About Wisconsin Life

Trevor Keller is Executive Producer of “Wisconsin Life” for PBS Wisconsin. He loves photography and is always looking for a new Wisconsin park, trail or scenic overlook to explore.

Maureen McCollum is the host and producer for Wisconsin Life on Wisconsin Public Radio. She loves live music, the bluffs along the Mississippi River, and eating too much cheese.

Angela Fitzgerald is the host of Wisconsin Life on PBS Wisconsin. In addition to her work hosting the television series, Angela is a member of the Madison College faculty. Her work in the field of financial literacy led her to be a founder of Brown Girl, Green Money – a social network…

Maureen McCollum is the host and producer for Wisconsin Life on Wisconsin Public Radio. She loves live music, the bluffs along the Mississippi River, and eating too much cheese.

Andrea Anderson is a digital news editor for Wisconsin Public Radio. She is a transplant from Minneapolis, but her allegiance is to the Green Bay Packers. In her free time, Andrea takes advantage of the beautiful outdoors. She loves tacos and winter.

L. Malik Anderson is a radio producer, reporter, and online content creator born and raised on the North West side of Milwaukee. He spent most of his time inside malls, movie theaters and skating rinks growing up.

Bridgit Bowden is the special projects reporter at Wisconsin Public Radio. Born and raised in the south, she is adjusting well to Wisconsin’s cold and dark winters.

Karl Christenson is a producer at Wisconsin Public Radio. He enjoys taking his family on cross-country holiday road trips to theme parks and eating bologna sandwiches and parking in the last spot so he can get out of there first.

John Davis is a senior news producer in Wisconsin Public Radio’s La Crosse Bureau. He produces articles for WPR’s website and helps produce the regional show “Newsmakers.”

Steve Doebel is Executive Producer for Cultural Affairs at PBS Wisconsin. He produces stories for the “Wisconsin Life” project and is always looking for another great Wisconsin story to tell.

Liz Dohms-Harter is a digital content producer for Wisconsin Public Radio. She grew up on “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” and Braunschweiger sandwiches. A native Wisconsinite, she’s terrible at skiing, walking on ice and cutting dairy out of her diet.

Kerman produces stories for “Wisconsin Life.”

Courtney Everett is a producer for “The Morning Show” on Wisconsin Public Radio. She made the trek from Illinois, where she grew up, just for the cheese.

Inga Foley is a video editor for the “Wisconsin Life” project and enjoys bike riding, gardening and working on her old VW.

John Gerbig is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project who once spent an entire Packer game on the sidelines at Lambeau, working with the on-field commentator for Sunday Night Football.  Green Bay won, 26-23.

Michele Good grew up in the Northwoods and spins many plates at WPR. She’s host and executive director of Chapter A Day, a technical director on Central Time, and a director/founder of 9XM Players and Old Time Radio Drama.

Steve Gotcher is a technical director and producer with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Carol Griskavich is the Community Engagement Manager at PBS Wisconsin, which means she wants to use your input to create the community events that get your Wisconsin neighbors engaged. She stays out of trouble by doing improv comedy, cooking perfectly edible meals, and accepting compliments on her glasses that people…

Gilman Halsted is Wisconsin Public Radio’s former Criminal Justice reporter in Madison, who retired in 2016. He serves on the board of WORT-FM in Madison and keeps his hand in the radio business by filling in as a guest host on WORT’s public affairs programs.

Megan Hart is a Wisconsin Public Radio sports reporter based in Green Bay. A native Floridian, she’s still working up the courage to try surfing on Lake Michigan.

Shannon Henry Kleiber is a producer for “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” from Wisconsin Public Radio and PRX. She’s a former staff writer and columnist for The Washington Post and author of two non-fiction books. When she’s not recording, writing and editing she loves to explore Wisconsin farmer’s markets and cook…

Corri Hess is the Milwaukee reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio. She has been on a mission to find the state’s best nachos.

Sarah Hopefl is a technical director on WPR’s “Central Time” and a member of the station’s engineering team. She loves Wisconsin for its live music, craft beer, hiking and biking trails.

