The Village of Rock Springs continues to recover, but with the challenge of rebuilding brick by brick, comes the challenge of rebuilding morale in the devastated community.

"Keeping the morale of people up, keep showing progress... That is our only goal," Harlan Behnke says.
Sandbags still sit scattered as well as dumpsters in downtown Rock Springs, but Village President Harlan Behnke says a brighter future is a couple of weeks away.
"When that first light is on, everyone will celebrate. They'll see the light at the end of this thing."
"There's still a lot of work, but it's coming," business owner Neil Caflisch says.
The first business preparing to turn on the lights again -- The Coach House Bar and Restaurant.
"We've overhauled it," Caflisch says, "It's been an every day deal."
Under the threat of more rain a couple of weeks ago, people here began sandbagging again. They plan to clear out the rest of these bags this week. They're hoping they'll be gone for good.
"Those are going out. We're getting ready for the rest of the summer," Behnke says.
Caflisch has managed to clean up from five feet of water during the June flood. He plans to re-open The Coach House in mid-August.
"People all over Reedsburg, Baraboo, North Freedom, they keep asking," Caflisch says.
Behnke says the village board already has approved building permits for other businesses. He hopes the village will get enough hazard mitigation funding to buy out buildings for two businesses as well as more than a dozen homes.
"I think we have a good case. Think we have been hit hard enough that there's no other answer than that to take the buildings down."
Behnke says he is in the process of finding all of the families space to rebuild.
"We're looking real hard to find places for them. We don't want to lose anyone," Behnke says.
He says the village cannot afford to lose them.
"If we keep our head up and we keep moving ahead, the village will get better," Behnke says.
People in the village still need to pick up their mail in North Freedom. The village president expects the post office to re-open in a couple of weeks.