Rath resigns as city administrator
Nearly nine years after starting his role as city administrator in Monroe, Phil Rath resigned from the position. His last day was Oct. 20.
“As you know, over the last six months, the common council and I have expressed political differences of opinion regarding processes, work assignments, and general direction regarding the City,” said Rath in a letter to Mayor Louis Armstrong that was also provided to the Times. “Recently it became clear to me that those differences are beyond resolution,” he continued, adding that he believed resigning was the best option.
Armstrong told the Times later that Rath was not asked to resign.
At the city council meeting on Oct. 21, after about 10 minutes of closed session on a severance offer from Rath, the council voted to accept it and immediately adjourned.
Shopko closes
Shopko announced March 16 that it planned to close all of its remaining physical stores by the end of June, which included the Monroe location.
Shopko had first declared in January 2019 that it had filed papers in a bankruptcy court to restructure the financial makeup of its corporation. It said it was closing a number of its stores throughout the country and within the state.
Monroe’s store had been exempt from the first-round store closings in bigger cities like Madison and the headquarters of the corporation, Green Bay. The Shopko pharmacy in Monroe shuttered as part of the first round of closures in the bankruptcy proceedings.
The Monroe Clinic FastCare moved into a new location in the aftermath and pharmacist Mike Kuckes opened a Hometown Pharmacy on Monroe’s west side. Shopko Optical remained open and moved to a new location on 8th street near Pick ‘N Save.
Wis. 11 construction
For the first time in decades, the open freeway that loops the north end of Monroe went under construction for repairs.
A 6-mile stretch of divided highway and three different ramps were a part of multi-phase project that was to fix crumbling roads and damaged overpass bridges.
While much of the project has been completed, the project slowed as winter weather moved in earlier than expected. The project will not be completed until 2020.
Lafayette water contamination
A study of well water from 2018 caused a stir in Lafayette County when 27% of wells were contaminated, including with fecal matter.
A first-round, re-study of 35 wells found that 32 had fecal contamination. A mid-August retest of 34 of the affected wells found that 25, or 73%, were contaminated with human or livestock manure.
County board officials threatened in November to sue journalists that didn’t print press release information from the county verbatim, but backed off after immediate, widespread criticism.
Jefferson township windmills
Despite the echoes of nearly everyone in the crowd of more than 50 residents calling for supervisors to pass a recently drafted wind siting ordinance, members of the Jefferson Town Board effectively killed its passage by refusing to second a motion during a special meeting March 20.
Only two members, Chair Harvey Mandel and board supervisor Rick Nusbaum, were voting. The third board member, Lyle Sampson, abstained due to a contract he holds with incoming wind energy company EDF Renewables to place turbines on his land.
Contention over wind turbines began in September 2018, when EDF Renewable Energy, a company headquartered in France with regional offices throughout the United States, began to publicly express an interest in developing a wind farm project within the township. EDF officially submitted an application at the end of January. It includes plans for 24 500-foot-tall wind turbines spanning 5,580 acres of agricultural land within the township, stretching east from Five Corner Road to County S.
Jail deaths
Two Green County inmates died in their cells in 2019.
A toxicology analysis found no substances in the blood of Kyle E. Bearden, 27, that would have caused his death while he was incarcerated in the Green County Jail on June 10. Monica Hack, Green County coroner, confirmed Bearden died June 10 of natural causes.
Louis R. Mendonca, 76, Monroe, died two weeks later on the morning of June 23. Mendonca attempted to hang himself at about 11:20 p.m. the night before. Deputies were able to free Mendonca and began to perform life-saving measures. He was transported to the Monroe Clinic intensive care unit and died less than 10 hours later.
Weather
The climate effected the region in more ways than one in 2019. In January, historically low temperatures descended upon the Stateline region, with wind chills reaching more than 50-degrees below zero and deep ground frost bursting waterlines under city streets.
Wet weather followed in the spring, with flood waters reaching historic highs along the Pecatonica River in Darlington, Browntown and Martintown. In Darlington, flood waters rose to more than a foot higher than the previous record of 21-feet.
Farmers struggled to harvest crops due to the wet conditions, then in early November bitterly cold weather became a factor.
The weather bottled up plans to complete the long-awaited Wis. 11/81 construction project. Instead of finishing in early November as was planned, the early winter and cold temperatures pushed the final portions of the 6-mile project back until the spring of 2020.
Clinic construction/new edition
On June 10, Monroe Clinic opened partial occupancy to its newest remodel, an addition to the east of the clinic building.
The new facility houses 10 clinical departments, although not all are complete. The space has a new conference center, human resources offices and a state-of-the-art simulation lab that works in partnership with Blackhawk Technical College to recreate “real life” situations. A corridor that connects the hospital and clinic buildings supports navigation and access from building to building.
The final phase of construction is continuing with the remodel and renovation of the existing building. The project is expected to reach full occupancy in 2020.
BTC ag expansion
Blackhawk Technical College completed the expansion of its agriculture department with a new 3,200-square foot building that opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 3 at the Monroe campus.
The school received a grant for $340,000 to start a two-year agriculture associates degree program, which included the ability to purchase machinery and add instructors. Keller Inc, with offices in the Fox Cities, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau, completed the project.
The new building improves the college’s agribusiness science and technology associate’s degree program and other programs such as the agribusiness specialist technical diploma and the CDL and commercial applicator certification programs.
Sanders, Baumann announce retirements
Two CEOs that have headed up two of Green County’s largest employers both announced their retirement in 2019.
John Baumann, the president and CEO at Colony Brands since 1996, and Mike Sanders, president and CEO of Monroe Clinic since 2001, announced their final days to be Dec. 31, 2019.
Baumann is a Monroe native and began with the company in a small part-time role in high school, and worked his way up the ladder after college. Through the years, he would receive a number of promotions among the ranks of marketing and in 1996 was named both President and CEO.
Baumann won’t walk away entirely from the business, however. He plans to take over as President of the Colony Brands Foundation and will stay on the Colony Brands Board of Directors
During his tenure, Sanders watched Monroe Clinic open a new hospital (2012), Hospice Home (2017) and new clinic building (2019). The Monroe Clinic FastCare walk-in clinic and Monroe Clinic Urgent Care clinic in Freeport launched during his time at Monroe Clinic.