We invite you to catch up on the impactful work our Extension Iron County educators and staff provide to the community in the form of this monthly newsletter! Below are highlights from each of our program areas.

We are excited to share that registration is open for our two overnight camp programs, Iron County Summer Youth Camp and Iron County Summer Outpost Camp. 

Iron County Summer Youth Camp, which is geared towards youth in grades 3-5, takes place at Trails End Youth Camp in Bruce, WI, July 22-25, 2025. There are currently 13 spaces left for this camp experience so be sure to register early to claim a spot. 

Iron County Outpost Camp, available to youth in grades 6-8, takes place at Lake of the Falls campground in Mercer, WI, July 8-11 and includes biking, hiking, canoeing, and leadership building activities. Outpost Camp registration is full at this time, but feel free to register if you would like to be added to our cancelation list. 

Visit the registration link below for more details! If you have any questions, feel free to contact 4-H Youth Development Educator, Neil Klemme at 715-561-2695 or neil.klemme@wisc.edu. 

The Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club is the go-to club if you have a passion or interest in animals, particularly if you’d like raising market animals to sell at the county fair. Most of the club’s 18 members will raise a wide spectrum of animals including beef cattle, hogs, lambs, broiler chickens, and turkeys throughout the project year with the ultimate goal of selling them in the Iron County Fair’s 4-H livestock auction on Saturday August 2, 2025. Each project length is different, ranging from 3 months-12 months on average. Throughout the year there is a push in “animal education” where club goers will learn to identify meat cuts, participate in market animal trivia, and attend a yearly showmanship clinic where members are able to practice hands on with the animal species of their choice in preparation of the fair.

In addition to the animal side of things, members partake in fundraisers and community service activities. This past year they held meat bingo, organized a Hope Animal Shelter Food/Toy Christmas donation, helped serve food and performed cleanup at the Saxon Harbor Boating Club’s Christmas party, while a few members helped bus tables and serve beverages at the Kimball Turkey feed, washed cars at Cary Mine Market, and setup and cleanup barns at the fairgrounds. A new aspect to club meetings this year has been for each member to do a demonstration or presentation on a topic of their choice so they can work on their public speaking skills. So far this year, members have learned about raising and showing beef cattle, lambs, meat cuts, making fresh squeezed lemonade, how to make edible cookie dough, and a chemical reaction experiment for elephant toothpaste.

Most months the meeting is set for the third Sunday at 9 am at Hurley school though it sometimes is adjusted to other Sundays. Due to the holiday, the club’s next meeting is currently scheduled for Sunday April 27, at 9 am at the school. The next fundraising activity, Meat Bingo, is slated for Saturday April 19 at Sharon’s Coffee Company in Hurley with a 5 pm start time. Money raised goes to livestock barn/fairground improvements and to the Carol Alonen scholarship fund. Alonen, who was the past club leader for many years, passed away in December 2022, she was such an inspirational person and made a huge impact on the lives of many 4-H youth which is how the scholarship came to life. After her passing the club’s adult volunteers have worked together to keep the club pushing forward. Courtney Maslanka and Kendra Thewis are the current co-leaders of the club. Please reach out to one of them or to Neil Klemme if you have any interest in joining the club in the future. We would welcome more members into our animal education group!

Follow along with this busy club by liking their Penokee Range Livestock Club Facebook page!

While attending the April JCEP Conference, 4-H Youth Development Educator, Neil Klemme was awarded the Epsilon Sigma Phi Mid-Career Service Award, which recognizes an experienced Extension professional who has consistently exhibited leadership for over 10 years and less than 20 years. 

Adventurers of the North 4-H Club Meeting
Sunday, April 13 - 1:00 pm
Location: Saxon Community Center

Iron County 4-H Leaders Meeting
Wednesday, April 16 - 5:30 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse

Penokee Range Livestock Club Meat Bingo Fundraiser
Saturday, April 19 - 5:00 pm
Location: Sharon's Coffee Company

Iron County Green Team Meeting
Monday, April 21  - 5:30 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse

Penokee Range Livestock Club Meeting
Sunday, April 27 - 9 am
Hurley School District

Iron County Summer Youth Camp Staff Training
Saturday, June 28 - Sunday, June 29
Trails End Youth Camp

Summer Day Camp offerings will be shared in late May, so be sure to follow the Iron County 4-H Facebook page for program updates. 

A seed necklace is a fun and educational project that helps children learn about plant growth.  Ashland, Bayfield, Iron County FoodWIse Nutrition Educator, Deb Leonard recently introduced this activity to the Hurley Head Start class to teach students how a seed grows.

After reading the book "Oh say can you Seed?" students created their own living necklaces using bean seeds, a wet cotton ball, and a small clear plastic bag. The wet cotton ball provides the moisture needed for the seed to start germinating. Within just four days, the roots begin to grow, allowing students to observe the early stages of plant development. Nutritious garbanzo beans were also sampled by the class. This hands-on experience helps them understand the process before the seed is eventually planted into soil. 🌱

It's a wonderful way to spark curiosity and excitement about gardening! 

