A quick breeze with a touch of cold under semi-cloudy skies greeted 2021 Memorial Day observers in Barron Monday morning. The day began with the traditional parade down La Salle
Last month, Dean Kallenbach retired as host of Wisconsin Public Radioâs âThe West Side,â a news-talk program that focuses on issues of the region and state.
His last shift was April 9, capping 35 years with Wisconsin Public Radio and a career that brought important information and news to the airwaves over northwest Wisconsin.
A native of Hillsdale, Kallenbach grew up on a dairy farm on CTH D, just west of Hwy. 25. It was there that he discovered the importance and value of radio.
âWe listened to a lot of radio on the farm. When you are milking cows, it was a welcome distraction,â Kallenbach recalled. His father often tuned into Rice Lakeâs WJMC or WCCO out of Minneapolis, Minn. His brother preferred the rock and pop stations, like KSTP. âYou could do other things and still listen to the radio,â he said.
By Ryan Urban
It will be just another soybean field this year, but a 12-acre field near Cameron is on track to become a demonstration farm for the latest in agricultural practices.Â
The property, located behind Wenger Distributing just south of the Rice Lake Airport along 19th Street, is owned by Barron County and was rented out to a local farmer at a modest rate, netting the county about $900 a year.Â
When that farmer decided to discontinue renting the land, officials in the Soil & Water Conservation Department hatched a plan that went far beyond just finding another renter.Â
âA demonstration farm would allow different techniques in soil health improvement to be tried and shown, without the financial risk to a farmer,â said Tyler Gruetzmacher, Barron County Conservationist. âThis is an opportunity for Barron County to work with the entire agriculture community, versus renting the land to one farmer.â