Then Build It Through IOWA

From The Appleton Post Crescent.

Headline.

Minnesota may suffer if Wisconsin nixes high-speed rail

MADISON — A nine-state effort to create a network of fast, frequent trains could be derailed by Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker's vow to reject federal stimulus money to build a high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.

And here's a question.

No federally funded transportation project can proceed without extensive environmental studies, and no such studies have been done on any route except the Milwaukee-to-Madison segment, said Cari Anne Renlund, executive assistant to Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, a major supporter of the high-speed rail project.

What study was done for the Milwaukee to Madison train? I thought they just rammed it through with no impact study!

We don't want it!

You want it that bad, go through Iowa!

25 Mil, A Study To Do A Study

From the Green Bay Press.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to study how to prevent invasive species — including the voracious Asian carp — from migrating between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds, is a "massive and complex" effort that could take years.

The primary focus of the estimated $25 million study will be on Chicago-area waterways, where canals provide the only direct connection between the two basins. But the Corps also will look at other areas where flooding could allow invasive species to slip from one watershed to the other.

Later in the article , this guy makes a good point.

Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, expressed frustration that the Corps wasn't further along in its study, which was authorized by Congress in 2007 and funded last year.

"Is this where we stand ... a plan to do a project?" Brammeier said. "We all know a solution will not come online overnight, but we continue to see deadlines pushed back."

A plan to study a plan to study a plan.

What a waste of tax payers money.

When Did Thanksgiving Day Start

From Badger Blogger

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
George Washington

How many school children and even adults know this?

Happy Thanksgiving

Two Bucks Locked Together Forever

From the Portage Daily Register

TOWN OF MARCELLON - For Jon Christian, earning a couple of bucks was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One deer was a 10-point buck, the other was a nine-pointer. They were locked, literally, in mortal combat.

Christian, of Columbus, spotted them from a deer stand on private land near Montello on Sunday morning, the second day of Wisconsin's gun-deer season.

"I saw this mass," he recalled Monday afternoon. "There was some battle going, then they're dropping back into the grass. As they got closer, I got my scope on them."

Only then did Christian realize that the bucks weren't just fighting each other over dominance and does. Their antlers were hopelessly locked.

Great read.

I was also watching Fox 11 out of Green Bay where they had the story. I think a relative of Jon also has it on a trail cam video from last week. You got to see the video.

Update, here's the video from fox 11

Duplication Of Jobs, Can We Call It Gov. Waste

From the Shawano Leader.

Inventory of city’s trees is underway

By Colleen Spindler, Leader correspondent

Shawano is conducting a tree inventory.

If you guessed that means counting the number of trees in the city, you’re right.

Mike Harris, who works as the forester for both the city of Shawano and the town of Wescott, said the project was funded with an Urban Forestry State Grant for $7,628.

“Trees are an important asset,” Harris said. “To manage it correctly you need to have a good understanding of what is out there in the city. ... A lot is based on the inventory of trees.”

From the Shawano Leader

The inventory will identify which trees need pruning, the condition of the trees and future planting sites.

Harris said the city has a wide range of trees, which helps determine his management plan. Shawano, for example, has an abundant supply of maples trees and a small number ash and elm trees, he said.

“It’s a good thing that the city does not have a large ash population,” Harris said. “If we had a large population of ash or elm trees, this could greatly impact the community due to the emerald ash borer or Dutch elm disease.”

Other potential dangers include insects such as the gypsy moth, diseases such as oak wilt and residents’ actions such as moving firewood between locations. (“That’s how insects spread or enhances their destruction,” he noted.)

Do the people of Wisconsin, Shawano or Wescott already have a position to monitor trees? I bet there is a Shawano County forester and let's see, I wonder if there could be a state forestry department. Oh, that's right, the WDNR! How many people do we need to count trees?

Isn't there people who already work for the city that might be able to trim trees when they need it? Let's see city workers?

Shawano and Wescott must have a lot of extra money in their budget's. Did they see their taxes reduced? I don't think so.

Duplication and waste in all levels of government. When will voters wake up?