Stories you might have missed from around Wisconsin.
Milwaukee: Indigenous mounds rediscovered at local cemetery.
To say there is a lot of history at Milwaukee’s Forest Home Cemetery would be an understatement. The oldest operating cemetery in Milwaukee is the final resting place for pioneers, industrialists, and beer barons. Under the surface, there is another level of Milwaukee’s history that is thought to stretch back thousands of years. The Journal Sentinel reports that researchers from Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Ho-Chunk Nation have confirmed that two ancient Indigenous mounds were hidden within the cemetery, camouflaged as its characteristic rolling hills. Increase Lapham, the civil engineer who helped transform Milwaukee into a booming city in the mid-1800s, knew the mounds were there when he designed Forest Home. His records indicate that he made sure the mounds were protected. Hundreds of mounds once dotted what is now known as Milwaukee, before being leveled to make way for development. before these two mounds were rediscovered at Forest Home, experts thought the only surviving Indigenous Mound in Milwaukee was in Lake Park. Full Story
Superior: School chief honored.
A good school superintendent is judged on a lot of factors. Graduation rates is a big one. Increased graduation rates in the Superior School District is being credited as part of the reason that Superior Public School’s chief Amy Starzecki was named Superintendent of the Year by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators. Starzecki says her award should be shared with the district’s entire staff. “It was a surprise,” the superintendent told WPR. “I have said many times since this award was announced last week that it’s a direct result of the staff, the principals and the administration. My job as superintendent is to create a vision, but it’s really the work of everybody in our organization that makes that vision a reality.” The graduation rate at Superior High School jumped to 98% currently from 85% in 2018 when Starzecki took the job. She will be given the award at the group’s January meeting in Milwaukee. Full Story
Wisconsin Rapids: Wood County Sheriff’s Office therapy dog turns 1.
Lola is having a birthday. No, not the showgirl from Barry Manilow’s CopaCabana. This Lola is The Wood County Sheriff’s Office therapy dog and she’s turning 1 year old. Friday the department threw Lola a first birthday party. Everyone in the community was invited to attend. Lola’s handler, Lt. Susanna Wagner, told the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, that getting a picture with Lola is very popular with people in the community, so Lola posed for a photo with every person who made a donation to the South Wood County Humane Society at her birthday party. Wagner said the party was a way to show the community that Lola is their dog too. The black Labrador goes to work with Wagner most days. As part of her training, Wagner has made sure Lola has the opportunity to interact with as many people as possible. Lola has started the therapy training, but Wagner isn’t rushing her. In the meantime, Lola seems to instinctively know what to do. Happy Birthday Lola! Full Story
