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  • Tampa fabricator makes magic at childhood zoo

    Tampa fabricator makes magic at childhood zoo

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Chris Pino is responsible for the shrink machine at Zoo Tampa’s Bugtopia, currently open until April 30.

    What You Need To Know

    • Bugtopia at ZooTampa through April 30th

    • 13 Anamatronic super-sized insects

    • Chris Pino, owner of Wood Valley Group, made everything else

    • Shrink machines allow little ones to experience insect life

    It’s the only way to get small enough to see these insects up close.

    “We have an unshrinking machine as well,” Pino said, smiling.

    Pino is the owner of Wood Valley Group in Tampa, and he can fabricate pretty much whatever you could imagine, size-changing machines included.

    So when the 13 massive insects of Bugtopia came to life at Zoo Tampa, Pino and his crew went to work — from making a super-sized soup can to a huge shoe.

    Children will literally be walking through these giant facades into little learning centers.

    Pino has created these and other fanciful objects to further immerse children into a bug’s world.

    It’s his form of magic.

    “I love it. That’s the best part about my job, to see the reaction of all the guests,” said Pino.

    And Pino isn’t handling these pieces for just any zoo. This is the zoo of his childhood.

    It’s where he first experienced what would become his career — making kids believe in magic a little longer.

    “It’s awesome. I loved doing these events because I loved them as a kid, and now I get to produce them,” said Pino.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Sample local honey, sip some mead: Lola-Bee-Looza in Terra Ceia

    Sample local honey, sip some mead: Lola-Bee-Looza in Terra Ceia

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    TERRA CEIA, Fla. — Each frame of a bee box hosts a tableau of events unfolding simultaneously.

    What You Need To Know

    • Noble Nectar Apiaries removes bees and re-homes them

    • The inaugural Lolla-Bee-Looza Festival will be held Saturday

    • The festival will help raise funds for donation-based removals, as well as outreach for the next generation of potential pollinator protectors

    • More On the Town with Virginia Johnson

    Each is a little civilization and Matt Davis is checking on them. 

    “They are a big part of making sure our ecosystem thrives,” said Davis.

    These wild honeybees are his rescue animals.

    He and his wife’s company Noble Nectar Apiaries removes bees and re-homes them. It’s an alternative to exterminating infestations. One of their new bee home spaces is under a massive oak tree behind a horse and a stable on Terra Ceia.

    It’s going to be the site of their first ever Lolla-Bee-Looza. The festival all about our bee friends.

    Matt Davis of Noble Nectar Apiaries showing frames of bees from a bee box. (Virginia Johnson/Spectrum Bay News 9)

    But before Davis gets close-up, he needs to suit up. Then smoke up with a bee smoker.

    It’s a stainless-steel container with a little air pump. Davis lights up pine needles and closes up the smoker, pumps the bellow and smoke shoots out of a top nozzle.

    Smoke is a pheromone blocker for bees.

    “Basically, what it does is it kind of interferes with their ability to talk to each other,” said Davis.

    It also stirs the bee’s appetites for honey. “Which helps them not be so grumpy,” Davis said, smiling.

    It’s important the bees be “calm-ish” so Davis can check the hives.

    “Make sure we had a queen that’s actively laying in eggs. We look for pollen and nectar, and we also look for signs of mite infestations and just the overall health of the bees,” he said.

    Even more important to Davis: helping people remove bees even with financial difficulties with their new non-profit organization “The Bee Musketeers.”

    “So it’s a win-win for everyone,” said Allison Davis. “The person who needs it gets it done and the beekeeper still gets paid, and then we started to working alongside some of the people in the city to get the houses repaired afterward.”

    The festival will help raise funds for donation-based removals, as well as outreach for the next generation of potential pollinator protectors.

    “It feels good to help young people to live alongside bees and other pollinators, and not consider them a danger or a pest,” said Davis. “It’s important for our food and for the ecosystem in general.”

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • New thrill ride nicknamed ‘Screamin’ Swing’ at Busch Gardens

    New thrill ride nicknamed ‘Screamin’ Swing’ at Busch Gardens

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    TAMPA, Fla. —They don’t call it the “screamin’ swing” for nothing.

