Andy Soth
Andy Soth is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project who grew up in a neighboring state but now loves Wisconsin because it’s like Minnesota without the smugness.
Latest Contributed Stories
November 11, 2021
Father Tony Devoted to his Flock of Prize Chickens
On a rural road in flat, fertile farmland not far from Sturgeon Bay, you may find a large sculpture of a rooster standing by a sign proclaiming the site of ...
October 28, 2021
The Pen Project Gives Voice to Incarcerated Authors and Artists
A La Crosse County government building is an unexpected gallery space, but in a way, the works by current and former inmates hung by The Pen Project are quite appropriate. ...
October 14, 2021
Carriage Classic Evokes Era of Elegant Horse-Drawn Transport
Mark and Julie Dahlberg met through carriage driving and when they started a family, it became a shared passion. “I’m just thrilled that they fell in love with horses and ...
January 10, 2020
Brew City Legends Play Fast-Paced Indoor Version of the World’s Game
Soccer, or more globally, football, has long been the world’s most popular sport. In recent years, the game has been adapted to different settings like beaches and hardwood gymnasiums for ...
December 24, 2019
UW Dairy Animal Welfare Specialist Thankful for the Cows
As a Harvard undergrad studying psychology, Jennifer Van Os never pictured herself working in a Wisconsin dairy barn. “A decade ago, I hadn't even heard of animal welfare science. I ...
December 12, 2019
Mixed Martial Arts Part of American Dream for Young Guatemalan Immigrant
Felipe Martinez Donis tells the story of how he came to the United States. In 2005, Donis' father had taken on a lot of debt to plant crops. A hurricane ...
November 24, 2019
La Crosse Crochet Prodigy Has An International Following Of Craft Enthusiasts
It started with five-year-old Jonah Larson catching the glint of something shiny in a bag of leftover crafts—a crochet hook. “So here is my first ever crochet project I want ...
September 30, 2019
Sauk County Conservationist’s Calling is Improving The Earth
The health of our waters is important. Maintaining high quality water requires getting wet. That's why Sauk County conservationist Serge Koenig is standing in the rushing waters of a cool ...
January 12, 2018
Madison Man Coaches American Ultimate Disc League Team
For Tim DeByl, owning a professional Ultimate Frisbee team was never about anything other than the passion for the sport. DeByl is the owner and head coach of the Madison ...
December 29, 2017
Milwaukee Arts Program Goal: Connect Kids To Arts Through Dance, Music
Flying home from performing at a women’s prison in Texas, Linda Wade envisioned a youth dance program to help her community’s children find an outlet. On the plane, Wade decided ...
December 29, 2017
Artist Creates Portraits Of Beloved Horses And Dogs
Classically-trained artist Marie Fritz Perry is an animal lover and competitive horsewoman. She’s combined interests as an artist specializing in animal portraits and won recognition as a top hunting dog ...
October 27, 2017
La Crosse’s Public Library Has Added Seeds To Its Collection
Roman orator Cicero said, “If you have a garden and library, you have everything you need.” La Crosse librarian and avid gardener Cindy Mischnick wholeheartedly agrees. “When you think about it, ...
October 20, 2017
Wausau Woman Is A Rising Star In The Growing World Of Hmong-language Pop Music
Wausau’s Maa Vue tours the country with her fellow Hmong musicians performing rock, rap and pop to appreciative audiences of young Hmong people who make up a growing fan base. ...
October 20, 2017
Old-Fashioned Service And Repair, The Soul Of Family-Owned Shoe Store
James McDaniel understands he’s living in what he calls a “throwaway society.” But that doesn’t deter him from practicing the disappearing craft of the cobbler at his family’s small business ...
October 20, 2017
Volunteers Run A Local TV Game Show For Patients At Racine Hospital
“Yakety Sax,” perhaps more popularly known as the Benny Hill Show theme, echoes in the halls of Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine. It can only mean one thing. It’s ...
