News

Popularity of Ice Age Trail Confirmed: 4.65 Million Users Annually
Volunteerism reaches record-high: 103,439 hours in 2024

Cross Plains, Wis. (December 19, 2024) – 2024 will go down as an impactful year in the history of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Ice Age Trail Alliance. From Trail construction milestones to record-breaking volunteer efforts, and record-setting use, the Alliance continues to lead the way preserving and enhancing the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

“2024 has been a stellar year for the Ice Age Trail Alliance,” says Luke Kloberdanz, Executive Director and CEO of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. “We are deeply grateful to our volunteers, supporters, and partners for their commitment to the Trail. Together, we’ve made incredible strides in protecting, creating, and celebrating this natural wonder.”

Expanding and Enhancing the Trail

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail now boasts 702.6 miles of blazed, hike-ready trail, an increase from 698 miles in 2023. This growth includes two new segments:

• Montello: a 2.0-mile path through the town, which replaces the connecting route that followed the busy, less scenic Highway 23 through the community.
• Algoma: 2.6-mile path through downtown and along Lake Michigan. 

Beyond adding new segments, the Alliance focused on improving existing segments to enhance the hiker experience:

• Greenbush Segment (Sheboygan County): A reroute off a bike path to a winding footpath closer to glacial geology.
• Blue Hills Segments (Rusk County): Began a transformative multi-year, 19-mile reroute, shifting the Trail from logging roads and snowmobile paths to a primitive Trail through forested landscapes, offering views of the surrounding topography.
• Plover River Segment (Marathon County): Volunteers installed more than 300 steppingstones to eliminate muddy conditions, creating a magical hiking path.
• Hemlock Creek Segment (Barron, Rusk, Washburn Counties): Replaced aging boardwalks with five new structures, improving access and safety.

The final Trailbuilding project of the year focused on the Alliance-owned Muir Preserve in Marquette County, where volunteers constructed 800 feet of boardwalk. While currently a standalone loop, this segment holds the promise of connecting to the official Trail in the future.

Protecting the Trail for Future Generations

In 2024, the Alliance and its partners completed 14 land transactions, protecting critical properties that will enable future Trail development. These acquisitions lay the groundwork for nearly four miles of future Trail.

Record-Setting Volunteerism

Volunteers continue to be the backbone of the Alliance’s success. In Fiscal Year 2024, volunteers logged 103,439 service hours on Trail-related activities—a new record, surpassing last year’s high of 100,666 hours. These contributions, tracked by the National Park Service’s Volunteer-in-Parks program, position the Ice Age Trail among the nation’s top National Parks for volunteer engagement.

Growing Trail Use and Economic Impact

The Ice Age Trail’s popularity was confirmed. A study, released in 2024, from the Fiscal and Economic Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, revealed 4.65 million people use the Trail annually. This growing use generates $431 million in annual economic output, driving significant sales and services in communities across Wisconsin.

“The economic impact study confirmed what we anecdotally knew to be true,” says Kloberdanz. “More people than ever before are getting out on the Trail.”

“They’re attending group hikes. They’re becoming Thousand Milers (people who complete the entire Trail). They’re participating in the Mammoth Hike Challenge. And, they’re giving back by volunteering on the Trail,” he says. “The “Covid bump” in usership has not dwindled,” he says. “The Trail is now a part of people’s lives.”

“As we look to 2025, we’re excited to build on this year’s momentum. The Alliance will continue working to connect people to the glacial history and beauty of Wisconsin as well as its many unique communities,” Kloberdanz says.

---

About the Ice Age Trail Alliance:
The Ice Age Trail Alliance is a nonprofit member- and volunteer-based organization that conserves, creates, maintains, and promotes the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. This thousand-mile footpath, entirely within Wisconsin, highlights the unique landscape and glacial heritage of the state while offering unparalleled opportunities for hiking, recreation, and connection to nature. To learn more, visit www.iceagetrail.org.

About the Ice Age National Scenic Trail:

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a 1,200-mile footpath contained entirely within Wisconsin. It traverses the state from St. Croix Falls in the west, to Sturgeon Bay in the east, going as far south as Janesville. One of 11 National Scenic Trails, the Ice Age Trail highlights the landscapes carved out by ancient glaciers, which happen to be some of the most beautiful areas in the state. Approximately 60% of Wisconsin residents live within 20 miles of the Ice Age Trail.

Working since 1958 to conserve, create, maintain, and promote the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

Please join or renew today at www.iceagetrail.org

A total of 47 students were recognized in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s December 2024 Hired Before Graduation campaign.

