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.

On Monday, June 8, the SISU Endurance Team (SET) Running Club officially kicked off its highly anticipated 8-week summer program at Miners Memorial Park in Ironwood, MI. We are thrilled to announce that we have 37 enthusiastic members enrolled and ready to challenge themselves, build endurance, and explore the beautiful terrain our region has to offer.

Over the next two months, our runners will be tackling a fantastic rotation of local trail systems (see schedule below). 

A program like this doesn't happen without a village. We want to extend a massive thank you to our dedicated group of enrolled 4-H leaders, volunteers, and parent helpers. Their energy, leadership, and commitment to youth development and healthy lifestyles are what keep this program moving forward every single week. 

Want to cheer them on? If you see our SET runners out on the trails this summer, be sure to give them a high-five or a word of encouragement. They are embodying the true meaning of sisu—grit, resilience, and determination!

Happy running, everyone!

The Iron County 4-H Parent Leader's Association is officially gearing up for its annual silent auction, held each year at the Iron County Fair. Following a highly successful 2025 auction—which raised over $5,000 thanks to the incredible generosity of 89 local businesses and individuals—the association is hoping to carry that amazing momentum into the new season.

From now until the fair, 4-H leaders will be out and about visiting and calling area businesses and community members to collect items. Proceeds from the auction directly benefit the Iron County 4-H program, funding youth leadership opportunities, camp programs, and educational resources.

If you are a local business or individual who would like to contribute but has not yet been contacted, the association is gratefully accepting donations of items, gift baskets, or gift cards valued at $25 or more. Our donation request letter is linked below. 

To arrange a donation, please reach out to Extension Iron County Office Manager Rebecca Holm via email at rebecca.holm@wisc.edu or by calling 715-561-2695. As a token of appreciation, all donors will be proudly recognized in this year's fair promotional materials and social media posts.

The Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club celebrated a highly successful fundraiser on Saturday, June 13, hosting a their annual Car Wash fundraiser event at the Cary Mine Market. Local residents turned out to support the youth, leaving with sparkling clean vehicles and full stomachs from the hot dog and bake sale! 

Events like this are made possible through strong community partnerships, and the club extended its deepest gratitude to the local businesses that stepped up to sponsor the day:

Funds raised at this event will be used for fair improvements.

Check out Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club members Piper Romosz and Kaylee Schultz and their adorable broiler chicks! 

While these tiny, fluffy chicks fit right in the palms of their hands today, it is hard to believe that in just a couple of short months, they will grow into full-sized, impressive meat birds!

Raising broilers is a fast-paced and highly rewarding 4-H project. Over the next several weeks, Piper and Kaylee will be working hard behind the scenes—managing daily feedings, monitoring growth rates, and ensuring their birds receive top-notch care. It takes a lot of dedication and daily responsibility to raise healthy livestock, and these members are already off to a fantastic start.

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

The Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club combined business with hands-on learning for their June meeting, which doubled as an interactive showmanship clinic at the home of member Nick Walesewicz. Following the meeting, Kaylee and Jacob Schultz kicked off the educational fun by having members spin a wheel to answer livestock trivia.

The focus then shifted to proper ring etiquette, where members discussed and demonstrated the fundamentals of beef, hog, lamb, and chicken showmanship to prepare for the upcoming fair season. The clinic offered valuable insights for all ages, and the club’s youngest member, Owen Koski, got quite a kick out of trying his hand at being a little hog showman. With new skills in hand, these dedicated members are well on their way to a successful summer in the show ring!

While the Adventurers of the North 4-H Club and Iron County Green Team club meetings paused for the month of June, club members have remained busy behind the scenes as members have been hard at work dedicating time and energy to their upcoming summer fair projects.

In addition to project prep, anticipation is building for the upcoming 4-H camp programs. Multiple members from all the Iron County chartered clubs are gearing up for a busy July, with youth participating as campers, stepping into leadership roles as camp staff, or doing a mix of both. 

More exciting details and updates on their camp adventures will be shared next month!

SET Running Club
Mondays, June 8-July 27 - 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Location varies weekly

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

Penokee Range Livestock Club Meeting & Fair Work Bee
Sunday, July 12 - 9:00 am
Location: Iron County Fair Grounds 

Iron County 4-H Green Team Club Meeting
Monday, July 13 - 5:30 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse

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

On Tuesday, June 16, Joseph joined colleagues in Madison to present on Entrepreneurship at 4-H Summer Academy. A weeklong experience on-campus at UW-Madison, Summer Academy is an experiential career and college readiness camp for youth in grades 8-11. Youth had an opportunity to define entrepreneurship and identify entrepreneurs they know before diving into the business planning process. Fellow Community Development Educator Hannah Altimus, from Clark and Trempealeau Counties, gathered everyone together before Joseph connected sparks to entrepreneurship. Rural Entrepreneurial Venture Specialist Lisa Taylor sanctioned a snowball fight that showed how identifying problems in your life or community can lay the groundwork for entrepreneurial opportunity. Two companies served as Lisa’s example, Pakayak and AirGarage, which have very different origin stories and address very different problems. Extension Professor Diana Hammer walked youth through the basics of marketing and building a customer profile before participants had the opportunity to bring it all together with a business plan zine.

