SPECIAL EDITION: Best of UpNorthNews

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Happy Friday!

In today’s UpNorthNewsletter…

Bald Eagles are Back: Step aside Badgers! This weekend is all about the birds.
Best of UpNorth: Our favorite stories from 2023 and what they foreshadow about the new year.
Remember When: Firsthand accounts from MLK’s visit to Wisconsin, and meaningful ways you can observe the civil rights leader’s special day.

Christina Lorey,

Community Editor, UpNorthNews

Bald Eagle Days are back!

Step aside, Badgers! This weekend is all about the birds—Bald Eagles, to be exact.

Birdwatching season begins now, according to the Wisconsin DNR. Here are a few things you probably don’t know about the fun hobby and booming business:

-33% of Wisconsin adults say they’ve gone birdwatching–the second highest in the country, tied with West Virginia and trailing only Vermont.

-More people bird watch (1.7 million) than hunt (895,000) or fish (1.2 million), making birding the biggest part of Wisconsin’s $8.7 billion outdoor recreation industry.

-Sauk Prairie attracts the most birdwatchers–and money–roughly $700,000 each winter.

-The average Wisconsin “birder” goes birdwatching 95 days/year.

Wisconsin’s longest-running eagle watching event, Bald Eagle Days, is held every January in Prairie du Sac.

Where, When, & How: A Guide to Bald Eagle Watching in Wisconsin

Credit: Wisconsin DNR

The Best of the Rest: Our favorite stories

For the past two weeks, we’ve been looking back at the year that was, and ahead to the year that is, across a variety of categories: politics, climate change, sports, travel, food & drink, and more. Today, we’re celebrating what we’re calling “the best of the rest”–the stories that didn’t fit into just a single category, or sometimes, any at all.

Click on any “winner” to read the original story it was featured in!

Best Cheese: Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville

Best City Flag: Hayward

Best Fast Food Restaurant: Food Dudes in La Crosse

Best Fish Fry: Maricque’s in Green Bay

Best ‘Hidden Gem’ Restaurant: Northfork Fin & Filet in Arbor Vitae

Best Independent Bookstore: Arcadia Books in Spring Green

Best New Bakery: Miggy’s Bakes in Madison

Best Non-Beer Beverage: Cherry Bounce

Best Paczki: Smurawa’s Country Bakery in Pulaski

Best ‘Pandemic Pivot’: Ken Fager’s “Mini Wisconsin’s”

Best Podcast: “Why Should I Give a Damn?”

Best Pro Athlete: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Best Restaurant: Fairchild in Madison

Best Thrift Store: Chosen Family Closet

Best Tourist Attraction: Dane County Farmers’ Market

Best Uniquely-Wisconsin Meal: Cannibal Sandwich from Salmon’s

WE NEED YOUR HELP! It’s a new year, and while we already have a long list of new places we’re hoping to check out, we want to be your eyes, ears, and stomachs, too!

So tell us–WHO or WHAT do you want to read about in 2024? REPLY to this email with your favorite restaurant, a person who’s making a difference, or something else we should know about, and we’ll add them to our list.

Credit: iStock

Remember When…? MLK visited Wisconsin

In the spring of 1967, less than a year before his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd of around 1,000 at East Gate Hall in Wausau’s Marathon Park. Back then, the building was a part of the University of Wisconsin’s Marathon County campus. That’s where King opened Dr. Jim Perry’s eyes to how life really was in the US.

“I was just a kid from Wausau,” recalled Perry, who was 17 years old and student body president at the time. “I was aware of what was going on, but I certainly was not actively involved. After Dr. King’s visit, I became much more aware of what was going on around me. You could not help but know there was unrest in the South and throughout the country.”

Click Here for More First-Hand Recollections of MLK’s Visit to Wisconsin

This Monday, regardless of whether you have the day off, consider making time to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and his still-enduring impact on every state…including ours.

7 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate MLK Day for Kids & Adults

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Christina Lorey. UpNorthNews is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.