Jon Hornbacher is a video director and editor based in the Madison, Wisconsin area. He has written and produced several television programs for PBS Wisconsin including “Remarkable Homes of Wisconsin” (2015) and “Our House: The Wisconsin Capitol” (2017).

Emily Julka is a producer and storyteller for the “Wisconsin Life” project. She tries to make the best of all four seasons in Wisconsin, and considers the Upper Peninsula of Michigan “definitely part of our state.”

Danielle Kaeding is a Wisconsin Public Radio reporter based in Superior.

Trevor Keller is Executive Producer of “Wisconsin Life” for PBS Wisconsin. He loves photography and is always looking for a new Wisconsin park, trail or scenic overlook to explore.

Will Kenneally is production assistant with Wisconsin Life. He hosts an R&B show on WSUM-FM and — fun fact — is in love with the Madison flag.

Hope Kirwan is a Wisconsin Public Radio reporter in La Crosse. She loves Wisconsin for its beautiful bluffs and excellent beers.

Kristian Knutsen is a writer, editor and Wisconsin Public Radio contributor who is based in Madison but gravitates towards its Great Lakes.

Brad Kolberg is a radio producer and engineer from Stoughton, WI.  He likes to take time for his wife & daughter, The Brewers & Packers, music & beer discovery, and running down a trail somewhere out in the woods of Wisconsin.

Rich Kremer is a Wisconsin Public Radio reporter in Eau Claire with a passion for the hot ham sandwich with extra house mustard at Ray’s Place.

Rodney Lambright II is an animator and storyteller for Wisconsin Life project who moved from Illinois to the wide open spaces of Wisconsin in the 7th grade and found great opportunities for years to come.

Mary Kate McCoy is a digital content producer at Wisconsin Public Radio. A lifelong Wisconsinite, she’s an enthusiastic euchre player and biker. In her free time, you can usually find her with a book or playing just one more game of ping pong.

Rob Mentzer is a Wisconsin Public Radio reporter based in Wausau. A central Illinois native, he’s lived in Wisconsin since 2007. This year he developed numerous detailed opinions about the proper methods of chopping and stacking firewood – so, yes, he’s become a true Wisconsinite.

Patty Murray hasn’t seen it all quite yet, but is working toward that goal in her position as Wisconsin Public Radio’s reporter based in Northeastern Wisconsin. 

Laura Pavin is a producer with The Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio. She hails from the greater Chicago area, though you wouldn’t know it by the way she eats her hot dogs (ketchup). In her free time, she likes trying out her stand-up on her six-month-old.

Jenny Peek is a digital news editor for Wisconsin Public Radio and senior contributor for Isthmus. When she’s not out tracing her next lead, you’ll find her — and her fluffball Bella — snuggled up with a good book and a piping hot cup of coffee.

Tim Peterson is a producer for “Central Time” on Wisconsin Public Radio. He previously worked for NPR in Washington, D.C., and stays busy exploring Wisconsin’s fine parks, beers and cheeses, with a reporter’s tenacity.

Mary Pokorney-Donelan is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project who is also the producer of the film series “Director’s Cut.” When she’s not rewatching every episode of “The Great British Bake Off” over and over again, you can find her hiking and fishing with her family across the state…

Aubrey Ralph is a Wisconsin Public Radio’ Radio Operations Manager, an audio engineer and a producer who is willing to take on just about any story (Meat raffles? Yes. Historical fencing? Yes. Haunted hotels? Absolutely.)

Kelly Saran is a multimedia producer for the Wisconsin Life project who grew up in Wisconsin and hopes to one day visit all of the large waterfalls around the state.

Zac Schultz is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project who thinks three-minute stories and one-line bio descriptions are woefully brief.

Christine Sloan-Miller is one of the “Wisconsin Life” project producers and believes that enjoying Wisconsin-sourced chocolates on the shores of Vilas County’s Trout Lake would be a sublime way to spend a day.

Andy Soth is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project who grew up in a neighboring state but now loves Wisconsin because it’s like Minnesota without the smugness. 

