University of Wisconsin - Extension

For more information: Michelle Graff, michelle.graff@wpt.org

Christine Sloan Miller, series producer, christine.sloan-miller@wpt.org, (608) 263-7124

This week, In Wisconsin on Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) investigates research that looks at the duration of winter lake ice.

The newsmagazine airs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28. It encores at 12:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 29. The program also airs at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 2 on WMVS-TV in Milwaukee.

Researchers on the University of Wisconsin Limnology team have been tracking the duration of winter lake ice on a number of Wisconsin lakes. Producer Art Hackett reports their findings, including the length of winter ice cover is decreasing between six to eight days per decade. Learn what this could possibly mean in terms of global warming.

Mary Celley, a beekeeper who sells her honey at the Dane County Farmer’s Market, has lately noticed that her bees are mysteriously disappearing. Producer Liz Koerner investigates the nationally recognized phenomenon called “colony collapse disorder.”

Devils Lake is a popular state park for both picnickers and rock climbers. But those unique geographical features also provide a special challenge for the nearby Baraboo Ambulance Service. Producer Andy Soth follows the ambulance service’s rope rescue team, which is specially trained to provide care and get accident victims safely out of difficult terrain.

Finally, Reporter Frederica Freyberg visits the Pulaski school district where a tax exchange program allows senior citizens to work a certain number of hours in return for a break on their property taxes. For the participants, it’s a win-win situation with the chance to help children while receiving a reduction in their property tax bill.

Funding for In Wisconsin is provided, in part, by Alliant Energy, UW–Health/UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center and Animal Dental Center of Milwaukee and Oshkosh.

WPT is a service of the Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/DT, Madison; WPNE-TV/DT, Green Bay; WHRM-TV/DT, Wausau; WLEF-TV/DT, Park Falls; WHLA-TV/DT, La Crosse; and WHWC-TV/DT, Menomonie-Eau Claire.