Wisconsin Public Television

Transcript: In Wisconsin, Episode #924

Original Airdate: May 5, 2011

Patty Loew:

Welcome to “In Wisconsin.” I’m Patty Loew. This week, a call to action when severe weather takes our state by storm.

Man:

It was very clear early on. This was going to be a severe storm.

Patty Loew:

15 years after a massive Oakfield tornado, who’s watching the skies? This remote Wisconsin island getaway once entertained the rich and famous.

Randy Holm:

A lot of the people that we recognize from the history books came out here and did business with Chester.

Patty Loew:

And there’s a reason it looks a lot like Iceland. Also, a new idea is taking root across Wisconsin, free fruit for the picking on public land.

Abby Attoun:

Just come in and feel free to, you know, take some fruit anytime they want.

Patty Loew:

Plus, in our Quest environmental reporting project, the impact of climate change on shipping around the great lakes. Those reports next on an all-new “In Wisconsin.”

Announcer:

Major funding for “In Wisconsin” is provided by the people of Alliant Energy, who bring safe, reliable and environmentally friendly energy to keep homes, neighborhoods and life in Wisconsin running smoothly. Alliant Energy offering energy-saving ideas on the web. And Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery Specialists of Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Minneapolis, a veterinary team working with pet owners and family veterinarians, providing care for oral disease and dental problems of small companion animals.

Patty Loew:

This spring has seen extremely violent weather, storms across the southern U.S. and right here in Wisconsin. Every year the National Weather Service issues numerous alerts based on computer models and radar. Weather spotters are the next line of defense, taking action to help determine if a watch becomes a warning. Their goal is to get even more people trained to watch the sky. And as “In Wisconsin” reporter Adam Schrager discovers, they’re getting help from average citizens like a dentist in Lomira.

Cailyn Lloyd:

Did you take an x-ray?

Woman:

Not yet.

Adam Shrager:

The conversation at Doctor Cailyn Lloyds dentist office often turns from problems caused by father time–

Cailyn Lloyd:

Its amazing, isnt it.

Adam Shrager:

–to those caused by mother nature.

Cailyn Lloyd:

That was ten miles from my house. It was just wow. It was an absolute wow moment.

Adam Shrager:

Lloyd didn’t see patients the afternoon of July 18, 1996, but she did see and photograph the last F5 tornado to hit Wisconsin.

Cailyn Lloyd:

We did not know where we were until we saw the sign that said Oakfield. So, oh my god, were in Oakfield. We had no clue.

Adam Shrager:

The damage caused in Fond Du Lac County was extensive, more than $40 million in property loss.

Cailyn Lloyd:

It was very clear early on this was going to be a severe storm.

Adam Shrager:

But as Lloyd would tell you, with no one seriously injured, the fact that lives were not lost, was not an accident.

Cailyn Lloyd:

Sirens went off in Oakfield probably at least five minutes before the tornado got there. You know, I could hear the siren going off here, the tornado is still way over here, and had quite a distance to go. So, whoever was spotting was right on the ball.

Rusty Capella:

So wow, its crowded. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule.

Adam Shrager:

Inside the main branch of the Sun Prairie Library, Rusty Capella hopes to find dozens more Cailyn Lloyds.

Rusty Capella:

We use the spotter reports to help us decide when or when not to issue a tornado warning. Don’t be afraid to feed this information. Don’t think we know exactly what’s happening out there at the ground level. You folks have to tell us. This is in the absence of–

Adam Shrager:

Using Lloyd’s pictures from Oakfield, the National Weather Service meteorologist helps the standing-room only crowd of volunteers understand how to spot a tornado.

Rusty Capella:

You have to see rotation at the cloud base or rotation in a condescension funnel. You also have to have damage occurring at the ground. You may visibly see the damage or you may see chunks of debris, dirt, debris, lofted, and rotated. So that’s your confirmation.

Beverly Brinkmeier:

See, he doesn’t like storms a lot. And I don’t like storms a lot. So Ive always, you know, interested to know what you need to know, what you need to look for.

Adam Shrager:

Beverly Brinkmeier and her 12 year old son, Hunter, figure knowledge can be as powerful as the winds themselves.

