How do you travel halfway around the world and still feel connected to home? For WPR’s Carina Abrego-Koch of Green Bay, she listened to the sound of her own voice — and the voice of someone she loves — while on a trip to London.

She shares her story as part of the “Home Is Here” project, which amplifies the voices of the growing number of Black, Asian, Native American and Hispanic residents who call northeastern Wisconsin home. The project is part of the NEW News Lab – a local news collaboration in northeastern Wisconsin made up of six news organizations.

The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin offers hundreds of field trips each year that bring members face-to-face with some of the state’s natural wonders. WPR’s Beatrice Lawrence went along on a recent trip to Nelson Dewey State Park along the Mississippi River to witness a swarm of 3,000 bats put on a show as they returned to their homes at dawn.

Each year, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin organizes hundreds of trips to get people in touch with the natural world and show them conservation projects — like bat monitoring — in action.

People working through addictions or tough times in their life often turn to things that bring comfort and support. Some turn to religion or a recovery coin or books. For writer Stacy Parish of Appleton, she held onto something much more organic.

Appleton writer reflects on the strength of the stone

There’s a peninsula just off Lake Michigan in Milwaukee that has lived many lives. Today, Jones Island is home to a sewage treatment plant, piles of salt and rail cars. But, it was once home to thriving communities, from the Potawatomi to European immigrants.

Jones Island is also the subject of a Milwaukee PBS documentary co-written by author and historian John Gurda called “People of the Port: A Jones Island Documentary.” As Gurda tells us, a Polish immigrant community flocked to the area. They were drawn in for the same reason as Jones Island’s earliest settlers — fishing.

The meat raffle. A beloved game where the prize is a frozen turkey, a box of steaks or a chain of sausage links. For writer and vegetarian Patti See, winning a package of meat can bring on peak joy at her favorite local taverns in Lake Hallie.

One of the pure joys of spending time with young children is hearing the wild, hilarious and beautiful things that come out of their mouths. Milwaukee journalist Tom Kertscher is feeling gratitude that many years ago, he put his reporter skills to work capturing some of the things his daughter, Hailey, said as a child. Hailey joins her dad for this essay, recounting some of her cute, clever and poignant moments.

Milwaukee journalist Tom Kertscher revisits favorite quotes with his child in 'The Wit and Wisdom of Hailey Kertscher'

Community members discuss the importance of culturally specific addiction recovery affinity groups in Wisconsin and beyond