WXPR We Live Up Here

The Eagle River Ice Castle has been a tradition since 1933 back when it was referred to as an ice palace.While designing and coordinating the build has changed leadership over the decades, it still remains an effort by the whole community.

It's a tradition for many people to send out Christmas cards to friends and family wishing them well and sending them love.One Northwoods woman is sending out more than 500 cards this year, all of them going to strangers.

ABR trails in Gogebic County was started in 1995 by Eric Anderson and his father on their family homestead.Over the years Eric and his wife Angela have grown it into one of the top Nordic ski centers in North America.Now the Anderson's are giving the business away, so it remains this way for generations to come.

Every July, dozens of fungi experts and novices descend on the Town of Hiles in Forest County.The town of around 450 people has been dubbed the Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Mycological Society because of the diversity of mushrooms that can be found in the area.For WXPR's We Live Up Here, Katie Thoresen tagged along on this year's Hiles Mushroom Foray to learn more about what makes this area so unique.

Every year, in Phillips, Wisconsin, members of the community show up in droves for the annual Czech-Slovak Festival.

Loneliness is considered a public health issue.There is growing evidence it is associated with the onset of depression and other common mental health problems.Artists and community members are working to create the “Together Sculpture” as part of a larger effort to combat loneliness in the Rhinelander area.

Forest County Potawatomi Community's Lee White published a series of children's books before his passing in 2020.

Ski for Light is an international non-profit that aims to teach visually- and mobility-impaired adults the sport of classic cross-country skiing.The lack of snow made the ski-part of the Ski for Light event in Rhinelander last week a bit hard to pull off.But in true Northwoods fashion, they found a way to make the best of it.

Native Americans have a long tradition of using all parts of animal when they harvest it.In recent history, that's been limited to deer, beaver, or muskrat.Now that the Forest County Potawatomi Community has brought back bison to its farm, the tradition of processing them has also returned.

Right now, this year's Capitol Holiday Tree is standing in the Capitol Rotunda waiting for decorations.The tree made its way to Madison from Rhinelander this week.For WXPR's We Live Up Here, Katie Thoresen shares the story behind the tree and what it took to get it to the Capitol.

Mountain biking has gained popularity in recent years, especially in the Northwoods as trail systems continue to grow.But the sport is still heavily dominated by men.Little Bellas is a national organization that focuses on teaching girls to mountain bike and the life skills that come with it.

A close look at the 2023 Meno Keno Ma Ga Wen Powwow

A group of Korean-Americans are departing Forest County Friday after spending the week learning and sharing with the Forest County Potawatomi Community.The 4th annual cultural exchange gives each group the chance to share parts of their culture while making friends.

Sloyd is an education system developed in Finland in 1865 and is still widely used in Scandinavian countries.At its core, it teaches children character development through woodworking.A new school teaching the Sloyd Experience recently opened in Iron County, Wisconsin.As part of WXPR's We Live Up Here Series, Katie Thoresen takes us to one of the classes and introduces us to the man bringing the skill set to the Northwoods.

An outdoor art installation in Land O'Lakes invites people to immerse themselves in music, visual arts, and nature.The sound garden created by director and composer JG Everest has returned for another year.As part of WXPR's We Live Up Here, Katie Thoresen explains how this community art project encourages everyone to be an artist.

A Forest County Potawatomi man will be defending his Wisconsin Middleweight Boxing championship title tomorrow in Green Bay.As part of WXPR's We Live Up Here series, Katie Thoresen spoke with Mark Daniels Jr. about how the sport has shaped who he is.

Millions of birds are flying back north after a long winter.The spring migration also draws people seeking to catch a glimpse of the birds before some continue even further north for the breeding season.

Tucked among downtown Rhinelander's supper clubs and coffee shops is a gaming store. It's where people gather to play games like Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Warhammer. The store has such a devoted following that it was recently hand-selected as one of just three Wisconsin locations to host an exclusive competition for a new card game.

