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‘This is not your father’s bicycle’

Electric bikes and scooters have changed how we get around, whether for a daily commute, riding the trails or hauling cargo.

Modern e-bikes have transformed from heavy, clunky novelties into sleek, high-tech and efficient machines. The change is similar to the classic General Motors’ rebranding of the Oldsmobile cars in the late 1980s.

The new e-bikes and e-scooters also bring confusion and the increasing possibility of injury.

Vote on $29M borrowing looming over county board

Despite all the talk about a new courthouse in Shawano County, until supervisors actually vote to borrow funds, there are no guarantees the project will happen.

That day is coming soon.

Carol Wirth, president and owner of Wisconsin Public Finance Professionals LLC, outlined the steps to take over the next months that will kick off the estimated $121 million building project.

Oconto woman dies in Little River crash

One person is dead after a crash involving a vehicle versus pedestrian accident July 23 in the Town of Little River.

The Oconto County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Dispatch Center was notified just after 2 p.m. about the crash near the 7000 block of Hillcrest Road.

Pulaski School District makes summer fun

On a Thursday in early July, more than 1,000 kids flooded the halls of Pulaski Community Middle School.

Heaps of backpacks were piled in corners of classrooms and hallways. Bikes crowded the racks outside. At lunchtime, lines of children snaked around the building as they waited for hamburgers.

Summer school is a phrase usually wielded as a threat to keep students on task in the classroom.

Not in Pulaski.

DOT rep gives update on road projects

“Your county has a lot of orange barrels and cones.”

Tony Kemnitz, of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, made that understatement of the year when he summarized the road construction projects underway in Shawano County this summer.

Kemnitz spoke at the July 21 meeting of the Shawano County Highway Safety Commission.

First he addressed the state Highway 29 project from County Road J to the area of Spruce Road.

Traffic to be rerouted for powwow

To alleviate traffic congestion on a major state highway and ensure residents along Fairgrounds Road maintain access to their driveways, a new traffic route will be established for the Menominee Nation Contest Powwow.

The new traffic route will be in effect July 31, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2.

‘There’s nowhere for them to go’

It’s been more than three months since the anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap closed, laying off 90 employees and leaving more than 100 low-income households on the brink of homelessness. For Shawano County residents, that means losing their only year-round shelter.

College News

UW-La Crosse

The following area students completed degree requirements at UW-La Crosse in May.

Abrams: Jamesen Sophie Engel, bachelor of science, elementary/middle education and special education, honors.

Birnamwood: Luke Stanley Brown, bachelor of science, political science.

Bonduel: Ava Jean Pleshek, bachelor of science, international business.

Cookbook to share Menominee recipes, stories behind them

Imagine seeing your recipes, your mother’s and even your grandmother’s in print, along with stories about the recipes.

What's Happening: July 31 to Aug. 9

FRIDAY, JULY 31

OCONTO: National Walleye Tour, takeoff at 7 a.m. or first safe light, weigh-in 3:15 p.m., Oconto Waterfront Park and Harbor, 1301 Harbor Road. Details at https://nationalwalleyetour.com.

OCONTO: Storytime, 10:30 a.m., Farnsworth Public Library, 715 Main St. Story and crafts for preschool children. A caregiver must stay with the child.

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