Learning about the state we serve
We are super excited to be looking forward to the Wisconsin Idea Seminar’s BAY TOUR (May 16-20, 2022). The pandemic brought our bus journeys to a screeching halt, a hiatus that lasted two years. It was the first time since its inception in 1985 that the Wisconsin Idea Seminar bus did not make its annual …
Adija Greer-Smith, owner of Confectionately Yours at the Sherman Phoenix in Milwaukee, has been making 500 to 600 cookies a week since March to give away to hospitals, dialysis centers, testing labs, funeral homes, and fire departments in Milwaukee. In 2019, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited the Sherman Phoenix and heard from Adija, among others, about how …
Andy Diercks, a fourth-generation farmer and part-owner of Coloma Farms, helps grow 800 acres of potatoes in Central Wisconsin, among other vegetables. In 2018, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited Coloma Farms and learned about the 2,700-acre potato and grain operation from Andy’s father Steve Diercks, third-generation farmer, as part of the Big Lake Tour. In a …
Rosy-Lane Holsteins, a 900-cow dairy farm in Watertown, is owned by UW alumni Lloyd and Daphne Holterman and their partners Tim Strobel and Jordan Matthews. They have hosted the Wisconsin Idea Seminar twice since 1993, most recently in 2019. On April 22, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, announced …
Alice’s Garden, an urban oasis in Milwaukee that the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited in 2019, opened a few weeks early so that it could provide a “living labyrinth” for people to walk an intentional path and reflect inwardly. Venice Williams, executive director of Alice’s Garden, is leading some of the pre-scheduled walks through the healing …
CREATE Portage County has converted its IDEA Center in Stevens Point, which the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited in 2019, into a 3D printing facility in order to create high-need medical equipment for local healthcare organizations, such as facemasks. The IDEA Center was founded as a hub of creativity that offers shared spaces and resources for …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Caitlin Cullen of Tandem Restaurant Caitlin Cullen is the chef and owner of the Tandem restaurant in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights. Since 2016, she has been using her restaurant to train young people on Milwaukee’s north side for careers in the service industry. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, her restaurant was …
Four Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants have received Distinguished Teaching Awards this year, an honor that recognizes their teaching and celebrates their hard work. William Brockliss, WIS’13, is an associate professor of classical and ancient near eastern studies. Kathleen Culver, WIS’12, is an associate professor of journalism and mass communication. Erica Halverson, WIS’07, is a professor …
Mitch Breunig, third-generation farmer at Mystic Valley Dairy in Sauk City, and Kent Weigel, livestock geneticist and chair of UW–Madison’s dairy science department, passionately explained some current struggles associated with dairy farming in a recent article for Wisconsin State Farmer. Breunig welcomed the Wisconsin Idea Seminar to his 400-cow operation in 2018, where Weigel helped …
Mitch Breunig, third-generation farmer and UW–Madison alumnus, was elected as chair of the Dairy Innovation Hub advisory council. In this new position, Breunig will work to assemble the council, set agendas, and provide guidance to the Dairy Innovation Hub’s faculty director: UW–Madison dairy scientist and WIS’13 alumna Heather White. In 2018, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited …