Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Fair notes: Aloof cows, proud pigs and Original Cream Puffs
I approached a group of young women at the Wisconsin State Fair.
“What can you tell me about Wisconsin dairy?” I asked one, who drew back, startled. I hastily pointed out that her green shirt had, “Ask me about Wisconsin dairy” in big letters across the back. Maybe nobody ever takes them up on the offer.
“California has more cows…” she began — true, with 1.7 million dairy cows, it leads the nation in milk production. Wisconsin is second, and obviously, that shortcoming weighs on folks here. “But Wisconsin cows are happier,” she claimed, explaining that it’s because their sources of feed can be grown locally.
To be honest, the cows did not look happy. They were sprawled on the floor, facing away from the crowd. I would have gone with “aloof.”
We were standing at Dairy Lane on Saturday evening. Not my usual weekend entertainment choice. But my future second daughter-in-law (the older son got married in July) has people in Wisconsin, and wanted to go to the fair with her fiance. My wife and I were invited along so of course we went — how could you not?
The central fair activity is eating. My plan was to hold back, consider my options. But we almost immediately encountered the Milk House, offering $1 cups of milk. How could you not? It would be like going to Rome and skipping the pasta. I was disappointed that all the milk on the menu is flavored — salted caramel, strawberry cheesecake, root beer. “Don’t you have milk-flavored milk?” I asked. No, they did not. We opted for cookies and cream, which turned out to be frothy and delicious. “Damn good milk!” I reported back.
My strategy was to share — a couple bites of my wife’s corn dipped in butter, a quarter of my son’s Dirty Chai Cinnamon Roll Lumpia (a Filipino spring roll). A bite of shepherd’s pie on a bun. A deep-fried cheese curd. A deep fried shrimp. It adds up.
Aloof cows in Dairy Lane at the Wisconsin State Fair Saturday night.
My only selection, other than milk, was a charcoal grilled brat from the Sheboygan Brat Haus. How could you not?
I was keen to visit the animal barns, remembering the solemnity of the farm youth showing off their animals at the Illinois State Fair, how they tend to ignore the expensive fun goings-on around them. We watched a presentation of pigs strutting proudly. At the sheep pens, I recounted what I consider the best question I ever asked in my professional journalism career … here, I can quote from the 2015 column:
“I had never spoken with a sheep farmer before; as we talked, my attention was drawn to a solitary black sheep in a nearby pen.
“‘The black sheep . . .’ I asked, keeping my face arranged in an expression of serious inquiry. ‘Do they pose any particular behavior problems?’
“She smiled. ‘The black sheep do not behave worse,’ she said. ‘They’re actually pretty well-behaved.’”
Speaking of behavior, the fair was mobbed, and despite all the clamor about society ending, people waited patiently in line and generally conducted themselves in a civilized manner. One guy wore a “LIBERALS SUCK” t-shirt, and t-shirts at the vending stalls often expressed sentiments that boil down to, “I’m hot to shoot you.”
But not too many Trump hats. Which could be a sign — maybe his core is starting to feel shame, at long last. Then again, one woman carried several Trump lawn signs across her shoulders, so maybe not.
The Illinois State Fair opens Thursday and runs through Aug. 18. Wisconsin’s, which opened Aug. 1 and runs through Sunday, has several advantages — it’s an hour from Chicago instead of the three-hour drive down to Springfield. It’s also generally about 10 degrees cooler in Milwaukee than in Springfield.
Plus the Wisconsin State Fair has the Original Cream Puff — I’d read about them, but didn’t understand what the fuss was about. I’d only considered cream puffs metaphorically. Apparently there is no choice, my future daughter-in-law informed me, leading us to the vast puffetorium, jammed with dozens of people waiting in line. They were waiting for the day’s specialty flavor — a new feature to honor the puff’s centennial at the fair. We ducked outside to a much shorter line and bought a box of three regular puffs for $14.
My half a cream puff was very fresh and good and … invigorating. The pastry part wasn’t much — on the soggy side — but the big mound of whipped cream was a revelation. If one purpose of culture is to learn new things, I certainly learned a thing or two at the Wisconsin State Fair. California is the dairy capital of the country, and Original Cream Puffs are really, really good.
