Construction is poised to begin on Costco has officially acquired land from Prairie Development and will be moving forward on construction of a new Sun Prairie store.

The Clean Sweep Program for recycling household hazardous waste will be open with new winter hours. This is the first such seasonal expansion of the program, according to county officials.

In recognition of this, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said that "Clean Sweep is a highly successful program that has kept unnecessary and hazardous waste out of the county landfill. We're excited to announce its expansion into the winter months and encourage people can take advantage of it."

Madison mayor Paul Soglin added, “Clearly the generation of hazardous waste is not restricted to one season. I am pleased that the Clean Sweep Program is expanding, as it will not only remove the hazardous materials from our homes but help maintain the integrity of our environment.”

Dane County is trying out a limited winter season during these hours:

2012 Winter Hours:

The Salvation Army of Dane County said more people are ringing bells and giving this holiday season.

Preliminary retail numbers show more people are shopping this holiday season, and it looks like Dane County's shoppers are giving more to those famous red kettles.

The Salvation Army of Dane County said its current kettle donation total of $156,000 is up $10,000 from last year at this time. And bringing technology to the forefront of its Red Kettle campaign, the Salvation Army is hoping QR codes help recruit volunteers and prompt shoppers to make credit card donations.

"We have worked very hard this season to get the coverage," said Maj. Loren Carter. "Because we figured that each shift represents about a $100 of income at each location. And so the coverage is very important."

Out of 12,000 total bell ringing shifts, 7,000 shifts are left for the season. The goal for this year's campaign is set at $715,000.