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Jubilee Days in Hardwick this SaturdayIt’s going to be a big weekend in Hardwick.The 112th annual Jubilee Days will start with a co-ed slow-pitch softball tournament on Friday night. You can contact Dan Kindt about that.Saturday’s events will include:
Kid’s karaoke at KJ’s
Spotlight Dancers
Free mini train rides
Whopper feed
Culvers ice creamThe Jubilee Days Parade will begin at 7 p.m. with a raffle drawing following.The night will be topped off with a street dance with music provided by the Stormdogs.An outdoor community worship service will be 10 a.m. Sunday at Zion Lutheran Church.The Hardwick Community Club sponsors the weekend’s festvities.The country, as well as Rock County, are building bison herdsPeople in Rock County are used to see bison roaming the local prairie, but the rest of the country is starting to see and hear more and more about the herds.Bison, also known as American Buffalo, were brought back to Rock County in 1961, when Blue Mounds State Park acquired two animals from a South Dakota Ranch.That number has now grown to 79 adults and 24 calves.The park has decided to increase the herd to 100 or more by next year, but will still hold their annual auction.Rock County is also home to Prairie Heights Bison, the Bowrons’ private bison ranch.According to the Washington Post, the number of commercially raised bison has increased drastically in recent years and totaled 231,950 animals in 2002.Currently, wild buffalo number between 15,000 and 16, 000, the largest single herd is 3,800 and lives in Yellowstone National Park, according to Josh Osher, coordinator for the Buffalo Field Campaign.These numbers compare to the 20 to 30 million that roamed the plains before Europeans settled the west.Someone was $604 million short on their taxes; pay upAccording to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the difference between the amount of Minnesota income tax that was actually paid and the amount that should have been paid was approximately $604 million.That amount represents 10.5 percent of the total income tax due ($5.7 billion) for calendar year 1999.With 90 percent of all Minnesota taxpayers paying their legal obligations, the news isn’t all bad. According to Dick Gebhart, research director for the Revenue Department, the state doesn’t know how the numbers compare to other states because few, if any, comparable studies are available from other states.Most of the missing $604 million comes from taxpayers underreporting their income.Non-filers (those who did not file a tax) include taxpayers who may be due a refund.According to Jerry McClure, the department’s income tax director, "People who don’t pay what they owe are causing everyone else to pay more. Noncompliance unfairly shifts the tax burden to those who do comply."Minnesota’s income tax is the state’s largest revenue source, accounting for about 40 percent of the state’s general fund.The department estimates that 670,000 possible filers (individuals and married couples) are responsible for this shortfall.The department estimates that each individual Minnesotan pays about $120 more per year to make up for taxes not paid by others.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com