Wisconsin

'GOLD' explores misogyny, bodily autonomy in a rural Wisconsin exotic club

Published

9 months ago

March 27, 2025

'GOLD' explores misogyny, bodily autonomy in a rural Wisconsin exotic club

The Gold Nugget was the first exotic dance club filmmaker Paige McKenna had ever visited.

“I was extremely uncomfortable,” she told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “I remember having an overwhelming sense of anger for the men that were in there. I felt very protective of the women on stage. But I also came up with opinions of the women before I even talked to them or got to know them.”

McKenna, confronted with her own snap judgement about the women dancing on stage, decided to break down and explore these feelings in what would become her second documentary, “GOLD.”

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The film focuses on the Gold Nugget in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin, and follows five dancers with ties to the club, including its owner Miss Dusty.

Former exotic dancer Miss Dusty owns the Gold Nugget, an exotic dance club in rural Spread Eagle, Wisconsin. Photo courtesy of Paige McKenna

“I wanted to learn more about that world,” McKenna said. “I was very curious about women in this industry and why they choose the paths they do.”

McKenna and Miss Dusty, who requested to be referred to by the stage name she used when she was a dancer, both spoke to “Wisconsin Today” about stereotypes regarding exotic dancers, the making of the film and what they hope audiences take from it.

When McKenna first approached Miss Dusty with her idea for the documentary, Miss Dusty was reluctant to participate.

“She was very reserved, and I don’t blame her at all,” McKenna said. “I remember we had lunch together, and [Dusty] didn’t look me in the eye the whole time. At that moment, I thought, ‘Well, this is going to be a little more difficult than I had expected.’”

Miss Dusty said she hesitated to share her story on camera because she felt she didn’t do anything special. But while McKenna was interviewing the dancers at the club, she said it became clear Miss Dusty ran her club differently than others — by empowering her dancers, demanding respect from patrons and encouraging the dancers’ sobriety.

Five people pose in front of a gold foil backdrop. Four wear festive costumes with headpieces, while one wears casual clothing. — Director Paige McKenna said she became close with the women she interviewed for her 2024 documentary, “GOLD.” Pictured from left: Aubrey, Paige McKenna, Sylvia, Gypsy and Allison. *Photo courtesy of Paige McKenna*

Perhaps most importantly, Miss Dusty wants all the women that work for her to take what they need from their job at the Gold Nugget. And then leave.

In the film, Miss Dusty says she wants the women who work there to be financially and emotionally independent.

“I tell the girls, ‘Make something of yourself. Be something. While you’re young and with no kids, go ahead. Have fun. Do what you gotta do,” she says. “But make plans for the future. Whatever it is you desire. But work at something better than what you have.’”

Because of her own experience as an exotic dancer in the ‘90s, Miss Dusty said she understands why some women do this work.

“When I first started, I had very low self esteem,” Miss Dusty told “Wisconsin Today.” “I didn’t think I was much of anything. But as time went on, I discovered a power I didn’t know I could have. In my [first] marriage, whatever he said, I did. So to be able to walk away from that control was very empowering. I was able to get in the habit of telling men, ‘no.’”

In the film, a dancer named Aubrey notes that while many of the women have experienced trauma or have a painful past, that isn’t always the case. However, she says, all of the dancers experience some judgement or contempt, often from strangers both during and outside of work.

“Let’s say hypothetically, these girls have gone through so much trauma. Is that really what you’re going to do to somebody who’s gone through so much trauma — beat them down? What kind of person are you to talk down to somebody who’s gone through so much,” Aubrey says in the film.

McKenna told “Wisconsin Today” she was asked several times by people who learned about “GOLD” if she was a dancer, too.

Person standing in front of a building with a neon sign that reads Exotic Dancers. — Paige McKenna photographs the outside of the Gold Nugget in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin while in production of her 2024 documentary, “GOLD.” *Photo courtesy of Paige McKenna*

“Nobody asked if I was a nun when I did my last film, which was about a nun,” McKenna said, referring to “Seeds of Life,” her debut film, which was accepted by 14 different film festivals and won several awards in the U.S. and Canada.

Getting into film festivals with “GOLD,” McKenna said, has been “much more difficult.”

“[Maybe] people are still really fearful about talking about the sex industry,” McKenna told “Wisconsin Today. “I’m not sure what the reason is for our many rejections so far, but we really have gotten a lot. We actually got disqualified from a film festival that had invited us to apply because of the [partial] nudity. Yes, it can be uncomfortable at times throughout the film, but a lot of the issues that are dealt with are issues that any of us can go through.”

For McKenna, the point of the film is to remind audiences that exotic dancers do not deserve judgement, abuse or disrespect, and to encourage people to reflect internally on the real reasons they might look down on someone they don’t know.

“I have so much to learn,” McKenna said. “I have so many of my own judgments to take out of my head. It’s not fair to the women for me to come up with my own story of how their life has gone. Who am I to do that?”

Regardless of how “GOLD” is received, McKenna values the connections she has made with the film.

“At least I have cultivated the sisterhood with Dusty and with the women. They’ve trusted me to tell their stories, and I can’t think of anything that’s more fulfilling than that,” she said.

