La Crosse County voters will choose the Republican nominee for sheriff in the Tuesday, Aug. 9 primary election.
The process whereby an association or agency grants public recognition to an organization that meets certain established qualifications or standards, as determined through initial and periodic evaluations.
A certificate is a document issued to a pharmacist upon successful completion of the predetermined level of performance of a certificate training program or of a pharmacy residency or fellowship. See also "statement of continuing-education credit."
A structured, systematic postgraduate education and continuing- education experience for pharmacists that is generally smaller in magnitude and shorter in duration than a degree program. Certificate programs are designed to instill, expand, or enhance practice competencies through the systematic acquisition of specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, and performance behaviors.
The voluntary process by which a nongovernmental agency or association formally grants recognition to a pharmacist who has met certain predetermined qualifications specified by that organization. This recognition designates to the public that the holder has attained the requisite level of knowledge, skill, or experience in a well-defined, often specialized, area of the total discipline. Certification entails assessment, including testing, an evaluation of the candidate's education and experience, or both. Periodic recertification is usually required to retain the credential.
Adjective that is used to describe an individual who holds certification and that is incorporated into the name of the credential awarded that individual. For example, someone who has earned BPS certification in oncology is a "Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist."
Authorization to provide a specific range of patient care services. See "privileging."
The ability to perform one's duties accurately, make correct judgments, and interact appropriately with patients and with colleagues. Professional competence is characterized by good problem-solving and decision-making abilities, a strong knowledge base, and the ability to apply knowledge and experience to diverse patient-care situations.
A distinct skill, ability, or attitude that is essential to the practice of a profession. Individual competencies for pharmacists include, for example, mastery of aseptic technique and achievement of a thought process that enables one to identify therapeutic duplications. A pharmacist must master a variety of competencies in order to gain competence in his or her profession.
Organized learning experiences and activities in which pharmacists engage after they have completed their entry-level academic education and training. These experiences are designed to promote the continuous development of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to maintain proficiency, provide quality service or products, respond to patient needs, and keep abreast of change.
Documented evidence of professional qualifications. For pharmacists, academic degrees, state licensure, and Board certification are all examples of credentials.
(1) The process by which an organization or institution obtains, verifies, and assesses a pharmacist's qualifications to provide patient care services. (2) The process of granting a credential (a designation that indicates qualifications in a subject or an area).
A directed, highly individualized postgraduate program designed to prepare a pharmacist to become an independent researcher.
A credential issued by a state or federal body that indicates that the holder is in compliance with minimum mandatory governmental requirements necessary to practice in a particular profession or occupation.
The process of granting a license. Pharmacy Technician: An individual who, under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assists in pharmacy activities not requiring the professional judgment of the pharmacist.
The process by which a health care organization, having reviewed an individual health care provider's credentials and performance and found them satisfactory, authorizes that individual to perform a specific scope of patient care services within that organization.
Adjective used to describe a pharmacist who has met state requirements for licensure and whose name has been entered on a state registry of practitioners who are licensed to practice in that jurisdiction.
An organized, directed, postgraduate training program in a defined area of pharmacy practice.
The boundaries within which a health professional may practice. For pharmacists, the scope of practice is generally established by the board or agency that regulates the profession in a given state or organization.
A document issued to a pharmacist upon completion of a continuing-education program provided by an organization approved by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education
A short, intensive, clinical and didactic postgraduate educational program intended to provide the pharmacist with knowledge and skills needed to provide a high level of care to patients with specific diseases or conditions.
a These definitions have been developed by a variety of organizations involved in credentialing and are generally accepted by those in the pharmacist credentialing arena.
The Gary Community School Corp. is kicking off the school year Aug. 9 with a rebrand officials said has academics at its core.
“The Gary Way” rebrand announcement came Friday, a day after members of the state Distressed Unit Appeal Board peppered school officials with questions about the students’ proficiency on ILEARN, the state’s assessment exam. Scores were released last month.
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Gary students in grades 3-8 showed slight improvement with 2% passing both English/language arts and math. Last year, just 1.2% passed.
“Our scores are going up, we have worked hard the last couple years to lay an operational foundation,” said district manager Paige McNulty.
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Earlier, McNulty reported student scores increased 10% to 15% on an internal assessment that measures growth called iREADY. The district used its COVID-19 relief funding to finance the assessment.
Still, the low ILEARN scores drew criticism from DUAB members.
“Something’s wrong, you’re not getting to kids,” said board member Wes Bruce, who said the low assessment scores preceded the pandemic.
“What are we calling success? A percentage that is still failure?” he asked officials. “When are we at least going to get to 80% of the state average?”
The DUAB governs the district and in May, it awarded a two-year contract to MGT Consulting to continue managing it.
In response to Bruce, new transformation director Andre Wright said the analysis needs to begin at the bottom and build upon improvement each year. “Get the continuum to start to move,” he said.
“That has to be become our strategy. Too many students have been on the floor (level) for too long,” Wright said.
Wright said they should ask students who are scoring well about how they do it.
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“Do an analysis and find out,” Wright said. “You can PD (professional development) all day long but the key is we need to be learning and using results of assessments to determine what we’re going to develop… Take the results and turn it toward teachers.”
McNulty and chief academic officer Kimberley Bradley defended the district’s approach saying they’ve beefed up the teaching staff with people certified to teach math and added coaches and teacher support across the district.
