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F AMILY O WNED & O PERATED S INCE 1869 Stoughton • Madison • McFarland Deerfield • Sun Prairie • Waunakee
Thursday, March 14, 2019 • Vol. 137, No. 34 • Stoughton, WI • ConnectStoughton.com • $1.25
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Stoughton Area School District
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City of Stoughton
Riverfront goal: balance nature, density Document solicits input, interest from developers ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Derek Spellman
Sandhill students Matthew Lepine, Givon Storkson and Evan Johnston use shaving cream during a recent STEAM experiment.
A start on STEAM
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
In this fast-changing world, elementary school educators don’t know what jobs will be available when their students hit the “real world.” But they expect those jobs to require problem-solving skills and working well collaboratively. That’s the whole idea behind the
new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) lab being put together at Sandhill Elementary School, where solving problems and working together is the name of the game. Students and teachers have served as test subjects this year as educators look for future ways to incorporate those lessons into elementary school classrooms around the district. The project started to take shape a few years ago when district superintendent Tim Onsager wanted to bring some of the STEAM experiences at
the high school and middle school “Fab Labs” to the elementaries, Sandhill principal Jeff Fimreite told the Hub. “We have all these kids at the upper levels, but where could they go if we actually started them out with that experiential learning right here in elementary school, and give them those hands-on manipulatives and what they can create?” he said. Fimreite wrote a proposal and last year received a $5,000 grant from Alliant Energy, with the district also
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SHS student recognized with national volunteer award AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
Ta y l o r Vi n g u m w a s spending a day with children her sophomore year, having volunteered to watch them while their parents attended a class at Stoughton High School. Amidst the ruckus of a daycare environment, she realized how much she loves giving back to the community.
Now a senior, that opportunity with the SHS Key Club is among the reasons she was recognized nationally for her volunteer work late last month. Vingum Vingum’s guidance counselor, Kristin Natzke, informed her that she won the bronze
Courier Hub
Ramsey is next library director Former Middleton librarian to start April 1 ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
Spirit of giving President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national recognition that is an initiative of the Corporation for National Community Service. When Natzke pulled her aside to tell her she was being recognized for all that hard work, Vingum said she couldn’t believe it. “I found it a little hard to believe, I was like ‘I won that? Are you sure?’” she said. “It felt so surreal.”
Vingum has volunteered as a Sunday School teacher at Christ Lutheran Church since eighth grade, as a volunteer waitress on Friday nights at the American Legion for two years and she has also been an active member of the SHS Key Club since her freshman year. She also has a parttime job at Pick ‘n Save. People are nominated
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James Ramsey has been selected to be the City of Stoughton’s next library director. T h e fi e l d of 27 applicants had b e e n w i n - James Ramsey nowed to two in the weeks before final interviews Feb. 28, and the library board and hiring committee decided to tender a contingent offer to Ramsey following a vote at a special meeting that night. Ramsey comes from the Middleton’s Public Library,
where he has worked for the last seven years as head of the adult services department. Though he hadn’t “inked the letter yet,” as of March 7, Ramsey told the Hub he’s accepted the position. “I’m thrilled to lead the Stoughton Public Library,” Ramsey wrote. “I’m excited to get to know the community of Stoughton and learn what our community wants from its public library.” He will take over for outgoing director Richard MacDonald, who will step down in April after eight years in the post. Ramsey’s tentative start date is April 1. Stoughton human resources director AJ Gillingham told the Hub that MacDonald’s last day was planned to be Friday, April
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Stoughton Football Inc. Presents DUELING PIANO FUNDRAISER
APRIL 6TH • 7-10pm Stoughton VFW Post 59 Tickets $25 each
Registration for the 2019 season opens April 1st For tickets and more information, go to www.stoughtonfootball.com
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New lab is coming together at Sandhill Elementary
A path winds its way through green grass with a river close by, as sounds of rushing water join with c o nve r s a t i o n f r o m t h e small crowd that’s gathered to watch paddlers charge through the rapids. A couple walks their bikes slowly across the pedestrian bridge spanning the Yahara from Mandt Park, talking about where to get lunch after buying some sunscreen. They could try one of the new places in the riverfront development, which rises ahead of them, apartment buildings with businesses on the ground floors, green
spaces intersected with walking paths and trees offering shade. Or they could take one of the paths toward Stoughton’s downtown, a five- or 10-minute walk, less by bike. That’s a potential future for the riverfront redevelopment site, which now has weeds growing between concrete slabs and piles of rubble from demolished buildings. Another building on the site, the blacksmith shop, seems soon to come down, whether purposefully demolished or not. How to make that vision reality is the task of the c i t y ’s R e d e v e l o p m e n t Authority, and that process took a step forward last week when the RDA asked 130 developers to submit ideas for their visions for the 11-acre site in the heart of the city. The RDA set certain