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.

Join us in welcoming our 2026 AmeriCorps Member, Ashley Basso, who will be joining the summer 4-H program team as an AmeriCorps member in early June.

She will earn a living allowance and college tuition reimbursement for her service. Ashley will build on the wonderful foundation laid by former FoodWIse Educator Deborah Leonard, working with youth who attend the Hurley School’s Summer Kid’s Club program and providing education in the Hurley School Garden.

Ashley’s work will also complement the 4-H summer activities being offered by our Summer Assistants, Serena Tauer and Eva Krall.

This year we are recognizing the accomplishments of four 4-H seniors who are incredible examples of the impact that the 4-H program can have on young people

Braeden Klemme has been an active member of the Iron County Green Team since he was a Cloverbud at the age of 6. He has served as the president of the club for 6 years and has attended state and national travel experiences, taking advantage of all that 4-H has to offer our young people. He has been an Iron County Summer Camp staff member for five years and has served as a role model for youth in his cabin and a leader among his peers at camp. He participated in the SISU Endurance Team XC Ski Club and has worked to help organize the dairy booth at the fair, taking on extra shifts when needed to make it work smoothly.

Nick Walesewicz is a leader in his club serving as the president of the Penokee Range Livestock Club and a great example of 4-H in the community. He represents the program positively every time he is given the opportunity to share his 4-H experience. He works with his club leaders to make sure the club meetings are fun and educational and his social media posts provide members with additional learning between meetings. He has allowed other youth to raise animals on his farm and serves as a mentor to the members who raise animals there.

Taylor Hitter and Peyton Maslanka have both shown incredible growth throughout their 4-H experience, as members of the Penokee Range Livestock Club. It is a pleasure to see youth in the program gain leadership skills, communication skills and build confidence in their own abilities like I have seen in both young ladies over the years. It was clear during their scholarship interviews that they are proud 4-Hers and I am proud of them both.

Best wishes to you all!

The Iron County 4-H Green Team is officially leading by example! Members recently rolled up their sleeves for their annual cleanup session along their 5 mile Adopt-A-Highway stretch of County C, situated near the scenic Gile Flowage. It is truly inspiring to see these young leaders taking such an active role in keeping Iron County clean and green—a wonderful display of community spirit and environmental stewardship.

The group was so focused on the task at hand and worked so diligently to clear the area that they didn’t even have a spare moment to snap a photo. While there may not be a group picture to share, the pristine roadside serves as a clear testament to their hard work. Iron County is lucky to have such a dedicated crew looking out for its natural beauty!

The Adventurers of the North 4-H Club tried their hands at macrame during their April meeting. Members dove into a hands-on workshop to learn the art of creative knotting, working with patience and precision. 

As you can see from their beautiful finished projects below, everyone successfully crafted their own feathered wall hangings, complete with custom bead accents. 

Luke Juoni recently led the Adventurers of the North 4-H Club in a hands-on workshop on the art of fly tying.

From mastering the vise to selecting the perfect feathers, Luke shared his expertise to help fellow members craft their own custom flies. It was a great day of peer-to-peer teaching and "Learning by Doing!"

Nice work, Luke! We’ll see you all on the water.

Looking to get your car shining while supporting a great local cause? The Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club is hosting a Car Wash & Bake Sale fundraiser. Stop by to get your vehicle washed by our hard-working club members and grab some delicious, homemade baked goods while you wait.

All proceeds go directly toward much-needed fairground improvements to help make this year’s fair the best one yet for our youth and community.

Join the Penokee Range Livestock Club on Saturday, June 13 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm at Cary Mine Market. Hope to see you there!

Members of the Penokee Range Livestock Club are working hard to prepare their animals for the upcoming fair.

The dedication these young handlers pour into their projects is evident, and fairgoers can look forward to seeing the whole club showcase their hard work soon.

Be sure to follow the Penokee Range Livestock Club on Facebook to view more photos and club updates. 

Iron County Green Team Meeting
Monday,  June 8 - 5:30 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse

Penokee Range Livestock Club - Car Wash Fundraiser 
Saturday, June 13 - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Cary Mine Market

Penokee Range Livestock Club Meeting - Showmanship Clinic
Sunday, June 14 - 9:00 am
Location: Walesewicz Residence

Iron County Leaders Meeting
Wednesday, June 10 - 5:30 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse

Iron County Outpost Camp
Tuesday-Friday, July 7-10 
Location: Lake of the Falls Campground

Iron County Summer Youth Camp - Camp Staff Training
Saturday-Sunday, July 11-12
Location: Trails End Youth Camp

Iron County Summer Youth Camp
Tuesday-Friday, July 21-24
Location: Trails End Youth Camp
Note: Camp staff arrive one day early-Monday, July 20

Iron County Fair Judging
Sunday, July 26 - 1:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: Iron County Fair 4-H Building

Are you a Wisconsin resident in need of a laptop? The United Way of Wisconsin will be in Iron County on Friday, May 22 to distribute no-cost laptops to individuals who do not currently own one. There will be two distribution events to accommodate geographic and scheduling needs (see below). The program, Techquity Wisconsin, provides high-quality refurbished laptops directly to qualified Wisconsin residents.

Laptops come with Windows 11 Operating System (the most current version), Microsoft Office Suite, and continued tech support through the United Way’s Digital Navigator program. This is an opportunity to bridge the digital divide in Wisconsin, one household at a time, and United Way representatives will be on-site to help with additional digital and connectivity needs.