McNulty said the graduate rate at the West Side Leadership academy increased 20 points to 79% this year from 2021.
Earlier this year, MGT hired Wright and project director Rajeev Bajaj to lead the turnaround effort.
McNulty said she expects enrollment to increase and said the Gary Area Career Center already has 325 students signed up, compared to 58 last year.
At West Side, there will be co-principals with new hire Carl Scott overseeing day-to-day operations and Brandi Herrod heading up a new dual credit program as West Side begins the certification process to become an Early College High School.
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Also, as part of the rebrand, all the schools will have a Cougar nickname and blue and orange colors. “The blue and orange colors and the Cougar mascot across the district symbolize our unity,” said McNulty.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
As more businesses buy their IT via the AWS Marketplace, the public cloud kingpin is making it quicker and easier than ever to procure independent software vendors (ISVs) and partner solutions through the Marketplace with its new Vendor Insights tool.
Unveiled at AWS re:Inforce today, the new AWS Marketplace Vendor Insights simplifies third-party software risk assessments by compiling security and compliance information in a single unified dashboard, cutting down the buying process by weeks and even months.
Chris Grusz, general manager of worldwide ISV Alliances and Marketplace, said the new solution will fix the software procurement “bottleneck” process which occurs when selecting a technology solution.
“So once the technology was selected, you go through the legal review, but then a lot of times an ISV would get a 200-question packet from a customer saying, ‘OK, you need to answer all these questions before we buy. Where are you at with PCI? What’s your GDPR status?’ Who’s on your board?’ All these kind of technical questions and certification questions about the technology that was being brought in,” said Grusz.
“And just as soon as the ISV would finish one of those questionnaires, they would win another customer and get another packet and have to go through another 200 questions,” Grusz told CRN. “So it’s kind of a Groundhog Day event where our customers were passing these packets to our ISVs, and this was adding multiple weeks or even months to process the software procurement experience.”
AWS built the AWS Marketplace Vendor Insights tool to streamline vendor assessments which is what customers were asking for.
AWS Marketplace Vendor Insights partner benefit
The unified web-based dashboard gives governance, risk, and compliance teams access to security and compliance information, such as data privacy and residency, application security, and access control.
Vendor Insights also provides evidence backed by AWS Config and AWS Audit Manager assessments, external audit reports, and software vendor self-assessments. It helps buyers reduce assessment lead time to a few hours by allowing buyers to access the vendor’s validated security profile and removes the need for periodic reassessments.
Channel partners will also benefit greatly from new dashboard.
“As a channel partner selling one of these products, they’re now enabled through Vendor Insights to be able to get their deals done dramatically faster,” said Grusz. “Because oftentimes they had to play kind of the broker between the customer and the ISV to gather this information back and they became a middleman. … It’s going to simplify our channel partners role because now they won’t have to play that middle person between the ISV and customer.”
In an interview with CRN, AWS’ Grusz explains five key features of the AWS Marketplace Vendor Insights that channel partners, ISVs and customers need to know.
‘A big time saver’: all publicly available data in one spot
The first piece is the ability to collect publicly available information on certifications.
A lot of these certifications are available on a public domain basis. You just have to know where to get them. You can figure out if an ISV has gone through FedRAMP if you go to the FedRAMP website. Now the problem is you need to know how to navigate that.
Then you can go to PCI and you can find out who’s PCI compliant, but you have to navigate their website. Then you can go to a whole bunch of these other sites that have these certifications, but you have to continuously navigate these sites.
So with Vendor Insights, we’re going to pull in all of that information on a real time basis.
So when you go to the AWS Marketplace’s seller page for a particular ISV—anything that’s available on a publicly available process will be displayed directly on their Marketplace listing page.
So our customers will have one place that they can go look to see all of these public certifications.
It’s a great way for our customers to get an initial read on: what is the security profile of this particular ISV. So we think that’s going to be a big time saver because now our customers won’t have to navigate dozens of websites to go find that.
150 security credentials visible
There’s a number of security controls that ISVs can configure with AWS. Those security controls are not actually displayed to customers. So what we’re going to be doing is using some of our own AWS services to continuously look at the security controls of our ISVs.
Once you look at an ISV, it will actually show the certification of those ISVs: do they have SSL enabled? Have they encrypted all the S3 buckets? And all of these types of credentials.
There’s 150 of them in total that we’re going to be checking for.
So now our customers are going to be able to look at a SaaS ISV that’s built on top of AWS, and be able to see the status of these different security options that our ISVs can set up for their products.
It’s going to be continuously scanning those ISV solutions as well. So if they turn off something like encryption on an S3 bucket, that would then show up in that very same report.
So we feel that this combined with the public available information, alongside things that we’re going to be continuously scanning for these SaaS ISVs that are built on top of AWS. Because they’re built on top of AWS, we’re in a unique position to actually consolidate that view, and provide that to new buyers.
‘Available on a real-time basis’
All of this ISV data and certifications will be available on a real time basis.
So if a someone suddenly loses their FedRAMP status, for example, then that tile will be removed off of our website.
That was one of the pieces of feedback that we got was that: you do these questionnaires, but it was a point in time exercise.
So how do you kind of check on an ongoing basis that they still maintain those credentials.
This is going allow our customers just to look at the seller pages within Marketplace to actually see all of those credentials in one place. So again, just really simplifying that vendor assessment piece.
Key benefits for channel partners
From a channel perspective, this adds a lot of value because we’ve obviously added the ability for our channel partners to resell all these technologies through Marketplace.
