Learning about the state we serve
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 …
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 …
Beginning on February 1 and extending until May 10, the Faculty Exhibition 2020 will be on display in the Pleasant T. Rowland Galleries and throughout the Chazen Art Museum. Wisconsin Idea Seminar participant Tomiko Jones (WIS ’19) is showing three tricolor gum prints over cyanotype, inspired by a collection of Japanese ukiyo-e prints in the Van …
Water@UW-Madison hosts an annual photo contest, accepting submissions for both artistic photos and pet photos. This year, the top 3 images in the artistic category were won by 2019 WIS participant Christian Andresen and WIS intern Bethany Prochnow. In first place was Andresen’s “Wisconsin Veins”, followed by Prochnow’s second-place “Trout Lake Sunset”, and Andresen’s “Arctic …
Residents, government officials, and storytellers recently gathered together at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in La Farge to celebrate a story-telling project focused on the area flooding in late 2018. Caroline Gottschalk Druschke, a UW-Madison professor, brought undergraduate students together with the Driftless Writing Center to collaborate with local Kickapoo Valley residents affected by the floods, …
Dr. James DeLine, a rural healthcare provider in Wisconsin’s southwestern Vernon County, shares his experiences of practicing family medicine since 1983. DeLine works closely with specialists at UW-Madison to provide unique genetic testing for Plain community members, many with rare conditions. In 2019 and 2017 the Wisconsin Idea Seminar traveled to visit Dr. DeLine at …
Luke Zahm, owner and chef of Driftless Cafe and television host of Wisconsin Foodie, welcomed 2019 Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants to his restaurant last May. A UW-Madison ‘03 grad and La Farge local, Luke was able to share perspective on food and how his identity as a chef is deeply rooted in and shaped by …
Rivers shaped our learning during the Wisconsin Idea Seminar 2019 River Tour, where over five days and 600 miles 40 faculty and academic staff made stops at some of Wisconsin’s famous waterways: the Milwaukee, the Wisconsin, the Mississippi, and the Kickapoo. We learned how communities developed at the water’s edge and how their orientation to …