The following UW-Whitewater students who identify Whitewater as their hometown graduated on Saturday, Dec. 14, were hired, promoted, accepted to graduate school, or started their own business before graduation:

Whitewater, WI 53190 – Sydney Christianson, who will graduate with a M.S. in Social Work.

Whitewater, WI 53190 – Haley Lindquist, who will graduate with a B.S. in Geography.

Whitewater, WI 53190 – Thomas McCulloch, who will graduate with a B.S. in Cybersecurity.

Whitewater, WI 53190 – Trevor Spragg, who will graduate with a BBA in Marketing.

View the entire album, which includes future plans for all recognized, on UW-Whitewater’s Facebook page.

Every year, UW-Whitewater showcases the many students who have landed a job, earned a job promotion, been accepted to graduate school or started a company before commencement. These students are invited to take a professional photo and be recognized on the university’s social media channels.

As a result of a UW-Whitewater education, students gain valuable and transferrable skills, secure coveted internships and are often hired by employers before graduation. At UW-Whitewater, our faculty and staff have connections with employers across Wisconsin and the country. Each year, more than 600 employers come to campus for job fairs, giving students a chance to network and even apply for jobs and internships on the spot.

More than 98 percent of recent graduates report they are employed or enrolled in continuing education within one year of commencement.

To learn more about UW-Whitewater’s Hired Before Graduation, visit uww.edu/hired.

The public is invited to a reception recognizing Dr. Mabel Schumacher as a National Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR] Medal of Honor recipient.

The open house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, at the American Legion Post 166 Dugout in Fort Atkinson. A ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m.

The Medal of Honor is the most prestigious recognition given by the DAR. It is presented to a United States citizen by birth who has shown extraordinary qualities of leadership, trustworthiness, service and patriotism.

“The recipient must have made unusual and lasting contributions to our American heritage by truly giving of himself or herself to his or her community, state, country, and fellow man,” according to the Fort Atkinson-Eli Pierce Chapter of DAR, which is sponsoring Schumacher’s award.

The 1962 Whitewater High School co-valedictorian and a Fort Atkinson resident since 1993, Schumacher worked as director of instruction for the School District of Fort Atkinson. She has been active in the Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, Tuesday Club, the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association and many other organizations.

During the past three decades, Schumacher has initiated a variety of community and statewide projects, most recently the new World War II memorial, titled “Worth Fighting For,” located in McCoy Park. She also spearheaded creation of the nearby K-9 War Dog Memorial that salutes Marine Corps Lance Corporal Terry Beck and his German Shepherd scout dog, “Seato,” both of whom were killed in action in 1967 during the Vietnam War.

Schumacher helped establish the endowed Terry Beck Protective Services Scholarship Fund at the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation and, in 2015, was the driving force for March 13 being commemorated as Wisconsin K-9 Veterans Day.

Through Schumacher’s efforts, the Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson placed a dog drinking fountain and dog sculpture on the 2.2-mile Glacial River Trail in Fort Atkinson in 2011, as well as the “Puppy Serenade” sculpture in Rock River Park in 2021. In addition, Schumacher has been a generous supporter of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Atkinson Police Department’s K-9 Units.

In 2023, the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation presented Schumacher with its Making Fort Special award. 

Organized in 1899, the Fort Atkinson Chapter of DAR was one of the earliest and largest chapters in Wisconsin for many years. In 1992, it merged with the Eli Pierce Chapter, which was founded in Whitewater in 1941.

Today, chapter members reside in Fort Atkinson, Watertown, Lake Mills, Jefferson, Whitewater, Milton, Janesville and surrounding communities, as well as in several other states.





Rebecca Fredericks shared the following perspective:

I spent a couple golden hours this past fall wandering around a dilapidated old farm house just outside Whitewater. The house was set for demolition, as it was plagued with asbestos and deteriorated beyond what could be overcome. But inside and outside, the house was still so beautiful, loaded with beadboard and ornate moldings, delicate spindles, and the lacey type of ornamental wooden millwork that simply doesn’t exist anymore. The entire place was peeling and faded, and the floors were uneven. The walls were leaning away in sickly angles, and those carved wood pieces I loved so much were now delicate and feather-light, having spent so long exposed to the elements. And still, in the waning afternoon sunlight, the house stood tall and stately, still so beautiful. With the tiniest bit of a squint, I could blur away a hundred years of wear and tear and see that spectacular place as it STILL WAS: a thing so valued and precious that someone toiled away on it day after day, adding value and meaning and beauty to something so functional: a building. I wish you could see what I saw that day, but you cannot; it doesn’t exist anymore. In many cases, when something is gone, it truly is gone forever.

