Jul 30 2016

Take Ten: supper club nibbles

Ask who is responsible for the revival of interest in Wisconsin supper clubs, and I’ll point a finger toward Ron Faiola, a multimedia entrepreneur in Greendale whose “Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old Fashioned Experience” film (in 2011) and book (in 2013) started the snowball of momentum. The book is in its seventh printing, and now(…)

Jul 23 2016

Wolfenbuttel, Kenosha: sister cities since 1970

The GPS has us driving in circles, so we park and approach the first person we see. Yes, she speaks English. Yes, she knows where we are trying to go. Yes, it is within a walk but, no, she won’t simply provide directions. This friendly stranger insists on accompanying us on a brisk, 10-minute trek(…)

Jul 16 2016

Germany’s natural world: Spreewald, Hainich

Our captain maneuvers us like a gondolier, standing as a pole propels his flatboat through a maze of canals that gingerly pass tree canopies, tiny towns, flower beds, thatched roofs, haystacks and orchards. Between each row of blanket-covered seats is a table with fresh flowers. We have much of the waterway to ourselves, if you(…)

Jul 9 2016

German brewers still abide by 500-year-old beer purity law

First in a series. About 44 percent of Wisconsin residents, the highest percentage of all states, reported German ancestry on the 2000 U.S. Census. (The 2010 census omitted ancestry questions). — If you love beer, this is the year to visit Germany and immerse yourself in its sudsy history, regional specialties. The Reinheitsgebot – German(…)

Jul 2 2016

Lake Geneva mailboat tour has practical purpose, too

With three blasts of the whistle, to signify that we’re backing up, downtown Lake Geneva’s most unique boat tour begins. For the next 2.5 hours, about 160 passengers get acquainted with Geneva Lake as Capt. Neill Frame slowly navigates the waterway counter-clockwise. He is at the helm of Walworth II, built in 1967. The vessel’s(…)

Jun 25 2016

Take Ten: Beyond UNESCO with Frank Lloyd Wright

Wisconsin is Frank Lloyd Wright country, and more of the world may realize this as early as next month, when the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets in Istanbul, Turkey. Ready for a vote is a 2014 nomination to designate 10 of our native son’s most internationally significant architectural works as a World Heritage Site. This(…)

Jun 18 2016

Badger beaches: Expect multiple personalities

The arrival of summer means it’s time to hit the beach, and we have a lot of choices in Wisconsin. In the state are about 15,000 lakes, plus shorelines for the Mississippi River, St. Croix River and Great Lakes of Michigan and Superior. Much of what makes Wisconsin beaches different from those in Waikiki is(…)

Jun 11 2016

Water-loving Ephraim about to shake its dry history

Much distinguishes Ephraim, population 288, from other hamlets in tourist-friendly Door County. The local yacht club – organized in 1906 – is one of the oldest on the Great Lakes, but the actual structure is tiny. Membership totals about 480, anyone can join, and children begin sailing lessons at age 7. Ephraim’s annual Flying Scots(…)

Jun 4 2016

Shopping within Wisconsin’s Amish landscapes

Friends near Cazenovia (Richland County) always invite us to their farm during this time of year, and it is a joy to simply follow the quiet, twisty backroads to their home on a hill with an unobstructed, panoramic view of farmland, wildlife and cloud formations. About one dozen of us gather for a potluck and,(…)

May 28 2016

Green Lake B&B honors rich resort heritage

The Winnebago tribe knew of the lake as Daycholah, a beautiful, mysterious and magical body of water that seemed to have no bottom. It was a place of spiritual pilgrimage centuries ago, and Native American burial mounds dot the lakeshore. Green Lake, at 236 feet, is the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin. On the(…)

May 21 2016

Baraboo additions deepen attention to circus history

A note from Dave SaLoutos ends this way: “May all your days be circus days,” and he means it. The ringmaster for Circus World just introduced another performance season in Baraboo. No other Wisconsin city maintains a richer circus history than Baraboo, and now the city of 12,000 is undergoing a significant renaissance. An 1883(…)

May 14 2016

Reader mail: polka, accordions, Vietnam, dinner

Readers, let’s empty the mailbag! — Fans of polka music sure seem passionate about this style of music. Jim Lueneburg of Menasha says his dad worked six days a week as a barber, then played drums in a polka band at weddings, anniversary parties and other events. “I would go along with him when I(…)