    What You Need To Know

    • Serengeti Flyer opens Febraury 27

    • Annual pass holders get weekend preview

    • Nicknamed Screamin’ Swing

    • 90-second ride goes 135 feet high and 68 miles per hour

    “Think about a swing set you rode as a kid, and someone gave you a big push. This is the ultimate push,” said Neal Thurman, president of Busch Gardens.

    The new Serengeti Flyer at Busch Gardens is taller than any swing of its kind.

    Thurman calls it a “really smooth” experience with unbelievable views, swinging visitors 135 high at 68 miles per hour.

    Members of the media joined members of the local chapter of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for a preview to the Feb. 27 opening.

    Kalin Profitt said he took 30 or 35 turns on the 90-second ride. “I think it’s kind of a fun experience being able to float up on your seat like an astronaut,” said Profitt about the multiple moments of weightlessness.

    “It’s exciting. You don’t get that on a flat ride like that. I think it’s unique.” There are two swings holding ten people in the front and back. Forty people in all swish back and forth. The first time the swing goes backward, you can feel the power behind the pendulum motion.

    Riders see the heavens on the upswing and then the earth below on the downswing. But you are also weightless, so you think maybe for a second you pulled your parachute chord, it did not engage, and you are hurtling to your doom.

    The theme park has nearly a dozen thrill rides to its name, but also likes to emphasize its animal encounters and conservancy mission.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Performer talks about bringing the Carnival fun to Busch Gardens

    Performer talks about bringing the Carnival fun to Busch Gardens

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Mardi Gras marks the end of Carnival season, but not at Busch Gardens.

    What You Need To Know

    • Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens continues weekends through March 5

    • Several parades will be held each day, with beignets and other New Orleans-style offerings

    • Performers like Devin Collins bring the joie de vivre

    From the expert glitter application on his face to the green Chucks on his feet, Devin Collins is the walking embodiment of Mardi Gras ensconced in purple, green and gold — the holiday colors.

    “Basically, anything you that you throw at any of our performers, we learn it, we master it, we throw it in the show,” said Collins.

    Devin Collins started here with stilt walking in 2008, so the intricate Mardi Gras stage make-up is no big deal.

    It’s prepping and performing with his friends that puts Collins at ease, especially in the moments before they go live in the park.

    “There’s so much love and passion here within our Busch Gardens family, so we really like to just show that to our guests,” Collins said.

    Couple the performers with New Orleans jazz, and the crowds get wise quick. It’s parade time.

    “The vibe? they’re ready to party!” Collins said about the crowds, over the cacophony of music and clapping.

    The best part comes last — throwing the beads.

    “We have fun, the kids love this,” said Collins. “We get to bring a smile to everybody’s faces.”

    Happy Mardi Gras, Devin Collins.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Wide-range of topics discussed at NYSABPRHAL Conference – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Wide-range of topics discussed at NYSABPRHAL Conference – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    This weekend, the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, & Asian legislators celebrated their 52nd annual conference.

    “As one of the important things we do during our weekend, we have workshops called issue forums where we discuss a wide range of topics, including mental health, housing, nursing, union issues and community renewal,” NYSABPRHAL’s Executive Director Charlene Gayle said.

    The theme of this year’s conference was “Fight the Power,” and workshops addressed a wide range of issues, including health care inequities, housing insecurity and criminal justice reform.

    Recreational marijuana was one topic at the forefront, and how minority communities deserve to have equality when it comes to usage and retail licenses.

    “We need to understand what it means to have it in our community,” Yasmin Hurston Cornelius, treasurer of the New York CannaBusiness Chamber of Commerce, said. “It is important to understand our rights and the importance of hiring the right people to make your business succeed. Legislators and community organizers discussed climate change and environmental justice, as well as how to ensure that a more sustainable future can be achieved.”

    Public officials, legislators, community organizers, advocates and constituents filled the hallways and meeting rooms of Empire Plaza to have discussions regarding the latter. Health care disparities that came to light during the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked various panel…

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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    MMP News Author

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  • Honey & Arts Festival to debut in Lealman as community grows

    Honey & Arts Festival to debut in Lealman as community grows

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    LEALMAN, Fla. — Hopes of community redevelopment is bringing new festivals to St. Petersburg.

