Around Town
HATCH LAKE RAFFLE: Hatch Lake raffle tickets are available at JR’s Sport Shop in Iola. They are $2 each or three for $5. The raffle finances fish stocking and lake restoration. First prize is $500, second $100, third $50 and fourth and fifth $25 each. The drawing will be on Saturday, Feb.21, at 2 p.m.
KRISTIAN WELCH: Iola’s Kristin Welch has been on injured reserve since he injured his ankle in the second quarter Bears game with Green Bay. The earliest estimate return to the active squad is in the NFL Championship Game, if the Packers get that far.
JUNIOR INDOOR ARCHERY: The Iola Conservation Club will hold junior indoor archery sessions on Wednesdays from Jan. 7 to 28. Cost is $5 for four weeks, with equipment provided. Grades 3 shoot 5:30–6:15 p.m.; grades 4 and up 6:15–7 p.m. Parents may observe. Interested instructors can contact Scott at 715-445-3461.
Around the County
ICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE: The Portage/Waupaca County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will hold its annual meeting at Central Waters Brewing in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Around the State
WETLAND PROTECTION: Only 13 percent of Wisconsin’s wetlands would fall under federal protection under proposed changes to the “waters of the United States” rule unveiled last month, but most would still be protected under state law. Even so, wetland advocates say some Wisconsin wetlands would be more vulnerable to development under narrow exemptions in state law. Read the Wisconsin Public Radio story here.
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: us-Rivers Falls advances to NCAA D-III Football Championship after defeating Johns Hopkins University 48-41 in the semifinals on Dec. 20. UWRF senior quarterback Kaleb Blaha threw for five touchdowns, including the game-winner with 45 seconds remaining. UW-River Falls will face defending national champion North Central College (14-0) at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Jan. 4.
Interesting Facts
In the daily surfing of the internet, some interesting facts arise that are worth sharing. These are a few recently seen.
LARGEST RICE PRODUCING STATE: According to the USDA , the United States accounts for 1.3 percent of the global rice trade. Domestically, rice production is dominated by the state of Arkansas, which accounts for an incredible 40 percent of U.S. rice cultivation. Arkansas’ annual output is more than double that of California, which ranks second among U.S. states, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas.
KNOCK ON WOOD: The origins of this practice of saying “Knock on wood” are probably much more modern and banal. In A Dictionary of English Folklore, scholars Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud note that the earliest known reference to the practice only dates to 1805. It seems linked to 19th-century children’s games like “Tiggy Touchwood” — types of tag in which children were safe from capture if they touched something wooden, like a door or tree.
