Lublin, a village in Taylor County with a population of 118 in the 2010 census, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this summer. The festivities are centered around the annual Lublin Days July 24-26.
Chris Kulinski of Lublin reports that state and local officials have been invited for the centennial celebration, and he hopes people from surrounding communities also visit. Kulinski is president of the Eastern European Cultural Society, which is acting as the diplomatic arm, and invitations also have been sent to dignitaries and citizen ambassadors in Lithuania, Poland and the Ukraine to partake in the celebration.
A TV camera crew from Lublin’s sister city in Lublin, Poland (population 360,000) will be coming to document the event. Lublin’s other ties are with Lvov, Ukraine (population 710,000), which has been the partner city of the Poland and Wisconsin Lublins since 2004.
People are also reading…
“We are still looking for people with roots in the Lublin area to share their family histories, recollections and anecdotes of those who founded, and those who lived and worked in the Lublin area,” Kulinski said. Those memories will be compiled in a Lublin centennial booklet. Anyone with pictures or more information is asked to contact Betty Lorenz at 715-669-5162.
A commemorative calendar in English and some Polish has also been produced, depicting Lublin from years gone by, and is available for purchase.
Tourism by the numbers
Wisconsin has long relied on tourism to bring in people — and dollars — to boost its economy. In 2014, those travelers contributed an estimated $1 billion increase in economic impact, according to a study conducted by Tourism Economics.
The impact to the state’s economy is figured at $18.5 billion, 5.5 percent more than in 2013.
Breaking it down to Chippewa County, the tourism economic impact last year was $127 million, a 2.2 percent increase.
“With the continued partnerships of the city of Chippewa Falls, the Chippewa County Tourism Council and the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, we are able to continue promoting this area as a regional destination in the key target markets of Minneapolis, Chicago and Iowa,” said Shelby McNeese, tourism director for the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.
Stephanie Klett, secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, noted that 2014 was the first time in recent history that all 72 counties posted a positive increase in visitor spending.
Poll: Elect an county leader
Electing a county executive for Chippewa County is a very popular option in an unscientific survey on the Herald’s website, Chippewa.com.
Website readers were asked: “What executive position should Chippewa County have?”
The survey had over 600 responses, with 84.6 percent saying they want an elected county executive. Another 9.8 percent want an appointed county executive, the system used now, and 5.6 percent said they want an appointed county administrator.
This week’s poll question is: “Should Chippewa Falls merge its SWAT team with a regional SWAT team?”