Stories you might have missed from around Wisconsin.
Oshkosh: Congolese refugees in Oshkosh are facing hardships.
The life of a refugee can be hard. Recently the Oshkosh Northwestern spoke to a member of on of two Congolese refugee families in Oshkosh who are feeling the effects of recent changes in immigration policies. The U.S. government indefinitely suspended the U.S, Refugee Admissions Program, issued a stop-work order on all federally funded activities providing refugee resettlement and froze billions of dollars in overseas humanitarian assistance. There was also a brief pause on federal grants that was eventually rescinded two days after it was initially issued last month. Refugees like Zawadi, the woman interviewed, rely heavily on resettlement agencies like Christian humanitarian organization World Relief , which relies heavily on federal grants and funding. According to Regional Director Gail Cornelius, World Relief Wisconsin is serving 125 new immigrants in the Fox Valley region alone, having already helped nearly 350 new residents in 2024. Zawadi’s family is struggling to reunite as her husband remains in a Zimbabwe refugee camp as a result of the suspension of the US Refugee Resettlement Program. She is eligible for Refugee Cash Assistance, but is unsure if recent executive orders will pause the program. Despite the difficulties, the families express gratitude for the kindness of individuals in Oshkosh and the support from local organizations. Full Story
Peshtigo: Fourth wall Films begins production on “Peshtigo: American Firestorm”.
When we talk about catastrophic fires, people remember the great Chicago Fires, or more recently the horrible wildfires in California. Many people forget about the 1871 Peshtigo fires that killed hundreds and burned thousands of acres. Fourth Wall Films is going to try to change that. Fourth Wall Films has partnered with Wisconsin Humanities and the Peshtigo Historical Society to create “Peshtigo: American Firestorm.” Kelly Rundle entered the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. He worked for Columbia Pictures, a sub-unit of Sony Pictures, while his wife, Tammy, worked for the Los Angeles Magazine. After transitioning to film making, the Rundles released their first documentary in 2004. Over the next two decades the Rundle’s directed their area of expertise on the history of the Midwest and Wisconsin, such as “The Amish Incident: Wisconsin vs Yoder” as well as collecting five Mid-America Emmys and other awards and grants. The Rundles aim to not only tell the story of the fires and examine the damages that occurred, but to find the significance of the story today.
“The thing is, we focus on history. History is only meaningful to us if we understand how we are connected to it,” Rundle told the Peshtigo times. “Peshtigo: American Firestorm” will tell a local story to a wider audience by combining “vintage photos, artists renderings, limited re-enactments and archival materials with eye-witness accounts and perspectives from present-day historians and scholars.” Full Story
Springfield: Historic steam locomotive to return to Mid-Continent Railway Museum.
Trains play a huge part in the history of this country. Now the people of Springfield will get the chance to enjoy a large piece of that history. A 1385 steam locomotive is nearing the end of its renovation, and in the coming months, will be readied for its return this year to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in central Sauk County. The renovation took a spectacular, time-consuming and meticulous $3 million effort, including about $1.5 million from the Wagner Foundation. The Chippewa herald reported that if things go according to plan, the steam engine that three times hauled the Great Circus Train from Baraboo to Milwaukee, will once again be pulling passenger cars filled with tourists and train buffs along the museum’s four miles of track by the summer of 2026. The locomotive was built in 1907 by the American Locomotive Co.’s Schenectady Works in New York for the Chicago & North Western Railroad and is considered vital for the future of the museum, which since 2008 has battled two floods, debt and a pandemic. The nonprofit museum’s collection is focused on railroad equipment from between 1885 and 1915, when steam locomotives moved 90% of the nation’s passengers and freight. Full Story
