The annual Ugly Sweater Run in Fish Creek next Saturday can have you and your family enjoying the great outdoors while gearing up for the holidays. Door County YMCA Branch Executive Holly Butenhoff says the 5K fun run and walk will begin at the Jackie & Steve Kane Program Center and is more of a casual event that the whole family can enjoy. 

The 2024 Door County YMCA Ugly Sweater 5K Fun Run & Walk will start at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 7th, with an entry fee of $15, including a free T-shirt with pre-registration.  Butenhoff adds that the festivities include hot cocoa, music, cookie decorating, and a visit with Santa Claus after the fun run and walk. 

Don't be shocked if you encounter four-string players during your Green Bay and Door County travels in the coming weeks. The Griffon String Quartet kicks off its holiday season with pop-up caroling performances on December 2nd and 3rd in Green Bay before crisscrossing Door County from December 9th through 12th. The brief showcases their full-length concerts that visit Brussels, Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay, and Egg Harbor later in the month. Midsummer's Music Executive Director Allyson Fleck says the caroling concerts in the community put people in the holiday spirit, even if it confuses you at the deli counter.

The caroling schedule is still finalized, but reservations for the Griffon String Quartet's four-holiday shows are available here. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services wants you to check your refrigerator for cucumbers that may be infected with salmonella.

The agency, along with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), local health departments, and federal partners, is working to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to cucumbers. Sixty-eight people from 19 states, including three in Wisconsin, have become ill after ingesting the affected cucumbers. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the cucumbers were sold by SunFed Produce, LLC (SunFed) and shipped to 26 states, including Wisconsin, between October 12th and November 26th.

You are encouraged to throw away the cucumbers and call where you bought them for further information, including possible refunds. 

You can participate in the festive activities at the Gibraltar Historical Association Holiday Event next Saturday, December 7 in Fish Creek.

The celebration and evening begin at 5 p.m. with a stroll down to Noble Square for the annual tree lighting and caroling.  The Gibraltar School Choir will lead a sing-along of “Old Tanenbaum” and other Christmas favorites as attendees join in by candlelight.

Following the celebration, hot cocoa and homemade cookies will be served at the Blue Horse Café in Fish Creek.   The community event then finishes with a walk through Fish Creek, taking in all the holiday lights.

Gibraltar Historical Association operates the Alexander Noble House Museum, which provides free audio tours of Fish Creek’s historic buildings and offers educational programs throughout the year. 

You can nominate someone who graduated from Southern Door High School and has had an extraordinary impact as a leader, innovator, or advocate in the last twenty years since attending the school.  The Southern Door School District is looking for nominations for the 2025 Alumni Hall of Fame.

The nominees should have distinguished themselves in their careers and made significant contributions to the community, as well as to the state or national level.

You can nominate a person you feel is deserving of receiving the prestigious honor that celebrates graduates who left Southern Door twenty or more years ago and should be part of the school’s hall of fame.

Nomination forms are available on the district’s website under the Community tab or by contacting the high school office. The deadline for submitting your nomination is January 31. The 2025 honorees will be recognized at next year’s Southern Door homecoming football game on Friday, September 26, 2025. 

Over 25 people have been inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame since its inaugural class of 2013.

(photo courtesy of Southern Door School District)

While you will not find Santa or flashy Christmas lights hidden in the woods of Baileys Harbor, The Ridges Sanctuary will have plenty of winter activities for you and your family to enjoy later this month. The Ridges Sanctuary reprises its Natural Christmas celebration from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on December 14th. While many activities, like guided hikes and s'mores making, occur outside, one of the more beautiful sites occurs inside The Ridges Sanctuary's Kaye Cabin. Director of Programming Anna Foster says that for 17 years, Jane Whitney and Julie Knox have taken it upon themselves to ensure that the building is fit for the holidays. With a theme of winter cardinal, Foster says the decorated cabin is one of her favorite parts of the event.

While much of the Natural Christmas celebration is free, some activities like wreath making do require a paid registration.

You can participate in a holiday event at the Door County YMCA that will bring generations together.  On December 6, the Sturgeon Bay Program Center will be hosting the "Christmas Then & Now" event.  Branch Executive Director Holly Butenhoff says grandparents and grandkids can team up for a holiday bake-off, art project, Christmas Carol karaoke, and decorating gingerbread men.  She notes that you can go at your own pace and pick and choose your favorite activities.

The Christmas Then & Now is $8.00 per child and the grandparents are free to attend.  The event will run from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 6. 

(photo from Pixabay)

Gibraltar town officials are getting excited about the prospect of you exploring Fish Creek and the surrounding communities using something other than your car. Last week, Destination Door County announced that the Town of Gibraltar would receive a $75,000 grant to construct a new trail connecting the recently acquired upper Bluff parkland to established trails in Fish Creek. That parkland was partially the result of another $100,000 grant last year from Destination Door County that got the town to almost the halfway point of its $1.5 million offer to purchase the Redmann property so it can expand Fish Creek Park and serve as an extension of the Bayshore Connectivity Trail. Recently, the town worked with UW-Platteville students to design a portion of the trails that would connect the park to Fish Creek and other surrounding communities. Town Administrator Travis Thyssen says the support the trails network has received has been great.

The town will host the UW-Platteville students and Door County Trail team members for a special informational meeting on December 4th from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Fish Creek branch of the Door County Library.

Picture provided by Susan Stauber

For many, the roar of a furnace turning on is worth more than any present you might receive. That is undoubtedly true for Door County Secret Santa, which benefits dozens of families yearly through a simple act of kindness. Every Christmas Eve, the organization asks Santa to extend his visit to select families nominated by area churches, schools, and other community groups who could use an extra hand during the holiday season. Door County Secret Santa anonymously pays the heating bill during the holiday season and allows Santa to share the news. For "Jennifer the Elf," she says the program is a passion project for her and her mom, Jane the Elf, after she was inspired by a Hallmark movie. She has been humbled by the community's support ever since.

After filling one propane tank in its first year in 2011, Door County Secret Santa paid the heating bill for 88 families last year, accounting for more than $66,000. If you’d like to support Door County Secret Santa, you can deposit funds at any Nicolet National Bank or mail them to P.O. Box 161, Ellison Bay, WI 54210.

After Sturgeon Bay shared the Christmas spirit the last two weekends, plenty of holiday activities are waiting for you this weekend in Sister Bay and Egg Harbor. You have your choice of Egg Harbor Holly Days or Sister Bay Capture the Spirit, which both boast many activities, including a visit from Santa Claus. At Holly Days, the fun starts on Friday with different horse-drawn wagon rides, an elf hunt, and children’s activities at several businesses ahead of Santa’s arrival at 4:30 p.m. and the village’s tree lighting shortly after that. Saturday gives you a second crack at those activities after the Egg Harbor Historical Society hosts Breakfast Bingo at the Kress Pavilion. Sister Bay’s Capture the Spirit will also have most of its activities on Friday, with Santa zooming up from Egg Harbor in time to join his reindeer to light the lights at 5 p.m. and host story time at the library at 5:30 p.m. The Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair stretches from Friday to Saturday. This weekend is also when the Door County Christkindlmarkt opens its fourth season on the Sister Bay Historical Society grounds.

Picture courtesy of Sister Bay Advancement Association

A hot-button topic in local education this year is Wisconsin Act 20, a newly enacted state law with intent to make certain students learn to read effectively at a young age, while holding school districts accountable for student growth.

But while Act 20 has been portrayed negatively in some communities, educators within the Luxemburg-Casco School District view it in a positive light.

“We see Act 20 as a valuable support to research-based literacy instruction,” says District Superintendent Jo-Ellen Fairbanks, Ph.D. “As a district, L-C is committed to providing our teachers with research-based training and strategies, which roll into natural alignment with Act 20. The district’s ultimate goal is to give our students the highest-quality instruction as they learn to read.”

Act 20 is a law that requires Wisconsin public schools to ensure that all students are able to read proficiently by the end of third grade by:

·        Providing early literacy instruction

·        Assessing early literacy skills

·        Conducting diagnostic assessments

·        Monitoring early literacy development

Science-based early literacy instruction that is systematic is a core element, including instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary building and reading fluency.

Instructional changes have been ongoing for Luxemburg-Casco since 2014, when the district began a process which included site visits to high-performing schools in the area, curriculum reviews, an enhanced emphasis on phonics and professional development for the teaching staff based on the best research-based practices.

These prior steps positioned L-C to make a smooth transition into the Act 20 requirements, according to Mike Snowberry, the district’s director of learning services.

“What Act 20 has done,” he says, “is it allowed us to really review every aspect of our current curriculum and to professionally develop the teachers to implement best practices. The teachers have done an amazing job in transforming how they taught, resulting in measurable improvement in our overall reading scores.”

District teachers began Act 20-related training at the end of the last school year, continuing through the summer months, and finishing up during the current academic year. The work was time intensive, and included quizzes and a final test.

“The training was a lot of work for our teachers, and I give them credit for the time they put into it. They took the challenge on like true professionals,” says District Instructional Coach Kyle Thayse. “Its intent was for teachers to grow their knowledge on best practices and research in literacy.

“Although the timing was not ideal, the training itself was embraced in a positive way by our teachers, and I find that they are referencing it often. It has allowed our teachers to reflect on existing practices and add new strategies – they are asking, ‘Is there a better way to do that?’ It has driven thought about our impact with students.”

What, then, has changed in the way that L-C teaches reading? According to Thayse, not many changes have been needed. Luxemburg-Casco has been utilizing a phonics-based approach to reading instruction for close to a decade, so numerous past practices were continued.

“What we are trying to tighten up on is the systematic approach to new learning principles, especially around vocabulary instruction and building background knowledge,” Thayse says. “It was incidental in the past, and we want to make it ‘on purpose.’”

The district’s goals for reading instruction are rather straightforward.

“We want our students reading fluently and with accuracy,” says Thayse. “It’s not that we want them to read faster, we want them to read with proper phasing and use of punctuation. To be able to put chunks of words together correctly.”

Through reading readiness screenings, students who score below the 25th percentile are identified. L-C and other schools are required to conduct diagnostic assessments on those students.

Starting in December, educators at Luxemburg-Casco will sit down to create a reading plan for those students based on what area of literacy they are struggling on. It also will be communicated to parents.

Recognizing that dialogue around educational practices may seem complex to the district community as they go about their everyday lives, Dr. Fairbanks boils it down for parents.

“Reading is a critical skill,” she says, “and we are using research-rooted practices to provide students with the instruction which will allow them to be the best readers they can be.”

And that’s a goal that everyone can agree on.

We have reached that season when we pause to reflect on the past year. I would like to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to all of you—our dedicated listeners, readers and the hardworking staff of NEW Radio and the Door County Daily News.

First to our listeners and readers: Thank you for your continued trust and engagement. Your support is the reason we strive every day to bring you the news and entertaining content that matters most to you. Your loyalty is at the heart of what we do, and we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve you.

Next, to the staff: This year has been a testament to your dedication, passion, and tireless effort. Each one of you plays an essential role in making our organization strong and reliable, and I’m so proud of everything we have accomplished together. Your commitment to excellence, even in the face of challenges, is inspiring, and the work we do could not be accomplished without you. As we celebrate this season of gratitude, please know how much you are appreciated. Whether you are reporting the news, creating on-air content, working in sales, or supporting our goals in any way, you contribute to something bigger than all of us—and for that, I am truly thankful.

On behalf of the entire staff of NEW Radio, we are wishing you and your loved ones a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving. May this holiday be a time to relax, reflect, and appreciate the blessings in all of our lives.

Thank you once again for being a part of our journey. We look forward to another year of working together and continuing to deliver content that matters. 

Like it or not, you are likely just a few months away from another heavy dose of political commercials.

According to National Public Radio, more than $10.5 billion was spent on the 2024 election cycle, up $1 billion over 2020. In Wisconsin, $196 million was poured into the U.S. Senate race between Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin and Republican candidate Eric Hovde, according to OpenSecrets.org. Next on the horizon is the spring election, featuring a Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. Though technically a non-partisan race, the dollars spent on past Wisconsin Supreme Court elections has been anything but. Well over $50 million was spent on the last Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice race between Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly.

With the ideological balance of the court at stake, Common Cause Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck says he would not be shocked if another contentious election along partisan lines were in the cards. He does hope that after the last election, both political parties will realize they have to work together to get more things done for the state.

Most of the other items on the ballot are local elections and referendums. Candidates can begin circulating their nomination papers for the Spring 2025 election on December 1st. 

Less deer were harvested across Wisconsin during the state’s opening weekend of the gun season, but that is not necessarily true in Door and Kewaunee counties.

Hunters have harvested 89,203 deer since Saturday’s opener, including 49,038 antlered deer. That’s 1.8 percent less than 2023 and almost 4.7 percent below the five-year average. Hunters harvested 1,190 deer in Door County and 886 deer in Kewaunee over the weekend. Like the rest of the state, the counties saw a dip in the number of antlered deer killed (down 1.3 percent in Door County, down 3.4 percent in Kewaunee County). Still, both also saw nearly double-digit gains in antlerless deer (up 9.4 percent in Door County, up 14.7 percent), putting them ahead of 2023’s pace by three to five percent.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources blamed the late opening date and the mild temperatures for the lack of deer activity. The agency hopes that snow in some parts of the state and a temperature drop could help hunters find deer more readily.

The good news is that the number of deer hunters across all license types was up slightly last year to more than 778,000. There were also no firearm-involved hunting incidents reported. The gun season for deer hunting ends on December 1st, but more opportunities will be ahead. The muzzleloader season runs from December 2nd to 11th and antlerless-only hunts will occur from December 12th to 15th and December 24th-January 1st. The archery season in many counties like Door and Kewaunee runs until January 31st.

