Wisconsin

Women find empowerment and community in central Wisconsin outdoors program

Published

2 months ago

October 22, 2024

Women find empowerment and community in central Wisconsin outdoors program

For more than three decades, the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program in central Wisconsin has been providing participants with the skills and confidence they need to more fully enjoy the outdoors, regardless of past experience, fitness level, age and background.

The program, launched in 1991 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, is part of an international initiative, with workshops held in dozens of U.S. states and in Canada. At its heart is a belief that the outdoors should be accessible to everyone. Women who have never picked up a bow, cast a fishing line or pitched a tent can find themselves part of a supportive and welcoming community of learners, mentors and friends.

Peggy Farrell, director of the local BOW program, has seen firsthand how transformational the experience can be. In an interview with WPR’s Shereen Siewert on “Morning Edition,” Farrell said some women say that the program changed their lives.

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“One gal came to a program and took canoeing because she was specifically afraid of water, after having been involved in a water accident,” Farrell told WPR. “She said that we had really given her something back in her life. It helped her get over that fear and get the confidence to not only do that, but continue doing those activities outside of the program. That is one success story.”

BOW offers a wide range of hands-on workshops and outdoor adventures at locations throughout the region, including UW-Stevens Point’s Treehaven field station. Treehaven hosts a wide variety of programming in environmental and natural resource education throughout the year.

From archery to fishing, birdwatching to kayaking, women from all experience levels can discover new skills or deepen their love of nature. Find a list of upcoming events here.

The following interview was edited for brevity and clarity.

Shereen Siewert: What does it mean to you personally to share your love of the outdoors with so many other women?

Peggy Farrell: It helps me remember the things that I learned when I was first introduced to the outdoors. It’s just really important to me to be able to share what I love with other people, and when I see them get excited, it just kind of brings everything full circle.

SS: How did the program begin and how did you get involved?

PF: It grew out of a conference that was looking at why women were underrepresented in outdoor activities that were traditionally dominated by men, such as hunting and fishing.

After digging around, after trying to identify barriers to women’s participation, a group came up with the idea that education was a barrier. Women had no place to go to learn these things in a safe and welcoming environment. The very first Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop was created and more than 100 women attended. It just took off from there.

SS: Talk about the courses you offer. What’s available?

PF: We do two big weekend-long workshops up at Treehaven Field station, which is sort of halfway between Tomahawk and Rhinelander.

There are over 20 different classes offered at each of those, and women can choose four they want to participate in. The classes are equally divided between fishing and boating, hunting and shooting, and a third category which is anything and everything you can think of to do in the outdoors like photography, wildlife ecology, camping, kayaking and other things.

Sometimes we put hammocks up in trees and people sleep in the trees at night, for example. There’s something for everyone.

SS: How do you choose which subjects to focus on?

PF: Sometimes it’s based on which instructors are available. Sometimes it’s based on the time of year. For instance, we do a winter workshop where we’ve got ice fishing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

It can be dictated by what part of the state we’re in, because we do things like charter fishing on Lake Michigan. We move around the state to try to create opportunities for people who might not be able to drive all the way up north.

SS: What does it feel like to you personally when you see the magic happen, when the light bulb turns on?

PF: It feels like oh, now I remember why I’m doing this. There is a lot that goes into creating these programs and it happens at a computer in an office with lots of emails, lots of forms, lots of phone calls. And that seems like a little bit of an irony under the wooden engraved sign that says, “becoming an outdoors woman,” but that’s the stuff that has to happen to bring it all to fruition.

And then when you get a group of people together to have these first-time experiences and step out of their comfort zone and do cool things, that’s the rewarding part of the whole job. It’s just really cool to see.

SS: How do you ensure that the workshops are accessible and enjoyable for women of all ages and fitness levels?

PF: First of all, we tell them ahead of time if they’re looking at our brochures or our website that we can help you do just about anything, no matter what your physical fitness level is, or your age, or if you have some specific disability. That could be a physical or a mental disability as well, like a fear of something, so we can prepare in advance.

We can talk you through it and find out what you need. We’ve gotten elderly people on long hikes and snowshoe hikes and skiing and rock climbing, and we’ve gotten people who have mobility issues to get out in the field and actually hunt deer. If there’s a way that we can make it happen, we do it.

