the university’s Woods Lab in Jarvis Hall Tech Wing, before delivering the final products to the children at their school.
In the Woods Lab classroom, Dietsche sat on the floor with the children, surrounded by his college students. He began by asking the children how to spell their names. They also spelled K-E-V-I-N together – a way for him to introduce himself to the young group and to open a new conversation.
“When you were coming to school this morning and you looked out the window, what did you see?” he asked.
The children listed several natural and mechanical objects: Leaves, clouds, bushes and farm combines.
“Were any of those things made, created or designed? Who made them?” he asked.
“People,” they tentatively answered.
“Right,” Dietsche nodded. “Everything we do here in this class is about design. And these students – these college students – they design and build things. They’re going to be engineers. Can you help us design today? You get to be a junior engineer and work with a college student friend to help design a toy,” he said.
Dozens of little eyebrows arched in anticipation, and with safety goggles on they broke off in teams of twos and threes to gather around the lab tables.
Dietsche believes Design for Industry is a special class because of its cross-disciplinary nature. Students represent several degree programs, including mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, engineering technology, technology education and business administration.
Sparking creativity and building connections
The college and kindergarten friends began with a brainstorming Get to Know You exercise to help inspire what toys they might create and to connect with their young clients.
“I like that my students have the opportunity to meet the Stout students,” said Sandra Hemling, a kindergarten teacher at St Paul’s. “It sparks creativity, and they learn something new, even if they’ve never thought about engineering before. They can see the steps it takes to plan a design.
“I love how the kids are excited to come here. Even my shy ones are interacting. And they think, ‘Stout is somewhere I could go to school.’ It’s neat to see them thinking about the future,” she said.
Their toy ideas cover a range as vast as any 6-year-old’s imagination: a tank-copter (a combination of a tank and helicopter, of course); several animal species, such as horses, scorpions, cats and a bass in a bubble bath; dolls and action figures inspired by Nintendo and Disney characters; and a princess cat named Cakey.
As the kindergartners explain their grand ideas, the Design for Industry students make rough sketches of their young clients’ imagined toys. With small or large corrections here and there (Cakey, for instance, does not wear a dress but is covered in sprinkles), the rough sketches are complete.
The kindergartners then colored their ideas in every color of the rainbow, and using colored popsicle sticks, markers, crayons, glue, cardstock, pipe cleaners, Lego bricks, clay and more, the teams built low-fidelity prototypes of the toy concepts.
The last part of the morning’s activities was to produce rapid prototyping images of the imagined toys.
Dietsche’s students brought out their laptops, and using Adobe Firefly they typed in descriptions of the toys. The software generates four images based on the prompt, and just like the sketching exercise, the prompt can be edited to produce images to better match the children’s vision.
“Firefly is a tool to help make sure we know we are understanding what our clients want. It’s based on user-centered design. Instead of it taking weeks to ideate a client’s vision, we can do it in minutes, saving time, materials and money,” Dietsche said.
Within the next few weeks, his class will use 3D printing and solid modeling to help prototype parts for the toys. The kindergartners will return to UW-Stout to see the 3D prototypes.
Through the Taft Professorship, Dietsche has bought two new 3D printers for the Woods Lab.
Technology education in motion
The class includes a handful of technology education students who are working toward their K-12 licensure through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Although graduates of the program will be teaching middle and high school students, technology education Program Director Mike Mills thinks the project is a good opportunity to involve elementary students in the engineering design process.
“The project also offers our students a glimpse into the cross-curriculum concepts of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). It’s a good model for them to participate in with the younger students,” he said.
Future teachers Cadence Calkins, of Glen Flora, and Annika Schlueter, of Oconto, were helping their kindergarten friends to construct Cakey the Princess Cat out of Lego bricks and purple pipe cleaners and draw and color a Disney’s “Frozen” Elsa-style dress.
“It’s cool to see the developmental changes between the middle and high students we’ve worked with and these kindergartners. They think differently – that’s important to recognize,” Schlueter said. “Where these young kids see big details, like colors and shapes as being most important in the design process, the older kids tend to overthink things and look for perfection right away.”
Calkins enjoyed the creative freedom of working with her kindergarten friend and being able to experiment in design with the younger level.
Regarding perfection in design, she said, “As a teacher, students look up to you and so it’s good to let them know that you fail sometimes too. It’s one way to be relatable – to let them know that it’s OK not to be perfect.”
She gave an example of one of her own design failures. “On a 3D print project, my object printed way too small. I realized I was working in centimeters instead of inches. I learned to double-check my measurements,” she said.
Testing and failing are part of the learning process
In fall 2023, the project’s first semester, Dietsche’s class invited first-graders from St. Paul’s to collaborate on the same project, with an end goal of building mid- to high-fidelity prototypes of the imagined toys using ash tree lumber provided by the City of Menomonie’s Urban Forestry Board.
