Wisconsin (state)

C

Sports and Recreation

Hiking, camping, swimming, boating, golfing, hunting, and fishing are among Wisconsin’s foremost outdoor recreational activities. In winter, skating, skiing, snowmobiling, and tobogganing are popular sports. Wisconsin is the home of several professional sports teams. The Green Bay Packers are a well-known professional football team, and the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame contains displays relating to the team. Milwaukee is the home of the Milwaukee Brewers, a major-league baseball team, and the Milwaukee Bucks, a professional basketball team. The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame is in Hayward.

D

Other Places to Visit

Among the state’s many historic homes is the Tank Cottage, in Green Bay, the oldest existing house in the state. In Portage is the restored surgeon’s quarters of old Fort Winnebago. The only remaining building of the fort, it contains a collection of medical books, historic documents, and other items relating to the fort’s history. The Milton House, in Milton, is a poured concrete building constructed on a hexagonal plan. Dating from 1844, the building was a stagecoach stop, and it also served as a station of the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves. Mineral Point has a street of restored houses used by Cornish miners during the early days of the state’s lead mining industry.

Taliesin, in Spring Green, was the home of the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Another of his well-known buildings is the Johnson Wax Building, in Racine. One of the most popular places to visit in the state is Wisconsin Dells, where the Wisconsin River passes through a winding gorge about 13 km (8 mi) long. At the International Crane Foundation, near Baraboo, visitors can view all 15 species of cranes and learn about the foundation’s efforts to preserve these birds.

E

Annual Events

Syttende Mai, held at Stoughton and at Westby on May 17, celebrates Norway’s Independence Day. The Fyr Bal Festival in Ephraim, on the Door Peninsula, marks the summer solstice in June with a line of bonfires along Lake Michigan’s shores. Milwaukee hosts the annual Great Circus Parade, featuring restored 19th-century circus wagons, and Summerfest, a music festival, on the Lake Michigan lakefront every July. Also in July are the Oneida Nation Pow-Wow, held in Green Bay, and the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward. An annual Wilhelm Tell Pageant is staged every Labor Day weekend at New Glarus. The city of La Crosse hosts an annual Oktoberfest celebration in October, and Oshkosh is the site of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture every August. West Allis is the site of Wisconsin’s State Fair, which is held every August.

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VII

Government

Wisconsin still uses the constitution it adopted at the time of statehood in 1848. It is one of the oldest state constitutions. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by the legislature or by a constitutional convention. To be ratified, an amendment must be approved by a majority of people voting on the issue in a general election.

A

Executive

The state’s chief executive, the governor, is elected for a four-year term. Other elected executive officials in the state are the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state treasurer. All of the elected officials serve four-year terms.

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