Minocqua is bringing a legendary snowman back to life – and it's not Frosty. It's Snowmy Kromer, a 40-foot-tall snowman that has graced Northwoods winters with its presence for decades.

When COVID cast a cloud of gloom over everyday life, one Northwoods photographer took to Facebook to spread joy. Bob Kovar shared a photo and accompanying positive thought each day on social media throughout the pandemic. Now he's publishing a collection of those photos and thoughts in a book.

There's no shortage of beautiful places to get outside in the Northwoods.But how you can enjoy those places and what to expect from them changes based on their designation.As part of WXPR's We Live Up Here series, Katie Thoresen introduces us to State Natural Areas and a man being honored for dedicating his life to preserving them.

Waterskiing is one of the top summertime sports for residents and visitors alike in the Northwoods.But for some the love gliding across the water goes beyond laps around the lake.

The Northwoods is full of unique places visits and fun things to do.And it never hurts to do them with a little positivity.That's the message two Northwoods women are trying to share on social media are they travel around the area.

Homesteading can bring to mind images of pioneers trying to survive on the American frontier. But it's a lifestyle that hasn't disappeared from the Northwoods.

Darren Thompson's talent has made him sought after, including by the music director from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

Wabeno is a small town in Forest County with a big focus on the arts.For more than 40 years now, the Wabeno Area Players have entertained crowds with their performances.

Skijoring is a growing sport in the Northwoods.If you're not familiar with the it, picture cross-country skiing where the skier is led by one or two dogs with a long rope connecting them.A local woman is making her name nationally known in the sport.

The City of God is a recently released 90-minute documentary that explores how one Haitian community approaches development. It was produced by Rhinelander's own Nate Sheppard.

Sub-zero temperatures are not for everyone, but for one Northwoods adventure-seeker, the colder the better.

In the early 1900s, thousands of settlers moved into the Upper Midwest to farm lands that were recently cutover by timber companies. Many challenges and hardships would befall these early farmers, from the short growing season to extracting stumps and rocks from their fields. Most of these early attempts to farm clearcut lands ended in hardship and misery. This is a story of an Ironwood Township farm and vineyard finding success in one of these underused farmsteads. Throughout Ironwood Township, remnants of small-scale farming from nearly a century ago are evident throughout the landscape. Fallow fields and wind worn barns stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding second growth forests. For the past eight years, however, Taiga Farm and Vineyard has transformed one of these former farmsteads. Since July 2013, Darrin Kimbler has owned Taiga Farm and Vineyard in Ironwood, Michigan. His journey in becoming a farmer began, quite literally, by following in his grandfather's footsteps.

Bill and Donna Kallner from eastern Langlade County are what you might call a “crafty couple.” Bill constructs fish landing nets and Donna makes textiles with natural wool and dyes. For the last 20 years this has been their primary source of income. Bill Kallner talks as he works in his small shop kept warm this cool morning by the wood steamer. “I bend white ash, walnut, and cherry. All those seem to bend really nicely.” He works quickly, pulling the strips of white ash out of the steamer. He bends the strips into teardrop shapes as he has done thousands of times to form the frame of a fishing net. In seconds he clamps the ash strip in place on a decades-old form. He then puts it aside to cool and moves to the next strip. “And so, when the handles go in they sit like that for a few hours. From there it goes to the cleanup process. They get sanded down, rounded over, a groove gets put in and its ready for first coat.” The result is a fine piece of woodworking, often with walnut or

Northwoods Dog Sledding The image many have of dog sledding is a parka-wearing man pulled by Siberian Huskies slowly crossing a barren tundra. A visit with the Langlade County Sled Dog Club found that this image is not true; the sport is dominated by women, the dogs are typically not Siberian Huskies, and their sleds travel through the woods at incredible speeds. Members of the Langlade County sled dog club meet on most Saturdays with dozens of yelping, tail-wagging dogs. They are practicing for competitive dog sled sprint races at the Crooker Hills sled dog trails, east of Antigo. For 4 to 12 miles, the dogs run as fast as they can. And these dogs can run fast. Club President, Jamie Perry, got hooked on the sport when she was just 14 and by the time she graduated from high school she had 21 sled dogs. Today she runs a kennel and travels each weekend to practice or race with her 12-year-old daughter, who also races. Perry's kennel is unique in that they do race with Siberian Huskies.

