HALLOWEEN EDITION: BRING YOUR LITTLE ONE DRESSED IN THEIR COSTUME!
Bring your little one out of the house and let them experience all our gym has to offer! Ages walking and up, $5 per child.
From the Facebook event page.
Food for Fines starts one week from today!
What is Food for Fines?
From November 1st to January 1st, you can receive $2 off your parking fines for each non-perishable food item you bring to us.
- Donations must be made at the Menomonie Police Department during regular business hours.
- Public Safety Violations do not qualify for this program. (Double Parking, Parking in a Fire Lane, Blocking Traffic, etc.)
- All donations benefit Stepping Stones of Dunn County.
We are excited to host authors and musicians Debra Raye King and Thomas Wayne King for a fascinating evening of readings from their newest books, and for new songs from their unique, original studio albums of the Northland.
Debra Raye King is best known for her book “Gravedigger’s Daughter – Growing up Rural.” Thomas Wayne King has published numerous diverse books, and will read works from his newest Northland anthology of forests and farm “BOOTS BLOOMS BARKS & BAAAS!”
Debbi and Tom are writing more real-life Wisconsin stories from their years as shepherds, collaborating on “Love in the Time of Sheep.” Their primitive Sunny Cove Farm in northern Douglas County overlooks beautiful Lake Superior and Duluth-Superior harbors. Daily, their flock of tenacious Icelandic wool sheep offer many tales of joys and sorrows over 15 years so far, with more fun and experiences to come.
Tom and Debbi encourage us to “Create all you can, while you can! Every day is a gift and an adventure!”
From the Facebook event page.
Join Susan Thurin, retired UW-Stout English Professor and bookstore owner, as she recounts her time in Beijing, China. Susan will offer pictures and stories from her book to describe unforgettable experiences about her living situation, food, clothes, and interactions with students and local people. She will have copies of her book for sale and signing.
A China Retrospective combines memoir, travel and history in an account of a year teaching young professionals English in Beijing. It was a time when memories of the Cultural Revolution were still fresh and raw but also a time of openness and hopefulness. The candor of students was often disarming. It was a time when the bicycle reigned as favored transportation and before the age of the cell phone. Living in my own apartment, doing my own shopping and cooking enabled participation in daily life. Travel throughout China from the far northwest to the far south and Tibet added to a deep dive into life in China. Movies, television programming, popular fiction and newspapers round out personal experience in this wide-ranging story.
From the Facebook event page.
ATTENTION: THE BURNING BAN FOR DUNN COUNTY HAS BEEN LIFTED.
MFD still encourages safe and responsible burning practices. Fires must always be attended and a dependable water source should be handy. See other details on the permitting application page.
*Rural residents may now obtain permits HERE.
From the Menomonie Fire Department Facebook page.
Get ready for another fun-filled Community Cookout in partnership with our awesome local Co-ops, all to celebrate Cooperative Month! Join us at Dunn Energy Cooperative (N5725 600th St, Menomonie, WI 54751) where we’ll be rocking some spooky veggie outfits! We'll be serving up free meals and sharing the scoop on how local cooperatives make a difference in our community. It’s all treats and no tricks, so don your best Halloween costume and come join the fun!
Join us for our Halloween Night Skate Party, Thursday, October 31, 6-9pm! ALL AGES ARE WELCOME at this special event featuring Roller Skating, a Costume Contest at 7:30pm with Games, Prizes and KARAOKE is available too! We have an arcade and snack bar that serves delicious pizzas, so dress in your best costume, bring you friends and family for a night to remember! $6 Admission, $4 quad skate rental, $6 inline skate rental.
From the Facebook event page.
The senior class lock-in committee is hosting a Tailgate & Watch Party on October 25th. This will be the Mustang's first playoff game which is an away game. Stop by the Great Escape starting at 4 pm for either a burger or brat plate for $8.00. At 7 pm watch the Mustang's take on the Monona Grove Silver Eagles on the big screen along with fellow Mustang fans. End the night with a pizza buffet! Raffles will be held throughout the evening.
All proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards the Class of 2025 Senior Lock-in. Every year senior parents at MHS work to provide a safe, memorable event for students the evening of graduation. Your support is appreciated!
By Abbey Goers, UW-Stout
What if emotions could manifest themselves? What if we could give them a name and a face? Would depression, anxiety or loneliness be easier to battle?
