The Extra is WXPR’s daily news podcast. Get the news you need to stay informed about your local community – all in six minutes or less. Available weekdays by 1 p.m. Subscribe, listen and support local public radio.
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WXPR Public Radio Podcasts
We turn back the clock with local historians to find out what life in the Northwoods used to be like. This is part of an initiative by WXPR to tell the history and culture of northern Wisconsin.
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On the second Tuesday of every month, we hear from our contributors in the field. Susan Knight and Gretchen Gerrish both work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology at Trout Lake Station. Scott Bowe is the Director of Kemp Natural Resources Station.
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Local features from the Northwoods of Wisconsin. As reported by WXPR 91.7. Catch the entire archive in addition to daily news stories at https://www.wxpr.org/topic/local-features.
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Rhinelander cemetery tours, meeting student needs, possible YMCA partnership
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6:08WXPR News for 10-2-25By John Burton
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In Wisconsin’s story, where tall pines once fed the logging booms, the rivers also carried life from forest to farm. Flowing from its headwaters in Forest County, the Wolf River connects the Northwood’s to central Wisconsin, and gave rise to more than timber, it gave us the Wolf River Apple, a variety that looms larger than the rest, quite literall…
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Deer mice role, fall water safety, Supreme Court race
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6:29WXPR News for 10-01-25By John Burton
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Lyme Disease protection, 7th District race, preventing falls
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6:45WXPR News for 9-30-25By John Burton
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Fall color season, deadly Wausau area crash, theater in Park Falls to close
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5:58WXPR News for 9-29-25By John Burton
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Simpson Electric plans, Planned Parenthood pauses abortion scheduling, monarch migration
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6:53WXPR News for 9-26-25By John Burton
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Tariffs challenge farmers, Tiffany campaign event, invasive Oyster Mushrooms
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5:50WXPR News for 9-25-25By John Burton
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Rhinelander walking, Tiffany runs for Governor, CWD testing
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6:12WXPR News for 9-24-25By John Burton
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Aviation fuel from wood, Vilas County Sheriff retiring, new PFAS concern
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6:15WXPR News for 9-23-25By John Burton
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Wake boat study, Walk to End Alzheimer's results, Apostle Islands park bill
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5:48WXPR News for 9-22-25By John Burton
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Short term rental rules, Walk to End Alzheimer's, collective care for kids
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6:28WXPR News for 9-19-25By Judith Ruiz-Branch/Wisconsin News Connection
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Cranberry prospects, forest roads, dual language signs
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6:35WXPR News for 9-18-25By John Burton
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Food for Kidz event, sentence reduction denied, nurses rally in Ironwood
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5:52WXPR News for 9-17-25By John Burton
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Birthing closure protest, flu vaccines, Haunted Sawmill safety concerns
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6:54WXPR News for 9-16-25By John Burton
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Wisconsin wolf population, missing girl found, Oconto County measles
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5:55WXPR News for 9-15-25By John Burton
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Low wild rice production, Wausau River District leader out of position, cryptocurrency scams
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6:11WXPR News for 9-12-25By John Burton
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Skate park fundraising, lightning caused fires, fall hunting seasons
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6:23WXPR News for 9-11-25By John Burton
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Park Falls hospital upgrades, protecting kids online, juvenile justice disparities
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6:26WXPR News for 9-10-25By John Burton
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The "Spymaster of Los Angeles" and his northern Wisconsin beginnings
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3:22From the iron hills of Hurley, Wisconsin, came a man who waged war not with weapons, but with secrets. Leon Lawrence Lewis, born in Hurley in 1888 to German Jewish immigrants, would one day be called the “spymaster of Los Angeles.”By Kerry Bloedorn
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Preventing suicide, Wood County West Nile Virus, Governor opposes guard deployment
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6:26WXPR News for 9-9-25
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Field Notes: Ruffed Grouse in the Northwoods
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4:29In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses Ruffed Grouse – a hallmark species in the Northwoods.By Scott Bowe
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Oneida County cattle, dealing with PFAS, Taylor County manure spill
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6:14WXPR News for 9-8-25
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PFAS consumption advisory, Ironwood murals, reversing overdoses
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6:52WXPR News for 9-5-25By John Burton
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Rhinelander Paper Company, quietly played a vital role in getting our troops the tools they needed to fight and winBy Kerry Bloedorn
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One of the many wonderful things about summer is the arrival of fresh and tasty local fruits.
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There was a time when Boom Lake in Rhinelander wasn’t just a quiet, scenic waterway, it was a Northwoods’ racetrack.By Kerry Bloedorn
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In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses mosquitoes – a favorite insect of the Northwoods.By Scott Bowe
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Soda Pop and Steel Bars: The Curious History of Tourist Bears in the Northwoods
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3:44It wasn’t all that long ago that seeing a bear in Northern Wisconsin wasn’t just a wilderness encounter. It was a roadside attraction.By Kerry Bloedorn
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While they’re famous among anglers, few people realize that Canadian Nightcrawlers—Lumbricus terrestris—have a fascinating biological story all their own, one that stretches across continents and ecosystems.By Gretchen Gerrish
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What began as a whimsical marketing campaign by the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce transformed into a memorable community celebration of local culture.By Kerry Bloedorn
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Though it may be a nuisance in some situations, tag alder has a magic trick – it can fix nitrogen.By Susan Knight
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Frozen in Time: Northwoods Ice Storm History
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2:02The Northwoods is no stranger to winter weather, and ice storms have historically been among the most destructive. But even by Wisconsin standards, the most recent ice storm that slammed northern Wisconsin March 29th and 30th, 2025 was one for the books.By Kerry Bloedorn
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In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses frost and roads – all part of managing our sustainable natural resources.By Scott Bowe
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In the heart of Wisconsin’s Northwoods, Lelah Starks tilled out a legacy that would shape the potato industry for generations. A woman ahead of her time, Starks became one of the most respected seed potato growers in the country, blending science with practical farming expertise.By Kerry Bloedorn
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‘Fish’ is one of those words, useful in the image it evokes but less reliable as a lineage, clearly defined.By Gretchen Gerrish
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The Doctor is in: Remembering the life of Dr. Warner S. Bump
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4:09Among storied Northwoods doctors are names like Torpy, Pelham-Newcomb, Sheik, and Cline. But one Rhinelander doctor worked diligently to usher in a new age of medicine during his five decades of practice, Dr. Warner S. Bump.By Kerry Bloedorn
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Otters are mustelids and related to other Northwoods mammals including mink and weasels. They were common throughout North America until Europeans overharvested the animals for their warm, dense and beautiful coats.By Susan Knight
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In this episode of Field Notes, Lonnie Parry Gillis takes us on an exploration of the fish of Vilas County, Wisconsin—an area blessed with an astounding 1,300 plus lakes.By Lonnie Parry Gillis
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Looking back at Rhinelander’s winter weather history
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3:37Winter weather records are a fascinating thing to explore, from the longest stretches with snow on the ground to the heaviest snowfalls in a single season or day. Digging into the record books is a chance to relive the power of winter, and today, we’re taking a look at some of Rhinelander’s most memorable winter weather events.…
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In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses producers (plants) and consumers (fungi) in the forest world around us.By Scott Bowe
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Rhinelander Woman’s Club played important role in Women’s voting rights
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2:30On Friday, March 12, 1920, the Rhinelander Woman’s Club gathered at the Teachers Training College in the old Oneida County Courthouse for a special “mock election.” This wasn’t just a simple exercise—it was the final exam for a citizenship class that aimed to prepare local women for their first opportunity to vote in a U.S. Presidential election.…
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Field Notes: Bountiful Blooms in our Water Bodies
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5:59Seasonal blooms are common and often monitored in warm and high nutrient lakes throughout southern Wisconsin, but are less commonly reported in lakes up north. This makes it challenging to track and manage across the 1,000s of regional lakes.By Gretchen Gerrish
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Tony Sarocka, Remembering a Rhinelander Football Standout
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3:56Anton Sarocka, known as Tony, was a standout football player for Rhinelander High School. Born in Port Washington on October 11, 1910, Tony graduated in 1928.By Kerry Bloedorn
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Sunday, September 21st, 1924 is listed on the Wisconsin Watch website as the third worst day of tornadoes in state history.Few single communities were impacted that day as much as Three Lakes, Wisconsin, which suffered the worst tornado in it’s historyBy Kerry Bloedorn
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One of the crops most iconic to our area is ginseng, Panax quinquefolia. Marathon County, just south of Lincoln County is the center of ginseng farming, not just in Wisconsin but it is recognized as the largest source and the best quality of ginseng in the world.By Susan Knight
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In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses thermally modified wood, a chemical free way to preserve wood for outdoor use.By Scott Bowe
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Few people know that the Northwoods was once exposed to intense radiation for scientific research amid fears of nuclear war. Fifty-one years ago, a site near Rhinelander, Wisconsin, was developed to study radiation’s effects on northern forest ecosystems, known as the Enterprise Radiation Forest Project.…
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Whenever talk turns to military tanks in the Northwoods, one story still echoes through the forest: the time a mighty tank was swallowed by the infamous McNaughton Swamp, some 65 years ago.By Kerry Bloedorn
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Salamanders, newts and mudpuppies are amphibians, and they are all salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts or mudpuppies.By Susan Knight
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“Massive Human Bones and Indian Relics Unearthed near Pelican Lake” read a Rhinelander New North newspaper headline on July 28th , 1908. The sensationalist commentary that followed was all the “proof” the unidentified writer needed to confirm that giant people once lived and were buried in the vicinity of Pelican Lake, Wisconsin.…
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