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‘Bucky on Parade’ puts spotlight on UW mascot

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Putting Madison’s love affair with Buckingham U. Badger is on parade, Bucky Badger is everywhere. Or at least everywhere in Madison and Dane County, where 85 six-foot-tall statues are on display.

Local and regional artists transformed blank Buckys into individual works of art that will be on display through September 12.

Bucky on Parade is sponsored by the Madison Area Sports Commission with support from the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau and in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other associated entities.

Have a safe opening weekend

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Saturday is the start of the inland fishing season in Wisconsin, and the Department of Natural Resources wants you to be safe out on the water.

Warden Kyle Drake says you should make sure you’ve checked your boat, your gear and the weather before you head out this weekend. “Don’t risk your life just because it’s opening weekend. You’ve got the whole summer to fish, so if something’s not right either with your boat or with the conditions, don’t risk your life just to go fishing.”

Drake says you should keep fishing and drinking as two separate activities. “My recommendation: if you’re fishing, you’re fishing, and if you want to celebrate afterwards and imbibe some alcoholic beverages make sure you’re back someplace safe and sound before you do that.”

Many lakes in the northwoods still have ice, and Drake says you need to be careful and wear your flotation devices.

That ice on the lakes and cold temperatures in general has also delayed fish stocking in many areas. “Weather conditions haven’t allowed us to stock all the fish we planned by the inland opener but we’re working on it as fast as we can,” says Dave Giehtbrock, fish culture leader. “We are waiting for road limits and ice to go off in the north.”

You can find out more about the opening of fishing season online at the Wisconsin DNR’s fishing regulations page.

Hudson Hot Air Affair takes off early

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Photo: Hot Air Affair

Hot air ballons will fill the skies over Hudson a little earlier than usual this year.

The 29th annual Hudson Hot Air Affair begins tonight, a weekend before its traditional dates. The festival’s Evy Nerbonn says it’s because “some big old football game landed on top of us.”

That game would be the Super Bowl, taking place about 30 miles away in Minneapolis next weekend. All of the hotel space for the Hudson event’s visitors ended up getting scooped up by those planning to attend football’s main event. Organizers are taking it in stride though, and have even incorporated football into this year’s theme – including a football-shaped hot air balloon.

Mass hot air balloon launches are planned for Saturday and Sunday mornings, weather permitting.

KLBB

Campground closure spurred by safety concerns

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More information has been made available about the reason for the temporary closure of a campground in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Information on the closure is posted on the forest website.

In the interest of public safety and reasons outside of the Forest’s control, the Boulder Lake Campground will be closed until further notice.

Oconto County Sheriff Chief Deputy Ed Janke said the safety concerns are related specifically to a local property owner, who has been identified as a potential threat to the safety of people using the campground. Janke said the situation included a use of guns, but were not targeted at the campground.

“The threats were not specific, but one could generalize what the intent of the behaviors were, he said. “Some of those behaviors started to take a turn for the worse.” Janke said too much false information was being spread. “A good deal of speculation out there, ranging from animals to issues in the neighborhood.”

Janke said they will have more information about the plan to reopen the location after court proceedings take place. “We do believe that we have the situation under control, and we will foward that to the Forest service” Janke said.

The Forest Service said reservations already made will be cancelled and refunds generated.

WTAQ

Apostle Islands ice caves not accessible yet

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Despite a return of cold temperatures and the appearance of pack ice, ice conditions on Lake Superior are poor,  and the popular Apostle Islands ice caves remain inaccessible at this time.

The park’s rescue team tested the ice and found that the pack is very weak and jagged pieces make it nearly impossible to walk across and for snowmobiles to navigate in cases of emergency.

Park officials say often this early ice will blow out and be replaced by smoother and higher quality ice, as happened in 2015. Check the official Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Facebook page for updated information on the Ice Caves.