Renae van der Hagen’s sculpture “Disquiet Dream” begs to ask these questions. Her sculpture – a giant deer on stilted legs – looms a daunting 15 feet tall. His antlers, with tines like sprawling fingers, span 10 feet across. His mouth gapes wide with bone-white fangs and flicking tongue.
Van der Hagen, an industrial and product design senior at University of Wisconsin-Stout, has been drawing and writing down her dreams for years.
She calls “Disquiet Dream” her anxiety monster, inspired by a vivid dream, and drew him when she was still half asleep, capturing her anxious feeling on paper.
Through the first week of November, the sculpture greets guests at the entrance to the Menomonie Rassbach Museum’s Historic Haunted Houses exhibit, a gathering of miniature haunted houses made by community members.
Each haunted house tells a story, and visitors can vote on their favorites in the art and creative writing display.
The museum is also planning a family-friendly Halloween event on Thursday, Oct. 31. “Disquiet Dream” will be displayed through November.
“This sculpture is a perfect addition to the exhibit, as it is not only creepy and incredibly eye-catching, Renae also built it with common materials that can inspire visitors of all ages to see that art is accessible and can be made with almost anything,” said Melissa Kneeland, executive director of the Dunn County Historical Society, which operates the museum.
The pandemic struck during van der Hagen’s first year at college. She didn’t have a roommate, and being away from home, felt isolation and constant anxiety.
“In my dream, this creature is standing behind me, above me, and I’m like, ‘Doesn’t anyone see this thing?’” she said. “He’s my anxiety monster because nobody else can see him, but I can feel him. Four years later, I’ve gotten used to some anxiety, but he’s always there. He’s still looming, but he’s not as scary.”
Van der Hagen, of Sauk Rapids, Minn., brought her anxiety monster to life in Professor Kelly O’Brien’s Contemporary Sculpture class in fall 2023.
“I wanted to create a scale model, but Kelly said, ‘Make him full size,’” she said, and so the massive, mythical beast manifested in the School of Art and Design’s studio lab spaces.
Deano Samens, instrument shop coordinator; and Doug Stodola, machinist, helped van der Hagen build the sculpture’s frame in the shop before moving it to the Process Lab, where she completed her creation in less than three weeks.
He’s made of 2x4 boards, chicken wire, papier mâché and cardboard. Sheets spread under the sculpture represent the dream world.
“I came in after hours to complete him. Doug helped with the build. I did the head at home with cardboard. He’s pretty delicate, even for his size,” she said. “The longest stint I worked on him was for 16 hours straight. My roommate brought me pizza. There aren’t any windows in the lab, so you lose track of time.”
This was van der Hagen’s first large-scale project. Her second large-scale project – a set of three cow sculptures, completed with a team of students, faculty and staff, including Samens – was recently installed on the lawn outside the new Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery cheese factory in Menomonie.
“During our class critique, Kelly said she didn’t like how white his teeth are. But I explained that he doesn’t eat anything. He doesn’t have to. So, there wouldn’t be any wear or dirt on his teeth,” she said.
“Disquiet Dreams” first appeared outside of the lab when Samens and Stodola talked to coordinators at the university’s Furlong Gallery and asked to have him as part of the fall 2023 SOAD Senior Show. He stood on the second floor of the gallery atrium and received such a grand response from viewers that he remained there through the spring 2024 show, when van der Hagen’s family was able to visit and see her sculpture.
“I didn’t think he would live longer than the class critique. I was ready to dismantle him,” van der Hagen said. “But there were so many people talking about him and taking pictures of him. It was one of the most interactions we’ve had with a sculpture piece at Furlong.”
Van der Hagen worked with Samens and Stodola over the summer, when the museum reached out with interest in having “Disquiet Dream” installed for the haunted house exhibit. “I’m very grateful that Doug and Deano helped me: one, in the building process; two, in moving the sculpture to Furlong; and three, in getting in contact with the museum and moving him there.”
Van der Hagen thinks collaboration is an absolutely important aspect of public art and industrial design.
“You have to know people, and those people have to know people,” she said. “It takes a community to help push out art so others can see it. Kelly, Deano and Doug – I have amazing people who push me to present pieces for the public instead of just for a class.”
