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Stoughton, Wisconsin, is about twenty miles southeast of Madison and until recently, it's biggest claims to fame were the Syttende Mai (Norwegian constitution day) Festival and being the Birthplace of the Coffee Break. That's old news, though, as now they're famous for the wandering beach ball.

Channel 3000 - Link in story.
Channel 3000 - Link in story.
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According to Channel 3000, "a post in the Stoughton, WI Neighborhood group first caught the community’s attention. ‘Hey! Is this huge ball yours? It’s at the end of Hyland now’ the post read, attached with a photo of the 4-foot tall, multi-color inflatable beach ball."

Neighbors and neighborhoods started sharing pictures of the beach ball, tracking its progress through the small Wisconsin city that, in 1919, began putting custom wagon bodies on Model T chassis. Since then, it's been similar to the giant red ball that visited Rochester, Minnesota, a while back...

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...except people are getting emotionally close, signing, and kind of treating it like a pet. They've even named it Rolie Polie Ole.

But It's Just A Beach Ball - Won't It Deflate?

Yep...and in the story, a member of the fire department said,

“(We’ve) worked to keep this ball inflated, repaired, alive and moving down the road...To kick it to the next person is a pretty phenomenal thing.”

Some in town even hope a park will be named after it...or, the Good Lord willing, it'll be included in 2022's Syttende Mai festival.

Channel 3000 - Link in story.
Channel 3000 - Link in story.
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Dream big, Stoughton!

As always, if you have a comment, complaint, or concern about something I wrote here, please let me know: james.rabe@townsquaremedia.com

Listen to James Rabe Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11-Noon on KROC AM 1340 and 96.9 FM and Weekdays with Jessica Williams Weekday from 6 - 10 AM on Y-105 FM

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