    The Pinellas County Housing Authority is working with engagement committees and a long list of sponsors to bring the first Lealman Honey and Arts Festival to the Tampa Bay area.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Lealman Honey and Arts Festival is set for Saturday, Feb. 18

    • Dozens of local sponsors are supporting the event

    • A visiting artisan shares his story

    “I’m very excited,” said Kym Solitaire, a St. Petersburg resident. “As a retired schoolteacher of Pinellas County, this area represents schools I’ve taught at. It’s a historically underserved area. This is a deserving acknowledgment of the community, the hard-working parents and great students that live here.”

    Raymond H. Neri Community Park will be hosting the inaugural festival on Saturday, Feb. 18. There will be several events such as local honey and beekeepers selling their wares, craft vendors, food trucks and chainsaw art. Local radio personality Monika from 102.5 The Bone will be broadcasting live. Local bands The Black Honkeys, La Lucha and Pink Streets will also be in attendance delivering live performances. 

    “Coming together to celebrate the rich history of Lealman has been a dream of mine,” said Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice. “The Honey and Arts Festival represents the dedication of many in the community working together to transform Lealman into a vibrant destination, a place where people can live, work and play.” 

    People from all over the nation are coming to support the festival, like chainsaw art cultivator, Alex Bieniecki. He traveled from New Hampshire to perform at the festival on Saturday.

    “I’ve been a tattoo artist for 22 years,” said Bieniecki. “Right out of high school, I was doing that so artistically. That was my training in the art world, all the different things they liked to do rounded me out as an artist.”

    Bieniecki said he’s been a woodsman for over a decade.

    “Normally, I work with white pine,” he said. “It’s light compared to other species of wood. This stuff has more sap in it, more than any I’ve worked with before.”

    Bieniecki was carving an image of a woman with Florida sand pine Wednesday.

    “I drove up to West Palm Beach for this wood. I cut the tree down from their yard for this,” said Bieniecki. “Some of these pieces take more than 40 hours to complete. I started this on Monday of last week and I worked on it every day until Thursday. 10-hour days, 10 hours of sanding,” said Bieniecki.

    What was once a hobby for Bieniecki, turned into a stream of income.

    “People love wood carvings. My whole world opened up to people I would have never tattooed. I have a lot of fun doing them because it’s like drawing and painting and carving. It’s two-dimensional but also three-dimensional and you get to paint it, so I really enjoy,” he said.

    For more on Lealman’s Honey and Arts Festival, view its Facebook page.

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    Ashonti Ford

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  • Collard greens in gumbo wins festival competition

    Collard greens in gumbo wins festival competition

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    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — “So this is where is begins—in the garden,” said Chef Ja’Vin LeCount.

    What You Need To Know

    • The 6th Annual Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival is Saturday, Feb. 18 at 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

    • It will be at the Carther G. Woodson African American Museum and surrounding streets

    • It’s located at 2240 9th Ave. S., St. Petersburg

    You see, gumbo in the style Chef Ja’Vin LeCount speaks of requires collards.

    LeCount is in the garden at Daystar Life Center in St. Petersburg, gathering his leafy greens.

    LeCount’s addition of collard greens in his Cajun dish helped to crown him a top chef for the 2023 Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival.

    “This is something I love to do,” he said as he began chopping his collards into ribbons.

    “For a thicker ribbon you would want to go for maybe like a thicker texture,” LeCount explained. “For a thinner ribbon, you may want to cook your greens a bit faster.”

    The festival isn’t just for young chefs like LeCount.

    It’s for the greater St. Pete community, too.

    “Our mission is to promote healthier living in our communities through foods we love to grow and eat,” said festival co-found Boyzel Hosey, “through agricultural sciences, the culinary experience, fitness, nutrition and family fun.”

    For LeCount, this honor reinforces something he’s enjoyed his whole life — creating smiles through his culinary creativity.

    “I’ve got a lot of good reactions from these collard greens,” said LeCount. “And really a lot of people told me I need to share this with the world, so I want to share this with as many people as I can at the event.”

    Lecount, who turned 17 this month, has been cooking as long as he can remember, and has spent the last seven months as a chef.