Rachael Vasquez is a reporter and producer for Wisconsin Public Radio. She’s a native Californian, but her friends and family all tell her she’s grown a Wisconsin accent. She loves hot dogs, C-SPAN, and comfy sweats.

Joel Waldinger is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project and considers a sunset over the “big island” on Manson Lake to be a perfect ending to a day of fishing and fun in the Northwoods. 

Ryan Ward is a producer for the “Wisconsin Life” project and can rest easy after he finally found the perfect jar of homemade dill pickles at the farmer’s market in Madison. … just like his Grandma Shirley use to make!

Alana Watson is a transplant from Nashville, TN and is Wisconsin Public Radio’s 2nd Century News Fellow. She loves exploring Milwaukee, eating all of the food at the Milwaukee Public Market, and working out after.

John K. Wilson is a digital news editor at Wisconsin Public Radio and host of the WPR Politics Podcast. He also goes curling on Sunday nights and falls asleep in meetings if he hasn’t had enough tiny americanos.

Cynthia Woodland is a development specialist at Wisconsin Public Radio.

Since 2009, Ex Fabula has been strengthening community bonds through the art of true, personal storytelling. Ex Fabula, which is Latin for “from stories,” presents storytelling  workshops, StorySlams and Community Collaborations where people listen to each other, feel heard, and grow in empathy and understanding. Special projects like the Ex Fabula Fellowship, the Puente Project, and Equal Access use…

The Lands We Share initiative includes a traveling exhibition and public dialogue tour that focuses on the intersection of farming, land, ethnic culture and history in Wisconsin. The exhibit will feature the stories, histories, artifacts, images and sounds of six culturally and regionally distinct farms and farm sites and invites…

Storytelling has a way of amplifying voices and lowering fences in our communities. “Inside Stories” podcast explores Madison one story at a time. In each episode, Takeyla Benton and Jen Rubin feature a story that was told in front of an audience in Madison, then interview the storyteller to dig deeper into…

The Sounds Like Home audio series covers music and everyday life in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley. In six episodes, we present the voices of regional musicians telling their own stories. Sounds Like Home is an initiative of the Chippewa Valley Museum. It’s a regional music documentation project that spans field research,…

88Nine Radio Milwaukee is a non-commerical station that broadcasts on 88.9 FM. As their mission statement says, “Through music and stories created for a culturally open-minded community, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee is a catalyst for creating a better, more inclusive and engaged Milwaukee.”

Bill Amundson is a Stoughton based artist and substitute teacher who occasionally dabbles in music, writing and humor.

Shauna Singh Baldwin is a Canadian-American novelist of Indian descent. Her 2000 novel What the Body Remembers won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her 2004 novel The Tiger Claw was nominated for the Giller Prize. She lives in Milwaukee with her husband.

Kimberly Blaeser teaches creative writing and Native American literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the author of three books of poetry, including Apprenticed to Justice.

Judy Bridges is a writer who lived from coast to coast and returned to Wisconsin convinced there really is no place like home. She founded Redbird Writing Studio in Milwaukee in 1993, and included much of her writing wisdom in her good-natured guide to the craft, Shut Up & Write!

Julie Buckles is a writer in Ashland and the author of Paddling to Winter. She was born in the driftless region of Wisconsin and raised on a 47-acre dairy farm. She now lives near Washburn with her husband, Charly, two children and a team of Siberian huskies. Buckles has worked as…

Nickolas Butler is a writer based in Eau Claire. He’s the author of Shotgun Lovesongs.

Crystal Chan grew up as a mixed-race kid in the middle of the Wisconsin cornfields and has been trying to find her place in the world ever since. Over time, she found that her heart lies in public speaking, performing, and ultimately, writing. She has given talks and workshops across…

Bob Chiarito is a Chicago-based freelance reporter who writes for The New York Times, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and a host of others.

Christi Clancy is a writer and professor at Beloit College.

Shawn Connelly is a producer and musician living in Green Bay, WI and periodically freelances in New York.

