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IRON COUNTY EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING Iron County Courthouse, Hurley Wisconsin 54534 Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 10:07 a.m. by Iron County Board of Supervisors Chair, Larry Youngs Pledge of Allegiance: Recited Roll Call: Roll call was taken by Rebecca Holm. Committee members present: Roxanne Lutgen, Jamey Francis, Bill Stutz. Committee member absent: Brandon Snyder, Gary Kessler. Also in attendance: Neil Klemme, Joseph Miller, Mary Pardee, Serena Tauer, Eva Krall, Ashley Basso, County Board Chair Larry Youngs. Acknowledge proper meeting posting: Holm acknowledged proper meeting posting. Committee Reorganization: a) Election of Chair – Youngs entertained nominations for position of Committee Chair. Francis nominated Lutgen. Youngs called three times for any other nominations. No other nominations were made. Francis moved to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Lutgen, seconded by Stutz. Motion carried unanimously. b) Election of Vice Chair – Lutgen entertained nominations for the position of Committee Vice Chair. Francis nominated Snyder. Lutgen called three times for any other nominations. No other nominations were made. Francis moved to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Snyder, seconded by Youngs. Motion carried unanimously. Motion to approve meeting minutes for January 20, 2026: Youngs moved to approve minutes for January 20, 2026, seconded by Francis. Motion carried unanimously. Motion to approve financial reports: Committee members received Extension and 4-H and Youth Clubs financial reports through May 31, 2026. Youngs moved to approve financial reports for Extension and 4-H and Youth Programs, seconded by Francis. Motion carried unanimously. Motion to approve the 2025 Annual Report to the Iron County Board of Supervisors: Committee members received copies of the 2025 annual report in their committee packets. Stutz moved to approve the 2025 Annual Report to the Iron County Board of Supervisors, seconded by Youngs. Motion carried unanimously. Public Comment: n/a Area Extension Director Report: Pardee reported on the following: • County/Extension Partnership o Pardee shared an Extension Overview PowerPoint to educate new and existing committee members about the partnership between Iron County and Extension. o Committee members also received a Division of Extension County Partnership Guide and the current contract between Iron County and Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System to review. • Rebecca Holm – Other County Support Update o Pardee reported that Holm collaborated with County Manager Jay Sween to process-map her role and update her position description. This update reflects the non-Extension duties Holm has managed for the past year (lead county website administrator, managing county social media pages, supporting emergency notification systems, etc.). ▪ The updated description was submitted to Cottingham & Butler, who recommended reclassifying the position from a Grade 7 to a Grade 8. ▪ Sween will present this grade change at the Finance Committee meeting on June 16. Additionally, Sween will discuss the reporting structure for Holm's non- Extension duties and noted his willingness to assume that supervisory role. ▪ Pardee will continue to supervise Holm’s Extension role. Educator Reports: 4-H Youth Development: Klemme reported on the following: • Summer Programming o Summer Assistants Serena Tauer and Eva Krall reported that they will be delivering 4-H curriculum for the Hurley School Kid’s Club on Wednesdays, as well as coordinating programming for the Iron County Summer Youth Camp, Outpost Camp, and the Iron County Fair. o AmeriCorps Member Ashley Basso reported that she will provide programming at the Hurley School Kid’s Club in the Hurley School Garden through August 22. Session topics will include monarch butterflies, beekeeping, garden management, etc. ▪ Klemme and Basso have been prepping and planting the garden to ensure it is ready to start programming. ▪ Basso’s position is being covered by the Iron County 4-H Leaders Association. • Iron County Outpost Camp – July 7-10 o Lake of the Falls Campground in Mercer, WI. o 20 campers have enrolled • Iron County Summer Youth Camp – July 21-24 o Trails End Youth Camp in Bruce, WI. o 59 campers are enrolled o This year’s theme is “Band Camp.” o 31 camp staff members will be attending camp counselor training July 11-12. • Real Colors Training – Mercer School District o 20 youth participated. • SISU Endurance Team Running Club o 32 youth members have enrolled in the program. • Anti-Vaping Program o Grant received from the Gogebic Range Health Foundation funded programming with Mercer and Hurley students. o Students learned about tobacco and vaping marketing and created their own anti-vaping campaigns using AI. o The top five posters will be printed and displayed at school and around the community. o Klemme partnered with the Iron County Health Department on this program. • Iron County 4-H Graduates o Four of the five graduating seniors received 4-H scholarships: Nick Walesewicz, Peyton Maslanka, Taylor Hitter, and Braeden Klemme. o A new initiative was introduced this year by Nick Walesewicz, who requested 4-H green and white honor cords for members to wear at graduation. This new tradition serves as a testament to the meaningful impact of the 4-H program on its members. • Iron County Youth Leadership Council o New youth council members participated in an orientation in early June. o Baldwin Grant ▪ Two youth research interns completed a community assessment on what teens in the community would like to see in the community: more art, live music, landscaping, murals, statues, etc. ▪ Youth video interns wrapped up their video highlighting the community