For Duluth, Minnesota resident, Emily Ford, a “hike” isn't a leisurely stroll through the woods in a t-shirt and shorts. This winter, it's a trudge through snow, ice, and cold across Wisconsin. Ford is hiking the entire twelve hundred miles of the Ice Age Trail in the state, setting a lot of “firsts” as she does it. I hiked along with Ford and her dog, Diggins, for a time on a -14 degree bone-chilling but sunny morning on the Summit Moraine Segment just north of Antigo. On this stretch of the trail through Langlade County, Ford has rarely seen anyone, so she seemed happy for the company. Not so much for Diggins who stopped and faced me several times. Ford, while urging Diggins on, told me with a giggle that Diggins had become protective during the journey. “She does a great job. She hangs out in front of me and she is tethered to me as we walk. We have become great friends.” Diggins, an Alaskan Husky, is on loan from a sled dog kennel. Since December 28 th they have been walking 15 to

Have you ever stopped and admired an old wooden canoe or an early motorboat on a lake? If you have, you are not alone as the beauty and craftsmanship of these early watercraft captivates many including boat builder Josh Swan who is keeping the tradition alive. Nestled in woods just outside of Ashland, Wisconsin is the Swan and Sons Boat Works . For the last 20 years Josh Swan has been making and restoring wooden boats. Most wooden boat makers get started because of their love for sailing, paddling or rowing, but Swan got into it because he so appreciated the craftmanship and the challenges that come with wooden boat construction. “I immediately fell in love with building and working on wooden boats. The rules, the discipline and logic. Curves look very mysterious and are really challenging. I would much rather be building something that has shape and complex curves then say cabinets or things with lots of angles.” I talked to Swan as he sat in his 32' by 50' workshop surrounded by

If you live in the Northwoods, you know there are still many family-run funeral homes. Funeral home directors, along with the entire funeral industry, have made changes as a result of the pandemic. But small community funeral directors often have an extra burden.

If you live up here, you are familiar with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. What you may not know is that these forests were inhabited for thousands of years and that there is a team of archaeologists who protect and manage these cultural resources.

The Northwoods has long been known for its active art community. Jim Skibo visited two local artists to learn how the COVID-19 restrictions have changed their art and the way it is sold.

A logical result of the pandemic and a weakened economy would be a sluggish real estate market in the Northwoods and elsewhere. Instead, real estate purchases are booming in many parts of the country including the Northwoods. Ironically, the pandemic and stay at home orders may be behind a recent surge in local real estate purchases.

When the Wolf River reached record levels late in July, the raft and tube rental concessions closed because of concerns for rider safety. But for experienced canoe and kayak paddlers, like Brian Heikenen and Martin Dawson, this was, perhaps, a once in a lifetime experience. Heikenen checks the USGS gauge in Langlade almost daily. “Early on Monday morning this was the highest flow that gauge had ever recorded. It topped out at about 2950 CFS.” Heikenen lives in Madison but spends much of his time in and around the Wolf River. He, along with Dawson of Langlade, and two other paddlers went down the river three times during the historic high water. They each have over 40 years of whitewater paddling experience on the Wolf, but they have never seen anything like this. River speed is measured by cubic feet per second, or CFS. The normal average for the month of July is 333 CFS. Because of the heavy rainfall in the region, the river for much of July was between 1000 and 2000 CFS. Then much of

