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Wisconsin Farm Support Program

by Lisa Dawsey Smith
Whitewater Banner Staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Announced by Governor Evers on May 20, the Wisconsin Farm Support program is 50 million dollars in direct farm support from federal coronavirus aid for farmers struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic. An estimated 26,500 farms may qualify for payments of $1000 to $3500. Here are the key takeaways farmers need to know as taken from the Department of Revenue website:

Who can apply for the Wisconsin Farm Support Program?

  1. An individual, estate, or trust, may apply for the Wisconsin Farm Support Program if all the following apply:
    • Gross income from farming for tax year 2019 is at least $35,000 but not more than $5,000,000. (Note: This does not include farm income passed-through from a partnership, tax-option (S) corporation, estate or trust.)
    • The primary business activity based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code begins with digits 111 or 112. Search for your NAICS code at: naics.com/search/
    • The value of real and tangible personal property owned or rented and used by the business in Wisconsin is at least 75% of the value of real and tangible personal property owned or rented and used by the business for all operations.
    • The farming business is operating at the time the application is submitted in 2020.
    • The farming business suffered economic damages in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic that exceed the amount of relief available for the business. All qualified farms will receive no less than $1,000 and no more than $3,500 in direct relief payments.
  2. A corporation or partnership may apply for the Wisconsin Farm Support Program if all the following apply:
    • Gross income from farming for tax year 2019 is at least $35,000 but not more than $5,000,000. (Note: This does not include farm income passed-through from a partnership, tax-option (S) corporation, estate or trust.)
    • The primary business activity based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code begins with digits 111 or 112. Search for your NAICS code at: naics.com/search/
    • The value of real and tangible personal property owned or rented and used by the business in Wisconsin is at least 75% of the value of real and tangible personal property owned or rented and used by the business for all operations.
    • The amount of labor costs paid to individuals for services performed in Wisconsin is at least 75% of all labor costs paid to individuals. Labor costs include amounts paid to a professional employer organization or a professional employer group.
    • The farming business is operating at the time the application is submitted in 2020.
    • The farming business suffered economic damages in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic that exceed the amount of relief available for the business. All qualified farms will receive no less than $1,000 and no more than $3,500 in direct relief payments.

When can I apply?
Starting at 7:00 a.m. on June 15 and ending at 11:59 p.m. on June 29.

Find additional details and frequently asked questions here

WHS Hosts Senior Send Off Parade

On Wednesday evening, May 27, after having completed their Portfolio Presentations as their final graduation requirement, seniors were invited to drive through the high school parking lot lined with staff members and school board members who had parked their cars in every other space to maintain social distance. Staff cheered on the seniors as they drove through, some as many as four times! Thank you to Tom Ganser for these photos of the event!

State of Walworth County 2020: Virtual Live Event of Special Interest to Business Owners & Community Leaders – Wed., June 10, 7:30 a.m. – UPDATE: Apologies – We didn’t notice that the information sent to us included no info on how to access this. We have reached out to ask for it to be archived.

FREE VIRTUAL EVENT, open to all!

Zoom Virtual Meeting
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 • 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

In light of the circumstances, this annual event will be of particular interest to business owners and community leaders in Walworth County. It will also be a chance to meet our new County Administrator, Mark Luberda.

In addition to giving the annual update of county operations, Luberda will discuss how the COVID-19 crisis will impact the county going forward. He will also discuss the Health and Human Services department. Sheriff Kurt Picknell will talk about this crisis from a law enforcement perspective. And Tom Walsh, an economist from the Department Workforce Department, will talk about workforce and the regional economy.

Hosted by the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, www.walworthbusiness.com.

Speakers
Mark Luberda
Walworth County Administrator

Mark Luberda

Mark Luberda assumed the role of County Administrator in January 2020. He has nearly 30 years’ experience as a local government manager, having most recently served as the Director of Administration for the City of Franklin, WI, where he worked for 13 years. He has previously worked for the Town of Caledonia, Kenosha County, and the Geneva National Resort homeowners associations. He has a Masters of Public Administration from Indiana University. Luberda was born in Hammond, IN, and grew up in the neighboring communities of Lynwood, IL, and Munster, IN. Despite working for the County since only January, he has lived in Williams Bay, for over 14 years, with his wife, Linda Luberda, who works as a teacher’s aide at the Williams Bay School District.

Kurt Picknell
Walworth County Sheriff

Kurt Picknell

Sheriff Picknell is currently serving on the State of Wisconsin Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB) and is an instructor at the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Command College. Sheriff Picknell serves on the Executive Board for the Walworth County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) and is a member of the Walworth County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CJCC). Kurt is the Past President of the FBI National Academy Associates Wisconsin Chapter, Past President of the Elkhorn Area High School Scholarship Foundation, and previously served as a volunteer fire fighter for the Elkhorn Area Fire Department.

Tom Walsh
Economist, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Tom Walsh

Tom Walsh is a Labor Market Economist for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Tom started covering the seven county southeastern Wisconsin region in March of 2019. Prior to this position, he was a Data Analyst for Milwaukee Area Technical College and worked in multiple roles for DWD.

UW-Whitewater Town Hall Webex Event moved to June 11

As posted to the UW-Whitewater Announcements Page here:

Change of Date: University Town Hall Webex Event

The date of the Webex Event that Chancellor Dwight C. Watson and members of the senior leadership team will host to update the campus community on returning to campus has been changed to 11 a.m. Thursday, June 11.

The change in date is to allow the UW-Whitewater community to participate in the UW System Presidential Search process, which has a 90-minute virtual campus forum with finalist Jim Johnson scheduled next Tuesday, June 9, beginning at 10:15 a.m. The session will be recorded and available to view afterwards. To register in advance to participate in the live forum, click on the “90-minute virtual campus forum” link above.

