Wisconsin

‘Bachelorette’ Jenn Tran talks about her time at UW-Madison, from Badger games to working at Eno Vino

Published

6 months ago

June 29, 2024

‘Bachelorette’ Jenn Tran talks about her time at UW-Madison, from Badger games to working at Eno Vino

Years before upcoming “Bachelorette” and former “Bachelor” contestant Jenn Tran was looking for love on TV, there was something else she was trying to find:

A college with “a lot of school spirit.”

She’d find it — in Wisconsin.

“Madison just seemed like the best college town — and it definitely was,” she told the Journal Sentinel in a Zoom interview earlier this week.

Ahead of the premiere of Tran’s season of “The Bachelorette” on ABC — it’s just over a week away! — we took a trip down memory lane with her to her time as a Badger.

From Tran’s favorite hangouts to whether she plans on ever coming back, here’s what she had to say about her former college town:

Badger games, the Terrace and her favorite Madison restaurants

Tran transferred in the middle of her sophomore year to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied molecular biology.

“I really just wanted a school with a lot of school spirit,” she said. “I’m just someone who loves a big community and loves a really good college town.”

With Madison having a “really good sports culture,” Tran tried to make it to as many football and basketball games as she could. And, she was an athlete in her own right, playing club lacrosse.

She reminisced about sitting on the Memorial Union Terrace with a beer, brat or cheese curds. And, taking her paddleboard out on the lake.

“I love to just have a good time,” she said. “There were so many good restaurants there.”

Tran went to Eno Vino Wine Bar and Bistro “all the time,” she said, and worked at its downtown location as a server in 2018. The downtown location, 1 N. Webster St., is on the 10th Floor of the AC Hotel and features breathtaking Capitol views.

Dana Thiel, Tran’s manager at Eno Vino, had never tuned into “The Bachelor” before last season. But, with her former colleague on it, she got into it.

Tran would end up making it into “Bachelor” Joey Graziadei’s top six.

“I felt like (Jenn) was very herself, as in really friendly, just genuinely a nice person,” said Thiel, now the restaurant’s GM. “It was definitely exciting to see that.”

During “The Bachelor” season finale, when it was announced that Tran would be the next “Bachelorette,” Thiel was “super-excited.”

“I definitely hope she finds her person, finds love,” Thiel said.

So, what was Tran like as an employee? No tea here. According to Thiel, she was memorable, reliable, friendly, really outgoing and brought great energy.

“Definitely how she was on the show, where she definitely just brings that positive energy,” Thiel said.

Another one of Tran’s Madison go-tos was The Coopers Tavern, 20 W. Mifflin St. She recalled going there after finals to treat herself to some sliders, cheese curds and crème brûlée.

Being in May 2020, the spring commencement Tran’s senior year was virtual. After moving to Boston, Tran and her gal pals would return to Madison in September 2021 for their in-person graduation celebration.

“It was so much fun to be able to finally graduate and celebrate,” Tran said. “We went to The KK (The Kollege Klub) after and had a really good time.”

A look at what ‘Bachelorette’ Jenn Tran has been up to since her UW-Madison days

Tran has been working toward becoming a physician assistant, but is taking a “little break” from PA school, which is in south Miami. In the words of her favorite artist Taylor Swift, Tran has “a lot going on at the moment.”

“I want to be able to really focus on PA school the best that I can because the end goal is to be a good provider,” Tran said. “I’m just pushing it off until I have a lot more time to dedicate to it.”

Tran is “The Bachelorette’s” first Asian American lead. She was born in New Jersey after her parents and brother immigrated to the United States from Vietnam.

“I never would’ve dreamed of becoming the role model I once needed when I was a kid,” Tran said. “It’s really quite full-circle and surreal.”

Does ‘Bachelorette’ Jenn Tran plan to ever return to Wisconsin?

Yes — just not during the winter.

While she “loves summers in Madison,” she called the winters “brutal.”

Tran wants to make it back sometime during a summer and also for a UW football game.

“It’s in the works,” she said. “It’s definitely in the plans.”

How to watch UW-Madison grad Jenn Tran on ‘The Bachelorette’

“The Bachelorette” Season 21 premiere is at 7 p.m. CT July 8 on ABC. It streams on Hulu the next day.

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Wisconsin

This Tiny Cottage Rental in a Wisconsin State Park Is the Smallest Home Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

This Tiny Cottage Rental in a Wisconsin State Park Is the Smallest Home Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

From his first Great Plains-inspired, Prairie-style buildings to the quiet serenity of Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright defined American architecture during his seven-decade-long career with his innovative designs. Throughout his lifetime, Wright created 1,114 architectural works, 532 of which were actually constructed.

One of the least known — and the most petite among all of his structures — just might offer the most intimate experience for casual visitors and super-fans alike. The Seth Peterson Cottage, located within Mirror Lake State Park, clocks in at just 880 square feet.

And though it may be small, it’s one of the best examples of Wright’s Usonian houses, a style design intended for middle-class families that offered practical, affordable, yet still beautiful homes. But what makes the Seth Peterson Cottage even more unique among Wright’s works is that it was the first — and now one of the few — homes that are available as a vacation rental.

“Serene and energetic, the little cottage perched high above Mirror Lake is muscularly geometric, seeming at once to hug the earth and burst forth from it,” the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation says on its site.

The one-bedroom cottage sits on a wooded hill, flanked by a small wall made of local sandstone, and features some of Wright’s signature trademarks such as picture windows, a cantilevered roof, and a large, centrally located chimney,

“The flagstones used to pave the outside terrace continue inside the building as the cottage floor, manifesting Wright’s philosophy of making little distinction between the outside and inside worlds in which we live,” the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy says on its site.

