Local Features

It’s deer hunting season and many of us in search for the perfect buck. This week on A Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about a buck Erwin J. Steenson experienced during a Thanksgiving hunt in Minocqua back in 1948. Fall in the Northwoods means hunting season for many people and has been that way for many generations. There are numerous stories out there about the spiritual side of hunting and how some look to their time in the woods as a chance to reconnect with nature and get

The cranberry harvest in northern Wisconsin is typically six weeks long starting at the beginning of October and it can be grueling work. Last year, Matthew Rethaber worked on the field crew for a cranberry harvest at James Lake Farms, an organic cranberry marsh in Three Lakes. As part of our series We Live Up Here , he shares memories of last year's harvest. I am walking down the James Lake road path. I stayed at the farmhouse last night. I am still feeling really tired. Last fall I got a job

Many of us in the Northwoods are descended from immigrant families. Today we hear the story of one family who came to the Northwoods by way of Greece. Gary Entz has the story in this week's episode of our continued series, A Northwoods Moment in History . The question of immigration and people from other countries seeking a home in the United States is often in the news today and it is unfortunate that this question is often depicted in terms that invoke feelings of fear and trepidation. Every

In this month's installment of Field Notes , Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses how the body adapts to recreation in high elevations. Last month I had the opportunity to spend some time in Colorado’s Flat Tops Wilderness Area, about two hours west of Denver. We were not successful in our pursuit of elk, but we had a great time and met a lot of nice people. One thing that always amazes me are the challenges presented by camping at higher elevations. We don’t see those types of challenges here

Deer hunting has a long and storied history in Wisconsin. In today’s Wildlife Matters , the Masked Biologist recalls many of the changes that have occurred in his time deer hunting. This year marks my 35 th firearms deer season. Granted, for the last 20 years, deer season has been modified by my work as a wildlife biologist. I have had to work opening weekend, or the entire season, to collect data, manage public lands, dispatch injured animals, and monitor harvested deer for disease. I always

In July of 1975, Bruce Kotila was on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and one of the crew members gave him a life jacket. Four months later on November 10th, the Fitzgerald sank in a Lake Superior storm. No one survived. Kotila, who lives in Rhinelander, says the gift is immensely meaningful to him 43 years later. Mackenzie Martin talked to Kotila and the author of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald about what still resonates with us about the Edmund Fitzgerald today. 43 years ago this Saturday, the SS

There is a historic elk hunt taking place this year in Wisconsin. This week on a Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about the history of elk reintroduction efforts in Wisconsin. The year 2018 marks the first time in Wisconsin history that there will be a managed elk hunt in the state. Although limited to a handful of hunters, the drawing for elk tags is seen as an indicator of successful conservation efforts to reintroduce elk into the Clam Lake region. However, the current effort

What are you thinking about right now? Probably not the access rights to the Great Lakes. The Masked Biologist wants to change that in this week’s episode of Wildlife Matters . We recently observed a special tenth anniversary. On October 3, 2008, The Great Lakes Compact was officially signed into law by President Bush, protecting the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem and preserving the rights for its use by the residents of eight states and two Canadian provinces. The Compact was more than

Around this time of year, attendance at farmers markets wind down. Yet some family farms in the Northwoods produce all year round, and they have a hard time reaching their customers. Last year, a group of five women farmers found a creative way to fix that problem. Mackenzie Martin has the story. Jasmyn Schmidt spends about 100 hours a week talking about or doing something related to local food. She’s the Farm to School teacher for the Northland Pines School District. She’s also a farmer

It's no secret that Wisconsin is full of famously haunted houses. This week on a Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about Summerwind Mansion in Vilas County. Summerwind mansion in Vilas County regularly shows up on lists of the most haunted places in Wisconsin. The ghost stories surrounding Summerwind are only legend and hearsay, and none can be corroborated with independent evidence. The mansion was real and interesting in its own right, but the tales of disembodied spirits and