Submitted by Danny Akenson, Field Organizer, GROWW

PIERCE COUNTY, WI – Two dozen bankers and lawyers could receive more than a quarter-million dollars in fees from a proposed $18 million publicly-financed loan for Ridge Breeze’s mega-dairy expansion. If Ridge Breeze gets their way, these fees will go to outsiders from other states: Alabama, Missouri, Minnesota and Milwaukee, WI.

Appleton-based Ridge Breeze has pursued a bond sale to finance part of the $35 million dairy expansion in the Town of Salem since September 2024. Mega-dairy developers like Ridge Breeze use public financing to sell tax-exempt bonds to wealthy investors who then give them low-interest loans. These low interest rates give mega-dairies further financial advantages over small and medium-sized farms.

“Public financing is supposed to be used for projects that have a positive local economic impact,” said Danny Akenson, Field Organizer for Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW). “With this deal, our communities get all the negatives. Our roads, our water, and our air would all be at risk, while Ridge Breeze and their wealthy investors extract the profits, fees and tax-free income.”

Local residents and town officials are resisting the loan and the dairy’s plan to quadruple in size and spread 80 million gallons of waste from up to 6,500 cows in Pierce, St. Croix and Pepin counties. More than 10,000 loads of waste will be trucked over country roads. A March 2025 request for public information from PFA revealed that more than quarter-million dollars of the public financing would go towards bankers and legal fees.

Alabama financier Jason Grubbs, from Frazer Lanier Company, expects to underwrite the $18 million bond deal. Missouri-based Michael Chandler from BOK Financial hopes to serve as trustee.

Missouri and Milwaukee lawyers from the well-heeled Husch Blackwell firm are also in on the deal. That includes Lynda R. Templen, who executed a similar 2023 loan for the Coleman Ponderosa mega-dairy in Marinette County, WI. Madison-based attorney Hamang Patel, from Michael Best & Friedrich, is serving as Ridge Breeze’s private lawyer.

Minnesota-based Abi McGibbon from Agri-Bank and Steve Schwoerer from Compeer Financial in Fond du Lac, WI expect to act as Letter of Credit provider and counsel.

Ridge Breeze’s application lays out the project’s $35 million budget which is funded by the $18 million bond deal and an additional $17 million in bank loans. Pierce County Chair Jon Aubart recommended that the Public Finance Authority (PFA) do a $12 million bond sale for Ridge Breeze in September and then increased his recommendation in January to $18 million. However, the status of Ridge Breeze’s deal is up in the air after the Town of Salem canceled a March 12 public hearing, postponing any decision.

GROWW is a grassroots organization based in Western Wisconsin. We build power in our communities and create the change we need for all of us. We began our work in 2019 as Pierce County GrassRoots Organizing, and grew out of the name as we began to organize with communities in seven Western Wisconsin counties: Barron, Buffalo, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix. To get connected or learn more about GROWW, visit us at GRO-WW.org, on Instagram at @GrowWisconsin, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/GROWWisconsin.

By Mitchell Klopp, WWH

BALDWIN, WI – Western Wisconsin Health (WWH), a cornerstone of healthcare in St. Croix County, is proud to announce that it has set a record in its Birth Center, delivering 41 babies in the month of March. This remarkable achievement highlights both the growing trust the community has in the hospital and the exceptional care provided by the dedicated staff.

The new record, which surpasses previous monthly birth numbers, comes at a time when the hospital is focused on enhancing its services and supporting the growing needs of the community. With a commitment to providing safe, compassionate, and expert care, the Birth Center at Western Wisconsin Health remains a trusted place for families to welcome their little ones into the world.

“This achievement could not be possible without a team that is collaborative, supportive and respectful,” said OB/GYN, Dr. Dennis Hartung. “We strive to maintain a place where families have a safe and excellent experience, and staff members finish their day feeling fulfilled.”

The Birth Center at Western Wisconsin Health offers a comprehensive range of services, from prenatal to postnatal care, ensuring a supportive and personalized experience for every family. The hospital continues to expand its services and improve its facilities to meet the needs of its growing patient base.

Western Wisconsin Health is redefining rural healthcare to help achieve our mission of building a healthier tomorrow, together.

By Julie Huebel, Pierce County Historical Association

ELMWOOD, WI – After posting the original, shorter H post on the Elmwood, WI History Facebook page someone graciously brought in their very well organized family records for me to scan so we could add a digital copy to our archives.  This is a great way to ensure that the hard work done on one’s ancestry research is not lost.  It will live on for future generations to access and learn from.  So, thank you Roberta Holcomb for sharing your research!  That’s my way of saying, H is for Holcomb…

Levi Benjamin Holcomb was born in 1806 in Fort Ann, New York (another source says Granby, NY) to Levi (Sr.) and Sarah per the record from his second marriage.  In 1828, Levi Benjamin married Angeline Rathborn.  She was born in 1801 in Pennsylvania.  Levi and Angeline were married in 1828 in Jasper, NY.  They had 17 children per a source on the Ancestry website.  Angeline died in 1872 and was buried in the Old Rock Elm Cemetery at the time of her death.

Per the 1877 plat map, Levi owned 80 acres in section 8 of Rock Elm Township.  On the 1880 census, he was living in Spring Lake Township.  Levi remarried in 1879 to Marinda (Gibson) Hooker, they were married by James K. Webb.

Levi died in 1888 and is buried in Poplar Hill Cemetery.  Per his obituary, his second wife, Angeline, was moved from the smaller cemetery a bit southwest of Rock Elm along with two of their children to his plot in the “new” cemetery.

In my initial write up on the Holcombs I was a bit shaky on the Holcomb line, only having found names listed in Levi, Jr.’s marriage record. Per Roberta’s pedigree chart for this family, she has Levi’s parents listed as Levi Holcomb born in 1767 in Granby and married to Martha Benjamin.  And Levi, Sr’s parents being Joseph Holcomb and Elizabeth.

In 1975, Dodge County, Wisconsin dedicated a marker on the grave of at the time the only known Revolutionary War soldier there, a Levi Holcomb that per his headstone there was born in 1763 and died in 1854.  He is buried in the Burnett Corners Cemetery NE of Beaver Dam.  The marker reads: “Levi Holcomb was born in Granby, Connecticut on January 15, 1763.  He enlisted at the age of 16 or 17 as a substitute for his brother Enos.  After serving for two months in Captain Phelp’s Company, Holcomb again enlisted as a substitute, this time for this brother, Ezra, who had been drafted for six months.  Levi served the enlistment in the Simsbury Mines guarding British prisoners.  Then he received his discharge, he at once enlisted in Captain Granger’s Company of Colonel Samuel Canfield’s Regiment for a period of 13 months.  During this final period of service, Holcomb was stationed at Stratford, Connecticut.  After the war, Levi lived in New York and Pennsylvania.  Holcomb moved to Wisconsin Territory where he died in Dodge County around 1854.  Levi Holcomb is buried in the Burnette Corners Cemetery.”

An idea of mine is that this may be our Levi Holcomb’s father, but I don’t know for sure.  Can anyone prove or disprove this hypothesis?  I found a record on Ancestry website from, Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 17, that reads: “Holcomb, Levi, died Jan. 17, 1831, age 64.  Holcomb, Martha, wife of Levi, died Mar. 15, 1850, age 79.” (Headstone inscriptions from Granby Street Cemetery)  Who is this Levi?  It’s so common for a family to use and reuse names.  For example, I’ve seen a person’s sons all name one of their sons after their father, resulting in several men with the same first and last name.  It’s stuff like this that can make ancestry research a bit complicated at times.  All we can do is gather as much information as we can until we either build a case to prove or disprove something.  Some things, like this Levi Holcomb business, may go on being a mystery.

There is a Holcomb buried in Granby Cemetery where it has been mentioned that our Holcombs hale from, a Thomas Holcomb I, born in 1609 in England and died in 1657 in Connecticut.  He was one of the 60 “Puritans & dissenters” who moved in the years 1635/36 to found the town of Windsor, CT.  He served on the General Court for his area and worked in the framing of the Constitution of the Colony of Connecticut.  This is very likely, the ancestors of our Elmwood Holcombs.  Isn’t this ancestry stuff fun?  It is definitely a journey and not always an exact science.