As communities across the country prepare to mark America's 250th anniversary, many are taking a closer look at how history, industry and culture shape the places they call home. In Menomonie, UW-Stout Polytechnic alumni Megan McDowell '25 and Lin Boland '25 and current student Lily '27 are helping tell those stories through Murals in Menomonie, a community art initiative led by UW-Stout Polytechnic alumnus and 2024 Luminary Alumni Award winner Wade Lambrigtsen '00. Together, they are using public art to celebrate local history, strengthen community pride and create spaces that invite people to connect.
Lambrigtsen believes public art does more than beautify a space. "It's about community pride,” he said. “These murals tell the story of Menomonie and celebrate the people, industries and events that shaped our community. We have such a rich history and bringing it to life through art is something everyone can experience. It also brings people downtown to explore, support local businesses and see our community in a new way."
In addition to Murals in Menomonie, McDowell, Boland and Lily are artists who participated in the 2024 Graffiti and Street Art course at UW-Stout Polytechnic, taught by Lambrigtsen and professor Cynthia Bland. Their class collaborated on a campus mural that introduced the students to the importance, significance and impact of public art.
McDowell, an animation graduate now working as a freelance illustrator and animator, says that experience expanded how she understands storytelling beyond digital media. She returned to participate in Murals in Menomonie to continue developing her mural work and collaborating with other artists. “I hope the murals make people stop, smile and feel connected to where they are,” she said. “It’s about taking stories that live in a place and making them visible in everyday life.” Today, she continues using visual storytelling to help audiences see the world in new ways.
As a future art educator, Lily hopes to make creativity accessible to every student while using public art to strengthen connections between people and place. She returned to contribute to new mural work that invites public engagement and highlights local identity, and was on the team that painted the mural on the UW-Stout Polytechnic administration building. “Art should be something everyone can access,” she said. “Murals give people a way to see themselves in the story of their community.” She plans to bring that philosophy into the classroom, creating spaces where students and communities alike feel seen and connected.
Boland credits the 2024 mural project with providing hands-on experience in collaborative public art that continues to shape her classroom today. As an elementary art teacher in Altoona, she introduces young learners to creativity, confidence and self-expression while showing them their ideas can make an impact. “I want my students to see that their ideas matter and can exist beyond the classroom,” she said. “When they see their work in a shared space, they understand they are part of something larger.”
For Lambrigtsen, seeing his former students return as fellow artists reflects the lasting impact of UW-Stout Polytechnic's applied learning and the relationships built through public art. "Seeing former students come back as artists is incredible," Lambrigtsen said. "We have 10 former students participating this year, and watching their confidence grow has been one of the most rewarding parts. Some are now creating murals in their own communities. Seeing them take what they learned at Stout and use it to make an impact makes me incredibly proud."
While the murals have transformed public spaces in Menomonie, their impact extends far beyond the city. For the artists involved, the project provided the opportunity and experience to continue creating public art, inspiring others and strengthening communities wherever their careers take them.
