News 05.01.17
1 May 2017 News
Lake property owners and farmers in Wisconsin are clashing over a proliferation of high-capacity wells. It’s a fight no one expected to see in Wisconsin, where water has always been taken for granted. But farmers and large livestock operations have been sinking more and more wells over the last three decades to ensure larger yields and to keep cattle hydrated. There are almost 13,000 in the state now. Lake property owners and conservationists say the wells are pulling so much water they’re depleting lakes and streams. They warn of plummeting property values and the loss of tourism. Farmers say there’s no hard evidence wells are causing depletion. Republicans who control the Legislature are on the verge of passing a bill this week that would relax regulations on existing wells.
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A Wisconsin woman’s play focusing on sexual abuse of military members by their superiors and peers will be featured in San Diego. The American History Theater is sponsoring Rachel Carter’s play, “Speaking Out: Why I Stand,” at the Women’s Museum of California from July 21 to 23. The theater also has hired her to lead workshops for survivors of military sexual trauma that weekend. The La Crosse woman created the play in 2013 by pulling together stories and poems of assaults she and other endured in the military. Carter said she was inspired to create the play after seeing “The Invisible War,” a documentary that unveiled the depths of a sexual assault scandal in the military.
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Aging farmers are growing more concerned about what happens to the family farm once they’re gone. The Wisconsin Farm Center’s economic development consultant, Frank Friar, says it has helped develop about 200 transition plans with farmers over the past couple of years. The majority are concerned about what happens if they end up in a nursing home. Attorney George Twohig advises producers on transferring farms to the next generation. He says farmers become concerned that real estate would have to be sold to pay for the cost of long-term care because many of them are tight on cash but have a lot of assets. Twohig says many people are considering Medicaid trusts, where farmers divest their assets to protect the farm. He says the trusts are sometimes a good solution but not a cure-all.
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A Green Bay alderman concerned about residents with visible guns at public meetings says he’ll talk with state legislators about allowing a ban on openly carrying firearms. Alderman Randy Scannell says his intent is not to prohibit residents from having their guns in public if that makes them feel safer. But he wants the firearms concealed to ease concerns from others at meetings. The problem with Scannell’s idea is Wisconsin’s law on open-carry prohibits concealment. Scannell says municipalities can ban firearms in public buildings altogether but that’s not what he wants. Scannell says he began looking into the issue after constituents expressed fear about speaking at a contentious City Council meeting earlier this year because they saw a resident wearing a gun on his hip.
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