Wisconsin Life

With Halloween this week, we thought it’d be the perfect time to revisit one of our favorite ghost stories on Wisconsin Life. “The Rusted Bell” was written by Darlene Rickert of Green Bay, Wisconsin. She takes us inside your average café — one that just opened its front door to some unexpected visitors. Rickert's story

Bookmobiles have long dotted Wisconsin’s roadways and parking lots. The state has a long history of bringing books and movies to people living anywhere from Wisconsin Dells to Green Bay. One of those bookmobiles is the Madison Public Library's Dream Bus. It's a public library on wheels with bright cartoon painted on the outside. A

If you’re a fan of “The Office,” “Better Call Saul,” or the comedy horror series, “What We Do in the Shadows,” you’ve probably seen Mark Proksch. A native of Onalaska, Wisconsin, Proksch didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming an actor. His accidental career path began with his awkward appearances on local TV morning shows as

Many Wisconsinites have personal reasons for plopping giant triangles of yellow foam on their heads or wearing wedge earrings to every Wisconsin sporting event — from football to baseball. But let’s go back to the beginning, to one of the first times a person cut up a piece of foam, declared it cheese and wore it on their head.

Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a thousand mile footpath tracing Ice Age formations across the state. People are drawn to the trail for a bunch of reasons, and Janesville’s Stephen Strieker is introducing people to the trail through his love of running. Runner Juan Moran at the Arbor Ridge Trail race creek

On a cloudy, balmy weekday afternoon, the University of Wisconsin-Madison marching band was preparing for something a quarter of them had never done before: perform at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers’ first home game was days away. The band’s first new director in half a century — Dr. Corey Pompey — commanded the podium and

Wild rice, or manoomin, is a staple food among Ojibwe tribes that lies at the center of their time on the shores of Lake Superior. For generations, tribal members have harvested this food that grows on water. Recently, members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa made the trek to Pacwawong Lake in

When you step up to order at Pete’s Hamburger Stand in Prairie du Chien, you’ll notice there’s only four things on the menu: soda, water, chips and, of course, a hamburger. The recipe is simple -- quality ground beef, onions, a little salt. But then Pete’s does something a little unexpected. When it’s time to

“First Day of School” is an animated version of the story written by Jo Shaffer describing the dreadful anxieties that came with the first day of school. Jo takes us on an emotional roller coaster through the halls of Madison West High School to find out that this year might not be so bad after

WHYsconsin received a question from listener Rachel Potter of Fitchburg wondering, "Why don’t more Wisconsinites know about the majestic regal fritillary butterfly?"

To find out more about this rare insect, WPR traveled to a restored prairie outside of Barneveld in southwestern Wisconsin with guide Rich Henderson, a board member of the Prairie Enthusiasts and a former state Department of Natural Resources ecologist.