Category Archives: Culture

12 Dec

Meet some of Wisconsin’s independently owned businesses

By Abby Bradbury

In a business landscape increasingly dominated by chains and corporations, Wisconsin is home to many unique and independently-owned businesses that have greatly contributed to the state’s culture and history.

Strictly Discs Record Store 

Strictly Discs has been “getting physical with music” since 1988. At its home on Monroe Street in Madison, Strictly Discs has two levels of vinyl, CDs and stereo gear and an influx of new releases every week. In addition to having thousands of records from every genre under the sun (with a skew toward jazz and rock), Strictly Discs also buys used records, adding to its ever-growing collection. Strictly Discs takes pride in being female and independently owned, and participates in indie record store culture by celebrating Record Store Day – a day celebrating the unique role record stores play in communities. Strictly Discs commemorates this day each spring by offering exclusive releases and drops.

Ruby Coffee Roasters 

Based out of Nelsonville, WI, Ruby Coffee roasts “colorful coffee” with beans hailing from all over the world. Best sellers include a Costa Rica Cerro La Cruz and an El Salvador Talnamica, and Ruby also offers summer and winter seasonal blends. Outside of its Nelsonville roastery domain, Ruby has a Stevens Point cafe location. 

Towne Cinema 

Nestled in Watertown, a city between Milwaukee and Madison, lives Towne Cinema, an independently-owned movie theater. Since 1913, the cinema has been a cultural fixture in Watertown’s downtown community, opening its doors for school rentals and to private and public birthday parties, in addition to showing films at the fixed rate of $3. As chain movie theaters and eventually streaming became the norm in the film industry, the Towne Cinema was able to raise funds from the community to invest in projectors to digitize their film collection and continue entertaining the people of Watertown. 

Mystery to Me

Mystery to Me, located right off of UW-Madison’s campus, started off as a mystery-only bookstore nearly ten years ago. As customer demand and community support grew, so did the genre and variety of books offered. Back in 2014, bestselling author James Patterson offered Mystery to Me a grant to expand a children’s book section in the store. “We really try to be part of the community,” said Mystery to Me owner Joanne Berg. “We can’t offer the same kind of discounts that big box stores can offer, so we have to offer something else – customer service.” Berg credits her knowledgeable staff with curating a wide collection of books and being able to help customers find their perfect read. 

Wollersheim Winery and Distillery 

Wollersheim Winery dates back to the 1800s, occupying a unique place in Wisconsin history. The Kehls, a family of German immigrants, started making wine and brandy until they were stopped by the prohibition movement. The property that occupies current-day Prairie du Sac was purchased and claimed by the Wollersheim family in 1972. Wollersheim now boasts an esteemed team of winemakers and has forged its way as a leader in the Midwest wine scene, with its Prairie Fumé and Dry Riesling earning top honors and its wine collections being sold online and across the state. Wollersheim has also made a name for itself with its distilled spirits, such as Press House Brandy, Two Mile Bourbon and Round Top Rye Whiskey.

Carr Valley Cheese Company

Award-winning cheesemaker Carr Valley Cheese Company has been family-owned for a hundred years. Certified Master Cheesemaker, Sid Cook, is a fourth-generation cheesemaker known for creating new cheeses, but doing so “the old-fashioned way.” Carr Valley Cheese offers over fifty original cheese varieties, with bestsellers including Apple Smoked Cheddar and Smoked Hot Pepper Jack. Though based out of the small town of La Valle, Carr Valley cheeses can be found across the state at six retail stores. 

12 Dec

A look into the college basketball transfer process through the eyes of a Wisconsinite

Photo by Mitch Listau.

By Austin Keller

Mitch Listau, a former collegiate basketball player for both the Belmont Bruins and Green Bay Phoenix, faced the dilemma of whether to leave everything he’s established behind just to play in front of his home state one more time.

Listau’s basketball journey began in Waunakee, Wisconsin, where he was named a three-time All-State honoree, led the Warriors to two Kohl Center appearances and still remains the program’s all-time leading scorer to this day, 700 points above the next closest alumni. In addition to his abilities on the court, Listau still draws appraisals from former coaches and teammates regarding his demeanor and how he carries himself.

“Mitch was a great leader. Not a rah-rah guy but a leader in the way he went about his business every day. And when your best player is a hard worker, the others follow,” Waunakee Assistant Coach Jeff Knatz said.

After graduating from high school in 2018, Listau was granted the opportunity to play his collegiate hoops at Belmont University, an NCAA Division I school located in Nashville, Tennessee. He ultimately spent three seasons with the Bruins before deciding it was time to come back home, where he then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

“Being in Nashville for three years, there were many things that I grew to like about being down South. The people, the weather, the food, but also things about Wisconsin that I missed. One of those things being my family and friends that I was only able to see maybe once or twice a year,” Listau said.

