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Pictured above, from left: State Trooper Jake Edwards, Sparta Police Officers Jenna Lee and Chris Welker, Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Ethan Young.
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Congratulations to First Responder of the Year Award recipients, pictured above, for the 70th Assembly District. Five local law enforcement officers: Sparta Police Officers Corey Johnson, Jenna Lee and Chris Welker, Monroe County Sherriff’s Deputy Ethan Young, and State Trooper Jake Edwards, were nominated for the award by Sparta Police Chief David Kuderer in recognition of their selfless actions during a tragic incident at Perch Lake last winter. On January 6, 2019, two boys were on the ice at Perch Lake in Sparta when they both fell through. Tragically, one of the boys drowned, but the other boy was saved due to these five officers sacrificing their own safety and entering the ice with no safety equipment to save the child’s life. All five officers were awarded the Sparta Police Department Award of Valor by Chief Kuderer in May.
The officers were presented with Assembly Hometown Hero Award plaques and were recognized before the entire Assembly during a floor session in Madison last Thursday. I released a statement on the opportunity to present the award to these local officers and said, “I’m proud to recognize these heroes. They each risked their own lives to save a child’s life. I’m happy to know that our local communities are protected by these heroes and others like them who go above and beyond the call of duty to serve others every day of the year.” I also added, “We are forever grateful for the actions the five officers took that fateful day. On behalf of the entire 70th Assembly District, thank you to these brave first responders.”
It was an absolute pleasure to be able to present the award, and I’m grateful that Lt. Jeramy Foster of the Wisconsin State Patrol, Chief Dave Kuderer of the Sparta Police Department, Deputy Chief Emilee Nottestad of the Sparta Police Department, Lt. Booker Ferguson of the Sparta Police Department, Sheriff Wes Revels of Monroe County, and Chief Deputy Robert Conroy from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, along with award recipient’s family members, friends, and significant others were able to come down to Madison to support and recognize these award recipients. It was a pleasure and an honor to be able to recognize these outstanding individuals.
The fall legislative session continues to move along quite rapidly. There are a number of proposals that I’ve introduced and a few more on the way, having to do with issues ranging from healthcare access and supervisory relationships for physician assistants, to funding research for our cranberry growers and potato and vegetable producers, to taking a look at how our state treats occupational licenses for Guard and Reserve personnel and their spouses.
This is in addition to regular committee work that includes evaluation and debate of other legislators proposals. If you’re not already aware or missed the fairly recent update where I previously shared it, here’s a link to the Legislature’s website where you can look up or track proposals currently in circulation at the capitol: https://notify.legis.wisconsin.gov/login?ReturnUrl=%2f. Creating an account is free, and sign-up should be easy. If I can help, or you’d like assistance getting signed up, please don’t hesitate to contact my office using the information at the bottom of this message.
In closing, I will share that I’m pleased to report that during our floor session last week, we joined our colleagues in the Senate in passing a resolution in support of F-35A freedom fighting aircraft at Truax Field in Madison. The resolution was authored by Representative Tony Kurtz of Wonewoc, and as Co-Chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, I was happy to co-author the resolution with Representative Ken Skowronski of Franklin, the Chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Assembly Joint Resolution 88 recognizes the contributions of the 115th Fighter Wing and shows support for basing F-35A freedom fighting aircraft at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin. After the resolution’s passage, I released the following statement:
“I was extremely pleased to see bipartisan support for this resolution as there is bipartisan support for the effort throughout the state. As we know at home with Fort McCoy and Volk Field, these facilities and these missions are not only critical for national security, they’re vitally important from an economic impact perspective. If these installations don’t have ongoing missions, they might go away. This is something that’s very near and dear to my heart, and I plan to announce plans in the near future to facilitate a more concerted statewide effort to recognize, support, and advocate for the outstanding military installations, military personnel, and defense industry we’re fortunate to have in our great state.”
The F-35 mission is estimated to have a total economic impact to the region of more than $3 billion. It includes providing $120 million in improvements to the Dane County Regional Airport and hundreds of construction jobs. The resolution vote will be forwarded to the U.S. Air Force. The public comment period for the basing of the F-35s ends on November 1 and a final decision on the site selection will be made in early 2020.
