In order to be more cost effective and environmentally conscious, Marathon County ishoping to utilize a standard salt usage plan as the road de-icing techniques currently vary in eachof the 11 municipalities in the county. This disconnect is not only ineffective, but also potentiallydangerous to drivers traveling throughout different municipalities that salt heavier or lighter […]
Read More… from Examining best practices for de-icing in Marathon County
With the support of Andrew Lynch, AICP, Transportation Planner at the Wausau Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the UniverCity Alliance, students in the Nelson Institute Community Environmental Scholars Program researched road salt practices in the Wausau Metropolitan Area during Spring Semester 2021. Four University of Wisconsin-Madison students participated in the project through their enrollment in Environmental […]
Read More… from Road Salt Practices Across Wausau Metropolitan Area Municipalities
Marathon County is a county located in central Wisconsin which hosts outdoor recreation activities year-round. Anchored by its largest city, Wausau, the area is known as a gateway to northern Wisconsin. The county hopes to expand its rural biking program in the future, as they currently only offer bike-focused amenities in the Wausau metro area. […]
Read More… from Planning a rural bicycling network and future bike infrastructure in Marathon County
In an effort to gain better insight for outreach strategies, this student team wrote and conducted apublic attitudes survey of Fenwood Creek Watershed farmers and landowners. Their goal was to gain perspectives on broad topics such as local watershed health and conservation efforts. The team’s methodology focused on three areas: communication, research, and survey writing. […]
This student team assessed the County Conservation Plan and Farmland Preservation Plan and held discussions with Marathon County and associates to identify ways they can increase public awareness in Marathon County. They want to influence people to adapt to new sustainable agricultural practices that can enhance soil health. The students focused on finding ways to […]
Read More… from Promoting soil health through public engagement in Marathon County
Marathon Co. is located within the Central Wisconsin River Basin, which inevitably provides the county with an abundance of surface water sources such as streams, tributaries, and wetlands. This abundance of water sources can easily be polluted when agriculture or urban/developed landcover types are in close proximity to these areas. Landcover types located within a […]
Read More… from Assessing Marathon County riparian and wetland resources
The child care industry is vital for a healthy economy and yet there are inherent tensions that make improvements in quality, affordability, and access difficult. Improvements in one area must often come at the expense of another area. A holistic approach is essential to ensure that policy changes meet the needs of all residents in […]
Read More… from Child care availability, issues, and solutions
As identified in the Workforce Innovation for a Strong Economy (WISE) Plan, one of the big issues that our community is facing with regard to available workforce is the lack of available childcare for potential employees. This is a larger issue for the community than just its impact on workforce, because early childhood development is […]
Read More… from Navigating the legal aspects of providing child care
La Crosse County has been struggling with childcare accessibility for its residents due to lack of viable options. The past two decades have seen significant decreases in the amount of regulated childcare businesses. In 1998, there were over 450 regulated childcare businesses in existence in La Crosse County. By 2019, the number of regulated childcare […]
At the request of La Crosse County, we completed a benefit-cost analysis of three potential alternatives to current policy to increase the availability and affordability of child care. Two of these alternatives involve creating new employer-sponsored child care facilities and one entails a wage subsidy for child care providers. Ultimately, on average, none of the […]
Read More… from A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Expanding Access to Child Care in La Crosse County