Wisconsin State Parks on the Air

Date/time: 3rd Saturday in September each year from 11 am to 6 pm local time.

September 19, 2026.

The purpose of the Wisconsin Parks on the Air (WIPOTA) operating contest is to promote public awareness of ham radio within Wisconsin’s beautiful state park system.

The objective of WIPOTA is to have competing stations operate from as many Wisconsin parks as possible and work hams in other WI parks, as well as hams not located in a park in any state, province or country.

Caitlyn (Cait) Nalley is originally from Louisville, KY and received her B.A. in Environmental and International Studies from the University of Michigan in 2020. After earning a graduate certificate in Environmental Education from Hamline University during the pandemic, Cait moved to Denver, Colorado and worked full time in education and part time on a farm for 2 years.

In 2023, Cait moved to Madison, Wisconsin and began working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Applied Science as a communications specialist.

Loving this work, Cait decided to pursue her master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also a communications assistant within the Department of Life Sciences Communications.

Click here to read her class paper: Calling from Wisconsin parks: Ham radio operators make connections

Her interests range from natural resources coverage to human interest features. She has experience in strategic communications as well as freelance writing, field photography and videography.