Destination Door County’s Community Investment Fund is making it easier for you to enjoy the birds, sail the bay and find a bathroom through its latest round of grants.

The organization announced more than $190,000 in grants Friday, bringing the total to more than $3.9 million for 74 supported projects.

The largest award was for Destination Sturgeon Bay’s $87,000 effort to create ADA-accessible bathrooms in the city’s downtown to support visitors and residents while they shop, dine and explore the area. Destination Sturgeon Bay Executive Director Cameryn Ehlers-Kwaterski says that this grant will allow them to start the process of a more extensive renovation of their visitor center which has seen more traffic in recent years.

The Patriot Racing Project received $74,200 to preserve and restore the tall ship Utopia, which docks at the Door County Maritime Museum and provides maritime experiences, education and veteran programming to the community.

Open Door Bird Sanctuary received $29,060 in support to build a year-round, ADA-accessible songbird aviary to expand its educational experiences while providing a permanent home to many of its feathered friends. The organization also received $9,000 from the Door County Community Foundation, bringing the total investment in the project to $38,060.

Destination Door County President and CEO Jon Jarosh says this round of grants shows how tourism can have a positive impact on the community, whether the projects are ordinary or extraordinary.

The next grant application deadline is Sept. 28. Jarosh encourages nonprofits and government agencies alike to speak with the Door County Community Foundation to see if their projects qualify for the Community Investment Fund program, which is funded by room tax collections.

The summer harvest of wheat and oats is coming to a quick conclusion thanks to favorable weather for farmers.

According to the USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report, farmers had 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork last week, with some much-needed rainfall in southern Wisconsin bringing down the statewide average.

The weather allowed farmers to make considerable progress on their harvests, with the oat harvest jumping from 41 percent complete to 57 percent and the winter wheat harvest going from 69 percent complete to 85 percent.

While some crops are coming off the fields, others are still developing nicely in them. Corn silking is maintaining its five-year average at 72 percent, with 16 percent of corn reaching the dough stage. Soybeans are trending a little ahead of schedule, with 86 percent blooming and 53 percent setting pods. Area farmers are also halfway done with their third cutting of alfalfa.

For the second time this year, Southern Door School District could be asking voters for a little extra help funding its operations.

The Southern Door School Board looks to pass resolutions asking to exceed the revenue limit by $2.055 million per year for three years when it meets Monday.

The district announced last week it was exploring the possibility after voters rejected a measure in April that would have allowed the district to exceed the state revenue limit by $3.15 million annually for three years.

After that referendum failed by a vote of 2,031 to 1,603, more than a dozen positions were cut, including one elementary school teacher, two middle school teachers and five high school teachers. A pay freeze was instituted for all employees, co-curricular assignment pay and travel were cut, and computer and student device replacements were delayed.

Three sports programs were also cut, but they were later reinstated with support from the Southern Door Athletic Booster Club.

According to the meeting agenda packet, the new referendum would help the district provide market-value pay raises for staff, fund essential facility repairs and maintenance, and restore select teaching positions.

If approved, the measure would appear on the November ballot.

It would also be the second school referendum being discussed in Door County this fall. Sturgeon Bay School District will also make a decision on its possible referendum next week.

Kewaunee County Sheriff-elect Eric Zellner is excited to experience for himself what it means to be the county’s top cop after his primary win Tuesday. Zellner, who serves as Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski’s lieutenant of operations, won the Republican primary with 2,711 votes, more than the combined total of Scott Szydel and Kevin Schmidt.

With no other nominees put forward by the area’s other political parties, a win in August is essentially a win in November, meaning Zellner will take over for Joski at year’s end. Zellner says it was a special moment for him and his family when he realized the promotion Kewaunee County voters granted him Tuesday.

Zellner believes his conversations with the community will set him up well for when he takes the post in January and appreciates Joski for the support and encouragement to run for sheriff.

In his 28-year career with the department, Zellner started as a part-time jailer and dispatcher before taking on other positions, including SWAT team member, patrol deputy, field training officer, evidence room manager and drug investigator.

Smiles dotted the midway and beyond on the opening day of the Door County Fair. The work to make the fair a reality began long before the first animals and projects arrived Wednesday morning. Setup for a new carnival and different features like Jurassic Kingdom and Dominguez Attractions began earlier in the week, while the behind-the-scenes work by the Door County Fair Board started as members said goodbye to the final guests of the 2025 event.

