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 …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Al Castro of the United Community Center Al Castro is the Director of Health Research Programs at the United Community Center, a nonprofit Latino community organization in Milwaukee. With an extensive background in social work, Al combines public health issues in his work at UCC, facilitating community-engaged health research in the …
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 …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Tricia Garrison of NEW Water Tricia Garrison is the public affairs and education manager for NEW Water, the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, that serves Northeast Wisconsin and cleans 38 million gallons of water per day. Tricia has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and …
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 …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Rick Erickson of Bayfield High School Rick Erickson is an award-winning high school teacher at the Bayfield School District where he teaches high school chemistry, physics, and alternative education. Among his laurels are a 2014 Wisconsin High School Teacher of the Year and the 2019 Presidential Award of Excellence in Math …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Dylan Jennings of Bad River Band Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013. He is now the Director of Public Information for the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission and also serves as an …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Mitch Breunig of Mystic Valley Dairy Mitch Breunig, owner of Mystic Valley Dairy, LLC, in rural Roxbury, near Sauk City, manages eight employees, oversees the breeding and healthcare of the herd, and analyzes the finances and marketing of Mystic Valley’s milk, cattle, and crops. The farm milks about 450 cows, raises …
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 …