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August 10, 2005 |
Focus on Badger Camp is full-circle for film maker Iain Cox
Iain Cox came halfway around the world not once, but twice, to be part of the unique and unforgettable experience at Wisconsin Badger Camp.
Cox is from New London, England, and first came to Badger Camp in 1990. The then 20-year-old worked as a counselor for one summer and came away from Wisconsin with a fresh perspective about people with disabilities. Fifteen years later, Cox is back at camp, but this time for a different reason. Cox is a documentary film maker, and his talents and passion brought him back to capture and record the unique spirit of the campers and staff of Badger Camp. "I want to show what Badger Camp does. It is such a special place. There is nothing at all like this in England," said Cox.
Cox has already been at camp nine out of the ten weeks he deemed necessary to get the footage needed. While he has already shot 25 to 30 hours, the film will be edited down into two shorter versions „ a full 40-minute documentary to cast the heartfelt message of Badger Camp to a world-wide audience, and a 12-to-15-minute film that will serve as a marketing tool to assist the camp with recruitment, camper intake and raise general awareness.
Cox said that his goal with the film is to build a picture of a typical week of camp. To do this, he shadowed four different counselors from morning to night. Because the activities at camp are on a very routine schedule, this allowed Cox to go back to the same activity on different days to capture various angles and events. "The hardest part was having to detach myself from the work, because I was once a counselor there," said Cox about his self-proclaimed "hardest film "that he's ever made.
When he's done filming at Badger Camp, Cox will return to England to edit and finish the film. He hopes to have it done around February but many factors, including funding, are contingent upon the date. Cox said that anyone interested in donating money for the film should contact Badger Camp.
"I'd like to come back and talk about the film when i's done," said Cox. He even has dreams of the film getting something like Badger Camp „ or possibly even an extension of the camp started somewhere in England. "This film is certainly putting Prairie du Chien and the area on the map," said Cox. He also said that when the film is finished, Badger Camp will receive copies of the DVD that will be available for sale.
While Cox mentioned that the Badger Camp documentary has been his hardest film to date, it certainly has not been the only one to present challenges. Since graduating from England"s Brighton Univeristy, Cox has has produced five documentaries, the last three dealing with issues of disability. While Cox aspires to one day produce full-length films, he says that this is a good challenge for him right now. "Disabilities are so underrepresented in the media,"said Cox. "You just can"t focus on their ability to not do something, you have to focus on what they can do."While filming his documentaries Cox recently had the privilege of working with the famous physicist with severe disabilities, Dr. Stephen Hawkings on a project that attempted to overturn the myth and stereotype that surrounds people with disabilities.
Cox said that he's been in communication with officials at Badger Camp for the past two years about filming the documentary, and is grateful to finally be doing it. "I learned so much when I was here before,"said Cox, "I felt like I owed the camp something.î
Baja Magazine covers gathering in Prairie du Chien
There were 15 beautiful Baja boats docked at the Winneshiek Bar and Marina Friday, all getting set for a spectacular weekend of fun in the sun on Prairie du Chien area waters.
The Baja gathering was arranged by Aaron "Chubby"Kafer, the manager of the Winneshiek. In addition to the need for speed, the boats had also come in anticipation of an article and photo shoot by Baja Magazine, a national publication based in Chicago.
Jennifer Chesak, associate editor for Dino Publishing, which publishes Baja Magazine and many others, said that the story and photo shoot will focus on the great boating opportunities on the Mississippi River in the Prairie du Chien area.
"We wanted to let Baja owners around the country know what Prairie du Chien has to offer," aid Kafer.
On Friday there was a cruise beginning at 11:30 a.m. and several of the boats also accompanied free-lance photographer Robert Brusseau on an afternoon island photo shoot for the magazine.
"I can work with it," said Brusseau of the beautiful, sunny day. While relaxing on the deck of the Winneshiek, Brusseau noted that Baja Magazine wants plenty of blue sky and blue water in its photos to go along with their eye-catching, sleek boats, which can reach speeds of 80 miles per hour.
