Category: Features
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Jay Zahn Retiring after 30 Years as County Treasurer
Jay Zahn will retire at the end of this year as Door County treasurer after three decades in office – the longest term for that office in county history, he said. “I could have gone a few more years,” Zahn said, “but I decided I’m going to enjoy life. I’ll continue to be involved with […]
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Editor’s Note: This is the last of a three-part series about Door County dairy farms. Most dairy farmers are out with the cows by 4 am. Tim Gilbert usually sleeps until 10 – but then again, he doesn’t typically get to bed until 6 am. On the day of our 10:30 am interview, he’d had […]
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Closed Down to Open Up: Under the Stars Night Market Debuts
Large festivals are events of the past this year with COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines in place. Yet Destination Sturgeon Bay (DSB) and the City of Sturgeon Bay have partnered to put on an alternative – the Under the Stars Night Market – to draw people downtown for some togetherness at safe social distances. Every Saturday […]
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As the Dörr Hotel rises in Sister Bay and restaurants have expanded in Baileys Harbor, Egg Harbor and Sister Bay, people rightfully raise the question, is Door County getting overdeveloped? But that question is not new. Back in 1986, the Milwaukee Journal put that question front and center with a special, 18-page edition of its […]
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The Sturgeon Bay Common Council approved a permit last week for a local couple to keep bees. It’s the third beekeeping permit the city has issued since July 2017, when the ordinance was passed to allow beekeeping within city limits. Another request is in the pipeline for a residence on South 18th Avenue. Beekeeping – even […]
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Passing Down the Training of ‘Wild to Mild’
Jesus ‘Chewy’ Jauregui and son Fernando will compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover Competitions generally don’t exist to test the things fathers pass on to their children. That’s not the case for Jesus “Chewy” Jauregui, however: He’s handing down his extraordinary skills in working with horses in general, and with wild mustangs in particular. His […]
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A Child Care Conundrum: Barker closure would leave families, employers in limbo
When Alexis Heim Peter and her husband, Matt, welcomed their son, Jackson, to the world two and a half years ago, they encountered a challenge that an increasing number of Door County families are facing: securing child care once they return to work. Initially, the Sturgeon Bay residents couldn’t get into the full Barker Child […]
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2020 NEW BUSINESSES: Amid Uncertainty, Entrepreneurs Charge Forward
After the Great Recession of 2008-09, businesses throughout Door County struggled through difficult times. Many closed their doors, ending dreams and destroying livelihoods. But in the wake of what we had, at the time, considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis, many entrepreneurs risked everything and continued pursuing their dreams. To acknowledge and honor that […]
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Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Forest Bathing with Jane Burress
If you follow Jane Burress for a couple of hours on a slow, guided walk through Door County’s natural places, it’s unlikely that you’ll reemerge as the same person or experience a forest in quite the same way ever again. “People get out of it what they need,” said Burress, a certified forest and nature […]
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Operation Not Alone Supports Men and Women in Uniform With Personal Touch
In 2013, Susan Fochs was running Operation Not Alone (ONA) out of her freshman-year dorm room at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with money she’d made as a server during the summer at Wild Tomato Pizza. Today, her operations have expanded significantly. Now headquartered in Sturgeon Bay, ONA offers personalized care packages for active-duty service members, […]
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Vacant-Lot Camping Could Be on the Rise
But in most cases, restrictions prohibit long-term lot camping In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans have seen their priorities shift, including a heightened desire for space. In Door County, real estate brokers have seen this manifest itself in a growing interest in a sector that’s often quiet: vacant lots. Kevin Nordahl, […]
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Homeowners, municipalities fortify shorelines against erosion For Bo and Mindy Ellis, the rising waters of Lake Michigan are much more than a curiosity. Their home on the south edge of Whitefish Bay Creek is within 20 feet of the water and about eight feet above it. In another year or two, or after one bad […]
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If federal, state and local agencies are recommending face coverings, why isn’t everyone wearing them? Fighting COVID-19 together doesn’t mean everyone is united on how to stop the spread, especially when it comes to wearing face coverings in public. A quick trip to an open store will reveal that some people wear masks and others […]
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This Old Store: Sohn’s in Ephraim
Arnold and Ida Sohns had been married for seven years in 1917 when they arrived in Ephraim from Maple Grove and bought a very small, dark shed that had been the Keys blacksmith shop. Arnold established his butcher shop in a space so small that there was room inside for only three or four people […]
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Public Welcome: Sturgeon Bay’s West Waterfront could be transformed this year
Believe it or not, the Sturgeon Bay West Waterfront will look dramatically different by the end of the year. At least that’s what Sturgeon Bay leaders said they hoped for during a Feb. 10 open house to gather public input on a plan for the West Waterfront promenade. The plan developed by Cedar Corporation engineers […]
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I’ll never forget the day when a coworker in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, told me that her dog’s name was Lisa. I lost it. I was unable to control my laughter for the next few minutes. Maybe even the next hour. I still laugh about it now, years later. There’s something about pets with human names […]
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This Old Store: Trodahl’s/Witalison’s Market
A long-ago store in Egg Harbor It’s one of those little stores that went on for decades. The grocery stores in Egg Harbor that long-timers seem to remember best were Trodahl’s and Witalison’s – and actually, they were the same store. In addition, there were two owners before Marvin and Agnes Trodahl, two between the […]
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An Education in Rural Health Care
UW students get a look at caregiving on the peninsula “In the big cities, it’s easy to fall between the cracks,” said Bonnie Johnson, “and in Door County, people don’t fall between the cracks.” Johnson, who was one of eight University of Wisconsin-Madison nursing students to participate in a winter immersion course in Door County, […]
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Whether you’re a first-time visitor or someone who’s just moved here, you’ll likely receive advice about where to hang out and what to do from patrons at local bars, strangers at the grocery store or servers at restaurants. But their advice might not make much sense to you. As with any town or region, Door […]
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It’s well known that winter is a slow time of year on the peninsula, so to curb your potential boredom or add some excitement to your snowy visit, try completing this Door County winter scavenger hunt with your friends and family members. Make it a competition to see how many of these challenges you can […]