Much like the rest of the country, you will find Wisconsin in the principal's office when it comes to grades for addressing child and youth sex trafficking. Wisconsin is one of 32 states that received a failing grade from Shared Hope International. This non-profit, non-governmental Christian organization exists to prevent sex trafficking and bring justice to women and children victimized by it. Minnesota was the only Midwestern state not to receive a failing grade from the organization, but barely passing with a C. States are graded under an advanced legislative framework that takes a look at the laws on the books related to and impacting child and youth sex trafficking. According to Awaken Wisconsin Executive Director Kasia Klaus, every county in the state had at least one report of trafficking, making the failing grades in areas like identification of and response to victims, continuum of care, tools for a victim-centered criminal justice response, and prevention and training troublesome. Klaus says they have been working with lawmakers on legislation that would provide Safe Harbor for sex-trafficked victims.

Awaken Wisconsin provided services to over 100 victims in the past year, primarily in Brown County. Klaus believes that many people think that trafficking is just a big city problem when it affects communities of all sizes.

Awaken Wisconsin offers drop-in services at its center on the east side of Green Bay and an outreach program at the Brown County Jail.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, there were 445 allegations of child sex trafficking in Wisconsin in 2021. Of those allegations, the Human Trafficking Institute shows that seven human trafficking cases were filed in federal court, with fourteen defendants being convicted.

Four days a week, you will not find Sturgeon Bay School District occupational therapist Jillian Laurent inside a classroom but rather outside enjoying the outdoors with students. Laurent recently became a certified nature-based pediatric therapist as part of her Sawyer Self-Regulation Alternative Program Administrator role. She helped pilot the program last year, bringing a nature-based approach to students to help them focus on their emotions and learn essential skills to help them in the classroom. The students share their feelings and perform several exercises before participating in various nature-based activities. They then reconvene to share their feelings at the end of the day. Laurent noticed how important nature-based play and learning have benefited her kids, and she is thankful that Special Education Director Lindsay Ferry was open to her introducing the concept at Sawyer.

Ferry says the program acknowledges that while we all have similar struggles, we do not all process those struggles in the same way.

The Sawyer Self-Regulation Alternative Program is just one of the ways Ferry says the district tries to be proactive rather than reactive with its students, hoping to get them on the right track sooner.

You will never confuse the Jacksonport Thanksgiving Parade and Benefit for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but its impact on the community is incomparable. Instead of a 2.5-mile route that stops in front of the world's most famous department store with balloons and Hollywood acts, the Jacksonport Thanksgiving Parade and Benefit and its eclectic floats make two passes of Lakeside Park along its route before calling it a morning. The pride of the event is its philanthropy, raising thousands of dollars each year for a specific cause. Last year, the Lasnoski family was the beneficiary after Stephanie became paralyzed and suffered additional medical issues due to multiple auto-immune diseases.  Previous parades have raised money to support a Sturgeon Bay boy with retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye), the Jacksonport Fire Department, a community member with Lou Gehrig's disease, a young mother with stage four brain cancer, and a boy with viral meningitis and encephalitis. This year, Valmy Happy Hour owner Kirk Volkmann and his family are the beneficiaries after he developed stage four kidney cancer. Parade organizer Jorna Taylor says this year's parade is a fitting tribute to a man who has given so much to the community.

All are encouraged to participate in the parade. Line-up begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Jacksonport Fire Station before leaving at 10:30 a.m. 

Whether you had excellent service at a familiar restaurant, a welcoming smile at a local hotel, or a friendly conversation at an area attraction, Destination Door County wants to hear about it. Destination Door County is resuming its annual Hospitality Hero contest to celebrate the frontline staff that makes visits to Door County extra special. In 2023, tourism supported more than 3,400 jobs and is a big reason why Door County's visitor economy generated $620 million in total economic activity. Chief Communications Officer Jon Jarosh says that over the last few years, Destination Door County has made a conscious effort not just to promote the places people may want to go but to support the people who make those places go. He believes that its Hospitality Hero program is just one way they try to say thank you.

You can nominate your Door County Hospitality Hero by clicking this link. Come December 6th, you could help that hero win $1,000 in Door County gift certificates as Destination Door County says thank you for a successful 2024 season.

As Thanksgiving Day approaches and AAA expects a record 71.7 million people to travel by car this week, you will want to make sure you are buckled up when driving.  Local and state police will be adding patrols to focus on increased safety.  They will enforce the "Click it or Ticket" campaign during the National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization through the holiday weekend.  Door County Chief Deputy Pat McCarty reminds you to drive defensively and give yourself plenty of room behind the vehicle in front of you. He says speed is one of the significant factors in highway accident fatalities.

Despite steady increases in observed seat belt use, eight percent of Wisconsin motorists still do not wear a seat belt. Preliminary numbers show that 146 drivers and passengers who died in crashes in 2023 were not wearing a seat belt. An average of more than 2,200 unbelted occupants are injured in crashes every year.

Depending on where you live in Kewaunee County, you can raise a glass to reports of cleaner water. At last week's Land and Water Conservation Committee meeting, Kewaunee County Land and Water Conservation Department Director Davina Bonness shared the most recent well-testing results completed at the end of October.  Over 190 well tests were submitted, and samples were sent to UW-Stevens Point for bacteria testing and the Environmental Protection Agency for nitrate testing. No nitrate data was available at the meeting, but Bonness said that of the 192 tested wells, none returned positive for E.Coli and 29 wells had traces of coliform. Despite the testing going on when manure was being spread, and rain was falling, Bonness said it was an improvement over the past.

The 190-plus wells that were tested represent a fraction of the estimated 3,900 wells in Kewaunee County. The area has ramped up its well testing thanks to the national media the area received less than a decade ago when one-third of the 320 wells were unsafe to use due to coliform, E.Coli, or nitrates. Special attention has been brought to the Village of Casco, where earlier this year, there were several cases of increased levels of nitrates, including one impacting an area daycare.

While the good news is that they are outpacing last year's giving, the United Way of Door County still needs your help to close the sizeable gap. The organization announced on Monday that it is at 47.4 percent of its $1 million annual campaign goal to fund its nearly 40 programs in 2025. Some of the highlights include last month's Door County Jeep Run, which produced $7,800 in funding from a large group of new donors who have become better acquainted with the work of the United Way of Door County. Executive Director Amy Kohnle is encouraged with where they are but admits the end goal is still daunting.

The United Way of Door County's 2024 Annual Campaign Drive concludes on January 7th. One upcoming way you can support the annual campaign is the United Way of Door County's Rock for a Reason concert at Door County Gala on December 6th featuring The Deep End and Steel Crossing.

Dwarf Lake Iris fans can rejoice after the latest property easement was announced by the Door County Land Trust last week. Landowners Michael and Ann Morgan donated a conservation easement agreement on their property south of Egg Harbor, adding another 13 acres of protected parcels between the Niagara Escarpment and the Green Bay shoreline. In addition to being one of the largest concentrations of the federally threatened Dwarf Lake Iris flowers, the parcel also features a collection of sugar maple, American beech, ironwood, and basswood trees. Door County Land Trust Executive Director Emily Wood says, like many of the properties it protects, the parcel is a victory for preserving the county's ecology.

This conservation is one of eight conservation easement agreements and ten other land protection projects Door County Land Trust will complete in 2024.

Picture courtesy of the Door County Land Trust

Senator Ron Johnson admits that Congress can do a limited amount of things with a simple majority, but there is plenty he would like to address in the coming months and years. For the first time since 2019, Republicans will control the White House and both chambers of Congress. They garnered control of the executive and legislative branches due to the 2016 election when President-elect Donald Trump captured his first term. One of the major pieces of legislation passed during that period was The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which overhauled the tax code for individuals and businesses. Managing the country's spending remains a focus for Johnson once Congress begins its new session next year.

Part of Johnson's duties, along with the rest of the U.S. Senate, will be to confirm Trump's cabinet picks. Pam Bondi (Attorney General), Pete Hegseth (Defense Secretary), Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence), and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Health and Human Services Secretary) are just some of the cabinet posts Trump has announced so far. Johnson said before Matt Gaetz's withdrawal from the Attorney General post that he generally has supported Trump's picks, aiming most of his praise at Kennedy, Jr.

When the new congressional calendar opens next year, Johnson, as the chairperson of the Senate's investigative subcommittee, plans on using his subpoena power to "expose the truth" involving several different topics. Comparing himself to a "mosquito in a nudist colony," Johnson would like answers to the 60 oversight letters he has sent that received no response from select government agencies including Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control.

You will be able to enjoy the annual Holiday Concert by the Peninsula Symphonic Band and the Swingin' Door Big Band in a more spacious location this year.

Music Director Jason Palmer says the popular and festive program will be performed at the Door County Gala in Sturgeon Bay, which offers ample parking and seating for the over 400 people who have attended the event in previous years.

He shares some of the featured music that will include a jazzy setting of We Three Kings entitled "Three Wise Guys" and an updated version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with "We Wish You a Mambo Christmas."

The Swingin' Door Big Band will play selections, including two with Company B, a female trio that plays the Andrews Sisters.

The Holiday Concert will be at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 14. It is free to the public, and all donations from a free-will offering will go to the Door County Food Pantry Coalition.

The Peninsula Symphonic Band is completing its 34th season and is a 60-plus ensemble made up of adult and high school students from throughout Door County.

(photo contributed)

If you are lucky enough to tag a deer over the next several weeks, your local Lions Club can help you eliminate a portion of your harvest. The Lions Clubs in Kewaunee, Washington Island, Forestville-Maplewood, and Brussels collect deer hides at six locations in Door and Kewaunee counties. The deer hides are sold to a company that uses them to make gloves and other products in exchange for various Lions Club projects. One of those projects is the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt, which provides a quality camp experience for youth and adults experiencing disabilities. Kewaunee Lions Club member John Mastalir says it does not take much more than one visit to the camp to see the impact the deer hides make.

Thanks in part to the extended hunting seasons in Door and Kewaunee counties, you can donate deer hides through the end of January. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is also continuing its Hunt for the Hungry program, which allows hunters to donate their venison to area food pantries. Carnival Deer Processing in Algoma is the lone meat processor in Door and Kewaunee counties participating in the program, which runs through January 7th. The gun season runs through December 1st, but there will be additional opportunities to hunt in Door and Kewaunee counties through January 31st. 

"Green" is widely used as a metaphor for "environmentally sound," so we at Crossroads always strive to be "green. " This holiday season, we plan to focus on "greens"—the conifers and other plants that remain green during winter and on other holiday traditions that have, through the millennia, become traditions during the darkest month of the year.

Fall harvest feasts, for example, predate our American food-centric holidays. Back in Medieval Europe, especially in times of famine, peasants would gather for bountiful feasts at the end of November or December, but it was not a time of thanksgiving. During lean times, parents were forced to feed their children or their livestock. Most chose family over their animals.

The Collins Learning Center will be closed on Thursday and Friday to give our staff time with their families, but the trails will be open.

But as soon as Thanksgiving dinner ends, many of us start craving cookies, fudge, candy canes, and popcorn balls. What's the attraction of sweets? Could our cravings be some primitive survival urge?

Early humans must have selected a diet of foods that met their nutritional needs in order to survive and reproduce. Certainly, hunter-gatherers knew nothing of vitamins, carbohydrates, and calories, but they craved sweets and fats, and these cravings caused people to favor fruits (which are high in carbohydrates and vitamins) and nuts (the richest sources of minerals and B-complex vitamins).

So, "The Science of Taste" is the perfect topic for our Saturday Science program between Thanksgiving and December. We hope to see extended families at this activity, but please understand that the activities are geared for elementary students. 

And the Greens? Well, it's probably apparent that the destination for our Wednesday Wandering Hike will be the Big Creek Preserve conifer forests. Still, it's less obvious how pines, fir, and spruce became associated with an event a little town in Judea. Our traditions of using greens can be traced to the Winter Solstice.  

Primitive people in northern climates did relatively well in the summertime. Food was plentiful, and it was warm. But as fall came, the plants began to die, the temperatures dropped, an,d scariest of all, the days became incrementally shorter.

But a few plants—evergreens, holly, mistletoe—did not die in the fall. Consequently, people believed that these plants had magical power over the darkness. Perhaps, they reasoned, if they brought these magical plants into their huts or caves, they might hasten and ensure the Sun’s return.

Holiday trees have a long and convoluted history, but their popularity has never waned. Evergreens still seem rather magical this time of year. So people want trees in their homes, which actually does have an ecological impact.

Our Current (Ecological) Events group, which meets the first Monday of each month, will discuss issues pertaining to Christmas trees. Participants will review an article about the ecological impact of artificial Christmas trees compared to natural trees. Another article will describe research on the spread of invasive insects due to transporting Christmas trees and holiday decorations.  Interested folks can pick up copies of these articles at the Collins Learning Center Entrance Desk. It's OK to read the articles whether or not one intends to attend, and it also is okay to show up without reading them. 

Often, our young visitors ask us if a Christmas tree is dead. It is. Any time the top of a tree is separated from the roots, the tree is dead. Curiously, an evergreen will stay green (for a while) if it has a constant water supply.

That doesn't happen in the forest, but something remarkable does. There is life in a dead tree. From fungi and millions of microorganisms to hibernating insects and amphibians, a dead log teems with life. So, during the Environmental Exploration program on December 4th, kids and their adult companions will carefully explore the spruce logs in the plantation near the Learning Center (or indoors if weather is an issue).

Join us at Crossroads during the coming month, and may your season be green.

