Volunteers will continue to be hard at work for Door County Habitat for Humanity in 2024, you just will not see them building a new home for a deserving family.

The Door County Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors decided last week to forgo building a new home in 2024 after building two new homes in Door County and completing a major remodel in Algoma in recent years.  The rise in home construction costs and the lack of a partner family were why the organization will not build a new home this year. Out of the disappointment, Door County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Lori Allen believes they have an opportunity to showcase the other ways they have an enormous impact on the community.

Allen adds that they will assist the Door County Housing Partnership in their efforts to build affordable homes in the Sister Bay area. The organization seeks volunteers to help with critical home repair, ramps, deconstruction, and ReStore operations.

For the second cycle in a row, Milt Swagel will try to unseat Rep. Joel Kitchens for the Republican nomination for the Wisconsin State Assembly. Swagel is a farmer from Kewaunee who has served multiple terms on the Kewaunee County Board in recent years. He has also run for West Kewaunee Town Chairperson in the past. Swagel has a passion for public service, having previously served in the U.S. Army. Even though Kitchens bested him in the Republican primary last year, Swagel feels confident that his conservative principles are needed in Madison.

Kewaunee resident Renee Paplham joined the race for the First Assembly District as a Democratic candidate. Monday was the first day candidates could begin circulating nomination papers for the August primary.

The turkeys you have seen in the fields throughout Door and Kewaunee counties will be on notice later this week.  Local Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Warden Chris Kratcha reminds turkey hunters that the 2024 spring turkey season opens this Wednesday, April 17.  He shares some vital gun safety reminders all hunters should follow when heading out to the woods to bag a tom.

Kratcha emphasizes the importance of planning your hunt and hunting your plan.  He says the mild winter will probably mean more birds on the landscape for hunters.     

The 2024 spring turkey season will run from April 17 through May 28 and includes six, seven-day periods running Wednesday through the following Tuesday.

For more information regarding turkey hunting in the state, visit the DNR's Turkey Hunting website here.  

After spending the winter at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, the Tug John Purves is back in its rightful spot behind the Door County Maritime Museum. The former World War I and World War II vessel made its trip across the bay on Monday morning, with other tugboats acting as an escort.

 

 

 

 

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Door County Maritime Museum Executive Director Kevin Osgood said earlier this month that while some repairs were related to being tied up next to a barrier all year long, others could be attributed to its time sailing in saltwater missions during World War I and World War II. Deputy Director Sam Perlman says it was a great experience seeing the tug come through the Michigan Street Bridge, but there is still some work to do before May 1st due to all the work that was done.

The move puts the Tug John Purves in a position to welcome guests beginning May 1st.

Property owners will get a reprieve later in the week, but you are still being advised by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to be highly cautious if you plan on starting a fire or using off-road vehicles. Of the 72 counties in the state, 44 of them, including Brown, Door, Kewaunee, and Manitowoc counties, are at a very high fire danger level. The other 28 counties, primarily in far northern and southern Wisconsin, are listed at high fire danger levels. The National Weather Service says elevated fire weather conditions are expected to stay in the area through Tuesday due to mild temperatures, low humidity, and wind. Embers from fire and sparks from off-road equipment could be enough to start a fire. Saturday was a busy day for fire departments across the state as they responded to 35 wildfires that burned approximately 300 acres. You can expect the fire danger level to drop later in the week when rain hits the area Tuesday night into Wednesday.  

The use of alcohol is alleged to be a contributing factor in one vehicle rollover crash Sunday morning that sent two men to the hospital for suspected injuries. At approximately 6:30 a.m., 20-year-old Levi Kleiman of Kewaunee and his passenger, 19-year-old Dakoda Cornette of Brussels, were driving south on County Highway C near Fox Lane when it crossed the centerline and entered a ditch on the left-hand-side of the road. According to the accident report, Kleiman overcorrected his mistake, re-entering the roadway and crossing both lanes of traffic on County Highway C before returning to the ditch. It was there that Kleiman’s truck re-entered the ditch and overturned several times before coming to rest in a wet, grassy area. By the time deputies arrived, Kleiman and Cornette were both outside of the vehicle, with Cornette being ejected through the side window when the truck was rolling over. Both were taken to Door County Medical Center to be treated for suspected minor injuries. Kleiman was cited for causing injury while operating under the influence, failure to keep the vehicle under control, and keeping open intoxicants in the motor vehicle.

