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HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 11/8/2023Bayfield County UW-Madison Extension Committee November 8, 2023 Minutes Page 1 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, November 08, 2023 – 4:00 PM In-Person at the EOC in the Courthouse Annex And Remotely via Microsoft Teams meeting Minutes 1. Call to Order Jeff Silbert, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:03 pm Committee members attending: Jeff Silbert, Larry Fickbohm, Fred Strand, Steve Sandstrom and Madelyn Rekemeyer via Teams. Others attending: Mary Pardee, Jason Fischbach (left at 5 pm), Theresa LaChappelle, Kaylie Lukas, Ian Meeker, Kellie Peterson-(left at 5:18), Heidi Ungrodt & Kelly Westlund (left at 5:15 pm). 2. Approval of Minutes of August 09, 2023 Meeting (action item) (Strand, Fickbohm) Motion to approve the minutes of August 09, 2023. Motion Carried. 3. Public Comment No public comments. 4. 2023 UW-Extension Budget Update Report a. The year-to-date budget totals were presented. b. Mary Pardee noted that Ian Meeker will go into greater detail regarding upcoming funding from the American Lung Association c. Budget amendments should be available at the next meeting. 5. Area Extension Director Update • The All-Colleague Conference was attended by most of the staff. • The 175th Anniversary of UW-Madison will be holding a Northwoods Showcase in Lac du Flambeau in 2024. • Iron County is hiring a half-time Horticulture Educator. This position is being fully funded by Iron County. • A full-time two-year Healthy Coordinator position is being hired in Ashland County. This position is being funded through the UW-Madison Extension Well-Being Institute and Food Wise program. 6. Youth Forward Wisconsin Update -Heidi Ungrodt The Youth Forward Wisconsin is a universal children’s savings account created by Extension. In August. Fickbohm, Strand and Ungrodt had attended the webinar, “Youth Forward WI Partner Meeting”. Ungrodt pointed out that there are three roles in this program: • The Funder - Seed money is put in every child’s account at various points in a child’s life. o For example: birth, Kindergarten, 8th grade & high school graduation, various honor roll attainments, etc. o Bayfield County has averaged 72 births per year over the last 5 years. For 72 children at $25 per child this would be $1800 per year for an initial amount. o Others (family members, etc.) would be allowed to add to the fund. • Program Management Coordinator - This is the hardest role to fill. This must be filled by a well- established entity or organization. Extension cannot take on this role. o Some ideas include: ▪ The Bayfield County Treasurer’s Office, ▪ Local banks, such as Bremer and Associated Bank ▪ EdVest • Education & Engagement - This is the role that Extension would fill. Bayfield County UW-Madison Extension Committee November 8, 2023 Minutes Page 2 Ungrodt has been in discussions with the cities of Menominee, Marquette, and Milwaukee on how their programs are being run; as well as with Bayfield County Human Services employee, Janine Spuhler on what the impact could be on county residents. 7. Staff Reports a. Human Development and Relationships – Heidi Ungrodt Parenting Inside out-This is a pilot program based on the 90-hour Literacy Link prison program. Ungrodt is involved in adapting the prison program to local jails. The 10-sessopm program is approximately 15 hours. It’s conducted both virtually and in-person, with a caregiver component- that includes books and materials that are sent to caregivers that coordinate with the lessons. The books are also read in each class and discussed. Ungrodt has just finished her first session at the Bayfield County Jail with positive responses. This first series was run with fathers, because there were more men than women in jail. Seven men completed the class. Ungrodt will run another series again in February. After additional fine-tuning the program will be shared with the rest of the State for use in all county jails. Tele-Story -This program is about the incarcerated parent reading with the child online. Online visits from the jail are expensive and can be prohibitive for a parent/child relationship to continue. The child is in pre-approved space with an identical selection of materials as the incarcerated parent, which they can then interact about online in real-time. Extension has a monitoring role, while the interactions happen. b. Emerging Crops-Jason Fischbach Hazelnuts- Plant material is being grown and there are many interested growers. In fact, the need for plants outweighs the supply. Go First Farm- The Go First Farm is in its 3rd year. 2024 may see a few nuts produced. 2025 should see nuts produced. Northland College – Hazelnut Processing – Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan & Illinois hazelnut producers are having their hazelnuts processed at Northland College. Emerging Crops Coalition – This coalition includes 28 members including: institutions, non-profits, and growers’ associations. The coalition advises and supports research, and also lobbies the legislature. UW-Madison Extension is not involved in lobbying. Emerging Crops in Bayfield County – Along with hazelnuts, honeyberries and table grapes are a few of the emerging crops that are being grown in the county. Bayfield Foods Cooperative – Bayfield Foods CSA was formed in June of 2010. Out of the many CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) businesses that have been started over the years, only three food hubs are left. Bayfield Foods is the only one left that is self-funded. c. Office Manager-Theresa LaChappelle Family Medical Leave – Lachappelle will be out on family medical leave for at least six weeks starting next Monday. She will be working part-time from home starting December 4th. Living Well in Our Best Years – LaChappelle is finishing up the design and setup of the newsletter. Once final edits are completed the newsletter will be sent to Heart Graphics for printing and mailing. Th newsletter will be sent out to all residents in Bayfield County d. Housing Outreach – Kelly Westlund Community Land Trust (CLT) - Westlund has been working on many different components of the CLT. The CheqBuild CLT should be up and running by spring. Grants – A three-million-dollar HUD grant has been written and submitted. Notifications should be sent out in January. Conferences – Westlund attended the following conferences: ~Housing Assistance Council’s National Rural Housing Conference in Washington, ~ The WHEDA conference, and ~The All-Colleague Conference in Madison and ~ the WHEDA Conference in Madison. Northland College Intern – The Northland College intern has started. Bayfield County UW-Madison Extension Committee November 8, 2023 Minutes Page 3 e. Community Development - Kellie Pederson Community Land Trust (CLT) – Pederson is still connected and involved with the Community Land Trust (CLT) work. Non-profit Support – Finding future board members and volunteers has been the focus of a seminar that Pederson has been combining forces with the Apostle Islands Area Community Fund on setting this up. f. 4-H - Kaylie Lukas 4-H Enrollment – Twenty-eight new youth have enrolled. 4-H Awards Banquet – Lukas has been working on putting together the 4-H Awards Banquet. It is being held this Sunday at 5:30 pm. In the EOC. The email invitations were sent out using EMMA- an email app supported by UW-Madison Extension. The Committee members noted that they did not receive their emailed invitations. She will check with IT to see why they are not receiving the emails sent out using EMMA. g. 4-H and Youth Development-Ian Meeker 4-H Enrollment – Forty-seven leaders have enrolled for this year. This is down from previous years. The enrollment process is lengthy and frustrating which inhibits people from volunteering. Wild Ricing – Meeker was again involved with the harvesting of wild rice with the Bayfield School. The rice that was harvested was included in a special meal. American Lung Association Grant – The American Lung Association has awarded a grant of $15,500 to Bayfield County Extension to start an after-school program for middle schoolers in Washburn. The local chapter of the American Lung Association, the Washburn Club, the Washburn School, and the Bayfield County Extension Office are all collaborating in this program to provide safe and fun activities to help combat vaping and tobacco use. Last night was the first after-school program in which 26 middle school youth showed up. Unplugging to Plug In – Meeker will be presenting this wellness in Superior next week. 8. Next Meeting Date January 10, 2024 at 4: pm – EOC 9. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm.