County gives financial support to 78th Alice in Dairyland
Hailei Heinzel, the current Alice in Dairyland, poses with two Prairie du Chien residents during the Wings Over Prairie du Chien event on July 13. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
County allocates $6,000 toward the 2025 event, begins 2025 budget process
By Steve Van Kooten
The county’s finance committee had 2025 on their mind during the July 17 meeting, in which they considered funding for the incoming Alice in Dairyland competition and the county budget.
Carol Roth and Pam Ritchie requested a $6,000 county contribution for the 2025 Alice event, which will be held in Crawford County between May 15 and 17. The total budget for the event is $60,000.
“We’ve had three Alices from our county, but we’ve never hosted the event,” Roth said. “So, there’s a briefing in March, and they go into the county and do farm business, and then in May, it’s a three-day event people come in for.”
The Alice event will have activities on Friday, May 16, 2025, in the northern part of the county before moving to Prairie du Chien the next day. In Prairie, the events will take place at the Dousman House and the Prairie du Chien Area Arts Center.
“It’s really an opportunity for us to feature all of the agriculture that happens here,” said Roth. “We’re working hard to feature the entire county. It’s going to bring a lot of people into the county.”
To raise the remaining funds, the Alice committee plans to run fundraisers and make requests from local, statewide and individual donors. Among the possible donors, Ritchie and Roth said Compeer, Kwik Trip, the state tourism council and “pork and dairy producers” will be approached to put forth money or in-kind donations for the event.
If the event does not expend the entire budget, Roth said the money would be repurposed for other causes.
“If there are funds left, then what the committee does is they’re going to put it into scholarships, so that way it stays in the county,” she said.
Roth promoted the Alice contest as an opportunity for young women to get a valuable position with the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
“It’s a marketing position with DATCP… They have to do presentations, radio, television, write press releases.”
The Alice in Dairyland winner spends a year as a liaison and spokesperson for Wisconsin’s dairy and agriculture industries. Hailei Heinzel, the current Alice in Dairyland, visited Crawford County for the Wings Over Prairie du Chien event on July 13. She expects to visit the county at least once a month through July 2025.
The board approved a $6,000 contribution to the Alice contest.
2025 budget
Finance Committee Chair Gary Koch asked the committee to approve a memo for the county departments.
“I’m expecting the 2025 budget to be a challenge, to say the least,” Koch told the committee. “So, there are reasons for some of the things we said in this memo. Departments should work toward a no-increase budget unless there are things we can’t avoid, like a maintenance contract and stuff you have to have.”
Koch continued, saying departments should not “ask about additional employees” in their budget requests for next year. He also advised department heads to work on a list of possible future expenses they expect to encounter in the next five years.
“You should anticipate if it’s 20-years-old, then you should expect to need a new one.”
Koch added that the county was hampered because Crawford does not have a growing population and the average age of a county resident has increased in recent years, which “handcuffs” the county’s options to address budget issues.
The board approved the memo to be sent to the departments.
