UW-Madison Extension Bayfield County Committee Meeting Minutes for 05-May 13, 2026

1. Call to Order

At 4:02 pm, the meeting was called to order by Mary Pardee, Area Extension Director.
Committee members present: Steve Sandstrom, Fred Strand, Larry Fickbohm & Jeff Olsen.
Committee member absent: Jeff Holte.
Others present: Mary Pardee, Theresa LaChappelle, Stephanie Bakker, Clair Emmons, and Ryan Hogan,

2. Committee members welcomed back.

3. Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair (action item)

The floor was opened for nominations of Chair.
Motion (Strand) nominated Steve Sandstrom as Committee Chair.
It was asked twice for any other nominations for Chair. None were received.
(Fickbohm) moved to close nominations and cast a unanimous vote for Steve Sandstrom as Chair.
Motion carried.

4. Approval of Minutes of March 11,2026 Meeting (action item)

Motion (Fickbohm, Olsen) to approve March 11, 2026, minutes. Motion carried.

5. Introduction of New Extension Educator

Ryan Hogan was introduced as the new part-time UW-Madison Extension Bayfield County Housing Educator.

6. Public Comment

   No public comments were made.

7. 2026 UW-Extension Budget Update

2026 year-to-date budget figures were discussed.

8. 2027 UW-Extension Budget Discussion

The 2027 budget was introduced for preliminary discussion, so the committee could begin to plan for anticipated increases due to recent changes in staffing structure. No formal action was taken.

9. Approval of moving forward the Hazelnut Accelerator Grant 2026 Budget Amendment (action Item)

Motion (Strand, Olsen) to move the Hazelnut Accelerator Grant budget amendment forward to the County Board.

10. Annual Report

LaChappelle presented the 2025 Annual Report to the Committee. Pardee will present this at the County Board meeting on May 26,2026. Committee members commented on how well it is put together and shows how much of a positive effect the Extension Office has on Bayfield County.

11. Area Extension Director Update

A. State and Area Updates
1. Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC) – Pardee is on the NGLVC board and is happy to announce that the Center will be open on Mondays through much of the summer.
2. USDA lawsuit – The USDA implemented new policy terms affecting funding disbursements, and Wisconsin and other states raised concerns about potential conflicts with state laws and clarity of the conditions.
3. Nondiscrimination Policy – The University continues to update wording changes in their policy statements.
4. Cohorts Extension Education Network – Pardee is currently facilitating This is an orientation for new educators throughout the state. The new educators meet online once a week for three months with two in-person meetings- one in Madison and one in Stevens Point.

B. Staffing   
1. Housing Educator – Ryan Hogan has been selected for this part-time position.
2. Superior Adventures Summer Assistant – Nicole Boyd has been selected for this temporary part-time position which will start in June.

12. Staff Reports

A. Health & Well Being Educator – Stephanie Bakker
Red Cliff Clinic Open House – Bakker will be attending this tonight. Red Cliff Early Childhood Center has been struggling, but are looking at continuing. Bakker does educational outreach here.
Bayfield Head Start will be closing in May. This has also been one of the places that Bakker had focused her education outreach to. This closing will be a hard hit for the area.
Breastfeeding Coalition – Facilitated a meeting of the Bayfield County breastfeeding programs at Legendary Waters. Native Breastfeeding Coalition, and MCH Grant initiatives were discussed and then the focus was on gathering information about existing resources, identifying service gaps, and determining additional partners who should be included.

B. 4-H Educator – Clair Emmons
Onboarding – Still participating in UW-Madison onboarding.
4-H Leaders Association – Emmons attended the Leaders Association meeting last night.
4-H Project Showcase – The showcase was rescheduled from April to May 9, 2026. There was a lower turnout due to conflicting events going on in the area. Approximately twelve youth registered as exhibitors, Between 30 – 40 people were in attendance.
CANSKI – The ski purge is on. Cleaning out unusable items from the ski collection.
CAMP – There will be a 2-step process for youth to register. Forty youth have already registered in 24 hours.  Sixteen older youth have registered to be Counselors.
Shared County 4-H Activity Clubs – Bike Club and Summer Archery Clubs are shared clubs with Ashland and Bayfield County youth enrolled.
Bayfield School – Emmons will be providing a Stockton Island Outdoor Activity for the Bayfield School 5th and 6th Grade Alt Ed classes.

(Steve Sandstrom mentioned that, “The Island Schools of Northland College” used to provide activities on the Apostle Islands to local school groups. Their funding was provided in part by the Friends of the Apostle Island and local schools. The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute is reforming and are looking to start this type of program back up.)

Old VFW Building and sheds – Patrick Earring, Washburn Tech Ed Instructor had his class build some new shelving for the inside the old VFW building, they will also soon be repairing one of the sheds.

C. Office Manager – Theresa LaChappelle
Annual Report – LaChappelle has completed the Annual Report. It is in the meeting materials. It will be shared at the next County Board meeting.
Clean Sweep – LaChappelle has been working on the planning of the Clean Sweep event, taking phone calls and answering a multitude of questions.

D. Housing Educator – Ryan Hogan
Onboarding – Participating in UW-Madison Extension onboarding, as well as shadowing Kelly Westlund.
Housing Group Meetings – Hogan has met with the following:
Iron River Economic Development Group to discuss future housing.
The Cornucopia Senior Housing Group-where land acquisition is the sticking point.   
Ondossagon School conversion. C&S Design has a rendering of the conversion for the school. Asbestos remediation and developing a sanitary district were discussed.
Cable Area – Meeting where seasonal workforce housing is a priority.
Aurora Place – Hogan has heard some negative comments on the amount of police calls made to the complex. He is looking into the accuracy or inaccuracy of those claims.
Home Repair Brochures – Hogan has sent out information regarding home repair money that is available to residents through Northwest Regional Planning to approximately 170 different residences in the Port Wing, Herbster, Iron River and Washburn areas.

13. Next Meeting Date – Tentatively scheduled for July 8, 2026, at 4 pm in the EOC and via Teams.

14. Adjourn – The meeting adjourned at 5:13 pm.

Submitted by Theresa LaChappelle, Office Manager.