The holidays can be a more dangerous time than usual for those at risk of domestic abuse.  Help of Door County Executive Director Moriah Benzow says that violence tends to swing upward before or after holidays, more so than during the actual holiday itself.  She says financial stress over the holidays can make it more difficult for a victim to leave a domestic abuse situation.

Benzow states that holiday stress is not the reason for domestic violence but can be a contributing factor.  Data from the National Domestic Violence hotline in recent years indicates reported calls dropped by about 50 percent on Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as 30 percent on New Year's Day. According to the Domestic Violence Hotline, one in four women and one in 14 men have experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner since 15 years of age.  You can reach out to Help of Door County on its hotline anytime at 920-746-2588. 

This Saturday marks the beginning of the week-long deer hunting season. While this event has many traditions, and memories which make it special to so many in our community, it also brings with it some re-occurring issues which deserve to be mentioned. The first of these issues is safety. By this I mean the safety of those participating in the hunting season, and those who choose to enjoy the beautiful outdoors as they would any other time of year. It goes without saying that for those who are hunting, there are two basic rules: know your target and know what is beyond your target. Especially in the era of rifle hunting, the second of the two rules is very important. Although not intended, there always seem to be those few calls involving stray rounds.

If you are one of those individuals who just want to enjoy being outside over the next two weeks, be aware of the increased activity in the adjacent properties, and public lands. Although you are not required to wear it, and it isn’t the most stylish color, blaze orange is always a good choice. Also, whether you are hunting or just going for a walk, always let someone know where you are going and what route you are taking to get there.

The other issue that seems to become more frequent is trespassing. This is pretty self-explanatory; if you don’t have permission to be there, don’t be there. Many property owners allow others to be on their land for the purpose of hunting. This is not mandatory on their part. If they choose to say no, respect them for that decision and move on. Also, don’t assume that just because you’ve hunted there for many years, you don’t have to ask permission. Circumstances change, and it is a good idea to re-establish these relationships each year. It probably wouldn’t hurt to bring some venison from last year as a sweetener. I wish everyone a safe and productive hunt.

After celebrating her birthday on Thursday, an 11-year-old Luxemburg girl hopes you will help other kids in the community feel as blessed as she does. The Brien family has opened its door to kids in foster and respite care in the past, which in turn helped Paisley see what those children did not have to call their own as they bounced between different living situations. Just over a week ago, Paisley launched the "I Got Your Back" program, collecting personal hygiene products, clothing, small toys, and other items to fill backpacks for kids from birth to 18 years old. Giving back to the community is nothing new for the Brien family, which helped start the Luxemburg-Casco Clothing Closet in Casco. A few posts later on social media, Paisley has been able to collect enough items to fill dozens of backpacks. Paisley says it happened so fast, but she is excited to see the impact "I Got Your Back" will have in Kewaunee County.

The Brien family supports Paisley's mission, helping her drive across the community to pick up donations and sort the items before their distributed. Paisley's dream for I Got Your Back is to expand it into neighboring counties and turn it into a full-fledged non-profit. You can find out what is being collected and where you can donate below.  

A conversation and a little seed money are helping area farmers grow their conservation practices. Earlier this fall, Peninsula Pride Farms shared some results from the first four years of its five-year sustainability project, showcasing the efforts of 11 farms that manage over 34,000 acres of land and 40,000 head of dairy cattle. The farms used at least two conservation practices in their analyzed fields, with 91 percent mitigating the risk of excessive and an average rate of soil erosion for corn grain that was more than a third (0.97 tons per acre per year) of the state's benchmark of 3.5 tons per acre per year. The organization's cost-share program encouraged some of those conservation efforts, which allows farmers to have a little help implementing practices like cover crops, low-disturbance manure application, buffer strips, and split nitrogen application. Peninsula Pride Farms Board member and agronomist Nick Guilette says its series of Conservation Conversations throughout Door and Kewaunee counties and other interactions with farmers are a big reason some practices are catching on in the community.

The maximum amount you can receive from the cost-share programs is $1,500. To participate in the cost-share programs, you must complete the application and the organization's conservation practice survey by December 1st.

A two-vehicle accident near Egg Harbor that killed a 64-year-old Sturgeon Bay man on Wednesday remains under investigation. The Door County Sheriff's Department provided the update Thursday afternoon that Glenn D. Reimer was the victim that died in the crash. The initial investigation indicated that Reimer was traveling southbound on State Highway 42 near Sunny Point Road at 10:30 a.m. when he crossed the centerline and struck an SUV driven by a 30-year-old Sturgeon Bay man.  Reimer was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. Thursday's update did not include the status of the driver of the SUV, who was airlifted to a Green Bay hospital for treatment of his injuries. The accident remains under investigation and no other information is available.

If you have room in your basket for Legos, LED lights, Squishmellows, and Pokemon cards, you can help a Door County child have an even better Christmas. Jackie Baermann from Door County Toys from Kids says registrations are on par with last year when the organization served approximately 600 kids. A big reason why they can meet the community's demands is because of the community's generosity. Over 90 boxes have been distributed throughout the county, including at NEW Radio's Sturgeon Bay studios. In addition, some businesses are also hosting different events to collect funds to buy presents, especially in areas they might be short in for various age groups. Baermann says it takes everyone to make this a success.

Door County families can click the links below to register their family before the distribution dates of December 14th in Sturgeon Bay and December 15th in Sister Bay. Kewaunee County opened its Toys for Tots registration on November 1st, and residents were encouraged to call the Kewaunee County Public Health Department to apply. Over 30 Kewaunee County businesses will collect toys before the distribution date on December 21st.

KEWAUNEE COUNTY

Application Information

Drop-off Sites

DOOR COUNTY

Application (English)
Application (Spanish)

The Griffon String Quartet will trade reservations for nonperishable food items this Sunday in Fish Creek. Midsummer's Music and Music for Food Door County are teaming up for a performance at Stella Maris Parish featuring the musical ensemble. The concert will be like any other the Griffon String Quartet will perform this winter, but this comes with an altruistic twist. The free holiday tradition helps fill up area food pantries like the church's CARE 24/7 Stella Maris Food Pantry. Midsummer's Music Executive Director Allyson Fleck says the concert exemplifies how we can all use our gifts to impact our communities.

You can bring monetary donations along with non-perishable food items before the concert begins at 1 p.m.

By this time next week, you will have plenty of company on area roads and local airports. AAA (American Automobile Association) predicts record numbers traveling at least 50 miles during the Thanksgiving travel season. Nearly 80 million will head to the roads, while another 31 million will take to the skies between November 26th and December 2nd. Those driving will be greeted by gas prices about 25 cents less than last year. Those flying domestically will see slightly higher fares than last year while the cost of travel overseas has dropped. Austin Straubel Airport Director Marty Piette says they are also expected to see increased traffic over the holiday week and encourage people to plan if they want to travel in the coming weeks and months.

Piette says they are also expecting additional traffic at the airport, not just because of the holidays but also because of the Packers game scheduled for Thanksgiving night. You are encouraged to pack extra patience on November 27th and December 1st, which are expected to be the two busiest days of the season.

A 57-year-old Appleton woman suffered possible injuries following her run-in with a deer in the Town of Union Tuesday night. The accident occurred just after 5 p.m. on State Highway 57, about a mile north of Sun N Surf Drive. The woman was traveling southbound on the highway when a deer ran out in front of her vehicle. The sports utility vehicle she was driving had to be towed due to disabling damage. Despite suffering from a possible injury, she did not have to be transported to the hospital for additional treatment. November is by far the busiest time for vehicle vs. deer collisions in Door County. Last year, there were 61 reported deer hits in November last year, over two dozen more than the next busiest months of June (35 deer hits), January (33), and October (33). The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recommends you brake firmly and stay in your lane if you notice a deer in your path and keep your eyes open for others that may be following it. If you do hit a deer, you should pull over, call law enforcement, and stay inside your vehicle. 

A 64-year-old Sturgeon Bay man died in a two-vehicle accident just south of Sunny Point Road and Highway 42 in the town of Egg Harbor on Tuesday.  Authorities responded to the scene shortly after 10:30 a.m. The initial investigation indicated that the Sturgeon Bay man’s van was traveling southbound, crossed the centerline, and struck an SUV driven by a 30-year-old Sturgeon Bay man.  The man driving the van was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  The driver of the SUV was airlifted to a Green Bay hospital for treatment of his injuries. 

The highway was closed to traffic until 2:15 p.m. after a traffic construction team from the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted with the investigation at the scene. The incident remains under investigation, and no other information will be released until the family is notified.

The Egg Harbor Fire Department and EMS, Jacksonport Fire Department, Gibraltar Police Department, and the Door County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the scene.

You can find the support and fitness that can help you cope with the challenges of cancer with the free Livestrong program at the Door County YMCA.  Specialty Wellness Director Abby Tesch says the no matter where you are in your journey with cancer, the 12-week Livestrong classes and the YMCA is ready to support you. The customized program includes getting you back in the gym and offering nutritional advice with kitchen recipes.  Tesch adds that it also connects you with others facing the same cancer challenges. 

Tesch notes that the program is open to all community members, and you receive a free family membership during the class. The cancer survivorship program allows participants to bring along their caregivers as well. The new session for Livestrong at the Sturgeon Bay Program Center begins on January 7 and runs from 1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  

Traffic was detoured off STH 42 south of Egg Harbor on Wednesday morning after a serious two-vehicle crash occurred near the intersection of Sunny Point Road and the highway.  Emergency personnel were called to the scene shortly after 10:30 a.m. as one vehicle was reportedly on fire and overturned on the road.  The Egg Harbor Fire Department, the Door County Sheriff’s Department, and other emergency agencies directed traffic off the highway and established detour routes while EMS responded.  No other information is available at this time, and we will update this story as more details are released.

With the first wintery-like weather conditions expected early Thursday morning, local law enforcement is advising you to get your vehicle prepared for the upcoming season of snow on the roads.  Door County Sheriff's Department Captain Carl Waterstreet says it is especially important to check the tread depth and quality of your vehicle's tires this time of year.  

Waterstreet notes that roads have not been treated for snow or ice yet this season and may still have oil residue that can make for some slippery spots.  He recommends carrying a spare phone charger and an emergency kit in your car's trunk with road flares, gloves, jumper cables, a flashlight, and blankets.  You can find additional tips on what you should store in your car for winter driving below.

You will want to prepare for the first significant snow and windy weather expected in the area on Thursday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Door and Kewaunee counties starting at 2 a.m. Thursday.

North to northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected. Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects, including lawn furniture and decorations. Tree limbs could be blown down, and isolated power outages may result.  Total snow accumulations are up to two inches, with wet expected to change to rain around 6 a.m. on Thursday, possibly impacting the morning commute.  The wind advisory will be in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday. 

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council only had one agenda item of note Tuesday, but it initiated a long discussion during a public hearing Tuesday.

After Bart Hobart spoke to the council and expressed concerns about the special assessment of the sewer and water extensions that impact his and neighbors' property on West Oak Street.  Hobart and his neighbors the Dahms, would be assessed $16,000 and $13,000, respectively.  He says it is not fair since the two properties do not benefit from the improvements.

Mayor David Ward and Administrator Josh VanLieshout mentioned that the special assessed payments could be deferred after the property is sold or if the land is developed if the council chooses to add the deferment when final city action is taken.

Stantec, Inc. prepared the project plans. After public bidding, Scott DeNoble & Sons Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract for the project for $385,330.84.

No action was taken after the public hearing, which lasted over thirty minutes.

The last piece of business was a Finance/Purchasing and Building Committee recommendation for Cedar Corporation's stormwater utility creation proposal and website. After hearing from the Cedar Corporation representative, the governing body unanimously approved the measure. Two public meetings will be held in advance for input before the project is completed. 

Senator Ron Johnson hopes to resurrect a plan to help farms get the employees they need, but he says there are other concerns to address first. According to the Associated Press, immigration was the second most important issue heading into the election, trailing only the economy in the poll of more than 110,000 voters. One of President-elect Donald Trump's promises was to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants as a part of a larger goal to secure the southern border. The National Milk Producers Federation says that immigrant labor accounts for 51 percent of all dairy labor, helping produce approximately 79 percent of the country's milk supply.  Some dairy farmers told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that they fear deportations could upend the industry because of the importance of immigrant labor to area farms. Johnson is sympathetic to those concerns, adding that farmers have suffered from a workforce shortage similar to manufacturing since he joined the Senate in 2010. He points to what he calls the failures of the past four years, saying that they have a mess they must clean up before addressing other immigration reform measures.

He states he would be happy to reintroduce legislation that would allow the state to set up state-based non-immigrant visa programs that would allow migrants to take on jobs in fields like agriculture that suffer from workforce shortage issues. In 2017, agricultural groups applauded the legislation because, unlike the federal H-2A program, it would have allowed visas for year-round work, which is found in the dairy industry. 

Overnight winds were at least partially responsible for a two-vehicle accident in the Town of Gardner early Tuesday morning. A 48-year-old Ripon woman was traveling south on South Stevenson Pier Road shortly after 4:30 a.m. when she encountered a tree in the middle of the road. While she slowed down for the fallen tree, a 52-year-old Sturgeon Bay man driving behind her in his sedan did not and rear-ended her. He suffered a possible injury in the crash but did not have to be transported for additional medical treatment. No citations were issued as a result of the collision. 

Door County was under a gale warning for a portion of the morning due to wind gusts of near 45 miles per hour. The Door County Sheriff's Department and other emergency personnel responded to at least three other incidences of trees being down between the time of the crash and 8 a.m.