 Please submit any questions for the UW-Whitewater Town Hall Webex Event on June 11 to Nicole Caine at cainen@uww.edu by 5 p.m. Friday, June 5.

 Webex Event Information

Event address for attendees:
https://uww.webex.com/uww/onstage/g.php?MTID=e35596bb571096081024e6e8919ff3e2c

Event number:
133 398 1563
Event password:
mKFKrPWn792

Audio conference:
US TOLL FREE:
+1-855-749-4750

Access code:
133 398 1563

Fort Memorial Hospital Nationally Recognized with an ‘A’ for the Spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

FORT ATKINSON, WI (Fort HealthCare press release) – Fort Memorial Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Fort Memorial Hospital’s achievements providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients. 

Mike Wallace, Fort HealthCare President and CEO, states “it’s an honor to receive this ‘A’ rating once again; the hard work and effort of our employees to control the quality and safety at Fort Memorial Hospital is showcased in this rating.” “As the Nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Fort Memorial Hospital. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.” 

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Fort Memorial Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ grade when Leapfrog updated grades for spring 2020. To see Fort Memorial Hospital’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook. 

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. 

Fort HealthCare is committed to improving the health and well-being of our communities, with a vision to be the healthiest community in Wisconsin. As the leading healthcare provider in the region, it is our goal to reach as many members of the community as possible with health and wellness messages, providing tools and resources to help individuals improve their health and quality of life, while collaborating with several partners to positively improve the population’s health overall on a long term basis. For more information, visit FortHealthCare.com.

WHS Seniors Say Thank You to Scholarship Sponsors

Scholarship recipients from the Class of 2020 at Whitewater High School are proud to present the following Program of Gratitude to express their appreciation to the Whitewater Community for sponsoring so many wonderful scholarships in the local and area competition this year.

Winning a scholarship is an extraordinary honor and helps seniors pursue their dream of a college education. We would like to sincerely thank each and every person who generously sponsored an award this year. You make a huge difference in the lives of our young people, and we are truly thankful.

The Virtual Scholarship Night Presentation is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mDITT170A5I.

WHS Virtual Graduation Ceremony Was Impressive – Still Available Online; Apologies that Sound was Not Functioning on Cable

Whitewater High School Virtual Graduation Ceremony – Class of 2020 – Sunday, June 7

You may watch the ceremony by clicking here.

UPDATE: (City of Whitewater News Release) Whitewater local cable TV station 990 is currently experiencing technical issues with audio. You may view all recorded programs at https://vimeo.com/cityofwhitewater. We will also share our programs on our Twitter and Facebook pages. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to find a solution.

We will share the Vimeo video of the WHS virtual graduation ceremony on our social media and place it on our website as well so people can find it here. We will also rebroadcast the ceremony on cable and will announce the date once we figure out the sound issue on the station.


Whitewater Company Awarded NASA License; iButtonLink wins bid to construct crucial ventilators

WHITEWATER (iButtonLink Press Release) – iButtonLink, located in the Whitewater Innovation Center, is joining the battle against COVID-19 with its award of a coveted NASA license to produce quick-to-market ventilators for use during the pandemic.

“We have a rare opportunity to use our custom product engineering skills to save lives,” says Rob Olson, president of iButtonLink. “This is one way we are trying to help fight this pandemic.”

Ventilator photo from iButtonLink

iButtonLink is one of just eight U.S. manufacturers selected out of nearly 100 applicants by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to make a new ventilator tailored for COVID-19 patients. Licensed by Caltech, which operates JPL for NASA, the VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) ventilator is designed to be built quickly at a low cost and using fewer parts than a traditional ventilator. The idea is to produce simple ventilators quickly in order to free up traditional ventilators for use on patients with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms.

While JPL normally builds spacecraft, NASA put its engineers to work to quickly build a prototype in response to the pandemic, which they achieved in just 37 days in March and April. The plans then were offered to manufacturers via a registration process to quickly release the product to market.

iButtonLink’s in-house, quick-response design and manufacturing capabilities, designed for rapid custom sensor development and production, enable quick commercialization and production of the ventilators. The company normally designs and manufactures sensor networks for the global community, specializing in sensor solutions. All iButtonLink products are designed and assembled in the Whitewater facility to ensure quality and performance to customer specifications.

Potential customers for the VITAL ventilators include the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

About iButtonLink: Founded in 2003, iButtonLink specializes in the creation of custom sensor solutions for businesses worldwide. Applications range from sensing temperature in large data centers to deploying solutions in the arctic tundra that survive the fiercest of weather.

UW-Whitewater students complete Business Professional Development Program

WHITEWATER, WI (UW-Whitewater Press Release)– The following local students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater completed the Professional Development Program offered by the College of Business and Economics.

– Whitewater, WI: Demetrius Barnes, majoring in Accounting.

– Whitewater, WI: Kara Bennett, majoring in economics.

– Whitewater, WI: Kelly Mandry, majoring in Supply Chain and Operations Management.

– Whitewater, WI: Joyce Mendoza, majoring in accounting.

– Whitewater, WI: Nicole Zajakowski, majoring in marketing.

A total of 57 business majors completed the program, which has been designed to help ensure undergraduate business majors graduate with the career readiness competencies that employers value. The experience includes a series of co-curricular activities that build communication, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, digital technology, intercultural fluency and career management skills.

WHS Senior Photos are featured in the scroll at the bottom of the page

The Banner is celebrating the WHS Class of 2020 with a scrolling display of their pictures at the bottom of our homepage. They are shown in alphabetical order by first name. For at least once in their school career, many of the students with last names towards the end of the alphabet will hopefully be moving forward! Congratulations graduates, and best wishes for your next steps.