Wisconsin Life

There’s a rumor that Rib Mountain in central Wisconsin is an extinct volcano. It seems somewhat reasonable…You can see it from miles away, it has a conical shape and there are volcanic rocks all over the city of Wausau. Well, it’s not. It never was. And although it does have ties to ancient volcanoes, WPR’s Liz Dohms-Harter discovers the star of Rib Mountain’s story is a rock too tough to break. This story came from an audience question as part of WPR’s WHYsconsin project.

Across Wisconsin, there are people struggling to access healthy and culturally appropriate foods. It’s a complex issue that some communities, like Green Bay, are addressing through community gardens. In 1994, The Community Garden Program in Brown County was founded with six families as a way to combat food insecurity. In the summer of 2021, more than 250 families will be working 12 different plots in a partnership between the City of Green Bay and Brown County.

A new podcast from our partners at Wisconsin Humanities called “Human Powered” is digging into these gardens and meeting some of the people who work there.

There’s a garden on the north side of Milwaukee where young farmers are learning to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. But it doesn’t stop there. These budding entrepreneurs are also selling their produce. It’s through the Young Farmers program, which is run through Groundwork Milwaukee.

We’re sharing this 2018 story in honor of “Wisconsin Life’s” 10th anniversary on WPR. It’s Peter Bryant’s, WPR’s Program Director for the NPR News and Music Network, pick for his favorite “Wisconsin Life” story.

Like her father before her, Captain Alice Bechtol joined the U.S. Army as a family tradition. Growing up in a military family helped make that decision pretty easy. She currently serves as a logistician, who ensures that equipment and people are where they need to be exactly when they need to be there. She spoke with her father, retired Lieutenant Colonel John Bechtol of Middleton, Wisconsin about the differences in their experiences and the tradition of serving as a family. The Bechtols share their experiences as part of StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative, which is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

As neighbors may be safely gathering for the Fourth of July holiday this weekend, we share a story about meeting new people on your block. Moving to a new community can spark a host of challenges. Marisol Gonzalez of Madison shares a story about trying to win over her new neighbors with food and kindness.

In the mid-1970s, Lisa Chue Thao and her family had to leave their whole world behind. Their farm, their friends, their home. They lived in northwest Laos and the horrors of war were creeping in. So, they started walking and ended up in a refugee camp in Thailand. In the 1980s, Lisa moved to Eau Claire and raised her family there. She shares that experience in this essay, which she told to and is read by her daughter, Yia Lor.

Finding forgiveness is deeply personal. Sometimes, it’s easy to forgive someone who’s wronged you and move on. Other times, the road to forgiveness is long and bumpy. But what if forgiveness isn’t an option? Writer Deshawn McKinney of Milwaukee is exploring this in his new, debut collection of poetry, “father forgive me” from Black Sunflowers Poetry Press. He shares one poem from that book, “On Forgiveness.”

The devastation facing Wisconsin’s family farms may have slipped from the headlines, but it hasn’t stopped. Many are losing everything. Others are evolving to try and make it. Wisconsin writer Brian Reisinger shares the struggle of one farm family – his own. He introduces us to his dairy farming family in Sauk County.

Learning to ride a bike can be a milestone in a person’s life. Lately, WPR producer and local DAD Brad Kolberg has been thinking about when he first learned how to ride a bike, teaching his daughter to ride, and what biking has meant to his family over the years. All because of a song he recently heard by Pedro the Lion.

Browsing video stores for the perfect rental has long been replaced with the ease of scrolling online streaming services from home. But there is still a group of Wisconsinites who prefer nostalgia to convenience. Andy Turner has more.