As a channel partner selling one of these products, they’re now enabled through Vendor Insights to be able to get their deals done dramatically faster. Because oftentimes they had to play kind of the broker between the customer and the ISV to gather this information back and they became a middleman.
Instead, what you’re going to be able to do is say, ‘Hey, go look at the Vendor Insights profile through Marketplace. That’s going to answer 90 percent of what you have, and then I’ll go find that remaining 10 percent for you.’
So our channel partners are also going to see acceleration on their subscriptions when they go through Marketplace. This is really an incredible tool which is why we’re excited about this.
We think this is going to be a great value add for our buyers because it’s going to simplify their experience buying, especially when it goes to Marketplace.
It’s going to simplify our channel partners role, because now they won’t have to play that middle person between the ISV and customer for a large majority of questions that are basic questions that they probably don’t want to get involved with.
Instead, they can steer them towards Marketplace to address those questions. They will get their deals done dramatically faster.
Vendor Insights looks at the ‘SaaS application inside out’
This is unique in that it’s actually looking at the SaaS application from the inside out.
A lot of times, an MSP or an system integrator (SI) will provide almost like a penetration test report, where they’ve looked at the SaaS application from the outside saying, ‘OK, we’ve tested all the fields. And we know that they’re encrypted,’ but it’s from an outside-in.
This is going to provide an inside-out view of those SaaS ISVs. So that’s going to be a value-add for these MSPs and Sis who are providing services around these technologies.
Then because a lot of times MSPs and SI’s don’t really care about the reseller technology, they care more about the professional services element—they will still be able to sell the professional services through Marketplace and put that directly on the Marketplace bill.
It’s going to accelerate our ISV and AWS channel partner sales.
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La Crosse County voters will choose the Republican nominee for sheriff in the Tuesday, Aug. 9 primary election.
Two Republicans -- Fritz Leinfelder and Marte Peterson -- are on the ballot. John Siegel is unopposed in the Democratic primary and will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
The Tribune sent the Republican candidates a series of questions. Below are their responses:
Education/background: I graduated from La Crosse Aquinas High school and then attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where I studied exercise science to be an educator. I received my Wisconsin Law Enforcement certification from Chippewa Falls Technical college, where I was elected president of my recruit class. After being employed at the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office, I attended my DARE instructor certification class in London, Ohio, at the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy. I was valedictorian and named the outstanding student in the 42nd Ohio DARE instructors graduating class. Additionally, I have received numerous law enforcement trainings and certifications throughout my 29-year career.
What motivated you to run for sheriff? I am a lifelong resident of La Crosse and have dedicated over 29 years to the sheriff’s office. I care about our community. When sheriff Jeff Wolf made his retirement announcement, I jumped at the opportunity to run for sheriff. My experience, skill sets and my lifelong connections to the community and businesses have made running for sheriff an easy decision. I am eager to run the Office that means so much to me.
What steps can the sheriff's office take to reduce drug trafficking? My campaign platform focuses on ridding our communities of drug trafficking organizations flooding our streets with heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, so our children feel safe when they go out to play. I have been an active member of the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group (drug task force), a collaboration of 15 agencies across five counties that serves western Wisconsin in drug investigation and enforcement. I have spent 20 years learning and developing my investigative skills in combating our drug dilemma. I have cultivated several strong relationships with local, state and federal entities that share in the same vision.
I currently work alongside our drug task force investigative coordinator. Together, we acquire intel that focuses on large drug trafficking organizations with the hopes of interrupting their distribution efforts. This task is overwhelming and under allocated as strong cases take an enormous length of time to build. I am also currently on the executive board of directors for the Wisconsin Narcotics Officers association. I was president of the organization in 2011-2012 and will be president again in two years. WNOA is a training organization that provides updated training to officers from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. My duties include presenting training and scheduling trainers to come educate our members in the latest narcotics issues as well as the increasing dangers we are facing in the field of narcotics enforcement.
Interrupting drug trafficking organizations takes focused effort on the shoulders of multiple players across many jurisdictions. The most effective way to become successful is to continue growing partnerships and encouraging communication. La Crosse County hasn’t always been successful in keeping lines of communication open between local law enforcement partners. It is my hope to be able to repair and rebuild those trusted relationships to work as a cohesive unit to tackle our toughest assignments.
Describe your views on traffic safety and enforcement: I believe that the enforcement of our traffic laws is critical to providing and improving safety within our community; consistent enforcement saves lives and reduces accidents. However, enforcement activities alone are simply not enough. Education is essential. Not only am I for enforcing traffic safety laws, but I also want to educate and interact with the the community, so they understand the laws as well.
What kind of training is necessary to prevent racial profiling? My number one vision for my campaign is to provide current and relevant training and education to all levels at the sheriff’s office to ensure all employees and citizens feel safe. Effective communication is key. I want to implement learning strategies to Excellerate communication skills for all staff at the sheriff’s office. I want the community to feel comfortable engaging in simple communication, no matter what the situation entails.
The sheriff’s office provides in-service training to all jail and road employees on a yearly basis. In-service is held the same time each year. I would like to expand upon this mandatory training to provide subsequent training throughout the year, to keep both physical and mental skills sharp. Through education and by implementing small changes, I hope to create long-lasting habits that positively impact employees’ reactions and problem-solving skills.
