Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, April 18, 2024 | Vol. 5, No. 8 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Sauk Prairie Healthcare, Anthem dispute letters
New Pestel column: Project 2025
Arena scraps law enforcement agreement
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Universities of Wisconsin forum to be held in Southwest Wisconsin, legislators Roys & Shankland to speak Shaun Murphy-Lopez, Contributed Two state legislators who serve on legislative committees overseeing colleges and universities will speak about the future of the Universities of Wisconsin on Tuesday, April 23rd at 6 p.m. The public forum will take place at the Kratochwill Memorial Building (Village Hall) in Muscoda. State Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Assembly Representative Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) will share their experiences regarding recent higher education funding negotiations. In October 2023, UW System President Jay Rothman closed the UW-Richland campus, which had been a mainstay of Richland County since 1967. UWRichland was one of 13 two-year campuses in the UW System and as recently as 2013 served 400 students. After a series of
Photos contributed by Shaun Murphy-Lopez Senator Roys, on left, and Representative Shankland, on right, to speak at the UW System forum. legislative budget cuts and consolidation measures, 2021 enrollment plummeted by 85% to 60 students.
Also in October 2023, UW-Platteville Chancellor Tammy Evetovich announced the elimination of 111 positions at the
UW-Platteville campus, a staff reduction of more than 12%. This included 49 academic staff, 27 university staff, 20 limited appointments, 11 faculty retirements, and four positions from other categories. In the last six months, the UW System has closed four additional two-year campuses including UW-Fond du Lac, UW-Marinette, UW-Washington County, and UW-Waukesha. Two-year campuses across the state are located in more rural areas and have increased higher education access at lower tuition rates for students. When adjusted for inflation, the UW System has experienced an approximate $0.5 billion legislative budget cut between 2001 and 2022, from $1.7 billion to $1.2 billion. State of Wisconsin appropriations
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Village of Arena Board throws out police automatic aid agreement, replaces resident Public Safety Committee with majority board members Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern At the Village of Arena Board of Trustees regular meeting held April 9, the board ended their automatic aid agreement with the Town of Arena and formed a new Public Safety Committee which will consist mostly of Board members rather than residents. The board also finalized a survey to residents for input on public safety, pledged to consult their municipal attorney about reimbursement for mutual aid the Arena Police provide to the county and voted to change the fire and EMS contract it holds with the town of Arena.
New Public Safety Committee
Trustee Jim Doerflinger was the first to suggest abolishing the current Public Safety Committee, which consisted of
three Arena residents who were not board members. Doerflinger claimed he was unsure if the committee was effective, as communication between the committee and the board was lacking. “We obviously have a really big problem with our police. And they're still not as bad as no communication with this committee,” said Doerflinger, referring to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Arena Police Department. Nick Stroik, Arena police chief, announced in November 2023 the entire department was changing from full-time to parttime and due to inadequate benefits and low morale due to disrespect from the board. Arena officers have since taken positions with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department as the board has held a series of special meetings with closed sessions to
plan how to move forward. The “Handbook for Boards, Commissions, and Committees: Village of Arena”—a reference guide for board, commission and committee members concerning Wisconsin law—says the Public Safety Committee’s role is to counsel Arena police about community concerns and to advise the Board about police operations. The handbook says the committee is to consist of three citizen representatives. Kate Reimann, Arena village president, raised the possibility of having two board members and one citizen on the new committee, rather than three citizens. “I don't want to make it sound like the board is trying to do some power grab here, but something needs to be done by someone. It might as well be us,” said
Doerflinger. Reimann alleged she invited the chairperson of the committee to a meeting in March, and the chairperson didn’t respond. Reimann also alleged the committee held their last meeting in November 2023, even though they were supposed to have a meeting in January 2024. The board passed a motion abolishing the old and forming the new Public Safety Committee. The new committee will be composed of two board members and one citizen. The new committee will meet once a month and report to the full board. Reimann said the board will have to redo ordinance 2.10.040(3), which defines the committee, its power and responsibilities.
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