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.
Tom Alesia
June 15, 2016
Odd and amazing
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.”
Tom Alesia
April 17, 2016
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
Tom Alesia
August 5, 2009
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.
Tom Alesia
November 14, 2008
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.”
Tom Alesia
August 28, 2005
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.”
Tom Alesia
December 17, 2001
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.
Tom Alesia
July 4, 1999
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.”
Tom Alesia
September 18, 1998
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.
Tom Alesia
May 21, 1998
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!
Tom Alesia
April 9, 1998
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.”
Tom Alesia
April 11, 1997
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.
Tom Alesia
March 27, 1997
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.”
Tom Alesia
October 18, 1996
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.
Tom Alesia
January 12, 1995
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.
Tom Alesia
September 29, 1994
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.”
Tom Alesia
August 2, 1990
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.
Tom Alesia
March 29, 1990