What is your assessment of how the county jail is managed? I will break down the Mission of the La Crosse County Jail into sub-sections:
1. It is the objective of the La Crosse County Jail to provide a safe, secure, and healthy environment for inmates; staffed by efficient and well-trained jailers. I believe that the jail is effective in ensuring that the incarcerated individuals under its care are safe, secure and living in a healthy environment. I also believe the current front-line correctional officers are among the most caring, empathetic and well-trained individuals working in law enforcement.
2. It is our intent to establish an environment that is respectful of inmates as citizens and human beings. Under the direction of the current sheriff, jail medical staff, jail mental health staff, the program coordinator, and the jail chaplain provide access to a multitude of activities, tools, and programs to advance the social and mental well-being of incarcerated individuals. This is no small task, but it is a necessary one. The learning opportunities within the jail cultivates an individualized exit strategy for everyone if they are willing to work cooperatively with program staff.
Paid staff and volunteers inside the jail are also provided with mandatory training to ensure that incarcerated individuals feel respected and safe.
3. We will work together closely and cooperatively with the elements of the local criminal justice system to establish activities that will make good use of the inmate’s time while in the facility and will benefit the inmates upon their release. I believe that the Jail does an outstanding job providing incarcerated individuals with the tools they need to develop their social and mental well-being. However, I do believe that we have some work to do in order to help incarcerated individual’s advocate for their own place within the local criminal justice system.
I have heard some constructive criticism during my campaign regarding the lack of services and opportunities afforded to incarcerated individuals in advocating for their own legal defense. Attorneys have brought to my attention that it is difficult for them to represent their incarcerated clients, as there are too many barriers by the jail for them to adequately communicate. Along with criticism, I have also been presented with what appears to be simple solutions to overcome a few of the barriers.
As sheriff, I would like to create a Jail Advisory Board, comprised of all the stakeholders within the criminal justice system and members from the community to help explore ideas to help our jail provide communication and other attention to other needs in a more efficient and effective way. This will also give the sheriff’s office the opportunity to educate the community on its pre-existing notions and overcome misinformation.
Change may be hard, but sometimes it is very necessary.
Education/background: Patrol captain for the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office; associate degree, criminal justice, Western Technical College; SWAT team leader, level 1 and 2,=; Leadership In Police Organization; Command College University Wisconsin Madison (currently enrolled); U.S. Army veteran; Walworth County Sheriff’ Office; business owner (part-time) for over 23 years.
I have been with La Crosse County for 21 years, through my career I have held the following positions: jailer, patrol deputy, DARE officer, patrol supervisor, investigative supervisor, and I am currently the patrol captain. In this position I am responsible for budgeting, scheduling, grant writing, squad maintenance, hiring, oversee the Training Division and many other responsibilities. I am also the team commander for our Emergency Response Team as well as the Honor Guard.
What motivated you to run for sheriff? As I stated, I currently work in an administrative position as the patrol captain. A lot of the responsibilities I have would merge well with the sheriff position. I have been involved with the training department for over half of my career, and I think it is vital to ensure that La Crosse County residents are getting very well trained and professional sheriff's deputies. I want to build good relationships with the citizens of La Crosse County and have an open-door policy with the staff as well members of the community. I have been very happy working at the sheriff’s office and am motivated to make it an even better workplace than it is now.
What steps can the sheriff's office take to reduce drug trafficking? To start with, a pro-active approach. This can start with school programs to educate kids on the negative aspects of drugs. This should also be an educational tool for parents as well so they are aware of the dangers of drugs and help them have the conversations with their children.
We also need to make sure resources are allocated into K-9 programs and officer training to make sure training is up to date and the officers have the knowledge and skills to get the drugs off the street.
There needs to be appropriate penalties in place to ensure the habitual offenders are not easily back on the streets.
Describe your views on traffic safety and enforcement: The current year-to-date car crash fatalities in the State is 276, in 2021 the TOTAL for the year was 259. Traffic enforcement is vital for public safety. I also understand that everyone has a bad day and may not be paying attention to their speed. Depending on the nature of the offense, sometimes maybe just being stopped and having a conversation may be enough to correct the issue. Citations do not need to be written every time.
What kind of training is necessary to prevent racial profiling? The sheriff’s office has trainers in racial bias. We also have a variety of trainings at our annual in-service that cover a wide variety of areas, these include: fair and impartial policing, gender bias, de-escalation, gender response, partnering with “The Good Fight” organization, and a variety of mental illness and addiction trainings.
A mated pair of swans fly overhead March 5 in Riverside Park.
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Tundra swans take a walk Monday, March 7, in a cornfield near Buffalo City.
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A mature bald eagle sits peacefully in a tree at the eagle watch Saturday morning.
A March 3 visitor chirps "good morning" in our backyard.
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Playing 'possum? Not this little guy on Goose Island Park, south of La Crosse. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
Eagles watch the sunset March 4 from a tree on Nakomis Avenue on the west side of La Crosse. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
A mated pair of swans fly overhead March 5 in Riverside Park in La Crosse.
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Goose Island Park in La Crosse earlier this month. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
Trees loom overhead on Goose Island. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
This spring rain drop will soon become a new tree bud. Picture taken in backyard on March 18, 2022.
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Ice anglers enjoy the last week for their hobby on Lake Onalaska before spring as temperatures rose and the ice on waterways became unsafe to fish on.
A bald eagle glides through the air near Arcadia, Wis.
