U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Wisconsin State Director Andrew C. Iverson announced the Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises (TPCE) will use a Rural Development loan of $800,000 to reopen and expand the former Hoffman Wood Fiber LLC sawmill east of Tilleda in Shawano County.

This investment is through the Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program.

The butter versus margarine debate is back on the menu in the dairy state.

A bipartisan bill introduced in the state Senate in November would tighten some of the state’s enduring restrictions on margarine, the origins of which trace back to the 1800s.

Do you enjoy watching the weather? The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is seeking new volunteer observers in northeastern Wisconsin.

CoCoRaHS is a nationwide volunteer network of backyard weather observers who measure and report daily precipitation. Their data supports the National Weather Service, emergency managers, farmers, researchers and others who rely on accurate, localized weather information.

Tansy Lederhaus is a registered nurse beloved for her empathy as much as for her medical expertise. That empathy is rooted in her past experience as a trauma patient at ThedaCare.

Garret Gubbels, a University of North Dakota graduate and certified flight instructor from Abrams, was named UND’s certified flight instructor of the month for October.

A certified flight instructor is a pilot who has been trained in how to teach people how to fly. Flight instructors take students up in an aircraft and do much of their teaching in the cockpit.

Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano continues its commitment to the spiritual nurturing of each student by celebrating a weekly all-school Mass led by the sixth and seventh grade classes, and their kindergarten Mass buddies.

This special liturgy highlighted the importance of faith, family and gratitude as students took an active role in guiding the school community in prayer and reflection.