The same will be the case for every lost acre of farmland if the Whitewater Solar project is successful in its mission to install solar panels and supporting structures and fences on over 2500 acres of prime farmland. The land is inherently valuable as it is, that is no question. But that may only be truly appreciated by many when it has been lost. This isn’t an argument about the lost views of rolling green fields, it’s about different values. This is about lost potential for growing our own food, and sustaining this country. It’s about not stripping away a valuable natural resource–the soil–and pouring concrete and driving stakes into drainage systems that permanently alter the functional use of the land. It will simply never be the same again. It will be stripped of its topsoil and baked for decades under solar panels. And then, when the solar farm is valueless, what then? Actually, who knows? No one has ever seen the way this ends. You’d have to believe that the Earth, invested in and worked on for years can simply be “returned to it’s previous state.”

I’m actually not against solar energy, on its face. Alternative fuels may in fact have their place. I can simply think of a million better places to put it than directly on something we can’t stand to lose.

For anyone interested in sharing their thoughts, the Wisconsin PSC invites public comments THROUGH 12/23 ONLY at the following link: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=9828&case=CE&num=100

Editor’s note: The Whitewater Banner does not have a position on this proposed project. We provided an overview with various perspectives in this article that we published on December 21.

Are you struggling through the holidays as a caregiver?
Understand the grief, loss and mourning associated with caring for someone with dementia.

Join us for Moving Forward: Grief and Ambiguous Loss Associated with Dementia Caregiving

The Aging & Disability Resource Centers of Rock and Marquette Counties are offering the 16-week grief and bereavement educational support group on Monday afternoons from 2-4 pm beginning January 13 and running through April 28, 2024. This is a virtual group. There is no cost to attend. Registration and screening are required.

Who is this group for? The group is for anyone who is or has cared for someone with dementia. Caring for someone with dementia presents a constant series of losses and not just those related to death. Each session will cover a grief, loss and mourning topic followed by about 60 minutes of conventional support group discussion. Registration is open and we are completing registrant screenings now.  This class is open to any caregiver of someone with dementia, present or past, throughout the state.

For more information or to register, please contact
Rock County Dementia Care Specialist, Karen Tennyson at 608/921-7165 or
karen.tennyson@co.rock.wi.us
Marquette County Dementia Care Specialist, Janet Wiegel at 608/297-3148 or
jwiegel@co.marquette.wi.us

Municipal Building Closures

According to a press release from the City of Whitewater, the Municipal Building and all other city buildings, including the library, will be closed on Tuesday, December 24; Wednesday, December 25; Tuesday, December 31; and Wednesday, January 1. Additionally, “City Hall will have limited staff availability on other days. We highly recommend calling ahead before visiting to ensure we can assist you promptly Thank you for your patience and understanding as we celebrate the holiday season Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!”

John’s Disposal Delays

City of Whitewater trash collection will be delayed by a day for the next two weeks. Collection will take place on Friday rather than Thursday in both the weeks of December 22 and December 29.

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay.

AVISO: John’s Disposal estará cerrado el:

Día de Navidad – Miércoles 25 de Diciembre de 2024 – La recogida se retrasará un día.
Día de Año Nuevo – Miércoles 1 de Enero de 2025 – La recogida se retrasará un día.

Update 12/22/24 @ 12:55 p.m. – We have no idea why this article was indicating that readers did not have permission to open it. Our apologies for this inconvenience. Hopefully this is resolved now.

Four City of Whitewater Common Council seats are up for election on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. If necessary, a primary will be held on February 18 to narrow down each race to two candidates. The two-year term for council member begins on Tuesday, April 18, 2025. The Council regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Members are expected to review the agenda packet prior to the meetings. They also serve on one or more committees, many of which meet on a monthly basis. The salary is $300 per month.

Council member AD 1
The incumbent, Patrick Singer, has filed a notice of noncandidacy.
According to the city clerk’s office, no one had filed for candidacy as of December 20.

Council member AD 3
The incumbent, Brienne Brown, told The Whitewater Banner that she intends to file a notice of noncandidacy on December 23.
Steven Sahyun, 250 N. Franklin Street, has submitted his nomination papers.

Council member AD 5
The incumbent, Neil Hicks, has taken out nomination papers.

Council member at Large
The incumbent, Lisa Dawsey Smith, has filed a notice of noncandidacy.
Patrick Singer, 263 Amber Drive, has taken out nomination papers.

