Wisconsin Life

Love Wisconsin? You'll love Wisconsin Life. It's your place for engaging stories of the people that make Wisconsin feel like home.

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Seeing Wisconsin from a Unique Perspective

E. Arti Wulandari’s Wisconsin Life started in Fall of 2006, when she began graduate study at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

During that time, in addition to working on her doctorate in Comparative Literature, Wulandari has become a talented photographer, focusing her lens on the plentiful wildlife that inhabits the University of Wisconsin—Madison  campus.

See more of Wulandari’s photographs of the different critters making their home on the UW Campus this spring here.  

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Living the Wisconsin Life: Day in a Kid’s Life

If you ask Ellie from Madison to talk about her life, she’s going to tell you a story about her dog:

“I rescued my dog from the shelter and her name is Flicka and she’s a toy poodle.”

“She had her name Flicka already but I made her first name be ‘Happy’ and her second name be ‘Flicka’ and her third name be my last name.”

Everyone has a story. For Ellie, her dog Flicka is an important part of her own story about what being a kid living in Wisconsin is like. And for one Wisconsin-based storytelling project, Ellie’s story about her own life as a kid is just as important to hear as the life stories of adults.

Since 2014 Madison Public Library has partnered with Madison Children’s Museum to create the Madison Story Project, a community-wide digital storytelling project that’s all about giving kids a voice. 

Watch our story here

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Watch our story on the Magee Family here.

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Passion for Petroleum

The gas station. It’s a familiar place, but when you’re filling your tank, how often do you stop and think about where you are and what you’re doing?

“That’s the thing about gasoline is when you buy it you don’t see it, feel it, taste it, hear it…it’s just an anonymous product that goes into your tank and quite frankly, 5 minutes after you leave you’re probably not sure what that brand was,” says Ed Jacobsen.

Jacobsen, or “Jake the Oil Guy," is the man behind the Petroleum Museum in Three Lakes.

Listen to the full story here.

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A Tribute to the Passenger Pigeon

The Passenger Pigeon was once one of the most numerous birds in the United States. Migrating flocks turned the skies black. The last one died in a zoo in 1914. Writer BJ Hollers paid a visit to a monument to the birds in Prairie du Chien.

Listen here.

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Orson Welles of Wisconsin

People don’t associate Orson Welles with Wisconsin. But even though he gained fame away from the state, the young Welles was first called a genius as a ten year old in Madison.

Listen here.

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Nature Photographer

You can travel the world looking for adventure and discover some pretty remarkable landscapes. But sometimes you only need to go so far as your own backyard. Especially if your backyard is in Wisconsin's Northwoods.

Jeff Rennicke traveled the world as an environmental writer for publications like “Backpacker” and “National Geographic.” But after being a guest speaker at the high school boarding school, Conserve School in Land O’ Lakes, he decided to settle down and accept a job there.  Looking for a creative outlet, he turned to photography and capturing the stunning beauty of the North Woods landscape that surrounds him.

Watch here.

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Falling in Love with Wisconsin by Bike

Wisconsin is known for its great biking. The two came together perfectly for Kathy Steffen who fell in love with biking in Wisconsin and with Wisconsin on her bike.

Listen here.

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Neon Artist

For decades, Jed Schleisner has built and restored neon signs. While changing technology has led to a decline in the use of these iconic signs, Jed keeps busy as one of the last neon artisans working in the Fox Valley. Along with the signs he makes and fixes for clients, Jed has also built his own collection of classic American signs, a collection that went on display in 2014.     

Watch the video here.

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April is Not the Cruelest Month for Motorcyclists

Contrary to what T.S. Elliot once wrote, April is not the cruelest month, at least if you ride a motorcycle in Wisconsin. Ron Davis looks forward to April all winter.

Listen here.

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Veterans Tell Their Stories

Pressed for time, doctors often have little time to spend getting to know their patients. An innovative program at the VA hospital in Madison lets veterans share their stories with their doctors.

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New website! Come visit us!

Hey Wisconsin Life fans! We’ve moved. Come visit us at our new home, www.wisconsinlife.org. Same great stories, more room to grow!

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Valley of the Kings

Lions and tigers and bears…oh, and a camel, wolves, llamas—even a tortoise! All of these animals have found their way to the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat in southeastern Wisconsin. For more than 43 years Jill Carnegie and Jim Tomasi have provided a home for unwanted, abused, or injured exotic animals of all kinds on their 10-acre sanctuary in rural Walworth County.

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Wienermobile

What’s 27 feet long, 11 feet high, has been around since 1936 and gets 1,000 smiles per gallon?  It’s the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Traversing the country in an oversized hot dog on wheels, Wisconsin Life catches up with University of Wisconsin graduate Becca Ream to find out what it takes to be a driver of this iconic ride.

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Fred Foster

From the world’s tallest building in Dubai, to Main Street Disney in Orlando, to the lights on Broadway in New York City, it is a Wisconsin company lighting the way. Fred Foster is the CEO of Electronic Theater Controls in Middleton and was chosen as one of the 10 most powerful people in the entertainment technology industry.  All of this from a University of Wisconsin dropout.

Find out who inspired Fred Foster’s career in lighting design and technology.

Click here for more about ETC’s part in a long history of evolution in lighting technology.

Learn about the annual bobblehead decorating contest ETC employees compete in—at the expense of their CEO.