2/9/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday
9 February 2022 News
Ripon Senior Center Base Bid Approved
The Ripon Common Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a base bid of nearly $2 million for the Grace and Lloyd Mitchell Senior Activity Center and Trailhead project. The city only received one bid and that was from Harmony Construction Management of Madison. The firm also put in alternate bids of $238,000 for trail extensions and work connected with the trailhead. City Administrator Adam Sonntag explained why the city only received one bid. He told the council because part of the funding paying for the project is through a Community Development Block Grant it is a prevailing wage project which requires more paperwork for contractors. He also said there was a lack of sub- contractor bids from local contractors and worry about the volatility in material costs. Sonntag says contractors are hesitant to take on municipal building projects. He also said the total cost of over $2.5 million was more than $320,000 higher than project estimates. The city would be able to fund the remaining costs if it uses all $828,000 of the American Recovery Act Plan funds it has received from the federal government. But it may not have to because the city has applied for a neighborhood investment fund grant of $1.2 million, but won’t know about the status of the grant until the week of February 21st. The Council will meet again on February 28th to consider the alternate bids. The city’s bid approval is contingent upon CDBG and Department of Administration approval.
Missouri Man Wanted For Stealing Semi Trailer In Ripon
A felony theft charge has been filed in Fond du Lac County court against a 42-year-old St. Louis, Missouri man who stole a semi-trailer from the lot of the Ripon Citgo East gas station last March. An arrest warrant was issued for Ahmed Mohamed Farah last Thursday. According to the criminal complaint the semi-trailer was located at the end of last month by police in Pennsylvania who found it “very stuck” in the snow on a back road. The owner estimated the value of the trailer which has a cooling unit at $20,000 and the lost revenue during the time it was gone at another $14,000. A friend of the owner’s had spotted Mohamed Farah pulling the trailer from the lot in Ripon. The owner was in text communication with Farah until last August. Ripon Police reached him on the phone last September, but Farah said he was busy and would call back and never did.
Sex Offender Will Move To FDL
A 45-year-old sex offender sent back to prison for violating terms of extended supervision is getting released from prison again and will be living in Fond du Lac. Benjamin Solheim was released from prison in August of 2017. He had served 16 years for 5 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of fourth degree sexual assault. He was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He will be on electronic monitoring and will be under extended supervision until August of next year. Solheim is currently at Oshkosh Correctional. He will be living at 457 Thomas Street in Fond du Lac when he’s released from prison next Tuesday.
Pardeeville Man Arrested For Fifth OWI Charge
A 43-year-old rural Pardeeville man is facing his fifth operating while intoxicated offense after being pulled over on Highway 22 in Columbia County’s Town of Wyocena Sunday. A Sheriff’s deputy spotted Brent Paul driving a vehicle and learned Paul had a revoked license. During the traffic stop the deputy spoke with Paul who showed signs of impairment. He subsequently failed field sobriety testing. Paul was booked into the Columbia County Jail on OWI-5th, operating after revocation-revocation due to OWI, failure to install an ignition interlock device, and felony bail jumping charges.
No Candidates’ Forum For FDL County Board District One Seat
The League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area regrets that they will not be able to host a forum for the Fond du Lac County Board District 1 seat being vacated by longtime member Marty Farrell who is also the County Board Chairperson. One of the two candidates indicated they would not participate in a forum. Timothy Bachleitner and Katherine Kat Griffith will be running for the District 1 seat in the April election. The League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area hosted a candidates’ forum last Thursday at the Ripon City Hall for all three candidates running for a District 4 seat on the Ripon Common Council. It can be seen on The Ripon Channel’s YouTube page. The League Of Women Voters of the Ripon Area is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
AirVenture Will Celebrate Air Force Anniversary
An official with EAA AirVenture says we are now less than six months away from the annual gathering at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. Last summer the fly-in event that attracts more than 10,000 aircraft had a strong rebound with 608,000 visitors. In 2020 AirVenture was cancelled due to the pandemic. Dick Knapinski of EAA says they expect even more visitors this year because last summer international visitors were limited once again due to COVID-19. He says one of the big things they will be celebrating is the 75th Anniversary of the U.S. Airforce with aircraft representing every decade of flight since 1947. The estimated economic impact of AirVenture for Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown counites is $170 million. AirVenture is July 25th through July 31st in Oshkosh.
Another Long Sturgeon Spearing Season Anticipated
A Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says water clarity readings on Lake Winnebago would indicate what could be another long sturgeon spearing season. The season kicks off Saturday on Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes. Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist Aaron O’Connell says when they did readings on the Lake the week of January 24th the average clarity for the six spots they took readings was 10.7 feet. He says if clarity is 12 feet or better it leads to a shorter season. O’Connell says things won’t get any better by Saturday in fact they might get worse. Because of the shallower depths on the Upriver Lakes the DNR does not take readings on those lakes. The season’s length depends on harvest caps that are triggered and can run as long as 16 days on Lake Winnebago.
Wisconsin Cheese Quality Assured
Wisconsin’s Alice In Dairyland says if you’re contemplating a cheese board for your Valentine’s or to take to a Super Bowl Party with you, you can be assured of a quality product. Julia Nunes says what sets the Dairy State apart from others is the licensing program for cheesemakers and it also has a master cheesemaker program. She says there a couple of tell-tale signs on the cheese you buy that assures you of its quality the proudly Wisconsin cheese badge or the master cheesemaker’s logo. Nunes says a good resource for cheese recipes and pairing suggestions is the Wisconsin Cheese.com website.
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