KDAL

Titletown District tubing hill opens in Green Bay

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The tubing hill at Green Bay’s new Titletown District park has opened. A Thursday ribbon-cutting was held for Ariens Hill.

The 46-foot high hill stretches 300 feet from start to finish, with an automated system returning tubes to the top.

Packers President Mark Murphy took the inaugural ride down the hill. “A lot of folks really wanted a tubing hill.  They wanted something to bring people together outside in the winter.  This is really fun to see all of this coming together.”

Ashwaubenon Village President Mary Kardoskee took one of the inaugural rides, noting her experience with the daunting hill. “I have issues with heights, and I did do a practice run.  I encourage everybody to come down the hill.”

‘Grand opening holiday pricing’ will be in effect for an undisclosed amount of time, with a single ride ticket costing $3. No unlimited ride tickets are being offered at this time. Find more information on rules, hours, and prices by clicking here.

WTAQ

Record holiday travel period expected

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If you’re hitting the road for the holidays, expect plenty of company on the roads and in the airports. About 107 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home in the next week, according to projections from AAA.

Nick Jarmusz with AAA Wisconsin says that’s up significantly from last year and is a new record for the Christmas through New Year’s travel period. “We’re about 3.5 percent over last year, which was the previous high,” he says. “We’re continuing to build off of the post-recession growth that we’ve seen as the economy continues to improve.”

Wisconsin is expected to see similar growth, with about two million residents projected to travel during the holidays.

While the vast majority of travelers will head to their destinations in a car, air travel is expected to also be up about four percent this year. Jarmusz says that’s due to lower fares to most of the major cities across the country.

DOT suspends major highway work for Labor Day weekend

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WisDOT

Motorists won’t have to contend with work in construction zones around Wisconsin on this Labor Day weekend. The state Department of Transportation said that while drivers could still encounter some lane restrictions and traffic delays in work zones, travel disruptions should be kept to a minimum.

Work will be suspended until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 5. Peak travel periods on Wisconsin highways are expected to be between noon and 8 p.m. on Friday and Monday.

DOT Safety Director Dave Pabst reminds drivers to obey speed limits, buckle up and not drive impaired or distracted. “Last year a total of 6 people lost their lives than weekend, and we don’t want that to be repeated,” he said.

The state’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative runs through Labor Day. For updated road construction, incident locations and areas where delays are happening, call the DOT at 511, or go online to 511wi.gov.

Big Memorial Day travel weekend begins

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If you’re traveling for the Memorial Day weekend, expect plenty of company on the roads.

Nick Jarmusz with AAA-Wisconsin says it’s expected to be the busiest weekend for Memorial Day travel since 2005. According to a survey by the group, nearly 40 million Americans are expected to take a trip of 50 miles or more during the holiday weekend, with about 766,000 Wisconsinites among them.

Jarmusz says there’s been a steady build back to this point, since the recession ended, with travel numbers consistently increasing in recent years. “It’s really all about consumer confidence and an improved economic outlook for most families,” he says.

While not a factor for most travelers, statewide average gas prices are only up slightly from where they were at this time last year. Jarmusz says some parts of the state might actually be a few cents lower even.

Tourism continues to grow in Wisconsin

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Wisconsin tourism continued to grow for a seventh straight year in 2016, according to a report released by the state Friday.

The study, commissioned by the state Department of Tourism, showed Wisconsin has 108 million visitors last year, who spent $12.3 billion at attractions across the state.

Governor Scott Walker stopped in Madison Friday morning, as part of a statewide tour to tout the new numbers. Overall, the governor said tourism now has a more than $20 billion economic impact in the state, which is up 35 percent since he took office.
Walker said the state has helped boost its numbers by focusing on the fun people can have here. “It’s not a catchy slogan, it’s not a byline…it’s the fact that people have fun and they’re treated well here in the state of Wisconsin,” he said.

Walker also noted that those who depend on tourism for jobs has also seen steady increases in the past six years, with the industry responsible for 193,500 jobs in 2016.