Eddee Daniels is a photographer, artist and writer in Milwaukee. He’s the author of several books including Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed.

Ron Davis is a retired English teacher, a freelance writer and a columnist for BMW Owners News.

Victoria Davis is a multi-media freelance journalist for publications across the U.S. such as Isthmus, Capital Times, SDNews and Hidden Remote. A city girl through-and-through, Victoria loves all things arts and entertainment. She has a particular affinity for film and “geek culture,” spending most of her free time at the…

Eric Dregni teaches English at Concordia University in St. Paul. He’s the author of several books including Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic America.

Kristen Durst works in community relations. She’s a contributor to Wisconsin Life and a former Wisconsin Public Radio host and reporter.

Colleen DuVall is a writer and actress in Milwaukee.

Krista Eastman’s essays have appeared in The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, and other journals. Her work has received several awards and distinctions, including a “Notable Essay” citation in Best American Essays.

Araceli Esparza is a poet, writer, and teacher based in Madison. She is an MFA graduate from Hamline University, with strong migrant farmer roots, and named 2015 Women to Watch by Brava Magazine. Araceli is also the host of the podcast, Midwest Mujeres.

Jabril Faraj is a journalist and the creator of Milwaukee Stories.

Eli Frieders is an advocate for Wisconsin’s vibrant music community

Jessica Gatzow studies Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She enjoys hiking and exploring Wisconsin’s natural areas.

Dr. Alex Gee is the pastor at Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Madison, president of the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, and host of the podcast, Black Like Me. (Photo by Symone Russell)

Matt Geiger is a Midwest Book Award Winner, a national American Book Fest Finalist, and an international Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist. He is also the winner of numerous journalism awards. His books include “Astonishing Tales!* (Your Astonishment May Vary)” and “Raised by Wolves & Other Stories.”

Jane Genske is the Wisconsin Life/Wisconsin 101 intern for summer 2019. She’s a true Sconnie because she loves a day on the lake and a brat on the grill.

Norman Gilliland is a writer, producer, and host at Wisconsin Public Radio. He hosts classical music broadcasts, produces the interview program “University of the Air,” and reads for “Chapter A Day.”

John Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of nineteen books, on subjects ranging from life insurance to Frank Lloyd Wright and from heavy industries to historic cemeteries. 

Jane Hampden teaches journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before that, she hosted a daily interview program on Milwaukee Public Radio and worked in TV news in Milwaukee and Denver.

Chris Hardie and his wife, Sherry, raise sheep and cattle on his great-grandparents’ Jackson County farm. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001, he is a former member of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

During the 2018-2019 school year, Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School, or MG21, high school students created radio pieces for Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Life.” The final stories were featured on the radio and online through the “Classroom Frequency: Student Voices From Wisconsin” project.

BJ Hollars is a writer, author, and an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Justin Isherwood is a fifth-generation farmer and an award-winning writer. His most recent books are Pulse: A Farmer’s Take on the Universe and Walking on Water II.

Ayisha Jaffer has a passion for being in the shoes of many different lifestyles from punk rocker to park ranger. She’s been a storyteller, musician, DJ, and most recently, a radio host at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. For 15 years, she traveled from New Zealand to Alaska and everywhere in between,…

Catherine Jagoe is a translator, poet and author of Bloodroot and News from the North. Her essays have appeared in the 2016 Pushcart Prize XL anthology, The Gettysburg Review, Chautauqua, American Athenaeum, Ninth Letter, Apeiron Review and other journals.

Meg Jones is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the author of World War II Milwaukee.

A Waukesha writer, Nancy Jorgensen partnered with her daughter Elizabeth Jorgensen to write their 2019 memoir, Go, Gwen, Go: A Family’s Journey to Olympic Gold (Meyer & Meyer Sport). Her choral education books are published by Hal Leonard Corporation and Lorenz Corporation. She enjoys baking, playing medieval music and working with textiles.

Seth Jovaag is a journalist and independent radio producer. 

