Arts & Life

An advisory council to the state DNR is asking the public for input on non-motorized trail use.

The recently-formed Non-motorized Recreation and Transportation Trails Council hopes to represent the needs of silent sports users in Wisconsin. 

Council member and editor of Silent Sports magazine Joel Patenaude says the new survey wants feedback from users about their needs and concerns. 

The Northwoods is home to its very own children's museum, a place where the interactive exhibits are designed to stimulate children's creativity.  But as WXPR's Emily Bright reports, it takes the efforts and creativity of an entire community to keep it running.

Cindy Thompson gets down on her knees to explain the rules of the Northwoods Children’s Museum to my two-year old.

“Okay my friend, look here. See this red line, and the red light way up high? What does red mean?

The state capitol will celebrate the holidays this year with help from a 40-foot balsam fir from Pelican Lake in Oneida County. 

Dennis Shoeneck is owner of logging company Enterprise Forest Products.  He’s donating the large tree for the statehouse rotunda, along with more than a dozen smaller trees for outside the Capitol Square and Governor’s residence.

Shoeneck describes how Madison officials came to check out the trees earlier this spring, and notified him of their selections. 

November is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Month. The Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing and Frederick Place, the homeless shelter in Rhinelander, are gearing up for campaigns to fulfill their mission of providing shelter for the homeless.

Frederick Place Executive Director Tammy Modic says the public can make a direct donation of a dollar at area businesses....

A dean from the University of Wisconsin Madison will visit the Northwoods Wednesday, to find out how her college can build more partnerships in the Northwoods.

Kate VandenBosch is Dean of the College of Life and Agricultural Sciences at UW Madison.  She’s the speaker at this month’s informal discussion series Science on Tap.

VandenBosch says it’s part of the university’s mission to reach all parts of the state.  And she says there are several initiatives already at work in rural communities in the Northwoods that focus on natural resources. 

The Samoset Council of the Boy Scouts of America based in the Wausau area got some great news Tuesday: a longtime friend of scouting and a man who spent time at Camp Tesomas in Rhinelander has donated a large sum to keep scouting growing.

Chicago resident Al Hanna contributed $3 million dollars to bring new scouts into the program.

WXPR's Ken Krall spoke with Samoset Council Executive Director Jeff Ottosen about the gift...

The Sokaogon Chippewa Community is trying out a new way to boost voter turnout for Tuesday’s election. 

The tribe is holding a Native Vote Powwow Wednesday evening in Mole Lake.

Tribal Chairman Chris McGeshick says he hopes the cultural event will remind people of the importance of the Native American vote, both locally and on a statewide or national level. 

A Northwoods Catholic community has set an ambitious goal to upgrade its school facilities and church.

Nativity Of Our Lord Catholic Community based in Rhinelander is conducting a capital fund drive that they hope brings in $3 million, with a minimum goal of $2 million.

Two churches are under the umbrella of the community, with North Stevens Street and East King Street locations. There are schools at each location.

The watercolor artist Bjorn Bernstrom is well-known in his native Sweden for his landscape paintings.  Yet his style is somewhat different from traditional watercolor methods.   

It’s October when the trees outside are bursting with color, and Bjorn Bernstrom is painting an early autumn scene of a road curving into bright trees. A circle of students watches with rapt attention as he creates the trees with short stabbing motions of his brush. 

“What’s the difference between the way you paint and traditional watercolor technique?" I ask him.

Eagle River is looking into a plan to allow ATVs on some downtown streets.

Eagle River Mayor Jeff Hyslop says a committee is figuring out a proposal that would detail specific routes.

“At this point no decisions have been made except coming up with a plan for it, and at that point people will have something to vote on.” 

The town of Lincoln is also looking into allowing ATVs on town roads.