Verona Press The
Thursday, October 10, 2019 • Vol. 55, No. 21 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.25
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Verona Area School District
Glowing with Wildcat pride
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Photos by Mackenzie Krumme
Luann Potratz stocks shelves before the grand opening of Festival Foods which will take place Friday, Oct. 11.
Checking in
Verona Area School District students, staff and families were glowing with Wildcat pride last week leading up to Homecoming on Friday, Oct. 4. The week included daily dress-up days, a parade down North Main Street and West Verona Avenue and the Varsity football game Friday night, which the Wildcats won 54-13. Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly. wethal@wcinet.com and
Festival Foods becoming Verona’s second grocery store SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
Inside See more photos of the Verona Area School District’s annual Homecoming parade Page 7 follow her on Twitter @ kimberly_wethal.
Verona Area School District
Photos by Kimberly Wethal
The finishing touches are placed on the front of the Festival Foods store opening in Verona this week at 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11. On the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 8, crews were placing the signs on the front of the store, and staff inside were stocking shelves and putting the finishing touches on the store. “Verona is one of those communities that’s growing fast,” he told the Press last month. For Veronans, a second grocery store means more options, said city administrator Adam Sayre. “Festival Foods will be closer than those other grocery options outside of the city and will provide additional nearby shopping convenience,”
Turn to Festival Foods/Page 14 The
Verona Press
Festival Foods
Enrollment up for fifth straight year Increase of 110 double what was projected KIMBERLY WETHAL
What: Festival Foods Verona Where: 600 Hometown Circle Hours: 24/7 Open date: 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11 Info: (833) 924-1101
Unified Newspaper Group
For the fifth year in a row, Verona Area School District has seen an increase in student enrollment. As of Sept. 20, the state’s official third Friday in September count, the total
number of students within the district is 5,736, 110 more than the year prior. That increase is twice what the district expected, superintendent Dean Gorrell told the Press, as it budgeted for an increase of 55 students. It’ll result in a bigger budget for the district to work with, but Gorrell said he didn’t know how much because pre-K students are weighted at 0.60% of a
Turn to Enrollment/Page 13
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For most of the past century, Verona has been a one-grocery store town. That’s all about to change Friday. More than two years in the making, Festival Foods is coming to Verona’s west side. And not since Farm and Fleet opened more than a decade ago has a business arrived that could have a significant effect on the city’s retail and job markets. The 24-hour, 67,000-foot grocery store at 600 Hometown Circle is set to open at 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11. It will employ around 230 people and feature non-traditional grocery store amenities like a community room, cafe, vehicle charging stations and free child care. And with its round-the-clock hours, it’s also going to be a change for Veronans used to heading toward the center of the city to Miller and Sons Supermarket, or grabbing groceries on the way back from Madison. Festival Foods store planning director Aaron Aspenson said studies have shown that “a lot of grocery dollars” have been leaving the city, presenting a clear need for another local store.
A Glacier Edge student passes out glow necklaces during the Homecoming Parade on Friday, Oct. 4, along North Main Street.
300 Richard St.
Verona Area Performing Arts Series
Tickets available at: www.vapas.org, State Bank of Cross Plains-Verona, Capitol Bank-Verona or 848-2787