Robert Kennedy is a retired science teacher, writer, and sometime poet living in Oconomowoc. His work can be viewed on his website, Arc Of The Hawk.

Jan Larson is a professor and the Department Chair of the Communication + Journalism Department at UW-Eau Claire.

Ian Lewitz is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His three favorite things about Wisconsin are its lakes, its cheese and its polka.

Yia Lor is a storyteller and writer from Eau Claire. She shares her time with her family, yoga mat, and 30+ houseplants.

Erik Lorenzsonn is a writer based in Madison, Wisconsin. His work has been featured in Poughkeepsie Journal, the Capital Times, the Progressive Magazine and Wisconsin Public Radio.

Wendy Lutzke is the museum educator at the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

Mackenzie Martin is the Morning Edition Host and Features Editor at WXPR Public Radio in Rhinelander. When she’s not listening to podcasts and contemplating life’s meaning, she likes to cook elaborate meals and spend time with the wild turkeys that always seem to be in her backyard.

June Melby is a poet, performer, and the author of “My Family and Other Hazards,” a memoir about growing up on a 1950’s era miniature golf course in Waupaca, WI.  She lives in a log cabin in the woods.

Mike Paulus is the online editor for Volume One Magazine in Eau Claire, where he’s been writing his “The Rear End” column for over a decade. 

Alex Peek is a film student at Columbia College Chicago and 2019 graduate of Madison East High School. When not involved in her studies, you can find her either exploring downtown Chicago, working on crew for the next theater event she could get her hands on or hanging out with…

Marty Perkins was curator of research and interpretation at Old World Wisconsin, and the manager of the Eagle Diamonds vintage baseball team.

Linda Pils is a retired teacher and former co-director of the Wisconsin Writing Project at UW-Madison.

Chuck Pils is a retired 33-year Wisconsin DNR wildlife biologist (1966-99). He worked as a wildlife researcher, furbearer specialist, wildlife management administrator, and Bureau of Endangered Resources director.

Jill Sisson Quinn is the author of Deranged: Finding a Sense of Place in the Landscape and in the Lifespan. Her essays have appeared in Ecotone, OnEarth, Orion, and many other magazines. She teaches writing at Mid-State Technical College and lives in Scandinavia.

Dean Robbins is a journalist and author based in Madison. He has won state and national awards for arts, features and news stories, and has contributed to magazines and newspapers around the country.

Robert Root is the author the forthcoming Walking Home Ground: Time, Terrain, Transition and other books. His essays have been listed in the Best American Essays series and given the Council of Wisconsin Writers Award for Short Nonfiction. He teaches in the Ashland University MFA Program and at the Loft…

Finn Ryan is an independent producer and director. His work can be viewed at finnryan.com.

Steven Salmon is an author with severe Cerebral palsy who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. He writes with Morse code using his head since he unable to use his hands. His book, “It’s A New Life! Mom Is Gone,” is now available.

Breann Schossow is a former network producer for The Ideas Network. She was also WPR’s 2013-14 Lee Ester Fellow, a reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio News and a producer at Minnesota Public Radio. Outside of radio, Breann was a research assistant for Barbara Bradley Hagerty, a reporter at the Milwaukee…

Patti See is a writer from Lake Hallie, near Eau Claire.  Her blog “Our Long Goodbye: One Family’s Experiences with Alzheimer’s Disease” has been read in over 90 countries.

Chris Seroogy is a retired teacher, writer, and poet in De Pere.

Destiny Skubis is a Wisconsin native though loves to travel near and far. Her work consists of early childhood development, studying home-birth midwifery, and homesteading with the seasons.

Anne Strainchamps is the host of TTBOOK.  She co-founded the show, along with Steve Paulson and Jim Fleming, and has been a featured interviewer on the program for more than a decade.   

Born and raised in southeastern Wisconsin, Mark Sullivan spent a decade doing a bad Jack Kerouac impression, before returning home to the greatest state in the Union. He currently studies audio engineering in Milwaukee.