Mike Kuehn has spent many summer days at the Door County Fair, starting on the cleanup crews as a 10-year-old and now serving as a member of the fair board and his business, Door County Custom Creations, a sponsor of the main stage that welcomed The Glam Band for the Door County Fair’s opening night. Kuehn is happy to see friends and families enjoying the fair as much as he does.

One of those people is Sturgeon Bay’s Phineas Shaw, who brought five projects to the fair. His parents also brought several exhibits of their own, all among the more than 6,000 that will be on display throughout the fairgrounds.

Shaw took a lot of pride in the work that went into his projects and the five blue ribbons he earned for them.

The Door County Fair continues through Sunday, with some of the livestock shows starting Thursday morning.

One of the great traditions from the old country makes its late-summer comeback this month.

The tradition of kermiss events dates to the 1850s, when Belgian communities in northeast Wisconsin would celebrate the harvest season. Many kermises serve as church celebrations, offering traditional dishes like booyah, trippe and pies, along with Belgian beer and fun for the whole family.

Belgian Heritage Center President Joe Alexander says a kermiss like theirs is a great way to introduce visitors to Belgian traditions while keeping them alive for locals.

The Belgian Heritage Center hosts its annual kermiss Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event serves as the center’s largest fundraiser of the year, helping it provide programming in the community in addition to caring for its building in Namur.

Other churches and communities will host their own kermises in the coming weeks.

The Sturgeon Bay School District has been contemplating a fall referendum for months, but what will ultimately make it onto the ballot became clearer this week.

District officials received survey results from consultant School Perceptions to learn what the community would support ahead of the expiration of the district’s current referendum cycle. Higher costs for transportation, utilities, insurance and special education services, along with declining federal funding and state general school aid, have left the district facing a multimillion-dollar shortfall if nothing is done.

When the district sent out surveys in July, Superintendent Dan Tjernagel said the district was doing what it could to trim the budget, following a multiyear plan to reduce staffing by 15 positions and save about $1 million annually.

According to the survey, 60% of the 857 respondents said they would definitely or probably support a replacement operating referendum that would provide the Sturgeon Bay School District with $3.5 million in each of the next five years. When the amount increased to $3.75 million to pay teachers more competitively, 59.4% of respondents said they would definitely or probably support it.

Support dropped nearly 10 percentage points to 50.8% when respondents were presented with a $4 million referendum that would also provide funding for building maintenance above and beyond what they already do. Tjernagel says that with the data they collected they leaned heavier into the opinion of those who would be contributing to the district's success without direct connection to them like a parent or staff member would

You can find the full report from the survey here.

The Sturgeon Bay School Board will meet next week to discuss placing a potential referendum question on the November general election ballot.

Two Door County institutions are joining forces this fall to assist you or your loved ones who are struggling with memory loss.

Door County Medical Center and the Door County YMCA are presenting Memory in Development (M.IN.D.) beginning Sept. 1 for people who are worried about memory loss or are already experiencing mild memory loss.

M.IN.D. is a research-driven, interactive workshop that combines mental strategies with light physical activity to begin addressing some of those concerns. DCMC Rehab Services Outreach Specialist Christy Wisniewski has helped teach the course for more than 15 years and says the biggest change has been a more proactive approach to helping people who might be noticing changes.

M.IN.D. meets Tuesdays at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA Program Center from 12:30 to 2 p.m. from Sept. 1 through Oct. 6. You can sign up for the course through the Door County YMCA or Door County Medical Center.

You can hear more about the course from Wisniewski in the latest episode of the Door County Medical Center Community Connections podcast.

A parade of golf carts and celebrities took place at Horseshoe Bay Golf Club in Egg Harbor on Monday as part of the Boys and Girls Club of Door County Celebrity Golf Outing. Mark Murphy, Wayne Larrivee and Paul Coffman were among the participants with Packers ties who came to support the Boys and Girls Club of the Bay and Lakes Region, which supports youth in Green Bay, Shawano and Door County.

Thousands of dollars are expected to be raised as part of the event, with proceeds benefiting the club’s programming. With the help of decorated thank-you bags from its members, Boys and Girls Club of the Bay and Lakes Region CEO Johanna Wicklund said participants get to see and hear about the impact their generosity is making.

Portside Builders founder and Boys and Girls Club of Door County board member Fran Shefchik is thankful to the golfers for everything they have helped the organization accomplish.

Paul Coffman is thankful for the support as well, but from a different perspective. In his eight-year career with the Green Bay Packers, the strike-shortened 1982 season was the only time the team made the playoffs and finished with a winning record. Despite that, the fans never stopped showing up at Lambeau Field, and for the last 12 years, Coffman has shown up to the celebrity golf outing support Door County’s youth.