4-H Summer Academy was a great experience and a fun opportunity to participate in cross-institute programming!

The Mercer REV Team launched with a kickoff meeting and presentation at The Crafty Cup. The team was joined by Distinguished Community Development Specialist Matt Kures and REV Specialist Lisa Taylor to dive into some economic data trends comparing Mercer and Iron County data to statewide and national data. Members of the team will set goals next and then move into the mapping and outreach steps.

Hurley REV is preparing for an entrepreneur fair this October, so stay tuned for more details. The event is still solidifying, but the idea is to bring together local entrepreneurs with commercial property owners and regional business development professionals to see what kind of lightning might strike.

Stay tuned for more updates, and if you have any interest in working with either REV Team, don’t hesitate to contact Joseph at 715-561-2695 or joseph.w.miller@wisc.edu!

Amid the usual summer fanfare of the Northwoods, our nation will celebrate a quarter millennium, 250 years of organized government that sprung from 13 British colonies that said, “enough is enough”. There is so much mythology around the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the founding of our nation that getting to the truth is both an exercise in futility and a thrilling search. My personal favorite narrative of the history of America is the classic Descendents song “’Merican”.

It summarizes the entire history of our nation in less than two minutes with brutal honesty, complicated nostalgia, and love-soaked pride. Doing so in a punk song is a tricky thing, a tightrope between counter-cultural values and mainstream organized government—which tends to be the target of the entire genre’s rage! However, the band and vocalist Milo Aukerman know that without an organized government it would be tough to imagine concert venues that are staffed, organized, and safe to hold a few thousand people for each performance.

But no matter how you feel about America’s past, present, or future, the foundational documents of the United States have been undeniably influential to the world. Prior to 1776, the rulers of nations and kingdoms were most often pre-destined, determined without vote or representation. Preposterous was the idea that a group of individuals could govern themselves or choose their leadership by casting a vote. Well, not everyone, but that’s one of the other incredible mechanisms built into our legislative DNA: the power to change for the better.

My time in the Marine Corps (established November 1775, by the way) felt like getting a look behind the curtain, as it must feel for so many other veterans. The notion that we are a free and independent people is a bit of a loaded idea, but I also have firsthand knowledge of the cost associated with our idea of freedom. While I made sacrifices in my own life, it’s nothing compared to what so many others before me gave.

Regardless of our history, our success as a nation depends on our understanding of community to build a brighter future. Acceptance, engagement, and dialogue are some of the key ingredients for building community. In the United States, I’m proud to say we’re free to pursue our own happiness so long as it doesn’t infringe upon another’s pursuit of the same. I don’t know about you, but I’m usually happier when I’m pursuing the the bottom of a good, cold beer (Stillmank Wisco Disco, please!) and some BBQ on a beautiful summer day! And so, no matter your thoughts on the state of our nation as it turns 250, I look forward to celebrating with you. 

Iron County Economic Development Committee Meeting
Wednesday, July 1 - 6:00 pm
Location: Iron County Courthouse Board Room

Visit the Iron County website to view meeting agendas. 

The 2025 Extension Iron County annual report features the impactful programming conducted by the Extension Iron County office, from all of our major educational programs in Community Development, 4-H Youth Development, and FoodWIse Nutrition Education.

We hope that you enjoy learning about the various ways Iron County residents have benefited from the resources of the University of Wisconsin Extension. 

We would like to thank the Iron County Board of Supervisors and the Agriculture-Extension-Education Committee for their continued support. We would also like to recognize the various groups, volunteers, businesses and program partners that we collaborate with to address the high priority needs of our community.

We could not be effective in our work without the help of our various partners. SO WE THANK YOU!

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:

As summer officially kicks into high gear, our calendars quickly fill up with backyard barbecues, family vacations, road trips, and outdoor activities. While it’s the perfect season for making memories, it can also be a challenging time for our wallets. Unexpected travel costs, rising seasonal utility bills, and entertainment expenses have a way of adding up fast.

The good news? You don’t have to navigate your financial goals alone.

Whether you are looking to build a realistic summer budget, start an emergency savings fund, manage debt, or plan for long-term goals like buying a home or retiring, UW-Madison Extension is here to help.

Take control of your financial well-being this summer. Explore these free resources, calculators, and upcoming educational opportunities today by visiting the UW-Extension Financial Education website at finances.extension.wisc.edu.

Invest in your peace of mind—one smart financial decision at a time!

Looking to improve your strength, balance, and flexibility from the comfort of your own home? The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension is launching its next StrongBodies Virtual Program, running from July 7 through September 24, 2026.

This evidence-based program meets twice a week via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM. Classes focus on progressive resistance training, balance training, and flexibility exercises designed to help improve muscle strength, muscle mass, and bone density.

Questions? Feel free to email the team at strongbodies@extension.wisc.edu. 

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.