You may not see much from the highways as you drive through Fish Creek, but progress is being made on Gibraltar Area Schools' major construction project. The improvements were approved in 2023 as part of a $29.8 million referendum to demolish the 1930s and 1950s sections of the building. In their place, the district plans to build a new two-station gym, community space, classrooms, and updates to the cafeteria and offices. Gibraltar Superintendent Brett Stousland says there were some delays in getting some of the materials for the project, but the good weather this summer and early fall made up for it.

So far, there have not been any surprises, like when construction crews at Sevastopol School District discovered a time capsule from the Class of 1982 during their major construction project in 2020. Stousland hopes they might discover something similar when they begin demolishing some of the original portions of the building.

If you live on the water or have visited a beach along Lake Michigan lately, you have probably noticed a significant drop in water levels. Due to the extreme lack of precipitation this fall, Lake Michigan's water levels have steeply declined over the past few months.

According to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, water levels drop in fall and early winter "due to increased evaporation as temperatures decline and cold air moves over the relatively warm lake waters. 

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Chief of Hydraulics Keith Kompoltowicz says while the levels have dropped significantly in the last four or five years, they're not quite to a place where we would call them low yet.  They're near average, and that's just simply because it's been so dry, especially recently.”

Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which share the same basin, were at 578.48 feet on November 15, about two inches lower than last month. The lake levels are expected to drop another two inches by mid-December.

Lake Michigan saw water levels rise to record highs in 2020 after a record low was recorded in 2013.  

It may not be much, and it will likely not stick around for long, but you may see some white, fluffy stuff flying around as soon as Wednesday. The National Weather Service predicts a mix of rain and snow for Wednesday night as low temperatures hit 32 degrees. That mixture could even stick around for Thursday morning. Jennifer Wojcicki from Weatherology says the weather this week could be a preview for the winter in northeast Wisconsin thanks to the La Nina weather pattern.

Because there is an equal chance of warmer and colder-than-average temperatures this winter, Wojcicki is not confident that Door County will have a white Christmas this year. Last year, Green Bay set the record for the warmest Christmas Day ever at 54 degrees, four degrees hotter than the previous holder in 1936. 

The holiday spirit was in full force this weekend, serving as a precursor for the coming weeks ahead of Christmas. Dozens of businesses and organizations traversed the streets of Sturgeon Bay on Saturday for the annual Christmas by the Bay Parade. Sponsored by Door County’s Christmas Playlist 96.7 WBDK, the parade saw hundreds of spectators trading cheers and enthusiasm for candy and trinkets as the floats and vehicles traveled past.

The holiday scenes on Saturday set the stage not just for Sturgeon Bay but for the rest of Door County. Destination Sturgeon Bay will host its annual Unwrapping Sturgeon Bay Community Car Cruise this Friday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Door County Fairgrounds. The cruise winds through the city and ends at the Door County Cooperative. The reverse parade precedes caroling along 3rd Avenue and Community Foundation Square before the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 7 p.m.

The City of Kewaunee will have its nighttime parade on Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. Starting at the Kewaunee Grade School, the parade weaves through the city before ending at Lakehaven Hall, which is the site of the Kewaunee Holiday Market. The holiday parades end the following week on Thanksgiving when Jackonsport hosts its holiday rite at 10:00 a.m. The Jacksonport Thanksgiving Parade and Benefit will support local businessman Kirk Volkmann, who was recently diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer and has undergone at least two surgeries to remove tumors. The parade line-up begins at 9:30 a.m.

Algoma residents are voicing their displeasure over a planned move of many of their operations, including the library, to a former bank building. Late last month, Mayor Steve Lautenbach announced that the city entered a contract with Associated Bank to purchase its building at 208 Steele Street for $200,000 after the Algoma City Council unanimously approved it. City Administrator Matt Murphy said its current city hall and police department building, located at 416 Fremont Street, requires several upgrades and repairs to keep it viable, including $1 million for a new heating and cooling system. A tunnel connects the main city hall building with the library, which is located at 406 Fremont Street. Murphy added that investing in a building like that did not make sense.

Residents have made their thoughts known in the weeks since the announcement. At the Algoma Public Library Board meeting on October 21st, residents raised concerns about the potential loss of parking and greenspace, accessibility issues if the library is placed on the third floor of the building, and safety concerns for children and families looking to visit. The current library recently had $40,000 in carpet installed. Algoma Library Director Cathy Kolbeck suggested that new furniture would also have to be purchased due to the size of the new space.

The Algoma City Council briefly discussed the city hall/library site as a potential place for a new fire and EMS building, but it was shelved for a different location due to its proximity to the school.

The potential move is on the agenda for the Algoma Public Library Board meeting scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m.  

If you plan on dining alone this Thanksgiving, area churches in Door and Kewaunee counties want you to know that they have a plate and a chair waiting for you. Opening its doors on Thanksgiving for those without the family or the funds to celebrate Thanksgiving has long been a tradition for churches and organizations across the state. In Door County, the Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church will host its 45th community meal at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. In Algoma, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church will continue its Thanksgiving meal tradition that is still in its infancy compared to the Sturgeon Bay event. Pastor Joel McKenney says the event, which starts serving at 11:30 a.m., has grown from several dozen meals served to hundreds in the last few years. He has appreciated how their Thanksgiving meal attendees have become each other’s families when they otherwise would have celebrated the holiday below.

For both meals, delivery for home-bound individuals is available, and, as McKenney says, the meals are free, much like Jesus’ salvation. If you cannot afford to put dinner on your table this holiday, you can find the full details for the community Thanksgiving meals and other resources below.

KEWAUNEE COUNTY

St. Paul’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner
Sign up: https://stpaulsalgoma.squarespace.com/thanksgiving-meal
Everyone and Anyone is invited.
Delivery 10:30am-11:30am
Dine-in, Curbside pickup 11:30am-12:30pm.
Sign-up is appreciated

DOOR COUNTY

FREE COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING MEAL by FAMILY WORSHIP CENTER
Address: 1715 Michiga Street, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Date: Thursday, November 28, 2024 1:00pm-6:00pm

Family Worship Center, New Door Sober Living, and St. Vincent De Paul welcomes YOU to our Community Thanksgiving meal. Come with empty hands and empty stomachs and allow us to bless you with a hot meal, smiles, laughter, and an opportunity to connect with others in the community as we collectively give Thanks for everything that we are blessed with.

THANKSGIVING MEAL by STURGEON BAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Address: 836 Michigan Street, Sturgeon Bay WI, 54235
Date: Eat in meal served Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2024 at 4pm. Deliveries begin Thanksgiving Day at 3pm. Reservations must be made no later than November 24, 2024.
How to Apply: Reservations required for eat-in and delivery. Reservations must be made no later than November 24, 2024 by calling (920) 743-3241. Limit 4 meals for delivery. 

THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS MEAL by FEED AND CLOTHE MY PEOPLE
Address: 204 N 14TH AVE, STURGEON BAY WI, 54235

Date: November 22nd from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Thanksgiving meals will be handed out to families in need.

No Reservations Needed. First come, first serve until gone. Just come to the pantry doors.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we invariably see an increase in hikers, dog walkers, and families on the trails of Crossroads at Big Creek. They tell us they are so grateful for a beautiful and safe place to be outside during the annual hunting season.

While we welcome this influx of visitors during the nine-day gun season, we are grateful during each of the "52 Weeks at Crossroads," and that is the title for a nature program scheduled for Monday, November 25 at 1:30. The show presents 52 stunning images, one for each week of the year, featuring the beauty of Crossroads. We offer this program to demonstrate our gratitude to all the donors, funds, and foundations that, over the years, have supported our ongoing efforts to transform a degraded piece of land into a community retreat.  

This week, as usual, we will offer guided hikes, after-school activities, and our weekly Saturday Science experience—all free of charge. But alas, these scheduled programs are often not an option for working parents.

We have come to realize that many parents spend a great deal of time waiting. Suppose one child is at a rehearsal, practice, gymnastics class, or dentist appointment, and the siblings and parent have perhaps 30 to 40 minutes “to kill.”  It is not worth going home for that amount of time.

Understanding that, we dreamed of creating a place where young families could engage in nature play with or without staff involvement during their wait time. 

Research indicates that children learn differently from adults. Children learn through hands-on, interactive play and self-discovery. In contrast, most adults experience nature visually, usually just as a background to something else they are doing. While kids love our fish and wildlife dioramas, our “don’t touch” displays do not meet the development needs of young visitors.

We briefly toyed with installing high-tech interactive displays, but child development professionals believe watching wild places on screens causes children to think of nature as “somewhere else”, thus diminishing their concern for the local environment. That does little to further our mission to inspire environmental stewardship.  

We believe early childhood experiences should nurture the child's perception of being part of nature. So, rather than filling the building with glitzy displays, we created a makeshift nature play area with materials we had on hand. And kids LOVED it.

In the coming week...in the coming 52 weeks and beyond, we will offer activities for learners of all ages, and we are able to do this because of the generosity of our donors. We are truly grateful.

The Collins Learning Center will be closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, and Friday, but trails will be open.

.  

Saturday, November 23

2:00 pm Science Saturdays – Meet the Turkey

Learn about the bird that made Thanksgiving famous! This weekly family program is intended for elementary students, but learners of all ages are welcome. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

 Monday, November 25

1:30 Nature Program: "52 Weeks at Crossroads"

This illustrated lecture includes one slide showing a different view of Crossroads during each of the 52 weeks of the year. Reservations are not required. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay. It is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, November 26

6:30 Wild Ones-Door Peninsula Annual Meeting and Chapter Update

After a very short business meeting, the program, which is open to the public, will focus on the Wild Ones'  Adopt a Park projects. Meet in the Lecture Hall of the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

Wednesday, November 27

1:30 Wandering Wednesday

All are welcome to join this naturalist-led hike through the Big Creek Preserve. It is gentle walking and will take about an hour. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

3:00 School's Out Excursion

Kids will venture into the preserve for a “nature-based” adventure. If the weather is uncooperative, indoor activities will be offered. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay. Registration is not required. The event is open to the public and free, thanks to the generosity of donors like you!

Before you head out into the woods for the start of the gun season for deer, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants to make sure you continue to hunt safely. Hunters in Wisconsin have been holding their end of the bargain with the 10-year average of 5.9 shooting accidents per year during the gun season, according to DNR data. Last year, the DNR reported four hunting incidents, including one in Door County and one in Kewaunee County on private property. Conservation Warden Chris Kratcha highlighted several safety tips you should remember during previous seasons.

Gun Safety:

Tree Stand Safety:

You must also wear at least 50 percent blaze orange or florescent pink from the waist up. While the archery and crossbow season has been going on for well over a month, the gun season opens next Saturday and runs through December 1st. Through November 12th, more than 83,000 deer have been harvested in Wisconsin, including 918 (523 antlered) in Door County and 651 (406 antlered) in Kewaunee County. You can learn more about the rules and regulations of this year's hunting season by clicking this link.

Have you already bagged a buck this year? Share your story on our 104.1 WRLU Big Buck Contest page.

In preparation for the upcoming holidays and the coming together of family and friends, I think a great topic in addition to gratitude would be acceptance. A large part of resiliency skills focuses on this very word, which, if done right, can foster stronger meaningful relationships while also contributing to our own individual mental and emotional well-being.

The entire theory of resiliency is based on our response to adversity. In this model, it is not the adversity that is the focus but rather our response to that adversity. In response to adversity, we have two distinct paths we can choose from: growth or destruction. We cannot go back to our reality before the adversity; that reality is no longer there, thus the two paths. We also cannot linger in a state between the two choices, for either consciously or unconsciously, the journey will begin. Growth or Destruction.

Many times, I use the analogy of those incidents when I must deliver a death notification to family due to an auto accident or other tragedy. I knock on the door, knowing I am about to forever change the lives of those on the other side of that door. As I leave those notifications, this reality of response to adversity weighs heavy on my mind. I do my best to show compassion and share a message of strength, but in the end, it is their journey now, and I can only hope that they choose growth out of that tragedy.

For some, this holiday season, that adversity will come in the form of differing opinions from those we love. We live in a society that, unfortunately, focuses and even thrives on differences instead of commonalities. The very algorithms of our social media, and for that matter traditional media, feed on this “Velcro/ Teflon” effect. There is an actual science to this, which is commonly known as the “Confirmation Bias. It goes like this; when we see or hear things that align with our personal bias, even if they are not necessarily factual, those things stick with us and re-affirm our already strongly held beliefs, just like Velcro. In contrast, when we see or hear things that go against our bias or beliefs, even if they are supported by facts, those things do not stick but rather slide right off of like Teflon.

This is not to say that we should abandon our deeply held beliefs or values, but rather take the time to listen with the intent to understand the beliefs and values of others. There is no place for being verbally aggressive in the hopes of suppressing the beliefs of others, nor is it acceptable to diminish the value of the person just because our values or beliefs do not align. This is the very essence of Acceptance.

It comes down to understanding and accepting what we have control over and what we do have control over. We do not have control over adversity, or when it will enter our lives or to what extreme. We can only control our response to that adversity. We cannot control those around us, or their beliefs and values. We can only control our response when confronted by those differences. We can choose conflict, or we can choose peace. For those meaningful relationships in our lives, we must choose peace.

If listening to Door County's Christmas Playlist 96.7 WBDK has not gotten you into the Christmas spirit yet, the City of Sturgeon Bay will try its hardest to get you into it this weekend. Decorated trees and wreaths began dotting the Door County Maritime Museum earlier this week. It is part of the Door County Maritime Museum's annual Merry Time Festival of Trees. It highlights area businesses and organizations while raising funds for the museum and also kicks off the holiday season in Sturgeon Bay. After he is done traveling through the city's streets as a part of the Destination Sturgeon Bay Christmas by the Bay Parade, Santa hops in a U.S. Coast Guard boat and cruises across the water to visit with kids at the museum. While it caters to tourists during the heat of the summer, Deputy Director Sam Perlman says the cold of winter is when it reconnects with the community.