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The bridges south of Riverside Park are offset by a beautiful March 15 sunset.
Some horses enjoy a fresh morning in the yard.
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This spring rain drop will soon become a new tree bud. Picture taken in backyard on March 18, 2022.
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An ice fisherman heads home after a day of fishing on the Black River by French Island last week. Local experts say the time for ice fishing is over as the thickness of ice is no longer consistently safe.
March ended with some snow, as seen on this backyard fall foliage on Thursday.
Pictured is Fred Benning with Rachel Evagelisto, Miss Winona, and past Winona Steamboat Days harbormasters. Benning was capped as the 2022 Winona Steamboat Days Harbormaster. The Steamboat Days Festival will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year and will run June 15-19.
Some of the first anglers of spring fish along French Island, along the Black River. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
Katie Boarini, programming and community outreach intern with Drift Cycle Bike Share, applies QR code stickers to a fleet of over fifty bicycles Tuesday while preparing for the program’s season at Landmark by the Rivers in La Crosse.
Steak Shop Catering presents a check to Habitat for Humanity to support safe, affordable housing here in Winona. Pictured is Anita Kamrowski of Steak Shop Catering, left, and Jen Tepovich, Habitat ReStore Manager.
Work on the Hy-Vee supermarket continues at the former Sears location at Valley View Mall. The store is expected to open in the latter part of 2022.
Low-flying geese above Goose Island Park inspired this artwork.
Green Head Mallards stop over at Goose Island on their way north.
A bee lands on the petal of an azalea overlooking the seventh hole during a practice round for the Masters on Monday in Augusta, Ga. The Masters, a professional golf tournament often called "a tradition unlike any other," begins Thursday. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
While a squirrel eats on Goose Island, a woodpecker watches and a cardinal flies away on April 2.
Some of the trees are blooming and producing pollen, as these elm tree flowers are doing on April 2.
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Girlfriend and boyfriend mallards spend some quality duck dock time soaking in the sun by Richmond Bay on French Island.
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Three- and four-year-olds take part in Altra's annual easter egg hunt at the Omni Center on Onalaska. In addition to egg hunts for different age groups, the event also offered pictures with the Easter bunny and door prizes including Easter baskets and bikes. A fire truck and police car were also present, and kids could meet firemen and officers and have their photos taken with the vehicles.
The Mississippi River behind the Weber Center for the Performing Arts in La Crosse mirrors a colorful sky April 8.
The La Crosse River and the marsh trail behind Copeland Avenue on April 8.
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A beautiful sunset on French Island.
A tulip blooms inside my house on April 11.
The sun rises April 21 in La Crosse, peeking through some branches in the neighborhood.
A great blue heron does some reflecting in the waters around French Island in late April.
An egret relaxes while perched in a tree.
Looking down on Trempealeau along the Mississippi River.
This cedar waxwing was hiding in a nearby tree in April.
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Cherry blossoms are seen in full bloom on May 9 at Lake Park in Winona. Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
A male and female mallard take a patriotic stroll on French Island.
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State Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, is pictured with sixth- and seventh-grade students from Mabel-Canton Schools. The group visited with Rep. Davids recently while touring the state Capitol in St. Paul.
Fog along the Mississippi in Winona reduces visibility May 9.
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A mallard looks for a meal in the La Crosse marsh last Friday.
Balance Rock on First Peak overlooks the village of Trempealeau.
Apple blossom time on French Island last week.
Flowering Crab trees on French Island last week.
Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
La Crosse River meanders through the La Crosse marsh this past week.
Tuesday, June 14, is Flag Day. Pictured is a memorial in Lake Park in Winona.
This little guy found shelter inside the tire of his grandpa's tractor.
The sun sets behind the Riverside Park fountain on June 8.
Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
A local dog makes a day of chasing muskrats and enjoying a sunset on Lake Onalaska along Brice Prairie.
Our cats this spring had a front row seat to watch a baby cardinal and its parents in a nest in front of our house.
La Crosse River from Veteran Memorial Park taken July 16
This is the bridge crossing the La Crosse River on the bike trail as your heading north from Riverside Park.
RIGHT: A weekend sunset on French Island.
Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
A look at the Cass Street Bridge from Riverside Park in La Crosse on Sunday.
ABOVE: A sunset viewed from the north end of French Island on July 9 this year.
Dew collects overnight on a spider web on Pammel Creek Bridge.
Black-Eyed Susans show off their beauty at the Trempealeau Hotel during Catfish Fish Days.
A redwing blackbird at Goose Island Park.
Tranquil country day in early July in La Crosse County.
A 1960 Chrysler LeBaron is proudly owned by Mark Kenny of St. Paul. He was in Trempealeau for Catfish Days. The car was once owned by Texas Gov. John Connally.
The Trempealeau Queen and her court ride Sunday, July 10, in the Trempealeau Catfish Days Parade.
The late June sun peeks through the trees lining a path in Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse.
Gomer, our resident female pileated woodpecker, does what he does best to an apple tree in Caledonia.
Want to submit your own photo for consideration for Photo of the Day? We'd love to see them. Upload your submission, along with a with caption that includes the time and place where the photo was taken and your contact information, to features@lacrossetribune.com.
"My first day out of my nest, I'm scared." This bunny was venturing out around our backyard in La Crosse on July 28.
This photo was taken on July 15 near Pine Creek in La Crescent.
The La Crosse River is seen from Veteran Memorial Park on July 16.