Hunter Brinkmeier:

Just how to spot funnel clouds, tornadoes or scary-looking clouds. [ thunder ]

Adam Shrager:

During severe weather season, scary-looking clouds are visible seemingly every day.

Cailyn Lloyd:

You don’t have to be afraid of everything that’s out there.

Adam Shrager:

Figuring out what’s really scary, like many of the images Lloyd’s captured through decades of chasing storms, is essential to saving lives.

1. McLellan:

The important part is the ground truth actually tells you what’s happening. And that can allow the warning system to kick in.

Adam Shrager:

There’s just no substitute for that so-called ground truth.

1. McLellan:

All the technological advances, all the fancy radar only indicates what’s out there, but it doesn’t say this is what’s happening. When people know what they’re looking at, they can inform and help others.

Cory Malles:

Despite the technology and the technology is good, its better than it’s ever been, it still comes down to people.

Adam Shrager:

Cory Malles is the chief meteorologist at WKBT-TV in La Crosse. He says the radar he monitors every day helps him to see inside the clouds, so to speak, but cant see beneath them. He’s finding more and more people wanting and willing to help.

Cory Malles:

For the past probably just couple of years, with the popularity of Facebook or Myspace and Twitter, you’re starting to get access to a larger number of people, not just the trained spotters who are out in the field, but just average people sitting in their living rooms watching it hail or watching heavy rainfall.

Cailyn Lloyd:

From very early age was fascinated by storms, thunder, lightning. I saw a tornado when I was 11 in Neenah.

Adam Shrager:

A lot of the time Cailyn Lloyd’s not spending looking inside a patient’s mouth is spent looking up at the sky. But she doesn’t want to change careers.

Cailyn Lloyd:

I’m not very good at math. And you’d need calculus to become a meteorologist, so wasn’t going to happen.

Adam Shrager:

She’s content to simply do her part to help Wisconsin get through yet another severe weather season.

Cailyn Lloyd:

And so you’re always going to need what they call the ground truth, somebody calling in saying, hey, we see something here and you need to put out a warning immediately.

Patty Loew:

Since 1980, the National Weather Service reports there have been 40 confirmed tornadoes in Dane County, more than in any other county in the state of Wisconsin. Green Lake County has had the most per square mile, with 28 tornadoes in that same time frame. Spring showers bring mayflowers. And thats also a time gardeners get ready for planting. During the world wars many people in this country planted victory gardens. They were growing food in the spirit of supporting the war effort. But quite honestly, they needed the food because times were tough. Today to help people put food on the table, there’s a similar push for free fruit in public places like city parks. It’s an idea that’s taking root in Middleton.

Patty Loew:

2010 marks the beginning of a ground-breaking experiment, the idea is fresh, sweet fruit – free for the picking.

Abby Attoun:

We encourage people from the neighborhood and city to just come in and feel free to, you know, take some fruit anytime they want.

Patty Loew:

Middletons Bock Community Forest and Garden won a national online competition sponsored by Edy’s fruit bars. The prize? A grant to buy 28 fruit trees, a mix of peaches, pears, cherries and apples.

Abby Attoun:

Middleton won the grant in the very first round and we were just absolutely thrilled.

Patty Loew:

The California-based Fruit Tree Planting Foundation partnered on this project. They sent an expert to teach these eager volunteers how to plant and care for the new trees.

Rico Montenegro:

We’re going to bring all the soil back to the tree, so lets take everything that we have here, bring it to the tree. Always the very beginning is making sure that you plant it appropriately and then, you know, I try to be very specific, you know, and very clear to people.

Patty Loew:

Volunteers who lease space in the community garden signed up to take care of the trees too.

Bill Bogenhagen:

I just think it’s a really neat project and it’s something I want to see happen. And the only way that can happen is if people pitch in and do it.

Man:

And then let’s put a good layer of mulch around it.

Woman:

Okay.

Patty Loew:

Middleton wasn’t the only winner in this national contest. The Dungeon-Monroe neighborhood association on Madison’s near west side won a grant too. But what they did with their trees was a first. They got permission to plant them in a city park in an area not set aside for a community garden.

