Stories you might have missed from across Wisconsin.
Oshkosh: Robotics team qualifies for state tournament…again.
Nine students are making robotics synonymous with Oshkosh. Robotics team Baksteen Valken will be competing for the FIRST LEGO League Wisconsin Championship again after qualifying for the Jan. 19 state tournament in Waukesha. FIRST LEGO League is a global program that inspires youth to explore STEM through hands-on activities and competitions. The team secured their spot at the state tournament after impressive showings at the Oak Creek Sectional Tournament and the Regional Tournament at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin. team coach Amy Hardy told the Oshkosh Northwestern, “They’re just super excited to have qualified for state because they’re nine bids from Wisconsin to move onto international competition, so they’re hoping to do well enough to get one of those bids.” It’s the 10th time that Baksteen Valken, which is Dutch for Brick Falcon, qualified for the FIRST LEGO League Wisconsin Championship following last January’s tournament where the team earned a Robot Design award and placed fourth in the robot game. Teams are made up of students from fourth to eighth grades, FIRST LEGO League challenge squads are required to build autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions and challenges. Full Story
Pepin: 100 years after its creation, national Mississippi River refuge facing old and new challenges.
Old Man River, he keeps on rollin’, but not without a little help. A national effort to protect the river in the 1920s came in response to the threat of development, as some residents looked to drain backwater areas to create more farmland. The effort resulted in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge which celebrated 100 years in 2024.The refuge covers much of Wisconsin’s portion of the Mississippi River, starting just south of Lake Pepin and extending past Wisconsin’s southern border to Rock Island, Illinois. The original threats to the river are still valid today. Refuge manager Sabrina Chandler told WPR, “We’ve seen compounded threats from development in those surrounding land uses, with the increase in wetland tiling and the increase in hard surfaces within the watershed. That increases the runoff into the river and the refuge, and it has some negative impacts associated with that.” Her team also faces continued challenges from industrial transportation on the river, with the mooring of barges constantly causing erosion along the shorelines. As restoration and management needs increase, funding for the refuge from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken a hit in recent years. The refuge has benefited from funding awarded by Congress through the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program and through the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago. Full Story
Marshfield: Dr. Dolly Paw-ton helps patients at Children’s Hospital.
Dogs are a constant source of companionship and comfort. That’s proving true at the Marshfield Children’s hospital where a furry “physician” is helping patients in a variety of ways. Doctor Dolly Paw-ton is helping patients through their procedures, calming anxiety, working through physical therapy and sharing smiles and tail wags. Dolly is a specially educated facility dog who arrived at Marshfield Children’s Hospital in November and has spent the last several weeks helping her Child Life handlers work with pediatric patients. McKenzie Tischauser, a Child Life specialist at Marshfield Children’s Hospital, told the Wausau Daily Herald that Dolly helps Marshfield Children’s Hospital patients play fetch or play house, or even lets them paint her nails when they need to work through physical therapy. Marshfield Children’s Hospital is the second children’s hospital in Wisconsin to have a facility dog. The program is fully-funded by donors through the Children’s Miracle Network and helps provide support and education for children and their families at the hospital. Pet Supply Plus in Marshfield is also donating weekly grooming and bath services and additional in-kind donations for special events. Full Story
