SOLDIERS GROVE - In the public input portion of their February 6 agenda, the Soldiers Grove Village Board learned about the Madison BMW Club’s plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their annual ‘Great River Road Rally.’ Each year, club members camp in the village park in May, and enjoy riding their motorcycles on scenic Driftless Area roadways.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of our Great River Road Rally, and the theme for our event calls for giving some love back to Soldiers Grove that has hosted us,” BMW Club Rally Chairperson Chris Brown told the board. “Our goal is to have all of the food, beer, and coffee for our event benefit Soldiers Grove businesses. We also want to hold a 50/50 raffle, with proceeds going back to the sponsor – we don’t have a license, and so can’t sponsor the raffle ourselves.”

An event flyer for the Rally, planned for May 16-18, advertises two night’s camping with free firewood, meals on Friday and Saturday nights, spaces for tents, cars or campers, guided rides to Pete’s Hamburger Stand, the Muscoda Mushroom Festival, and more.

Soldiers Grove businesses interested in supporting the event should reach out to Village Clerk Kaitlynn Ott.

In other public input, trustee Harrison Heilman made an announcement regarding the village’s chicken ordinance.

“With the increase in the cost of eggs, I am now leaning toward being slightly more in favor of allowing backyard chickens in the village,” Heilman stated.

Fire Department

Fire Chief Jeannette McCormick reported that the department has led formation of a committee to plan for the 2025 Soldiers Grove Dairy Days event.

“The committee includes our department, as well as the Legion and the Lions, and we are meeting monthly,” McCormick reported. “On Friday night, there will be a Truck and Tractor Pull, the Legion will provide food all weekend, and the Lions will handle the beer and soda concession. There will be a carnival Friday through Sunday, and on Saturday.”

McCormick said that the Antique Tractor Club had backed out for Saturday, but would come on Sunday instead. She said the committee is also working on getting the Viroqua Summer Thunder horse show to perform. Lastly, she said the committee is also working on securing a band to perform on Saturday night.

McCormick said that training for department members is on pace, and the department’s Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) agreement is up for renewal. When asked about whether the department has responded to any grassfires in recent weeks, McCormick said “not in our service area, but we have provided mutual aid to Readstown for two grassfires.” Both McCormick and fellow fire department member Mike Allie took the opportunity to knock on wood as they shared that information.

Public Works

Mike Allie reported on behalf of the village’s public works team. He said that McCormick Electric has assisted the village in taking down all of their Christmas decorations. He said the team had cleaned up some smaller trees around Myrtle Lake, and worked with Crawford County staff to remove beavers on Baker Creek that were obstructing the creek’s flow.