Stories you might have missed form across Wisconsin.
Cudahy: Woman turns tragedy into push to help abuse victims.
Tragedy can crush a person r inspire them to act. When Sherri Fansler’s niece Liz was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in front of their 2 year old son, Sherri made the decision to give her family’s tragedy some meaning. Two days before her niece’s murder, Sherri saw a Facebook post where Liz had announced she had left her boyfriend because things wouldn’t get better and made the statement: “You Are Enough”. After some discussions with a nurse working in a sexual assault center, Sherri decided to provide hygiene items for victims of abuse because the makeshift supplies given out by hospitals were very antiseptic and she wanted victims to know know someone cared about them. Fansler called her effort “You Are Enough” in honor of her niece. When the project started five years ago, the first donation was 25 hygiene bags. Her latest drop off in April was 225 bags. Fansler told the Journal Sentinel that she is making a big push for October which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. So far she has enough supplies for 450 bags. She collects donations of “anything you would use in the shower. Fansler also collects clothes and feminine products the latter mostly went to Sojourner Family Peace Center. Full Story
Westfield: Wisconsin primate sanctuary running out of space.
Nearly 7,200 primates spend their lives in Wisconsin undergoing research according to 2023 figures from the US Department of Agriculture. A fraction of these animals get to retire to a sanctuary after experiments end. Some of those primates retire to Primates Incorporated in Westfield. primates Incorporated is one of about 10 accredited sanctuaries in the United States. They are home to 12 monkeys, some from research labs, others from the exotic pet industry. Unfortunately the 17 acre sanctuary is running out of space. In an effort to build more monkey housing, a medical building and community kitchen, Primates Incorporated is starting a fundraiser in the hope of raising $600,000. If the goal is reached, it would triple the amount of space and allowing the sanctuary to add 30 more monkeys. Primate Incorporated’s executive director told WPR that they have already raised about $228,000 and plan to break ground on some of the smaller projects this fall. She added. “We’re showing that there’s an alternative to euthanasia, that monkeys can be sent to a sanctuary. But funding will need to be set aside for that. It costs $15,000 a month to care for theses monkeys.” Amy Kerwin, the founder of the sanctuary made the decision to start Primates Incorporated after working in a research lab where she cared for 97 rhesus monkeys. Full Story
Green Bay: Goats on the Go clears Green Bay park.
It’s not often that commuters see a herd of goats roaming a public park in Green Bay. That happened recently and caused quite a traffic jam as cars lined the side of the road listening to bleating of the goats. the goats weren’t out for a pleasure stroll and some casual grazing. They were in the park for targeting grazing according to Stephanie Bowers, whose family owns Goats on the Go in Green Bay. Bowers told the Press Gazette, “The biggest challenge is managing invasive species like buckthorn. It leafs out earlier than other plants and is killing our native species. Goats can go where people can’t safely go and they are a vegetation solution people get excited about.” The job in Green Bay required a well trained herd. Bowers had has spent a lot of time with the herd to make this possible. Her goat adventure began with one goat that she thought would be a great 4-H project for her son. Then she and her husband heard about an endangered species, the San Clemente Island Goats. They brought the goats from New York to Wisconsin. Then Bowers discovered Goats on the Go, joined the network and the rest is grazing history. training the goats is a huge undertaking. The goats need to be fence trained and have nutritional wisdom. They also need to range ready. Full Story
Milwaukee: Local content Creator credentialed at the DNC in effort to reach younger voters.
Young voters will play a big part in the November election. In an effort to reach those voters, the Democratic Party adopted a different approach at the DNC by opening it up to content creators. More than 200 content creators were invited to Chicago and credentialed by the DNCC. One of those creators is Madison native, Milwaukee resident and radio hist and columnist Kristin Brey. Brey was credentialed and covered the convention all week. When asked her opinion on the creators program, Bey said: “I think it’s really smart because we know that there is an entire population that now, for better or worse gets their news on Tik Tok or other social media.” During the convention, Brey represented herself and her platform “As Goes Wisconsin” where the content covers state news, politics and culture. Creators had the same opportunities as traditional media to cover the the entire convention and speak with politicians and delegates. Now she’s back doing her boring day job. Full Story
