Though Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and waste storage ordinances weren’t on the March 25 Pierce County Board agenda, supervisors heard an earful from two residents on the topic.

Mary Anne Wise, a 40-year resident of Maiden Rock township, told the board Spring coming means days of endless convoys of tankers hauling manure from Ridge Breeze Dairy and other local CAFOs to fields around Pierce, Pepin and St. Croix counties for spreading. She witnessed the same phenomenon in the fall, she said.
“You will soon have another opportunity, though I can’t tell you when, because factory farms are not required to tell the county, state patrol, school district, residents, when they will be hauling,” Wise said. “Ridge Breeze Dairy has complained publicly that they have not had the opportunity to be good neighbors. They are definitely not good neighbors.”

She accused manure tankers of double parking on highways and hills, spilling manure on the roads, blocking driveways, damaging local roads and creating traffic hazards as reasons they are not good neighbors.  

Kay Kashian, a resident of El Paso township, spoke about more than 100 people meeting in Bay City on March 22 to learn about the effects of CAFO expansion in the county.

“We’re very worried about the manure pits at Ridge Breeze Dairy having a leak, spill or failure,” she said.

She referenced the 55.6 million gallons of liquid waste that would be stored “on karst geology at the edge of steep hills in the Rush River Valley” if Ridge Breeze expands to 6,500 animals like it plans. She worried about rain events causing the manure storage pits to overflow, without a secondary form of containment required in case of such an event.

“Where will the runoff go?” she asked. “I tell you where it will go. I live at the bottom of the Rush River Valley. When 6 inches of snow melted, there was a stream coming down the valley behind my house. Ridge Breeze is on the top of the same valley about 1.5 miles south of the Rush. Anyone who lives here knows what happens in a heavy rain. These pits will overflow. Since these huge pits do not have any safeguards, we ask that the largest manure pit application be denied.”

She asked the Land Conservation Committee and Pierce County Board to protect natural resources by requiring secondary leak containment measures and protections.

In other public comments, Supervisor Neil Gulbranson referenced information from Human Services Director Julie Krings stating that Pierce County has 59 businesses that receive Medicaid payments, amounting to $33 million in 2023.

Elmwood Public Library Director Nick Andrews filled in supervisors on library happenings in the county such as national author William Kent Krueger’s visit to Spring Valley, a $10,000 grant for the Plum City Public Library to upgrade its facility, Ellsworth Public Library approving a strategic plan, Elmwood Public Library receiving a $1,000 grant to develop activity kits aimed at bringing families together, and Prescott Public Library’s receipt of a state scholarship allowing them to hire a teen intern.

Bike trail designation

The board heard a first reading of a resolution to support the designation of the Mississippi River Trail within Pierce County. Sherry Quamme of the Wisconsin Mississippi River Parkway Commission (WMRPC) was on hand to answer questions.

The WMRPC, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, and Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission are working to formalize the designation of 250 miles of the Mississippi River Trail bike route through Wisconsin, mainly on the Great River Road beginning in Prescott. The MRT spans 10 states and 3,000 miles from Minnesota to Louisiana and draws bicycle tourists from all over the country.

Supervisor Mel Pittman expressed concern of bicyclists traveling on Highway 35, and asked if a township road in the town of Isabelle near the Red Wing Airport could be used instead. He cited the increased number of grain hauling trucks that will be heading to the new ALCIVIA grain terminal in Hager City as one reason.

“I will be voting no if this is not changed,” Pittman said.

Quamme said the wider paved shoulders (5-6 feet) on Highway 35 should allow cyclists to get further from that fog line. The county will vote on the resolution at the April meeting.

Other business

• The board unanimously approved the appointment of Michelle Hansen, River Falls, to fill Paula Lugar’s vacancy on the Human Services Board. The term expires in April 2026.
• The board heard a first resolution to amend the Land Management Department fee schedule. They will vote on it at the April meeting.
• The board unanimously approved the reappointments of citizen members Sharon Schulze and Peter Carr to the Board of Health. Their terms expire in April 2028. They also approved the appointment of Cyndi Kern to replace Paula Lugar on the Information Services Committee, along with Liz Gunderson. Their terms expire in April 2028
• The next meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 15 in the County Board Room.