Floodplain Management in Wisconsin Rapids

The student project manager at Vortex Engineering guided Wisconsin Rapids with flooing issues within their community. With substantial flooding along the Wisconsin River, the group urged the problem be solved to ensure the safety of those living within the area. UniverCity Year Contact Info Gavin Luter Managing Director gavin@cows.org 608-261-1141 […]

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Mapping winter road salt use and sensitive areas in Marathon County

To combat the intense winter weather of Northern Wisconsin, road salt has been usedthroughout Marathon county as a cheap, effective means to melt snow and ice on roads, keepingdrivers safe in potentially treacherous conditions. Recent discovery has revealed that this roadsalt application has potentially significant consequences on local ecosystems near roads. Ourgoal of this project […]

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Examining best practices for de-icing in Marathon County

In order to be more cost effective and environmentally conscious, Marathon County ishoping to utilize a standard salt usage plan as the road de-icing techniques currently vary in eachof the 11 municipalities in the county. This disconnect is not only ineffective, but also potentiallydangerous to drivers traveling throughout different municipalities that salt heavier or lighter […]

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Road Salt Practices Across Wausau Metropolitan Area Municipalities

With the support of Andrew Lynch, AICP, Transportation Planner at the Wausau Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the UniverCity Alliance, students in the Nelson Institute Community Environmental Scholars Program researched road salt practices in the Wausau Metropolitan Area during Spring Semester 2021. Four University of Wisconsin-Madison students participated in the project through their enrollment in Environmental […]

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Planning a rural bicycling network and future bike infrastructure in Marathon County

Marathon County is a county located in central Wisconsin which hosts outdoor recreation activities year-round. Anchored by its largest city, Wausau, the area is known as a gateway to northern Wisconsin. The county hopes to expand its rural biking program in the future, as they currently only offer bike-focused amenities in the Wausau metro area. […]

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Understanding environmental attitudes in the Fenwood Creek Watershed, Marathon County

In an effort to gain better insight for outreach strategies, this student team wrote and conducted apublic attitudes survey of Fenwood Creek Watershed farmers and landowners. Their goal was to gain perspectives on broad topics such as local watershed health and conservation efforts. The team’s methodology focused on three areas: communication, research, and survey writing. […]

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Promoting soil health through public engagement in Marathon County

This student team assessed the County Conservation Plan and Farmland Preservation Plan and held discussions with Marathon County and associates to identify ways they can increase public awareness in Marathon County. They want to influence people to adapt to new sustainable agricultural practices that can enhance soil health. The students focused on finding ways to […]

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Assessing Marathon County riparian and wetland resources

Marathon Co. is located within the Central Wisconsin River Basin, which inevitably provides the county with an abundance of surface water sources such as streams, tributaries, and wetlands. This abundance of water sources can easily be polluted when agriculture or urban/developed landcover types are in close proximity to these areas. Landcover types located within a […]

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City Policy Support for Public/Outdoor Arts & Public Arts Inventory

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bloz Center for Arts Administration students collaborated with the City of Wisconsin Rapids to explore options on how to display the area’s cultural assets. The group aimed to respect underrepresented individuals who have historically been overlooked due to the areas focus on traditional industries through the display of artwork. UniverCity Year Contact […]

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Designing a City of Wisconsin Rapids Arts Collaborative Initiative

Students proposed a plan to create a more diverse and active art scene to increase contributions and attendance by increasing communications between the county and organizations. Increasing the art network would increase funding/marketing, collaboration amongst communities, create better living environments, and tailor to changing demographics. UniverCity Year Contact Info Gavin Luter Managing Director gavin@cows.org 608-261-1141 […]

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