Wisconsin

Wisconsin (French: Ouisconsin) is a  located near the center of the n. It touches two of the five and is one of the fifty  that constitutes the. Wisconsin's is, and its largest city is. is the current, having held that office since ,.

Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous, with s being among the first to arrive from New York and New England. They dominated the state's heavy industry, finance, politics and education. Large numbers of European followed them, including, mostly between 1850 and 1900, ns (the largest group being Norwegian) and smaller groups of , , , ,  and others; in the 20th century, large numbers of  and  came, settling mainly in Milwaukee.

Today, 42.6% of the population is of German ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most states in the. Numerous s are held throughout Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such festivals are world renowned, and include, , Bastille Days, (Norwegian Constitution Day), , Brat(wurst) Days (Sheboygan, WI), Cheese Days (Monroe, WI, Mequon, WI), African World Festival, Indian Summer,  and many others.

Name
It may come from an ancient word, Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which was probably the name given to the, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the French. The spelling was revised to its current form in 1845 by Wisconsin's legislature.

The modern Ojibwe name, however, is Wiishkoonsing or Wazhashkoonsing, meaning "muskrat-lodge place" or "little muskrat place." Other theories are that the name comes from words meaning "Gathering of the Waters" or "Great Rock." Originally, Ouisconsin was applied to the Wisconsin River, and later to the area as a whole when Wisconsin became a territory.

Borders
Wisconsin, bordered by the states of, , and , as well as Lakes  and , has been part of the  since the end of the ; the  (which included parts of other current states) was formed on ,. Wisconsin ratified its on, , and was admitted to the Union on , , as the 30th state.

Economy
Wisconsin's economy was originally based on (especially dairy),, and. In the 20th century, tourism became important, and many people living on former farms commuted to jobs elsewhere. Large-scale industrialization began in the late 19th century in the southeast of the state, with the city of as its major center. In recent decades,, especially medicine and education, have become dominant. Wisconsin's landscape, largely shaped by the of the last, makes the state popular for both tourism and many forms of outdoor recreation.

Politics
During the period of the, Wisconsin was a and pro-Union stronghold. Ethno-religious issues in the late 19th century caused a brief split in the Republican coalition. Through the first half of the 20th century, Wisconsin's politics were dominated by and his sons, originally of the, but later of their own. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between Republicans and. Republican Senator was a controversial national figure in the early 1950s. Recent leading Republicans include former Governor and Congressman ; prominent Democrats include Governor, Senators  and , and Congressman.

Geography
The state is bordered by the ; and  to the north; by  to the east; by  to the south; and by  and  to the west. The state's boundaries include the and  in the west, and the  in the northeast. With its location between the and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is home to a wide variety of geographical features. The state is divided into five distinct regions. In the north, the occupies a belt of land along Lake Superior. Just to the south, the has massive mixed hardwood and coniferous forests including the 1.5 million acre (6,000 km²), as well as thousands of glacial lakes, and the state's highest point,. In the middle of the state, the possesses some unique  formations like the  in addition to rich farmland. The region in the southeast is home to many of Wisconsin's largest cities. In the southwest, the is a rugged landscape with a mix of forest and farmland, including many bluffs on the. This region is part of the, which also includes portions of , , and. This area was not covered by s during the most recent ice age, the. Overall, 46% of Wisconsin's land area is covered by forest.

The varied landscape of Wisconsin makes the state a vacation destination popular for outdoor recreation. Winter events include skiing, ice fishing and snowmobile derbies. Wisconsin has many lakes of varied size; in fact Wisconsin contains 11,188 square miles (28,977 ) of water, more than all but three other states (, & ). The distinctive, which extends off the eastern coast of the state, contains one of the state's most beautiful tourist destinations,. The area draws thousands of visitors yearly to its quaint villages, seasonal cherry picking, and ever-popular s.

Areas under the management of the include the following:
 * along Lake Superior

Climate
The highest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells, on, , and was 114 °F (46 °C). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in Couderay, on both February 2 and 4, 1996, and was –55 °F (-48 °C).

Demographics


The state has always been ethnically. Large numbers of arrived between 1850 and 1900, centering in, but also settling in  many small cities and farm areas in the southeast. settled in lumbering and farming areas in the northwest. Small colonies of, , and other groups came to the state. Irish Catholics mostly came to the cities. After 1900, immigrants came to Milwaukee, followed by  from 1940 on. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2000, Wisconsin has a population of 5,363,675.