Esteban Touma is a writer and comedian adjusting to life in the US. His comedy has been featured in Comedy Central and NPR. The U.S. government has officially declared him an “authorized legal alien with a reentry permit.” He formerly hosted “The Moth” in Madison and was a regular at…

Andy Turner is a freelance journalist, college English instructor and radio DJ living in Milwaukee. He is a music and B-movie fanatic.

Tressa Versteeg is an independent producer with Midwestern roots. She makes radio about the intersection of geography, art, and human nature.

Ron Weber is a Wisconsin DNR Forester living in Weyerhaeuser. He writes outdoor essays for several Wisconsin publications.

Paul Wiegel has a “day job” as a teacher and lives in Berlin, Wisconsin. He’s also a writer who occasionally works as a street performer typing on-demand poems with Fox River Poetry Company at festivals and markets around Wisconsin.

Ayak Akhtar is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright. His novel “American Dervish” is set in Milwaukee where he grew up.

Will Allen is a MacArthur genius and former pro-basketball player. He’s now a farmer, and founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc. He’s just published his first book called “The Good Food Revolution.”

Candice Gaukel Andrews is a nature and travel writer. Her most recent books are Beyond the Trees: Stories from Wisconsin’s Forests and Travel Wild Wisconsin: A Seasonal Guide to Wildlife Encounters in Natural Places.

Lynda Barry is an award-winning author and cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip “Ernie Pook’s Comeek.” Her graphic novel “What It Is” won the comics industry’s 2009 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. her latest book is “Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor.” She lives on a farm…

Terry Bell is the former host of Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.”

Marcia Bjornerud is a professor of Geology at Lawrence University, and the author of the Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth.

Chrys Bocast is a musician with a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from the Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin. She produced the audiobook version of “People of the Sturgeon“, which includes the sounds of sturgeon. She is now a Wisconsin expat and lives in Colorado.

Anthony Bukoski has published five story collections, including Time Between Trains, a 2003 Booklist Editor’s Choice selection, and North of the Port (2008). He lives in Superior.

Eddy Cevilla was the multimedia producer and reporter at PBS Wisconsin.

Dave Cieslewicz is the former mayor of Madison and teaches in the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the UW-Madison.

Rod Clark is a writer and publisher of the literary journal Rosebud.

Erin Clune is a writer in Madison.

Ximena Conde is the 2nd Century News Fellow at the Milwaukee Office of Wisconsin Public Radio. She loves to jog around Milwaukee even if it’s two miles at a time. Ximena also enjoyed the cheese curd taco at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Dr. Tony D’Alessandro heads the division of transplant surgery at the U.W. Hospital and Clinics. “Wisconsin Innovations” is on display at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison.

Sean Michael Dargan composed and performed the “Wisconsin Life” radio theme. He is a Madison-based guitarist, singer and songwriter who has performed with many different groups, including a long-stint with Irish-rock band, the Kissers.

Elizabeth Delaquess is a podcast specialist at First Unitarian Society, a radio tech at Wisconsin Public Radio, and a volunteer features producer for a show called “Third World View” on WORT.

Molly Dove is an intern at the Eau Claire office of Wisconsin Public Radio. She loves Wisconsin for its delicious cheese curds and beautiful kayaking spots.

Michael Fedo is the author of several books, including his most recent on Henry Wood called “A Sawdust Heart: My Vaudeville Life in Medicine and Tent Shows.”

Susan Firer is the former poet laureate of Milwaukee and the author of many books, including Milwaukee Does Strange Things To People.

John Galligan is a teacher and novelist in Madison.

Jesse Gant is the co-author of the book, Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State.

Benson Gardner is a freelance contributor to Wisconsin Life. He remembers zealously upending a single piece of city park furniture one solstice night during his Menomonie coming of age, to create the decidedly unimpressive monument to creativity known as “bench-henge.”

Jane Hamilton is the author of the award-winning novels The Book of Ruth, A Map of the World, and When Madeline Was Young. She lives in a farmhouse in Rochester, Wisconsin.

Tim Harmston is a stand-up comedian based in Minneapolis but raised in Menominee, Wisconsin. He’s appeared on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham.