Please continue to utilize my legislative website, legis.wisconsin.gov/
assembly/70/vandermeer, and follow Rep. Nancy VanderMeer on Facebook to communicate with me and receive up to date information and communication.
Sincerely,
Nancy VanderMeer
70th Assembly District Representative
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I'm pictured above with:
Dennis Juncer from the Marshfield Noon Rotary Club, who was gracious to invite me to come speak with them recently. (top left)
Representative Tony Kurtz from Wonewoc, Representative Jesse James from Altoona, Major General Donald Dunbar, Wisconsin's Adjutant General, and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes from Milwaukee, at a send off ceremony at Volk Field for Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers deploying for a mission in Ukraine. (top right)
2019 La Crosse Oktoberfest Festmaster Terry Cowgill and Grenadier General Justin Drury recently stopped by the office in Madison with a representative from the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce to say hello and connect on a bill I'm working on with Representative Jill Billings of La Crosse. (bottom left)
Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce and local community members at a ribbon cutting yesterday for the new AMS Micromedical and Implant Logistics manufacturing plant at the South Pointe Business Park in Sparta. Congratulations!!
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WI National Guard News Release:
Warfighter Exercise at Fort Campbell Tests Iron Brigade's Mettle
By Sgt. First Class Matthew Ard
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — To further hone its combat capabilities, the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB) — also known as the “Iron Brigade” — worked alongside the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Oct. 1-10 for its third Warfighter exercise of the year.
Warfighter is an advanced combat simulation, which tests the communications networks, warfighting capability and readiness of the units involved. It provides units and their staff the ability to exercise real-world decision making in a simulated combat environment.
The 10-day exercise enabled the 157th MEB to achieve some significant training goals, and 157th MEB commander Col. Matthew Beilfuss said the brigade took a different approach to this exercise.
“This time we brought out all of the infrastructure for the brigade headquarters, and we have had every one of our systems up and running, and fully tapped into the 101st Airborne’s digital architecture,” Beiluss said. “We call this an enhanced response cell. We are fully engaged and entrenched with the 101st digital infrastructure, passing out orders and instructions to our subordinates in a method that would be consistent with how it would work in reality.”
Beilfuss, who took command of the 157th MEB Aug. 2, has kept the Iron Brigade’s focus on staying ready for its federal mission as the nation’s primary combat reserve.
“The benefit [Warfighter] provides is it allows us as a brigade headquarters to do our doctrinal mission with a higher headquarters oriented on a tactical scenario,” Beilfuss explained. “To be able to work a scenario where your higher headquarters is driving your activities — I think it’s the best way to train a brigade headquarters staff in their warfighting tasks.”
Headquartered in Milwaukee, the 157th MEB combat mission involves managing a designated territory to allow U.S. military units to maneuver effectively in a combat theater. To achieve this, the brigade can support combat units with a wide range of capabilities such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, combat engineers and specialized communications networking...
(continued)
To view the full release, visit the Department of Military Affairs website at: http://dma.wi.gov/DMA/news/2019news/19163
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Upcoming Events in the 70th
Tomah American Legion Fish Fry
800 Wisconsin Ave.
Friday, October 18, 5:00pm until gone
Historic Point Basse Spirit Walk
300 Wakeley Rd., Nekoosa
Saturday, October 19 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm
Sparta Boys and Girls Club Trick or Treat
1000 E. Montgomery St.
Friday, October 25, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Candy passed out by local organizations.
Drive Through Flu Clinic
Tomah VA Medical Center
Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25, 9:00am-5:00pm
Tomah VA Medical Center has partnered with the Monroe County Health Department to provide a Drive-Thru Flu Clinic open to the public. Please bring appropriate ID or insurance information. Able to stay in car, but recommendation is to dress appropriately so your upper arm can be exposed.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Performance
Sparta Eagles Club, 9901 Hwy 21
October 25-27 and November 1-3, performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:00pm
Performed by the Sparta Area Theatre & Arts Guild
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