A Sturgeon Bay man was sent to the hospital Friday afternoon after his vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a structure. At 11:15 a.m., 80-year-old Richard Bohn was traveling north on County Road M near High Cliff Road when he crossed the center line and the southbound lane before entering a ditch. His passenger van struck some large chunks of cut wood as it traveled through the ditch. After it crossed High Cliff Road, the vehicle crashed into concrete and stone structure where it stopped. According to the accident report, Bohn said he may have looked down at his phone, but that he did not remember doing it. He also told the Sheriff’s Deputy that by the time he entered the ditch, it was too late to take any corrective measures. The crash caused significant damage to the structure and the van, which had to be towed. Bohn was cited with failure to keep his vehicle under control and taken to Door County Medical Center for a suspected minor injury. 

Beginning next month, a group of community members hope to show you how far a haircut and a couple of loads of laundry can go to improve mental health in Door County. Studies show that putting on clean clothes every day and regular haircuts can give people a boost in confidence, reduce anxiety, and a positive self-image. Like everything, inflation has damaged people’s ability to afford to do their laundry or keep up with haircuts. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, laundry, and dry cleaning services experienced an average inflation rate of just over three percent, about half a percentage point higher than the overall inflation rate. It’s part of why Lori DeJardin from DC Laundromat, Ron Wehringer from Door County Trolley, Trent Snyder from Bridge Up Brewing, and the Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church teamed up to form the Clean Start Initiative. Once a month, community members in need can bring their items to the laundromat to have them cleaned and receive a haircut while they wait if needed. Wehringer says he helped start a similar program in New Jersey, where he owned a salon. Snyder said when Wehringer told him about the idea, he knew he wanted to be a part of it.

Snyder adds that you can donate laundry pods, dryer sheets, or money to the brewery or to Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church. The first Clean Start event will take place on May 6th from 6 to 9 p.m.

Picture courtesy of Bridge up Brewing

You will be able to weigh in on how the state runs the 2024 deer hunting season in your county in the coming weeks. Each county in Wisconsin has a County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC) to provide input and recommendations to the department on deer management within their county. Councils work with local department staff to schedule meetings, provide community outreach and an opportunity for public input, review population data and deer impacts on forests and agriculture, develop three-year recommendations on county population objectives and create annual antlerless harvest quotas. You have until April 14th to click this link to let your thoughts known ahead of the dozens of meetings being held across the state. The DNR will host its deer advisory council meeting in Door County on April 24th at 6 p.m. at the Door County Government Center in Sturgeon Bay and in Kewaunee County on April 29th at 7 p.m. at the Kewaunee County Highway Department in Kewaunee.

You will be able to experience some of the history of the Belgian community this summer in Door County while touring an early 1900s school classroom.  The Belgian Heritage Center renovated the old schoolhouse facility in Namur last year and added to an already impressive cultural history exhibit.  President Joe Alexander shares the improvements done to the building this past year as the Belgian Heritage Center prepares to open for the season on May 24th. 

Alexander notes that Northeastern Wisconsin was the largest settlement of Walloon people in the United States, peaking at 5,167 in 1880.  Walloon is a language of French dialect spoken in southeastern Belgium.  The Belgian Heritage Center will host a Booyah and Bread lunch event on Sunday, April 21, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.  You can find more details on that event and the history of the Belgian settlement in Door County here.

You will not be able to have your fish weighed in city parks during fishing tournaments if the Sturgeon Bay Common Council approves the recommendation on Tuesday.