Anne Helke is the online content producer for the “Wisconsin Life” project who grew up on a lone draft horse farm in the midst of dairy farms in north-central Wisconsin, which was great until she realized you can’t get string cheese from draft horses.

John Hildebrand is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the author of several books, including his most recent, The Heart of Things: A Midwestern Almanac. He has been awarded a Minnesota Book Award, Banta Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, Bush Fellowship, Wisconsin Arts Board…

Adam Hirsch is a journalist and freelancer in Madison.

Heidi Hodges is contributing editor of Door County Magazine and a freelance photographer.

Erika Janik is the co-creator and former executive director of Wisconsin Life. She is the author of six books, including Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction, Apple: A Global History, and  Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine. She’s currently the executive…

Tim Southwick Johnson is a songwriter who also plays acoustic guitar, mandolin, tenor guitar, ukulele and harmonica. His latest album is called Sand County Songs.

Tom Jones is a photographer and enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. He’s the co-author of People of the Big Voice. The book won a USA Best Books Award for Photography.

Lesley Kagen is an actress, voice-over talent, former restaurateur, sought-after speaker, and award-winning New York Times bestselling author of five previous novels including Mare’s Nest.

Marie Kohler is an award-winning playwright, actor, and writer in Milwaukee. She’s written five plays including “Counting Days” which earned a nomination for the American Association of Theater Critics’ Best New Regional Play.

Tea Krulos is a journalist based in Milwaukee. His books include Heroes in the Night and Monster Hunters. 

Brett Laidlaw is the author of the book and the blog Trout Caviar and the author of Trout Caviar: Recipes from a Northern Forager.

Jim Lattis is an astronomer and the director of the UW-Space Place in Madison.

Yao Liu is the production assistant for the “Wisconsin Life” project who grew up in China and now enjoys the winter in Wisconsin.

David Maraniss is a journalist with the Washington Post. He’s the author of “Barack Obama: The Story” and “Rome, 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World.”

Dennis McCann is a retired journalist and the author of several books, including This Superior Place: Stories of Bayfield and the Apostle Islands.

James Mills is a freelance journalist and an independent media producer

Oscar Mireles is the principal of Omega School in Madison. He’s been writing poems for 25 years and is the editor of two anthologies, called “I Didn’t Know There Were Latinos in Wisconsin.”

Patricia Monaghan was a poet and essayist. She was published widely on women’s spirituality and mythology and was a senior fellow of the Black Earth Institute.

Clara Neupert grew up in Beloit. She attends UW-Eau Claire, where she is also an intern at Wisconsin Public Radio. She has a sinking suspicion that she’s developing lactose intolerance — an unfortunate condition in the dairy state.

Count This Penny is an Appalachian pop band based in Madison, Wisconsin. They write songs born of time spent walking old dogs and doggedly traveling to and from the hills of home. Their 2012 album is called “Pitchman.”

Benjamin Percy is the writer-in-residence at St. Olaf College and the author of several books, including The Dead Lands and Red Moon.

Michael Perry is the author of several books on life in Wisconsin including Population 485 and Truck: A Love Story. Visit his website at SneezingCow.com

Ann Peters teaches English at Yeshiva University in New York City and is the author of House Hold: A Memoir of Place.

Margot Peters is an award-winning biographer. Her most recent work is Lorine Niedecker: A Poet’s Life.

Phoebe Petrovic is the Lee Ester News Fellow at Wisconsin Public Radio. She’s trying to bike around Wisconsin as much as she can before it snows. Then she’ll switch to cross country skiing.

Fabu Phillis Carter is a poet laureate and storyteller. Her website is http://artistfabu.com/. She lives in Madison.

Taylor Pomasl is an intern at Wisconsin Public Radio and senior journalism major in Eau Claire. She grew up in the Northwoods and is a massive Wisconsin sports fan. She loves her home-state because of its dairy-heavy diet.

Bill Povletich is a documentary filmmaker, TV producer and the author of Some Like it Cold: A Sheboygan Surfin’ Safari and Green Bay Packers: Trials, Triumphs, and Tradition.