Monday’s celebrity golf outing was one of the organization’s two major fundraisers this summer as the Boys and Girls Club prepares for its school-year programming.

In one of their family’s darkest moments, the Thalmans are trying to make the future brighter for others.

Last Monday, 20-year-olds David Thalman of Dundee, Illinois, and Franceska Warick of South Elgin, Illinois, were recovered after they went missing while kayaking without life jackets, following an exhaustive 48-hour search by several local, state and federal agencies.

Family friend Amanda Freis says that while the outcome may not have changed, the Washington Island Fire Department told the Thalman family it could have brought them closure much sooner if its rescue vessel had been properly equipped

.

The incident turned into a call to action for the Thalman family, which launched the David Thalman Memorial Search & Rescue Boat Campaign.

By helping the department reach its ongoing $300,000 goal to fully fund a new, purpose-built 28-foot search-and-rescue boat, the campaign could help equip the vessel with state-of-the-art technology, including advanced sonar, radar and FLIR thermal imaging; shallow-water capability; a hydraulic bow door for rescue and diver operations; and a 1,500-gallon-per-minute fire pump.

Freis says the Thalman family has been visiting Washington Island for generations and wants to help other families avoid similar tragedies in the future.

Freis and the Thalman family have been moved by the support the campaign has received. It has raised more than $9,300 toward its $30,000 goal since launching over the weekend.

You can support the David Thalman Memorial Search & Rescue Boat Campaign by clicking this link.

Door County Administrator Ken Pabich says uncertainty and anticipation about the future are among the hardest parts of crafting the county’s 2027 budget.

Door County, like other municipalities across the state, is in the early stages of budget planning, with details expected to be shared at upcoming meetings before the budget is ultimately approved in November.

On Aug. 25, Door County officials will hold a budget session following the regular County Board meeting. Officials will try to nail down the details before sending the budget to committees for their input.

One major expense on the horizon is actually planned for 2028, when the county hopes to begin work on its new emergency communications system.

What Pabich does not know yet is what impact the "One Big Beautiful Bill" could have on the county’s Health and Human Services Department and what the state budget could look like with a new governor on the way.

Kewaunee County officials will also begin sharing details of their budget at upcoming meetings, with a public hearing already scheduled for Oct. 20.

A scary situation could have been much worse for an 18-year-old Sturgeon Bay woman after she rolled her vehicle Wednesday morning in the town of Gardner. The crash occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. on Stevenson Pier Road near County Highway K.

According to the crash report, she was traveling north on Stevenson Pier Road when some items began to roll off the passenger seat. As she tried to stop more of the items from falling, she crossed the centerline and entered the southbound lane.

Her vehicle rolled over before landing on its tires, with two of them in the southbound lane. No citations were issued and no injuries were reported, but the vehicle had to be towed from the scene because of disabling damage.

The City of Sturgeon Bay will now wrap up negotiations with some developers and start them with others over infrastructure improvements needed to begin work in the newly amended and created tax increment districts, or TIDs.

The TIDs were officially approved Thursday after the city met with local school districts, the county, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and local residents to discuss the scope of the proposed projects and determine whether the TIDs are necessary for the projects to become a reality.

The city has been working not only to create TID No. 12 to help fund infrastructure improvements necessary to build a new housing development along Division Road, but also to amend TIDs 7, 9 and 10 to expand those districts and facilitate future residential and commercial development.

As a result, the districts grew by more than 120 acres following the Aug. 4 Common Council meeting, including the 77 acres in the proposed TID No. 12.

Sturgeon Bay City Administrator Josh Van Lieshout says the creation of TID No. 12 and amendments to some of the others help the city address a major concern: having enough housing supply to meet demand in the area, especially for the workforce.

Van Lieshout adds that it is important to note that under Wisconsin law, property taxes currently being generated on pre-development land continue to go to the local taxing jurisdictions.

Currently, 8% of the city is in a TID, below the 12% maximum allowed by the state.

If you want to experience Washington Island while enjoying the fun of a fair, you are in luck this Saturday. The Washington Island Lions Club is hosting its annual Island Fair at the Washington Island School.

Kicking off with a parade at noon, the annual event will commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States while also featuring live music, exhibits, games and more. The Island Fair is one of the major fundraisers the Washington Island Lions Club hosts each summer. Lions Club member Joel Gunnlaugsson said last month that the events support many causes in the community.

