Gretta Stark
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Gretta Stark has been a reporter for the River Falls Journal since July of 2013. She previously worked as a reporter for the New Richmond News from June 2012 to July 2013. She holds a BA in Print and Electronic Media from Wartburg College.
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Not everyone ends up doing the job they said they would when they were four years old, but on July 11 Michael Page will be doing just that. As a toddler Michael told his father David Page he wanted to become a dentist and work in his father's practice. This Monday David A. Page DDS Family Dentistry will become Page Family Dentistry, and Michael will join his dad's practice at 107 E. Locust St. And Michael and David aren't the only dentists in the family.
Ethel Johnson is an active member of several community organizations, she volunteers working with kids and charities, and she's about to turn 90. Monday, July 18 is Johnson's birthday. It is also Ethel Johnson Day this year, as proclaimed by the River Falls City Council Tuesday July 12. Johnson is involved in the Wisconsin Retired Educators' Association, the American Association of University Women, and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church's Women's Leadership Conference.
Everything from motorhomes the size of tour buses to an old, green Ford filled eight of the 15 camper parking spaces at Hoffman Park Thursday, July 7. The people staying at the campsite were there for reasons varying from relatives' birthdays to coping with a four-hour commute to work. Campers Colleen and Emmett DeCambaliza came to River Falls in their 35-foot Winnebago for their grandsons' birthdays. Their oldest grandson Tanner recently graduated from River Falls High School. Grandson Lakota is about to turn two.
Pastors from Ezekiel Lutheran Church and The River Church, both of River Falls, raced on Tricycles before the River Falls Days Parade, Friday, July 8, to see who was the faster pastor. The annual Faster Pastor races are open to all local churches and their ministers. Participating this year were Kim Suhr, Diaconal Minister for Community Youth and Family from Ezekiel Lutheran Church and Pastor Ron Weller of The River Church. Pastor Kim won the race while spectators cheered both participants.
With over 100 entries this year, the River Falls Days Parade is a bigh highlight of the annual River Falls Days celebration. The River Falls Police, Fire and Ambulance deparments led off the parade, followed by many floats including the newly-crowned River Falls Royal Ambassadors, a new martial arts group in town, and many other local businesses and organizations. The parade finished with the River Falls High School Marching Wildcats.
Lots of superheroes filled the River Falls Public Library's Kiddie Parade Saturday, July 9. The other categories included: Travel the World, Wheels, Favorite Characters, Pets, American History, and Miscellanious. In addition to the Kiddie Parade, the Library also hosted a petting zoo and children's activities by the River Falls YMCA on the Library Lawn. Fore more River Falls Days photos and information, see the July 13 print edition of the River Falls Journal.
Rush hour is the busiest time of day for Kristen Kimmes and Jon Schroeder as commuters stop by on their way home from work to pick up some beer, a bottle of wine, or other products offered by them in their new store DeVine Liquors, 703B N. Main St. River Falls residents Kimmes and Schroeder said they had often wished there was a liquor store closer to their end of town. "We noticed that other people were saying the same thing, and we just kind of figured maybe we should do it before someone else does," said Schroeder. So, Schroeder and Kimmes did research.
River Falls Emergency Services sponsored the June 24 Safety Camp at Glen Park to teach kids about summer safety and their local emergency services. Children learned about summer safety. The camp lasted all day. Sparky the firedog and Gruff McGruff visited during lunchtime and were a big hit with the kids. This was the first annual Safety Camp, Emergency Services hopes to hold another campe next year.
Tami Weber, 1164 Bartosh Lane, can only move her hands, but with persistence and ingenuity, there are a lot of things she can do with just her hands. Weber once needed to take an inhaler, but as she can't move her arms, she couldn't bring the inhaler to her mouth to take it. Weber and her doctor came up with a creative solution. "It was right around the time of the state fair," said Weber, "and everything is on a stick at the state fair. So he says 'inhaler on a stick.' So sure enough, I took a ruler, and I taped the inhaler to the stick.
The new South Fork Suites II dormitory construction continues on the UWRF campus with the laying of the foundation. Miron Construction Company used a crane and large steel drums to lift the cement into the proper place for pouring it into the foundation. The original South Fork Suites is a dormitory complex made of 60 four-person apartment-style suites geared for upperclassmen. South Fork Suites II will be aimed for sophomores transitioning to apartment style housing from average dormitory housing. In the new dorm, groups of around 22 students who will share a kitchenette and living room.