Community fair fights for pig wrestling to continue
In pig wrestling, four-person teams have one minute to grab a 200-pound pig in the muddy ring and place it atop a barrel.
In rural Brooklyn, world-record cow breaks one-year milk production mark
Gigi produced an average of nearly one gallon per hour throughout 2015. One prominent ag publication, Harvest, gushed about this “once a generation” cow and described her as having “limitless talent.”
At Wisconsin State Fair, odd stick food stands out
The 158-year-old fair features an unlikely star: chocolate-covered bacon on a stick. There's also fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a stick and 38 other bizarre 'on-a-stick' items
Endurance sitting: Two contestants stay weeks in a truck to win the vehicle
Two people compete; only one will win. So a crazy radio contest is out of control after nearly eight weeks. Or is it? "I can see how if we're caught just gazing, we look like the most miserable people in the world," one said.
How Alice Cooper received the key to the city of Madison
"We gave him a four-foot long beer can opener. We also gave him one of the tiny keys to the city as well," former Madison mayor Paul Soglin said. "It seemed to be a fun thing to do."
Plane delay costs Middleton woman million dollar payoff in casino contest
When the million-dollar winner Candace Porter finally speaks, it is in a whisper to her sister-in-law. "This is unreal," Porter says. Her sister-in-law, whose face is stoplight red from joyful screaming, responds, "This is real."
Master cheese carver creates delectable dairy delights
Since 1986, Allen Hendricks has been the Picasso of Parmesan. As part of his one-person food marketing business, he has carved more than 400 cheese pieces, ranging from Mount Rushmore to Mickey Mouse.
Elton John’s wonderfully kind response to Edgewater’s pianist
In 1980, Elton John, then 33, returned to the Madison dining room and lounge where Eleanor Pearson played. "He gave me a nice kiss and asked if he could sit down," Pearson says. "He started reminiscing about the pubs of England."
Our reporter sneaks into the audience for Jerry Springer’s TV freak show
Then porn star Candi arrives. She flashes her surgically enhanced breasts so many times, it's as if this is her nervous tick.
At tryouts, Bucky wanna-bes get a whiff of greatness
While two judges watch, three bubbly aspirants, in Bucky costumes, follow a four-minute tape telling them to: Shower, dry off, watch TV, laugh, cry, be scared, greet a youngster, race to the Kohl Center and react to a last-second shot that goes ... in!
Full of flavor? Chewed bubble gum piece part of art museum exhibit
"A lot of people think contemporary art is smarter than you - I think people come in and feel intimidated. That's the beauty of this piece. It's a piece of bubble gum, for goodness sake. It's just a juvenile material to make a pretty sophisticated piece. There's the tension between the sophomoric and transcendent.''
Playing ‘horse’ against a Harlem Globetrotter at my backyard hoop
Later I called back: How about a game of H-O-R-S-E at my hoop instead? I expected nothing ... until Globetrotter management approved it! The game was set.
Nightclub comic with cerebral palsy works for laughs
"I'm not a motivational speaker, I'm a comedian,'' he says. "If someone comes to my show and feels inspired by that, so be it. But I'm just up there to entertain. Anything other than that is a bonus."
Former Madison teen recalls how Elvis stopped his fight with two thugs
``I was out reading the pumps. There were two other boys there who were former employees and had been fired,'' Lowry said. ``I was trying to keep them off the premises.'' A scuffle – two-on-one – followed and punches were thrown. Then Elvis arrived at the Madison gas station.
UW’s cow-scented Stock Pavilion set to continue its history as a music venue
An array of performers and speakers have appeared at the facility, dubbed “the cow barn”: Harry Truman, Marian Anderson, R.E.M., Billy Joel, Theodore Roosevelt, Bonnie Raitt and many more.
Spending nine days in L.A. at the TV networks’ wacky annual summer promo tour
In search of something significant from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," a reporter asked if show star Will Smith, 21, wants to teach middle America how to rap. Smith was befuddled. "Teach middle America to rap?" Smith wondered while laughing. "No, no, no, no."
Tiny Tim stands tall during eccentric promotion, lunch
Tiny Tim's 1968 novelty hit "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" earned him a curious fame that still holds. Standing with his ukulele in downtown Springfield at lunch hour Tuesday, he turned more heads than a car accident.