Voices from the Valley

“Period Poverty” is a startling reality in the Fox Valley. Did you know that a lack of access to menstrual health products can cause students with periods to miss or be late to class, or feel anxious about period care? Menstrual products are expensive in the U.S., which makes it difficult for people, especially teens, […]

Today we discuss the Fox Valley’s changing workforce and some new initiatives in the works to make sure we’re building and retaining a thriving and diverse workforce. There are lots of job openings, but we’re learning that not everyone who wants to work is able to access the jobs we know are open right now. […]

Did you know that black women in our area are five times as likely to die in childbirth? That’s according to the state’s Department of Health Services. Factors that lead to these life-threatening disparities include the quality of health care, chronic conditions and structural racism and bias, according to the CDC. In Brown County, Black […]

What makes Waupaca a special place to live, work and play? The answer can be found in its people, working together to bring this already thriving community to a whole new level of cultural attractiveness. The Waupaca Area Community Foundation recently awarded grants totaling a record $170,822 to 18 area nonprofit organizations from the Waupaca […]

This summer’s Fox Cities LIFE Study finds one of the largest shifts in the Census data is in our local Hispanic population. In fact Hispanics make up the largest minority group in northeast Wisconsin.  Hispanic and Latino residents of communities along the Interstate 41 corridor between Oshkosh and Green Bay increased by 46% between 2010 and […]

This summer’s Fox Cities LIFE Study finds our population is growing, while racial diversity of the area is increasing — although slowly. The number of Black, Asian, Native American, multiracial and Hispanic people increased 57% over the past decade. And it is wonderful to see! But much more important than the numbers are the people […]

What should we be thinking about when it comes to making improvements so that more people can enjoy all that our communities have to offer? The Fox Valley region is full of walking and biking trails that connect our communities. But who uses them and are they accessible to all?  How do we begin talking about terms […]

In this episode we revisit the fascinating story of how one small town in our area, Gresham Wisconsin, is making dreams come true for its youth. In a town of fewer than 600 people, that means a lot. For the past 21 years, young people graduating from Gresham High School have been given an opportunity […]

We’ve probably all faced an emotional crisis. Something that rocks our world and sends us into a feeling of despair. Just in the last two years alone, people have experienced increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. It’s that collective trauma of living in a world that is no longer predictable. The growing need for […]

In 2015, it was estimated that 115,000 people in Wisconsin had dementia. By 2040, that number is expected to increase to 242,000 people with dementia, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.  Kaukauna native J.J. Smith met his wife Joyce in the Air Force nearly 60 years ago and were looking for resources to […]