The Washington Island Fair and Parade costs $2 to attend, with all proceeds benefiting local charities supported by the Washington Island Lions Club.

A Nasewaupee homeowner lost their garage and everything inside it after a fire Wednesday morning. The Nasewaupee Fire Department responded to the blaze on County Highway M between Elms and Hammarstrom roads shortly before 9:15 a.m.

The single-stall garage was already fully engulfed when crews arrived, but the fire was quickly extinguished once crews established a water supply. The Brussels-Union-Gardner, Southern Door and Sturgeon Bay fire departments also responded, along with the Door County Sheriff’s Department and Door County Emergency Services, but not in time to save the structure and its contents.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Three brands of tractors that were once united in business will reunite in spirit this weekend at the Valmy Thresheree. Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline and White equipment will be featured at this year’s event, which opens Friday.

According to Successful Farming, White Motor Co. acquired Oliver and Minneapolis-Moline in the early 1960s before merging them under the White Farm Equipment Co. banner in 1969. The Oliver and Minneapolis-Moline brands disappeared by the mid-1970s, while the White name disappeared from tractors by 2001.

Tractor pulls will be part of the weekend entertainment, with antiques taking the track Saturday and garden and kids’ pedal tractors taking over Sunday. The weekend concludes with the Cavalcade of Power at noon Sunday before mud pig wrestling begins at 3:30 p.m.

The annual event will also feature historical equipment demonstrations, an antique chainsaw competition, church services and live music. You can find more details about the event here.

Last May proved to be a swan song for Griffon String Quartet cellist Jesse Nummelin after Midsummer’s Music recently announced his departure. Nummelin had performed with the Griffon String Quartet for three years before leaving the ensemble to spend more time with his wife, Rie Tanaka, in Arizona, where she is an accomplished pianist and educator.

Midsummer’s Music Executive Director Allyson Fleck says Nummelin served the roles of performer and educator well during his stint with the group.

Fleck adds that it takes a unique individual to be a great performer and an outstanding teacher at the same time.

You can find information on how to apply to be Nummelin’s replacement here. The Griffon String Quartet’s first performances of the season will take place Sept. 17, with an afternoon appearance at First Presbyterian Church of Green Bay followed by an evening show at The Tarlton Theatre in Green Bay.

Republican voters in Wisconsin’s 1st State Senate District have become accustomed to seeing Andre Jacque and Matt Joski’s names on the ballot, but for the first time in a long time, that was not the case Tuesday.

Joski and Jacque announced their departures from their respective positions earlier this year, paving the way for new faces to step into the fold.

Joski began his long goodbye in January when he announced his retirement after 20 years on the job. Tuesday marked the first time since 2006 that his name was not on the ballot, and he is ready for the next step and to support his successor.

Jacque has been more visible since announcing his looming departure from the Wisconsin Legislature after 15 years of service in the Assembly and Senate. He has continued to attend many of the events he would have as a sitting state senator while also supporting Republican candidate Nic Cravillion in his bid to take Jacque’s seat.

For the first time since 2011, Jacque said he had mixed feelings not being on a primary ballot, but he is looking forward to supporting the community in other ways.

Despite the finality that Tuesday’s primary brought, both Jacque and Joski are excited to finish their terms through the end of the year.

An 18-year-old Green Bay man was transported to a Green Bay hospital Sunday night after suffering a serious injury in a golf cart crash.

Emergency personnel were called to the area behind Harbor Village Campground in Carlsville at approximately 8:30 p.m.

The driver, also an 18-year-old Green Bay man, told the responding deputy they were driving the golf cart and began making a left turn when it started to flip. The injured man stuck his leg out to brace himself as the cart landed on its side.

The driver and two other passengers, both 17-year-old Green Bay girls, were uninjured. No citations were issued as a result of the crash.

No matter your age or physical abilities, the Door County YMCA likely has something that might capture your interest.

Registration opens for YMCA members Aug. 17, with community members able to follow suit Aug. 19. During this week’s Y-Wednesday Podcast, Specialty Wellness Director Baker highlighted some of the course offerings for the fall session, which begins Aug. 31.

Some of the offerings she highlighted include TRX group training (Monday through Thursday, Sept. 2-Oct. 22), meditation (Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Aug. 31-Oct. 25), Memory in Development (Tuesdays, Sept. 1-Oct. 6), Livestrong (Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 1-Nov. 11) and Zumba (Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Sept. 1-Oct. 21).