Last June, the city modified its rules to encourage weigh-on-the-water formats to be used for fishing tournaments, especially if they took place during the early parts of the season when some species of fish are spawning. According to a memo from City Administrator Josh VanLieshout, some of the language in the new policy was interpreted as regulating fishing, which municipalities are not allowed to do. The city and the Department of Natural Resources collaborated to update the policy to omit references to spawning and fishing activities and focus more on what occurs on dry land. Because of tournaments already booked on consecutive weekends in May, the revised policy will not go into effect until next year. Tuesday’s meeting, which will take place inside Sturgeon Bay City Hall at 6 p.m., will be the first for District 2 alderperson Matthew Huston, who defeated incumbent Dennis Statz earlier this month in the spring election. The council will also weigh in on new pricing for the workforce housing built in the Geneva Ridge development and discuss a special levy assessment for sidewalk installation on and near Hudson Avenue.

Every Day is Earth Day is an annual event celebrating the people, organizations, and businesses that uphold our sustainable culture in Door County and beyond.  On Sunday, April 21, from 1:00-4:00, Crossroads at Big Creek will host the third day of the four-day festival.  

During the family-friendly event  “Capturing the Energy of the Sun,” Crossroads and many of our partner organizations will offer tree planting, displays,  demonstrations, films, kids’ activities, guided hikes, free tree seedlings, free native wildflower seeds, and educational materials, and if we are lucky, experience safe solar viewing and naturalist-led tours to see the annual sucker run.

So how does the Sun fit the 2024 Door County Every Day is Earth Day theme: “Energy-Making It and Saving It”?

One of the basic concepts of ecology is that (almost) “all energy begins with the Sun and passes through organisms within an ecosystem.”

Take, for example, planting trees. Our partners from the Door County Climate Change Coalition, in collaboration with Crossroads Habitat Healers, will hold one of their Big Plants at the Crossroads event. Volunteers are invited to help plant native trees at Crossroads.

Most people realize that green leaves, through the seemingly miraculous process of photosynthesis, can capture the sun's energy, combine it with water and air, and convert it to sugar…food.

I thought I understood the food web---- that energy from the Sun is captured by plants, and then animals eat plants, and other animals eat them, so the energy is passed along. And in many cases, that is true. But it’s complicated.

Until I read Douglas Tallamy's book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, I did not realize that “insects are able to eat only vegetation from plants with which they share an evolutionary history." In other words, most native Wisconsin insects can eat only one or two species of native Wisconsin plants. All other plants are distasteful or even poisonous to them. 

But consider that in our region, during breeding season, almost all of our songbirds feed themselves and their young with soft, juicy, nutritious caterpillars. Exclusively. And most moths and butterflies lay eggs only on native plants.  But even locally native plants are not equally beneficial. Research by Dr. Tallamy and his team at the University of Delaware has determined that 14% of native plants support 90% of butterfly and moth species. And that matters. Without caterpillars, there can be no baby birds. And, actually, mammals and even fish also relish caterpillars this time of year.

It becomes even more complicated with bees. Most bees – native wild bees and domestic European honeybees – will visit a variety of flowers to gather nectar, but in order to raise their young, they require high-quality pollen, pollen containing four essential amino acids from which to make protein. According to horticulturist Jarrod Fowler, “15-60% of native bees are pollen specialists who collect pollen from only 40% of regionally native plants.”

Consequently, representatives from the Door County Master Gardeners and Wild Ones-Door Peninsula will have booths at which they can help visitors learn about host plants, pick up free wildflower seeds, and perhaps most importantly, learn which locally native trees will support the greatest number of butterflies, moths, and native bees.

Researchers are just beginning to understand how the Sun’s energy becomes food in the leaves, passes through tree trunks to their roots, and grows in association with fungi. The food from the trees supports vast networks of fungi, which in return help trees absorb water and nutrients and, unbelievably, enable trees to communicate with each other and share resources.

So much to learn!  So many ways to learn. And thanks to the generosity of Crossroads donors and volunteers, and our partners in conservation, learners of all ages (please bring the kids!)  can enjoy the Sunday afternoon event free of charge.

