Wisconsin's underwater daredevil

PLUS winter ranked, WI parks top 20, and Milkweed

In partnership with

Mornin’ and our fondest goodbye to the boat that was finally towed away after being abandoned on Beer Can Island. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly, the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

This week’s weekly:

❄️ DNR ranks Wisconsin’s 24-25 winter

🏆 Milwaukee/Madison parks rank top 20 across nation

🌼 Milkweed named ‘Plant Species of the Year’

🤿 STORY OF THE WEEK: The Wild, Record-Breaking Life of Wisconsin’s Underwater Daredevil

❄️ DNR ranks Wisconsin’s 24-25 winter LINK

  • Wisconsin’s Winter 2024–25 registered as mild on the DNR’s Winter Severity Index, with an average score of 32, indicating low snow depth and relatively warm temperatures across the season.

  • The mild winter contributed to high deer survival rates, prompting the DNR to consider increased antlerless harvest quotas for the 2025 hunting season to manage growing populations.

  • Values less than 50 are considered mild. zooming out, the WSI of 10 in 2023-24 and makes five mild and five moderate winters over the last 10 years.

🏆 Milwaukee/Madison parks rank top 20 across nation LINK

  • Milwaukee and Madison parks cracked the top 20 nationwide, with walkable green space, splash pads, and dog parks earning them serious street (and trail) cred.

  • Equity’s still a work in progress—low-income and majority nonwhite neighborhoods in both cities have far less park space per person than their more affluent, whiter counterparts.

  • Despite budget gaps and room to grow, parks remain the great political unifier—turns out both Harris and Trump voters agree: fresh air and a good picnic table are hard to beat.

 🌼 Milkweed named ‘Plant Species of the Year’ LINK

  • Milkweed just got crowned Wisconsin’s “Plant of the Year”—not for its looks, but because it’s the exclusive nursery and caterer for monarch butterflies.

  • With monarch populations still down 80%, experts say planting milkweed is the easiest way to help—whether you’ve got a shady yard, a sunny patch, or just a decent flowerpot.

  • Communities like Elm Grove are going all-in, with over 300 milkweed-friendly homes already mapped and a mission to turn yards into butterfly havens, one silky seed pod at a time.

SUPPORT THE WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY - Please give our sponsor a click!

Find out why 1M+ professionals read Superhuman AI daily.

In 2 years you will be working for AI

Or an AI will be working for you

Here's how you can future-proof yourself:

  1. Join the Superhuman AI newsletter – read by 1M+ people at top companies

  2. Master AI tools, tutorials, and news in just 3 minutes a day

  3. Become 10X more productive using AI

Join 1,000,000+ pros at companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon that are using AI to get ahead.

🤿 STORY OF THE WEEK: The Wild, Record-Breaking Life of Wisconsin’s Underwater Daredevil

Move over, Jacques Cousteau—Milwaukee’s Max Gene Nohl was exploring the deep before it was cool, shattering records, inventing diving tech, and broadcasting live from 420 feet under Lake Michigan... all while calling Wisconsin home. To read the rest of the story, sign up for the Wiscampsin Membership.

For $1.84/month you’ll get full access to Wiscampsin: 3 shorts, meme, Story + Trip of the Week, and poll.

Not ready to sign up? We created a free trial below so you can read the full story—no credit card required, no strings attached. Give it a go!

After signing up you will be able to read the full Wiscampsin Weekly on our website.

WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY POLL

Kayak dominated with 70% of the votes in last weeks poll of preferred paddle vessel: Canoe vs Kayak

Have you seen the aurora borealis "Northern Lights" on while on Wisconsin soil?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

MEME OF THE WEEK 😂

A review from the trail… Let’s put it up to a vote - if you think we eliminate the memes, write it in the reviews below!

Well, how'd we do this week?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Reply

or to participate.