The people who told you that video games would never lead anywhere good never met TJ Walker Middle School social studies teacher Stephen Jacobson.

He was recently named the 2026 K-12 Esports Director of the Year by the National Association of Esports Coaches & Directors. The organization presents the award to outstanding leaders who have built esports programs that set the standard for excellence, competitive integrity and student development.

It was seven years ago that Jacobson first explored bringing esports to the school as a way to get students involved in an activity during study hall. A gamer himself, he turned that passion into more than just an esports class. He also helped coach a team to a state championship.

Jacobson says the esports club is about more than just playing video games. For many students, it's about connecting with their classmates.

Jacobson says it was both surprising and humbling to receive the honor. During his time as esports director at TJ Walker Middle School, he has seen the club grow to more than 80 members.

With crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans in the ground, area farmers can now turn their attention to other tasks while they wait for them to grow and mature.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress and Condition Report for June 29, Wisconsin farmers had five days suitable for fieldwork last week, up slightly from the previous week. The extra time meant conditions were favorable for oats and wheat to continue maturing and for soybeans to begin blooming.

Eight percent of the state's soybean crop is blooming, which is on par with the five-year average, though its condition dipped to 78% rated good to excellent. Corn moved in the opposite direction, improving to 82% rated good to excellent. Oats were about 2 percentage points behind the five-year average, while winter wheat was slightly ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, farmers continued making progress on the alfalfa hay harvest, with 97% of the first cutting complete and 29% of the second cutting finished.

Farmers will likely have to dodge raindrops for the rest of the week, with at least a 20% chance of rain through Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Hundreds of residents in Door and Kewaunee counties found themselves without power between storms that hit the area Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Heavy rain and strong winds arrived at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday. Shortly afterward, property owners were greeted by downed trees and other damage.

According to PowerOutage.us, 880 Door County customers and nearly 550 Kewaunee County customers were without power at the peak of the outages. Wisconsin Public Service restored power to many of them within hours.

A second round of storms hit the area at approximately 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, prompting a severe thunderstorm warning that remained in effect until 9:30 a.m. As of 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday, there were more than 2,500 customers in Door County and another 1,300-plus customers in Kewaunee County without power, with restoration times reaching into the late afternoon hours. WPS is reporting approximately 10,800 customers without power, with Suamico accounting for more than 3,300.

The storms will do little to knock out the heat, however. The area will remain under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, with temperatures expected to climb even higher on Thursday. The threat of storms will not disappear, either, with more than a 70% chance of rain in Friday's forecast and additional chances of rain through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

No matter where you're from or whether you're a member, the Door County YMCA would love to welcome you.

On this week's Y-Wednesday Podcast, Jackie & Steve Kane Branch Executive Holly Butenhoff shared the many ways people can enjoy the YMCA this summer. Thanks to the YMCA's Nationwide Membership program, members from across the country can use the Door County YMCA's facilities in Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek just as they would their home YMCA.

For those who are not members, both program centers offer day passes and Flex Plan options to use the facilities.

The Door County YMCA's facilities are open seven days a week, with one exception in July. Both program centers will be closed Saturday in observance of Independence Day. However, members with 24/7 access can still get a workout in before heading out to watch fireworks or attend a holiday cookout.

You can listen to this week's Y-Wednesday Podcast by clicking here.