Information concerning aldermanic (council) district boundaries may be obtained from City Clerk Heather Boehm, 312 W. Whitewater St., 262-473-0102, hboehm@whitewater-wi.gov. There is also a map on the city website that shows the districts; however, it is a bit difficult to decipher. Choose “VotingWardsAldDist-Aldermanic Districts,” and the districts will be shown in the large numbers.

The first day to circulate nomination papers was December 1, 2024, and the deadline for filing nomination papers and required documents is 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, in the office of the city clerk. Candidates for an at-large seat must collect a minimum of 50 signatures on nomination papers; a candidate wishing to represent a district must obtain a minimum of 20 signatures.

Photo on homepage and text by Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Posted on the Whitewater Police Department Facebook page:

The police department is actively investigating the distribution of offensive/hate speech contained in plastic bags. The bags were left in various areas around the city on Friday night. Officers are collecting any bags found as they patrol. Anyone with information or surveillance footage identifying those responsible should contact the police department at 262-473-0555 option #4, or submit an anonymous tip at www.p3tips.com. Thank you.

Editor’s note: The following response to the Police Department announcement was received from the Immigrant Support Coalition.

Message from Immigration Support Coalition – Standing Against Hate

To the Whitewater Community,

The Immigration Support Coalition is deeply concerned and disheartened by the recent distribution of hateful messages that have been circulating in Whitewater. We are concerned that these actions could be a result of the negative narratives and misinformation that have been spread about immigrants in Whitewater over time.

For the past year, the Immigration Support Coalition has worked tirelessly to promote unity, respect, and brotherhood within this community. We strive to create an environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, can feel welcome, valued, and safe.

It is troubling to witness how hate and division are being spread, and we must all stand together to ensure that these messages do not define us. We call on every member of the community to support our local police department in finding and holding accountable those responsible for sharing the harmful messages.

We urge everyone to continue fostering an atmosphere of understanding, compassion, and collaboration. The strength of our community lies in our ability to respect one another and work together toward a better future.

Let us not allow fear or hatred to divide us. Together, we can build a city that reflects the true values of community, inclusivity and love.

With solidarity,

Immigration Support Coalition

Editor’s note: The following response to the Police Department announcement was received from Whitewater Unites Lives:

Whitewater Unites Lives (WUL) denounces hate speech of any kind including that distributed around the city recently. WUL is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.  For more information, please contact co-founders Marjorie Stoneman, Rosalinda Martinez, Mary Sue Reutebuch, or Lauren Smith at whitewateruniteslives@gmail.com 

Shooting Stars (grades 2-3)

Little Dribblers (grades K-1) and Shooting Stars (grades 2-3) worked hard throughout the season on basic basketball skills. All participants improved on their dribbling, passing, defense, rebounding and shooting skills. Coach Bob stated “If these kids keep working as hard as they have during our practices, Whitewater girls and boys basketball should have a very bright future.”

All of the players received a basketball at the end of the session to encourage their efforts to improve. We hope to see all of the kids back next year with the addition of some new players. We wish our 3^rd graders best of luck as they join traveling basketball.

Happy Holidays

Coaches Gerry, Casey, Matthew and Bob

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Whitewater Solar, LLC [WS] has applied to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin [PSC] for the construction of a new “solar farm,” officially described as “a new electric generation facility for 180 megawatts alternating current (MWac) power using photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.” The PSC docket may be found here. WS is a wholly owned subsidiary of D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments [DESRI], a New York City based firm that describes itself as “a leading developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects in the United States.” Their website states, “Since 2010, DESRI has worked closely with valued communities and trusted partners to create a future powered by renewable energy. We’ve built a diversified portfolio across 24 states with over 10 GW of generation capacity, enough to power nearly 2 million homes.” Based on that statement, it would appear that WS would be expected to generate enough power for approximately 35,000 homes.

The company has signed decades-long leases with a number of property owners for a total of approximately 2567 acres, “of which, the proposed project arrays make up 988 acres, and the alternative project arrays make up 231 acres….The proposed project includes 23 fenced array areas, with 17 proposed array area sites and six alternative array area sites.” Most of the land is currently used for farming. A small parcel would be located within the city of Whitewater, but the rest are in the towns of Cold Spring, Whitewater, and LaGrange. One of the attractions for siting the project in the area is the proximity of the cogeneration plant located on County U, which is now owned by We Energies and a sister corporation. This would make for very efficient transmission of solar generated electricity into the power grid.

