Looking back on issues and ideas from 2022

The ancient Roman god Janus is pictured as having two faces — one looking forward and the other backwards. This is fitting for a figure who was seen as the god of doorways and transitions and whose name was given to the first month of the year.

Any step forward, any new beginning, is tied inextricably to the journey that came before it.

Each week, The Star News editorials seek to bring attention to issues, efforts, causes and concerns, all of which shape where we have been as a community and where we may be headed. The goal each week is to raise awareness of these issues and bring them to the forefront of public debate.

As with past years, looking over the more than 100 editorials written in 2022, there are clear themes that emerge. These are topics that come back with regularity, some of which have reached resolution, while others continue to draw headlines and discussion.

As we stand at the proverbial doorway between one year and the next, we take the time this week to revisit some of the major issues and themes of 2022. Setting a map of where we have been, next week we will look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that the new year will bring us.

Major themes of the year focused around ongoing political squabbling, the need for service and leadership at all levels, how to best honor the commitment made to our veterans, celebrating hope the community is finding opportunities for rebirth and renewal while facing very real demographic challenges and the losses we have felt with the death of community leaders.

Veterans Service

For news watchers in Taylor County, the biggest local issue of 2022, by far, has been the ongoing saga of the Taylor County Veterans Service office.

The office operates with a clearly defined goal of connecting local veterans with the state and federal benefits which they earned through their blood, sweat and toil in military service. Historically, the office has been a fairly quiet one making headlines with the announcement of new programs or reminding veterans of their eligibility for benefits.

Things changed in early 2022 as lack of clear county administrative leadership and a clearly defined formal chain of command led to the departmental staff going their own way in regard to operational policies and then bristling and becoming defensive when called on perceived concerns.

The situation worsened as the local veterans community mobilized viewing the county board’s actions to appoint a new committee as an attack on the veterans community as a whole.

The county board was in the unenviable situation of dealing with internal personnel matters which had very real impacts on the larger community. There were accusations of threats of violence on both sides, formal harassment complaints filed with law enforcement and large crowds, with high emotions at many of the meetings where there was anything touching on any of the issues on the agenda. At times sheriff’s deputies were called to be at the committee meetings.

Things came to a head with the resignation of the veterans service officer in late summer and the need to fill the position just as the federal government approved a history-making expansion of benefits and services for veterans.

While the underlying issues are far from being fully resolved, the change in leadership in the department has returned the focus to where it belongs, how to best provide an atmosphere where veterans feel comfortable accessing the services and benefits that they earned and are entitled to receive. Focusing on serving the needs of area veterans and not being sidetracked by the personalities and personnel politics was the ongoing message of The Star News editorials throughout the year. This focus on ensuring services are available must continue as the county moves forward toward a longterm resolution of the concerns.

Politics

Politics played a major role in 2022 on the state, regional and local level. This was especially true at the state level where Gov. Tony Evers faced a strong challenge from businessman Tim Michels in his reelection bid. Evers ended up winning reelection by a wider margin than he had won the seat four years earlier.

Leading up to the elections, the editorials focused less on any merits Evers may have had as a leader, but on the lack of leadership being shown at the legislative level. Time and again, the legislature advanced poorly conceived and politically motivated legislation with the goal of grabbing headlines and providing advertising copy when Evers inevitably vetoed them.

The legislature also continued its almost juvenile practice of refusing to take action on Evers’ appointments, setting the stage for Fred Prehn to refuse to yield his seat on the Natural Resources Board despite his term having expired. Prehn prevailed with the highly-politicized state supreme court agreeing to his farcical argument that in the absence of the legislature doing its job, he should serve until he felt good and ready to step down. Despite any merits, Prehn may have brought to the board through his years of service, his lingering on the high-profile board left an unsavory political stench on issues such as wolf management, the regulation of so-called forever chemicals in groundwater and the long term plans for Rib Mountain State Park. Last week Prehn announced plans to step down from the board at the end of the year.

Another major statewide issue has been what to do with the state’s obscenely large surplus. The surplus is the result of a perfect storm of COVID relief, politically motived budgeting, spiking sales tax revenues and the long-term impacts of good fiscal management. Throughout the year The Star News has offered several suggestions on how the surplus could be spent to help current and future residents, from paying down state debt to investing in long-term infrastructure projects such as dams and bridges. Up until now, the legislature has been unwilling to consider how to spend the funds.