If you’ve never tried a cream puff nor contemplated ever wanting to try one, you might want to reconsider that on a visit to the Wisconsin State Fair. You kinda have to try one.
Wisconsin
What time, TV channel is Johns Hopkins vs Wisconsin-River Falls game on today? Live stream, preview
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The Division III Championship Semifinals feature the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (12-1) facing off with the Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons (12-1) as they look for a chance to play for a title. Kickoff takes place on Saturday, December 20, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MST) with a live TV broadcast only with ESPN Plus.
• You can watch Johns Hopkins vs. Wisconsin-River Falls football streaming live on ESPN+ (now called ESPN Select) today.
Is Johns Hopkins vs. Wisconsin-River Falls on TV today, or streaming only?
When: Saturday, December 20, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MST).
Where: David Smith Stadium at Ramer Field | River Falls, WI
TV channel: This game is not available on traditional broadcast TV, and is only streaming on ESPN’s live sports streaming platforms available on the ESPN App with one of the “ESPN Select” or “ESPN Unlimited” subscription plans. (This is the streaming service formerly known as ESPN Plus. Here’s a look at the breakdown of ESPN streaming plans, what they cost and include.)
Where to watch streaming live on TV, or online: You can watch a live stream of this game for less than $12 on ESPN Select (It’s just $11.99/month or $119.99/full year subscription, and you can cancel anytime. Just choose the “ESPN Select” plan in the drop down to sign up for the cheapest version of the service.).
- The best deal: If you sign up for ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month), you will get all of the ESPN networks and services, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN+, ESPN on ABC, SEC Network+, ACC Network Now and ESPN3.
- Get promo codes, signup deals, and free bets from our Oregon Betting News home page.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association is speaking out about the U.S. House passing the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act”.
“I’ll be honest, our cattlemen are pretty fed up. I mean, they have been dealing with this issue for a long time, so. I mean just really felt like we are finally making progress here. And that’s really exciting that we can help our producers deal with this issue,” says Brady Zuck, a cow-calf producer and the past president of the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association.
Brady Zuck, one of many livestock producers in Wisconsin, is responding to the U.S. House passing a bill to delist the gray wolf from the “Endangered Species Act”.
The population of gray wolves is increasing, and according to the Wisconsin DNR, from April 2024 to April 2025, there were 70 verified wolf conflicts with livestock.
“That’s what’s been the most frustrating, is that we have producers locally here in northwest Wisconsin or your area by Green Bay that are dealing with this issue, and it’s all controlled in Washington, and we have people in our state that could make those management decisions, but their hands are tied,” says Zuck.
Supporters of the bill say non-lethal methods used to keep gray wolves away, such as strobe lights and music, are only short-term solutions.
“We’re asking, saying hey, if we’re having problems with wolves on farms, we need ways to effectively deal with that, that work,” says Zuck.
The Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance shared a statement from Thursday about the delisting, saying: “We are disgusted by this reckless abandonment of science-based wildlife management. However, our advocates showed up in extraordinary numbers against overwhelming odds, and their voices were heard. This organization and our supporters are not defeated.”
“As cattlemen, we never said we want to eliminate all wolves, we don’t want any wolves, we never said that. But we just need to make sure we have the tools in place that we can, you know, if we have wolves killing calves, we need a way to deal with it, right?” Zuck says.
The bill still has to pass the Senate and reach the president’s desk before changes are made.
Copyright 2025 WBAY. All rights reserved.
LANSING, Iowa (KCRG) – The Black Hawk Bridge, connecting Iowa and Wisconsin over the Mississippi River will come down Friday morning.
The Iowa DOT and Wisconsin DOT are partnering on the demolition, which is set for 9:30 am on Friday. You can watch the demolition live in this article when it happens.
The bridge has been closed since October with plans to construct a new bridge, planned to open in 2027.
The Iowa DOT laid out safety plans for the demolition:
- A zone around the bridge will be blocked off to protect people from debris.
- The Lansing Ferry service will not run from 6:00 p.m. on December 18 to the morning of December 22.
- Highway 26 will be closed from around 8:45 a.m. on December 19 and reopen around 30 minutes after the implosion. Detour signs will be posted.
- The demolition zone will be closed to recreational boat traffic on December 18 and expected to reopen during the night of December 19.
- No trains will run through Lansing for four hours on the morning of December 19.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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