Aside from reconnecting with familiar faces, Listau still had one year of remaining eligibility to use up on the court. However, the situation he found himself in with the Phoenix was anything but traditional.

His biggest surprise was the culture shock.

Mason Steffen

“Basketball-wise, I came into a Green Bay team that was looking to rebuild with a second-year coach and virtually all new guys coming in. I figured it would be a great spot for me to jump in, being a fourth-year guy, I was one of the oldest players on the team,” Listau said. “Also being on some very successful Belmont teams, I knew what it took to win and what made successful teams successful.” 

The Wisconsin native was poised for a breakout senior campaign in his new environment given his past experience playing against high-level competition. Listau opened the season as one of Green Bay’s starters and contributed in each of the team’s first eight games until adversity struck and he went down with an ankle injury that forced him to miss over two months of action.

While sidelined and going through rehabilitation, Listau had consistent conversations with his childhood best friend, Mason Steffen, where the two guys would keep each other up to date and talk about the transition from a larger, southern school to a smaller university in the north.

“His biggest surprise was the culture shock. Belmont is a fantastically run program that has everyone buying into a common goal for the good of the whole, whereas Green Bay was much more of everyone for themselves culture.” Steffen said. “Also, the cities are much different. Belmont is in Nashville, Tennessee, lots to do and diverse in what it offers. Green Bay is much more limited in that sense.” 

Though his return to Wisconsin didn’t quite go as planned, Listau’s brief presence was certainly felt by his Phoenix teammates and coaches both on and off the court.

“When talking about his impact on our team and program, he was the ultimate student athlete to coach and teammate. He struggled through injuries while at Green Bay but was very supportive of our staff and his teammates especially in tough times,” said Green Bay Assistant Coach Freddie Owens. “He was always the guy on the bench rooting for his teammates and spreading positivity throughout the locker room.”

Everyone knows that not everything in life is going to be perfect, but it’s the risks taken and lessons learned along the way that enhances personal growth. Despite the unfortunate injury Listau sustained during his final basketball stint back in his home state, sometimes, it’s the environment around you that can make all the difference in the world.

“I appreciated the players and coaches in my short time at Green Bay and they made me feel at home,” Listau said.

12 Dec

Packer bars around the country

Photo from 96.7 The Eagle.

By William Fannon

The Green Bay Packers and their fanbase dubbed as “Cheeseheads” are a vital aspect of the cultural makeup of Wisconsin. There’s just something different about the relationship that the Packers have with the people of Wisconsin. It could be that the Packers are the only sports team that is publicly owned.  It could be its rich history, winning the first two super bowls with Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi, to the Brett Farve era and the Aaron Rodgers era, each quarterback netting the franchise a Superbowl and multiple division titles (Bleacher Report).  It doesn’t matter to Wisconsinites who have to suffer through the harshest weather conditions at Lambeau in the cold, bitter months of December and January, the wait to get season tickets can be almost decades long. Evidence pointing to the nationwide Packer influence is the Packer bars that can be found all across the country.

Being a Packer bar is almost like being a member of an exclusive country club. If bars want to be named Packer bars they have to apply and meet specific qualifications. According to the Packer Bar website, to be a Packer bar your bar must, “open the doors to Packers fans every gameday and serve as a ‘local Lambeau’’ for Packers fans across the country and world,” and they are required to always have a Packer game on whenever they are playing. Once a bar is officially named a Packer Bar, your bar will be put in the Packer bar database, a beacon for cheeseheads nationwide to know what game will be aired on Sundays. The Packer bar database lists bars in every state in America, evening Alaska and Hawaii (Packers Everywhere).

These Packers bars have allowed Wisconsin Cheeseheads to pass down their Packer fandom to future generations even if they do not live in Wisconsin anymore. One of these future cheesehead generations includes a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, , Patrick Colwell.

AlthoughColwell has never been to Wisconsin, he is a huge Packer fan. As a Packer fan, Colwell has been a frequent goer of registered Packer bars.

“My parents would take me to the bar on as many Sundays as they could,” said Colwell. “Even though we’re like half a country away, on game day the bar would be filled with green jerseys and cheese hats.” 

Colwell’s mom is a native Wisconsinite, growing up in Madison. Even though she left Wisconsin for Connecticut her Packer fandom never died. 

It is through these bars that a football team based in the 292nd largest city in America, they have cultivated such a strong fanbase.