The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: (42.6%),  (10.9%),  (9.3%),  (8.5%),  (6.5%)

Wisconsin, with many cultural remnants of its heavy German settlement, is known as perhaps the most "" state in the Union. People of Scandinavian descent, especially, are heavily concentrated in some western parts of the state. Wisconsin has the highest percentage of residents of Polish ancestry of any state. Menominee County is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority.

86% of Wisconsin's African American population lives in one of five cities:, , , and  while Milwaukee itself is home to nearly three-fourths of the state's African Americans. Milwaukee ranks in the top 10 major U.S. cities with the highest number of African Americans per capita. In the region, only  and  have a higher percentage of African Americans.

33% of Wisconsin's Asian population is, with significant communities in , , , , , , , , and.

6.4% of Wisconsin's population was reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.6% of the population.

Religion
The largest denominations are Roman Catholic,, and  Lutherans. The religious affiliations of the people of Wisconsin are shown in the list below:
 * – 85%
 * – 55% (–23%, –7%, –6%, –2%, –2%, Other Protestant or general Protestant–15%)
 * – 29%
 * Other Christian – 1%
 * Other religions – 1%
 * Non-religious – 14%

Economy
According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Wisconsin’s gross state product was $211.7 billion. The per capita personal income was $32,157 in 2004.

The economy of Wisconsin is driven by, , and. Although manufacturing accounts for a far greater part of the state's income than farming, Wisconsin is often perceived as a farming state. It produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except, and leads the nation in production. Wisconsin ranks second behind California in overall production of milk and butter, and it ranks third in per-capita milk production, behind and. Based on poll results, Governor Jim Doyle chose for Wisconsin's design a Holstein cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese. Wisconsin ranks first in the production of for, , , and  for processing. Wisconsin is also a leading producer of s, es, s, tart, , and for processing.

Given Wisconsin's strong agricultural tradition, it is not surprising that a large part of the state's manufacturing sector deals with food processing. Some well known food brands produced in Wisconsin include,  frozen pizza,  , and. alone employs over 5,000 people in the state. Milwaukee is a major producer of and the home of 's world headquarters, the nation's second-largest brewer. ,, and used to be cornerstone breweries within the city of. Today, Milwaukee's economy is more diverse with an emphasis on health care. In 2004, four of the city's ten largest employers (including the top two) were part of the health care industry.

The largest employers in Wisconsin in 2007 were: 1) ; 2) ; 3) ; 4) ; 5) ; 6) ; 7) ; 8) ; 9) ; and 10).

Wisconsin is also home to several transportation equipment and machinery manufacturers. Major Wisconsin companies in these categories include the, , , , , , ,, , and. Wisconsin also ranks first nationwide in the production of products; the lower  from  to the  has 24 paper mills along its 39 mile (63 km) stretch.

The development and manufacture of health care devices and software is a growing sector of the state's economy with key players such as, , and. Tourism is also a major industry in Wisconsin — the state's third largest, according to the Department of Tourism. This is largely attributed to the 90 attractions in the family vacation destination area, which attracts nearly 3 million visitors per year. Tourist destinations such as the near  and  in  also draw thousands of visitors annually, and festivals such as  and the  draw national attention along with hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Wisconsin collects personal based on four income-level brackets, which range from 4.6% to 6.75%. The state and  rate is 5%. Fifty-nine counties have an additional sales/use tax of 0.5%. The counties surrounding have an additional 0.1% tax imposed upon them to fund the new  stadium,, which was constructed around the turn of the century. Retailers who make sales subject to applicable county taxes must collect 5.6% tax on their retail sales.

The most common property tax assessed on Wisconsin residents is the real, or their residential property tax. Wisconsin does not impose a property tax on vehicles but does levy an annual registration fee. Property taxes are the most important tax revenue source for Wisconsin's local governments, as well as major methods of funding school districts, vocational technical colleges, special purpose districts and tax incremental finance districts. Equalized values are based on the full market value of all taxable property in the state, except for agricultural land. In order to provide property tax relief for farmers, the value of agricultural land is determined by its value for agricultural uses, rather than for its possible development value. Equalized values are used to distribute state aid payments to counties, municipalities, and technical colleges. Assessments prepared by local assessors are used to distribute the property tax burden within individual municipalities.

