Around Town
POOL CLOSURE: The leisure pool with fountain and slide at the Iola-Scandinavia Fitness and Aquatic Center is closed for a few days as an unexpected repair has to be made.
FOOD PANTRY: Our Savior’s Lutheran Church operates the community food pantry. Food items that are canned and boxed products that have a long shelf life are welcome. You can drop off your donations at the church Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you need food, please call the church at 715-445-2377 for an appointment to pick up food items.
Around the State
VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS: Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin DOT announced $14 million in federal grants for 26 new electric vehicle charging stations statewide. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these stations on Wisconsin’s Alternative Fuel Corridor will support over 37,000 registered EVs, travelers, and visitors, boosting infrastructure and clean transportation. Read the CBS58 story here.
NO CANDY ON SNAP: Republicans in Wisconsin are holding a vote this week on a bill restricting what recipients can buy with that money. Under the proposal up for a vote in the Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday, Nov. 19, soft drinks, candy, and energy drinks would no longer be allowed to be purchased using money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Read the Wisconsin Public Radio story here.
VOS AND MOMS: Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking a measure to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months for low-income new mothers, despite bipartisan support and passage in 48 states. The Wisconsin Senate approved the bill; 30 Assembly Republicans are co-sponsors, but the current limit remains at two months. Read the ProPublica story here.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND KIDS: State Senators Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) revealed the S.A.F.E. Kids Act, which they say will protect children from harmful practices on social media; however, it will do so without prohibiting usage or placing unrealistic limits on users and companies. Read the WFRV story here.
SEX ABUSE TRAINING IN SCHOOLS: On Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Wisconsin State Assembly will vote on Assembly Bill 156, requiring annual child sexual abuse prevention training in schools for grades 4K-12. Advocate Erin Merryn, a survivor, has championed “Erin’s Law” for over a decade to promote body safety education statewide. Read the WKOW 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.
PIGGY BANKS: In many rural communities, a family’s pig was essentially its bank: a source of meat, trade goods, or emergency cash. This value was collected by slaughtering the pig, just like how you might break a piggy bank to access the coins it stores. In Germanic folklore, pigs represent luck and plenty. It was likely German immigrants, with their own Sparschwein (“saving pig”), who carried this fond association to the United States around the start of the 20th century.
VIKING SURNAMES: We’re all acquainted with surnames ending in “son” or “sen” as being Scandinavian. But others are coming from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Viking migrations, raids, and settlements spread Viking naming conventions as well as the Old Norse language across regions that are now part of modern-day England, Ireland, and Scotland. Viking settlers significantly influenced regions such as Yorkshire in northern England and parts of Ireland, a fact still visible in the surnames common in these areas, such as Holmes, a Viking word meaning “a small island”; McAuliff, meaning “son of Olaf”; and Higgins, which comes from an Irish word that means “Viking.”
Similarly, Doyle, from the Irish Ó Dubhghaill, means a “descendant of Dubhghaill,” coming from the Old Gaelic dubh, meaning “dark” or “black” and ghaill, meaning “foreigner” or “stranger,” which was how the first Vikings in Ireland were described. Other Viking names with the same meaning include the Irish surname Mcdowell and the Scottish surname Mcdougall, both of which are anglicized forms of Mac Dubhghaill, meaning “son of Dubhghaill.” – Thanks to History Facts