Photo from chrissniderdesign.com

References

Bleacher Report, “10 Reasons Packers Have the Best Fans in the NFL”. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1401096-10-reasons-the-packers-have-the-best-fans-in-the-nfl

Packerseverywhere.com https://www.packerseverywhere.com/

12 Dec

Displaced and Tokenized: Indigenous students feel used by UW-Madison

By Ellie Nowakowski

An Instagram post made by UW-Madison was met with backlash when Indigenous students and allies used the comment section to criticize the school as hypocritical. 

In a series of Native November events, UW-Madison and Ho Chunk Nation’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush built a Ho Chunk dwelling called a ciiporoke near Dejope residence hall. The event was documented by the UW-Madison communications team who shared a video to Instagram. 

The post went up the same day that UW-Madison disclosed master plans for a parking structure that would involve the demolition of the building which houses the Indigenous Student Center. 

“It’s just another example of how they love to promote us but will never listen to us when our voice needs to flourish on a campus where their Indigenous student retention rate is barely above 50%,” said Sam Giguere, student at Edgewood College and Wunk Sheek member.

While the 2015 university master plan includes the demolition of the current Indigenous Student Center house, UW-Madison Director of Media Relations and Strategic Communications Kelly Tyrell emphasized that these plans are not final. 

“The post celebrates the Ho-Chunk, whose ancestral land UW–Madison occupies, and members of University Communications were welcomed to produce a video about this dwelling, considered by the Ho-Chunk of Teejop to be a place of home, family, community, teaching, learning and ceremony,” said Tyrell. “It was shared to celebrate their culture and the importance of the place.”

The Instagram post documenting the event was filled  with comments of criticism and hurt. Students noted the belief that their identities were being used as a marketing ploy by the university. By commenting, students and allies paint a more accurate picture of the university’s support, freshman and Indigenous student Marisol Dashnaw said.

“The university is saying one thing to the public and then other things to us,” Dashnaw said. “People should really be aware of the discrepancy in the university’s messaging to different groups of people before commending them for what they perceive to be strides and racial equity.”

Backlash wasn’t over the building of the ciiporoke, which initially seemed positive, said Giguere. Criticism comes from a place of feeling that the university is not meeting the practical needs of its Indigenous communities. Many of whom feel that having a space of their own is vital to the well-being of their community.

“It feels like the only thing the university knows how to do is displace,” Giguere said.

The university has promised to consider student input when considering moving forward with its plan of action. They are also committed to finding solutions to any disruptions to the house due to the construction of Levy Hall, a new campus building that will break ground in the new year. The building is next to the current Indigenous Student Center house.

“The university is engaging in campus conversation, including directly with students and others who might be affected by future changes, which also includes identifying students’ space needs and options,” Tyrell said. 

Students also expressed a willingness to work with the university to find a viable solution. Though the Red Gym was offered as a potential alternative, the space will simply not cut it, Dashnaw said. 

“We are happy to work with the administration if only they would extend the invitation,” Dashnaw said.

Indigenous students stand firm in their belief that  a space of their own is vital to a flourishing Indigenous community at the university.

“Wunk Sheek is a place of resistance, Wunk Sheek is a home and Wunk Sheek feels like a community and it feels like that community is going to be taken away,” Giguere said.

12 Dec

Wisconsin is considered one of the worst states for racial disparity and diversity

Photo by Caroline Crowley.

By Gretchen Blohm

When it comes to disparities between Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and white communities, Wisconsin is considered one of the worst states in the country for racial disparities and racial inequality, according to the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS).  

COWS is based at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, promoting “high road” solutions to social problems. In 2019, COWS published a series, Race in the Heartland – Wisconsin’s Extreme Racial Disparities. The report is an update of COWS’ series on the disparities between white and Black Wisconsinites and a joint project of the Iowa Policy Project, Policy Matters Ohio, and the Economic Policy Institute. 

“Wisconsin regularly ranks among the worst in the nation on all kinds of indicators,” said the Associate Director of COWS, Laura Dresser, in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio. 

COWS’ report highlights how the disparities between BIPOC and white residents of Wisconsin span poverty, unemployment, educational attainment, and incarceration. 

In terms of economic disparities between BIPOC and white communities, one of the starkest indicators of inequality is in Wisconsin’s workforce, both employed and unemployed. Many BIPOC employees continue to feel cast aside and unheard in Wisconsin, specifically, Madison. 

According to the Census Bureau, 86% of Wisconsin’s population is white and 6.6% is Black, with only about 0.3% of the Black population holding management positions. 

Community Development Specialist for the City of Madison and member of Madison’s Multicultural Affairs Committee, Nancy Saiz is a Latin American female who has lived in Wisconsin for over 30 years but sees the effects of Wisconsin’s racial disparities and lack of diversity every day. 