SS: How do you recruit and train instructors that are right for your program?

PF: Sometimes we have participants who really dig in deep with what they’re learning. They go out and do these things on their own and learn more and come back and say I really want to help with the program. So, participants can become instructors as well.

SS: Over the years that you’ve been involved in this, have you seen a shift in demographics? Are more women participating in these kinds of activities?

PF: I think so, particularly in the hunting world. I didn’t start hunting until I was an adult. I was almost 30. So that was a lot of years ago and it was sort of unusual to see women in blaze orange or in their camouflage clothes at the gas station. I would often get questions like, “Hey, you’re hunting; what are you hunting?” That sort of attention, just because I was a female.

But that doesn’t happen anymore. Maybe it happens to younger people, but I feel like it’s not such an anomaly or curiosity to see women who are out hunting, which is good. This is what we set out to do, to make it like we are all in this together and everyone is welcome.

I think there has been a shift. I think that’s because of educational programs like this one that make it more possible for women to even think about doing these things, to feel like they might want to try it and then to actually get themselves to a place where they can do it and be successful.

If you have an idea about something in central Wisconsin you think we should talk about on “Morning Edition,” send it to us at central@wpr.org.

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Wisconsin

Southeast Wisconsin weather: Flurries and cold temperatures

Published

4 hours ago

January 1, 2025

Press Room

Southeast Wisconsin weather: Flurries and cold temperatures

New Year… but same old January in Wisconsin! Lots of cold is in the forecast not only for this week, but next week too!

Flurries and even some scattered snow showers are possible today, mainly in the morning. Some of those flurries are developing because of the power plant in Portage. A quick dusting of snow will be possible. We likely already saw our high temperature of 32 degrees early this morning, afternoon temperatures will be in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees. Breezy winds from the northwest will bring back wind chills making it feel like the teens.

A weak clipper passes to our south Thursday afternoon bringing a few snow showers south of us towards northern Illinois. We’ll hold on to near-average temperatures for Thursday with highs near 30 degrees before another drop in temperatures arrives for the rest of the week and into the weekend. Highs get stuck in the 20s with lows in the single digits and teens. Wind chills will be single digits Thursday and Friday morning then going below zero for Saturday morning.

We’re still watching that system for Sunday night into Monday. The track of the low continues to sink south, which could leave us just dry and cold. There are some early indications that a lake-effect band could set up south of Milwaukee into Racine and Kenosha with winds turning northeast for a period of time. There’s plenty of time for better details to come.

WEDNESDAY: Snow Shower/Flurries, Mostly CloudyHigh: 32
Wind: WNW 10-20 mph

TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy
Low: 20
Wind: NW 10-15 mph

THURSDAY: Mostly Cloudy, PM Slight Snow Chance South
High: 30

FRIDAY: Mostly Sunny, Breezy
High: 24

SATURDAY: Mostly Sunny
High: 23

SUNDAY: Mostly Cloudy
High: 26

It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin women’s basketball searches for answers after slow start leads to loss to Minnesota

Published

12 hours ago

December 31, 2024

Press Room

Wisconsin women’s basketball searches for answers after slow start leads to loss to Minnesota

MADISON – This game of catch up isn’t working for the Wisconsin women’s basketball team.

For the second straight game, a slow start laid the foundation to a Big Ten loss. Tuesday in a New Year’s Eve late afternoon matinee at the Kohl Center the Badgers didn’t have a basket in the first quarter when they fell behind by as many as 21 points.

The result was an uphill climb for the final 30 minutes and in the end a 59-50 loss to Minnesota.

The recipe for defeat included 14 turnovers, seven in each half. Wisconsin also got out-worked on the boards and continued to struggle to get opportunities from three-point range.

As a result the Badgers (10-4 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten) are searching for answers after getting off to the program’s best 12-game start in 15 years.

“It really starts in practice, everyone coming in hungry,” junior guard Ronnie Porter said. “Our last two games weren’t our best two games. Obviously you’ve seen from the beginning of the season until now a lot has changed and what we were good at we’re not doing now and it’s given us the results we’ve gotten these last two games.”