    The Prince Private Academy student would like to thank his family, Junior Chefs of America and the American Culinary Federation.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Lovefest offers to shower you in good vibes, sweet gifts

    Lovefest offers to shower you in good vibes, sweet gifts

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    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —  A little pre-Valentine’s Day fun awaits you this weekend at Lovefest in St. Petersburg.

    What You Need To Know

    • Lovefest at Page Boy in St. Pete will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    • Vendors like Cassie Mrotek, who created the Astra self-care line, will be in attendance

    • Mrotek says small businesses like hers use festivals like the one in St. Pete to meet their customers

    It’s happening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the grounds of Page Boy Vintage Market, Apothecary & Hair Studio.

    Along with food and drink, organizers say visitors can expect to see vendors and the shop bathed in objects of love.

    “We love to bring other vendors into the kind of the brick-and-mortar space,” said owner Jason Hall. “Especially this market, because it’s all about that collective energy, and we can’t do it alone, nor do we want to.”

    One of the Lovefest Vendors planning to attend is Cassie Mrotek, who created the Astra self-care line.

    Standing in front of her steam distillation kit in her workspace inside the St. Pete Salon Studio B, she explained the process of creating some of her products.

    “So really what I’m doing is extracting all the moisture from this plant and getting all of its spirit into a bottle, to use that then as a facial spray,” she said.

    The curving glass tubes of the kit could represent the winding business journey Mrotek has taken since she started her self-care line in the crush of the pandemic in 2020.

    Now she’s navigating St. Pete’s downtown development.

    “Every time I felt like I was finding a space for myself and getting settled in, then all of a sudden the rent goes up, or ‘Hey, we want to move somebody else in,’” Mrotek said. “They wanted to take the building down, they want to sell the building, develop something else.”

    And while she doesn’t have her own brick-and-mortar shop, Mrotek said events like Lovefest help her meet new customers.

    And she’s got retail space in Salon B, where she shares a workspace — a place that she said is always inviting other creators to collaborate.

    “So anyone I can sort of bring with me on this journey of amazing small business-ship or whatever it is called, let’s do it,” Mrotek said with a laugh.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Tampa Bay first Black Curator of History joins the exhibit

    Tampa Bay first Black Curator of History joins the exhibit

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    TAMPA BAY, Fla — Fred Hearns isn’t just the first Curator of Black History in Tampa. He’s the first Curator there to end up in an upcoming exhibition.

    What You Need To Know

    • February 15: Talk on historically Black neighborhoods in Tampa

    • February 24: Reception and sneak peek at summer exhibition

    • February 25: Talk on Roger’s Park Golf Course

    Hearns is working on the summer exhibition– “Travails and Triumphs,” about people of African descent in the Tampa Bay area.

    One of the donated pieces in the exhibition is a 1960s yearbook for Middleton High School—where Hearns went to school himself. He pointed out his picture in the marching band—he played clarinet—and his individual school picture as a sophomore.

    “We focus on the black high schools,” said Hearns, “Segregation from kindergarten all the way through high school. That’s the Tampa I grew up with in the 1960s.”

    A curator at the History Center now for nearly two years, it was nearly two months before Hearns realized his own history in his office hallway.

    “These are the blueprints for the colored high school in Hillsborough County, 1935,” said Hearns, reading off the titles on the framed piece of history. Again–it’s Middleton High School A high school which burned down three times by 1968.

    Their newer campus– built in 2002 –sits three blocks from the original site on North 22nd Street in Tampa. The former high school is now home to another. Hearns leads us from downtown Tampa to the campus for a look.

    “This is a wonderful dream come true because the Alumni Association fought for 10 long years to get Middleton High School rebuilt,” Hearns explained, walking under the shade of oak trees in the school’s courtyard.

    For his part in the fight for the school—Hearns’ name is on it. “The ‘Fred Hearns Pavilion’ that’s right outside the cafeteria,” said Hearns, walking by it. “The alumni, the community paid me this honor. I’m still humbled by it.”

    And now his work bringing the Tampa Bay community together continues–fitting for the retired head of the Community Affairs for the City of Tampa. Different career, same goal.

