WI’s dust bowl changed farming forever

September 8, 2026

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Good morning!

Ellie here. Happy Tuesday! Thanks for starting your week with me.

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. Personally, I went down to Chicago to visit some friends and watch the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

If you missed it, the teams played at Lambeau Field for the first games of their seasons. Unfortunately, the Badgers lost on Sunday, 13-41.

The Wisconsin Badgers’ next game will take place on Saturday in Madison against Western Illinois.

As a UW-Madison alum, Badger games are one of my favorite activities. Whether you’re tailgating and heading into the stadium, watching from a bar, or just enjoying the game from the comfort of your own couch, there’s no bad way to watch the game.

Do you have any Badger game day traditions? Let me know!

Ellie Bourdo

Newsletter Editor, UpNorthNews

First, a few headlines from around the state:

🧀 American cheese is a staple when it comes to grilled cheeses and cheese burgers. Now, Sargento is working to update the recipe to this processed classic. (WPR)

💉 Measels is continuing to spread through southwestern Wisconsin. State health officials are urging families to make sure their kids are vaccinated before heading back to school. (WPR)

🗞 State Rep. Shelia Stubbs called for Wisconsin to require that body cameras be worn by all law enforcement officers. Both gubernatorial candidates said they’d support the measure. (WXOW)

The fall colors are on the way, and if you look around you might just see a first glimpse of it.

Here’s a photo of just that, from our reader Chris N.

“The first signs at the rest stop….”

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Stories rooted in Wisconsin’s Up North.

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One of the shelterbelt plantings in Wisconsin, photographed in 1925. These early Portage county plantings performed well during the 1934 dust storm and were used by foresters to demonstrate how shelterbelts could control erosion. (USA Today via Reuters Connect)

Wisconsin’s dust bowl, lessons learned from the storm changed farming

Wisconsin’s 1934 dust bowl was one of the most severe drought periods in our state’s recorded history.

Learn more about this historic event, and how farming in Wisconsin has changed since then.

Learn more →

Caffeinate with cuties at these 8 cat cafes in Wisconsin

Appleton’s Pawffee Shop doesn’t require a reservation (for the most part) or a fee to interact with the cats. (Pawffee Shop)

The first cat cafe opened in Taiwan in the late 90s. Since then, cat cafes have been gaining popularity, with several popping up throughout Wisconsin.

Here’s where you can grab a cup of joe while cuddling with a cat in our state.

Check out the full list →

Are you enjoying this Wisconsin newsletter?

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Ellie Bourdo with stories from USA Today Network via Reuters Connect and Erin Yarnall. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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