Other programs at Crossroads this week include a Door County Master Gardener Program on heirloom vegetables, our weekly family program, Saturday Science, will enable learners of all ages to “Meet the Squirrels” and the League of Women Voters will present a forum aptly named “The Big Stink-A Question of Manure.”

Thursday, April 18

 6:30 pm  DCMGA: Heirloom Biographies

Delve into the intricate histories of cherished heirloom plants with Janell Wehr. We’ll explore captivating stories, including AW Livingston, the father of the modern tomato, and Wisconsin’s own Beaver Dam peppers and Picha potatoes. We’ll unravel the unique narratives behind these beloved varieties and many more, each rooted in cultural and agricultural significance. The program culminates in an insightful understanding of terms heirloom, open-pollinated, hybrid, and GMO.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be live streamed at Crossroads at Big Creek at 6:30 p.m. and also available for at-home viewing via Zoom. Those who prefer to watch at home can join the zoom meeting on the day of the event by clicking  at https://www.dcmga.org/

The Wehr lecture is presented in collaboration with Crossroads at Big Creek and Door County Seed Library.

Saturday, April 20

2:00 pm  Science Saturdays: Meet the Squirrels

Learners of all ages will learn about the bushy-tailed  grey squirrels and red squirrels through a video, games and a hike to visit a red squirrel midden.

Science Saturdays is a free, family-friendly program geared toward elementary students but we welcome learners of all ages. Hopefully, part of this  program will  be outdoors. Please dress for the weather. No registration required. Free and open to the public. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay,

Sunday, April 21  

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Every Day is Earth Day : Capturing the Energy of the Sun

A celebration of energy in nature featuring  demonstrations, nature journaling walks, films,  tree planting with The Big Plant, demonstrations, citizen science, and other family-fun activities. Free trees, free wildflowers seeds, conditions permitting, Safe Solar Viewing and Naturalist-led Sucker Run Tour. In the Collins Learning Center and grounds of Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

1:00-4:00--Habitat Healers: Earth Day Plantings with The Big Plant

This week volunteers will be planting tree seedlings! Wear clothing and footgear that can get dirty and wet and bring a water bottle. Instruction, equipment, and gloves provided along with cookies and lemonade at the end! Meet at the Workshop, Crossroads at Big Creek,  2041 Michigan Street, Sturgeon Bay

Tuesday, April 23  

6:30 pm  League of Women Voters Forum: The Big Stink – A Question of Manure

LWV: The Big Stink - A Question of Manure - Crossroads at Big Creek

The League of Women Voters invites you to a public forum surrounding the topic of manure. Manure management is a...

The League of Women Voters invites you to a public forum surrounding the topic of manure. Manure management is a complicated subject, especially given Door County’s Dairy fragile karst substrate and the importance of water health.  We hope to make sense of the benefits and challenges of manure management through a presentation involving regulators, farmers and environmental experts.

Free and open to the public. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

Wednesday, April 24

10:00 Crossroads Book Club

This month we’re reading Rooted by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Crossroads will have a few copies of the book available to borrow if needed. Whether you’ve read the book yet or not, we would love for you to join us as we explore the stories, ideas, and concepts shared within the pages of this awesome books! Gather around the fireplace at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan Sturgeon Bay.

Door County Medical Center staff will guide you through four health-related topics during a special event at its Sister Bay Clinic on Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. In the opening session (1 p.m.) and closing session (4 p.m.), Door County Medical Center Lead Chaplain and Social Worker Erin Szakala will discuss the steps families take when making end-of-life medical care decisions.  At 2 p.m., Senior Life Solutions Program Director Jennalee Lundquist will cover her program that helps seniors experiencing depression or anxiety due to the life changes that come with getting older. Door County Public Health’s Shauna Blackledge will introduce attendees to the new Door County CredibleMind platform launched earlier this year, which offers mental health resources online during her 3 p.m. session. At 3:30 p.m., Beverly Beyer from the Door County Medical Center Sleep Lab will present information about the potentially serious issues that could come if you suffer from sleep apnea. Lindsey Donohue from the Door County Medical Center Sister Bay Clinic hopes this is the first of many learning opportunities the facility hosts.