The finalized prototype was a pull-toy – Timothy the Duck, complete with wings and oval wheels, which gave it a waddling motion.
Timothy was designed by a team of mechanical engineering students: Josh Goodreid, Grace Goodreid, Ayden Veness, Deric McConnell, Shane Schauss and Vinny Bonofiglio. They are now in their Mechanical Engineering Capstone 2 course and are working to build a manufacturing cell, an automated machine, to produce multiple models of the toy duck.
The team presented its manufacturing cell prototype – constructed of wooden dowels and cardboard – to the kindergartners, showing them how it automatically assembles the pieces of the duck, including its body, wings, wheels and axle.
Together, the children and engineering team built a version of Timothy.
“My favorite part is that he waddles,” one child said, while another flapped his arms up and down and said, “My favorite part is the wings.”
The team explained how it went through several phases of testing Timothy before reaching a final model. In the first model, two wings were glued in place on either side of the duck’s body. But when testing to see if the wings were stable, one broke off when the team wheeled the pull-toy over a curb.
A modified second model, with a joint to strengthen each wing, broke as well.
“We failed again, but we learned again,” Josh said.
The team’s third design included a slotted groove in the duck’s back, where wings carved from a single piece of ash slid into place. After many more tests, the team decided this design worked the best.
Once the manufacturing cells are completed, Dietsche hopes to use the remaining ash lumber to make many Timothy toys to give back to kids in the community through various means, like Toys for Tots.
Technology education is offered through the School of Education, which is home to nine undergraduate degrees, five graduate degrees, certificates, certifications and online professional development courses.
Menomonie, WI – Ready to share the stories that define your community? UW-Stout’s Citizen Journalism Workshop invites area residents to join a six-session series that covers the essentials of journalism. The six-week course, which meets in-person for the first and last sessions and virtually in between, will provide participants with the foundational tools to write and publish engaging, well-researched stories about the events, people, and issues shaping their community.
Workshop Details:
Dates: January 28 & March 4 (In -person at UW-Stout), February 4, 11, 18 &, 25 (Virtual).
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Cost: $29 with Scholarship; $149 Regular.
Scholarships Available: For community members, scholarships are generously funded by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, Eye on Dunn County, and Local News Group. Apply now at www.uwstout.edu/citizen-journalism.
Led by Dr. Kate Roberts Edenborg, a seasoned journalist and educator, this workshop covers interviewing, fact-checking, story structure, editing, and more. By the end of the course, participants will submit a finished story for potential publication and be prepared to continue to share authentic stories from their community.
Who Should Attend? Open to all community members, this workshop is ideal for those looking to make an impact through writing—no experience required.
Why Enroll? This is a unique chance to gain practical journalism skills and amplify the stories that matter most to the Chippewa Valley. “This workshop empowers participants to be thoughtful, informed storytellers,” says Dr. Edenborg.
Ready to Register? Don’t miss out on this opportunity to contribute to the stories of our region. Visit www.uwstout.edu/citizen-journalism to learn more and secure your spot today!
For questions or additional information, please contact: Javan Pham, Outreach Program Manager, UW-Stout Continuing Education Conferences[email protected]
About UW-Stout Continuing Education:UW-Stout is dedicated to offering accessible, high-quality learning experiences that foster community connections and personal growth.
Menomonie Fire Department Captain Brady Bleskacek has been named the Fire Inspector of the Year by the Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association.
Captain Bleskacek was nominated by Menomonie Fire Department Chief Denny Klass.
In his nomination, Klass noted that Bleskacek has made many improvements to the department's inspection program since becoming the Inspections Officer in 2020. The most significant was moving the department to an electronic inspection platform. Bleskacek spent countless hours designing a program to meet the department's specific needs and then trained the entire department on proper use.
"The move to an electronic format has been a game changer for our department," said Klass. "It has reduced man hours and improved compliance. None of this would have happened without Captain Bleskacek."
This award is given out annually to an outstanding fire inspector, career or volunteer, who has demonstrated superior achievement in the area of fire prevention. This award is based upon the nominee's accomplishments and service. Bleskacek received this award at the Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association Annual Conference held in October.
Felton, Lammert, Jaime Luevano finished regionals meet in top 10
By Casey Parrott, UW-Stout Athletics
Menomonie, Wis. – The UW-Stout Women's Cross Country Team will send three individuals to NCAA Division III National Championship meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind.
Felton is making her second trip to the national meet. This year she qualified with a third-place finish at regionals with a 6k time of 22:04. Last year, she earned All-American honors with a 23rd place finish at the national meet with a time of 21:30.
Lammert is making her first appearance at the national meet after racing to a second-place finish at the regional meet in a time of 22:00.
Jaime Luevano finished eighth at the regional meet with a time of 22:16 to punch her ticket to her first national meet.
