Community


WALK FOR WATER

You can walk for water on Saturday, September 17 with the first ever Central Wisconsin Water Walk organized by the Central Wisconsin Nature Foundation. This ten-mile walk is to make us aware of our precious water supply and how we need to care for it. The Central Wisconsin Nature Foundation is a group working with the town of Rome and the Wisconsin River Power Company to preserve Twin Lakes Nature Preserve. They have made a trail, built a little free library and plan to build a nature center on the property located off of Adams County Z. The Central Wisconsin ...

Read More


BUILDING LOCAL ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITY WEALTH

Henry George in his classic Progress and Poverty (published in 1879) said that all wealth resulted from the labor of the worker. The worker used his skill and creativity to transform natural resources into things to satisfy human needs and desires. This process was the basis of capital as well as all economic activity. Capital did not create jobs, workers did. The current paradigm says economic growth, jobs, and prosperity are created from the top down. Give the super wealthy more and they will “invest” in the economy, jobs will be created, and everyone else will ...

Read More


STAND PROUD: A TRIBUTE TO JOHN SPIEGELHOFF

Many of us came to know John through his work representing employees. John was a fine person who cared about people being treated fairly and with respect. He lived his values. This showed in his commitment to both the union members he represented and the communities in which he worked and lived. All of us at MiddleWisconsin.org will miss John and want to thank his family for sharing him with us. "Stand Proud" is union song, written by Paul Hambleton and performed by "The Great Schools Union Band" in 2005. The "GSUB" consists of Paul Hambleton, Mary Bell, Glenn Schmidt ...

Read More


PART I: MINUTES REGARDING THE PEACE MARCH FROM THE COUNTY’S DIVERSITY AFFAIRS COMMISSION IN APRIL 2016

(Editor's Note: The following is a record of the Diversity Affairs Commission meeting on April 22, 2016 at 9 a.m. in the Employers Resource Conference Room of the Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau. You can read about the goals of the march as reflected in the minutes. The commission's discussion on the nature of the goals took place before the successful motion made in the county meeting to support the march.) The original can be found here: https://www.co.marathon.wi.us/Portals/0/Departments/MCB/Archives/Boards%20Committees%20Commissions/Diversity...

Read More


PART II: OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE MARATHON COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCING RETENTION OF VON BRIESEN & ROPER, S.C. TO INVESTIGATE

(Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from the Marathon County Executive Committee meeting on Friday, June 3, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. in Assembly Room B-105, 500 Forest Street, Wausau. The committee and other individuals went into closed session to discuss a personnel matter before they returned to open session and the chairperson announced that Von Briesen & Roper, S.C. has been retained by the county to do an investigation on an employee matter. Recording secretary excused from closed session meeting. Non-committee members attend. View minutes below. The official ...

Read More


PART III: THE OFFICIAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE VOTE LEADING TO BRAD KARGER’S 30-DAY SUSPENSION

(Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from Marathon County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Marathon County Courthouse. You can learn about the specific amendments and votes of that evening. The original can be viewed here: https://www.co.marathon.wi.us/Portals/0/Departments/MCB/Archives/County%20Board/Board%20of%20Supervisors/2016/COBD_20160719_Minutes.pdf ) The meeting (the open-session portion) is available to watch online on the public access website: https://waac.viebit.com/#CnlyLh4XzEDd Hover over the bottom of the ...

Read More


Income Inequality

“That is not fair!” How many times have we heard that from our children or perhaps at work? Human beings are hard wired with a sense of fairness-of what is right and what is wrong. Most people believe that they should be fairly compensated for the work that they do. Most workers believe that a Corporate Executive Officer (CEO) of a company should get a little more than the average worker since they run the company. But over the last sixty years, a little more has turned into a whole lot more and we should be very concerned about this. Since 1950, the ratio of ...

Read More


CELEBRATE 240 YEARS OF AMERICAN “FREEDOM!” “Liberty and Justice…!”

This July 4th, join us, your family, friends and neighbors, in celebrating our country’s 240th year of “Freedom!” Last Memorial Day, I saw a sign outside a St. Vincent de Paul resale shop. It said, “Remember those who gave their lives for our Freedom.” That started me thinking. I grew up in a Marine Corps family. My brother and I were raised to respect the values our country was founded upon – Fairness, Respect and Community Good. We believed in “Freedom” and “Liberty and Justice for all….” but I’d never really considered the meaning of the ...

Read More


TOLERANCE OF HUMAN DIVERSITY

“Tolerance, n., willingness to accept behavior and beliefs that are different than your own although you may not agree or approve of them.” Cambridge Online Dictionary Why is tolerance so lacking in America? In a modern, pluralistic, democratic society “live and let live” is essential. Tolerance is necessary to freedom and the functioning of society. You cannot be free unless your neighbor is also free to be different. We constantly pontificate about freedom but don't want to grant it to other people. Intolerance, hate, bigotry, and racism have many causes ...

Read More


THANK A VETERAN WITH ACTION, NOT WORD

The theme of the Superior Fourth of July parade is “Thank a Veteran.” This is a nice sentiment. But the cliche “thank you for your service” is too often just a meaningless platitude. It is like saying “thank you for shopping at...” when the clerk couldn't care less. Along with “support the troops” bumper stickers, it is part of the propaganda that supports our too frequent wars. Real thanks must be more than words. Real thanks is doing what is right and needed for veterans and their families. It is working to make our country what it should be for everyon...

Read More