Stories you might have missed for around Wisconsin.
Plover: State regulators approve largest solar project in Wisconsin history.
Solar power is set to get a huge boost in Wisconsin. State regulators have paved the way for the largest solar energy project in Wisconsin’s history. The Vista Sands Solar Project is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 200,000 homes. It will be built on more than 6,000 acres outside Meehan, in Portage County and will generate more than 1,300 megawatts and feature 300 megawatts of battery storage. Vista Sands will be more than four times the size of the Badger Hollow Solar Farm, currently the biggest solar project online in Wisconsin. The project is expected to cost $2 billion and construction is set to begin in early 2026 and expected to take 2-3 years to complete. WPR reports that no electric utilities in the state are currently attached to the project, but developers say they’ve had early discussions with utilities that could purchase power from the site. The project will create roughly 500 jobs during construction and about 50 permanent jobs. it will also result in more than $6 million in annual utility aid payments to Portage County and the municipalities hosting the site. Full Story
Racine: O&H Danish Bakery releases it’s new limited edition holiday Kringle flavor.
While some children and adults might have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads in this final week before Christmas, some of us are having different dessert-themed dreams. Kringle is a Wisconsin staple and the centerpiece of many holiday breakfasts, office celebrations and late night treats. O&H Danish Bakery in Racine in Oak Creek and Racine has debuted its newest annual holiday kringle flavor for the 2024 Christmas season. The new recipe, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” kringle is “made with the bakery’s signature flaky Danish pastry combined with a warm vanilla filling,” the company says. The pastry is topped with citrus zest and a “sweet vanilla bean” frosting. In a statement quoted by the Journal Sentinel, Peter Oleson, president and fourth-generation co-owner of O&H, said “We are excited to introduce another holiday flavor that will evoke cherished memories of the Christmas season with every bite. Inspired by the magic of the holidays, we look forward to being part of holiday celebrations and festivities at kitchen tables across the country with our beloved seasonal pastries.” The bakery says it makes up to 7,000 kringles each day in December. O&H has been making kringle in the Racine area since 1949. The bakery has five locations. Full Story
Williams Bay: How beer bottles and pickle jars bring colorful light to Yerkes Observatory.
If it’s true that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, then the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay is the recipient of a lot of treasure. One of the prettiest recycling projects on the planet, is on a site well-accustomed to glass. The Yerkes Observatory, constructed in 1897 and considered the birthplace of astrophysics, is taking blue glass from Bud Light Platinum, Grey Goose Vodka and 6 O’clock London Dry Gin, and combined that with clear glass from jars that once held pasta sauce, pickles and jelly. All that glass is used to create the world’s tallest glass Christmas Tree. The glass is loaded into a mobile furnace that burns at 2,000 degrees. Two tablespoons of cobalt oxide powder are added to each 300 pound batch of mixed glass, and the end product is the world’s tallest Christmas tree created with molten strands that glow orange when they are applied to the 31-foot-tall steel frame that slowly turns. When the strands cool, they turn blue and are illuminated by spotlights. The State Journal quoted Jason Mack, the glass artist who designed the tree, created the process for adding molten glass and built the furnace, “There is really nothing like this tree in the world. It’s looking great. The cobalt blue color is a beautiful color.” The Yerkes Observatory, which was owned operated by the University of Chicago until 2018 is home to the world’s largest refracting telescope. Full Story