May 7 2016

Take Ten: Women-owned farms to visit

Editor’s Note: Guest columnist Lisa Kivirist and husband John Ivanko of Browntown have earned national recognition for their farm and renewal energy work. By Lisa Kivirist This Mother’s Day, celebrate the women championing Wisconsin family farms when traveling. We women in agriculture are increasing in number: In Wisconsin, the number of women-owned farms increased over(…)

Apr 30 2016

Hot Springs: smallest national park, historic spa setting

The average spa treatment in this country involves low lights, soothing music, a heated massage table and complete privacy (unless booking a massage for two). The more celebrated the facility, the more likely that services command three-digit prices, plus a tip for the therapist. Buckstaff Bathhouse, open since 1912, breaks all those rules. The location,(…)

Apr 23 2016

Some pets go to work with their owners

Back when I was a newspaper features editor in Madison, which seems like a lifetime ago, one of our most popular weekly items was “Look Who’s Minding the Story,” a photo and caption about a business where a pet lived or regularly visited. Shopkeepers who sold yarn, flowers, bakery for dogs, insurance, consignments, hemp goods(…)

Apr 16 2016

Wisconsin Dells gives downtown artful uplift

Roger Brooks of Arizona is a tourism branding expert who helped shape Wisconsin Dells as Waterpark Capital of the World. End of story? Hardly. Brian Landers was a Dells police officer for 18 years before his election as mayor in 2011. So, no more bad-guy roles? Hah. Kelli Trumble found room for adults-only Sundara Inn(…)

Apr 9 2016

Polka festivals: a sure sign of spring

Almost all states with an official dance choose the square dance, but not Wisconsin. Not by a longshot. We picked the polka in 1993, as a nod to ethnic heritage, but the dance doesn’t acknowledge just German ancestry. “Polka Heartland: Why the Midwest Loves to Polka” (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, $30) by folk music historian(…)

Apr 2 2016

New brews, awards, dishes, events for 2016

Spring is a time for renewal, and my notebooks are fat with snippets of new and new-to-me gleanings from annual state tourism and Midwest FoodService Expo conferences. — A few of Wisconsin’s best-known beverage makers are experimenting with new flavors. Wisco Pop! in Viroqua uses whole fruit to add strawberry soda to its all-organic lineup(…)

Mar 26 2016

Boutiques for bowser: Seven pet-friendly hotels

Dog lovers who don’t want to leave their pet at home might think campgrounds and the occasional cabin are their only options for full-family getaways, but a few of Wisconsin’s boutique hotels welcome four-footed travelers too. How pet friendly is Wisconsin? Friendly enough for the state tourism department to emphasize travel with pets as a(…)

Mar 19 2016

Best cheese in the world? Wisconsin’s Grand Cru Surchoix

Best in the world. An award out of U.S. reach since 1988. Almost 3,000 entries, the most ever, from 23 countries. The big cheese in the 2016 World Championship Cheese Contest, judged this month in Madison, is the Grand Cru Surchoix made in Monroe by Emmi Roth USA, whose parent company is a specialty cheese(…)

Mar 12 2016

Radio show tickets: Where to watch broadcasts

Wisconsin Public Radio’s decision to end the “Whad’Ya Know?” show concludes an on-air era of quick wit and timely humor by Michael Feldman, the host for 31 years. His weekly and nationally syndicated schtick of comedy, conversation, music and current events has made the Midwest a little less anonymous, a little more endearing. The final(…)

Mar 5 2016

Hamilton Wood Type Museum: Words carry weight, literally

Sometimes I refer to my freelance writing business as The Word Factory because that is what I churn out from one day to the next. If those words had weight, literally, they’d have filled my office many years ago. It wasn’t all that long ago that words, to the letter, carried weight every day and(…)

Feb 27 2016

Las Vegas weddings: Getting hitched is all you imagine, and more

This is a leap year, so it is officially fine for women to propose marriage on Feb. 29. Maybe the nuptials should be unconventional, too. The average U.S. wedding costs $26,444 without the honeymoon, concludes costofwedding.com, whose researchers say 40 percent of couples spend less than $10,000 and 16 percent spend more than $30,000. Las(…)

Feb 20 2016

Pizza lovers know where to find the perfect slice

Pizza lovers, you have spoken. Dozens of you have made your allegiances clear, often using more exclamation points that pepperoni on the average slice. Who makes the best pizza in Wisconsin? We sought your opinion in 50 convincing words or less. Ann Schnuck of Pleasant Prairie wins for this entry: “Wells Brothers restaurant in Racine(…)

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