The film will be shown twice at this year’s Beloit International Film Festival from March 28 to April 6.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Adds Robert Steeples to 2026 Coaching Staff

Published

6 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Adds Robert Steeples to 2026 Coaching Staff

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has added Robert Steeples to its 2026 coaching staff, head coach Luke Fickell announced on Tuesday. Steeples will serve as cornerbacks coach for the Badgers, moving Paul Haynes to oversee the entire secondary.

“Bringing Robert Steeples to Wisconsin is a great addition to our coaching staff,” Fickell said in a statement. “He has seen the game at every level – Playing professionally, coaching at the high school and collegiate level. Our players and staff will love working with him and we’re excited to get him here.

“With the addition, we will be moving Paul Haynes to a role that will allow him to work with our entire secondary to strengthen our unit.”

Steeples spent the last two seasons at Iowa State as a defensive analyst. Prior to his two seasons with the Cyclones, Steeples coached cornerbacks at LSU from 2022-23. The St. Louis native played collegiately at Missouri and Memphis. He went undrafted in 2013, but spent four seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys.

“Wisconsin’s commitment to excellence and rugged style of play gives me the opportunity to work with the type of student-athletes that can benefit most from my style of coaching,” Steeples said in a statement. “The defensive structure and culture that Coach Fickell and Coach Tressel have implemented complements the guys on the island – the corners. The defensive staff is full of experience, great leaders, but most importantly great human beings – which makes for a fantastic environment for growth. I’m excited to get into the trenches with the guys and do my part. The opportunity ahead is a blessing.”

Steeples will inherit a Wisconsin cornerback room that currently returns two key performers from the 2025 season — redshirt freshman Omillio Agard and true freshman Cairo Skanes.

Steeples is the second off-season hire for the Badgers, joining offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who came over from Arkansas.

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The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and the insider rumblings are already heating up for Wisconsin! There’s not a better time to join the fastest-growing UW team site. New members can sign up and enjoy insider access for just $1!

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape

Published

18 hours ago

December 23, 2025

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Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her sixth-grade classmate to please the fictional horror villain known as Slender Man was ordered back to a state psychiatric hospital Tuesday after she escaped from her group home last month.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge K. Scott Wagner granted a state Department of Health Services request to revoke 23-year-old Morgan Geyser’s release privileges. Geyser told the judge through her attorney, Tony Cotton, last week that she would not fight revocation. Wagner then approved the request during a short hearing.

Cotton didn’t immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier cheered her on. A passing bicyclist discovered Leutner, who barely survived. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.

Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man enough that he would make them his servants and wouldn’t hurt their families. Both of them were eventually committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute — Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25 years.

Weier earned conditional release in 2021. Wagner granted Geyser conditional release this past September despite warnings from state Department of Health Services officials that she couldn’t be trusted.

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Geyser was placed in a Madison group home. Authorities say that on Nov. 22 she cut off her GPS monitor and fled the state with a 43-year-old companion. Police arrested both of them the next day at a truck stop outside Chicago, about 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of Madison.

Geyser’s companion told WKOW-TV that the two of them became friends at church and had been seeing each other daily for the last month. Geyser decided to escape because she was afraid the group home would no longer allow them to see each other, the companion said.

Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

MILWAUKEE – The FBI calls it an online crime against kids – perpetrators convincing kids to send sexual images of themselves and then blackmailing them.

Online crime against kids

The backstory:

The reality is settling in. This will be Brittney Bird’s first Christmas without her son, Bradyn Bohn, since he was born. That is because just nine months ago, the 15-year-old died by suicide, just hours after telling his family good night.

“This winter has been pretty heavy,” Bird said. “This will be a lot of first this year.”

Bird said Bradyn was the kind of kid who would always try to make you launch. The teen had a lot of friends, played sports, did well academically, and had big plans for the future.

“Definitely a kid who we were just so proud of,” Bird said. “Bradyn never struggled with or suffered from mental illness or depression or anything of that nature so immediately we knew, you know something’s wrong.”

Once police went through Bradyn’s phone, she said it came out he was the victim of the cyber crime, sextortion.

What is sextortion?

What we know:

“Sextortion is a form of online child exploitation where a child is coerced by a perpetrator to send compromising images,” said Jesse Crowe from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

This week, the Wisconsin Department of Justice sent out a public service announcement on sextortion.

Officials say suspects often pose as someone else online. While exchanging messages, they convince a child to send images of themselves. Once they have explicit images of the child, they use the photos or videos to blackmail the child into sending even more images, money or ask for sexual favors.

FBI data, change in Wisconsin law

Dig deeper:

The FBI said victims are typically males between the ages of 14 and 17, but any child can be a target.

This crime led to at least 20 suicides between October 2021 and March 2023.

In the months after Bradyn’s death, change would come to Wisconsin. Earlier in December, Gov. Tony Evers signed Bradyn’s Law. It creates a new crime of sexual extortion in Wisconsin. It aims to ensure harsh penalties for those who exploit children online.

“It will bring, hopefully statewide, eventually nationwide attention to where every family is having this conversation with their kids,” Bird told FOX6 News.