The Merry-Time Festival of Trees continues through December 31st.

In addition to the parade, Destination Door County will welcome shoppers to an indoor winter market at Third Avenue Playhouse from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., reindeer to the Old Bell Tower on 3rd Avenue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and riders on their trolley loops from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is the first of two weekends Destination Sturgeon Bay celebrates Christmas. Next Friday, the Unwrapping Community Car Cruise at 5:30 p.m. will take participants to Community Foundation Square for caroling at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at 7 p.m. The next day, Santa makes his second stop to Sturgeon Bay with a meet and greet at the Door County Historical Museum while the new Holiday Hop Sip and Shop takes place.

Two Door County high schools are proving how important it is to allow students to earn college credits before stepping onto those campuses for the first time. Gibraltar and Sevastopol each recently received special recognition from the College Board, which runs the Advanced Placement (AP) program nationwide. Schools are rated based on AP test participation, scoring, and frequency. Of the over 15,800 eligible schools, just over 5,000 received a designation, with Sevastopol earning bronze on the AP School Honor Roll and Gibraltar earning the highest level of platinum. Gibraltar Area Schools Superintendent Brett Stousland credits the staff for going above and beyond for its students to ensure they have the same opportunities as others attending much larger schools.

High rankings are not new for the two schools. In the most recent U.S. News and World Report Rankings, Gibraltar was ranked the 25th best high school in the state, and Sevastopol was close behind at 38th out of 569. 

Tony Wied officially added “Representative” to his business card after he was sworn into office this week. In addition to beating Dr. Kristin Lyerly for a full two-year term on November 5^th, he also won the special election to finish Rep. Mike Gallagher’s term after leaving office earlier this year. In his first comments inside the House of Representatives, the former Green Bay-area gas station owner thanked his family for their support and his new constituents for trusting him. “Our country faces a lot of difficult challenges,” Wied said, citing record-high inflation, the border crisis, and increasing crime rates among them. “Now is the time to bring some Wisconsin common sense to Washington to lower costs, secure our border, and reign in out-of-control government spending.” He pledged to work with his congressional colleagues to lower prices for northeast Wisconsin’s middle class, families, and farmers by “putting more money back into their pockets.” Wied will have approximately four weeks of work as a part of the 118^th Congress before he is sworn into office early next year.

Picture courtesy of Rep. Tony Wied Facebook Page

The Door County Historical Museum hopes you have more elbow room and new exhibits to look at in the future. The museum hosted an open house last week, which approximately 60 people attended to discuss where the 85-year-old museum has been and where it can go in the future. One place it will not go into is the neighboring building that used to be the Younkers department store. Budget concerns have halted those plans, with county and museum officials hoping that grants and other funding sources can help close the gap and give the facility some much-needed space. Though it does not know how much space it will have in the future, Museum and Archives Director Joe Taylor says they are not standing pat with what is in its current space. Part of their discussions centered around what stories were missing from the museum. Taylor says if everything goes to plan, the result will be the museum's first new exhibit in approximately 20 years.

Taylor says they are working with a company to develop the exhibit, hoping to be displayed in 2026. For now, the Door County Historical Museum will focus on something else new for them: being open year-round. Traditionally open during the tourism months of late May to the end of October, the museum will now be open 12 months a year outside of a few weeks in December and early January for cleaning and maintenance. When it reopens in January, it will be open primarily on the weekends until it goes back to Tuesday through Saturday for the summer. 

The Sunshine Resources of Door County has a new leader to take the organization into 2025 and beyond.

Barry Metzentine has been tabbed as the new chief executive officer (CEO) and started his new position last week.

Sunshine Resources of Door County Board President Sarah Treager says “On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are excited to announce Barry Metzentine as our new Chief Executive Officer.  Barry’s style of leadership is exactly what SRDC needs to continue to grow as an organization, build and continue a positive culture. As a board we take the mission to heart and we were looking for a CEO that embodies that mission. Barry describes his leadership as being a charismatic servant to inspire purpose and providing clarity to enable and empower people and processes to achieve mission results.

We are very excited to welcome Barry and once you meet him, we believe you will see how passionate he is for this organization.”

Metzentine most recently served as the Director of Parish Operations and Mission Planning for the Diocese of Green Bay for nearly seven years.  He led and oversaw operational processes and systems and organizational alignment for 156 sites across 11 counties in Northeastern Wisconsin.

Metzentine says Sunshine Resources' mission is personal to him and is a big reason he is excited to work for the organization.

Sunshine Resources of Door County has been serving people with disabilities and special needs since 1971. 

(Photo courtesy of Sunshine Resources)

In efforts to keep both facilities sustainable for the future, two Sturgeon Bay-area childcare centers are joining forces beginning next month. The Children's First Development Center and the Door Community Child Development Center announced on Wednesday that the two will merge into one organization known as Doorway to Learning, effective December 1st. The Door Community Child Development Center opened its new facility on Gordon Road in the Town of Sevastopol in January, while the Children's First Development Center moved into the old building a few months later. The Children's First Development Center announced its plans to open less than a year ago in the wake of the closure of the Zion Early Childhood Education Center in West Jacksonport.

As part of the merger, Jim Schiefelbein will serve as Interim Executive Director of Doorway to Learning while searching for a new, long-term leader. The hope is that Doorway to Learning's consolidation will be finished by December 14th, with the operations taking place initially at the current Door Community Child Development Center's facility. In a statement, Doorway To Learning Board President Devin Vandertie believes that the combined teams will work collaboratively to ensure a seamless transition and continued commitment to excellence." With the Door County Community Foundation helping to guide the alliance, President and CEO Bret Bicoy believes this is a step towards sustainable childcare in the county. He hopes the area's community "supports this critical element of stabilizing our workforce." 

Picture courtesy of Pixabay

Over 40 businesses in the area are taking advantage of corporate memberships offered at the Door County YMCA in Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek.  Marketing Director Amy Gamble says the YMCA is proud to work with dozens of businesses of all sizes to promote a healthier, more positive workplace in the county.  She says hopes are to grow the number of participants in the program and that the YMCA will make a 50 percent match of any employer's contribution, up to $10.

Corporate membership benefits include a free one-week trial and no joiner fees, access to both YMCA facilities in Door County, free orientation with a personal trainer, a consultation with a physical therapist in Sturgeon Bay, and access to YMCAs throughout the country that participate in the Nationwide Membership Program.  More information on corporate memberships at the Door County YMCA can be found here.

You can help the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources decide on how to forward with a 100-seat amphitheater at Newport State Park.

The DNR is proposing a variance within the day-use area near Parking Lot 3 on the park's eastern side along Newport Bay.

The proposed improvements would include the amphitheater for night-sky viewing and interpretive programming, a storage shed, a low wall to block light pollution from the parking area, an observation deck, and a boardwalk and paths connecting facilities.

Developments would include electricity to the site by solar and battery to light the paths and to the shelter for programming.  A charging location for equipment would also be in the proposed plan.

A master plan variance process for the portion of the Northern Lake Michigan Coastal Regional Master Plan draft can be found with this link.

You have until November 25 to submit your comments on the proposed variance to the Northern Lake Michigan Coastal Regional Master Plan. 

The amphitheater could be built in time for the fall of 2025.

Comments can be sent to the contact information below:

Wisconsin DNR

René Buys, DNR Property Planner
101 S. Webster St.
PO Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707

email: renej.buys@wisconsin.gov or by calling 608-982-1688

Hundreds of Door County residents and businesses found out Tuesday afternoon how life was before the internet and cell phones for about seven hours.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, Spectrum, Frontier Communications, and U.S. Cellular customers experienced outages due to a fiber line being accidentally cut by a landscaping business. 

Jason Estes, owner of Sonny's Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria in Sturgeon Bay, which delivers a lot, says his business lost its phone service and online ordering capabilities due to the internet outage. He notes that losing the ability to process credit cards forced Sonny's employees to take credit card numbers and process transactions after the evening shift when services were restored at about 8:30 p.m.

Estes says his Point-of-Sale (POS) system has gone down in the past, but the seven-hour outage was the longest he can remember in his 28 years of business. He estimates that he lost about 30 percent of his business due to the outage, but it would have been far worse if it had occurred on the weekend.

Tadych's Marketplace General Manager Jon Calhoun says the supermarket experienced only phone line issues and could operate registers and transactions all day with a secured internet.

According to Business Insider, small businesses could lose $40 million in productivity in a given year due to the internet being down.

For the first time in its history, the Luxemburg Area Chamber of Commerce will honor three women who won the annual community awards.

Chamber Secretary Alex Stodola says the 2024 class of Debby Liebeck, Jenny Salentine, and Fran Charles are well deserving and have gone well and beyond the call of duty in serving the Luxemburg area community.

Liebeck was named the Person of the Year, while Salentine is the recipient of the Community Service Award.  Serving the Luxemburg-Casco Athletic Department, Charles was selected as the Spartan Spirit Award winner.

Stodola shares the impact the three women have made in the community.

The Luxemburg Area Chamber of Commerce will host an awards banquet on December 7th at Northbrook Golf & Grill to formally recognize the winners.  You can purchase tickets to the awards dinner at the Bank of Luxemburg, Stodola’s IGA, and Nicolet National Bank.  

(photos courtesy of Luxemburg Area Chamber of Commerce of Person of the Year ABOVE: Debby Liebeck and Carrie Vercauteren. President of the Luxemburg Area Chamber of Commerce)

You weren't the only one trying to log onto the internet or make a phone call without success on Tuesday afternoon. Outages affecting Frontier Communications, Spectrum, and U.S. Cellular started about 1:30 p.m. and were not restored until the evening.  As a result, some businesses could not accept credit or debit card payments while others struggled to conduct business simply. The outage was reportedly due to a landscaping company accidentally severed a fiber line while mowing, affecting Spectrum and other entities that rely on it. Frontier, U.S. Cellular and Spectrum were able to restore services shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.  

Original story:

You weren't the only one trying to log onto the internet or make a phone call without success on Tuesday afternoon. Outages affecting Frontier Communications, Spectrum, and U.S. Cellular started to occur at approximately 1:30 p.m. As a result, some businesses could not accept credit or debit card payments while others struggled to simply conduct business. No cause for the outage has been determined. While Frontier and Spectrum have said they will be able to restore service between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., no such window has been shared for U.S. Cellular customers.

You should think twice before you throw your batteries in the trash, especially as you bring new toys into the home this holiday season. While the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says it is still ok to throw traditional alkaline batteries into the trash, the same cannot be said about lithium ion and other rechargeable batteries. The batteries contain toxic chemicals that, if burned or landfilled, can cause long-lasting environmental effects. They also pose a fire risk as they can become ablaze or even explode if crushed or punctured. That was the case over the weekend when a garbage truck near Brussels had to dump its load out onto the road so the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department members could put the fire out. The cause of the fire was attributed to a rechargeable battery pack for a small hand tool. Discovering those items in garbage piles is a common occurrence for Riverview Transfer Station owner John Mastalir, who often has to pull small toys, cell phones, and other battery-powered items out to avert the risk. He says he would rather take the items for free and absorb the cost himself rather than risk his equipment and the safety of his employees.

The DNR also provides additional resources for you if you have lithium-ion or other rechargeable batteries you have to dispose of in your home or business.  

Picture courtesy of Pixabay and user Alexei_other

One of your go-to's for music in Door County during the summer months is decking its Juniper Hall with boughs of holly. Birch Creek Music Performance Center is preparing for a twin bill of Christmas concerts on December 7th. For the matinee performance at 2:30 p.m., faculty members from the Percussion, Steel Pan, and World Music session will take center stage for its own take on Christmas music with the vocalist Cynthia Stiehl, pianist Sandy Bader and the Door County Community Handbell Choir joining them. At 7 p.m., the Door County Community Handbell Choir will offer an encore performance in addition to brass and percussion faculty members playing festive tunes featuring trombonist Ignacio del Rey Tomas Biosca as a guest musician. For shows that are relatively recent additions to the Birch Creek calendar, Executive Director Mona Christensen says they have grown to be Christmas traditions for residents and visitors.

Unlike the majority of your Christmas shopping, Christensen warns that you cannot procrastinate when it comes to buying tickets because the shows consistently sell out. You can listen to our full interview with Christensen here.

Winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour in Door and Kewaunee counties on Monday afternoon kept utility crews busy restoring power to homeowners.

In Door County, Wisconsin, Public Service was notified shortly after 1 p.m. that Clay Banks had a power outage, which impacted 45 of their customers until shortly after 3:30 p.m.  Other areas that suffered outages included west of Maplewood, Fish Creek, and between Baileys Harbor and Jacksonport.

Kewaunee County reported five customers in Casco were without power. As of late Monday afternoon, all power was restored in Door and Kewaunee counties by WPS crews. 

The phrase "thank you for your service" has new meaning to Sturgeon Bay High School students and other attendees of Monday's Door County Veterans Day ceremony. Dozens of veterans filled rows of chairs and were also sprinkled in with students during the roughly 80-minute ceremony inside the Sturgeon Bay High School gymnasium. Following performances by the Sturgeon Bay band and choir, veterans involved in the county's seven military organizations were all individually recognized before every veteran and their branch of service were also honored.