The Rassbach Museum collaborates with UW-Stout students on several levels – from research, design and engineering projects to showcasing student art. For example, master’s in design graduate Jackson Yang’s thesis exhibit Intergenerational Threads and Klaire Johnson’s and Emma Walstra’s Fashion Without Fabric design “The Prime Divine” are currently on display.
“It allows the museum to benefit from the fresh and creative ideas of students, along with providing a testing ground for student work,” Kneeland said. “Oftentimes, the remarkable accomplishments of students are not seen off of campus, while at the museum, their work can be enjoyed by and inspire members of the wider community. I also believe that collaboration with nonprofits shows students how important and valuable participating in community collaboration can be, no matter where they end up,” she added.
Van der Hagen has thought about making “Disquiet Dream” again in the future, in a smaller size. After the exhibit has closed, she plans to mount the sculpture’s head. It may be placed next to the hippogriff sculpture, “Buckbeak,” at the museum as part of a future fantastical animal exhibit. “Buckbeak” was created by a studio art graduate Anna Strong in 2017 and stood in the Furlong atrium for some time before its installation at the museum.
Van der Hagen began her college career in the mechanical engineering program but was also looking into graphic design. She decided to switch majors during the pandemic. “With industrial design, I get the creative side and the making of things. It took me a bit to find it, but I love it.”
She will graduate in spring 2025 and would like to work in the ideation process and modeling, taking designs and making 3D physical models.
UW-Stout, a member of the Universities of Wisconsin, is Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, with a focus on applied learning, collaboration with business and industry, and career outcomes. Learn more via the FOCUS2030 strategic plan.
The Menomonie Girls Cross Country team was crowned BRC Champions this past Saturday at New Richmond. It was a fitting end to a regular season in which they dominated, winning every race.
Junior Lauren McCalla was the individual conference champion with a time of 18:26. Freshman Bree Barfknecht finished 3rd (18:56), and Junior Bennett Schmitt was 8th (19:38). McCalla, Barfknecht, and Schmitt made BRC 1st team all-conference.
Rounding out the scoring runners for Menomonie were Sophomore Bella Drake, who finished 10th (19:42), and Freshman Addison Schuler, who finished 13th (19:45). Drake and Schuler made 2nd team all-conference.
The Mustangs' other varsity runners are Juniors Kyah Barnhart and Sara Palmer, and Senior Anika Schoenberger.
The Menomonie girls have won five of the last seven BRC conference titles, and this is the eleventh year in a row that they have finished in the top two.
"The runners that came before built a great culture; our girls are really benefiting from this, and they continue to carry the fire." said girls' coach Craig Olson. "As for the race, the girls won handily, and we really didn't have a great day; everyone was still a little tired and sore from workouts. Lauren had a great day to win, and Bree finishing 3rd was outstanding for the young freshmen. Overall, though, our best races are yet to come, and we're really looking forward to sectionals on Saturday."
The Boys Cross Country team finished 2nd at Saturday's BRC conference meet. While the Mustangs had only one top-ten finish, all five of the scoring runners finished within 25 seconds of each other.
"When we started the season, I told our boys that we needed to learn to run as a pack because that would be our strength and our key to doing well in Championship meets," said boys' coach Adam Topper. "When you race as a pack, you have some room for error. This pack mentality got us the second-place finish at the BRC meet. We've had some injuries and illnesses, and guys just stepped up, and we keep moving forward. It was a great team run at the Conference meet."
Leading the pack was Sophomore Evan Olson, who finished 10th (16:43), followed by Freshman Logan Topper in 12th place (16:52), Senior Peter Cimino in 13th place (16:54), Sophomore Owen Pelzel in 15th place (16:57), and Junior Luke Ray in 19th place (17:08). Olson, Topper, Cimino, and Pelzel made 2nd team all-conference, and Ray made honorable mention all-conference.
Other varsity runners for the Mustangs are Seniors Grant Burns and Ben Bowman, and Sophomore Noah Winder.
In the JV race, the Mustang girls finished second and the boys finished 3rd.
Menomonie will host the WIAA Division I Sectional Championships on Saturday, October 26th. Menomonie's course is behind the High School. The girls will race at 12:00 pm and the boys at 12:45 pm. The top two teams will advance to state, along with the top five finishers whose teams did not qualify.
The entry fee is $5 per person (under five is free). Pay cash at the gate or purchase an electronic ticket at Go Fan.
All photos by Karl Palmer or Joel Anderson.