    “It’s history. American history made by black people, and everybody needs to know more of it,” said Hearns.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Tina Turner musical celebrates trials and triumphs of icon

    Tina Turner musical celebrates trials and triumphs of icon

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Don’t leave at the bows. Or you’ll miss the “Megamix.”

    What You Need To Know

    • Tina, the Tina Turner Musical is at the Straz through Feb. 5 

    • It’s based on the life of music icon Tina Turner, and her trials and triumphs

    • Dance Captain Sheri Washington Rhone makes sure choreogrpahy is tight

    • She’s also an understudy for two roles and is a “swing” or fill-in for multiple roles

    This is advice for the Tina – the Tina Turner musical at the Straz Center through Feb. 5 from Dance Captain Shari Washington Rhone.

    It’s a big number — the ensemble busts it out right after their end-of-show bows.

    Washington Rhone’s job on the traveling Broadway show is to keep the choreography tight.

    So even though two different actors share the role, the vibe is the same.

    “Our Director Phyllida Lloyd was very specific about encouraging everyone to brings themselves to the part, and finding Tina’s essence as opposed to trying to mimic her,” Washington Rhone said.

    The musical follows Tina Turner as she finds fame, independence from an abusive spouse and super stardom.

    “She’s had an influence on so many various artists- you have young people that want to see the show- senior citizens — everybody,” said Washington Rhone.

    “Then there are those people who’ve never had a theatre experience, but they love her music.”

    And when the Tina fans show up, Washington Rhone makes sure these new audience members fall in love with musical theatre too.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Beers for Barres: Local Breweries to support party for ballet

    Beers for Barres: Local Breweries to support party for ballet

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    TAMPA, Fla. — If you’d like to learn to fly in ballet, then you start from the ground — getting on your rehearsal soft shoes.

    Brandon Ballet’s Courtney Moody is getting ready for rehearsal on the studio floor before heading to the barre.

    “We do lots of different stretches, lots of things to get warm, get moving,” she said.

    If the stretches look easy for Moody, it’s because she’s been a ballerina for about two decades and helps teach it now, too. 

    “I’m so grateful to have that opportunity to continue doing this as a career,” said Moody.

    In addition to excerpts from Swan Lake, they have something brand new to offer.

    “This is a new ballet called the Iron Flower,” said Brent Townend, the Ballet’s Assistant Artistic Director. “We are premiering a 15-minute excerpt.”

    As an artist, Moody says she is moved by the story of the dance.

    “It’s very important to me to have that is somewhat near my hometown where I can continue to dance and share this art form with others,” said Moody. 

    Breweries taking part in Beers for Barres:
    -Three Bulls Tavern & Brewery
    -Bullfrog Creek Brewing Company
    -Magnanimous Brewing Company
    -3 Daughters Brewing Company
    -Woven Water Brewing Company

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Once a school bus, Krewe of Zingaro float now a dream and beer carrier

    Once a school bus, Krewe of Zingaro float now a dream and beer carrier

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Preparations got underway for a Krewe about to join in on the biggest pirate party in Tampa Bay.

    What You Need To Know

    • There are more than pirates in Gasparilla: there are Rough Riders, Fire Fighters and Gypsies

    • The Krewe of Zingaro celebrated their 25th anniversary

    • The Krewe is 50 to 60 gypsies strong, doing charitable work throughout the year
    • Most of the Krewe walk alongside their float — an old school bus painted purple and fitted with bathrooms and keg coolers

    The Gasparilla Parade of Pirates kicks off on Saturday, Jan. 28.

    “We are putting some beads on the float,” said James Raulerson, a gypsy with the Krewe of Zingaro.

    The Tampa Bay native knows these plastic trinkets will be vied for like real, precious jewels.

    “Everybody wants beads,” said Raulerson, smiling. He and his Krewe are ready.

    They ride on a mostly purple float. They call her ‘Barney.’

    “It’s our gypsy wagon, an old school bus,” Raulerson said.

    Restrooms are a must for a float crawling down the 4.5 mile parade route and so is room to throw beads, though most of his crew walks.

    And of course, there’s a cabinet to store adult beverages.

