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Wisconsin cheese moving closer to finally getting its due

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The wood violet, sugar maple and white-tailed deer are already in the club.

So is milk, polka and the honey bee.

In a state so well-known for its cheese, it's hard to fathom that it's yet to receive an official state declaration.

That would all change under a bill up for approval in the state Assembly on Tuesday.

It would name cheese as the state's official dairy product, while also giving lawmakers a chance to cast one of the easiest votes of their careers.

Milk has been the state's official beverage since 1987 and the dairy cow its domestic animal since 1971.

But cheese hasn't been honored with an official designation yet, even though the state produces the most cheese in the country at 11 billion pounds per year.