While Wisconsin’s Northwoods struggled to find winter last year, one area made its own. At Mt. Telemark Village in Cable, winter didn’t stop.

“It was difficult in the Northwoods,” said Ben Popp. “But you know, we were fortunate enough last year, because of our snowmaking and some of this infrastructure, we were able to host all of our events.”

That ability to make winter happen is exactly why the American Birkebeiner Foundation invested in Telemark after the 2017 Birkie was canceled for a lack of snow.

“People would have thought you’re crazy. Northern Wisconsin, you’re going to make snow? But at the end of the day, the events are so important to our local economy and our mission that we decided to make the investment in snow making,” said Popp.

Now, the village is home to trails for skiing, snowshoeing, biking, and an ever-growing lineup of winter events that draw thousands to Cable and Hayward. It’s all powered by an $11 million community-backed project.

“It took 2,500 individual donors that came together to really support the idea of creating outdoor recreation here in northern Wisconsin,” Popp added.

But convincing winter to cooperate is still a strategic operation.

“We need a lot of snow in a lot of different places this year to ensure that we have snow that will last all through March this year. So it’s a lot of pre-planning to determine where should we be putting guns? Where should we making these big piles?” said Kristy Maki.

Telemark’s snow guns fired up last week in time for early season skiing, and the annual Turkey Birkie.

Once January arrives, the calendar doesn’t slow down. Fat bikes camps, classic ski races and women’s clinics all depend on reliable snow.

“Even if we can’t hold races because of the natural snow level, we know that we can put something on here,” said Maki.

Reliability that is crucial not just for athletes but for the economy that surrounds the trails.

“It brings people from the Twin Cities, Wausau, Eau Claire, Chicago,” said Popp. “It really is the centerpiece of our economy.”

As cooler temperatures begin to take hold in the Northwoods, they’ll continue making snow at Mt. Telemark Village, while holding out hope for a nice blanket of the real stuff.

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 23, 2025, results for each game:

• Wisconsin defeated Illinois 27-10, holding the Illini to a season-low point total.
• Outside linebacker Darryl Peterson recorded three sacks, the most by a Badgers player in a single game since 2021.
• Despite the win, Wisconsin’s quarterback was sacked five times and the team incurred a costly personal foul penalty.

MADISON – A look back at Wisconsin’s 27-10 victory over Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Camp Randall Stadium.

Big picture

Playing the nation’s toughest schedule appears to have made the Badgers a tougher team. Wisconsin entered play assured of a second straight sub .500 season and Illinois was ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25, but pretty much from start to finish the Badgers showed they were the better team.  They never trailed and held Illinois to what tied its season-low point total. The Illini’s 298 total yards were also third-lowest behind Indiana (161) and Ohio State (295).

Turning point: Darrion Dupree breaks loose, gives UW a cushion

There was still almost two whole quarters left to play when sophomore Darrion Dupree broke loose for an 84-yard touchdown run that, after the extra point, pushed the Badgers advantage to 17-7.

Besides putting a jolt into the crowd the score gave a Wisconsin team that doesn’t have much room for error a two-score lead. The Badgers went 80 yards for a touchdown on their first possession and closed the half with a field goal, but this was the first point in the night they had control of the game.

Thumbs up: Dupree gets a lot of help on TD run

• It took a lot of blocks to pave the way for Dupree’s 84-yard TD run. Tight end Tucker Ashcraft started things with a block out of the backfield and center Davis Heinzen and guards Joe Brunner and Kerry Kodanko created space up the middle.
• Another gem from Dupree’s run: Receiver Eugene Hilton fooled Illinois cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. into thinking a pass was thrown his way and ran his defender off the play. It’s the main reason there was no one downfield to challenge Dupree at the end of the run.
• Wisconsin fumbled three times but didn’t lose any of them. The biggest recovery was made by Ashcraft, who covered the ball after a 6-yard gain by freshman quarterback Carter Smith on the Badgers’ first drive. That possession ended up going 80 yards for a touchdown.
• Graduate outside linebacker Darryl Peterson finished with three sacks, raising his career-best in that statistic for the second straight week. The last Badgers with three sacks in a game was Nick Herbig in 2021.

Box score | UW schedule | Standings

Thumbs down: UW gets hit with personal fouls, takes unnecessary sacks

• Tyrese Fearbry was hit with a personal foul penalty in the fourth quarter that allowed Illinois to start possession at its 40-yard line.
• Smith was sacked five times, but two of those came when he ran out of bounds on a scramble rather than throwing ball away.

More: Wisconsin’s win over Illinois shows Carter Smith’s growth, Hunter Simmons’ role

Wisconsin football schedule: The Badgers travel to Minnesota in battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Nov. 29

The trophy cases are bare for the Badgers, but they can fix that next Saturday in Minneapolis. Wisconsin has lost three of the last four meetings to the Gophers, including a 24-7 loss last season that guaranteed UW a losing season. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) has lost two straight and three of its last four.