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• Tickets available for Jo Dee Messina
• Spring Fling Expo Saturday at Ellsworth High School
• DNR to hold public meeting in Eau Claire on access to stewardship lands

Tickets are now available for country music star Jo Dee Messina, who will perform Saturday, June 28, at the Pierce County Fairgrounds during the Ellsworth Cheese Curd Festival.

Advance general admission tickets are $20, at the gate $25, while advance VIP tickets are $50. Tickets are available by either printing an order form at www.ellsworthchamber.com or locally at JoJo's Jewelry and Gifts in Ellsworth and the Joanne Hines Insurance Agency/American Family Insurance in Plum City. The tickets will be mailed three weeks prior to the concert. There will be no refunds.

Messina is an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist who has had nine No. 1 singles, has been honored by The Country Music Association, The Academy of Country Music and The Grammy Awards. She was the first female country artist to score three multiple-week number one songs from the same album.

She was born in Holliston, Mass., and was first attracted to country music after hearing the recordings of Alabama and Hank Williams, Jr. She grew even more intrigued with country music after listening to Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire. At age six, she had her first public performance and was hooked. At 13, she brought a band she had formed and got more experience performing throughout clubs in the Northeast. Messina then moved to Nashville at 19.

In 1996, she released her self-titled debut album, which gave her two Top 10 hits. Two years later, her second album resulted in three singles that went to number one: "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright" and "Stand Beside Me." In 1999, she released "Burn," her first number one album. That album featured the popular "Bring On The Rain" and "That's The Way." In 2002, she released a Christmas album and later a Greatest Hits collection that debuted number one on the charts.

For more information, contact the Ellsworth Chamber office at 273-6442. The chamber is sponsoring Messina along with the Ellsworth Funsters.

By Jason Schulte, RiverTowns staff

The Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce will sponsor its second annual Spring Fling Expo from 10 a.m. -1 p.m. this Saturday at the Ellsworth High School Gymnasium.

The goal of the expo, which is free to the public, is to provide an opportunity for local businesses/organizations to showcase the variety of products and services available in Ellsworth.

A new feature for the expo is five businesses will have short presentations on the following topics throughout the day: Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services on going green and clean, Freier's Electric and Heating, Inc., on alternative energy, Bank Mutual on banking in the 21st Century, The Service Agency on Insurance 101 and Fitness Influence on Strength Training, Cardio and Yoga.

Dozens of prizes will be given away by participating businesses, including expo dollars, table top grill, a free round of golf, fitness club membership, free dance lessons, financial plan, $50 gift certificate and more.

And of course, there will be cheese curds.

For more please read the March 26 print version of the Pierce County Herald.

When the Legislature reauthorized the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, lawmakers included a provision which required access to those lands for certain types of outdoor activities.

However, with that requirement came a stipulation that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources could limit those activities to protect public safety, or to protect a unique animal or plant.

It could also make restrictions to accommodate other usership patterns.

To get public input on what these criteria should be for limiting or granting access to these public lands the DNR is holding three public meetings across the state.

All of the meetings start at 6 p.m.

The first meeting will be April 1 in Waukesha at the State Office Building, 141 NW Barstow St. in room 151.

The next meeting will be April 3 in the Eau Claire River Room of RCU Corporate Center, located at 200 Riverfront Terrace.

The final meeting will be April 8 in Green Bay at the Northeast DNR Region Headquarters, 2984 Shawno Ave.

Under the reauthorization provision stewardship lands must be open to five nature-based outdoor activities: hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, cross-country skiing and any other nature-based outdoor activity as designated by rule by the DNR, according to DNR officials.

Officials say that the DNR will work with the public and a citizen advisory group to identify criteria under which outdoor activities may be restricted or prohibited and to define "usership" patterns.

"We want this process to be thoughtful and thorough," said Matt Frank, DNR secretary.

"We look forward to working with the public to help us formulate a rule to provide opportunities for a full range of recreational activities," he added.

After the public meetings, the Natural Resources Board and the DNR will assemble a citizens group to advise the department on developing the proposed rules.

The advisory group will include representatives of various recreational constituencies, local units of government and land trusts.

DNR officials say all public comments received will be presented to the advisory council.

Information on the new stewardship access rule and related materials, as well as an on-line public comment form, will be available beginning April 1 on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.wi.gov .

Written comments can be sent to Laurie Ross, Natural Resources Board Liaison, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921 or sent via e-mail to: Laurie.Ross@Wisconsin.gov

The deadline for all written comments is April 18, 2008.