Wisconsin’s four-game winning streak over the Gophers snapped

Serah Williams, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, finished with 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Porter posted 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Minnesota (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) never trailed. Three Gophers reached double figures including former Kettle Moraine standout Grace Grocholski, a 5-10 sophomore guard who finished with 12 points, went 2 for 5 from three-point range, and grabbed five rebounds.

Minnesota has played without standout Mara Braun (foot) but even without the 6-foot junior guard the Gophers had plenty of size inside and length across its lineup to make it difficult for Wisconsin to move the ball, get off passes cleanly and clean the boards as well as it would like.

“Honestly I think the biggest thing for us is we’ve killed people on the boards. We had four offensive rebounds (today)” Badgers coach Marisa Moseley said. “For us that is not our game. We’ve got to be able to go get second- and third-chance opportunities, getting to the free throw line.

“Starting down 19 points (after one quarter), you’re not going to win many games like that. I’ll take responsibility. We’ve got to have better starts,”

At Indiana, the Badgers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter before an 11-0 run allowed them to cut the lead to four. The Hoosiers led by 19 at the half.

Tuesday Minnesota enjoyed runs of 10 and 13 straight points in the first quarter. Wisconsin settled into the game in the second quarter, but never enough to pull closer than 13 points. The halftime deficit was 17.

UW had a few chances in the fourth quarter to pull to within 10 but the outcome was never in jeopardy down the stretch.

Cutting turnovers, increasing three-pointers key to improving

As Wisconsin tries to get back on track, two areas will be key.

* Turnovers. Williams finished with six to lead the Badgers for the second straight game. Porter had four for the second straight contest.

Williams has been getting smothered in the paint, which has caused her to attempt a lot of passes through traffic.

“I just think I’ve got to be more patient with it and see the thing develop,” she said.

* Three-point shooting: At one point this season the Badgers had a run of four straight games with at least 20 three-point attempts. Thursday marked fourth straight game they didn’t reach that mark.

UW had 12 attempts against Indiana, six less than its season average, and was on track for that total in the first half Tuesday before going 3 for 11 in the second half when they were playing catch up.

“We know how good we are and how good we can be,” Porter said. “These games just show us what we need to work on. We play in one of the best conferences in the country so it’s just about how we respond and be as one while respond.”

Upcoming Big Ten schedule filled with challenges

Porter isn’t kidding about the Big Ten.

Up next is a trip to west coast to face Oregon on Saturday and Washington on Tuesday. After that comes two games against opponents ranked in the USA Today coaches poll – vs. No. 7 Maryland Jan. 11 and No. 9 Ohio State Jan. 16 – before back-to-back road games at Nebraska Jan. 20 and Minnesota Jan. 26.

“You can’t ride that rollar coaster and be so high then get so low,” Moseley said. “We’ve got to find that midpoint to say, how do we dissect this and how do we get better.

“We’ve got three months to figure this thing out. I told them that’s a lot of time and for us to continue to grow. We’ve made big leaps, but we obviously still have a long way to go to really become the team we want to become.”

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Will mail be delivered on New Year’s Day in Wisconsin?

Published

21 hours ago

December 31, 2024

Press Room

Will mail be delivered on New Year’s Day in Wisconsin?

Since New Year’s Day is the first of nearly a dozen federal holidays in 2025, some services — like mail delivery and Milwaukee’s public libraries — won’t be available.

But, despite the closures of some banks and the post office, many local stores will still be open.

Here’s what to know:

Are post offices open on New Year’s Day?

U.S. Postal Service (USPS) post offices will be closed and mail will not be delivered on New Year’s Day, the USPS told USA TODAY. The USPS will resume regular operations on Thursday, Jan. 2.

Are shipping services, like UPS and FedEx, available on New Year’s Day?

According to the UPS website, pickup and delivery services will not be available on New Year’s Day and store locations may also be closed.

FedEx pickup and delivery services will also be unavailable and locations will also be closed, according to the company’s website.

Are banks open on New Year’s Day?

Branches of Capital One, Bank of America, PNC, Truist and CitiBank, among others, will be closed, the banks confirmed to USA TODAY.

Are federal and local government offices open on New Year’s Day?

Since New Year’s Day is a federal holiday, federal offices will be closed, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Wisconsin state government and Milwaukee city offices will also be closed.