The National Championships is hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and will be held at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
Blue Devils finished WIAC in third place tie, won bid for bowl
By Casey Parrott, UW-Stout Athletics
Menomonie, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils football will play in the fourth annual Culver’s Isthmus Bowl at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23. The Blue Devils will play Wheaton College (Ill.) at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie, Wis.
UW-Stout finished the season 6-4 overall and 4-3 in WIAC play. Wheaton College finished 8-2, 8-1. The schools will meet for the first time, with both teams making their first Isthmus Bowl appearance.
The bowl game features the top two teams from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) that did not make the NCAA Division III Championship.
The Blue Devils finished in a four-way WIAC tie for third place with UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls and UW-Whitewater, and received the Isthmus Bowl bid from the conference’s tiebreaking procedures. The Wheaton College Thunder placed second in the CCIW standings.
UW-Stout is the third program to represent WIAC in the Isthmus Bowl. UW-River Falls faced WashU in 2021 and 2022, with UW-River Falls earning victories each year. UW-Platteville defeated Augustana last November in the 2023 Isthmus Bowl.
Polymer overlays planned for seven structures in five northwest Wisconsin counties
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is seeking public input on a proposed bridge rehabilitation project involving seven structures in five counties.
The public is invited to visit the project website, review the materials and submit comments by Dec. 31, 2024, by:
To extend the service lives of the bridges, WisDOT is proposing to:
Make concrete surface repairs to bridge decks.
Clean bridge decks.
Place a thin polymer overlay over the bridge decks.
Work is planned on structures in the following counties:
Chippewa County:
B-09-0124, B-09-0125 and B09-0126: All carrying WIS 124 over O’Neil Creek between Eagleton and WIS 64
Dunn County:
B-17-0225: WIS 25 over Hay River north of Wheeler
Eau Claire County:
C-18-0018: US 12 (Clairemont Avenue) over the pedestrian underpass just east of Keith Street in the city of Eau Claire
Pierce County:
B-47-0213: US 10 over Plum Creek in Plum City
Trempealeau County:
B-61-0238: US 53 over a branch of the north fork of Beaver Creek northeast of Ettrick
During construction, all highways and bridges will remain open to traffic, but motorists will encounter daytime lane closures controlled by flagging where work is occurring.
Construction currently is scheduled for 2028.
For more information regarding traffic impacts, transportation news and improvement project updates in Wisconsin’s Northwest Region:
Motorists are reminded that using handheld cell phones in Wisconsin work zones is illegal. Alerts and updates provided via these sites are not intended for use while driving. When driving, your focus should always be on driving.
Join FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) Team STORM at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and unleash your creativity in Business (Donor/Sponsor Relations, Social Media & Outreach), Electromechanical Engineering (Design, Fabrication, Building & Electrical), Programming (Java & Autonomous Systems), and Strategy (Data Analysis, In-Game Strategies & Alliance Selection)!
Be mentored by UW-Stout students and gain hands-on experience with robotics, teamwork, leadership, and innovative problem-solving!
Compete this interest form for additional information.
Informational meetings will be held on:
11/20/2024, 11/22/2024, 11/25/2024: 6 PM
Location (Hybrid):
In Person: Room 142, Vocational Rehabilitation Building, UW-Stout
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing STEM education for students in grades pre-K through 12. Through hands-on robotics programs, FIRST empower youth to build skills, confidence, and resilience. Since its inception in 1989, FIRST has engaged over 3.2 million youth from more than 100 countries.
About the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
FRC is one of FIRST’s robotics programs. Each January, a new robotics challenge is announced, and high school teams have six weeks to design, build, and program robots measuring roughly two to three feet wide and three to four feet tall.
These robots compete on basketball-court-sized fields, with events emphasizing FIRST’s core values ofgracious professionalism and coopertition (cooperative competition) - principles that prioritize respect, kindness, and collaboration. Teams and individuals can win awards recognizing technical excellence, team spirit, and impactful outreach efforts, such as the Gracious Professionalism Award and the FIRST Impact Award.
About FRC Team 10264 - STORM
Based at UW-Stout, Team 10264 - STORM is open to all high school students in the Menomonie area, regardless of prior experience. Our program offers students hands-on STEM opportunities to explore engineering, programming, strategy, business, marketing, and outreach.
By joining Team 10264 - STORM, students can:
Be mentored by UW-Stout students, gaining insight into academic and career pathways.
Gain hands-on STEM experience by designing, building, and programming a competition robot.
Compete in robotics competitions locally and nationally.
Develop essential skills in leadership, problem-solving, project management, and teamwork.
Explore business, marketing, and community outreach, inspiring future generations.
Team Meetings:
November - December (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 PM to 8 PM)
January - May (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 PM to 8 PM / Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM)
Alternative meeting days/times can be arranged to accommodate team members’ needs.