“When I started as an employee for the city there was a lot of unawareness. The City of Madison was predominantly white, but there was a group of African Americans that were hired at the same time as me. It was the first time I saw how we were put aside and questioned,” Saiz said. “I had a master’s degree in social work and experience in the community, and it was really weird because without even talking to me and seeing the skills I was bringing in, I was just cast aside.” 

“The way we weren’t heard, the way we weren’t being seen when we first started. It was hard to start those conversations in the City of Madison.” Saiz said. 

Saiz said that feeling safe or feeling heard at your job continues to be some of the things people of color have issues with within the workforce.  

 There are noticeable diversity and disparity issues within the workforce, but unemployment is another disparity issue. According to COWS’ data from 2015, white workers made up less than 4 percent of the state’s unemployed population. 

“When you hear talk of how low unemployment rates are, and they are generally around 4 percent or just below, that’s true of the overall population,” Dresser said. “But the Black unemployment rate is nearly three times higher.” 

Just as work environments and unemployment show racial disparity and inequality issues, the state is also hurting in terms of income inequality. 

COWS’ report looked at the median household income statewide and found that white households’ median income is more than $58,000 annually. For BIPOC households, the median household income was $29,000, at the time of COWS’ report. 

For members of the Black community, this income inequality can impact all aspects of life. Dresser said that this is especially true for families. 

“I think most folks who are living close to, or below, $29,000 know the kind of stress and problems that lower incomes, if you have kids, can lead to,” she said. 

Saiz said that when she first started working in social work, she noticed that marginalized people of color could not get access to healthcare. She also mentioned that dental care, homelessness, and healthcare were all issues in Madison back then, and are still issues now. 

COWS’ Race in the Heartland shows that racial disparity is evident in any life stage. The report shows statistics from birth through school and into the labor market, voting booth, and criminal justice system. According to Race in the Heartland, child poverty in the Black community is higher compared to the white community. 

Some Black students at the University of Wisconsin – Madison feel that the school needs more diversification and that because of the low number of BIPOC students that attend the school, they more often than not, feel out of place. 

“I know that the University is working towards diversifying and recruiting people of all backgrounds,” said Tynan Drayton, who is a Black male, and currently a senior at the University of Wisconsin. “I created my own community of color and did what I could to create that essence of diversity, although I never felt like that was enough.” 

African American Studies professor Melanie Herzog is currently teaching a Black Arts movement class and has seen the issues around education and jobs regarding racial disparity firsthand. 

“The city of Madison is more diverse than when I moved here, but at the same time there are still huge inequities here, and in those inequities, there are class and race issues,” Herzog said. “There’s a lot to be done, but I’m not going to bash Madison because it’s taken a long time to make the city this way, so it’s going to take a long time to fix it.” 

She said that different spaces are more welcoming and less welcoming at the University. When teaching a class containing a critical mass of students of color, Herzog said that those students felt more comfortable and centered, and less like they were speaking on behalf of their entire race.

“Institutions carry baggage that predisposes them to behave in a way to reinforce the belief that people of color are not welcome,” Herzog said. “Which backsteps what people are trying to do to better the community. Because of this, it’s important to attend to the class disparities and people’s deceptions of that.”

The Race to Equity report came out in 2013 and highlighted the inequities and racial disparities in the City of Madison. It aimed to create public awareness of the racial disparities that differentiate the white and Black experience in Dane County, Wisconsin. The data revealed facts about the state of the local African American community in contrast to the county’s white majority. 

“That’s when [the release of the report in 2013] I feel the city became a little more open to ‘we need to do something,’” Saiz said. “Because the report looked really bad. It highlighted those inequities that were happening. It was an eye opener for the school districts and for the government.”

Figures from COWS’ Race in the Heartland report and the Race to Equity report paint a bleak picture of the state of racial inequities, diversity, and equality between BIPOC and white communities in Wisconsin. 

The City of Madison has employed committees, like the Multicultural Affairs Committee, to help recognize how people are being treated in Madison and develop a set of recommendations for how to improve. The MAC will be providing the City of Madison with recommendations on how to improve Madison’s workforce environment in January. 

MAC is working on recognizing how people are treated and working to change that. They’re working to integrate all intersections – disability, gender, and sexuality. The conversations are happening, and awareness is increasing. 

“They are working really hard at making space and recognizing,” Saiz said.

Sources 

https://cows.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1368/2020/04/2019-Race-in-the-Heartland-Wisconsins-Extreme-Racial-Disparity.pdf

http://racetoequity.net/baseline-report-state-racial-disparities-dane-county/