they live in, which will be shared at a later date. ▪ Each of the youth interns received a $1000 stipend for their participation in the internship, which is covered by the grant. ▪ Project interns will be starting to work on murals in the community, specifically at the Iron County Health Department and possibly downtown Hurley. Community Development: Miller reported on the following: • Milwaukee Zine Fest, April 18 o Received a professional development scholarship to attend the event. o Over 100 business development and Iron County history zines were created by Miller and distributed at the event. • 4-H Summer Academy in Madison o Miller will be presenting on youth entrepreneurship with statewide REV Specialist Lisa Taylor and two other county-based Community Development Educators. o 25 youth attendees will be making mini business plan zines. • Rural Entrepreneurial Ventures (REV) Program o Hurley Rev team kicked off in September 2025 and continues to meet monthly. ▪ The team’s goal is to plan an Entrepreneur Fair to attract potential business owners to Iron County. ▪ The event will connect entrepreneurs with local business development organizations and property owners of viable business locations. o Mercer Rev team kicked off on May 27. ▪ The goal setting meeting for Mercer is taking place in early July. • Create Wisconsin Statewide Artist Grant Program o Miller was a juror for the statewide artist’s grant. o 300 grant applications were reviewed. o Awarded $120,000 to 16 Wisconsin artists. • WEDC Small Business Development Grant o Awarded to the Hurley Chamber of Commerce. o Provided letter of support for application. o Will support during grant lifecycle (ending January 2028) with business development programming and performance reporting. • Attended the Micro-Community Conference, May 12 • United Way of Wisconsin Techquity Distribution, May 22 o Distributed FREE refurbished laptops to Iron County individuals who registered for the program. o The laptops are Windows 11 PCs and include a year of tech support. o Miller now has access to the system and plans to host another distribution this fall. • Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference, May 13-15 o Held in Green Lake, WI. o Miller was asked by someone within the Extension Community Economic Development program if Hurley might be interested in hosting the CEC Conference in 2027. ▪ Miller suggested co-hosting in 2028 with Hurley and Ironwood, as Michigan has their own version of the CEC Conference. ▪ It would also be a great opportunity to parter with our Michigan neighbors. • Iron County Economic Development Committee o Miller has been booking guests for meetings, finding data reports to share on the county website, and working with Holm to add partner training/business development events to the Economic Development website calendar. o Miller and Stutz will be serving as Iron County's representatives for Travel Wisconsin • Iron County Mobile Food Pantry o Continues to volunteer during the monthly mobile food pantry distribution. Support Staff: Holm reported on the following: • Iron County Mobile Food Pantry o 174 households (256 individuals) were served during the June 1 distribution. • Extension E-Newsletter o Manages the design and delivery of the monthly Extension e-newsletter to keep the community informed of local programming. • Office website and social media coordinator o Promoted Extension events and programs through website and social media posts. o Extension Iron County Facebook page ▪ 48,247 total page views (Jan 20-May 12) o Iron County 4-H Facebook page ▪ 73,757 total page views (Jan 20-May 12) • Grants o Wrote and received a $2375 Enbridge grant that will benefit the Iron County Summer Youth Camp program. o Wrote and will be receiving a $1000 SISU Ski Fest grant, which will be used to purchase 10 sets of snowshoes to add to the current inventory. • 4-H Support o Program support, including coordinating enrollment, documentation, promotion, and marketing of: ▪ SET XC Ski Club • Coordinated SET Ski Club equipment return and inventory, including 80 skis, 84 boots, 72 poles, 4 sets of roller skis/poles. • 32 youth members checked out equipment in 2026. ▪ Iron County Summer Youth Camp ▪ Iron County Outpost Camp ▪ SET Running Club o National Volunteer Week ▪ Recognized National Volunteer Week by creating social media features for Iron County 4-H Leaders, utilizing participant questionnaires and submitted photographs to highlight their impact. • Community Development Support o Assisted Miller in content creation/promotion of his Zine Workshop Series. • Horticulture Support o Continues to share statewide horticulture resources on Extension Facebook page and other networks. • Other County support o County Communications - Social Media ▪ Cross-promoting updates and requests from various county offices and partners. ▪ Content creation, marketing. ▪ Iron County Courthouse Facebook page • 191,312 total page views (Jan 20-May 12) ▪ Iron County Economic Development Facebook page • 48,107 total page views (Jan 20-May 12) o County Website ▪ Developed a new interactive waterfall map for the Iron County Forestry page and compiled a comprehensive directory of local rental facilities within the community. ▪ Created an interactive community asset map for the county, which is housed on the Economic Development Committee page. ▪ Created a calendar of events/programs resource for business owners on the Economic Development page. ▪ Updated staff directory, county board, and committee pages after the election. ▪ Worked with Land & Water Conservation, Forestry, Recycling, Tax Lister, Register of Deeds on website updates and other requests. Schedule next Extension Education Committee meeting: Next Extension Education Committee meeting will be scheduled at a later date. Adjourn: Lutgen adjourned the meeting at 11:37 a.m.