Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, May 1, 2025 | Vol. 6, No. 7 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Village of Arena updates, as clerk/president/trustee resign
Gov. Evers makes a visit to Spring Green
Valley Sentinel shares WNA awards, AAN membership
Pages 1, 3, 11-15
Pages 1, 13
Page 6
Arena trustee questions clerk/treasurer report at village regular April meeting Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter At its April 8 regular board meeting, the Village of Arena Board of Trustees discussed a discrepancy in the clerk/treasurer report, voted on ordinance changes
and the purchase of a new truck and heard maintenance updates for the village. During discussion of the clerk/treasurer report, prepared by Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger, Trustee Becca Raven Umi-
nowicz questioned the reasoning for the March 20 candidate forum—which was promoted on the Village’s website—not being present on the report. “I don’t understand why [the candidate
forum] wasn’t on the board agenda, which was two days before. We should have approved whether or not we were doing this,”
continued on page 11
Village of Arena left without president, new board cleaning up election fallout
Village president, trustee, clerk resign while village weathers multiple elections and open meetings complaints Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter
Following the April 1 election, the Village of Arena has three new trustees joining its ranks, but is left without a village president, one trustee and a clerk/treasurer following a streak of resignations and election complaints. Following the election complaints, filed by Village Trustee Becca Raven Uminowicz, and resignations, the newly-sworn in board held special meetings to ensure governmental operations and continuity. Village of Arena Trustee files election complaints against Clerk/Treasurer and Chief
Picture by Taylor Scott, Managing Editor The new Village of Arena Board meets April 15. From left: Helt, Wilkinson, Uminowicz and Hipsky. Elections Inspector On April 7, Uminowicz filed a complaint
under 5.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes with the Wisconsin Elections Commis-
sion against the Village’s Clerk/Treasurer DaNean Naeger and Acting Chief Election Inspector Kristen Shea regarding the April 1 election. Uminowicz’s complaint alleges procedural violations and vote total irregularities. This complaint follows a previous complaint by Uminowicz under 5.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes from March 21 which alleges procedural violations that Naeger did not hold a legally mandated second randomized drawing after the Feb. 18 primary to redetermine the order of village trustee candidates on the April 1 general election ballot, and instead reused the previous ballot order and merely
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Gov. Evers visits Spring Green, tours Wintergreen property as DALC eyes purchase Taylor Scott, Managing Editor Gov. Tony Evers hiked through the wooded paths of the Wintergreen property in Spring Green near Taliesin on the morning of April 23, flanked by conservationists, state officials and community members from across the Driftless region. The stop, part of the governor’s statewide Earth Week tour, aimed to spotlight a proposed $1 billion investment to renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, a statewide grant initiative that funds land conservation, outdoor recreation and public access projects across Wisconsin—an environmental initiative whose fate rests with the Republicancontrolled Legislature. But for the
Picture via the Office of the Governor Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers speaks with stakeholders during his April 23 Spring Green visit. Driftless Area Land Conservancy, the visit was more than symbolic—it was a
chance to spotlight a local project with huge implications.
While the visit emphasized Evers’ environmental agenda at the Capitol, it also shone a spotlight on DALC’s effort to purchase and restore the nearly 250-acre Wintergreen property. Once home to a ski hill, the land stretches along nearly a mile of biodiverse Lower Wisconsin Riverway. Now, a renewed conservation push could secure it permanently for public use. DALC is a nonprofit land trust working to protect the natural and agricultural heritage of southwest Wisconsin. It works with landowners, government agencies and other nonprofits to conserve working farms, native prairie,
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