You are encouraged to register for the sessions, which are taking place in the center’s second-floor education room, by calling 920-868-3511.

During this time of tax preparation, many focus on their financial state's wellbeing. Countless hours are spent calculating expenses, evaluating revenues, and accounting for assets. This is a necessary exercise that is part of adult life, and I am grateful to be able to contribute to the perpetuation of this great nation and the resources we have available through the collective sense of obligation we have to each other.

I have spoken before about the four tenants of wellness, with financial wellness being one of them, but I want to focus on the word that we usual associate with financial wellness, and the limitations it places on our ability to truly thrive in life. The word is wealth, and it has taken on a very limited application as to financial status, so I am going to attempt to broaden it.

I will start with my own story of growing up on a small farm and how money, or in this case, the lack thereof, was an early lesson in the true meaning of wealth.

My parents raised six kids on 38 head of dairy cattle. Let that sink in for a bit. During that time, they battled, drought years, flooding years, decimated milk, and crop markets, along with cancer and many other struggles. While most of our nation was experiencing the boom of the 80’s we were living in the realities of the 30s. But here’s the thing: we didn’t know it.  We were being raised by two people who loved each other as much as they loved each one of us. They knew their purpose and remained steadfast in their commitments. There was never talk of poverty or want for more, just appreciation for all that we had. We were in fact wealthy beyond our own ability to grasp it.

So, let’s get back to that word from earlier: wealth. For a moment, set aside its association with finances, and apply it to the other tenants of wellbeing. Are you emotionally wealthy, with a sound portfolio of optimism, appreciation and contentment?  How is your Social Wealth? Have you invested in the relationships that truly matter in your life and support those relationships with meaningful interactions? Finally and most importantly, how is your Spiritual wealth? Do you rise every day knowing that you are part of something bigger than yourself? Knowing that you were placed here for a specific purpose. Does your existence have meaning beyond material accumulation or social status?

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Wealth is Poverty. I fear that in our world today, especially in this great nation, we are, in fact, suffering from poverty—a poverty of the soul, the heart, and the mind. The good news is that we have the ability to raise ourselves from this state of poverty into lives of unlimited wealth—wealth of Mind, Heart, and Spirit. Once you have established those foundations of wealth, your returns are unlimited.  

You can catch two ensembles from Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door high schools take their final bows after they were honored by the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program this week.

The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program is an education initiative that celebrates and supports the achievement of high school theater while developing confidence, creativity, and collaboration among high school students in Northeast Wisconsin. Luxemburg–Casco High School’s production of The Addams Family and Southern Door High School’s imagining of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins were nominated for outstanding ensemble awards. Luxemburg-Casco’s Matthew Brand (Gomez Addams) and Southern Door’s Noah Rass (Bert) were both nominated for their outstanding performance in a lead role. At the same time, Bowie Bredael (Morticia Addams) and Jonah Doperalski (Uncle Fester) received honorable mentions. Southern Door’s Molly Hall (Jane Banks) and Lilly Schmidt (Michael Banks) were nominated for outstanding performances in a supporting role. Drama Director Mary Hall earned her own nomination for being an influential theater educator at Southern Door. Hall and Luxemburg-Casco choir director Margaret Meder gave all the praise to their students for the ensembles getting the opportunity to stage the stage again.

HALL: 

MEDER:

Rass will be walking out of the Fox Cities Performance Center with an award regardless of how the rest of the evening goes after he earned one of two Inspiration Through The Arts Scholarships. Both schools will participate in the Jimmys, a red carpet, Tony Awards®-style showcase at the Fox Cities PAC on May 18th at 7:30 p.m.

Picture courtesy of Southern Door School District

Do not be shocked if you are inundated with election advertisements well into next year. Wisconsinites are coming off the most expensive state judicial elections in U.S. history when $45 million was poured into the contest, according to OpenSecrets.org, which led to Janet Protasiewicz being elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court over former Justice Daniel Kelly. The U.S. Presidential Race has already garnered more than $482.9 million in campaign funding, and the race for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat between Senator Tammy Baldwin and Eric Hovde is also slated to be one of the nation’s most expensive. With Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley announcing earlier this week that she will retire at the end of her term and ideological control hanging in the balance, Common Cause in Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck expects even more money entering the political arena leading up to that election in April 2025.

