Free Viewing/Lecture Series
Thursdays @ the U
This series, partly funded by the UW-Barron County Foundation, will explore topics in the arts, sciences, public affairs, literary fields and cultural areas. While hosting a variety of speakers, the university does not seek to endorse or promote a particular idea, opinion, topic or product over others. These lectures are free and open to the public every Thursday from 12:30-1:30 and are held in our Blue Hill's Lecture Hall, BRRH234.
Again this year, our Riverside Cafe is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day! So you can enjoy lunch before the program or get a quick treat and coffee after the program! You are welcome to bring your lunch to the program if you wish.
Fall 2024 Program Lineup. Links of recordings are posted here after the event has aired.
Sept 5 International Friendship Cultivated Here, Mary Hankins
Sept 12 Pharmacogenomics: Genes Influence our Medication, Scott Hebbring
Sept 19 Stout Island: Then & Now, Tim McRaith & Denise DeGidio
Sept 26 Climate Change Effects on Animals, Warren Porter
Oct 3 Protecting Our Precious Pollinators, Christ Stein
Oct 10 Across the Sahara with PAN AM in 1941, Tom Culbert
Oct 17 Domestic Violence: Personal & Factual, Sarah Wittrock & Allie Musolf
Oct 24 Writing About Where You Live, Patti See
Oct 31 Ghosts, Monsters & Ghouls, Jon Fritz
Nov 7 Balancing the Plate: A Chef's Life, Chef Christopher Ray
Nov 14 Living Off the Grid, David Welder
Nov 21 The Invention and Imposition of Blood Quantum, Jill Doerfler
Dec 5 Wisconsin Women in Conservation, Kriss Marion
Dec 12 7 Principles that Fuel Success, Paul Billmeyer
2025 Thursday@U Recordings
Spring 2025 Thursday@U Presentation Lineup. Recordings will be posted within a week after the presentation.
| 30-Jan | Oscar Chamberlain | Minnesota’s flag and conflicting American dreams |
| 6-Feb | Dewey Johnson | Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls |
| 13-Feb | Ann Brand | Intention and Attention: Cultivating Mindful Awareness |
| 20-Feb | Jesse Roesler | The Power of Visual Storytelling |
| 27-Feb | Abbey Fischer | Geeking out about the Boundary Waters |
| 6-Mar | Robin Miller | Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life |
| 13-Mar | Sarah Turner, Alisa Lammers, Jennifer Jorgenson | Community Connections to Prosperity Coalition |
| 27-Mar | Gina Rivard | Fraud Protection |
| 3-Apr | Jessica Michna | Mrs. Charles Dickens |
| 10-Apr | ||
| 17-Apr | Alex Wiedenhoeft | Casework in Forensic Wood Anatomy |
| 24-Apr | Lauren Finch | Crex Meadows Part II: Wisconsin Wetland Species |
| 1-May | Lauren Riters | Why Do Birds Sing? |
| 8-May | Bill Jamerson | Dollar-a-Day Boys |
2024 Thursday@U Recordings
Spring 2024 Program Lineup. Links of recordings are posted here after the event has aired.
Feb 1 Badger Aces: Wisconsin's Fighter Pilots, Mike O'Conner
Feb 8 Extraordinary Journey to Kathmandu, Mary Hoeft
Feb 15 Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital, Kim Ammann
Feb 22 1950's Deer Camp, Geoff Pedersen
Feb 29 This is Art, JD McGuire
Mar 7 Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Lauren Finch Thomas
Mar 14 Personal Stories of the Freedom Riders, BJ Hollars
Mar 28 Peer Recovery Coaching Services, Breanna Showkeir & Christina Garcia
Apr 4 Iijidiwashikwe: Heroine of the Northwoods, 1840s, Rick St. Germaine
Apr 11 The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Steve Ackerman
Apr 18 Bliss(ters): Hiking Mexico to Canada, Gail Frances
Apr 25 Something's Burning: Waste Incineration, Lauren Wentz
May 2 Who am I? Researching Ancestry Andy Gaertner
May 9 Mary Todd Lincoln: A Widow Forgotten, Jessica Michna
2023 Thursday@U Recordings
Spring 2023 Program recording links:
February 2 Eating Wildly: Foraging Edible Plants, Martha Wright Eating Wildly: Foraging Edible Plants
February 9 Our Miraculous Living Soil, Dale Hanson Our Miraculous Living Soul
February 16 Anishinaabe Insights on Adapting to Climate Change, Michael Price Anishinaabe Insights on Adapting to Climate Change
February 23 New Deal-Era Post Office Murals, Ryan Urban (Livestream only due to potential snowstorm. No in-person event today!)
