Welcome to the fall issue of Wisconsin People and Ideas magazine. If you are reading this Editor's Note on the first page, then maybe, like me, you are someone who relaxes into the tangible invitation of ink on paper, letting yourself drink in the images and ideas of a magazine cover-to-cover. As a new face on this page, I feel reflective, remembering the many times I’ve turned to the Editor's Note to settle in as a reader, as a contributor, and as a collaborative partner during my tenure at Wisconsin Humanities.
Life on earth is always a wild ride and it’s nice to take a minute to get our bearings. After the shifts of early 2025 that forced Wisconsin Humanities to lay off staff and suspend programs, I am grateful to have landed on friendly shores and to have the privilege to write this note to you. I am both humbled by the turn of events and honored to be here.
Stepping into the big and mighty shoes of former editor, Sandra Barnidge, is no small thing. Putting together this issue has reminded me of all that is special and exciting about a print publication dedicated to the brightest ideas and people of our state.
In the coming pages, we are ushered into the remarkable 128-history of Yerkes Observatory, where the superstars of science came to gaze through the largest telescope at the time, and we hear from the people who are refreshing the birthplace of modern astrophysics with creative energy. We meet big thinkers like Mike Taylor (on the cover), who has brought his international basketball career home to the city and courts of his childhood with the Taylor-Made Foundation. We celebrate new opportunities in Wisconsin’s film scene and a 1980s creepy, campy, now-cult classic that put Hayward on the map. And within these pages, we also find stunning photography, remarkable art, brand-new fiction, winning poetry, surprising history, and an uncomplicated, traditional recipe. Taken together, these offerings from Wisconsin creatives add context and contour to our understanding as this year comes to a close.
In every time and place, there are people and ideas that move us forward. And with each transition, if we are lucky, there is meaning to be made and connections to hold onto – sometimes for dear life.
Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine invites all of us – readers and believers – to sit back and enjoy, but also to lift off into the unknown. Thank you for delighting in the richness of our state with me, and thank you for being a part of the Academy community.