    “And here,” Raulerson said, pointing to a cooler sitting just below three taps, “We have a keg, which is nice.”

    With the float loaded, Raulerson checks for safety and design.

    Raulerson noted any ripping fringe or missing lights. The float will get all its superficial design repairs once it’s off the highway and into the staging area. The Krewe will be closer to the end of the parade in spot #111.

    The floats, dignitaries, community leaders, dancers, bands and community organizations will be stretched down Bayshore Boulevard starting at Bay-to-Bay Boulevard, lined up stretching toward Gandy Boulevard.

    Raulerson devotes time and energy to the group’s charities throughout the year, and Gasparilla is a chance to not only celebrate, but also bring a lot of cheering joy for a tiny, inexpensive souvenir.

    “You’re giving beads to people, but they’re so happy. It’s great you’re bringing happiness to people. You never know,” Raulerson said about the people they’re throwing beads to. “That person might be having a horrible week at work or something, and they come out to Gasparilla and get to have fun. It might just change your whole attitude. So that’s the fun part.”

    The Krewe is about 50 to 60 gypsies strong. 

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Gasparilla is based on disproven pirate lore: nobody cares

    Gasparilla is based on disproven pirate lore: nobody cares

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    TAMPA, Fla. — It’s the height of Gasparilla season with huge crowds screaming for beads and throws as pirates ignite cannons for massive explosion excitement.

    What You Need To Know

    •  Historical documents disprove Jose Gaspar story, capture

    •  Gulf currents and shallow depths in Tampa Bay add further doubt to massive marauders doing battle in Tampa Bay 

    •  There is documentation of Gulf Coast pirates in Gasparilla’s alleged era- but no record of him

    • Tampans have embraced Gasparilla for more than a century, whether or not the pirate Jose Gaspar ever came to town

    It’s a huge juxtaposition from the quiet of the Touchton Map Library at the Tampa Bay History Center conference room, where Director Dr. Rodney Kite-Powell quietly carries the knowledge that it’s pretty much all a story.

    The study of the records relating to Gasparilla, along with maps from 1700s Florida and beyond, point to a reality without Jose Gaspar.

    “The possibility of pirates being here is just very unlikely because there was nothing to steal,” said Kite-Powell.

    While there are records of piracy on the gulf coast of Florida, activity happened in south Florida and the east coast, not here.

    And not with Jose Gaspar.

    “I’m from here. I grew up with this. I’ve heard about the Jose Gaspar legend since I can remember,” said Kite-Powell.

    But the center’s Treasure Seeker gallery further separates fact from fiction.

    “You can learn about all the different things the real pirates in Florida were looking for and what they did,” said Kite-Powell.

    Of course, pirates were always looking for treasure on their captured ships, and the gallery has fine gold chains and gold ingots, but they took everything on board.

    “Everything is worth something at sea,” said Kite-Powell. “Whether it’s something to eat. Or it’s a map that will tell you where something better is.”

    Textiles and tobacco were valuable, and pewter plates and drink storage vessels had practical use.
    Back in the library, Kite-Powell says he’s made peace with the myth and the reality of Jose Gaspar.

    “Gasparilla’s been around for 119 years now. So it has become a celebration. So whether he existed, which he probably didn’t, has become less relevant to me over the years,” said Kite-Powell, smiling.

    If you are looking for more history on Gasparilla, you can check out the exhibition “Gasparilla: A Tampa Tradition” at the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa.

    They hold more of Tampa’s Gasparilla secrets, from ball gowns to feathered hats to Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla artifacts. Their exhibition is open until March 5.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • 4-H student learns about fat, feed and hair sheen raising steer

    4-H student learns about fat, feed and hair sheen raising steer

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    PALMETTO, Fla. — Maverick the steer likes a clean coat and the cool off that comes with a wash down.

    What You Need To Know

    • Manatee County Fair Jan. 12-22

    • Steer Sale Jan. 14, 1 p.m.

    • 4-H students spend months raising animals for fair competitions; it’s their Super Bowl

    • Manatee County 4-H’er Mason Huttinger shampoos and blow-dries his steet Maverick every day

    Every day after school, 16-year-old Mason Huttinger is in his grandparents’ Palmetto field taking care of him.

