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Peninsula Pulse Nov. 10-17, 2023

In this issue

  • Ephraim Christmas in the Village Dec. 2

    The Ephraim Business Council will host its annual Christmas in the Village event on Dec. 2. Throughout the day, participate in the Spot the Snowmen activity by visiting open houses at participating businesses. Find the five different-colored snowmen and report the findings to Ephraim Village Hall between 3-4:45 pm to receive a special Ephraim gift.  […]

  • Destination Door County Awards $253,666 to Six Projects

    Destination Door County (DDC) has granted six projects a total of $253,666 in the latest round of its Community Investment Fund (CIF) grant program. The awards to four local municipalities and two non-profit organizations conclude the final grant cycle of 2023 for the program. “We are thrilled to announce this latest round of our Community […]

  • Obituary: Judith Marie Meier

    April 22, 1929 – Nov. 12, 2023 Judith M. Meier, 94, of Sturgeon Bay, quietly passed away surrounded by her loving family on Nov. 12, 2023, at the Door County Medical Center after a brief illness. Judy was born in Manitowoc County to Pastor Otto and Mrs. Bertha (Leitzke) Gruendemann on April 22, 1929. She […]

  • Obituary: Delores “Susie” Mae Phillips

    June 26, 1940 – Nov. 7, 2023 Delores “Susie” Mae (Carmody) Phillips, 83, Sturgeon Bay, passed away comfortably at home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, after a long illness. She was born June 26, 1940, in Algoma to Gordon A. and Elda C. (Strege) Carmody. Delores was known to many as Susie. She graduated from […]

  • Obituary: Gary G. Krause

    Feb. 22, 1960 – Nov.8, 2023 Gary George Krause, 63, of Sturgeon Bay, died at Aurora BayCare Medical Center on Nov.8, 2023. Gary was born in Sturgeon Bay on Feb. 22, 1960, to Elmer and Louise (Buhr) Krause. He graduated from Southern Door High School in 1978. Gary went on to work for Gordon Alberts […]

  • Art in the Door Auction Raises $1,150

    The inaugural Art in the Door contest raised $1,150 for the Peninsula Arts and Humanities Alliance to help support local arts initiatives and arts advocacy efforts in Door County. The silent auction was part of Destination Door County’s (DDC), Nov. 2 gathering at Horseshoe Bay Golf Club.  DDC spearheaded the art initiative with local artists, […]

  • Kress Pavilion Hosting Barn Dance

    The Door County Folk Alliance (DCFA) will host a public barn dance at the Kress Pavilion on Saturday, Nov.18 at Kress Pavilion from 7 to 9 pm. Live music will be provided by Sugar on the Floor Barn Dance Orchestra.  All levels of dancers are encouraged to attend, including children of at least 8 years […]

  • Christmas By The Bay Events Nov. 17-19

    Get ready for Sturgeon Bay’s annual Christmas by the Bay Weekend, Nov. 17-19. The weekend kicks off with the Unwrapping Sturgeon Bay community car cruise at 5:30 pm on Friday Nov. 17. The cruise route is new this year: from Door County Fairgrounds, turn left on Egg Harbor Road, proceed down Jefferson Street, turn left […]

  • Olson Donates Award to Food Pantry

    Richard Olson of Door County was recently awarded $5,000 from America’s Farmers Grow Communities and directed the funds to the food pantry at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Maplewood. America’s Farmers, a Bayer Fund program, is focused on strengthening rural America through two community outreach programs that partner with farmers to make an […]

  • Northern Door Children’s Center Growing to Meet Demand

    Northern Door Children’s Center has kicked off phase II of its capital campaign to meet the growing demand for child care in the area.  The center launched the public phase of the campaign in mid-October in which it aims to raise the final $1.25 million of its $3.6 million campaign to improve its Sister Bay […]

  • What’s in Store for School Taxes

    Some levies are up, some down, and all tax rates are decreasing as property values rise Property tax rates from Door County public schools will decline, but some levies are up, as are property values. In Gibraltar Area School District, a large increase in taxable property valuations districtwide will allow the district to lower its […]

  • Obituary: Patricia A. Eckert

    Nov. 14, 1943 – Nov. 5, 2023 Patricia Ann Eckert, 79, of Brussels, died on Nov. 5, 2023, at Aurora Bay Care in Green Bay. She was born Nov. 14, 1943, in Rosiere to William and Mary (Herison) Theis. On July 9, 1966, she married William Eckert in Lincoln, he preceded her in death on […]

  • Lower Heating Bills Expected This Winter

    As the cold weather settles in for another year, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) is letting customers know their heating bills are expected to be lower this winter. An analysis done by WPS shows the typical residential customer will pay about $20 less per month this winter compared to last year. The analysis assumes typical winter […]

  • Fire-Protection Contract Recommended for Sevastopol

    The Sturgeon Bay Fire Department would continue to provide fire protection services to the Town of Sevastopol for the next three years under a recommendation made Oct. 31 by the city’s Finance/Purchasing and Building Committee. The city currently provides fire protection services to the towns of Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol, with the latter’s existing contract […]

