Sparta WI

‘Believe me, you don’t want to get this’

Thursday, October 22, 2020 - 10:18am

When Karen Parker headed into the Ontario Village Board Meeting last month, she had a bad feeling about it. Parker, editor emeritus for the County Line in Ontario, was there to cover the meeting for the weekly newspaper. At 73, she has some underlying health issues that make catching COVID-19...

SASD hears families concerns to district’s COVID response

Thursday, October 22, 2020 - 10:13am

Superintendent for Sparta Area School District (SASD) Dr. Amy Van Deuren has maintained throughout the course of the current pandemic that the safety of staff and students is the district’s top priority. To gauge how parents and staff are feeling about the district’s handling of the pandemic, a...

Monroe County Local History Room Director Jarrod Roll gets some painting done in the Research Library. Contributed photo

History room making do in pandemic

Thursday, October 22, 2020 - 10:01am

Monroe County Local History Room Director Jarrod Roll, as guest speaker at the Sparta Kiwanis Club’s weekly Zoom meeting Tuesday, Oct. 12, said there was one bright note in the COVID-19 pandemic. “From the very beginning we were closed,” said Roll, preventing visits to MCLHR exhibits, public...

Pictured from left are Sparta Police Officer Zach Fischer, who serves in the National Guard, ESRG representative John Gessner and Sparta Police Chief Emilee Nottestad. Herald photo by Pat Mulvaney

SPD honored for patriotic support

Thursday, October 22, 2020 - 9:56am

A Department of Defense organization recognized the Sparta Police Department last month for its support of one of its officers who serves in the Army National Guard. John Gessner of the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense (DoD) office, presented the...

The Back the Badge parade is ready to roll for the Monroe County Republican party at Tomah's Recreation Park. The parade started in Tomah and ended at the Sparta Police Department. Contributed photos

Back The Badge parade rolls Saturday from Tomah to Sparta

Monday, October 19, 2020 - 11:03am

The Monroe County Republican Party showed its support for local law enforcement Saturday. A parade that started at Recreation Park in Tomah, rolled past the Tomah Police Department and ended in front of the Sparta Police Department where local Republican party supporters expressed their support...

In an effort to raise greater awareness during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Brighter Tomorrows also attended the Paws Against Violence event with Ft. McCoy and the Monroe County Animal Shelter earlier this month as 71 percent of domestic violence victims report that their abuser also abused or neglected their animals. Contributed photos.

Brighter Tomorrows in greater need during pandemic

Monday, October 19, 2020 - 10:52am

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In Monroe County, Brighter Tomorrows provides a wide array of services and support to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, which are free, confidential and accessible to any and all victims. Some services include a 24-hour crisis...

MC Safe Community Coalition and Couleecap end 10-year partnership

Monday, October 19, 2020 - 10:36am

Sadly, the Monroe County Safe Community Coalition (MCSCC) and Couleecap, Inc. have completed a 10-year partnership made possible by the Drug Free Communities grant. The MCSCC has been in existence since 1986, when it was first known as the Monroe County Adolescent Task Force. A group of concerned...

Al Wright participating in one of his favorite activities, the Butterfest parade. Contributed photo

Wright left a huge mark on Sparta

Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 10:44am

Longtime Sparta businessman and community activist Al Wright died last Sunday at Gundersen Health Systems in La Crosse. He was 91. Wright is likely best known as the owner of the Sparta Dairy Queen where he sold burgers and ice cream for 30 years, beginning in 1954. But it was his commitment to...

VARC, Inc., which offers a variety of services for adults with varying abilities, has begun the processing of moving into what was previously the Carlisle building along Black River Street in Sparta. Contributed photo.

VARC expands employment opportunities to Sparta

Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 10:32am

The Viroqua-based non-profit organization, VARC, Inc. has expanded its programming to now serve adults with varying abilities in the Monroe County area by opening a new location in what used to be the Carlisle building in Sparta. VARC is a disability service provider, offering a wide array of...

Sparta aldermen debate trick-or-treating

Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 10:28am

With the number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin making national news and the virus on the uptick in Monroe County, Sparta Alderman Bruce Humphrey questioned at Wednesday’s council meeting the practicality of holding trick-or-treating in the city this year. Humphrey said he and his wife have enjoyed...