Stories you might have missed form across Wisconsin.
Peshtigo: Sea lamprey treatment in Peshtigo River aims to preserve fish.
Vampire fish sounds like a hybrid Halloween costume but it is another name for Sea Lamprey. The earned this horrific moniker because they suck on the sides of other fish, removing the fluid from healthy fish and killing them. It’s no wonder then that the US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to control their spread. That’s why the USFWS visited the Peshtigo and Oconto Rivers this month. According to the Peshtigo Times, agency workers applied a chemical treatment to kill Sea Lamprey larvae and prevent the invasive species from taking over Lake Michigan. Some people were shocked that the agency used poison. “We were doing a Sea Lamprey treatment. We typically do that every three to four years,” said Chris Gagnon, supervisory fish biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Marquette, Michigan. “We try to keep the Sea Lamprey levels low so all of the Great Lakes fish can be healthy,” he said. Some experts say the poison shouldn’t affect other fish because Sea lamprey can’t metabolize the compound like other fish can. Have they tried garlic and a wooden stake? Full Story
Pulaski: New Packers Polka has Pulaski roots.
What do you get when you mix a guy from Connecticut, a woman from Pulaski and the Green Bay Packers? Did you guess an entirely new polka that is perfect for Sunday tailgates? That’s exactly what happened. Pulaski native Leala Cyr and her husband Dan Jachym are the creative minds behind “Green Bay Baby”. The couple met in New York ten years ago. At that point, Dan had never been to Wisconsin, but started tagging along when Leala would visit. he was struck by how much the Packers meant to her family and all of Green Bay. Leala told the Daily Herald, “One of the first things he noticed was you could be there on a random Tuesday and think it’s a game day, because everybody is just wearing Packers stuff all the time.” He also couldn’t get over all the things that were unique to Wisconsin culture. “He was just like, ‘How can there be so many specific things you can only get here?’ It was like one after the other. Let’s listen to some polka. Polka?’” Cyr said. “He kept joking he was going to make a song about it.” Jachym worked all kinds of Wisconsin goodies into the lyrics, all while making it an ode to his wife. That’s why he called it “Green Bay Baby.” Full Story
Milwaukee: Lakefront Brewery Celebrates National Cheese Curd Day :
Whether you enjoy the squeak of a fresh cheese curd or the hot fried deliciousness of fried curds, Wisconsinites can all agree that curds rule. The country is starting to get in on the act as well. National Cheese Curd day is October 15 and Lakefront Brewery is is planning to celebrate in style. For the 7th anniversary of the dairy based holiday, Lakefront will be hosting events like a cheese curd pulling contest, where teams of two sign up to pick a stretchy curd, line up with the competition, and see who can pull the curds the farthest apart without the cheese string breaking, and unique cheese curd flavors. Lakefront is serving popular Thursday Curdsday flavors (its Thursday dinner special of unique cheese curd flavors) like chicken fried, General Tso, and chocolate chip cookie dough cheese curds. It also will serve its classic beer battered cheese curds with garlic ranch dipping sauce. Guests can order all three specialty flavors for a $3 discount. Festivities kick off at 11:00am on the 15th. Full Story