October 6, 2017
Luis and Lupita Montoto Operate Wisconsin’s First Spanish-language Radio Station
It could be said that La Movida is the Montotos and the Montotos are La Movida. The Spanish-language radio station serving the Madison area is owned by local broadcast giant ...June 16, 2017
Old-Fashioned Service And Repair, The Soul Of Family-Owned Shoe Store
James McDaniel understands he’s living in what he calls a “throwaway society.” But that doesn’t deter him from practicing the disappearing craft of the cobbler at his family’s small business ...January 24, 2017
La Crosse’s Public Library Has Added Seeds To Its Collection
Roman orator Cicero said, “If you have a garden and library, you have everything you need.” La Crosse librarian and avid gardener Cindy Mischnick wholeheartedly agrees. “When you think about it, ...
November 17, 2016
Natural and Organic Product Blogger Exposes Greenwashing
The expression “think globally, act locally” goes back a long while. And in today’s highly connected world it’s easier to do both. Jess Brandt’s story proves that local actions can ...
November 17, 2016
Quirky Milwaukee Museum Of Yesteryear Shows Thousands Of Once Everyday Objects
“What’s a Chudnow?” That’s the first question many visitors to the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear ask, jokes curator Steve Daly. But they soon learn about Abe Chudnow and his years ...
November 3, 2016
Design Professor Creates Computer Game That Explores St. Croix River History
A sleepy cabin atop a river bluff seems an unlikely inspiration for a videogame. But it was there as an artist-in-residence for the Science Museum of Minnesota that Dave Beck ...
October 27, 2016
Struggles for Social Justice Inspire Dance Professor’s Works
Peggy Choy grew up in the multicultural haven of Hawaii. But it was in Wisconsin where her identity as an Asian American first took expression through dance. “It was here ...
October 27, 2016
Waukesha Middle Schooler Is A Rising Star In The World Of Pool
For Professor Harold Hill, the fast-talking salesman from the “Music Man” pool may have been a sign of trouble in River City. In the Spring City, more commonly called Waukesha today, ...
October 21, 2016
Recording Engineer Goes Old-School, Capturing Music On Magnetic Tape
Motown got its start in a humble Detroit duplex, so Williamson Magnetic Recording’s surprising location in the basement of Nature’s Bakery Cooperative on Madison’s eclectic Willy Street should be no ...
October 20, 2016
Pete’s Hamburger Stand Has Fed Prairie du Chien For More Than A Century
On warm summer weekends, the scent of onions cooking fills the downtown air of Prairie du Chien. Follow your nose and you’ll likely find hungry customers placing orders for a ...
October 6, 2016
Camera In Hand, Artist’s Model Captures Urban Wildlife
For a self-described “city girl”, Mary Lee Agnew spends a lot of time in nature. As an artist’s model, Agnew commuted at all times of the day to art classes ...
October 6, 2016
Visitors Take Self-Guided Tour Of Downtown La Crosse Using A Cell Phone
In La Crosse they call their downtown: “Historic Downtown.” But a new innovative and interactive tour asks whose history is being told there. The project is called “Hear Here” and as executive ...
September 29, 2016
Boxing Club Invites Youth to “Sweat in Our Gym” Rather Than “Bleed in the Streets”
Can you help reduce urban violence by teaching young people how to fight? Frank Porter, head of Milwaukee’s Ace Boxing Club, thinks so. “If they have negative energy that they ...
July 14, 2016
Wisconsin’s Donated Sewing Machines Empower Women Around The World
Margaret Jankowski sees a common thread between all the services provided by The Sewing Machine Project ... making a difference in the community. As a lifelong sewing enthusiast, Jankowski was ...
December 24, 2015
Pond Hockey Enthusiasts Hit The Ice For Eagle River Tourney
“Hockey at the roots” is how pond hockey players describe their simple, stripped-down version of the game. Four on four compete with no goalies in a huge tournament hosted annually ...
