County seeks new bids for Badger Prairie health center

Higher costs for construction materials and fuel are forcing Dane County to go through a second round of bids for the new Badger Prairie Health Care Center in Verona because the first set of bids from a half-dozen contractors all came in over budget, which is projected to be close to $21 million. The new facility is scheduled to be constructed just north of the old nursing home, which has been on the same site on Verona's far east side since before the Civil War, starting out as the county insane asylum. The old brick building was expanded in the early 1960s, but has lagged behind in necessary building code upgrades for nursing homes, prompting the county to go ahead and plan for a totally new facility. The facility serves the most challenging nursing home population in the county, including those patients not accepted at... [read full story]