    “I work with him, I spend my time with him. Like talking to him. Saying his name,” said Huttinger, a Manatee County Home Grown Heritage 4-H Club member.

    Huttinger got Maverick last summer, with the goal of growing the best-tasting beef and the shiniest hide in Manatee County by the week of the county fair.

    Every day since June of 2022, he’s washed and cared for this animal. Maverick has nearly doubled in size for the big show and beef auction.

    “I think it’s good it’s going to someone who will eat it and not waste it,” said Huttinger. “And it’s good for me – helping someone else.”

    That’s right. Maverick is a walking steak and a throw rug.

    After his shampoo and rinse, it’s blow-out time. It can take 45-minutes to dry Maverick.

    Huttinger says it’s part of the care he needs.

    “He doesn’t get sick and he feels much better,” said Huttinger.

    Plus Maverick gets a special hair conditioner — more product than Huttinger uses on his own hair.

    And more brushing.

    “I brush him up to keep the hair growing up,” explained Huttinger.

    Darkness falls as Huttinger finishes caring for Maverick, and Huttinger guides Maverick to his pen.

    “I’m ready to put him in his stance and feed him, and he goes to bed,” said Huttinger.

    The stance is the pose for fair judging.

    Maverick’s reward: a barley-based supper with a big side helping of hay. He eats 23 pounds of it a day.

    Huttinger hopes his investment will win Maverick “Overall Supreme Beef Breeding Champion.”

    But Maverick’s already given him a bigger prize — his ideals as a future farmer.

    “He’s going to a family that will love him and feed their kids.”

    Happy steer equals a good meal.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • ‘Making a Snifference’: Conservation dogs help locate bumble bee nests

    ‘Making a Snifference’: Conservation dogs help locate bumble bee nests

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    MILWAUKEE — When researchers wanted to collect data on wild bumble bee nests this past summer, they turned to man’s best friend to help sniff them out.

    What You Need To Know

    • Bumble bee nests are difficult to locate

    • The dogs help sniff out nests of 20 species of bumble bees

    • They are used to locate invasive species as well as turtles

    One is affectionately named Betty White, and her partner in crime is Ernie. The two spent the summer sniffing out bumble bee nests for researchers.

    “Nests, in general, are just super hard for humans to find by themselves. Any valuable find for the dogs is helpful for the researchers,” said Laura Holder of the Conservation Dogs Collective.

    Their slogan is “Making a Snifference.”

    (Spectrum News 1/Jon Fuller)

    The dogs are trained to locate Wisconsin’s approximately 20 species of wild bumble bees.

    On a recent training day in Wauwatosa, Holder hid parts of nests for the dogs to locate.

    “We train with different volumes of the bumble bee nest material. Out in the wild, there could be a tiny little nest or a really large nest,” explained Holder.

    A dog’s superior sense of smell makes it possible to locate nests and collect data on these important pollinators.

    “These dogs are super impressive. When they find a nest, they know exactly where it is,” said Jade Kochanski, University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. graduate student.

    (Spectrum News 1/Jon Fuller)

    With a keen interest in pollinators, Kochanski witnessed the dogs working this summer.

    “If we can increase the efficiency and accuracy of finding bumble bee nests, that can help us answer research questions,” explained Kochanski. “Are there species-specific differences in their nesting preferences? Are prairie restorations helping them?”

    The dogs love to run and sniff, but their contributions are invaluable.

    “Finding the correlation between where they are foraging to where nests are found is a critical piece of information that’s missing right now,” said Holder.

    (Spectrum News 1/Jon Fuller)

    Sniffing around looking for bees may sound like you’re asking for trouble, but problems are rare, Holder said. She carries Benadryl just in case.

    “Bumble bees, you have to make them upset for you or the dog to get stung,” said Holder.

    The dogs can detect more than just bee nests. They can also help locate invasive species like the New Zealand mud snail.

    “We just had a team that came back from Iowa last week. They were doing ornate box turtle surveys. Wood turtles are another thing here in the area that are of great importance,” said Holder.

    The practice is an emerging field that continues to provide useful data for scientists — there’s no doubt it’ll also keep the valuable noses of Ernie and Betty White quite busy. 

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