Nov. 2, 2022

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8 for the highly anticipated mid-term partisan elections. Besides heated contests for state offices such as governor, attorney general and state treasurer, voters will see State Senate, State Assembly and United States Congressional candidates on their ballots.

According to County Administrator Jason Matthys, the county portion of residents’ property tax bills should be lower in 2023, down $110 per $200,000 property.

The Prescott School Board will see cost estimates at its November meeting on a plan to flip-flop the student bodies at Prescott Middle School and Malone Intermediate School.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will celebrate its 125th anniversary jubilee Friday, Nov. 11 at Tattersall Distilling (1777 Paulson Road, River Falls).

A Durand woman who used to work at Spring Valley Health Care & Rehabilitation Center allegedly cut off a 62-year-old patient’s foot without permission and made jokes about putting it in a taxidermy display.

The Pierce County Board of Supervisors Finance & Personnel Committee butted heads with Sheriff Nancy Hove Monday, Nov. 7 on the procedure for refilling the vacant chief deputy role, soon-to-be-vacant patrol lieutenant position and other management positions in the sheriff’s office.

Bay City American Legion Post 357 Adjutant Devin Feuerhelm will receive a Purple Heart from Rep. Ron Kind at the Ellsworth Middle School Veteran’s Day program at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11.

Theater-goers are in for a treat when River Falls High School’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” opens this weekend. Director Sarah Plum encourages you to order your tickets ahead of time, as they are not guaranteed at the door.

Nov. 16, 2022

A St. Paul man fleeing police may have regretted his decision to drive through a cornfield when he buried a stolen car deep into a large manure pile on Nov. 6 in the town of Oak Grove.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation doesn’t have a multi-use trail from downtown to Freedom Park in plans for the 2026/2027 Highways 10 and 35 road construction project in Prescott. Instead, the DOT wants to install a six-foot sidewalk that would butt right up to the curb of the road.

It was a day Army Reserve combat veteran Devin Feuerhelm thought would never come, but come it did. On Friday, Nov. 11 in front of a packed house. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind awarded him a Purple Heart at the Ellsworth Middle School Veterans Day ceremony.

Twelve students, 12 days, and countless memories. The perfect description for Elmwood High School students’ trip to Belize this past summer.

Pierce County filed suit against Sheriff Nancy Hove Nov. 7 in Pierce County Civil Court, claiming she has no constitutional authority to hire sheriff’s department personnel without input from other county departments and employees, and if she does so, it’s violating county policy.

Arnold “Arnie” Roen, the River Falls American Legion’s oldest member, died Nov. 12, the day after Veterans Day and less than three months from what would have been his 102nd birthday. He had been a member of the local Legion Post 121 for 67 years. In Veterans Day remarks to River Falls School students the prior day, Post 121 Commander Missy Hildebrandt had used the World War II veteran as an example of the “Greatest Generation.”

River Falls School District and city officials, Renaissance Academy students, community members and employees from Derrick Building Solutions celebrated a chilly groundbreaking for the new Renaissance Charter Academy on Thursday, Nov. 17.

Nov. 30, 2022

The River Falls City Council unanimously approved a resolution Nov. 9 authorizing a feasibility cost sharing agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), who will study the feasibility and impact of removing one or both dams from the Kinnickinnic River as part of the Continuing Authorities Program.

The Prescott School Board will decide next month if it endorses a plan to swap the occupants of two of its buildings. The board has heard ideas from administration over the last few months to move grades 6-8 to what is now Malone Intermediate School (1220 St. Croix St.) and send grades 4-5 to what is now the Prescott Middle School building (125 N. Elm St.)

The site of the former Spring Valley Elementary School at S200 Sabin Ave. will soon be the new home of Emmaus Church, which hopes to open its doors for Sunday service on Dec. 18. That is the tentative plan, if everything continues to go according to schedule.

Chef Steph’s new café will open its doors on Monday, Dec. 5 at 467 W. Main St. in Ellsworth, if all goes according to plan. The grab and go café aims to connect local farmers and customers by making and showcasing delicious food.