Wisconsin 101

Wild Rice and Wetland Conservation

Wild rice grows only in the Great Lakes Region in shallow and calm waters. It requires specific conditions, nutrient-rich muddy soil and stable water levels, in order to properly grow to maturity, to produce the seeds able to be harvested. Damaging the…

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November 17, 2024

Agriculture / Indigenous Wisconsin / Broad History / Ricing Sticks / Odanah / Lac du Flambeau / Ashland County / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Region 1 - North West / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / Vilas County

Ricing (Manoominikewin)

Wild rice was depicted in an Ojibwe prophecy before there was even a name for the grain. When the Ojibwe people began to migrate west, they were prophesied to settle where food grows on water. The westward migration was in part because…

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November 16, 2024

Slaske's Tools / Greendale / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East

Greendale, Greenhills, and Greenbelt: The Government’s “Green” Towns

The Greenbelt towns were the brainchild of Rexford Guy Tugwell, an economist who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Undersecretary of Agriculture in 1934 and 1935. A policy advisor to President Roosevelt, Tugwell believed that he could effectively combat the Depression-era issues…

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August 14, 2024

Industry / Fish Boil Kettle / Related Stories / Door County / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / Region 5 - Center East

Early Fishing in Northern Door County: Before the Turn of the 20th Century

The impact of the fishing industry on Door County cannot be understated, as it held the keys for the original formation of the County and many of its cities and villages. Although commercial fishing has waned, the tradition persists in area as…

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April 10, 2024

Fish Boil Kettle / Broad History / Related Stories / Door County / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 5 - Center East

Tourism in Droves: Door County as a Tourist Destination

In the present day, the Door County tourism industry brings in over $500 million in total economic impact every year, with the summer as peak season. Rising from humble beginnings, and getting some help along the way from innovation, mainly the rise…

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April 10, 2024

Wisconsin Dells / Columbia County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

More than a century before the Wisconsin Dells became the "Waterpark Capital of the World," it was a famous tourist destination known for its scenic beauty. Guides began taking sightseers in rowboats along the Wisconsin River as early as the 1850s, and…

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February 21, 2024