These refurbished laptops are recycled by Digital Bridge, a Microsoft-certified refurbisher based in Milwaukee. There are a variety of laptop makes and models, but all come with upper-middle- to top-tier hardware, so it will meet your needs for several years without slowing down or becoming obsolete.

Local collaborators for the event include Iron County Human Services and IT Departments, Hurley and Mercer Public Libraries, and the Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board.

For assistance with registration, please contact Extension Iron County Community Development Educator Joseph Miller at phone 715-561-2695.

The Hurley REV Team is hard at work identifying potential stakeholders to include in their entrepreneurial goals, specifically as they pertain to the Memorial Building bowling alley and a fall entrepreneur fair that will serve as a conduit between local investors, commercial property owners, business development resources, and Iron County entrepreneurs. If you’re interested in lending a hand or getting involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! The next step for our Hurley team is to finalize our stakeholder mapping and move on to entrepreneur mapping.

Mercer is kicking off its own REV program later this month on May 27. The team will host Extension specialists Dr. Matt Kures and Lisa Taylor for a kickoff session that includes a REV program overview, various data to inform goalsetting, and a goals brainstorming session.

It’s an exciting time for entrepreneurship in Iron County, with local teams and statewide business development organizations investing time, money, and energy into making our communities the best they can be!     

Spring is in the air and summer is calling! We all know and love this time in the Northwoods, despite the mud and rain. While the sky is just as gray as those winter months, we now have luscious green grass, brilliant trilliums and buttercups, the beginnings of trout lilies and violets, and that beautiful sweet onion smell of ramps when we step into the woods. At the Extension office, we’re all hustle and bustle, planning for summer, and checking our maps for realistic vacation destinations that don’t conflict with the Fourth or the Fair. Here’s what Joseph has been up to in Community Development over the past month:

On April 18, Joseph tabled at Milwaukee Zine Fest, which is described as “an annual explosion of zine-focused wonder in the form of a boisterous festival featuring over 100 vendors from across the country.” One of the largest and longest-running celebrations of zine culture in the Midwest, Milwaukee Zine Fest was an amazing experience made possible by a professional development grant through UW-Extension. Joseph’s table featured seven zines—a business planning zine and a 6-volume Legends of Iron County series. Visitors were incredibly welcoming and seemed to enjoy being regaled with tales of Iron County’s interesting past. Stay tuned for a digital archive of zines, or feel free to stop by the Extension office to request your own copies!

On Tuesday, May 12, Joseph travelled to Lowenwood (formerly the Conserve School) in Land O’ Lakes to attend Wisconsin Arts Board’s Arts in the Micro-Community Conference, a one-day event for communities north of US Highway 8 interested in developing or improving their local arts offerings/scene. There were some familiar faces in the crowd and the free event focused on the economic and cultural benefits of investing resources into public art programs and displays.

The very next day, it was back on the road, this time heading to beautiful Green Lake, Wisconsin for UW-Extension’s Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference. This was the third iteration of the CEC Conference, which uses a different model than traditional conferences. Instead of shacking up in a stuffy hotel conference center, CEC attendees are out and about in the community, visiting different businesses, institutions, and organizations in small towns and cities. This year’s conference was a hit, featuring a keynote address by Sarah Willett of Ripon-based design company Patina Vie, an endnote address from Craig Culver (yes, that Craig Culver), and a slew of great sessions by Wisconsin entrepreneurs and business development professionals. It was a great experience and a phenomenal opportunity to connect with regional and statewide partners, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, Create Wisconsin, and many more.

4-H Summer Academy is June 16 in Madison, and Joseph has been working on a presentation with a team of Extension educators from around the state. The session, titled “SPARK your Interest: Youth Entrepreneurship Workshop,” will focus on what it means to be an entrepreneur, how to translate personal interests and passion into a meaningful career path, and provide examples of how other youth entrepreneurs developed a business idea into successful companies. If you’re interested in Summer Academy or are planning to attend, consider registering for Joseph’s session! You can learn more about 4-H Summer Academy here.I'm a new paragraph block.

Iron County Economic Development Committee Meeting
Wednesday, May 6 - 6:00 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse Board Room

Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference 
Wednesday, May 13 -  Friday, May 15
Location: Green Lake, WI

Visit the Iron County website to view meeting agendas. 

Our Extension Iron County team had a productive day in Ashland on Thursday, April 30 for the annual Area 1 All-Staff Meeting. It was a great opportunity to connect with Extension Ashland County, Extension Bayfield County, and UW-Madison Extension Douglas County colleagues at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.

Check out some of the highlights from the day:

We came back to the office feeling inspired and ready to put these new ideas into action!

UW-Madison Division of Extension provides valuable programs and resources to all Wisconsin residents, not just those in Iron County! Explore statewide opportunities that can support your family, business, farm, or community, no matter where you are in the Badger State. This month, we are highlighting:

Join Wisconsin Horticulture Extension for free online gardening programs — and watch from any device! Their topics are suitable for gardeners of any skill level.

These online sessions are free, but registration is required for each session you would like to attend. Upon registration you will receive an email confirmation with the link for joining the session.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming distributions:

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

Follow Extension Iron County on social media or by visiting our website linked below!

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.