Baker also featured the Door County YMCA’s Rock Steady Boxing course. Introduced last September, the Rock Steady Boxing program is a noncontact, high-intensity program designed to counteract the motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Baker is looking for volunteers for the course, which meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. this fall.

You can listen to the entire Y-Wednesday Podcast here.

While many races at the state and federal levels were settled long before the polls opened Tuesday, there were still some that needed voters to weigh in on before the road to November could continue.

On the Democratic side, David Crowley narrowly won the nomination for Wisconsin governor and will face Tom Tiffany in November, despite dropping out of the race just a few weeks ago. The current Milwaukee County executive was trailing state Rep. Francesca Hong in the polls heading into Election Day but came out on top by just over 3,000 votes with 98% of the vote counted.

In the race for the U.S. House, Rick Crosson edged Mark Scheffler and Katrina deVille for the nomination to face incumbent Rep. Tony Wied in the November election. There was less than a four-percentage-point gap between first-place finisher Crosson and third-place finisher deVille.

On the Republican side, Nic Cravillion dominated the field for Wisconsin State Senate District 1, leading second-place finisher Barb Bittner by more than 20 percentage points, 44.08% to 23.43%. Sturgeon Bay resident Jacob VandenPlas finished fourth with about 13% of the vote. Cravillion will now face independent candidate Mark Becker in the November election.

The winners of Tuesday’s Republican primary for sheriff in Door and Kewaunee counties face two different paths moving forward.

Eric Zellner captured the nomination in Kewaunee County, garnering 2,711 votes to Scott Szydel’s 1,606 and Kevin Schmidt’s 339. With no Democratic or independent challenger on the November ballot, Zellner is expected to become the next Kewaunee County sheriff and take the reins from retiring Sheriff Matt Joski.

For Curt Vandertie, it is one race down and one to go after beating Carl Waterstreet in the Door County Republican primary for sheriff, 3,114-1,951. Vandertie will now face incumbent Sheriff Tammy Sternard, a Democrat, and independent candidate Randy Wagner in the November election.

In the only other contested local primary, Shannon Lauder edged Pamela Parks, 2,598-2,326, for the Democratic nomination for Door County Clerk of Circuit Court. She will face Becky Rericha in the November election.

Click Here for Door County Election Results

Click Here for Kewaunee County Election Results

Just because the summer academy season is over does not mean the learning has stopped at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor. The organization will host three different musical retreats this month, beginning with wind ensemble on Aug. 12, followed by chamber music on Aug. 17 and piano on Aug. 21.

Each session ends with a free concert at 2 p.m.: wind ensemble on Aug. 15, chamber music on Aug. 20 and piano on Aug. 24. Birch Creek Music Performance Center Executive Director Jenna Ferdon says it is inspiring to see so many adults in the community who want to get better at their instruments.

The adult retreat concerts serve as a precursor to Birch Creek’s fall concert series, which kicks off Sept. 12 with the Michael Stryker Quintet. You can listen to our full interview with Ferdon here.

Dry conditions have caused the Town and Village of Egg Harbor to issue a burn ban until further notice. According to Precip.ai, Egg Harbor residents have seen 0.17 inches of rain this month and less than 0.70 inches of rain since the area received approximately 0.4 inches on July 17.

Issued at 3 p.m. Monday, the notice states, “The Egg Harbor Fire Department strongly urges the community to refrain from all burning, including campfires at this time.”

No burn permits will be issued, and annual permits are suspended until the ban is lifted. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ WisBurn website, Door County is currently at a low fire danger level.

Egg Harbor Fire Chief Justin MacDonald told the Door County Daily News that they are trying to be preemptive with their burn ban issuance, especially as area farmers hit their fields to harvest wheat.

The more things change, the more they stay the same for attendees and exhibitors at the Door County Fair.

The annual rite of summer opens to the public Wednesday, with exhibitors heading to John Miles County Park on Monday and Tuesday to pick up their exhibit tags.

Mainstays like livestock shows, pig and duck races, live music and races in the grandstand will continue to greet attendees, while new attractions like Dominguez Attractions and Jurassic Kingdom make their debuts on the midway.

A lot has changed for Door County Fair Board President Tom Ash, who exhibited at the fair as a boy before helping his own children and eventually joining the fair board alongside his brothers and other family members.

He says the county fair is about family, friends and celebrating the end of summer together.

The Door County Fair runs Aug. 12-16.

Listen to our full interview during Sunday's West Jacksonport/Egg Harbor game on 105.1 The GOAT