David Rhodes is the author of the award-winning novel, Driftless. He lives on 35 acres of land in the Driftless region of Wisconsin.

Patrick Rothfuss is the bestselling author of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear.

Adam Schrager is an Investigative producer and reporter with WISC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Madison.

Kevin Searock teaches high school science in Portage and is the author of Troutsmith: An Angler’s Tales and Travels.

Jo Shaffer is a former Madison resident, who attended Madison West High School when they wrote stories for Wisconsin Life. Jo now lives in New York City and works as a filmmaker and musician.

Judith Siers-Poisson is the executive producer of WPR’s Central Time.

Patrick Somerville is the author of several books, including his latest novel This Bright River.

Andrea Thalasinos is a professor of sociology at Madison College. Her respect for huskies grew while she was running her own sled team of six dogs. She helped found a dog rescue group in the upper Midwest for displaced northern breeds. Andrea lives and writes in Madison, Wisconsin. She is the…

Sam Thayer lives in the woods in Northwestern Wisconsin. He teaches workshops on edible wild plants throughout the U.S. and he’s the author of The Foragers’s Harvest and Nature’s Garden.

Kait Vosswinkel is the online editor at PBS Wisconsin. When she’s not working in web development, she is busy pursuing her passion of quality video and multi-media content for the web.

Larry Watson is an award-winning writer and the author of several novels, including American Boy and Montana 1948.

Tegan Wendland is a freelance journalist and radio producer.

Fred Wessel is a contributing producer at PBS Wisconsin.

Michelle Wildgen is the executive editor of the literary journal Tin House and the author of the novels Bread and Butter, You’re Not You, and But Not for Long

Todd Witter was one of the founders of Wisconsin Life. He’s now the Assistant Program Director at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Mike Baron is a videographer and editor for the “Wisconsin Life” project and lives in a divided home of Packers and Vikings fans.

Michael Eicher is a videographer and editor for “Wisconsin Life,” and his love of downhill skiing prompts the winter mantra; more snow, more snow, more snow.

Inga Foley is a video editor for the “Wisconsin Life” project and enjoys bike riding, gardening and working on her old VW.

Ethan Freel is a videographer and editor for “Wisconsin Life” and has seen a Hodag in some woods Northwest of Rhinelander.

Josh Kappler is a videographer and editor for “Wisconsin Life” and enjoys sharing stories about the people and places of the Midwest.

Tom Micksch does something for the “Wisconsin Life” project (though no one is quite sure what); and being born and raised in Green Bay, Tom bleeds green and gold … a condition that can be managed with therapy.

Will Salzmann is a videographer for PBS Wisconsin who also serves as a volunteer firefighter.

Lina Soblytė is a Lithuanian videographer and editor for “Wisconsin Life” who loves the outdoors, and she will climb a tree or a roof to get a unique shot.  

Philip Ashby is an animator for the “Wisconsin Life” project who enjoys road tripping on the classic Wisconsin highways with no destination.

Jen Hadley is a motion graphics designer for the “Wisconsin Life” project who says the only tattoo that she would ever consider getting would be the outline of the state of Wisconsin.

Erika Kachama-Nkoy is a web developer and designer at PBS Wisconsin with a keen interest in exploring Wisconsin.

Rodney Lambright II is an animator and storyteller for Wisconsin Life project who moved from Illinois to the wide open spaces of Wisconsin in the 7th grade and found great opportunities for years to come.

Brandon Ribordy is an animator for the “Wisconsin Life” project who also designs scenery for theatre, other PBS Wisconsin’s productions and “The Antiques Roadshow” … and spends his spare time at home, playing with his two boys.

Scott Stetson is an illustrator/animator for the Wisconsin Life project. He is a lifelong Midwesterner and Wisconsinite since 2007.

Michaela Vatcheva is a motion graphics designer, producer and videographer for the “Wisconsin Life” project. A passionate sailor, she feels fortunate to live in a state with over 15,000 lakes.