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EPISODE · Mar 13, 2026 · 15 MIN

The past and present of Wisconsin sauna culture

from Lake Effect Spotlight · host WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR

Wisconsin is experiencing a surge in sauna culture — new businesses are popping up in parks, on shorelines and in backyards. But heat bathing has been a part of the Upper Midwest culture for over a century — and it’s largely thanks to the Finnish immigrants who settled along Lake Superior.  Bridget Fogarty is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and she recently visited a few saunas to learn more about this tradition. She joins Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez to share why more people are sweating through Wisconsin winters together.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 13, 2026

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