Stories you might have missed form across Wisconsin.
Madison: Whooping cough outbreak hits Wisconsin.
There’s another respiratory illness popping up this year and medical professionals are calling it “the tip of the iceberg”. This week public health Madison and Dane County reported an outbreak of pertussis or as it’s more commonly known, whooping cough. At this point the outbreak has affected 43 people over the last eight weeks. The majority of the illnesses happened in teens. Dr, James Conway, a Wisconsin physician who specializes in infectious disease in children told the Wisconsin Examiner “It’s becoming more and more apparent that there’s the beginnings of an outbreak happening.”Wisconsin has logged 226 cases of pertussis this year, up from 51 cases in 2023.Symptoms of the easily spread upper respiratory illness include runny nose, maybe a scratchy throat but after about a week patients develop a persistent cough that lasts for weeks with its signature “whoop” sound. Full Story
Bayfield: Apostle Islands seeking national park status.
It’s about time Wisconsin had a National Park. Thanks to the efforts of several federal lawmakers, that could soon be the case. US Rep Tom Tiffany introduced a bill this week to designate the Apostle Islands off the Bayfield Peninsula as a national Park, upgrading its current designation as a National Lakeshore. A national park designation would draw more people to the islands and highlight the beauty of both the islands and Lake Superior. Tiffany told the Journal Sentinel. “I just think the Apostle Islands fit the bill for a national park. It deserves a designation as a national park because it really is one of the great places, not just in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest, but in all the United States.” This is not an easy task. The Indiana Dunes, which received national park designation in 2019 took decades to earn the title, with the effort starting in 1916. Fingers crossed but don’t hold your breath. Full Story
Appleton: Mile of Music, the annual fest returns.
In 2012, an Appleton marketing executive named Dave Willems had a meeting with local business owners trying to develop a walkable event that compared to the city’s Oktoberfest. Walking down College Avenue, a lightbulb went off…a music festival. He decided to model the fest after South by Southwest where many venues were involved. That idea evolved into Appleton’s Mile of Music, a four day free festival that annually draws 80-100,000 attendees on to a one mile stretch of College Avenue. It has also become a unique destination that many touring artists look forward to. The fest draws independent artists who must sign a contract saying that they’ll only play original music. There are no “headliners” so many performers play more than once over the four day festival. About 200 artists and bands will come to Appleton to play about 700 sets. The fest runs August 1-4. Full Story
