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Category: Columns

  • COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE: Strangulation is Silent, But Deadly

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    by KAYLEE DOTTERER, HELP of Door County, domestic violence advocate October was domestic violence (DV) awareness month, a time when advocates and survivors came together to shed light on a pervasive issue and empower those who have suffered in silence. Survivors are a powerful reminder of the importance of this month and the need for […]

  • Editor’s Note: A Community Without a Newspaper is a Community Without a Soul

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    Oct. 1-7, is the 83rd celebration of National Newspaper Week, a week-long promotion of the newspaper industry in the United States and Canada One of the many things I love about Door County is that if we put a photo of a duck on the cover of the newspaper and call it a duck, an […]

  • Point/Counterpoint: FOR & AGAINST AB-415

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    Republican Redistricting Legislation by DEBRA FITZGERALD The Wisconsin Assembly passed a legislative redistricting bill on Sept. 14 with a 64-32 vote. Only one Democrat voted for the bill that proposes to change the way district maps are currently drawn – Rep. LaKeshia Myers, who represents District 12 in Milwaukee. Assembly Bill 415 (AB-415) is co-authored […]

  • Guest Column: A Fantastic Opportunity for Development Leadership

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    by ROGER KUHNS Jacksonport, Wisconsin and Mystic, Connecticut The Quarry Bluff Estates (QBE) development on Bay Shore Drive, just north of Sturgeon Bay in Sevastopol, has been argued over for a number of years. But the sales of lots and soon the buildout is proceeding. The first phase involves 11 lots, with more to follow. […]

  • Pulse of Philanthropy: A New Tool to Build Affordable Housing

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    Bret Bicoy is President and CEO, Door County Community Foundation Every fully employed person in Door County should be able to afford a safe, quality place to live. This simple idea is the driving force behind the launch of Door County’s Workforce Housing Lending Corporation. For more than two years, the Door County Community Foundation […]

  • Editor’s Note: Summer’s Labor

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    It feels like just last week when I wrote about the arrival of spring, recognizing its glory in the scent of sweet lilacs, the apple blossoms bursting with bees. Those apple blossoms are now chunky apples weighing down branches, and the flowers of spring are now yellows and golds or the deep maroon of our […]

  • Guest Column: In Memoriam to Jay Zahn: Thanks for the Laughs

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    EDITOR’S NOTE: Jay Zahn, 66, passed away Aug. 28. He retired at the end of 2020 after serving for three decades as Door County treasurer. “I could have gone a few more years, but I decided I’m going to enjoy life,” he told writer Patty Williamson, who covered his retirement for the Peninsula Pulse. “I’ll […]

  • Pulse of Philanthropy: A Nonprofit’s Most Important Relationship

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    by BRET BICOY, President and CEO, Door County Community Foundation A few months ago, I wrote about the modest, but strategically important differences between nonprofit leaders who serve as a president and CEO versus those who are an executive director (“Understanding Nonprofit Titles,” March 9 issue of the Peninsula Pulse). More recently, I’ve been asked […]

  • Editor’s Note: The Stop Predatory Investing Act Is a Good Bill

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    Pardon in advance to anyone out there who owns more than 50 rental homes, but the IRS may cut off your financial incentives in owning those properties. That’s mostly wishful thinking. Right now, that threat comes only in the form of a bill called the Stop Predatory Investing Act. It’s co-authored by one of our […]

  • Editor’s Note: Wishing Sam a Speedy Recovery

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    Her name is Samantha Marie Watson. We know her as Sam, as do readers of the Peninsula Pulse. Sam began working for us in June 2022, immediately after earning her UW-Madison journalism degree. We knew from her résumé and interviews that she was intelligent, with enough experience to show us her talents as a reporter […]

  • Guest Column: News and Politics and How They’ve Shifted

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    by JOSEPH W. KNAAPEN Thanks to Dick Egan for his comments in the June 23 edition of the Peninsula Pulse (“Guest Column: Presidential Politics Don’t Define Us”). Not only did he pry open the Pandora’s box labeled “corporate journalism,” but he also honored the warriors of local community journalism. Egan squarely blasted parachute journalists who […]

  • Editor’s Note: Trojan Horse Laws

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    If you can wrap something into a package that everyone wants, you have a greater chance of getting diverse, unrelated or controversial laws passed. These are technically known as omnibus bills. I was reminded of their opaque, almost insidious nature while gathering information this week on the additional shared revenue that our local municipalities will […]

  • Your Right to Know: Record Delays Are Contrary to the Law

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    by BILL LUEDERS In early April, I requested some records from the Madison Police Department (MPD) regarding what it said was the sole disciplinary action taken against an MPD officer or employee during the first three months of this year.  It was an exceedingly minor matter – a sergeant who got a one-day suspension for […]

  • Legal Brief: Beware: Wisconsin Is Not for All Lovers

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    by JOAN KORB, [email protected] Ah, it’s summer in Wisconsin: a time for fun and romance. Wisconsin, and Door County especially, have long been getaways for lovers, but not all lovers are welcome here. Just giving everyone a heads-up. Wisconsin Statute Chapter 944, Crimes against Sexual Morality, says: “The state recognizes that it has a duty […]

  • Editor’s Note: Wildfire Days and Minds

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    It wasn’t only the Canadian wildfires prompting people to look up at the sky Saturday.  One of our coworkers, Sharon Anderson (who is responsible for the amazing design of this section of the paper, week in and week out), had docked in Fish Creek and noticed ash falling from the sky. She had learned previously […]

  • Pulse of Philanthropy: A Dangerous Concentration of Risk

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    by BRET BICOY, President and CEO, Door County Community Foundation As civic participation of all kinds continues to decline, so has the number of people who make contributions to charity. Over the past decade, the total number of folks who give has decreased by an incredible 19%. And according to the “Giving USA 2023: Annual […]

  • Guest Column: Presidential Politics Don’t Define Door County

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    by DICK EGAN, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin This past spring, the Washington Post sent a couple of reporters and photographers here to do a story on the fact that Door County is one of only nine counties in the entire country to have backed the ultimate winner of the presidential election in the past five election […]

  • Tourism & the Visitor Economy: Take the Door County Resident Survey

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    by JULIE GILBERT, President and CEO, Destination Door County This column marks one full year that I have been writing to highlight the importance of Door County’s visitor economy. I thank the Peninsula Pulse for the opportunity to provide this information, and I would like to keep encouraging you to reach out to me to […]

  • Editor’s Note: Dads Are Cool, Too

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    Readers may recall our herculean effort to honor moms for Mother’s Day. I call it “herculean” because we put out a call for people to describe their moms in six words, believing maybe a few people would bite. I was wrong about the number of submitters, and we all paid for my huge miscalculation.  Trying […]

  • Pulse of Philanthropy: Celebrating a Decade of the Civility Project

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    by BRET BICOY In our high-tech world dominated by smartphones, artificial intelligence and social media, the concept of civility can easily be dismissed as a quaint but antiquated concept. Yet as our political discourse grows increasingly angry and our policy debates degrade into condescending tweets from both sides of the political aisle, the importance of […]