Rooted Wisconsin

Lindsay Huehns - Art is Dirty, Ceramics, Passion & Brain Surgery - Episode #79

Lindsay Huehns is a Wisconsin-based ceramic artist, entrepreneur, and educator who is passionately making the world a little more beautiful and a little more tactile) through her brand, Art is Dirty, specializing in thoughtful, small-batch pottery and custom ceramic art. In this episode, Brad and Lindsay talk about her path to the arts and business ownership, making art a career, teaching others, her story of having brain surgery, finding her passion, and the sourdough she can't kill. https://www.instagram.com/art_isdirty/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisDirty Big shout out to our sponsors: Epic Mortgage – Your partner in homebuying, empowering communities, and supporting home ownership! https://www.yourepiclender.com/

Lauren Griepentrog - Balancing Goals and Life, Peru, and Adoption Stories - Episode #78

Lauren Griepentrog is the founder of Lauren Mackenzie photography and co-owner of Bridgeview Studios in Green Bay. In this episode, Brad and Lauren discuss her recent trip to Peru and the perspective that travel brings, ancient civilizations, her path from wanting to be a physical therapist to deciding to follow her passion for photography, entrepreneurship, the value of confidence and hard work, support systems, their shared experience of both being adopted, and MUCH more! https://www.laurenmackenziephotography.com/ https://www.bridgeviewstudios.com/ Big shout out to our sponsors: Epic Mortgage – Your partner in homebuying, empowering communities, and supporting home ownership! https://www.yourepiclender.com/

Russ Allen - Stray Voltage, Losing the Farm, EMF, WPS Lawsuit & the NFL - Episode #77

Russ Allen is a lifelong dairy farmer and the author of the memoir, "The Missing Wire". His story is a powerful testament to resilience in the face of unimaginable loss and a David-vs-Goliath legal battle that shook the Wisconsin utility industry. Russ’s life was upended when his cattle began to fall ill and die at an alarming rate (for decades). His search for answers led him to uncover an invisible assailant, stray voltage leaking from the electrical distribution system owned by Wisconsin Public Service. The impact of this "missing wire" extended far beyond his livelihood, manifesting in a series of devastating family tragedies that Russ details in his writing. In this episode, Russ joins us to discuss his years-long fight for justice, "winning" the lawsuit but still losing the farm, the day his lender said "it's over", the landmark jury verdict that finally held the utility company accountable, and his mission to expose the "dirty little secrets" of the industry to protect other farming families. His story is a deeply rooted Wisconsin narrative about the cost of truth and the strength required to stand one’s ground. As a lifelong NFL and Packer fan, Russ also made the connection in the late 2010s between stray current, EMF, and NFL team performance. Maybe there is even more to the "December in Lambeau" advantage that has been talked about for years? A hot button topic at the moment, Russ may have a path to discovery started already. https://www.amazon.com/Missing-Wire-utility-companies-little/dp/1963558154 Big shout out to our sponsors: Epic Mortgage – Your partner in homebuying, empowering communities, and supporting home ownership https://www.yourepiclender.com/

Cameron Teske - Starting a Foundation, Gifts From Loss & Remembering to Live - Episode #76

Cameron Teske is an author, podcaster, storyteller, and founder of the Remember to Live Foundation. Shortly after relocating to Green Bay in 2015, he and his then wife found out they were going to have a child. Soon after that, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, ultimately passing after a two year battle. Out of this tremendously difficult time of life, he realized the value of family trips they were able to take with their son before her passing. This was the inspiration behind founding the Remember to Live Foundation, to provide others in similar situations with experiences through which memories of family members will be formed through and live on in the minds of loved ones. In this episode, Brad and Cameron talk about that very difficult time of life and the inspiration that came of it, the weight of becoming a single father to a then two-year-old, the power of a story, the process of starting the foundation and where it is at now (recently giving away their first trip), his upcoming century bike ride, tattoos and quotes including one of a Northern Wisconsin lake where his late wife now rests, and his unfortunate situation of being a Bears fan (levity). Also, for the record it was tough to make a thumbnail for the episode because we are both major "squinters" when we laugh, and we did plenty of that. https://www.remembertolivefoundation.org/https://www.cameronteske.com/As always, a massive shout out to our sponsors at: Karouser - NA social bevvies delivered to your doorhttps://www.karouser.com/Epic Mortgage – Your partner in homebuying, empowering communities and supporting home ownershiphttps://www.yourepiclender.com/Genuine Lynn – Custom apparel, decorative engravings, and one of a kind pieces where Lynn brings your vision to life!https://genuinelynn.com/

Wes Hodkiewicz - Journalism, Packers, Relationships & Telling the Story - Episode #75

Wes Hodkiewicz is a Senior Writer for the Green Bay Packers and a lifelong Wisconsinite who has spent his career documenting the pulse of Titletown. A 2006 graduate of Bay Port High School and an alumnus of UW-Green Bay, Wes worked his way up from taking calls at the high school sports desk for Gannett to becoming one of the most trusted voices in Wisconsin sports journalism. Before joining the Packers organization in 2016, Wes spent nearly a decade as the Packers beat reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Today, he is a primary contributor to Packers.com, known for his insightful game analysis, his popular "Insider Inbox" column, and his ability to "humanize the player behind the facemask" through long-form storytelling. In this episode, Brad and Wes talk about his career, paying dues and the value of hard work, realizing mistakes are inevitable and growing from them, his passion for telling the story, "working in the toy store" covering the Packers, finding points of connection, the value of the human voice in the face of AI, and, Aaron Rodgers (at Brad's request, obviously). https://www.packers.com/author/wes-hodkiewicz As always, a massive shout out to our sponsors at: Karouser - NA social bevvies delivered to your door https://www.karouser.com/ Epic Mortgage – Your partner in homebuying, empowering communities and supporting home ownership https://www.yourepiclender.com/ Genuine Lynn – Custom apparel, decorative engravings, and one of a kind pieces where Lynn brings your vision to life! https://genuinelynn.com/