Wisconsin does not assess a tax on. Wisconsin does not collect es. Wisconsin's is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws; therefore the state imposes its own estate tax on certain large estates.

Law and government
The capital is.

State Executive Officers See also:
 * Governor:
 * Lieutenant Governor:
 * Attorney General:
 * Secretary of State:
 * Treasurer:
 * State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of
 * List of

Politics
Much of the state's political history involved coalitions among different ethnic groups. The most famous controversy dealt with foreign language teaching in schools. This was fought out in the campaign of 1890, when the Germans switched to the  because of the  support of the Bennett Law, which led to a major victory for the Democrats.

The cities of Wisconsin have been active in organizing themselves to provide for greater government transparency by increasing the availability of legislative information on the internet. Currently three out of the top five most populous cities in Wisconsin provide their constituents with internet based access of all public records directly from the cities’ databases. Wisconsin cities started to make this a priority after began doing so, on their page, in 2001. One such city,, has been named the Number 1 digital city by the Center for Digital Government in consecutive years. Nearly 18 percent of Wisconsin’s population has the ability to access their municipality’s information in this way.

Lawmakers in Wisconsin
1984 was the last election that Wisconsin supported a Republican Presidential candidate. However, both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were close, with Wisconsin receiving heavy doses of national advertising because it was a "swing" or pivot state. Al Gore carried the presidential vote in 2000 by only 5,700 votes, and John Kerry won Wisconsin in 2004 by 11,000 votes. Republicans had a stronghold in the but elected a Democrat, Steve Kagen, of Appleton, for the 8th Congressional  District in 2006. Republicans have held ). The City of  itself heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds which also includes  and the state's  .  WIsconsin's largest Congressional district,  the 7th Congressional district has been a strong Democratic hold since 1969, and has re-elected Congressman David Obey with 62% of the vote. Rep. Obey chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

The 2006, Democrats gained in a national sweep of opposition to the Bush administration, and the Iraq War. The retiring GOP 8th District Congressman, Mark Green, of Green Bay, ran against Gov. Doyle, amidst a scandal of illegal campaign contributions. Green lost by 8% statewide, including his own district and hometown. Doyle became the first Democratic Governor to be re-elected in 32 years. The Republicans lost control of the state Senate with 3 Republicans losing their seats. The Democrats gained 8 seats in the state Assembly, but the Republicans retained a 3 vote majority, in that house.
 * Wisconsin's political history encompasses, on the one hand, and the ; and on the other,, the controversial anti-Communist censured by the  during the 1950s.
 * In the early 20th century, the had a base in Milwaukee (the phenomenon was referred to as  because the socialists were more concerned with public works and reform than with revolution); it faded out in the late 1950s, largely due to the  and racial tensions.   The first Socialist mayor of a large city in the United States was, elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910; another Socialist, , was mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940; and a third, , from 1948-1960. Socialist   was repeatedly elected as a U.S. Representative, although he was prevented from serving for some time due to his opposition to the.
 * , a Democratic Senator (1957-89) dominated the Democratic party for years; he was best known for attacking waste and fraud in federal spending.
 * Democrat was the only  to vote against the  in 2001.
 * Democrat from Madison was the first, and is currently the only, openly lesbian U.S. Representative.
 * In 2004,, a Democrat from , became Wisconsin's first African-American U.S. Representative.

Important municipalities
Wisconsin's self-promotion as "America's Dairyland" sometimes leads to a mistaken impression that it is an exclusively rural state. However, Wisconsin contains cities and towns of all sizes. Over 68% of Wisconsin residents live in urban areas and the area is home to roughly one-third of the state's population. is slightly larger than and is the beginning of a largely developed string of cities that stretches down the western edge of Lake Michigan into greater Chicago and also into northwestern Indiana. Milwaukee proper is also the 22nd-largest city in the country, with around 600,000 inhabitants. This string of cities along the western edge of Lake Michigan is generally considered to be an example of a. Madison's dual identity as state capital and college town gives it a cultural richness unusual in a city its size. Madison is also a very fast-growing city, that has around 220,000 people. Medium-size cities dot the state and anchor a network of working farms surrounding them. and are incorporated urban areas in Wisconsin. are unincorporated s of.