Following the cruise, the Bajas reconvened at the Winneshiek at about 2:30 p.m. as all enjoyed a cookout.
August 8, 2005 |
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Prairie du Chien tenor advances in Idol competition Prairie du Chien's musical talent seems to be flourishing, as another city native has advanced in the American Idol audition competition. Twenty-year-old Colin Stiemke was one of three finalists chosen to move on to the final round of American Idol auditions which will be held Saturday, Aug. 20 in La Crosse. Should Colin win, he would then move on to the television auditions, where he would perform in front of the American Idol producers, followed by the infamous American Idol judges, Randy, Paula and Simon. Also moving on to the finals is Chellanie Adams, also from Prairie du Chien. Colin said it was a last minute decision to compete in the audition and that he was very surprised he made it through to the next round. Colin has been singing since kindergarten, when he first got involved in his church's choir. "Singing was something fun to do," Colin said. Throughout high school, Colin continued on with music and was active in drama, band and choir, where he was taught by none other than his father, the Prairie du Chien High School choir director. "Colin had very advanced abilities right away [in high school]," Phillip Stiemke, Colin's father, said. "Tenor is one of the more difficult voices and he was able to pick it up so naturally" Along with being blessed with a talented voice, Colin accredits his talent to having a very musical family. Colin's parents, Phillip and Luana, both sing and play instruments. Colin has become a fan of all types of music, and likes to sing just about anything. "I sang 'Your Song,' a classical song from "Moulin Rouge" and 'Screaming Infidelities,' which is more of a pop song for the first round of auditions, but I also enjoy singing alternative and rock songs as well," Colin said. Colin stated that his favorite song is "If You're Not the One," by Daniel Bedingfield, with "Rainbow Connection," by Kermit the Frog coming in at a close second. While he rarely watched American Idol's earlier seasons on television, Colin said he was urged to try-out by Chellanie and her mother. Colin's parents and co-workers also began telling him to go to an audition as well. Chellanie, who went to an earlier audition than Colin, was able to give him some advice going into his first round of competition. "I've never done any competitive singing before," Colin said. "Chellanie really helped me out at the last competition and I plan on getting in touch with her before the final round" With 18 contestants competing for one spot during the finals, Colin expects the competition to be intense and competitive, but nonetheless, he is prepared for the task ahead. "I love challenges and I am able to handle stress well," Colin said. "I really want to work hard [at American Idol] and I am willing to take time off from school to try to pursue this opportunity," Colin said. However, if things don't work out for Colin, he will be prepared to continue life at Greenville College in Illinois, where he plans to major in Contemporary Christian Music. Whatever the outcome, Colin plans to keep music in his life even if that means doing it without American Idol. After graduating from Greenville, he has hopes of becoming a music producer. "It's not about how good you are [in this competition], it's about doing your best," Luana said. "Now Colin can see that this [music] can be his career" The Fruit of the Vine: A growing business in Marquette Starting a new business after retirement isn't much of a retirement, according to Roger Halvorson. But it doesn't seem like he would want it any other way. Halvorson, and his wife Connie, own the Eagle's Landing Bed and Breakfast along the riverbank in Marquette, which they opened in 1995. The four-room inn has a steady business now, according to Roger. While Roger enjoys being an innkeeper, his real passion is in his new business, Eagle's Landing Winery. Not everyone starts a winery, and Roger began his operation with the experience of 30 years as a serious wine making hobbyist, combined with the business savvy of running an insurance and real estate agency in Monona for many years. Roger had puttered at home with a little winemaking. He got more involved with his hobby while serving as a representative to the Iowa legislature in the mid-1970s, as something to pass the evenings in Des Moines without his family. He had plenty of time to practice „ he held his seat until 1996. He made the wine simply for the enjoyment of family and friends. "We made it out of everything," he said, noting that he once made the quintessential Iowa wine from corn. As part of his hobby, Roger joined several regional state grape growers groups, such