Peter Nause:

I love the idea that we’re right out here on the bike path, right next to the kids. I really think that that’s important, to try to get kids to discover this and maybe put away their play station for a while and help us plant and maybe find some of the joy that most gardeners find.

Patty Loew:

Others have petitioned the city of Madison to plant fruit and nut trees in city parks, but it’s been a hard sell. This group only got a green light because they have liability insurance and a volunteer-based maintenance plan.

Percy Mather:

I’m very sympathetic with their challenge. Like most public sector services, their funds have been cut. They’re told to do more with less. And now along come this group of enthusiastic gardeners and, you know, it may complicate their maintenance.

Patty Loew:

Additional maintenance didn’t stop officials in the smaller town of Madison. They planted fruit trees this spring in Southdale Park.

Gary David:

Fruit are good. Having free fruit is certainly a real plus I think in a park.

Patty Loew:

The town of Madison bought their fruit trees with money from a federal grant for low-income neighborhoods and also put in a community garden.

John Mulee:

Habaneros!

Patty Loew:

John Mulee lives next-door and proposed this planting project to the town. He believes free food on publicly-owned land is increasingly important in low-income neighborhoods.

John Mulee:

There are areas around town that would embrace this. People would embrace it.

Patty Loew:

Even though it may be a few years before the harvest here is bountiful, the movement to plant fruit trees in public parks has clearly taken root in the hearts and hands of these garden volunteers.

Percy Mather:

It’s intrinsically very rewarding, and it’s going to spread and it’s going to keep on happening.

Patty Loew:

An interesting note for those living in or visiting the Madison area. The group Madison Fruits and Nuts has created a Google map that invites anyone who knows where free produce grows to add that information online so others can find it. Currently the list includes apples, service berries, pears, black raspberries and cherries. You can check it out by going to our website, wpt.org, and then clicking on In Wisconsin. So far there are 32 locations listed where you can find free produce in public areas around Madison. There’s another location we want to tell you about this week and it’s described as Wisconsin’s best-kept secret. It centers around the little-known story of an Icelandic immigrant who amassed a small fortune and acquired all the private land on one of Wisconsin’s most remote islands. To this day, Chester Thordarson’s vision and conservation ethic remains the cornerstone of rock island on the very tip of Door County.

Patty Loew:

At the water’s edge, an architectural marvel stands, rising from Lake Michigan like a mighty fortress. It’s a manmade monolith with cavernous catacombs and archways sculpted by hand from rock island dolomite. Nicknamed the jewel house of art and nature, the Viking Hall Boathouse welcomes travelers to Rock Island from distant shores.

Randy Holm:

Good morning. Welcome to Rock Island. We get visitors from all over the world.

Patty Loew:

It’s arched windows and french doors mimics the design of the parliament building in Iceland. This boathouse is the vision of an immigrant from that faraway land who would change the face of this little island in Wisconsin forever. Today it’s where DNR Ranger Randy Holms parks his boat after riding the waves to work.

Randy Holm:

Rock Island is really unique. It’s kind of a jewel.

Paul King:

One comes here to experience the outdoor, the magic of the island.

Patty Loew:

The magic can be seen in places like this natural rock archway leading to a small hidden cave carved in the cliffs.

Paul King:

Being a naturalist on Rock Island is the most wonderful place you could possibly be a naturalist.

Patty Loew:

There’s magic in the trees rising like sentinels from the hillside. This old growth forest hasn’t been touched in thousands of years. And there’s something magical about Wisconsin’s oldest lighthouse anchoring the island’s north shore.

Man:

So this is as far to the northeast in Wisconsin as you can be.

Patty Loew:

The 900-acre island has welcomed people for more than 10,000 years.

Paul King:

And it was often sought after by many different tribes. They all wanted to be here. It’s a great place to live.

Patty Loew:

It’s that greatness that first attracted Chester Thordarson to this island outpost in 1910.

Randy Holm:

Chester bought the island and initially was going to just leave it the way it was. Then he proceeded to start building several buildings in this 30-acre compound.