 

 

 

 

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During his keynote address, VFW Post 3088 Commander Joe Knaapen explored the phrase "thank you for your service," a sentiment shared by many veterans throughout the year. Knaapen says the service they are being thanked for was their job at the time. He focused on the service many veterans explored when they came home from war and supported their communities. One of those veterans was former Sturgeon Bay mayor and U.S. Representative Ed Minor, who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War before being asked to serve again at home.

Door County will hold a second Veterans Day ceremony and luncheon on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Door County Aging and Disability Resource Center in Sturgeon Bay.

The phrase “penny for your thoughts” went much further than that for students at Sevastopol School District ahead of Veterans Day. 

The students raised a holiday-appropriate $1,111.11 for VFW Post 3088 local efforts supporting veterans. Classrooms received points for pennies and had them taken away for other coins. Sevastopol Superintendent Randi Anderson says the students took a lot away from the penny war that went to support such an important cause for Veterans Day.

Students across Door County recognized Veterans Day in various ways, including Sturgeon Bay School District hosting this year’s ceremony on Monday. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 1,900 residents in Door County are military veterans, with the majority serving during the Vietnam War.

Picture courtesy of School District of Sevastopol

OTHER VETERANS DAY ACTIVITIES AROUND SCHOOLS IN DOOR AND KEWAUNEE COUNTIES

ne day after Veterans Day, Destination Door County President and CEO Julie Gilbert will be honored Tuesday for her support of one of their own. Wisconsin Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Committee Chairperson Jim Malcolm announced last week that Gilbert will be presented with the Patriot Award for her support of Destination Door County Community Engagement Manager and National Guard/Reserve Force member Amanda Stuck. The Patriot Award is presented to employers who hire Guard and Reserve members and provide exceptional support to their families. According to WGBA-TV, Stuck joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2022 as a way to pay off some of her student loan debt. Gilbert and Destination Door County recently gave Stuck the tools she needed to be successful while she attends Army Reserve training for the next four months. She says she was surprised and humbled by the award, adding that she only did what any employer should do.

Gilbert says that Stuck has been instrumental in helping the organization carry out its destination stewardship plan since she joined Destination Door County earlier this year. The presentation will occur at Destination Door County's upcoming board of directors meeting at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, November 12. The meeting and award presentation will be held at Birch Creek Music Performance Center's Juniper Hall.

Thanks to a utility project, you will have to find a new way to get around Sturgeon Bay’s west side on Tuesday and Wednesday. Beginning at 7 a.m. on November 12th and ending on November 13th at 5 p.m., South Neenah Ave will be closed Between East Pine Street and East Spruce Street. The road is being closed to allow Sturgeon Bay Utilities to repair the water valve. To do that, crews must dig up the area and make the necessary fixes before blacktopping over the affected area. Motorists can use Green Bay Road and a combination of South Oxford Avenue, Nautical Drive, and East Redwood Street as a detour. You can find more information about the detour and work being done below. 

The newest addition for the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department is one Fire Chief Curt Vandertie hopes you never have to use. Work on a new landing zone near its south station was recently completed and put to use for the first time last week. The new landing zone will allow a safe place for the Eagle III and Theda Star medical helicopters to serve the area in emergencies. Before, firefighters and first responders would have to set up a landing zone in a nearby field for helicopters to land. Vandertie says thanks to the new landing zone, they can direct their efforts to other emergencies that may occur in the area at the same time.

VANDERTIE1

Five area businesses and ten community member donated their time and money to help construct the landing zone. It is the second helipad in Door County, with the other at Door County Medical Center.

Whether you live north or south in Door County, the senior citizens in your life can celebrate the holidays with local high school students. Southern Door and Gibraltar are two of the schools hosting holiday-themed luncheons next month. Gibraltar will host its senior citizen holiday dinner on December 4th at 11 a.m., with performances from the Gibraltar Music Department providing musical accompaniment. Gibraltar Student Council President Dasia Daubner says the students have a great time putting on the event, which will be held for the final time in the middle school gym before it is demolished.

Southern Door School District will host its 38th annual holiday party for senior citizens on December 11th at 1 p.m. Attendees will enjoy lunch, holiday-themed prizes, and music. You can find additional attendance information for both events below.

GIBRALTAR RESERVATION INFORMATION
Seating is limited, so please place a reservation by contacting Mr. Roets at 868-3284, ext: 346.  In the event of inclement weather or school cancellation, there will be no make-up date.  Guests can be dropped off using the bus lane to the Elementary Schools entrance.  Parking is available in the main lot by the Secondary School entrance.

SOUTHERN DOOR RESERVATION INFORMATION
To secure your spot at this gathering, please make reservations by calling the high school office at 920-825-7333 no later than Friday, December 6th. We are thrilled to offer this holiday party at no cost to all senior citizens, but please be aware that seating is limited, so we encourage you to make reservations as soon as possible.

The community is invited to see Crossroads at Big Creek in a different light on Friday, November 15, between 5:00 and 6:30 PM, during our free Luminary-Lit Hike.  Participants will follow gentle trail illuminated by flickering candlelight and a rising full moon. At the end of the trail, hikers are encouraged  to gather around a campfire to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. 

At least, that is the plan. But "the legend lives on from the Chippewa on down, of the big lake they call Gitchee Gumee"[and also on Lake Michigan and Green Bay] "when the skies of November turn gloomy, the gales of November [can] come early."  Here on the peninsula, we all know that the skies could turn gloomy and  the wind is not just a legend. The gales of November are a very real phenomenon.

Starting in November and continuing throughout the winter, we suggest that before venturing out in questionable weather, folks check the Crossroads at Big Creek website. At the top of the page, the "ticker" will provide up-to-date information about cancellations, schedule changes, and Ski-for-Free open hours. Because we do not want to put our staff, our volunteers or our visitors in danger, we occasionally cancel events. Also know that when the School District of Sturgeon Bay is closed, the Collins Learning Center also will be closed, but the restrooms and trails will remain open.

It almost looks like the gales of November did come early at the Crossroads Ida Bay Preserve.  Along Canal Road, a number of  Scots pine trees are stripped of branches and others are piled up along the roadside.  In the coming months, the whole preserve will look like it has been  hit by an extreme weather event and  a grass fire.

This is NOT a disaster, but rather the beginning of  a comprehensive restoration project. Last year, Crossroads engaged Mike Grimm to write a restoration master plan. The primary objective of this land management plan is "to preserve the significant elements of natural diversity on the Ida Bay Preserve in a natural condition with as little human degradation as possible."  

We recently were awarded a grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to accomplish the goals outline in that plan. And under the supervision of our Land Manager, Nick Lutzke, we immediately got underway.

Nick already has mowed fire breaks in anticipation of the  controlled burns scheduled for next spring.

Ever since we acquired the land, a generous gift from The Nature Conservancy,  Crossroads staff and volunteers have been removing invasives. The grant will enable us to intensify those efforts. 

Understand that during the lumber era, most of the forest land in Wisconsin was totally decimated. That was true of the Ida Bay Preserve. For generations, clear-cut areas were used for agriculture and for orchards, but they were left fallow. However, in some areas, white pine plantations were established and Scots pines were introduced. 

In her book Natural Connections 2, Emily M. Stone explained that back in the 1930s, foresters  "experimented with planting non-native species in hopes that they would not be susceptible to the insect and disease problems that slow growth in native species."  The European species:  Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, and Austrian pine indeed did thrive in Wisconsin, but they did very little to support wildlife, and in many places, the European trees outcompeted the native species which are essential to a balanced ecosystem.  

Later, buckthorn and non-native honeysuckles were sold as landscape plants, advertised as being beneficial to birds. Those birds spread the seeds throughout the preserve.

Unless we knock back invasive species, we will never achieve our restoration objectives.  Consequently. This winter, contractors will be removing invasive tree species throughout the preserve.  In the forested areas, this will enable us to promote an understory of desirable ground cover and shrub-layer species, and promote canopy tree regeneration. 

In the fields, we will remove invasives on the edges and replace them with desired shrub species. We intend to plant small trees to screen the hiking trails from the road and to allow aspens to continue to spread westward from the eastern forest patch and eastward from the western forest patch to eventually connect,  forming a larger forest. 

It will look dreadful for a while.... but it will be well worth it if we can achieve a sustainable, biodiverse ecosystem. 

Meanwhile, back at the Learning Center, we will continue with our educational programs, and to provide inspiration for our restoration efforts on Monday, November 18  at 1:30,  we will screen the documentary "Ridge and Swale”.

This documentary celebrates the (well-documented) legends of conservation and community in Door County.

Produced by Peninsula Filmworks, the video tells the story of how the Door County community has worked and continues to preserve and maintain its natural beauty and heritage.“Ridge and Swale” was made possible by its sponsors, the Peninsula Pulse, Destination Door County, The Ridges Sanctuary, Door County Medical Center, and The Clearing.

We at Crossroads want to add to the legends of preservation and restoration on the  Door Peninsula. These legends really must live on.

Wednesday,  November 13 

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Wandering Wednesday – Naturalist Led Hike

Join a naturalist-led hike through the late autumn forest of the Big Creek Preserve.  Easy walking. About an hour.  Registration not required. Open to the public and free thanks to our donors. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay

3:30 Environmental Exploration – Bubbles

This program is geared for elementary school students but is open to all ages and should be fun for all.  Following a short video, this This indoor /(hopefully) outdoor program will explore the science of bubbles. (Dress for the weather.) Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay

Friday, November 15 

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Luminary-lit Hike

See Crossroads in a different light as you follow one of our trails in the enchanting glow of our luminaries. On your return, gather  around the  campfire to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. If the weather is unpleasant, check the Crossroads website before venturing out. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

Saturday,  November 16 

2:00 pm Science Saturday: Meet the Otter

During this this indoor program, families can learn about the otters that live in the Cove Estuary through games and videos. This weekly family program is geared for elementary students, but learners of all ages are welcome. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay,

Monday,  November 18 

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Screening of the Documentary Ridge and Swale 

See it on the Big Screen! "Ridge and Swale " is a documentary celebrating a legacy of conservation and community in Door County. Produced by Peninsula Filmworks, the it tells the story of how the Door County community has worked and continues to work on preserving its natural beauty and heritage.  Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, November 19

6:30 pm Door County Beekeeper Club: Holiday Potluck & Social

The Door County Beekeepers Club holds their annual holiday potluck dinner followed by a short business meeting. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

The people you know for pouring candles at Door County Candle Company will be pouring something new beginning next year. Nic and Christiana Trapani are in the final approval stages of its ready-to-drink Luba Libations zero-proof cocktails. The idea came to Christiana after she wanted to unwind after work with a fun drink, but she wanted something healthy and non-alcoholic. At Nic's encouragement, the couple began experimenting with different flavors until they came up with something they wanted to share with others. They landed on four varieties: a cranberry Cosmo, a lime margarita, a grapefruit Paloma, and a Moscow Mule that gives a nod to Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv instead of Russia. Luba is not just the name of Christiana's grandma but also the Ukrainian word for love. It has been a project of love for the Trapanis, which hope to fill a void in the non-alcoholic drink market.

Once it gets its last approvals, the Trapanis hope production of Luba Libations will begin in spring 2025. Even though the drinks will produced outside of the area for the time being, a launch party is being planned for Door County.

Sevastopol Superintendent Randi Anderson is looking forward to focusing on other needs in the district after voters gave the district more financial security on Tuesday. The school district's operational referendum passed 1,950 to 1,667 to allow it to exceed operations by $4.25 million in the 2025-2026 school year, $4.5 million for the 2026-2027 school year, and $4.75 for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years. While the numbers are big, increases in the area's equalized property values will keep the mill rate relatively consistent over that span. Managing the referendum was an expected challenge for Anderson when she took on the job this summer, juggling those duties and getting familiar with residents, students, and staff members. Anderson says she learned a lot about her new community while visiting with residents about the referendum.

Sevastopol School District was not the only local school district that prevailed with its referendum on Tuesday. Washington Island School District passed its recurring referendum 440-189, allowing it to permanently exceed its revenue limit by $995,000.

A fire Friday night served as another reminder to make sure your chimney is ready for another winter.

The Gibraltar Fire Department was paged to The Whistling Swan Inn to the report of sparks coming out of the chimney and onto the roof. The building was evacuated and firefighters were able to put out the fire quickly without major damage or injuries. Firefighters from Ephraim, Sister Bay/Liberty Grove, Egg Harbor, and Baileys Harbor, Door County Emergency Services, Door County Sheriff's Department, and Door County Communications all assisted on the call. 

Friday's fire was one of the 45,000 chimney fires that occur every year with maintenance concerns often the common cause. You are recommended to have your chimney inspected every year along doing the necessary cleaning and repairs.

Much like some of the food harvested, some of the most essential things grown by Door County Farm for Vets are what you cannot see. According to Mission Roll Call, 40 to 44 veterans take their lives every day, more than double what is reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is also estimated seven percent of all veterans will develop post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a reality Door County Farm for Vets founder Jacob Vandenplas knows all too well as someone who has lost close brothers and sisters in arms to suicide in recent years. It is part of why he started the organization that teaches veterans the skills to grow their produce and animals, not just for them and their families but for the entire community. In the coming weeks, Vandenplas is taking other veterans to learn how to butcher cows and poultry, providing the path for a possible career.

He says starting the organization has been one of the great honors of his life not just because of the food produced, but also by the connections created.

Door County Farm for Vets is in the process of creating a Victory Farm project that will assist area veterans grow their own produce. You can support the organization by joining its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program or attending their holiday meal at Schmitz Insurance in Sturgeon Bay on December 7th at 1 p.m.