Our cats this spring had a front row seat to watch a baby cardinal and its parents in a nest in front of our house.
An aerial view July 17 over West Salem area as fog settles into many of the valleys.
This male Twelve-Spotted Skimmer dragonfly is helping hang out clothes today!
A busy mom feeds her babies last week in Onalaska.
A beautiful female monarch dries her wings on Friday in Tomah.
The La Crosse area's Shufflin Duprees perform at Holmen Halfway Creek Band Shell Concert on Sunday afternoon.
View from the trombone section of La Crosse Concert Band in Riverside park on July 31, 2019. Conducted by Ryan Waldhart, this concert was the last of the band's 2019 season.
The Quenten Brown Band plays at Moxie's Tiki Bar on the North Side of La Crosse on Wednesday evening.
La Crosse Tribune reporter Steve Rundio can be reached at steve.rundio@lee.net.
The best online courses and online class sites make it simple and easy to learn new skills from home through distance learning online.
Long gone are the days of having to attend a college to take a class. Now, with available learning platforms, through the use of video streaming, there are a wide variety of skills that can be learned from the comfort of your abode.
Websites abound that have online classes on demand. This can range from a single lecture on a specific topic, to a series of lectures to gain new knowledge in a field, to entire graduate level degrees offered by leading universities. You can even learn from professors on the other side of the planet via this method!
Course courses cover the spectrum. Some can be professionally oriented, designed to update skills for older workers, or those with a degree outside the area of study. Other courses are designed to supplement knowledge, offering additional study, such as advanced training for a certification exam. However, it is not all so serious, with coursework also available that borders on entertainment, with options for a cooking class, or film appreciation. In any case, in a competitive work environment, having some exact coursework can be an important CV builder, without having to do the rigors of a formal degree.
These are the best laptops for students on the market.
SkillShare has a large catalog of 35,000 plus online videos, divided into the categories of Create, Build and Thrive. It also has Workshops that offer a more in depth look into areas. It is easy to get started with this platform, as there are three tiers offered, and a week long free trial. However, we found the service to be more expensive than some others, with only an annual plan offered rather than offering it on a month by month basis.
Also, another issue was that credit card info was a requirement for accessing the trial, and we found reports of the difficulties with cancellation of this service. Going through this service, issues aside, we found it an attractive option for those looking to learn new creative skills, with coursework offered in areas including illustration, photography and design.
Read the full SkillShare review (opens in new tab).
LinkedIn Learning is an educational outgrowth of the highly popular, professional networking platform. As you might suspect, this platform is focused on development of professional skills, with a catalog that is expansive at over 16,000 offerings. The plan is simplified, with only a single tier, but it can be subscribed to either annually or monthly. We also like the interactive basis of this platform, which focuses on demonstration of the skills obtained, with online quizzes and exercise files available.
The content is also quite professional, with the education conducted via expert instructors in their fields. Learners also praise the flexibility in learning, via the smartphone apps, an audio only option (perfect for jogging), and offline learning possibilities. Finally, the integration with LinkedIn is apparent, with the ability to put the certification achieved upon successful completion of the course onto the learner’s LinkedIn page.
Read the full LinkedIn Learning review (opens in new tab).
While some platforms have courses by the thousands, MasterClass offers less, in numbers, with just over a hundred courses on offer. However, what it lacks in breadth of subject matter, it more than makes up for with its list of educators that easily qualify as Hollywood A-listers and the like.
We take exception to the annual billing without a month to month option, but there is a choice of plans among three tiers. Also realize that learning cinematography from acclaimed director James Cameron has got to be an experience, but overall MasterClass offers more casual content, so don’t look for an online master’s degree here.
Another standout feature is that the content is high quality, with each course having trailers that could be shown in a movie theater to help students decide if the course is worth pursuing. While there are fewer courses on offer, also realize that each one is a comprehensive look at the subject, being broken up into around 20 segments, each averaging about 10 minutes in length.
Read the full MasterClass review (opens in new tab).
Udemy is notable for its super large course catalog, a ridiculously large 155k courses focused on business content taught by over 56k instructors. This is driven in part by the over 7,000 enterprise customers. Users are sure to like the comments for the course that are integrated into the platform, the transparency in when the course was last updated, along with the high quality trailers to help assess if a course is right for your needs.
We also noted the choice of tiers, and the longer 30-day money back certain period. Some downsides do encompass that some courses need to be purchased individually as opposed to a monthly subscription, the limited support options that are missing a direct phone number and an email address, and the bugs with the apps, especially with offline viewing. For those looking for the right business course, with support materials to support the learning, Udemy is worth a good look.
Read the full Udemy review (opens in new tab).
For those looking for an online learning platform to obtain a college degree- either undergraduate or graduate - edX is an excellent choice. Rather than having to look at online schools one at a time, edX makes it possible to access coursework among 160 universities, the likes of Berkeley, Harvard University and Boston University. Furthermore, this coursework is taught by university professors that teach over 3,000 courses.
Courses are designed to result in obtaining a certificate, an online college degree, or even applied towards a degree at a university. This high level of quality education does not come at a bargain price, or an all you can eat monthly subscription, but rather these types of degrees can have a cost in the thousands, however keep in mind that they are less than attending the same school in residence, not to mention saving the costs of room and board at a dormitory.
Read the full edX review (opens in new tab).
