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Wisconsin People & Ideas – Summer 2024

In this issue: Who knew Eau Claire is the world’s largest producer of horseradish, thanks to a fourth-generation, family-owned business? Learn more plus explore the brilliant mind and work of scientist and new Academy Fellow Ahna Skop. Rediscover the life and legacy of one of Wisconsin’s iconic artists, Truman Lowe, and read behind the scenes as Latino/a/x artists and organizations build community and connections around the state. Finally, enjoy the final installment of award-winning fiction and poetry from our 2023 competition, as well as reviews on three books to add to your summer reading list.

Volume:

Issue Number:

From the Director

Bloom to Birds

By:

Erika Monroe-Kane

I love how taking a moment to literally smell the flowers can be a simple joy, an existential experience—a way to boost your brain chemistry.

Editors Note

A Summer Well-Earned

By:

Brennan Nardi

It’s the time of year when I knew I would really miss Wisconsin.

Happenings

Remembering Jerry Marra

By:

Jason Smith

The Academy family recently lost long-serving volunteer archivist Jerry Marra. Jerry passed away unexpectedly on March 20, 2024. He was 68 years old.

Mary Burns, Donnata Alupot, Marie Claire Dusabe, Diane Umutoni, African Great Lakes. Scientists, 2017–2023. Hand-woven cotton jacquard, 42 x 31 in. (cropped)

Happenings

Globally-Inspired Art Exhibit in Rhinelander

By:

Lizzie Condon

Nestled in the Northwoods city of Rhinelander is ArtStart, a community education and engagement nonprofit housed in the former post office on Stevens Street.

Indigenous food advocate and chef Sean Sherman will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Photo by Nancy Bundt

Happenings

The Savanna Institute’s Perennial Farm Gathering is Back

By:

Lizzie Condon

The Savanna Institute’s Perennial Farm Gathering is back in Spring Green and Madison.

Huntsinger Farms, located in the Chippewa Valley in western Wisconsin, is the world’s largest grower and processor of horseradish. Photo by Huntsinger Farms

Wisconsin Table

Welcome to Eau Claire — The Home of Horseradish

By:

B.J. Hollars

In 1929, as much of the country began to feel the pain of The Great Depression, German emigrant Ellis Huntsinger found a new fortune in the ground beneath his feet just south of Eau Claire.

A snapshot of the opening reception for Chicano Power at the MARN ART + CUTURE HUB in the Historic Third Ward in Milwaukee. Pictured works by: Alexia Jaso, Mi Salgado, Jovanny Hernandez Caballero, Rodrigo Santamaría, Amanda Kuehne, Angela Kingsawan, Sabrina Lombardo, Thomas Romero, Dulce Rosas Bucio. Media courtesy of the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network

Essay

On the Path to Belonging

By:

Frank Juárez

Artist, Activist, and Educator Frank Juárez explores the impact of Latino/a/x artists and organizations on creativity and connections in a growing number of communities throughout the state.

Truman Lowe, Stream Segment #2, 1991, wood, watercolor, stones, 18 x 34 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. Estate of Truman Lowe

Essay

At Water’s Edge

By:

Alexandria Delcourt

Imagine sitting by the side of a gently rushing creek, hearing how the babbling of water over round smooth stones can mimic the dance and shimmer of light, noticing the way it spills like lace over the wheeling surface and around the grasses and...

Profile

Artful Science and Scientific Art

By:

Jacqueline Houtman

Geneticist and 2024 Wisconsin Academy Fellow Ahna Skop brings creativity to her research, teaching, advocacy, and outreach.

Brenda Baker (left) and Bird Ross, founders of the Women Artists Forward Fund. Beth Skogen Photography

@ the Watrous Gallery

5-10-100 Women Artists Forward

By:

Jody Clowes

In 2018, Madison artists Brenda Baker and Bird Ross set out to see if they could do their part to bring more financial equity to women visual artists right here at home.

Israel Del Toro (left) and Relena Ribbons of Lawrence University helped start the city’s “No Mow May” project. Photo by Joan Ribbons

Initiatives Update

Power to the Pollinators

By:

Madeline Schultz

Relena Ribbons’ fascination with pollinators has led to her blending citizen science and climate justice through ongoing community engagement projects in her role as a geoscience professor at Lawrence University in Appleton.

A monarch butterfly perches on milkweed.

Fiction

Zugunruhe

By:

Holly Hilliard

It was the first day of seed collecting at Weber Marsh, and Andy was at the barn early to intercept any overeager volunteers. He had already crossed this mid-September day off his desk calendar; only eight more Saturdays to go, after this one.

Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 48 pages, $14.95

Book Review

Death’s Door: True Tales of Tragedy, Mystery, and Bravery from the Great Lake’s Most Dangerous Waters by Barbara Joose, author, and Renée Graef, illus.

By:

Shawn Brommer

Death’s Door, the dangerous strait linking Lake Michigan and Green Bay, is the protagonist and tells its story in first-person verse in this recent publication from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Book Review

Dry Land by B. Pladek

By:

Pam Anderson

Regardless of subject matter, a novel is always about something else, and Dry Land by B. Pladek is no exception. The novel is billed as a book about a conservationist from Wisconsin with a remarkable—yes, magical—gift.