The Shawano Civic Center, 225 S. Main St., Shawano, is looking for community members interested in playing cards, cribbage, dice games and board games — all of which are supplied at no charge. Organizers said the games offer a chance to socialize, make new friends, enjoy a cup of coffee and have some fun. Currently, the civic center offers the Silver Foxes exercise group from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Bingo at 10:30 a.m.

As a tweener, I heard the phrase “the birds and the bees” quite a few times. Being a sheltered farm kid, I couldn’t help but wonder: What are they talking about? Alas, I knew little about reproduction at the time, but when I began my education on the topic, I approached my mother with a simple question. “So where do babies come from? And don’t tell me the stork.

Sunflowers are one of those happy plants many gardeners can’t resist planting. Kids love to watch the plants reach for the sky, and everyone enjoys all the visitors. You are likely to see hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators on the flowers, songbirds munching on the seeds, and squirrels practicing acrobatic contortions as they try to gain their fair share of the harvest. What we call the “flower” is made of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers.

Math has been called many things, some of which can’t be printed in this column. Yet, CMN’s faculty of the year awardee Audra Castonia sees the subject as an attractive means to enrich her students’ lives. “I believe in the beauty of mathematics that surrounds us and the power of numbers to shape our everyday lives,” she said.

Probably the most commonly used — and, in my opinion, abused — exemption in our state’s Open Meetings Law is the one that lets governmental bodies meet behind closed doors “whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session.” The exemption, 19.85(1)(e) in Wisconsin state statutes, is used by all manner of public bodies, from city councils to school boards.

Kirk A. Hoffman, 65, of the Town of Dupont, passed away June 5, 2025. Eberhardt-Stevenson Funeral Home and Crematory, Clintonville.

Valeria E. Bork, 91, formerly of Marion, passed away June 4, 2025. Eberhardt-Stevenson Funeral Home and Crematory, Clintonville.

Division 1, Notre Dame Pulaski’s Brady Hayward qualified for the state golf meet as an individual after carding a 76 (tied for third best score) at Thornberry Creek in Hobart for the WIAA golf sectionals. Hayward led his team to a third-place finish with a 318, just three strokes behind Bay Port, which advanced to the state meet along with sectional champion De Pere. Also scoring for the Red Raiders were Dixon Holewinski and Bradin Schultz, each

June 5 Wittenberg-Birnamwood 1, Bonduel 0 Bonduel traveled to Wittenberg for a regional championship game that ended up being an old-fashioned pitchers duel. Bonduel’s Cade Johnson and Witt-Birn’s Zander Barke each threw six shutout innings. In the seventh, Race Anvelink doubled to lead off the Bonduel half of the inning.