ricelaketv.com - click on TV Live Stream in the upper right hand corner! or watch on Charter/Spectrum Channel 992, Mosaic Channel 993
March 2 Pluralism in Perspective, Chaplain Peter Muschinske Pluralism in Perspective
March 9 Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the World, Jessica Michna Eleanor Roosevelt
March 16 Ojibwe Horses and Their People, Em Loerzel Ojibwe Horses and Their People
March 30 My Homelands: Echoes of My Ancestors, Janice Rice My Homelands
April 6 Geology of the Ice Age Trail Dreamer Segment, Blue Hills, M. Sedlacek, J. White & K. Syverson Geology of the Ice Age Trail
April 13 Vietnam: The War's Set-Up Story, Paul Kluge Vietnam: The War's Set-Up Story
April 20 Backyard Prairie Communities, Dave Caithamer & Jim Riemer Backyard Prairie Communities
April 27 Elk in Wisconsin, Joshua Spiegel Elk in Wisconsin
May 4 Why the USA Needs Immigrants/Refugees, Isaak Mohamed Why the USA Needs Immigrants/Refugees
May 11 Women of the American Revolution, Kathy Waldvogel Women of the American Revolution
Fall 2023 Program Recording Links:
Sept. 7 Dean Kallenbach: Are You Getting Real News?
Sept. 14 Trisha Witham: Preventing Dementia: What We Know
Sept. 21 Douglas Bradley: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War
Sept. 28 Alexander Townsend: Braille for the Sighted
Oct. 5 Briana Bateman: Sheer(ing) Delight
Oct. 12 Don Peterson: The Battle of the Bulge
Oct. 19 Kate Worzala: Creative Non-Fiction: Not an Oxymoron
Oct. 26 David Armstrong:Filipino Workers in Barron
Nov. 2 Paul Billmeyer:Achieving Good Mental Health
Nov. 9 Nathali Jones: (Mis)Adventures in Adventure Education
Nov. 16 Nancy Keeler and Pam Carlson:Oh, My Aching Back!
Nov. 30 Richard Terrill:Writing for Outdoors
Dec. 7 Nick Pedersen:Conquering the Tuscobia Winter Ultra
Dec. 14 Anna Demers and Ryan Urban:Exploring the Antarctic Peninsula
2022 Thursday@U Recordings
Spring 2022 Program recording links:
February 3 Natural Lawn Alternatives, Anthony Nied Natural Lawn Alternatives
February 10 The Future of the Cedar Side Trail, Craig Fowler & Kevin Jacobson Rice Lake's Cedar Side Trail
February 17 Ma'iingan (wolf) and the Ojibwe, Peter David Ma'iingan (wolf) and the Ojibwe
February 24 Modern Roundabouts; Why They Work, Beth Cunningham and Dan Bieberitz Modern Roundabouts: Why They Work
March 3 Yoga for Health, Patty McGown Yoga for Health
March 10 Lessons from the Deacons, Selika Ducksworth-Lawton Lessons from the Deacons
March 17 Okayest Hits: a Poetry Reading, Dylan Loring Okayest Hits: A Poetry Reading
March 24 S P R I N G B R E A K
March 31 Cancelled due to bad weather. Will be taking place on May 12th.