The 1920s were known as the golden age for the construction of grand, opulent theaters, called “movie palaces.” While most of these epically built theaters have been either shuttered, repurposed, or demolished, one “palace,” the Historic Ironwood Theatre, has not only persevered but still retains its vibrant and elegant charm. When patrons entered the auditorium of the newly opened Ironwood Theatre in 1928, it's likely that the arched proscenium mural, caught their eye. The skyward-looking mural featured Bellerophon, the Greek mythology hero, riding atop the winged horse, Pegasus, with cherubs surrounding the demigod. Or, maybe, their souls were stirred by the music emanating from the Barton organ whose notes augmented vaudeville acts and accompanied silent movies. “Oftentimes when those movies were distributed back in the early days, sometimes they had a full score with them for the local organist to play,” Bruce Greenhill, the Operations Manager at the Theatre, explained. “But more

When Joseph and Myrtle Kretz established Kretz Lumber in 1929, it was just a small sawmill. Today the company just south of Antigo is an employee-owned global company that has expanded into other areas including forest management, education, and now a fine craftsman line, which sells directly to small commercial woodworkers along with hobbyists. The roof of an old dairy barn in a sea of metal buildings is the centerpiece of the Kretz Lumber Mill as it has been for over nine decades. The converted dairy barn is where logs are sawn into lumber, just as it has been since the beginning. The company still bears the Kretz name, but the family has not been directly involved for almost two decades. Current company president Troy Brown's history with the company goes back 1980s. “I started working in the mill piling lumber in 1986. Worked my way through school in accounting, and in 1990 I came back here full time. Started as an accounting clerk and kept moving my way through the system.” Brown

Langlade County Health Officer Meghan Williams' guidance to people in the Northwoods might sound familiar. It is like the guidance you may have heard from many county health officers. “We are continuing to follow CDC guidelines. So that includes staying at home as much as possible, physical distancing of six feet between people who are not in your household, wearing a mask when in public, washing hands frequently and disinfecting those high touch surfaces,” she says. Some people in the area are following those guidelines closely. Plenty of other people are not. Some scholars think those decisions might be tied to the narratives that develop during outbreaks. Duke University professor and author of the book Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative Priscilla Wald is an English professor, not a medical doctor or public health scholar. She studies the outbreak narratives that arise with global pandemics. Outbreak narratives are the stories of disease emergence and spread

There are many things that make the Northwoods unique, like supper clubs, the Old Fashioned, and summers on the lake. To that list you can add waterski shows. There are more waterski teams in Wisconsin than in any other state. The Minocqua ski team has been in existence for over 70 years. Duke Hillinger has been involved in the Min-Aqua Bats ski show for 49 years. He joined the team in 1972 when he was 11 years old and skied for the team until 1982. Each summer since, he returns as an announcer or to help out in some way. But his “retirement” from skiing for the team at age 21 is not odd for the Min-Aqua Bats. It's the norm. Current Club President Kyle Foster describes what may be the most unique feature of the Min-Aqua Bats ski team. “The interesting thing about our club is that basically it is the kids that run it. The youngest skiers we have are usually about 14 and people usually stay in the club in college until about my age—I'm 22—that is when they get out. Hillinger explains

The death of George Floyd and the resulting protests have brought scrutiny to all police forces with many people calling for radical change in their practices. This is true in the large metropolitan police forces, but it also is at the forefront of the rural police forces in our Northwoods. An event recently in Tomahawk, “Kneel for Nine,” was attended by local Police Chief Al Elvins. He spoke at the event and then joined the citizens who knelt for nine minutes as a silent reminder of the time that Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd. I spoke to Chief Elvins, and also Rhinelander Chief of Police Lloyd Gauthier to get their reactions to the killing of George Floyd and the protests around the country. Gauthier describes his involvement in a protest on June 1 in Rhinelander. “I can tell you that I had a conversation with one of the people involved in setting it up. I did want to attend. I did want to tell them that I supported them, and I wanted to tell them