Common Cause Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck hopes you see more candidates from both parties enter the fray in the coming years after the state went through its first election under new electoral maps. When the maps were released earlier this year, it created seats that were either wide open or pitted incumbents against each other in primaries. As a result, Republicans saw their majorities narrow in the Assembly (64-35 to 52-44) and the Senate (22-11 to 18-14). While there were still double-digit wins in some districts like Rep. Joel Kitchens capturing the First Assembly District, Heck points out several races across the state that were much closer than they have been in years. He says the chambers are more representative of how the state voted in the other races with Republican former President Donald Trump narrowly defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency and Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin doing the same to Republican Eric Hovde for the Senate. He believes tighter races could get more people off the sidelines and involved.

Republican leaders told the Associated Press that the new maps, huge spending, and issue distortion were the reasons why they lost ground in the Wisconsin Legislature while still celebrating the wins they received, including the race for the White House.  

You better not pout, you better not cry, because Santa Claus begins making his first visits to Door County next week. Destination Sturgeon Bay kicks off the holiday season with its first of two weekends full of Christmas activities. On November 16th, the Christmas by the Bay Parade begins at 10 a.m. ahead of the Winter Market at Third Avenue Playhouse, a visit from Santa's reindeer at the Door County Community Foundation, and the kickoff of the Door County Maritime Museum's Festival of Trees. On November 22nd, the Unwrapping Community Car Cruise will begin at the Door County Fairgrounds at 5:30 p.m. and go through the city as area businesses unveil their holiday window displays. The weekend continues on Saturday with its new Holiday Hop, Sip, and Shop and a visit from Santa at the Door County Historical Museum. Destination Sturgeon Bay's Alexa Soto says no matter the holiday, she is thrilled that the city is welcoming the community to spend it with them.

Door County's other communities follow suit in the subsequent days and weeks. On November 24th, the Ellison Bay Service Club hosts its annual tree lighting at 5 p.m. The weekend after Thanksgiving, you have your choice of Egg Harbor Holly Days or Sister Bay Capture the Spirit, which both boast a host of activities including a visit from Santa Claus. That weekend is also when the Door County Christkindlmarkt opens its fourth season on the grounds of the Sister Bay Historical Society. On December 7th, Santa makes his stops at the Harbor Holiday celebration in Baileys Harbor and the Christmas in the Village event in Ephraim. 

An 88-year-old Sturgeon Bay woman suffered minor injuries when she was involved in a two-vehicle accident in Sturgeon Bay on Wednesday morning.  She was traveling northbound on South 15th Avenue, hit by a Sports Utility vehicle traveling on Utah Street and failed to stop for the stop sign at the intersection. 

The 34-year-old woman from Egg Harbor, driving the SUV, admitted to looking down before entering the intersection and not seeing the stop sign.  Her vehicle crashed into the passenger vehicle, sending it off the road and colliding with a tree.

The SUV driver was uninjured, but the other woman had to be transported to the hospital after she sustained minor injuries to her head and the left side of her face.

The Egg Harbor woman was cited for failing to stop at the stop sign, and both vehicles had to be towed from the scene with extensive damage.

You will be able to honor our area's veterans at a pair of ceremonies to kick off next week. A quadriennial scheduling quirk places both events in Sturgeon Bay. On November 11th at 10 a.m., Sturgeon Bay High School will take its turn hosting the ceremony orchestrated by the Door County's school districts, the Door County Veterans Service Office, and local veterans organizations. Vietnam Veteran Joe Knaapen will deliver the keynote address during the event, featuring performances from the Sturgeon Bay band and choir and a post-ceremony luncheon. During last year's ceremony held at Sevastopol, Door County Farm for Vets President Jacob Vandenplas emphasized during his speech that the humble veterans you see today were fierce defenders of freedom on the battlefield.

Door County will also hold a second ceremony and luncheon on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Door County Aging and Disability Resource Center in Sturgeon Bay. For veterans in Kewaunee County, Algoma High School will host its annual Veterans Day luncheon and tribute on Monday beginning at 12:30 p.m., with the meal followed by the program at 1:15 p.m. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 1,900 residents in Door County and 1,300 in Kewaunee County are military veterans, with the majority serving during the Vietnam War. 

Even with the recent wet streak experienced in Door and Kewaunee counties over the past week, area farmers are well ahead of schedule compared to previous years. According to the United States Department of Agriculture Crop Progress and Condition Report, Wisconsin had 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork over the past week, slowing down some harvest activities while improving the soil's moisture levels as winter wheat begins to emerge. Statewide, 81 percent of the corn for grain has been harvested, which is nearly three weeks ahead of last year's pace and the five-year average. The soybean harvest is almost complete at 98 percent. Adam Barta from Rio Creek Feed Mill says Door and Kewaunee counties are even a little ahead of the state's pace, making the dream of being done with the harvest before the gun hunting season for deer a reality. He adds that the rain also offers farmers a welcome respite.

Winter wheat, a popular cover crop for many farmers, is 82 percent emerged across the state, three days ahead of last year and five days ahead of average. Barta says the fast harvest means farmers will have more time to finish their other fieldwork and start planning for 2025.

The ringing in your ears will not be from political ads but actual bells later this month when the Salvation Army kicks off its annual Red Kettle Campaign. The annual holiday rite is the organization's largest yearly fundraiser, accounting for as much as 25 percent of a local Salvation Army's operating budget. Last year, Kewaunee County raised more than $29,700, and Door County garnered more than $80,000. A big driver of donations is when people are manning the red kettles, providing a soundtrack of bells as people walk into area businesses. Nancy Kexel-Calabresa from the Door County Salvation Army says volunteers are just as important as the donors regarding the Red Kettle Campaign.

While you will be able to locate red kettles throughout Door and Kewaunee counties beginning at the end of November, you can find information on how you can volunteer below.

DOOR COUNTY

Nancy Kexel-Calabresa at 920-883-7886 or nakc1@icloud.com 

KEWAUNEE COUNTY

Matt Joski at 920-255-1100

John Ortlieb at 920-487-9987

Though there is a decade between them in terms of experience, State Representative Joel Kitchens and Congressman-elect Tony Wied are ready to hit the ground running when sworn into office. Both Kitchens and Wied celebrated victories on Tuesday, posting double-digit winning margins. For Kitchens, Tuesday marked not just his sixth win but the 10th anniversary of his first election. After all of this time, Kitchens says he does not take the support for granted and has a list of things he wants to work on right away.

Wied's win comes just months after he decided to join the political fray following the resignation of former Rep. Mike Gallagher. Following his victory speech, Wied told reporters that he is looking forward to bringing his pragmatic approach to Washington, D.C.

Since the early morning, former President Donald Trump has widened his lead in the Electoral College, prompting Vice President Kamala Harris to call and officially concede. Early Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press called the U.S. Senate race in favor of Senator Tammy Baldwin, giving her a third term. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, her challenger, Eric Hovde, has not yet conceded and could call for a recount since the margin is within one percentage point. 

You might be one of the beneficiaries from a record-setting event held in September by the Women’s Fund of Door County.  Raising over $100,000 at the Women’s Fund Celebrate Women Luncheon at Stone Harbor Resort & Conference Center in Sturgeon Bay, the organization will use the money to benefit local women and girls. Women’s Fund of Door County treasurer and event chair Michelle Sternard says “We are so grateful for the financial support of our community, to assist us in our mission of supporting women and girls in Door County.”   Some of the proceeds will go towards support efforts to improve childcare in Door County.  The Women’s Fund of Door County is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and has awarded more than $1,000,000 in grants and programs throughout the peninsula.

The 2024 election is over, and local county officials are complementing municipal clerks and the process through the massive voter turnout on Tuesday.  In Door County, 21,050 ballots were cast, and for the first time since 1992, the presidential winner did not carry the county.  Former President Donald Trump received 10,098 votes to Vice-President Kamala Harris' 10,564 votes in Door County. 

Kewaunee County Clerk Jamie Annoye says the significant 78 percent voter turnout created occasional lines later in the day, with the City of Kewaunee having lines as late as 9 p.m.  She notes absentee ballots took a little longer to enter despite the later returns, but no problems cropped up.

Over 14,000 residents cast ballots in Kewaunee County on Tuesday. The local board of canvassers will certify the election results by next week, making them official.  

The final unofficial results of the 2024 election can be found by clicking here.

Your fun at the pool can turn quickly into a tragedy, especially if safety protocols are not followed.  The American Red Cross reports that drowning is the second leading cause of death for kids, with 88 percent of the drownings having an adult present at the time.  Door County YMCA Aquatics Director Heidi Honold says lifeguards undergo a lot of training in 26 areas to ensure they are ready to save a life in the water under all circumstances.  Honald explains lifeguards' legal responsibilities when they are on duty that most people may not know.

Honold asks that all patrons at the Door County YMCA help support the lifeguards poolside by following all the rules.  She notes that many of the lifeguards are teens or young adults who may not feel comfortable confronting adults about unsafe behavior.  The certification of becoming a lifeguard requires 28 hours of intensive training.  The Door County YMCA is offering Pro and Basic CPR training later this month for anyone wanting to learn the hands-on class that could save a life.

Record turnout was seen nationwide on Tuesday for the 2024 election, with Wisconsin playing a key role in the presidential race.

Multiple outlets declared Former President Donald Trump the winner early Wednesday morning after Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes were declared in his favor. That gave Trump 277 of the needed 270 to claim the presidency.

In state races, incumbent Joel Kitchens (R) defeated challenger Renee Paplham (D) by a 62 percent to 38 percent margin to retain his seat in the District 1 Assembly.

Republican Tony Wied was declared the winner over Dr. Kristen Liverly (D) by a 57.3 to 42.7 margin.

U.S. Senator  Tammy Baldwin looks like she retains her seat as she declared victory last night in a close race with Eric Hovde (R), but only leads by less than 29,000 votes and has a slight 49.4 – 48.5 margin with 98 percent of the vote in as of 7:00 am Wednesday.

Closer to home, both the Sevastopol and Washington Island School Districts referendums passed to allow them to exceed their spending caps for improvements.

You can find the updated results of the local and state elections here.

As Sturgeon Bay City Hall was buzzing with last-minute voters casting their ballots, the Common Council was busy in Council Chambers with its meeting Tuesday evening addressing the 2025 budget and several agenda items dealing with several housing projects.

After a short public hearing on the tentative 2025 budget and tax levy, the Sturgeon Bay Common Council unanimously approved the $8.4 million budget, which reflects a 3.9 percent increase over last year. 

A recommendation by the City Plan Commission on a modification of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for property located at 1361 North 14th Avenue was approved.  The new wording will allow the developer, Estes Investments, to have two four-unit buildings instead of an eight-unit structure.   The first reading of the ordinance change was approved as well.  Later in the meeting, the council approved an amendment to the original development agreement.

Another housing project for a 58-unit multiple-family residential development received preliminary PUD approval for a building at the corner of Georgia Street and North 14th Avenue by Spoerl Commercial.

A development agreement revision for the Hampton Inn located at Egg Harbor Road and North 12th Avenue was approved.  The developer of the 81-room hotel, now known as Sturgeon Bay Hotel, LLC., will now have until April 1st, 2025, to acquire the property and until June 30th, 2026, for completion, and construction would start in spring 2025.

Mayor David Ward ended the meeting by recognizing council member Helen Bacon for spearheading the art movement within Sturgeon Bay and recently having received an award on behalf of the city. 

A steady rain in Door and Kewaunee counties was not enough to keep voters away from the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots to determine the fate of several elections, including the United States President. Voters greeted many poll workers before the polls opened at 7 a.m. According to the USA Today Network-Wisconsin, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said that as of 9:30 a.m.,  everything has been running smoothly, and there were no credible threats to polling locations. In Green Bay, the road was closed in front of its city hall, with officers standing near its ballot drop box. In Jacksonport, Sevastopol, and two polling locations in Sturgeon Bay, parking lots were full, but the small lines inside did not deter people from registering to vote or casting their ballot.

Algoma City Clerk Erin Mueller had nothing but compliments for the poll workers and the voters.

If you plan on voting today, bring your patience and photo identification to the polls. The polls close at 8 p.m., though you will still be allowed to vote past that time as long as you were in line before the deadline. All absentee ballots must also be submitted before 8 p.m.

You will see trucks and other equipment from the Sister Bay Parks Department pulling into duty from a new location in the future. The village broke ground on the new 11,400-square-foot facility last week at 2160 Autumn Court, located near the Sister Bay Sports Complex and its adjacent dog park. The building replaces its current 7,500-square-foot building, which has already lived a previous life as the village's fire station. The current facility was deemed to be in irreparable condition and was better placed somewhere else in the village. Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer said last month that it is just part of the several capital projects being planned in Sister Bay, including its future village hall.

Located next to the current Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Station on Mill Road, the current parks department building will be razed and could be the future home of the village's new post office and parking. An existing storage building at the site will be relocated to make room for the new facility.

Thanks to last week's rains and a stroke of bad timing, there is even less room for inmates at the state's smallest county prison. Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski shared the details of the needed roof fix for the jail during Monday's Kewaunee County Board meeting. The roof leak was discovered when the state's jail inspector was in town, which resulted in a portion of the facility being unhabitable until a solution was needed. The fix costs between $80,000 for a partial fix and over $200,000 for a complete makeover. Joski says the investment needs to be made, but it depends on what the county board thinks is the facility's future.

The board approved a transfer of $225,000 from the county's general fund to the jail outlay fund to prepare for a possible full roof replacement by a vote of 17-1. In other business, the Kewaunee County Board voted 16-2 to approve the 2025 budget and 2024 tax levy, which includes a 1.4 percent levy increase and a tax rate decrease of about 9.1 percent over last year.