Heck does not believe Bradley’s retirement announcement will greatly impact the number of cases the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will hear in the coming months, adding that their calendar does not necessarily mesh with what is going on in the state politically.

While robins have been around for a while, the first true sign of spring is when you see road and parking lot improvements begin in the City of Sturgeon Bay. City Engineer Chad Shefchik shared the news on Friday about the start of the construction season, with work on the N. 2nd Street parking between Michigan Street and Louisiana Street already underway. After the construction company finishes up the parking lot, crews from Martell Construction will then start cutting, removing, and replacing concrete curbing and sidewalk in the following areas:

• N 18th Place (from Georgia Street to Jefferson Drive)
• Jefferson Drive (from N 18th Place to N 18th Ave)
• Iowa Street (from N 18th Place to N 18th Ave)
• Huron Street (from N 14th Place to N 15th Place)
• Huron Court (from Huron Street to N 15th Place)
• N 15th Place (from Huron Street to Georgia Street)

On Monday, Northeast Asphalt will begin its paving projects on Cove Road (from 715’ north of Zenith Street to the south termination) and Zenith Street (from Cove Road to the west termination), hoping to finish by the end of next week. Earlier this week, the city shut down traffic on N 7th Avenue between Delaware and Colorado streets for gas main construction work. Shefchik reminds residents to use alternative routes if possible so the work can finish quickly and everyone can navigate the area safely.

The second statewide tornado drill, set for 6:45 p.m. tonight (Thursday), has been canceled because of the threat of severe weather later this evening. This evening's tornado drill will not be rescheduled.

NOAA weather radios, mobile devices, and local media sounded earlier this afternoon during the annual drill as part of the Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week campaign.

Ready Wisconsin recommends that you create an emergency plan and practice it.  You should know where designated shelters are located at home, work, and school.  Always be ready to go there if your area has issued a tornado warning.   Have your phone enabled to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and stay aware by keeping an eye on the weather forecast as you make plans.

Many of the memories you have made in the City of Algoma is thanks to Jim Rabas, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 76. A business owner in the city, Rabas was known to support many local community organizations such as the Algoma Chamber of Commerce, Kewaunee County Historical Society, Agricultural Heritage Resources, and Community Improvement of Algoma. One of his larger efforts every year was organizing the Shanty Days in Algoma Parade, where his steam engine that took on the life of Thomas the Tank Engine was one of the many highlights. Algoma Chamber of Commerce Vice President Mark Kunkel says Rabas carried with him a great enthusiasm for the city and the void he leaves will be hard to fill.

Rabas is survived by his wife Dori, three siblings, three children, and four grandchildren. Friends may call at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on 4th Street, Algoma from 1:00 p.m. until the prayer service at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. You can read the full obituary here.

Picture courtesy of Schinderle Funeral Home

Outside of the times when you lose power, you might have never thought about what goes into becoming a line worker. According to Wisconsin Public Service, more than 500 field workers from across Wisconsin and the Midwest came to the area for what they call “one of the largest restoration efforts in WPS history. The wind and snow caused line workers to have to restring 40 miles of power line and replace more than 300 poles and 20,000 other pieces of equipment across more than 40,000 work hours. Like many industries, finding line workers is easier said than done. The next generation of line workers is hard at work at programs hosted at schools like Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay. The college offers a nine-month technical program consisting of classroom time and hands-on training before they find apprenticeships. Instructor Pete Mleziva says it is a rewarding career with plenty of positives that go beyond what is printed on a pay stub.

WPS Spokesperson Matt Cullen said last week during the restoration efforts that they owe a lot of thanks to the lineworkers who connected homes and businesses.

Mleziva says many line workers have a starting wage of nearly $60,000 a year.