Coursera is an online educator that also focuses on college level education, and has partnered with leading universities including Arizona State University and Duke University, and also has alliances with many Fortune 500 companies. This platform is notable as the emphasis is on university courses, along with over a thousand free content videos, and also certificate programs. This content can be taken to acquire a college degree, all fully online.
The standout feature is the Guided Projects, which are done to allow the learner to put their newly acquired skills to use, under the watchful guidance of an instructor. Those looking to acquire some job ready skills, whether in the form of a certificate, a degree or an advanced degree, from a name brand university should take a look at this platform.
Read the full Coursera review (opens in new tab).
Leave it to the Brits to package some great educational opportunities from the UK into an online learning platform, through the internet available from anywhere, anytime. The course content offered by FutureLearn fits into ExpertTracks, which is a 10 to 12 week block of learning, and covers 3 to 4 courses leading to a certificate upon completion of study. The content focuses on beginner level content designed for job education.
Some significant downsides include the lack of smartphone apps, average user reviews, and unclear pricing. The limited support options also hamper this service. New users should check out the free course availability as some courses can be started on a trial basis, and also keep in mind the 7-day trial period. Those not looking for an ExpertTrack should also look for the single courses that are available as well.
Read the full FutureLearn review (opens in new tab).
Udacity has a focus on providing education for business and technology with courses in areas such as Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and instructors that are industry experts.
Learners like fully online nanodegrees that emphasize job related education, which are targeted at more developed than a certificate program, while falling short of a traditional college degree. Feedback is provided through a mentoring program, which is personalized to develop the student’s skills via direct critique of submitted projects.
While the higher cost of this option may be a barrier (which gets paid on a monthly basis), and the support options could be better, it gets Good Marks in the user reviews of its smartphone apps. For those looking to develop computing skills via online education, Udacity is a worthy option.
Read the full Udacity review (opens in new tab).
Coming out of Ireland, Alison is an affordable approach to a learning platform. The notable standout is that everyone can afford it, with a free (ad supported) tier, and thousands of courses available for learners to take. We also appreciate the still affordable higher tiers, that eliminate the ads, with offerings of flexible monthly, annual and lifetimes tiers, with options to have a certificate of completion, or letter of attestation of the completed coursework at bargain basement prices.
Some shortcomings need to be noted, such as the lack of degrees and the automated approach to support. Still, for those that just want some courses, and are on a limited budget, Alison is a solid starting point with a catalog sure to offer opportunity for its already 3.5 million learners.
Read the full Alison review (opens in new tab).
Coming out of Utah, Pluralsight provides technology based education, targeting skills for the digital transformation. It is a highly developed platform, with partnerships to educate those in industry, with such known tech names as Adobe and the Nasdaq counted among its 17,000 business users.
While the emphasis appears to be on the enterprise market, there is the option for individual users as well. There is a choice of two plans for these individual users, we appreciate the option to pay monthly or annually, and on the upper tier there are over 7,000 courses.
Support is also solid with many choices to get in touch to get help. There are some issues we encountered with creation of our account, but for those seeking out advanced technology education, that is up to the high standards of enterprise, Pluralsight is worth a look.
Read the full Pluralsight review (opens in new tab).
An online course website is an online platform for education. Each typically utilizes video lectures as the primary mode of learning, along with supplemental materials to reinforce the education, and demonstrate the learning. This can include course syllabi, graded projects, chat rooms for students, mobile apps for learning on the go, practice questions, and even formal exams. The education is often on a large variety of topics, but more in depth than what you would typically find on more casual websites, that are more for entertainment than formal education. These online courses are an excellent opportunity to acquire new skills, update knowledge, and branch into new areas.
An online learning platform has much in common with a learning management system (LMS), and the two terms are commonly confused, and even used interchangeably. However, there is a key difference.
A LMS is defined by Wikipedia (opens in new tab) as “A software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs.”
In contrast, there is no clear definition for what an online learning platform is, and also its alternate term, eLearning. The online learning platform is a more generic term that also encompasses a LMS, but alternately not every online learning platform has all the features of an LMS.
For example, there is plenty of educational content online, such as on YouTube and other websites, and this can be used for learning purposes. However, this does not meet all the requirements to be a LMS platform, as it lacks documentation, tracking, and reporting of the educational progress.
As stated above, there is no clear definition for what an online learning platform (opens in new tab) is, other than to say that there are plenty of websites for education. They can range from a more formal LMS that can provide tracking, documentation and reporting of the education that has been done, to less formal sites that can be as open as an online educational video. For example, sites such as Lifehacker, or wikiHow provide education, but it is not formal, or trackable in the sense that they would provide a certification.
Then there is the term “Online course website.” Again, this is a vague term that covers both extreme ends. While some would use it interchangeably with a LMS, the latter is the preferred term that once again can provide tracking of educational progress, and is more formal, able to provide documentation of education progress including certificates or degrees as applicable.
A MOOC is a “Massive Open Online Course.” These are offered by edX, a leader in online education. The idea is that while a traditional classroom gets limited in how many students can attend, with a MOOC, as it gets offered through the internet, literally millions of folks can all take the class and benefit from the education. It is literally an economy of scale so that high quality education can be disseminated.
According to edX, the first MOOC offered was through MIT, and it is a course entitled “Circuits and Electronics.” As of 2019, over 50k learners have taken this course!
With such success, it is no surprise that there has been growth in this MOOC segment. There are now MOOC’s for business so that education can occur for corporate learners. Also, edX has offered college credits for select MOOC’s since 2015.
