Wisconsin Life

At one point in time, thousands of effigy mounds could be found in what is now called Wisconsin. These ancient burial sites are still significant to members of the state’s First Nations. We recently received a question through the WHYsconsin project from a listener who wanted to know more about the effigy mounds. WPR’s Liz Dohms went to learn more about the people who created them.

Ricardo Gonzalez came to the United States in the 1960s when his family left Cuba following the Revolution. Ricardo eventually settled in Madison where he served on the Common Council and opened the iconic Cardinal Bar. When almost 15,000 Cuban refugees ended up at Wisconsin’s Ft. McCoy following the 1980 Mariel Boatlift, Ricardo made it his mission to help his fellow Cubans find sponsors in hopes of them finding a better life in the United States. One way he did that was through music.

Ricardo’s story is featured on the new podcast, “WPR Reports: Uprooted.”

Carson Gulley was a Black culinary, radio and TV pioneer in the mid-1900s. Now, his legacy lives on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, after it named a dining venue after him. He’s also known for his fudge-bottom pies. But Scott Seyforth, an assistant director of residence life at University Housing that he has read more than 100 interviews with Gulley — and not once did his now-famous fudge-bottom pies come up. He talked about this — and his adversity despite the discrimination — on WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show.”

Marcos Calderón of La Crosse grew up in Havana, Cuba. At an early age, he fell in love with cars and wanted to travel around the world in the driver’s seat. But, he couldn’t leave Cuba. So, when the Mariel Boatlift happened in 1980, he saw it as a narrow window to get out. He was eventually sent to Wisconsin, settled down in the area and become a professional driver. But, in the late 1980s, he ended up in prison and has been living in legal limbo ever since.

Marcos’s story is featured on the new podcast, “WPR Reports: Uprooted.”

If you ask around, you’ll likely hear that ghosts are lurking on University of Wisconsin- Madison’s historic campus. From things like the very real graves atop Bascom Hill, to generations of student lore, many have reported that the history here, sometimes goes bump in the night. WPR’s A. Emily Ralph explores this intersection of history and rumor in one of the university’s oldest buildings — UW-Madison’s Science Hall.

Wisconsin is known for producing a lot of products, like cheese, milk, and beer. It’s the state’s history with the beer industry that made one listener wonder what happened to Wisconsin’s breweries and alcohol production during prohibition. She reached out to WPR’s WHYsconsin to find out. Callie Donavan has the answer.

Running a family business can instill pride and a valuable work ethic that circulates through the household. Wisconsin writer Nancy Jorgensen shares a story about her father, Quentin Smirl, and  growing up around his printing business, Lithoprint Company in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She says it had a lasting impact on future generations of the family.

Running a family business can instill pride and a valuable work ethic that circulates through the household. Wisconsin writer Nancy Jorgensen shares a story about her father, Quentin Smirl, and  growing up around his printing business, Lithoprint Company in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She says it had a lasting impact on future generations of the family.

When Ernesto Rodriguez of La Crosse was 24 years old, he left the only home he’d ever known: Cuba. He, along with 125,000 of his fellow Cubans, hopped on boats bound for the United States in 1980. They were part of the mass exodus known as the Mariel Boatlift, a rare moment when President Fidel Castro allowed residents to leave the island. And after he was sent to Fort McCoy, he moved in the Brandstetter family in Sparta, Wisconsin.

Erne’s story is featured on the new podcast, “WPR Reports: Uprooted.”

Primate research has led to countless scientific breakthroughs. But when a monkey is no longer needed for research, what happens next can be an ethical quandary. In south central Wisconsin, a team runs a sanctuary for monkeys, as a way to say thank you for their contributions to science. Jana Rose Schleis brings us the story of Primates Incorporated.