Picture courtesy of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

Two seats on the Door County Board could be filled if the winners choose to accept after the county’s board of canvassers met earlier this week to confirm last week’s elections. Voters in Districts 8 and 19 selected their new representatives via write-in votes after their former supervisors, Rodney Beardsley (District 8) and Dave Lienau (District 19), opted not to run for re-election. Collin Jeanquart (District 8) and Patrick Voight (District 19) won the majority of the write-in votes, though neither district had more than a few dozen votes. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Jeanquart is the President and CEO of Sturgeon Bay-based Just In Time Corporation while Voight is a Senior Information Security Consultant for Little Chute-based Heartland Business Systems. If they accept their newly elected positions, they could take their oath of office at next week’s Door County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 16th. The meeting is more for organizational purposes as supervisors will elect the new board chairperson and vice-chairperson before they learn their committee assignments for the upcoming term.

UPDATE: The 6:45 p.m. tornado drill has been canceled because of the possibility of severe weather.

Do not be shocked if your phone goes off or if you hear other warnings, as Wisconsin emergency management departments recognize National Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week with a statewide drill. The state will conduct its statewide tornado drills today (Thursday, 4/11) at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. While some communities will use their outdoor sirens as a part of the drill, many will rely on the National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio tests or individual communities’ emergency alert systems. Kewaunee County Emergency Management Director Tracy Nollenberg encourages residents to use the drills to practice what they and their families can do when a severe weather event occurs.

Nollenberg credits its emergency alert system for helping approximately 7,800 residents stay up-to-date last week with the status of power outages and locations of warming centers. You can sign up for Kewaunee County’s Rave Alert system by clicking this link.

Jennalee Lundquist considers herself lucky, but she still serves as a reminder to you about the importance of living organ donation. 

Lundquist, the Program Director of Senior Life Solutions at Door County Medical Center, was the featured speaker of this year’s Donate Life ceremony held in front of the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Lundquist reflected on her organ donation experience over a decade ago when she donated her kidney to a close family relative so she could live a better life. Because polycystic kidney disease runs in her family, there have been more than sixteen kidney donations among relatives since the mid-1970s.

After having to postpone the procedure because of her pregnancy, Lundquist and her father’s cousin Becky went under the knife in 2012 for a kidney transplant. While Lundquist adjusted to life with one kidney, she was happy that her deed helped give Becky a new lease on life after living with the disorder that caused her kidneys to become riddled with cysts and balloon to the size of small infants.

Lundquist hopes her story inspires others to become organ donors, whether it helps save a life while you are living or after you are gone. April is National Donate Life Month, which raises awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation in the country.

It turns out that last week’s storms only provided you a temporary reprieve from fire danger worries, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Just under 40 counties, including Door, Kewaunee, Brown, and Manitowoc counties, are back to experiencing high fire danger levels due to dry conditions. Only six counties in northern Wisconsin are experiencing low fire danger levels, with the rest sitting at a moderate level. Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht reminded readers and listeners earlier this year about the dangers that are present when fire danger is at elevated levels.

There have been over 240 wildfires in Wisconsin in 2024, with the DNR blaming the lack of precipitation and mild temperatures for the current dry conditions.

Two long-time Algoma Fire and Rescue volunteers were honored this past weekend for more than 25 years of service. Lynn Schiesser, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), served with the department for over 30 years, and Firefighter/Engineer/EMS driver Don Daul was a 26-year veteran. Algoma Fire Chief Tom Ackerman says the commitment and dedication shown by the men over the years will be hard to replace.

Ackerman adds that the Algoma Fire and Rescue has about 45 volunteers, with 28 serving as firefighters, which is as low as he has seen in his 40 years with the department.  Anyone interested in volunteering with Algoma Fire and Rescue can contact Ackerman through the City of Algoma email at afdchief@algomacity.org.  

Pictured (left to right) - Chief Tom Ackerman, Ret EMT Lynn Schiesser, Ret FF Don Daul, EMS Director Rory Groessl, and Assistant Chief Tom Vandenack.

Photo credit - Todd Haltaufderheid, Retired AFD Administrative Captain