Wisconsin Life

We visit MOWA, the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, celebrating classical and contemporary artists from around our state. We also meet an Eau Claire celebrity nicknamed Jack the Magnificent, a Madison portrait artist helping others learn the craft, a naturalist in Fitchburg sharing the power of plants, and we see something odd in Oshkosh.

Angela Fitzgerald joins an adaptive sailing adventure with the Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan, or SEAS. We also meet a bird watcher and his BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, a Madison doctor battling Parkinson’s disease through boxing, the owners of Milwaukee’s Wioletta’s Polish Market, and we tour a safari park near Lake Geneva.

At Willow River State Park, Angela Fitzgerald explores the park’s popular waterfall, serene lake, and endless hiking trails that welcome close to 1 million visitors a year. Meet a couple in Menomonee Falls celebrating furry felines with an enormous cat collection, and we visit Kohler-Andrae State Park in Sheboygan to meet the Pudgy Pie Guy.

Angela Fitzgerald visits Riverview Gardens in Appleton, an organization empowering people through job training and employment. The non-profit transformed a country club into a thriving farm growing produce on old golf fairways and lettuce in the pool house. We also meet a pilot rescuing pups and a barber on a mission to keep Milwaukee healthy.

Hop aboard the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad for a historic train ride through the Northwoods. The family-run business offers pizza, wine and dinner train trips year-round. We also meet the host of the 98.7FM WVMO radio program Bea’s Buzz, the founder of Elkhart Lake’s Amazing Grace Equine Sanctuary and a Madison pottery artist.

Discover the wild side of Waukesha at the Retzer Nature Center, as we explore the county park’s diverse ecosystems, interactive exhibits and the state-of-the-art planetarium. Then we meet hiker and social media influencer Dineo Dowd as she takes her passion abroad and a self-described curmudgeon shares his love for creating garden art.

Angela Fitzgerald enjoys dancing and food at the Holi Festival of Colors at the Monk Botanical Gardens in Wausau. We also meet a pair of bat dogs for Madison Mallards and Lake Country DockHound baseball games, a Milwaukee artist inspired by lakeshore trash, and a UW-Madison law professor encouraging young people to be more civically engaged.

Hit the slopes with Blackhawk Ski Club, a non-profit teaching competitive winter sports. Host, Angela Fitzgearld checks out cross-country skiing, biathlon training and high-flying ski jumps. Then we join an artist and tour guide at The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museum in Platteville and we explore our interstellar connection to Rib Mountain.