Cities in Wisconsin with population of 50,000 or more (as of the 2005 census estimate) include:
 * , population 602,782, largest city
 * , population 221,551, state capital
 * , population 101,203
 * , population 95,240, part of the
 * , population 85,855, part of the
 * , population 70,217
 * , population 67,658 part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
 * , population 63,485
 * , population 62,570
 * , population 61,962
 * , population 58,798, part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
 * , population 51,017
 * , population 50,280

Colleges and universities
Wisconsin, along with Minnesota and Michigan, was among the leaders in the emergent American state university movement following the  in the United States. By the turn of the century, education in the state advocated the "," which emphasized purpose for service to the people and epitomized progressive movements within colleges and universities at the time. Today, public education in Wisconsin includes both the 26-campus, headquartered in Madison, and the 16-campus which coordinates with the University of Wisconsin. Notable private colleges and universities include, , , , and , among others.



Sports
Wisconsin is represented by major league teams in three sports: American football, baseball, and basketball. , located in is home to the 's. The Packers have been part of the NFL since the league's second season in 1921 and currently hold the record for the most NFL titles, earning the city of Green Bay the self-given nickname "Titletown". The Green Bay Packers are one of the most successful small-market professional sports franchises in the world and have won 12 NFL championships, including the first two AFL-NFL Championship games and. The city fully supports their team, as evidenced by the 60,000 person waiting list for season tickets to Lambeau Field, which is referred to as the "frozen tundra" and is considered by many football enthusiasts to be "hallowed ground." The, the state's major league baseball team, are based out of in. Before Miller Park was opened in the year 2001, the Brewers played their home games at. In 1982, the Brewers won the American League Championship, marking their most successful season. The of the  play home games at the. The Bucks won the NBA Championship in 1971. The state also has minor league teams in hockey and baseball (the, based in .)

In addition to professional teams, Wisconsin is home to many successful college sports programs. The, teams based out of the , hold many division championship titles in their respective sports. This includes a historic dual-championship in 2006 when both the women's and men's hockey teams won national titles. The Wisconsin team has also seen much success after the hiring of  as head coach. Alvarez lead the Badgers to three victories, including back to back victories in the years 1999 and 2000. The Badgers football program, playing at, enjoys similar loyalty to the Packers; both teams are known to sell out their entire schedules far in advance.

The  of the  are the state's other major collegiate program. They are known nationally for their Men's team which, under the direction of, won the NCAA National Championship in 1977. The team, led by, returned to the Final Four in 2003.

Miscellaneous topics
was named in honor of this state.



Known as "America's Dairyland," Wisconsin is also known for. Citizens of Wisconsin are referred to as Wisconsinites, although a common nickname (sometimes used pejoratively) among non-residents is "s." This is due to the prevalence and quality of cheesemaking in the state, and for the novelty hats made of yellow foam in the shape of a triangular block of cheese. are an extremely popular treat, exported as gifts throughout the country. The state is also known for its alcohol production and consumption, and it is historically home to a large number of breweries and bars per capita. A lesser known, but still significant nickname for Wisconsin is "The Copper State," referring to the copper mines in the northwestern part of the state.

Wisconsin is very popular for outdoor activities especially hunting and fishing. One of the most popular game animals is the. In 2005, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported the population of Wisconsin's deer herd to be about 1.4-1.5 million. It is common for over 600,000 deer hunting licenses to be sold each year. Visitors to Wisconsin during the Thanksgiving holiday will see many hunters in rural areas wearing gear for Wisconsin's gun-deer hunting season.

The in  is known for its unique architecture. The cover over 200 acres (800,000 m²) of land on the far west side of the city. Madison is home to the which is free for all visitors, and the  conservatory, as well as the hub of cultural activity at the. It is also known for, a convention center that was designed by Taliesin Architect Anthony Puttnam, based loosely on a 1930s design by , a world-renowned architect and Wisconsin native who was born in. Wright's home and studio in the 20th century was at, south of Spring Green. Decades after Wright's death, Taliesin remains an architectural office and school for his followers.

Wisconsin has sister-state relationships with the Germany's, Japan's , Mexico's , China's , and.