We’ve got a bit of an update on the S. Barstow Street redesign/reconstruction project. This week, the city threw up the bat signal for proposals on the project. (Side note: it’d be cool if we had a giant Request for Proposals spotlight to blaze across the night sky, but sadly ... we don’t).

The approximate deadline for proposal submissions is September 22. We hear the city hopes to pick a firm to handle the project, create an official agreement, and hold a meeting betwixt them and the Eau Claire City Council by October 26-ish (the council’s second legislative session that month).

So, we’d expect the window for public input to (roughly) run from November 2010 through June 2011. And we’d hope the public outreach on the project to be at least as intensive as SEH Inc.’s process for the Hasting’s Way redesign.

As long as we’re engaging in some Eau Claire Street Talk^TM, you can read all about the current state of the Hastings Way redesign in the latest issue of Volume One. To wit:

• After several months and more than 700 comments, Short Elliott Hendrickson, the company hired by the city as consultant for the Hastings Way project, is ready to unveil redesign possibilities at a Sept. 9 meeting.
• “You’ll actually see some alternatives of the roadway,” SEH engineer Randy Sanford said ... read more.

Thought you'd like to know.

Here’s a note from Volume One reader Jerry Lund. He’s commenting on our interview with a great lady named Jackie Dotseth, a long-time Menomonie resident and business owner, published in the August 26th issue. He points out that, when asked What frustrates you about the Chippewa Valley?, Jackie responds, “Oftentimes small business owners are encouraged to come here, but all too often they are forgotten for various reasons or even discouraged by the red tape.”

Then, later on, when asked What local store do you find yourself frequenting most often and why?, Jackie says, “Wal-Mart, for convenience when in a hurry. It’s near us.”

Jerry comments, “I can’t be the only person to notice this particular sad and humorous irony.” The irony is that Jackie owns three local businesses.

Now, we’re not highlighting this note because we want to put Jackie down, nor do we want this to eclipse the rest of her interview. Jackie is awesome, kinda sassy, and a tremendous asset to the community. We’re talking about this because Jackie is far, far, far from alone in the ironic combo of her personal stances and daily habits. Most of us are just like Jackie to some degree or another.

Personally, I’d spend an entire Thanksgiving dinner telling my extended family not to shop at Wal-Mart, and then stroll into Target a few days later to buy toilet paper, spaghetti sauce, a lamp, and new sandals. I love talking about cool local shops, but do I find a way to work them into my everyday shopping habits? Well, um, gosh, I really think, well, um ..

What about you?

Twelve Wisconsinite artisan cheesemakers are featured in a new 2011 calendar produced by Wisconsin Cheese Originals – posing with their cheesy goods just out there for everyone and their dogs to see. It’s some seriously gratuitous dairy.

Answering the desperate prayers of Wisconsin artisan cheese enthusiasts who often need to know what the current date is, the calendar will set one back $19.95. It features gorgeous photos and handy cheesemaker profiles. It goes on sale Wednesday.

A slice of the calendar sales will help fund the annual $2,500 Wisconsin Licensed Cheesemaker Scholarship, which is available to any Wisconsinite going after their cheesemaker license. Did you know they have cheesemaker licenses? They totally do.

All of this awesome cheese porn basically flies in the face of last year’s $250,000 rebranding of Wisconsin, which included the $50,000 logo/slogan combo we love to hate. Sure, a calendar of bodacious artisan cheesemakers isn’t exactly the same as cheeseheads-n-Miller Lite. But it’s definitely promoting cheese rather than, say, kayaking and skydiving, or whatever else Travel Wisconsin is trying to tout to potential tourists.

See also, Cheese Fest 2011!

Not a huge surprise, but – much like the Chippewa Valley – the rest of Wisconsin is worried about brain drain (aka human capital flight). And Milwaukee is worried most. From JSOnline ...

• A majority of Wisconsinites believe the state's best and brightest are leaving Wisconsin to work elsewhere, according to polling results released Sunday that reflected a level of pessimism on several levels.
• Milwaukeeans in the polling had a more negative outlook than the rest of the state: 68% of Milwaukeeans said the best and brightest leave Wisconsin to work, while 62% of Wisconsin residents agreed with the statement.
• The same percentage of Milwaukeeans and statewide residents - 58% - said Wisconsin is on the wrong track.
• "We clearly have a high quality of life overall, but it's opportunity, opportunity, opportunity," said Ken Goldstein, the University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor who directed the polling of more than 3,300 Wisconsin adults this summer.

Read the rest of the article for more poll results. The polling was conducted by Refocus Wisconsin.

We noticed these flowers growing out of the curb, right across from the Volume One World Headquarters on S. Barstow Street in downtown Eau Claire. We snapped a few photos, and then, the very next day, they were gone. Not sure if they got ripped out by hand or smooshed by an insanely bad parallel parker. At any rate, how cool is this?

It’s no question that these flowers are descendants of the hanging plants draping from the light poles around downtown, but there’s some debate in the office as to if these flowers were replanted by some sort of urban gorilla gardener or if Mother Nature Herself blew some flower bits down there (view mind-blowing artist’s rendering).

Have you guys seen any other cool examples of rogue plants around town? Last I checked, there was basically a small tree growing on the rooftop of the old Huebsch building on the corner of Galloway and S. Dewey (visible from Galloway).