If you are interested in doing this activity with your child or grandchild, you can find more information, including video instructions here!

Want to stay up to date on what the Ashland, Bayfield, Iron County FoodWIse team is up to? Be sure to check out their monthly FoodWIse newsletter, designed in partnership with Extension Iron County Office Manager, Rebecca Holm. 

Community Development Educator Joseph Miller has been planning a zine workshop series for Iron County, reading research on various aspects of zine culture, community archiving, and how this mode of creative expression can be used as a community development tool. Before we get into the purpose of the project, let’s identify what a zine is.

There are almost as many definitions for zines as there are zines, but most emphasize their DIY or do-it-yourself nature. A zine, short for magazine, is a small-scale, self-published and self-printed collage of text and/or image. The content typically presents countercultural elements—they gained popularity with punk rock in the 1970s and 80s before rising to prominence with the riot grrrrl movement of the early 1990s, though self-published pamphlets and materials have been in existence much longer.

The greatest strength of zines is their uniqueness and how they represent the viewpoint and expression of their creator, making them a valuable research tool.  One research team working with librarians in Rotterdam writes, “Our experiences with zine-making have shown that this creative and participatory research method allows us to facilitate different kinds of conversations… Visual materials like zines can be suitable for depicting diverse viewpoints while engaging in a more participatory process.” My hypothesis for the workshop series is that folks in Iron County will create a collection of stories and viewpoints as unique as the place we call home, providing a foundational data set to guide community development efforts.  The outcome of the workshop series will be a digitized community zine archive that reflects the values, ideals, and aspirations of Iron County through the eyes, hands, and hearts of its residents and visitors.

Each workshop will feature an artist with ties to the area who will provide creative assistance to workshop participants. These local artists will also work in conjunction with an Iron County organization to create a collaborative zine that explores an issue in the community. Each workshop will feature one of these collaborative zines and participants will be given materials and prompts to engage with the issue if they so choose—zines by nature reject creative limitation!

Stay tuned for an announcement of workshop dates and additional details. If you’d like to get involved, please reach out to Joseph at (715) 561-2695 or joseph.w.miller@wisc.edu.

The City of Hurley has been selected for the second cohort of the Wisconsin REV program! Wisconsin REV utilizes a “grow your own” model that emphasizes improvement to existing businesses and expanding outward rather than merely attracting new business at the risk of displacing existing ones. This statewide Extension program is funded by Wisconsin-based Compeer Financial and provides three years of guaranteed coaching and support. Cohort 2 begins in May 2025.

Now that it is officially spring, we want to remind everyone that Extension Iron County is no longer offering in-house Horticulture services due to recent budget cuts. This includes no longer providing direct support for soil samples and plant and insect diagnostic services, as our Horticulture educator position was also cut. 

We will however continue to share Horticulture recourses that are available, as our website was recently updated to reflect these changes and now shares links to the many resources available to Wisconsin residents. This includes information on soil sample submissions, plant and insect diagnostics, and MORE!

Looking for expert advice on a lawn, landscape, or gardening issue? You can also visit the Wisconsin Horticulture Ask a Gardening Question page to submit a question and a Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener or Extension staff will respond to your inquiry! 

If you have additional questions about these changes or need assistance, feel free to contact Extension Iron County Office Manager, Rebecca Holm at 715-561-2695. 

This month, we're thrilled to shine a spotlight on Rebecca Holm, our dedicated Office Manager! Rebecca is truly the backbone of our office, keeping everything running smoothly and providing invaluable support to our educators and the entire community.

As the first point of contact for visitors, Rebecca's warm smile and helpful demeanor create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone who walks through our doors. She expertly manages the daily operations of our office, ensuring our educators have the resources they need to deliver impactful programs and services to Iron County residents.

Beyond her administrative role, Rebecca manages the Iron County Mobile Food Pantry, a program that addresses food insecurity in our community and her efforts ensure that this essential service reaches those who need it most.

Rebecca also volunteers her time and expertise by serving on the boards of two local non-profit organizations: NICER (Northern Iron County Engaged Residents), working to enhance the quality of life in our northern communities, and the Penokee Rangers Trail Corps, dedicated to the maintenance and enjoyment of our beautiful local trails. Her involvement in these organizations highlights her deep commitment to the well-being and vibrancy of Iron County.

When she's not working or volunteering, Rebecca enjoys family time with her husband and two sons and adventures with her dogs. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys creating pyrography art through her hobby business, Dark Side Pyrography. She also deeply appreciates the natural beauty of our region, finding joy in Lake Superior, hiking, fishing, camping, and skiing.

We're so lucky to have Rebecca on our team!

If you would like to learn more about the Iron County Mobile Food Pantry program or other food security resources available to community members, visit our website! 

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