Wisconsin Life host Angela Fitzgerald journeys to Wyalusing State Park, one of Wisconsin’s oldest park, to check out the 14 miles of hiking trails, river access and cliffside camping. Angela hikes along the First Nation’s effigy mound trail with over 60 visible mounds. The state park overlooks the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers in the town of Wyalusing, just south of Prairie du Chien. She speaks with Park Ranger April Ammann about the park’s beautiful views, trails, camp sites and effigy mounds. Angela also talks with Kyle Kern, a member of Starsplitters of Wyalusing The non-profit organization provides views of the night sky and of objects millions and millions of light years away with very large telescopes acquired through donations to the group.
Fitzgerald also has all-new stories from the Wisconsin Life team, including a trip to Madison where urban arborist Evan Slocum uses what he considers to be more progressive approaches to urban tree management. He uses mountain climbing gear to suspend himself in the tree while he prunes branches, and he can also use a three-story crane to fly himself around the tree with a chainsaw in hand.
Next, we meet Melinda Halom, a part-time pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in New Auburn. She sews one of a kind stoles or vestments for almost every occasion and sends them all over the world. She has a camo one for hunting season and a Packers stole for Green Bay Packers football.
Then we hear from Sauk County conservationist Serge Koenig. He has all the training and scientific knowledge to tackle the challenges of improving the county’s water and soil, but he knows that without getting citizens to buy in it won’t make any difference. By learning more about farming on his own, Koenig helps many ag producers see the light in adapting to better environmental practices like rotational grazing.
Finally, we learn about the origins of a monument to Mildred Fish-Harnack, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate and the “only” American woman executed on the direct orders of Adolf Hitler. With his own money, architect John Dubrow designed a six-foot, eight-inch black granite sculpture which now sits at Marshall Park in Madison.
