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Enduring Families Project brings Black history to life

2024/02/16

The Enduring Families Project uses dramatic monologues, short films and other means to bring to life the stories of Black people who lived in the La Crosse area in the second half of the 19th century. Denise Christy is the organization’s producer and co-founder. She and her team will be depicting several characters at a […]

Jazz artist brings Langston Hughes to the Driftless

2024/02/09

Langston Hughes was an American poet and activist known as a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. Among his later works was an epic poem called “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz.” An effort to compose musical accompaniment to the poem, following Hughes’s own written instructions, has been led […]

Public comments open on Coon Creek dams proposal

2024/02/03

Members of the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council join “Newsmakers” host Ezra Wall to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining a healthy watershed. The Council says farmers, recreators and government entities all have a role to play in protecting it. They also talk about a new proposal that would decommission some of the dams […]

Local libraries promote good 2024 reads

2024/02/03

Today we’re talking to two Driftless Area librarians about how to find your next great read of 2024. Maggie Strittmater from Viroqua’s Mcintosh Memorial Library and Barry McKnight from the La Crosse Public Library let us know about some new releases they’re looking forward to. They also talk about how to help library guests find […]

How about a mental wellness check-in?

2024/01/19

On this episode of WPR's "Newsmakers," find out why our panel members don't recommend taking a "New Year's Resolution" approach to mental health.

Sustainable Businesses, String Quartets

2024/01/12

Lewis Kuhlman, Environmental Planner for the City of La Crosse, joins “Newsmakers” host Ezra Wall to talk about the City’s new climate action plan and an upcoming workshop aimed at helping small businesses and organizations develop more sustainable practices. Then, violinists Ray Shows and Nancy Oliveros from the Artaria String Quartet talk about their life- […]

Slight increase approved for Xcel in southwestern Wisconsin

2023/12/08

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is signing off on a modest increase in what Xcel Energy is allowed to charge southwestern Wisconsin customers in 2024, according to the Citizens Utility Board. CUB Executive Director Tom Content joins WPR’s Ezra Wall for this week’s “Newsmakers.”

Coulee Region author, Driftless illustrator to highlight pollinator gardens

2023/12/01

Coulee Region author, Nick Nichols, talk to WPR’s “Newsmakers” about his forthcoming children’s book, “Pollinator Parade.” Nichols says a $15 thousand grant from Roz Schnick Consulting will enable him and Driftless Area illustrator, Pete Hodapp to complete the work in anticipation of an Earth Day 2024 release.

Rural internet access in southwestern Wisconsin

2023/12/01

Nearly $15 million will go a long way toward securing high-speed internet access in rural southwestern Wisconsin, according to White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez. The former Secretary of Labor was at Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse to promote the Biden administration’s Internet for All initiative. Perez spoke with WPR’s Ezra Wall.

“The Wolves” take the field – er, stage – at UWL

2023/12/01

Actor Anna Mongtomery and director Mary Trotter discuss the UW-La Crosse Department of Theatre and Dance production of Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves.” The Pulitzer Prize-nominated play tells the story of a high school girls soccer team. Trotter and Montgomery share their experiences putting together the coming-of-age story and collaborating with the UWL soccer team for […]