Following the election, Robin Vos and others in legislative leadership have indicated they want to move beyond the rancor and politics of the past and move forward to work more with the governor.

Leadership and service

A recurring theme throughout the year has been the call for leadership. This has been seen through concerns raised with county government where, in the absences of clearly-defined chains of command, there has been disarray in the management of the business of government. It has likewise been felt in community organizations and events as older generations of community leaders seek to pass the torch to the next generation only to find that few have stepped up to the challenge.

Leadership is far from finding a crowd of people, jumping in front of it and calling it a parade. Leadership requires having the vision to set goals and the commitment to work with others to bring those goals to reality.

The county has moved in the right direction in the past year with the expansion of the committee structure to include more diverse voices in the decision making. While more work needs to be done, specifically with day to day administration, having more voices on decisions helps relieve concerns about a concentration of power in a handful of supervisory seats.

Community

On the community front, Taylor County, like many rural areas of the state, is facing an impending population crisis, especially with younger and working-age families. The impact of this is keeping Taylor County unemployment low and the labor market for quality workers extremely competitive. Factories and other major employers have raised wages and offered additional benefits and incentives to attract workers.

Taylor County has seen historically low unemployment rates. At the same time, according to economic studies done by Northcentral Technical College professors, the area is unique in that while cost of living such as housing and food expenses have increased, it has done so reasonably compared to other regions of the state, putting the area in a proverbial sweet spot with the growth of real wages.

This has spilled out into the

See LOOKING BACK on page 7 larger community through reinvestment, particularly in downtown buildings. Success continues to build on success as once-vacant and derelict structures undergo renovation and reopen with new stories to tell. Transition in ownership is also playing a role as new people with new ideas take the reins.

The ongoing challenge for the area throughout the year has been in how to go from being poised at the starting block of growth to getting it started. One barrier remains the relative lack of appropriate and affordable housing for new people coming to get a start in the community.

The Star News wrote: “Success doesn’t happen by chance. Success is built on work and continued investment in time, resources and labor. This generation, and future ones, must be willing to make the investment so that the community’s soil remains fertile and provides a place for seeds to take root and grow strong.”

The city of Medford administration took a leadership role in these efforts supporting the redevelopment of unused industrial park land into apartment and single family home developments. This is an investment which will pay off in the community for generations to come. However, some have questioned the value of these investments, worrying that the new housing will lead to an influx of workers from other places who will change the community but not better it.

One such concern was with the issues involved with finding the proper location for a homeless shelter. The facility provides a transitional place to provide housing security and an opportunity for people to get back on their feet.

The first pick for a location proved too costly to renovate and an alternative location of a former community based residential facility was proposed. Planning commission members in the city showed leadership in approving the permit for the property and giving “those people” a safe place to live. The facility is now full of local residents who are working to build more secure futures for themselves and their families.

Saying goodbyes

The past year also saw the area say goodbye to some major figures.

The local arts and theater community was hit early in the year with the death of Doug Robertson who helped foster and grow a love of the theater in generations of Medford area students and residents.

The arts and downtown community took another serious blow last summer with the untimely death of Jeff Miller, who was instrumental in running Black River Art Gallery on Main Street for many years. Beyond that Miller was a strong leader in the business community who was committed to the vision of what the downtown could be and who was not afraid to put in the work to make that vision a reality.

An equally large blow hit the community with the death of Edward “Lee” Schield, the visionary who founded Weather Shield Windows and Doors growing it from a garage-based business to a major player in the window and door market. The company remains one of the area’s largest employers with facilities in Medford and other communities. Schield was a trend-setter in the window and door industry and remained active in the company despite having formally stepped back in recent years.

Among these themes, the editorial pages of The Star News joined in celebrating the successes of area residents as well as joining with them in mourning tragedies and remembering sacrifices.

The past year, like most years, has been a mixed bag with lessons to be learned at all levels. As we look forward to the new year, we as a community and as a state, must take the lessons to heart and fulfill the state’s motto to move “Forward.”