Banks of the Wisconsin (business and River)

Looks like a couple of banks with lots of branches around hear -- Amcore (headquarters in Rockford, Illinois) and Anchor ((headquarters in Madison) -- are on the verge of being seized by the government for being undercapitalized. They could both go under by the end of the year.

Meanwhile in happier news for the area --

At least two domed-shaped Indian mounds - estimated to be about 2,000 years old - have been added to a larger protected area of burial sites along the Wisconsin River.

The Natural Heritage Land Trust and Ho-Chunk Nation purchased about 3 acres adjacent to the Kingsley Bend Mound Group south of Wisconsin Dells from a private land owner for $22,800. The purchase was finalized last week.

The mound group includes about a dozen dome-shaped mounds and six linear mounds, in addition to bear, panther and bird-shaped burial sites.

The large domed-shaped mounds are "encircled by earthen birds that swoop toward the Wisconsin River and bear shaped mounds that prowl along the ridges," state archaeologist John Broihahn said in a news release.

The idea is to "try to put the whole cultural landscape back together," he said of the additional 3 acres. "You have this really beautifully crafted and sculptured natural landscape."

Officials said the newly purchased land also will buffer the main mound group from incompatible development, such as farm expansions or housing developments.

"Over the years we've lost about 80 percent of all of the Native American burial mound groups that existed in Wisconsin," Broihahn said.

Plans call for improving public access to the additional 3 acres and possibly extending hiking trails for appreciation of the mounds, according to the news release.

When I worked in Portage for hospice, I used to drive by the site of these mounds regularly. At that time, the mounds were invisible from the road and badly overgrown with trees. A couple of years ago, the Ho-Chunk Nation purchased the Kingsley Bend Mounds, which had been a small state rest area, and started to restore the site.

Because the mounds are not high or dramatic, it was easy for European settlers to overlook them. Even now, when you visit the site, you need to look carefully to pick out the shapes. Some of the mounds in the state are outlined with white chalk or stone to make them more obvious. I don't know it they will eventually do that here or not.