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Thursday, August 23, 2018 • Vol. 137, No. 5 • Stoughton, WI • ConnectStoughton.com • $1.25
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City of Stoughton
Council accepts bank’s donation McFarland State Bank deal includes Oct. 15 opt-out ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
Deb Oakland pours coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts table during the Aug. 18 Coffee Break Festival.
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
Getting their fill
Coffee Break Festival draws hundreds to Mandt Park AMBER LEVENHAGEN
Inside
Mandt Park was transformed into a coffee haven this weekend as Stoughton celebrated the annual Coffee Break festival. The festival pays tribute to the history of the coffee break, which locals believe originated in the city. It featured an “all wheels” car show, vendor fair, food and music, as well as activities for children. Autumn Pearl Coffee Bar was the winner of the “Roaster of the Festival” and dozens received awards in the car show.
More Coffee Break photos Page 2 The Hub reported on the establishment of the coffee break in the May 18, 1963, edition, with an article by Rolfe Hanson titled “The Coffee Break Originated on Coffee Street in Stoughton.” Hanson reported that many
Norwegians came to Stoughton between 1850 and 1880 to farm and work at the Mandt wagon factory, near the railroad tracks on what was previously called Coffee Street. The Norwegian women who lived on Coffee Street were called to work with Osmund Gunderson at the nearby tobacco warehouse, under the condition that they would be able to visit their homes to have a cup of coffee and check on their families throughout the day, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. This led to the establishment of the “coffee break,” Hanson reported. Contact Amber Levenhagen at amber.levenhagen@wcinet.com.
Stoughton man owns fastest-growing company in U.S. Company revenue has grown 75,660 percent in three years KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
The shipping industry is a complicated one – just ask Stoughton resident Brad Hollister, owner of the fastest-growing company in the country. It also has plenty of room for improvement, which is where his
Madison-based business, SwanLeap, comes in. The business, 6325 Odana Road, was named the fastest-growing business in the country by Inc. 5000 after the artificial intelligence-fueled shipping logistics Hollister company grew from $125,000 in revenue in 2014 to nearly $100 million in 2017, a 75,660 percent gain over a three-year time span. The key to its success is allowing
businesses to find the cheapest way to move their products, using specialized software that weighs variables like the size and volume of the shipment, weather and road conditions, “insulating” businesses from costs related to market changes. Hollister said when companies use the wrong kind of shipping methods for their products, a few dollars wasted on inefficient methods adds up quickly. “The way that transportation decisions are made is very static, and planned out for a year,” he said.
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Growth slows slightly Construction allows for around $114k in budget increases ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
Stoughton will be able to raise its levy a bit less than it did last year, but the city still showed growth in line with numbers from the past four years, according to data released by the state last week. The city’s net new construction increased 1.59 percent, still slower than the county average of 2.6 percent. State statute prevents local governments from
Inside Get ready for Vikings football with our annual Football Guide
Net new construction 2012: .35 percent 2013: .45 percent 2014: .82 percent 2015: 1.11 percent 2016: 1.94 percent 2017: 1.75 percent 2018: 1.59 percent increasing their tax levies more than their percentage of new construction, meaning that’s one of the few ways to raise revenue. Jamin Friedl, Stoughton’s
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2018
FOOTBALL GUIDE Team Previews Inside Badger South outlook: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Oregon Panthers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Stoughton Vikings: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Madison Edgewood Crusaders: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Big Eight outlook: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Verona Wildcats: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Madison West Regents: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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Courier Hub
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Unified Newspaper Group
A plan to transfer the downtown McFarland State Bank building to the city has been made final with a donation agreement. The city has two months, however, to cancel the agreement. Alders voted 9-1 Wednesday, Aug. 15, to have the mayor sign the agreement, which provides a possible outlet for the city’s future space needs. They had voted 9-2 in May to accept the bank’s donation of the 12,000-square-foot
building, but the agreement provides details on timing and costs. The Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired building sits on the site of a former gas station, which means there is a potential for expensive environmental remediation costs if it is redeveloped. Along with the agreement, the city also plans a two-part environmental study of the site. Mayor Tim Swadley said the next step is figuring out how to use the building efficiently. “Someone could come in and take a look at where staff is, do measurements, see what’s the most efficient way to use the bank to provide services to the