Local News

Can floods cancel one of mid-America’s favorite art festivals? Not in the Driftless Area! And not when beauty and friendship can do much to help in weathering storms like those that have hit communities across the Driftless region.

So, 81 of the finest visual artists from across the region will gather in a new, temporary location Sept. 15 and 16, for the 14th annual Driftless Area Art Festival. Instead of Beauford T. Anderson Park in Soldiers Grove, the festival will take place less than 10 miles away, on the grounds of the Crawford County Fair, just outside Gays Mills.

They’ll be joined by 10 local culinary artists and four musical groups—some familiar names from previous years and some new to the festival. 

The Bloomington man accused of inappropriate contact with a youth who visited his business is moving toward a trial.

James Crubel, 59, was in Grant County Circuit Court for a status conference on the seven felony counts against him. The case was given a final status hearing Oct. 3, with an expected two-day trial set for Oct. 22.

Crubel has been charged with two counts of repeated sexual assault of the same child—contact equal to first degree sexual assault more than three times. The charges have maximum sentences of up to 60 years, and the first charge calls for a minimum of 25 years for a bifurcated sentence. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 7:38 a.m., the Crawford County Dispatch Center was notified of a two-car crash on Highway 60, near Riverview Lane in Wauzeka Township.

Jennifer Schramm, 38, rural Muscoda, was driving a 2005 Ford Mustang west when she slowed in traffic for a farm tractor. She was rear-ended by a 2017 Chevy Malibu driven by Timothy Bray, 46, rural Gays Mills. Bray had taken his eyes off the road for a second then saw Schramm slowing, but was unable avoid the collision.

Schramm sustained possible whiplash and was taken to a hospital.

Bray sustained a bump to the head and a bruise to his left wrist but refused medical transport. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed from the scene. Bray was cited for inattentive driving.

On Aug. 25, at around 4 a.m., a Prairie du Chien officer, along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit, were patrolling the area of South Dousman Street and Iowa Street. The officers observed two male subjects walking through residential yards. Due to recent vehicle entry thefts and suspicious activity calls in the neighborhood, the officers contacted the two males.

During the contact, a man identified as Johnathon Haid, 22, of Prairie du Chien, removed a plastic bag from his pants and dropped the bag to the ground, according to the police department.