Patty Loew:

A fenced-in compound, anchored by the stone boathouse, built for boats, but a place for his books. Upstairs, 11,000 rare books have been housed in the boathouse balcony. The collection is so large it took this boat to carry them all from the Thordarson Chicago offices. An avid reader, Chester’s collection grew when he made only $4 a week, with $1 always set aside to buy a book. He amassed a significant collection on botany, natural history and ornithology like these huge color plate portfolios. They’re now housed in secure vaults on the UW campus and are still used for research.

Randy Holm:

And the fact his rare book collection became the basis of the rare book collection at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Patty Loew:

Thordarson was book smart. His electrical prowess with transmitters brought him fame, fortune and the money to acquire all the private land on Rock Island, all on a 7th grade education.

Randy Holm:

But, he’d have people out here from Chicago that were movers and shakers of the world.

Patty Loew:

Like Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson. Thordarson built Thompson his own cabin and when he came to visit Rock Island, Thompson brought along his well-armed entourage.

Randy Holm:

They could take in the beauty of the place and the peace and the quiet of it and work on the problems of the world. The Addissons, Henry Ford, a lot of the people that we recognize from the history books came out here and did business with Chester and enjoyed the resource.

Patty Loew:

When he wasn’t inventing, Thordarson was dreaming big about what he would do next on his island retreat.

Randy Holm:

It should be more like a luxury hotel that was going to be built with a watchtower and it would have had a motor around it. It would have been really spectacular. Of course, had that been built, this would be a resort island rather than a state park.

Patty Loew:

Thordarson also saw the island as a place to experiment in the garden.

Randy Holm:

Chester was an amateur botanist. He was very interested in plants. He brought in hundreds of different kinds of plants.

Patty Loew:

The far East was a favorite destination and influenced the design of this pagoda-style pavilion and the layout of this well-manicured garden.

Randy Holm:

One of the things that struck him were Japanese gardens with the fountains and the paths and the fancy trellises and stuff, so he copied that here on the island.

Patty Loew:

But the political landscape was changing in the 1940s.

Randy Holm:

He was also a patriot, and shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he had no use for the Japanese at all, and he ordered his workers to go out and bulldoze the whole thing.

Patty Loew:

Only the garden gate is still standing. In the mid-60s, the state of Wisconsin bought this property for $170,000 and the decision was made to demolish buildings badly in need of repair.

Randy Holm:

In retrospect, some of those would be nice to have back, some of the log cabins and the old fishing village. But at the time it was a fledgling park and the budget didn’t support it.

Patty Loew:

What remains are the Icelandic-inspired stone structures, including a cabin now home to the park’s administrative office. It’s a place where Randy Holm plans for the land, the buildings and the future of Rock Island.

Randy Holm:

Rock Island probably is always going to remain as it is today. People that come here that visit Rock Island are usually touched by the remoteness, by the beauty, the quiet, where all you hear is the wind and the waves. Without a doubt, people who have come here say, wow, I didn’t know Wisconsin had anything like this.

Patty Loew:

One of the biggest threats to the island habitat is invasive plants. And be forewarned there are fields of poison ivy. Cars and bikes are not allowed on Rock Island. All exploring is done on foot. If you’d like to learn more, just go to wpt.org, then click on In Wisconsin. The Potawatomi lighthouse and some of Chester’s Thordarson’s historic buildings are on the register of historic places. Shipping has always been a way of life around Rock Island and across the great lakes. Water levels play a crucial role and the slightest change can have a large impact on shipping. The current trend on Lake Michigan shows water levels are dropping. Forecasters predict with climate change it’s only going to get worse with higher temperatures and higher rates of evaporation. So as part of our Questenvironmental reporting project, video producer Finn Ryan, one of our partners with the Educational Communications Board, teams up with veteran shipping pilot Randy Hayes to show you the impact in Milwaukee.

Man:

Be at the main entrance in one hour. We got a lot of wind today but we’ll get her done.

Finn Ryan:

Okay. I’m going to keep this angle and just ease up then.

Randy Hayes:

Yeah. Okay.

