Shawano County has been hit hard trying to fill vacant positions, and now those difficulties have extended to the custodial staff. Steve Dreher, director of facilities and grounds, told the Shawano County Public Property Committee on Sept. 12 he is still short two of five custodians and the three remaining are facing burnout. “We’re getting applicants, but none of them are worth anything,” he said.

To the editor: I am a 70-year-old U.S. Navy submarine veteran who proudly served during the Vietnam War. Normally, I stay away from politics because I’ve seen that too often it serves to divide people instead of bringing them together.

Wisconsin corn production is forecast at 535 million bushels, down 3% from the previous year, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Crop Production report. Based on conditions as of Sept. 1, yields are expected to average 182 bushels per acre, down one bushel from the Aug. 1 forecast but up six bushels from last year. Corn planted acreage is estimated at 3.75 million acres.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that northern Wisconsin’s wild rice crop production is generally below average this year across lakes, flowages and rivers. “A mild winter in 2023-2024, coupled with heavy storms in mid-June, appears to have set back wild rice production this year throughout much of the northern region of the state,” said Brandon Byrne, wild rice biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildl

As Wisconsin students resume another year of classroom instruction, new vaccination guidelines are being introduced to enhance health and safety in schools.

Wisconsin egg production during July was 201 million eggs, down 8% from the previous July, according to the latest Chickens and Eggs report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The average number of all layers on hand during July was 7.59 million, down 8% from last year.

The jury trial of a former Waukesha man in connection with a fatal UTV accident in 2022 has been postponed until April. Scot A. Haas, 55, of The Villages, Florida, is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle and homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, in connection with the accident that claimed the life of David Weinmann, 56, of West Chicago, Illinois, on May 29, 2022. The trial had been scheduled for Sept. 25-27.