MENOMONIE RANKED #15 IN 'BEST SMALL TOWN' LIST

Congratulations, Menomonie, you’re one of the best small towns in America. According to Smithsonian Magazine’s article, “The 20 Best Small Towns in America,” Menomonie ranks number 15. Smithsonian teamed up with Esri, a geographic information systems company, to find culture hubs across the lower 48 with populations under 25,000. They looked for “high concentrations of museums, historic sites, botanic gardens, resident orchestras, art galleries and other cultural assets,” says Smithsonian. The article boasts of Menomonie’s Wilson Park band shell, Menomonie Theater Guild, Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, and UW-Stout. Smithsonian says that small towns like Menomonie reinforce “the truth that big cities and grand institutions per se don’t produce creative works; individuals do.” Menomonie was the only Sconnie town to make the list.

WHOA: EAU CLAIRE LOST 1600 JOBS OVER PAST YEAR

Recently released data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a staggering number of lost jobs in the past year, including 1,600 locally and the most (by percentage decrease) of any state in the nation. From March of 2011 to March of 2012, the Eau Claire metro area (Eau Claire and Chippewa counties) lost 1,600 jobs. If the state statistical trends are to be believed, the reason is likely cuts to the public sector (government, schools, post offices, etc.). The state as a whole lost 23,900 jobs over the year, not counting the 800 Wisconsin lost between February and March of 2011. Of those losses, 17,900 were from the public sector. The unemployment rates, however, have declined, likely meaning those who lost jobs either moved to a different state and/or whole businesses closed and relocated. Gov. Walker’s camp states they’ve added 15,000 private jobs since last year, while Democrats point to his cuts to the public sector.

CITY EXPANDS BENEFITS TO DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS

Eau Claire took great strides towards equality on April 24 as they voted in favor of offering city employees in domestic partnerships the same health care plans as that of married couples.  After two hours of debate, the city council agreed to extend benefits to same sex couples with a 10-1 vote.  Cost was the major concern of those against the policy change.  According to the city’s current insurance carrier, Group Health Cooperative, the change is so small that it would not affect the city’s premiums.  It is difficult to tell how many people this new policy affects, as there is an unknown number of city employees in domestic partnerships. Currently, life insurance and dental plan benefits are not offered to same-sex partners.