Randy Hayes:

We’re district three. We cover Lake Huron, Michigan and Superior. There’s pilots on these ships throughout the great lakes. Been a pilot for about 20 years. Today I’m aboard the Isa. We’re discharging cargo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Randy Hayes:

Just keep working on that. If you can’t do it, I’ll check in ahead. Right now I got the engine stopped. Ill check it out at port if I have to. We are carrying high-quality steel to make appliances. On the great lakes it’s mainly steel in and grain back out. Wheat, soybeans, corn, what have you.

Randy Hayes:

Draft is how far below the waterline the ship is. Every extra inch of draft means so many more tons of cargo. And thats where the water levels become crucial. The trend is for lower water levels. There’s no doubt about that. Lower water levels, less shipping, less cargo. Our official season starts April 15 and it ends December 15. Generally speaking, we start somewhat before that. We start late March and go until almost Christmas. What determines that is when the seaway opens. If the shipping season was extended, and conceivably if it gets warm enough, you could run all year, then that would definitely change shipping. We would take the place of a lot of rails and trucking and so on. Thats one thing we tolerate about shipping. Its the most economical and most environmentally friendly way to move cargo. Theres no comparison. Climate change is kind of a double-edged sword. Overall I see it as a minus. It would change this job for sure. [ ship horn blowing ]

Patty Loew:

As if those numbers aren’t staggering enough, take a look at this. The great lakes are connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence Seaway, a major world trade route. It supports 30,000 jobs and $3 billion of business every year. And lower water levels would have a direct consequence on both. But that negative impact could be balanced by another phenomenon of climate change, more ice-free days on the great lakes. That could actually extend the shipping season by one to three months and costs may drop as icebreaking expenses decrease. It would still require more trips to carry the same amount of cargo being shipped today. We invite you to check out our related reports and research at questWisconsin.org. This site showcases our multimedia approach to environmental reporting. Another veteran of “In Wisconsin” is retiring. Next week we’ll showcase the work of reporter Liz Koerner. Here’s a preview of what you’ll see.

Woman:

It was so good, I ate the whole thing.

Liz Koerner:

Many people are passionate about starting their own business but need a helping hand. What ingredients does it take for a successful start-up? This is Liz Koerner in Algoma and I’ll show you what’s cooking. Then, a young Tibetan exile finds a home at the Deer Park Buddhist Center near Madison.

Woman:

You know, its a very community feeling.

Liz Koerner:

And some old farms in Wisconsin are not just falling into ruin.

Man:

I’ve always had a passion for these old barns when I was a kid.

Liz Koerner:

Meet a Baraboo man who’s getting them a new lease on life. They call it the cattle crossing. And it’s like nothing you’ll see anywhere else in Wisconsin.

Man:

Not many people cross cattle our way, that’s for sure.

Liz Koerner:

I’ll tell you about this homemade barge for bovines and one familys spring tradition.

Patty Loew:

Join us for those In Wisconsin reports next Thursday at 7:30 as we salute the career of Liz Koerner, right here on Wisconsin public television. A quick reminder about our interactive blog called “The Producer’s Journal.” It’s updated each weekday by the people who work in front of the cameras and behind-the-scenes here on “In Wisconsin.” We hope you’ll check out “The Producer’s Journal” blog. Just go to wpt.org, then click on “In Wisconsin” and look for this picture. You can read about the reports we’re working on, the people we’ve met and the places we’ve been. And finally this week, we take you to Price County, for a closer look at the Smith Rapids covered bridge. Constructed in 1991, the bridge uses a diamond-shaped truss pattern. The wooden bridge allows you to travel over the south fork of the Flambeau River and is located near Fifield, on a 13-mile loop designated as a Wisconsin rustic road. Enjoy the view and have a great week in Wisconsin.

Announcer:

Major funding for “In Wisconsin” is provided by the people of Alliant Energy, who bring safe, reliable and environmentally friendly energy to keep homes, neighborhoods and life in Wisconsin running smoothly. Alliant Energy offering energy-saving ideas on the web. And Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery Specialist of Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Minneapolis, a veterinary team working with pet owners and family veterinarians, providing care for oral disease and dental problems of small companion animals.