McClane Noffke’s J347 Blog

According to a Pew Research Center study, approximately 3.42% of the U.S. population are actuaries, and that percentage seems to be on the decline. And one can assume why: for most people, it takes between 7 and 10 years to become a fully qualified actuary. Aspiring actuaries in the U.S. typically spend between 3 and 5 years getting a bachelor’s degree and about 7 to 8 passing all ten actuarial exams. So, as one can imagine, the study of actuarial science is an office job that the average citizen doesn’t seem to know too much about. So let’s take a look into the world of actuary sciences by talking to one of the U.S.’s more prominent actuaries: Scott Dennison.

Since the start of the pandemic, UC Live has provided COVID-safe event options for students to enjoy. And as restrictions have lifted and classes have moved back to in-person, UC Live has decided to bring back more in-person events. This semester the UC team has introduced a brand-new event that allowed students to compete by showcasing their many talents. UW-Whitewater students practiced endlessly to perform at the first-ever Rising Star Talent Competition

After announcing his retirement date at a Board of Regents meeting on February 11th, UW System President Tommy Thompson commenced on a farewell tour. On this farewell tour, Thompson stopped at all UW schools, including UW-Whitewater, to say goodbye, celebrate his achievements, and thank those who he worked alongside. Our reporter, McClane Noffke, has more details on Thompson’s recent visit to Whitewater.

As the labor shortage continues, many businesses are struggling to find new workers. And the campus of UW-Whitewater is no different. We sat down with Angie Carchesi, a Video Production Assistant for the University, and asked what it is like to work amidst the “Great Resignation,” as well as how it has affected her job responsibilities.

In Episode One of the Murder of Mystery Podcast, we delve into the mysterious death of Barbara Kendhammer. Did her husband, Todd Kendhammer, kill Barbara? Or was Barbara a victim to an unfortunate accident?

Often when I go seeking news stories, I focus most of my attention on stories from my hometown, La Crosse. My reasoning for doing so is because I feel that monitoring what is currently happening in my town is the best way for me to be knowledgeable about the community. The local stories are the most useful to me, so it benefits me the most to be informed about local news before I educate myself on national affairs. 

Typically, I get my news from broadcasting stations. When I can, I will sit down and watch WXOW’s Live at 5 broadcast report. But of course, I cannot always sit down and watch the news. So, in order to stay well informed, I follow WXOW, WKBT, and the La Crosse Tribune on social media, namely Facebook and Instagram. By doing so I see all the top headline stories while I scroll through my feeds. 

Unlike most, I have not yet jumped on the bandwagon for joining Twitter, blogs, or podcasts I have tried to enjoy Twitter, as well as a variety of blogs and podcasts but I do not prefer them over broadcast. So, I tend to steer away from Twitter accounts, blogs, and podcasts and steer myself towards Facebook and Instagram. 

And while I am scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, I often come across stories that have a large comment section. And while I have never commented on a news story, I do enjoy reading the comments and debates that people are having because it shows me how others in the area are reacting. 

And other times, when I see an interesting headline, I will head over to the sources website and read the full story. Often times if the story leaves me with more questions than answers I will head over to Google to do more research. This includes the WXOW website, the WKBT website, or the La Crosse Tribune website, as those are the main newsrooms of the La Crosse area. 

Out of these three big new sources of La Crosse, my favorite would be WXOW because on their homepage is all their top stories of the week and on the right-hand side of the screen, they have a forecast report. Plus, all their information about sports, COVID-19, and politics are sorted out onto different pages, making it easy to find the exact news I am looking for.

Now I, like many others, prefer to watch the news. I enjoy seeing the videos that come along with the narration – it humanizes the story and gives more emotion than plain text is able to do. For that reason, I prefer to watch my news rather than read it or listen to audio reporting.

And in the age of fast, quick news reporting, the threat of fake news is always in the back of my mind. The way that I ensure all my news is factual, I only read new stories from sources that I know are credible. To me, that means all information is direct, clear, and verified. And when I do come across sources that I am unfamiliar with, I often put them through fact-checking websites such as factcheck.org or snopes.com. By doing so I know that all of the information I am reading is real and authentic. 

Being that this is my very first blog post, I feel that it is only appropriate for me to introduce myself. My name is McClane Noffke and I am originally from Holmen, WI. During my childhood and adolescence, I spent the majority of my time reading, drawing, or playing outside. My grandmother would take me to the library anytime I went to visit her and she would always buy me books she saw at thrift stores or yard sales. As for my love of art, my parents were keen on displaying my art on the fridge weekly or buying me a big corkboard for my room, so that I could tack my drawings to the wall. And as for my love of the outdoors, I would spend hours upon hours in the sandbox, on the swings, or in the garden with my mom. Summertime weekends were spent swimming, canoeing, or tubing on the Mississippi River. And wintertime weekends were spent sledding down the big hill in the backyard with my two older siblings. 

As I grew older and entered high school my joy of reading, drawing, and playing outside evolved. My reading level grew higher and more intense. My love of drawing turned into painting and then ultimately shifted into a completely different art form: music. I put forth a majority of my free time in high school playing the flute in various ensembles: concert bands, pep bands, marching bands, and even solo performances. But during the times I was not reading or practicing my latest sheet music, I was outside. I found that I enjoyed hiking the most and bought myself a WI state park pass. With this pass, my family, friends, and I were able to drive to Perrot State Park every weekend to hike different trails. I found a lot of hidden gems on these weekends: the Holland Sand Prairie, the Halfway Creek Trail, Hixon Forest, Grandad Bluff, and the Trempealeau Nature Reserve trails. Summertime weekends were still spent on the river swimming, canoeing, and tubing. And winter weekends were spent trying to snowshoe at the Norskedalen Nature Trails, or they were spent reading books and practicing music. 

My love of all these activities was carried with me as I set off to college. My fondness for reading has helped make those textbook chapters bearable and my enjoyment of music led to my enrollment in the University’s marching band, pep band, and concert bands. And as for my devotion to the outdoors, I have begun to budget what little money I make so I am able to travel to places outside of Wisconsin during the warmer months. During the summer of 2019, I spent a week in Arizona where my family and I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and camped out overnight, walked through Antelope Canyon, and hiked along the creeks in Zion. In the summer of 2021 I was able to spend a week in Utah where I hiked through The Narrows, Angel’s Landing in Zion, sand sledding and ATV riding at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, viewing dinosaur tracks in Kanab, hiking among the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, and swimming in the waterfall at the Lower Calf Creek Falls. And while I do not yet have plans for the summer of 2022, I have had my eye on a few parks in Montana. 

But until then, I will be spending my time reading textbooks for classes, playing music for the pep band, and waiting for the warmer weather. 

So now that you know a little bit more about me, I hope that you enjoy reading and interacting with the rest of my blog posts.