No ballots or voter identification are required for a place you can retreat to after you cast your ballot for Tuesday's election. Candidates running for federal and state office are crisscrossing the state campaigning ahead of the polls opening at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. An hour after that, Friends Community Church is opening its doors to allow residents a quiet place to pray and reflect ahead of a final decision that could still be days away, depending on how the election shakes out. Friends Community Church Pastor Nancy Bontempo says that praying for our leaders is a Christian thing to do no matter the side of the aisle you may be on.

The day of prayer at Friends Community Church will end at the same time Tuesday's polls do: 8 p.m. According to the American Psychological Society, approximately one-third of Americans admit to the current political climate straining their families and even limiting the amount of time they spend with them.

You can thank Mother Nature for an easier ride to your house, workplace, and polling location on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced Monday afternoon that it will not close the Bayview Bridge for maintenance on Tuesday as originally planned due to the weather forecast. The bridge will still be closed on Wednesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. to reinforce bridge stringers on the east and west sides of the structure. Trucks are still advised to take the Maple/Oregon Street Bridge across the bay while the Bayview Bridge is closed, and cars are encouraged to take the Michigan Street Bridge.

The legacy of the late Bradley Jordan could soon be felt in the form of a gymnasium at Washington Island School. The school district and the Bradley Jordan Foundation announced on Monday that it is moving forward with plans to fund the construction of a new gymnasium at the school. The district rents the small gym space at the Washington Island Community Center for its classes, sporting events, and practices. A larger gym would allow the district not just to offer more opportunities for its students but for the community as well. The new space would also enable the district to host the Great Lakes Island Basketball Tournament, an event that made Bradley ask his mom, Washington Island School District Director of Special Education Michelle Jordan, "why not us?" in 2018.

Washington Island School District Superintendent of Business Services Sue Cornell says the matching grant of $2.5 million from a small group of donors makes the dream a possibility in a place where local taxpayers contribute approximately 98 percent of its operating costs.

A public informational meeting is scheduled for November 14^th at 7 p.m. at Washington Island School.

More heads in beds in the city is the goal of two proposed projects, with amended development agreements being put forward to the Sturgeon Bay Common Council for approval. The first project is an 81-room Hampton Inn that will be built at the corner of Egg Harbor Road and 12th Avenue. The developer, now known as Sturgeon Bay Hotel Group, LLC, is asking for some of its deadlines to be extended. Under the amended agreement, the developer would have until April 1st, 2025, to acquire the property and until June 30th, 2026, to complete it. If approved, construction would start in spring 2025. The second project is headed up by Estes Investments, LLP, and will provide 30 new condominiums and four commercial storage buildings when completed. Recently, the developer switched builders, and it's now working with Sturgeon Bay-based Portside Builders, which prompted redesigns and spitting an eight-unit building into two four-unit buildings. The amended agreement buys the developer more time and changes how they are reimbursed for work on the sewer and water mains. If approved, people could move into at least 10 units by July 31st, 2025. The meeting will also include a public hearing on the 2025 budget when the Sturgeon Bay Common Council meets on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Before the last leaves could change color, the speed limit in Ephraim switched one final time. Wednesday marked the last time the speed limit would change in the village, becoming the final municipality in the state to retire its seasonal regulatory speed limit. Ephraim's central business district, located on State Highway 42, had a speed limit of 25 miles per hour during the peak season and 35 miles per hour during the off-season. The northern and southern segments of State Highway 42 leading into Ephraim's central business also fluctuated with the season. Friday marked the first day of its now permanent speed limits. It will now be 30 miles per hour through the central business district and 40 miles per hour on either side of it. Traffic Engineer Rod Hamilton said in September that the data is on their side, and other municipalities that have gone through change have supported their efforts.

The changes will also make Ephraim similar to other northern Door County communities, which also have a 30 miles per hour speed limit in their central business districts. 

You can celebrate the fellowship of those in Door County who have international roots or connections later this month.  The Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay is planning a Rotary International Dinner on Saturday, November 16.  The dinner is open to everyone interested in the cultures of other countries, especially international exchange program participants and their host families, Peace Corp volunteers, missionaries, and anyone who has lived internationally. 

Nic and Christiana Trapani from Door County Candle Company will speak about their fundraising efforts for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

The potluck dinner will be held from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the Hope United Church of Christ on 12th Avenue in Sturgeon Bay. All attendees are encouraged to bring a dish that represents their country of origin. 

You can RSVP for the Rotary International Dinner by filling out the form with this link or texting Grace Rossman at 920-493-6801.

Rotary is a worldwide organization with 1.2 million members who donate over 47 million hours of community service each year to local and international projects.  

Lately, at Crossroads, we have been looking up:  at stunning fall foliage, at a comet, at northern lights, and migrating birds. So this week, we turn our attention to the fascinating world of nature below the surface. We will explore fossil corals, soils, and smallmouth bass.

Yes, smallmouth bass do belong on that list. Thanks to our Fish Tales Lecture Series, we at Crossroads have been introduced to recent research on smallmouth bass. One thing that has impressed us is that the underwater topography plays a vital role in the reproductive behavior of these fish.

So we are excited to be hosting a Public Meeting on Smallmouth Bass Management in Green Bay and Northern Lake Michigan on Wednesday, October 6, at 6:00. DNR staff will present the latest smallmouth bass survey and research data and gather feedback on a proposed regulation change to expand the catch and release season. Attendees are encouraged to share ideas, experiences, and input on smallmouth bass management for Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan. This program is free and open to the public.

Earlier that day, our after-school program, Environmental Exploration, will focus on a time millions of years ago when the peninsula was covered by a shallow tropical sea teeming with ancient creatures, including corals. With indoor and hopefully outdoor activities (weather permitting), we will examine some of the coral species that make up a good share of our bedrock. The program is geared for elementary students, but learners of all ages are welcome.

Our Saturday Science program topic will be "Diggin’ into Soil.”  Notice that we did not say dirt. We at Crossroads have long known that healthy soil is far more than just dirt, but a few weeks ago, as part of the Wisconsin Science Festival, soil scientist Jaimie Patton presented a fascinating program describing how fungi and soil organisms are, in large part, responsible for soil fertility. Scientists speculate that 25% of our planet’s species live underground. We will barely scratch the surface.

On Monday, Crossroads will screen another Wild Ones webinar featuring one of our favorite presenters, Doug Tallamy.  This pre-recorded presentation is a synopsis of his book “The Nature of Oaks.”  We screened  this online seminar last winter. Folks have requested a repeat.

Finally, know that we have a “kids activity center” for drop-in visitors during open hours. Bring the little ones for a session of interactive nature play.

The Collins Learning Center is open Monday-Friday 9:30-3:30 and on Saturdays 1:00-4:00. Trails and restrooms are open all day, every day. 

Wednesday, Nov. 6

1:30 Wandering Wednesday

This naturalist-led hike will visit places in Crossroads where bedrock is exposed. It is gentle walking and will take about an hour. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

3:30 Environmental Exploration: Fossil Corals                                                                                                                                                                                                    This program is intended for elementary school students but is open to all ages. Indoor/outdoor program exploring the coral animals that, now fossilized, can be found in Door County. (Dress for the weather.)

Registration is not required. Open to the public and free/ Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay

6:00 Public Meeting on Small Mouth Bass Management in Green Bay and Northern Lake Michigan  

DNR staff will present the latest smallmouth bass survey and research data and gather feedback on a proposed regulation change to expand the catch and release season. Attendees are encouraged to share ideas, experiences, and input on smallmouth bass management for Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan. This program is free and open to the public. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay

Saturday, November 9                                                                                                  Saturday Science: Diggin’ into Soil

Join this indoor/outdoor program and learn about the layers of soil found in Door County. This weekly family program is intended for elementary students, but learners of all ages are welcome. Dress for the weather. Open to the public and free. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads, 2041 Michigan

Monday, November 11

1:00 Wild Ones Webinar: Douglas Tallamy

Wild Ones presents a pre-recorded webinar featuring renowned entomologist, environmentalist, and best-selling author Doug Tallamy who will discuss why “keystone” species are crucial to any ecosystem and why oak trees spectacularly fill that niche in so many places. Free and open to the public. Meet at the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.

Tuesday, November 12

 7:00 Meeting of the DPAS: Electronically Assisted Astronomy

At the November meeting, DPAS Board Member and Master Naturalist Jim Gallt will present the lecture “Electronically Assisted Astronomy.”  EAA was born when someone inserted the webcam from their PC into the eyepiece holder on a telescope.  EAA has come a long way since those early days of low-resolution analog video cameras! This presentation is an overview of this increasingly popular flavor of astrophotography, where real time observing rather than carefully processed pretty pictures is the primary goal. Visitors are encouraged. Meet at the Stonecipher Astronomy Center, 2200 Utah, Sturgeon Bay.

Motorists driving through Sturgeon Bay got one of their bridges back this weekend, but they will lose another come Tuesday. The Door County Highway Department announced this week that the Bayview Bridge will be closed for routine maintenance beginning on Tuesday. The closure and the detour will be much less substantive than the one that prevented motorists from crossing the Michigan Street Bridge for the better part of two weeks.  The Bayview Bridge will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Cars are encouraged to use the Michigan Street Bridge to cross the bay, while trucks and taller vehicles are asked to use the Maple/Oregon Street Bridge. You can find the full detour information below.

Even though their vessel Osprey is out of the water, you can still find Sea Scout Ship 1261 hard at work to perfect their skills until they can take to the waters of Sturgeon Bay again next spring. Based out of the Door County Maritime Museum, 2024 marked the first year a Sea Scout Ship in Sturgeon Bay could go out onto the water in decades. A community member donated the Osprey, which was the basis of many Sea Scout meetings for the unit. Kevin Osgood, who leads the Door County Maritime Museum and the Sea Scout Ship, says this year was a good starting point for the unit and hopes it smoothing sailing ahead for the members and leaders.

Even though they are out of the water for now, there is still plenty for the members to do. At a recent meeting, members worked on radio communication skills and performed mock searches and rescues. Ship 1261 meets at the Door County Maritime Museum on the first and fourth Thursdays of every month at 6:30 p.m.  Sea Scouts is a segment of the Boy Scouts of America that takes boys and girls out of the woods and puts them on oceans, bays, rivers, and lakes. 

Although it spent much of its life thousands of miles away, the USS Westchester County returned home to Sturgeon Bay on Friday through memories and reflection. More than 100 people attended the ceremony commemorating the USS Westchester County on the 56th anniversary of its darkest day.

 

 

 

 

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On November 1st, 1968, Viet Cong swimmers attached mines to the ship. The explosions not only tore two 10-foot wide holes into the boat but claimed the lives of 25 men, making it the Navy's most significant single-incident combat loss of life during the Vietnam War. Four men who served on the USS Westchester County attended Friday's ceremony, which ended with unveiling a plaque that would tell the story of the vessel and also remember the lives lost. One of those men was James Parson of Janesville, Wis., a gunner's mate on the USS Westchester County who was off the ship when the attack occurred. With Sturgeon Bay being so close to him compared to the companion ceremonies that were taking place in San Diego and Westchester County, New York, attending Friday's ceremony meant a lot to him.

According to U.S. Naval records, Sturgeon Bay's Christy Shipbuilding laid down the USS Westchester County on January 11th, 1952, before being launched on April 18th, 1953, and commissioned on March 10th, 1954. Keynote Speaker Retired Naval Chief Bill Kaupas shared the emotional stories of the USS Westchester County during its time in Vietnam, its trip to Japan to receive vital repairs, and its journey back into the warzone. LST-1167 received three Navy Unit Commendations, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, and 15 engagement stars for Vietnam service as the USS Westchester County.

You can watch the entire ceremony below.

If you do not cast your ballot on Friday, Door County Clerk Jill Lau is asking you to bring photo identification and patience to the polls on Tuesday. While some municipalities will have early voting available until November 3rd, it ends on Friday in Door County. That means you will have to wait until Election Day to vote if you are not still holding onto an absentee ballot. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Wisconsin Elections Commission data, over 1 million absentee ballots have been received by municipalities across the state, which encompasses people who voted in person or utilized the U.S. Postal Service and drop boxes. Door County has received 6,391 absentee ballots as of October 31st, 88 percent of the total it sent out. Kewaunee County has seen a slightly higher percentage of its absentee ballots returned at 89 percent, accounting for 2,263 ballots. The region continues to grab headlines with the New York Times doing a piece on sparring neighbors in the City of Algoma over their presidential picks. Kewaunee County Democratic Party Chairperson Stan Johnson says they are working hard for November 5th in hopes of starting a healing process on November 6th.

While you may have to wait in line on Tuesday, you do not have to worry about your polling place running out of ballots. Lau says they planned with extra ballots being printed, and they can print off more if needed.

NOTE: We talked to Kirt Johnson from the Republican Party of Kewaunee County last week about the enthusiasm going on with both parties after former President Donald Trump announced he was coming to Green Bay.

Quick action by a couple in the Town of Union may have saved their home from destruction Thursday after a chimney fire started. The Brussels-Union-Fire Department responded to the fire on Tru Way Road just after 8 p.m. after the homeowners called 911 to report smoke filling their living room. The couple had used their wood-burning stove for much of the day before the incident. BUG Fire Chief Curt Vandertie says a mechanical failure with the chimney's damper may have also played a role in the fire. He adds that with the temperatures changing, now is the perfect time to get everything used to heat your home checked and maintained by a professional.

Thanks to the quick action of the homeowners and the responding firefighters, the home suffered only minor damage and no injuries. The BUG Fire Department also received assistance from the Southern Door, Nasewaupee, Sturgeon Bay, Luxemburg, and Casco fire departments.