What caused an after-school traffic jam in Wisconsin? ‘Cows on the loose,’ video shows

Parents and students got quite the show Thursday as cows thwarted end-of-the-day pick up at a Wisconsin school.

Students from kindergarten through eighth grade at Swallow School in Hartland were heading out for the day when school officials heard some unusual chatter over the radio — several “brown cows on the loose” were running down the road in front of the school, officials said in a news release posted to Facebook.

Superintendent Melissa Thompson and custodian Jeffrey Grunwald grabbed their safety vests and rushed outside to try to herd the cows as principal Adam Scanlan ran to halt traffic in the after-school pick up line.

Traffic backed up to a busy intersection, but school officials say parents were bemused by the whole situation.

Kelly Peiffer took video from the pick up line, which shows two cows ambling past her car in front of the school as she chuckles.

“Only in Wisconsin would this be the reason for an end-of-the-day traffic jam at school,” Grunwald said later.

It took several school officials and a few neighbors, but the group was able to herd the cows back to safety and get traffic flowing again.

Several in the pick up line saw it all play out and took to Facebook to share their experiences.

“Best pick up ever! Who had ‘Running of the Cows’ on their Pandemic Bingo Card,” one wrote.

“I was on the other side of the intersection when they ran through. So funny!!” wrote another.

“And my two little grandchildren right there to see it all — willing to hop out and help get ‘em in,” a third wrote.

Thompson joked that the experience might be worthy to note on her resume.

“Now I can add that to my resume, too! We work with everyone from 4K — through grown cattle!” she said in the release.

Hartland is roughly 30 miles west of Milwaukee.

This story was originally published January 10, 2021 at 11:12 AM with the headline "What caused an after-school traffic jam in Wisconsin? ‘Cows on the loose,’ video shows."