April 7 To the Moon and Beyond, Matt Coel To the Moon and Beyond
April 14 "Forever Chemicals"- Sources, Health Effects, Remediation, Kay Curtin Forever Chemicals
April 21 Native Peoples and Enbridge Pipelines, Paul DeMain Native Peoples and Enbridge Pipelines
April 28 Sister Cities, An Opportunity for Citizen Diplomacy, Deb Neuheisel Sister Cities
May 5 Search and Rescue/Recovery, Janice Thompson Search and Rescue/Recovery
May 12 Salem Witch Trials, Jessica Michna Salem Witch Trials
Fall 2022 Program recording links:
September 8 101 Ways to Help Birds, Laura Erickson 101 Ways to Help Birds, Laura Erickson
September 15 Free Speech, the Supreme Court & J.S. Mills, Eric Kasper and Troy Kozma Free Speech, the Supreme Courts and J.S. Milles, Eric Kasper
September 22 Celebrate your F-READ-om, Katherine Elchert Celebrate your F-READ-om, Katherine Eichert
September 29 Ice Age Trail Adventurer, Sue Greenway Ice Age Trail Adventurer, Sue Greenway
October 6 Healing & Justice for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Kristin Welch Healing & Justice for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women
October 13 Meandering the Northwoods Medicine Trail, Gigi Stafne Meandering the Northwoods Medicine Trail
October 20 Wisconsin 101: Local History with Objects, Thomas Broman WI 101: Local History with Objects
October 27 Down the Mississippi in a Leaky Canoe, Luke Yourzak Down the Mississippi in a Leaky Canoe
November 3 Perspectives on Invasive Plants, Michael Heim Perspectives on Invasive Plants
November 10 The Refugee Experience in Western Wisconsin, Chris Jones The Refugee Experience in Western Wisconsin
November 17 Local Abandoned Railroads, Arlyn Colby Local Abandoned Railroads
December 1 Warren Commission Report: Fact or Fiction?, David Yorks Warren Commission Report: Fact or Fiction?
December 8 Impressions of America: 1972 - 2022, Ben Kyriagis Impressions of America
December 15 Cow Tales: Memories of a Rural Vet, Dave Mills Cow Tales: Memories of a Rural Vet
2021 Thursday@U Recordings
Fall 2021 Program recording links:
September 2nd Barn Quilts of Wisconsin, Mary and Michael Kolstad Barn Quilts 9/2/21
September 9th Barron County Restorative Justice Programs, Monika Audette and Mary Hoeft (no video/audio link available)
September 16th What Are Counties?, Jeff French What are Counties?
September 23rd Primates Inc. - Helping Monkeys in Need, Amy Kerwin Primates Inc.
September 30th A Caregiver's Experience with Dementia, Jim Adams A Caregiver's Experience
October 7th Toward a Sustainable Economy, Jack Reardon A Sustainable Economy
October 14th Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives, Renee Gralewicz The Indigenous Peoples celebration; Dr. Renee Gralewicz
October 21st 100 Years of Women's Suffrage, Anne Marie McClellan 100 Years of Women's Suffrage
October 28th Fungal Diversity in the Northwoods, Tavis Lynch (sorry, no video available)
November 4th CAFO Dairy Farm - A Good Neighbor?, Tyler Gruetzmacher & Jim Kusilek
November 11th The Unsung Heroes of Nature, Emily Stone (no video/audio link available but you can reach emily@cablemuseum.org with questions)
November 18th Poetry: Assuming a Persona, Christy Potvin
December 2nd Microplastics in Northern Lakes, How Big a Problem?, Todd Wellnitz Microplastics in Northern Lakes; How Big a Problem?
December 9th Life on Ice: Arctic Expeditions, Lonnie Dupre Life on Ice: Arctic Expeditions
Please click here to enjoy the Spring 2022 Communiversity Band Performance
Please click here to enjoy the Fall 2022 Communiversity Band Performance
Please click here to enjoy the Spring 2023 Communiversity Band Performance