It's a weekend full of traditions, memory-making, and fun, for Rhonda Taylor's group, who come from all over to attend the Warrens Cranberry Festival each year. Photo courtesy Rhonda Taylor
Cranberry Crazies Pack Warrens for the Tiny Town’s Giant Fest

The annual Cranberry Fest isn’t only about the 1,200 vendor booths, three days of shopping, and hundreds of cran-filled foods. It’s the 140,000 visitors that make the event what it is. “I’ve told my family that no one can get married, give birth, or die that weekend because I will put them on ice and...

There are a few weigh-ins in the state. One of them is at the Altoona Ginormous Pumpkin Festival, where growers are competing for a top prize of $5,555, as the festival is in its fifth year. Photo courtesy Jim Suchanek
Go Big or Go(urd) Home: Giant Pumpkin Growers Compete for Wisconsin’s Top Prize

Every year, growers from across the state enter their colossal pumpkins in Altoona’s Ginormous Pumpkin Festival, hoping to have grown the heaviest. Fond du Lac’s Tom Montsma took home the top prize and set the state record at last year’s Altoona Ginormous Pumpkin Fest. So, what did his giant gourd weigh? A whopping 2,046 pounds!...

Matt Atkinson said there have been a lot of boos and jeers throughout his two decades officiating, but he still has a passion for the job.  Photo courtesy Matt Atkinson
The Reason Behind Wisconsin’s Referee Shortage? Unruly Spectators.

Games are being rescheduled, postponed, and even canceled because there aren’t enough officials available, and the WIAA is pointing to parents as the problem. On a typical Thursday or Friday night, Matt Atkinson of Eau Claire can be found on a football field or basketball court. Now starting his 24th year as an official for...

Families attend "Jammin' with the Arts Night" with their students, at an Eau Claire elementary school.
3 Ways to Get Involved in Your Local School District

For all of the talk about ‘parents’ rights,’ there are already many opportunities for community members to become personally invested in their local schools and find out first-hand what’s happening.

Updated COVID vaccines are designed to target the variants currently circulating and are recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older. Photo courtesy of UW-Eau Claire
Q&A: Everything You Need to Know About Wisconsin’s New COVID Boosters

The state’s hospital admissions have been rising since July, according to the latest CDC data. The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has faded, but there are still thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths in the U.S. each week. Hospitalizations have been increasing since late summer, so the just-released booster shot comes at perfect time....

Yielding to pedestrians crossing at crosswalks is Wisconsin law. Photo Courtesy Green Bay Area Public School District
Pedestrian Crashes Are Up in Wisconsin: What Drivers, Walkers Need to Know

Plus–one city’s flashy solution to fix it. Many Wisconsin communities are extremely walker-friendly. But the state Highway Safety Association is issuing a warning: the number of car-pedestrian crashes is growing. Fatal crashes grew by 50 percent in 2022, according to a report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. That’s in line with the national trend:...

Janet Oligny Lunch Lady
Wisconsin School Districts Face Another Year of Staff Shortages

The number of public school teachers in Wisconsin has held at about 64,000 for the past few years, but school districts statewide say it's not enough to overcome a shortage of teachers in classrooms.