College gives Menominee Indians another option

For years, young people here who wanted off the Menominee Indian reservation signed up for military service. That was one of the most promising routes to a steady paycheck for young adults in Menominee County, the poorest county in the state ? and one of the poorest in the country. But Verna Fowler started the College of Menominee Nation 17 years ago in her basement in order to give them another option. One of 36 federally-recognized tribal colleges in the country, it?s succeeding at something that the University of Wisconsin System hasn?t traditionally done well ? bringing higher education to Native Americans.