As one of the first steps in the approval process, on November 19 the PSC issued a notice to property owners in the area regarding the environmental assessment that they are conducting. “Commission and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff are now analyzing the application and conducting a review of the environmental impacts of the proposed project. As part of this effort, the agencies are requesting comments from the public to help the state agencies determine the potential impacts associated with the project and the scope of the environmental assessment (EA). The agencies encourage persons with local information or environmental concerns to provide comments,” the notice stated. The deadline for submitting such comments is December 23, 2024. Comments on the scope of the EA can be submitted through the PSC website at https://psc.wi.gov where you can click “file a comment” on the lower left-hand side of the page, then locate docket 9828-CE-100. The notice states that “comments for the EA scoping are most effective when they discuss 1) Any potential human and environmental impacts of the proposed solar project; or 2) Any specific actions or changes to the proposed project that might minimize or mitigate the potential impacts of the project.”

At a meeting that Whitewater Solar held at the Whitewater University Innovation Center in August, representatives of Chicago based Ranger Power, which is assisting with development of the proposed project, indicated that they had begun signing leases with property owners in 2017. Those owners were prohibited from disclosing the plans, and it seemed that all of the other property owners in the area knew nothing about the project until they had been contacted by the company shortly before the meeting. It appeared that virtually all of the non-participating property owners in the area were opposed to the project. Some indicated that they favor the growth of sustainable energy generation, but they did not feel that it was a good idea to take “some of the best farmland in the state” out of agricultural production. Drew Vielbig, senior development manager for Ranger Power, stated that in order to attain the state’s goal of electricity generation being 100% carbon-free by 2050, it’s estimated that approximately 5% of the state’s farmland will need to be converted to solar. Ultimately someone asked whether anyone in the meeting was participating in the leases. One brave gentleman raised his hand, indicating that he’s ready to retire and his children have no interest in farming. Although Vielbig declined to give any indication of the lease payments offered to the property owners, it was assumed that many of them might be able to increase their income compared with farming.

Other concerns that were expressed included noise. It was stated that it would be fairly unobtrusive, as it is only the occasional moderate sound of motors repositioning the panels to follow the sun. “How will property values of homeowners who are not participating be affected,” someone inquired. Vielbig stated that a number of studies have shown that there is generally no significant impact on nearby property values. Additional concerns included possible health effects and increased temperatures in the area.

Since the August meeting, many property owners in the area have been active in continuing to express their concerns about and opposition to the project. It is indicated that, per the plan, one of the homeowners with an approximately one acre property would be surrounded on three sides by the fences that will delineate the project, with the other side being the public road. Only a 150′ setback from private property is required. Yvette Loiselle, a resident in the area of the proposed project, has maintained a very active Facebook group named “Stop Whitewater Solar Farm.” Their website may be viewed here.

When asked what the odds were that opposition could derail the project, Vielbig stated that he anticipated that there might be opportunities for public comment in county and town meetings and definitely will be before the Public Service Commission. However, he indicated that the PSC is the only body that has jurisdiction over such projects, and as long as an applicant is able to demonstrate that they have met all legal requirements, the application will be approved. Corey Singletary, director of regulatory affairs for Citizens Utility Board [CUB] of Wisconsin, an organization that represents utility customers, including homeowners, before the PSC, confirmed that perspective to The Whitewater Banner. “State law is very permissive [regarding such applications],” Singletary stated. “Unless an applicant is violating regulations or law,” it’s hard to challenge a proposal. He stated that in the case of wind turbines, there is a Wind Siting Council that provides advice to the PSC regarding adverse impacts of a proposal, other than environmental, to an area. CUB had suggested to PSC that they establish a similar council regarding solar applications, but no action has been taken. Sometimes, he indicated, an applicant may make “good neighbor” payments to an adjacent property owner who is severely impacted or actually offer to buy a property. Singletary confirmed that oftentimes an electric utility will purchase a solar project after it is operational, but if the utility itself was proposing such a project the PSC would be required to conduct a more comprehensive review.

State Senator Mark Spreitzer, who represents the Whitewater area as part of the newly redistricted District 15, attended the August meeting. Afterwards he indicated that he feels that the Legislature needs to consider enacting more criteria that must be considered as part of the approval process for a solar project.

If the project is approved, Whitewater Solar indicates that it hopes to begin construction in April 2026 and for the project to be completed in February 2028.

A different company has tentative plans to construct a solar project on the former city landfill which is located adjacent to the compost site. City Public Works Director Brad Marquardt recently indicated that the company has not completed their planning process but is making payments to the city to keep their options open.

Editor’s note: The yard sign depicted on the homepage has been displayed on a number of properties, most of them being in the towns.