By Randy Reeg, former City Administrator, Mauston
The city of Mauston (Juneau County, Wisconsin) is a small rural city of just under 4,500 people, situated along the I-90/94 corridor in central Wisconsin. Despite having a highly successful local manufacturing economy, a regional medical center and being situated in heavily trafficked regional tourist destination area, Mauston and Juneau County both have lower than average incomes and high levels of poverty. The region is one of Wisconsin’s rural food deserts, and the local food pantry, the Community Sharing Pantry, plays a crucial role in fighting local hunger.
The city of Mauston has seven public parks, and like in most other communities, the amenities, popularity and usage of each park differs greatly. Marachowsky’s Park is an approximately 2-acre mini park located on the city’s west side. It had historically contained a youth baseball field, a picnic shelter, playground equipment and public restrooms. Following the summer of 2019, Mauston’s Summer Recreation Director at the time advocated for the relocation of the youth baseball field to a different park for logistical purposes, including the muddy and mosquito-ridden conditions. The Parks & Recreation Board and City Council both agreed, and by summer of 2020, youth baseball was no longer an activity at Marachowsky’s Park.
Ever since it launched in 2017, the 
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and UW-Madison Extension have teamed up to offer young tree training pruning workshops at five locations around the state. Wachtel Tree Science will be presenting the information in a morning-indoors-afternoon-outside format. The cost is $35 including lunch, and ISA Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered. 
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently launched a 
September is back to school month. How do you get those kids to settle down and focus after three months off? The answer is as simple as walking right outside your front door! Exposure to nature has been shown to positively impact students, from improved academic performance and focus, to reduced Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms.