Around Town
KORZ LOKEN SIGNS: Iola-Scandinavia’s Korz Loken has signed with UW-Madison and will play for the Badgers in the 2027 season. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end is a consensus four-star recruit and the fourth-best tight end in the country. Read the Wisconsin Badgers ONSI story here. You can read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (paid access) story here.
ART DISPLAY: You can bring in your 8×10-inch or smaller artwork to display at the Iola Village Library in February. Any medium of family-friendly artwork is welcome.
MELBY IN SPOTLIGHT: Desiah Melby of Scandinavia, Wisconsin, who is pursuing an Ed.D. in career and technical education leadership, is the subject of a WISPOLITICS Jan. 8 story concerning her design for an annual greeting card chosen by UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank. Read the story here.
FLUBBER DAY: The Iola Village Library will offer a Flubber Day on Tuesday, Jan. 13, where you can make slime, have a jiggly snack, have bouncy fun, and watch a movie at 5 p.m.
Around the State
MORE SCHOOL RECESS: A new Wisconsin bill would require public and charter schools to give kindergarten through sixth-grade students at least 60 minutes of daily recess. Currently, only 30 minutes can count toward instructional time. Assembly Bill 810, introduced by Rep. William Penterman, mandates increased recess time for students statewide. Read the Wisconsin Public Radio story here.
WISCONSIN REJECTS CDC VACCINE GUIDELINES: State health officials won’t change their recommendations for childhood vaccines, endorsing the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Thursday, Jan. 8. Read the Wisconsin Examiner article here.
BILLS OF INTEREST IN MADISON: A bill that would establish child grooming as a felony crime in Wisconsin received a public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Read the Wisconsin Examiner story here. A Wisconsin Assembly committee held a public hearing Tuesday on a bill that would require the state to hold an annual hunt of sandhill cranes. Read the story here.
Interesting Facts
In the daily surfing of the internet, some interesting facts arise that are worth sharing. These are a few recently seen.
DID PIRATES SAY ‘ARRR’?: Nope. We can blame the “pirate accent” on Hollywood. Actor Robert Newton gave an influential performance as Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, which itself was the source of much (often inaccurate) modern-day pirate lore. Newton based his pirate-speak on the dialect of the West Country in southwestern England, where he hailed from (and where Long John Silver comes from, in the book).
‘HAVING A BEEF’ ARGUMENTS: The origins of this phrase can be traced back to the late 1800s, when “beef” first came to be used as a synonym for a grievance. While the exact reason for “beef” meaning “complain” isn’t clear, one theory is that it had something to do with soldiers complaining about meager beef rations.
