(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam mayor calls Generac’s plan to construct a new facility in the city an “incredible opportunity.” The business plans to build a 320-thousand-square-foot facility in the Highway 151 Business Park. Mayor Becky Glewen says it is a win for the entire region. She adds that Generac is known for good jobs and good pay which could put pressure to increase wages in our area. The new facility will include a mix of manufacturing and office employees, and will eventually employ up to 350-to-400 people in total. Once complete, it will serve as a hub for expanding the company’s production of industrial generators. Generac will begin construction this fall with a completion goal of early 2025.
(Columbus) The Columbus City Council received an overview of the 2024 city budget at a recent meeting. Interim City Administrator Chris Swartz highlighted budget priorities which included emergency services, employee wage and benefits, and road maintenance. He also talked about numbers impacting the budget including a nine-percent increase in health insurance and a five-percent general wage increase. The next key date in the budget process is October 3rd when the city administrator presents the proposed budget to the mayor and council. A public hearing and final budget adoption is scheduled for November 7th.
(Waupun) Members of the public were able to tour Central Wisconsin Christian in Waupun over the weekend to see the results of an $11-million-dollar expansion. It was a 31-thousand-square-foot addition which included seven new classrooms for elementary students, and a 25-hundred-square-foot Discovery Center. The school’s Director of Advancement Gregg Zonnefeld says for the high school they built three new classrooms and a seven-thousand-square-foot lab for their agriculture, professional trades, and technical skills students.
(Beaver Dam) The last bulk garbage pick-up in Beaver Dam for the year is scheduled next month. Public works officials say bulk pick-up will begin Monday, October 2nd and continue through Friday, October 6th. Bulk waste is defined as, but not limited to, furniture, mattresses, box springs, carpet, countertops, doors and windows. The next curbside bulk pick-up will be in May.
(Pacific) Alliant Energy has announced that Columbia County may soon be home to one of the most sustainable, advanced energy storage systems in the country. Company officials say they have been selected for a grant of up to approximately $30-million-dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for a proposed 200-megawatt hour energy storage system. The project would utilize an innovative design by Energy Dome to deliver 10 hours of energy storage capacity by compressing carbon dioxide gas into a liquid. When that energy is needed, the system converts the liquid CO2 back to a gas which powers a turbine to create electricity. The facility would be located in the town of Pacific.