December 24, 2015
Water Runs Through Cancer Survivor’s Life And Art
The white walls of a gallery have always filled artist Caroline Greenwald with a sense of possibility. Over her long career she filled galleries around the world with sculptural forms ...
November 26, 2015
Social Justice Mentor Finds Empowerment Through Words
As Althea René Miller launches into a spoken work poem, you get the sense she’s heading someplace remarkable. And her work as a graduate student specializing in multi-cultural education seems ...
November 19, 2015
Professional Cyclist Competes In Grueling Bicycle Sport
Cyclocross is called the steeplechase of cycling, and professional racer Brian Matter is hooked on it. It's kind of a combination of mountain biking and road racing" the state's leading ...
November 19, 2015
Photographer Captures Beauty Of North Woods Landscape
Jeff Rennicke traveled the globe as a nature writer for magazines like Backpacker, Sierra and National Geographic. But it was the natural beauty of Wisconsin that brought him back home ...
November 12, 2015
Four Generations Of Family Compete In Harness Races
“You better have some butterflies when you go out to the track. Because otherwise you're going to end up hurt or dead,” Mike Magee says with a laugh. Magee is ...
October 22, 2015
Young Actors Perform Shakespeare Plays
In a small church turned theater on Madison’s West side an unusual theater company presents some of Western literature’s greatest works. The Young Shakespeare Players puts on several of the ...
October 8, 2015
Veterinarian Brings World View To Wisconsin Dairy
Mamadou Diallo grew up tending cattle in the West African country of Mali. Today he is a staff veterinarian at a large Dane County dairy. The deep knowledge that comes ...
October 2, 2015
Railroad Motor Cars Transport Nature Lovers To Tiffany Bottoms
“Some people play with trains in their basement. We play with big trains,” says Terry Yust, treasurer of the Chippewa Motor Car Association. Motor Cars run on full gauge track ...March 24, 2015
Artist Creates Portraits Of Beloved Horses And Dogs
Classically-trained artist Marie Fritz Perry is an animal lover and competitive horsewoman. She’s combined interests as an artist specializing in animal portraits and won recognition as a top hunting dog ...
October 14, 2014
Officers And Equines Of The Madison Police Mounted Patrol Work As Partners
It may not be typical police work, but for Mounted Patrol officer and natural hoof care expert Ken Mulry, caring for horse hooves is all part of the job. And ...
July 22, 2014
Woman Recalls First Flight In A Glider And Her Forty Years Of Soaring Since
As a child, Judy Ruprecht dreamt she could fly like a bird As a teenager, she went for a flight in a glider. When the pilot turned over the controls ...
July 15, 2014
Botanical Artist Creates Flora And Fauna Illustrations
Kandis Elliot understands she has an “old-timey” job. Back in the 1800’s scientists relied on artists to illustrate textbooks and wall charts, but in the digital age, much of that ...
May 20, 2014
UW-Madison Researcher Investigates Native Insects As Pollinating Alternatives To Bees
Claudio Gratton has always felt that bees are, well, the “bee’s knees." Now, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has become something of an insect CSI investigator as he follows the ...
May 6, 2014
Woman Turns Love Of Raising Chickens Into A Livelihood
Susan Troller Cosgrove really, really likes chickens. And she operates “Cluck”, Paoli’s one-stop-shop for anything fowl. Whether it’s organic feed or chicken knick-knacks, Susan’s got them - along with an ...
May 6, 2014
Milwaukee High School Student Considered One Of The Top Young Gymnasts
Marvin Kimble travels as an elite gymnast and current member of the United States National Team have taken him far from his home in inner-city Milwaukee. And unconditional support from ...
April 29, 2014
Milwaukee Man Brings Fresh Food Options To The City’s Low-Income Urban Areas
As a former professional basketball player, Will Allen never thought he would trade in his jersey and sneakers for some fertilizer and a rake. But his passion for making fresh ...
April 29, 2014