The good news is that just about any modern computer will be absolutely fine for this online education, and these platforms work through any web browser. Those looking to do this inexpensively can get the job done with a Chromebook (opens in new tab), which tends to be quite affordable.
Most of the platforms offer apps for smartphones, on both the iOS and Android platforms. This is ideal for learning on the go, and also allows the education to proceed on a tablet device from either platform.
For a Windows laptop (opens in new tab), ideally a larger screen with 1080p resolution (or higher), and a solid set of speakers would be ideal. However, don’t think you need to expend serious resources on this, as even an entry level laptop, with a Celeron processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a minimal internal hard drive will be more than adequate for the education. You can even use Windows 10 in S mode, although having the full version of Windows 10 is easier as then you can install other software, such as a word processing program (opens in new tab) to take notes.
Also check out our roundup of the best laptop.
With the popularity and growth of so many online learning websites, it has presented the opportunity for folks to not only take these courses, but also to be able to teach them as well. The first step is to figure out what you want to teach, which can range from a university type of course, to a casual single lecture.
The potential educator should also take an honest assessment of their skill level, and what actually qualifies them to teach the course. A qualification that learners will appreciate is having a degree in the field, especially a graduate degree, such as the terminal degree in the field, such as a PhD. Having such a degree clearly shows the scholarship in the area, and would qualify you to teach at any college or university, along with an online platform.
Not having a terminal degree can in some cases be substituted by a certification or license in select fields, such as a manicurist who wants to teach nail care. Additionally, with this democratization of content, there can be plenty of situations where experience in the area can also qualify the individual to be able to impart knowledge, such as working in the field successfully for a number of years, or even performing the task at home, such as a stay at home parent that wants to teach laundry skills.
Figuring out your qualification, and the type of course then will help to determine what platform it will be appropriate for. For example, unless you are a professor at Harvard, your content will not be appropriate for the online Harvard education site. However, there is no shortage of sites, so next you need to find a site, and certainly start with checking the sites above, realizing that some are better suited to more formal courses, and others are looking for more casual content. Once you identify the target site, get in touch, as most of them have links for those looking to be the next great educator.
There is no shortage of learning platforms out there to choose from. Thankfully for you, we have sorted through them to find the ones that will benefit users.
We look at a number of factors, and truth be told no one learning platform will be the best for everyone. Things to consider start with the pricing, and for that we look at the plans. Some platforms even have free courses offered. Others charge by the course, and some companies have a monthly subscription, there is truly a learning platform for every budget.
Content is another factor. Some platforms focus on a specific area, such as computer programming, while others have more expansive catalogs that rival what any major college would offer.
Another issue is the quality of the coursework. Some are more crowd sourced, allowing a democratization of education. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have platforms that partner with top rated professors at name brand universities to teach the content.
Finally, there are the extras offered, such as the available smartphone apps. Also, there are the available certifications, and degrees that can be completed for looking for a more formal education.
See how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
YouTube, and other online streaming site (opens in new tab)s are a valuable resource to learn new skills. There is no shortage of content available, to learn anything and everything, such as how to cook a new dish, how to repair your car, and a lesson in home improvement.
However, this type of content has its limitations. One is that it is taught by anyone, and there is a varying skill level, and in most cases it is not taught by skilled instructors, such as a university professor. In many cases the goal is as much to entertain as it is to instruct. This is fine for casual content, such as in our prior example of a cooking video, but not as well suited for more formal instruction.
Finally, while a LMS can provide proof of the education, YouTube does not offer this. In other words, there are no certificates, or degrees offered to provide an employer as a demonstration to the new knowledge obtained.
Harvard University is a leading institution, and they do indeed have online educational offerings. They certainly have a full variety of coursework available, and it is a mix of paid and free content. As Harvard has consistently topped the list of endowed US universities, with a staggering $40+ billion of endowments, this is a chance for them to give something back.
Harvard has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founded edX. While the free courses that Harvard offers are on a website for Harvard Online (opens in new tab), realize that the course content is on edX.
There are plenty of high quality courses available through Harvard University, approximately 140 in a exact count. Some are quite specific, and not quite what would qualify as a standard university class, such as “Nonprofit Financial Stewardship Webinar: Introduction to Accounting and Financial Statements” that would target only a select group with interest in this area. Mixed in are courses that are not free, and have a cost, so be sure to double check when signing up, or you can filter to only look at the free courses.
A popular area of these online courses is the CS50 series, which covers computer science topics. This coursework is targeted to AP high school students in this area. It includes about 30 courses, such as the “CS50's Introduction to Game Development,” an intermediate course that covers “The development of 2D and 3D interactive video games.” The course is in English, and is designed to be completed over a 12 week period, for 6 to 9 hours weekly, although it is self-paced to accommodate other learning paces. While this course can be audited for free by anyone, a Checked Certificate is available for those that complete it for $199.
When deciding which of the best online courses and online class sites to use, first consider what level of competency you are currently at. If you've not used a LMS or VLE before then it would definitely be recommended to start with the lower end platforms, so you won't be overwhelmed by the number of options that enterprises need but smaller players usually don't. These will help introduce you to the basics you'll need before you cover more advanced tools. However, if you already have a strong IT background and a lot of experience using a range of different software platforms already, or have even used a LMS or VLE yourself as a student, then feel free to try your hand with the more advanced courses.
We've also featured the best online learning platforms.
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