  • Incentives Approved for Former Ace Renovation

    The Sturgeon Bay Common Council approved a development agreement that will provide a financial incentive of up to $50,000 for the renovation of the former Door County Ace Hardware building at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Jefferson. The approximately 17,650-square-foot building is located in Tax Increment District (TID) #8 and currently being renovated to […]

  • Facilities Plan Would Dramatically Reshape Sister Bay

    Sister Bay’s public facilities will have a dramatically new look – and a steep price tag – if the village follows through on a new facilities plan it adopted on Oct. 17.  The plan, developed by Ayres and Associates over the course of the summer with input gathered from village officials, stakeholders and public input […]

  • $10,000 Levy Increase Proposed for Nasewaupee Taxpayers

    It appears that it will cost Nasewaupee taxpayers less to have its own fire department than if it had remained with the Southern Door Fire Department (SDFD), based upon the town’s proposed 2024 budget. The budget the town will show taxpayers at a public hearing, Nov. 16, includes the operational costs for its newly formed […]

  • Gibraltar Asking Taxpayers for $400,000 for Roads

    The additional levy would replace the current traffic utility fee ordinance The Town of Gibraltar wants to eliminate its year-old traffic utility fee in favor of increasing the property tax levy by $400,000, the same amount the fee would have raised annually to maintain and repair roads.  The plan is included in the proposed 2024 […]

  • Governor Granting $330,000 to Peninsula Players Theatre

    Brian Kelsey had a more than casual interest in the crafting of the 2023-25 Wisconsin state budget earlier this year. The managing director of the 88-year-old Peninsula Players Theatre in Fish Creek was leading a capital campaign to build two new dormitories to replace the dated structures that house the seasonal company when, in March, […]

  • Expanded Online Content Included in Sturgeon Bay’s Public Access TV Contract

    In addition to the City of Sturgeon Bay contracting with Mann Communications to provide programs on the four public, educational and government (PEG) cable television channels in the city, a new three-year agreement put together is calling for an expanded online presence, so that others besides cable television subscribers could receive that content. “The viewership […]

  • AROUND THE DOOR: Workshop Fire

    Firefighters battle a blaze in a workshop at 3162 Kangaroo Beach Road in Baileys Harbor on Monday morning, Nov. 6. Baileys Harbor fire chief Brian Zak said the call came in around 8:30 am from the owner who had lit the woodstove, gone back into his house for a cup of coffee, and returned to […]

  • AROUND THE DOOR: Apples Galore

    Apple growers say a superb spring for pollination is likely the key reason for such a massive crop of wild apples across Door and Kewaunee counties this fall. Deer, wild turkeys, and many other birds and mammals will feast on the fruits. Coyotes and foxes have even been spotted dining on apples in winter in […]

  • Wild Things: Blaze Orange to Color the Woodlands

    Wisconsin’s most anticipated opening morning – the November gun deer season – is just eight toss-and-turn nights away. While a far cry from its glory days of the 1990s when it attracted nearly 700,000 license-buying men, women and youths, the nine-day hunt is still the granddaddy of all, luring more than 550,000 people to dress […]

  • Obituary: Clifford Joachim Darken

    May 2, 1930 – October 2, 2023 Clifford Darken died in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 21, in the Care Center at Scandia Village, a retirement home in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. He was 93. Cliff had been a resident of Door County since 1986, when he and wife Josephine first moved to a cottage […]

  • Server of the Week: Will Carpenter

    When you’re dreaming of tiki, to quench a burning thirst. The port of Jackson should come to mind first. Behind the bar you’ll find a man named Will, who’ll make a great drink, sure to give you a thrill. Find our Server of the Week at Island Fever Stop in and he’ll make you a […]

  • Culture Club: Connecting With Björklunden

    Björklunden Vid Sjön (Birch Forest by the Water) offers a remarkable site for hiking, peaceful reflection, learning and getting spiritually reconnected. It possesses a rare natural beauty which has been in the orbit of my life for nearly 30 years. As the still relatively new Director of Björklunden, let me welcome you to my first […]

  • Going Cuckoo at Rogue Theater

    After years of performances as a traveling theater troupe, Rogue Theater now has a permanent place to call home. Sturgeon Bay’s DC Arts Center, imagined by Rogue co-founders, Stuart Champeau and Lola DeVillers, opened to the public earlier this year. Now at the end of November, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest will be the […]

  • Austin Skalecki: ‘I Strum Three Chords and Say What’s On My Mind’

    A Q&A with Austin Skalecki Appleton-based singer-songwriter Austin Skalecki has over 400 live performances under his belt. We caught up with him before his next one in Door County, Nov. 11. The conversation has been edited for clarity.  SW: You mentioned you’re calling me from California. What brings you there? AS: I’ve been on tour […]

  • Sturgeon Bay Biking Class Teaches Kids to Ride

    Ben Herland loves to bike, and now he’s hoping some exposure to bicycling will kindle that love in some of his students at TJ Walker Middle School in Sturgeon Bay. The physical education teacher introduced a bicycling class to the physical education curriculum to help add more life-long fitness activities to the roster. The new […]

  • Pulse of Tourism: Giving Thanks

    It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of November, with 2023 almost in the rear-view mirror and snow in the air.  Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, friends and neighbors, celebrating the good that we experience every single day and to give thanks for what we have. We […]