UPDATE! Check out the rogue flora photographed by VolumeOne.org reader Pookums ... "in front of Zanzibar in downtown Menomonie. They're spreading, like a disease" Click for a closer look:

This weekend kicks off the theatre season over at UW-Eau Claire with Cannibal Days. This drama, performed by the UWEC Players, features an ensemble cast and follows two weeks in the lives of six people in their mid-twenties who have all come to a nameless city to work in the entertainment industry. Multiple stories intertwine and the world around each character unravels, as each waits for a break, a chance, or a way out. More details. (Riverside Theatre, Haas Fine Arts Building, 121 Water St., Eau Claire; Sat.7:30pm, Sun. 1:30pm; $5 students, $7 public)

CRAFT | Festival in the Pines: An annual favorite for local craft-lovers. Arts and crafts exhibitors, great food, and games and rides for kids, with live music and professional, family-oriented entertainers. Free petting zoo and beer garden. (Carson Park, Eau Claire; Sat. 9am-6pm, Sun. 10am-5pm; $4 general, 11 and under free)

TUNES | Lucas Fischer and the Coolhand Saints: From bluesy originals to reggae-fied classics, funky bass lines to magical moments of pure tone, Lucas K & The Saints are interested in bringing you an incomparable musical experience. Luke Fischer's bluesy voice, hard-hitting guitar and Olaf Lind's electric violin produce some incredible tunes. (James Sheeley House Saloon, 236 W. River St., Chippewa Falls; Sat. 9pm; free; 21+)

HIP-HOP | Hip Hop Stimulus Show: A night of live hip hop with performances by K.O., Blinded & Frozen Tundra. Come enjoy this free show & get your dance on. More acts TBA. (House of Rock, 422 Water St., Eau Claire; Sat. 10pm; free; 21+)

The rest of Saturday here. More of a Sunday person? This link's for you.

In this episode: a thief caught on film, a bathroom caught in limbo, and super smart Wisconsin teens. Also, we give away a $50 gift certificate to Eclectica Gifts and 2 tickets to Micon Cinemas. (If you'd like to enter a contest, go here.) This episode is supported by Deborah Becker of State Farm Insurance.

Summer’s not quite over yet, but after tonight, the 2010 Sounds Like Summer Concert Series in Phoenix Park (The Phark) will be finished quite soon. It’s been a season of record breaking crowds and Record Breaking Super Fun Times. But as the old saying goes, all good things must end on August 26 until next year’s concert series starts again.

So tonight is your last chance to join family, friends, and neighbors on the grass and big ol’ rocks surrounding the Phark labyrinth to see a fine group of local bands playing their hearts out while the Chippewa River flows through the background and the sun sets in the western sky.*

We like to have Ultra Extra Record Breaking Super Fun Times on the last night of the year, so we’ve lined up the Chippewa Valley’s premier funksters Duncan Ninja – comprised of two suave singers, five hot horns, and a ripe rhythm section. They play music by artists such as Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, KC & the Sunshine Band, and more.

Joining them are local “tin can folk” practitioners The Heart Pills, crooning some of the most original music in the Valley. And opening the concert with a 6pm pre-show is pop/acoustic band More Amore. See you there!

*You know, unless, like, someone else puts on an evening concert in Phoenix Park before the snow starts to fall.

We swear, this is the last we’ll talk about toilets for a considerable amount of time, but some Phoenix Park bathroom stuff got sort of more or less kind of decided at last night’s Eau Claire city council meeting. The council voted 10-0 in favor of getting more bathroom bids, in hopes of bringing the price down. Here’s more from one of our fine, local news sources:

• Tuesday night, the council unanimously agreed the city should entertain offers from contractors for a second bathroom at the park.  They also don't want to spend anymore than $150,000 of taxpayer money.  ...
• The city will have some funding help: the North Barstow Bid District announced it would give $50,000 to the project. Read more at WQOW.

An additional interesting comment “pro b-room” comment came from City Council member Dana Wachs': "I think it's a safety issue. My goodness, you've got food service workers down there with no space to wash hands."

Indeed.

Last Sunday, the L-T ran a relatively lengthy article on Mr. John Mogensen – the local developer people around here seem to either love or hate. Many people applaud his record of buying old (sometimes historical) local buildings and renovating them into usable, often very cool spaces for restaurants, apartments, and more. But just as often, you hear people complaining about how long he takes to complete projects, how projects often end up as something other than originally promised, how much rent he charges, and on and on. The most common complaint seems to be the vague utterance Mogensen owns half the damn town. And while monopolizing chunks of the city certainly sounds like a negative thing, most people are unable to truly explain why it’s so awful for him to do so.

The L-T article is pretty diplomatic – it covers his successes in building renovation and digs into some of the complaints the city has had with Mogensen’s business practices. For example, in 2006, the city granted him its only available liquor license for The Livery bar/restaurant, but it sat unused for almost two years while other businesses had to pay for significantly more expensive “reserve” liquor licenses. The city even pulled The Livery’s license only to reissue it a few weeks later. Stuff like that obviously doesn’t sit well with the city – or other business owners.

As far as negative commentary on Mogensen, the article focuses solely on his relationship with the the city, never digging into his standing in the general business community. I think it’s safe to say that he’s got some haters out there – competing business and property owners, other landlords, tenants, etc. But anyone who owns/co-owns at least 336 parcels of land in the City of Eau Claire alone, amounting to a tax assessed value of $54.4 million ... well, anyone like that is bound to have some "enemies."

If there’s one thing I don’t think you can argue with, it’s this: the guy is local. He’s preserved a number of important Eau Claire properties and he seems to be obsessed with collecting memorabilia from long-defunct local businesses. The L-T article (for which you must pay to read) even mentions that in high school Mogensen worked in a pool hall at 2 S. Barstow – his latest acquisition/giant project. I have a feeling his work on that building will give us something to discuss, criticize, gossip about, and eventually applaud for years to come.