as the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and learned more about the types of grapes that will grow in the Upper Midwest. In 1999 he bought a piece of property in Fayette County (Iowa) near Volga Lake, and he and Connie and their son Jay planted two acres with hardy grape varieties specially developed for wine. They purchased some bulk production equipment, and voila they were in the wine business by 2001. During the first year they made 500 gallons of wine. For this fall's bottling, Roger expects to make about 5,000 gallons sold under their brand name, Marquette Maid. "Every month we've increased sales 30 percent," Roger said. Halvorson's Marquette Maid wines come in 18 varieties including Frog Hollow Foch (pronounced fohsh), Volga Lake White and Volga Lake Blush, as well as fruit wines and mead or honey wines. The wines sells for less than $10 a bottle at their wine shop, and are available in some area gift shops. To accommodate the growth in the winery, the Halvorsons purchased two buildings on Marquette's main drag, North Street. One site formerly housed the River Country Restaurant, and the other is an adjacent home, the former residence of famous Ho-Chunk basketmaker Emma Big Bear. The Halvorsons intend to honor her memory with displays about her life and examples of her baskets inside her former home. The Halvorsons are still finishing the remodeling of the two structures, which will house the winemaking facility, a wine and gift shop, and a large tasting room. Currently a small wine shop at the site of the bed and breakfast handles most of the wine sales and tasting, and Roger says it is just too small for the larger crowds that show up on weekends. The growth of the winery has not gone unnoticed. They recently received the Tourism Attraction of the Year Award from the Clayton County Development Group. They also received the Alexander McGregor Award from the Marquette-McGregor Chamber of Commerce in recognition of their efforts to develop a new business in the area. Jay Halvorson, Roger and Connie's son, decided to join the new family business as well. He returned to the area two years ago from a job as a computer programmer in Dallas to become the Eagles Landing winemaker. He has taken several training courses offered by regional wine growers associations. Currently he is busy finishing the interior of the new winemaking facility and installing new equipment. His favorite new toy is a bottler that can fill six bottles at a time at a rate of 45 to 50 gallons per hour with one person operating it. It used to take all day to bottle 100 gallons, Jay said. Now it can be done in a couple of hours. The Halvorsons are planning to continue to develop their business, but not necessarily grow. Roger says that 5,000 gallons is about peak production for a small family winery, and he doesn't want to get caught up in distribution and delivery. "We always want to be a family winery - we're not going to get so big that we can't handle it with the family," he said. Besides son Jay, Halvorson's daughters Tracey, Rogeta and Lisa will likely be part of the fall harvest and production that will keep everyone very busy in September and October. Keeping with the harvest theme, Eagles Landing has a very busy fall planned. Grape harvest will begin in September, starting white wine varieties. Jay says the crop looks good; the dry weather actually improves the quality of the fruit. The Halvorsons are also tentatively planning a fall wine festival as part of their grand opening for their new building, with music, food, a grape stomp and, of course, wine. No date has been set yet. Also beginning in September, the new group tasting room will be booked to group tours and available for local meetings and social clubs. In November, the winery will be part of the Iowa Wine Trail weekend, when five eastern Iowa wineries will open their doors for a special tours and tasting. Wine making is on a upswing in Iowa and throughout the Upper Mississippi Valley. There are now two wineries in Minnesota near the Mississippi, and several more nearby, three in Iowa near the river, and two in Wisconsin not far from the river in Muscoda and Highland. The Halvorsons grow about 25 to 30 percent of the grapes used in their wines. Some of the other grapes used in the production of Marquette Maid wines are grown in Wisconsin. A grape growers cooperative called the Coulee Region Grape Growers Association was started in Vernon County to replace tobacco with a high-value crop, and Eagles Landing is one of their big buyers. Grape vines take about five years to mature, so most of these growers have not hit their peak production yet. Roger predicts that the industry will continue to thrive in the region. "It hasn't reached its full potential yet," he said.
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