The home was commissioned by Peterson, who was a huge fan of Wright. He applied to join Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship (an architectural school founded by the architect and his wife, Olgivanna) but was rejected. Then, he tried to commission Wright to build a home for him several times but was also denied. Finally, Peterson sent $1,000 to Wright (who promptly spent the money) as a retainer — and having burned through the cash, Wright had no choice but to accept the commission. Unfortunately, Peterson did not have enough financial reserves to complete the project and even tried to keep construction costs down by doing some of the work himself.

The building was still in progress at the time of Wright’s 1959 death, and Peterson died by suicide shortly before it was completed in 1960. And though the State of Wisconsin bought the property six years later, it sat abandoned for several years. In 1989, local volunteers formed the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy to restore the architectural gem — and to rent it out.

Over the course of its existence, the tiny home has hosted more than 10,000 guests from around the globe. The cottage sleeps two people and is equipped with an additional fold-out couch for another two guests. There’s also a galley kitchen stocked with all the essentials, and, if you prefer to dine al fresco, there’s an outdoor barbecue area with a grill.

The cottage’s quiet location is perfect for taking in the pastoral Wisconsin countryside — after all, Wright hoped that his designs would inspire residents and visitors alike to feel more connected with their natural surroundings. A canoe, paddles, and life preserves are included with the rental, as is a healthy supply of firewood. Popular activities in the area include hiking, biking, boating, fishing, swimming, and golfing. If you visit in the winter, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing opportunities are plentiful.

Cottage rentals go for $325 per night year-round, with an additional $30 handling fee per reservation. There’s a two-night minimum, and reservations can be made through Sand County Vacation Rentals up to two years in advance, though they book up quickly.

But for those who would prefer to simply stop for a visit, the Seth Peterson Cottage is open for tours the first Sunday of every month from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., with the final tour beginning at 3:30 p.m. Tours cost $5 per person, though children 12 and under can get in for free.

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Wisconsin

Chicago tow truck driver killed in Wisconsin hit-and-run, sheriff says

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Chicago tow truck driver killed in Wisconsin hit-and-run, sheriff says

CBS News Chicago

Live

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS) — A Chicago tow truck driver was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Christmas Eve in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The Waukesha Sheriff’s Office said around 6:41 p.m., a tow truck operator was loading a disabled vehicle on the eastbound shoulder of I-94 east of Sawyer Road when they were hit by a blue minivan that left the scene, continuing eastbound I-94 until it exited at Highway C in an unknown direction.

The tow truck driver, later identified as 40-year-old Hussain Farhat, was taken to Aurora Summit, where he died. Farhat was an employee of Yaffo Towing out of Chicago, the office said.

East Bound I-94 from Sawyer Road to Highway C was shut down for the investigation.

The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department received an anonymous tip on Wednesday about a possible suspect vehicle at a residence in the Village of Wales. Based on the tip, the department developed a suspect who owns a vehicle matching the description of the striking vehicle from the crash.

The suspect, a 39-year-old man, turned himself in at the Sheriff’s Department during the investigation, and his vehicle was recovered from the residence. He is being booked at the Waukesha County Jail for hit-and-run causing death.

Investigation into the incident remains ongoing by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the Wisconsin State Patrol.

No additional information was released.

Jeramie Bizzle

Jeramie Bizzle is a web producer for CBS Chicago. Jeramie began working with CBS Chicago as an intern in 2017 and returned as a full-time Web Producer in 2021. He has previously written for the Austin Weekly Newspaper, OakPark.com and Sportskeeda.

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Wisconsin

Better Know A Badger – 2025 four-star lineman Hardy Watts

Published

22 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Better Know A Badger – 2025 four-star lineman Hardy Watts

MADISON, Wis. – It turned out that Luke Fickell had no reason to worry.

The University of Wisconsin head coach was hopeful that the results on the field wouldn’t cause members of his highly ranked third recruiting class to start rethinking their commitment or, worse yet, reopen their decision-making process entirely.

From the time the Badgers’ 2024 season ended without a bowl game for the first time in 23 years to the first day of the early signing period, Wisconsin’s staff only saw one prospect de-commit. Twenty-three kids signed paperwork to join Fickell’s program, a class that ranks 20th in the Rivals.com rankings with 10 four-star recruits from eight different states.

“To see guys not waver,” Fickell said. “That faith and belief that the games and what you see on Saturday isn’t everything. For those guys to hold with us and believe in us … relationships, trust, and belief in this process still win out.”

Adding depth to the offensive line, we look at the signing of Brookline (MA) Dexter’s Hardy Watts and how his addition improves the program.

Stats

Watts worked all over the offensive line during his high school career, but he spent this past season working primarily at right tackle. It was a position that his school needed him to play and the spot where he felt the most comfortable. It benefited him, as Watts earned all-conference recognition.

“I think I improved my chemistry and my ability to work as part of a unit, rather than making plays and flashy blocks,” Watts said. “I was learning the footwork of certain types of blocking and steps. I really refined what was already there and brought it back to working as part of a unit, making sure I am not messing up any assignments, and consistency.”

Recruiting Competition

The 17th commitment in Wisconsin’s 2025 class, Watts committed to the Badgers over a top group that included Clemson and Michigan. Watts also had two dozen offers from Power-Four schools like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

“There were a few schools that never stopped pursuing me,” Watts said. “They were some new schools that came forward with an offer, but I just politely declined, explained to them the situation that I was locked in and wasn’t going anywhere.”