Door County Pulse Podcasts

Local school, county, and municipal board elections are coming up Tuesday. Plus, Myles Dannhausen Jr. and Andrew Kleidon recap last week’s roundtable discussion on childcare, housing, and workforce development that included representatives from Gov. Tony Evers’ office, local housing advocates, business owners, and childcare leaders.

Andrew Kleidon and Myles Dannhausen Jr. recap the Gibraltar basketball team's historic run at the state championship last week, and break down what happened at the Egg Harbor campground when seasonal campers received notice that rates were increasing 71%, and they had three weeks to remove their campers if they couldn't pay.

Andrew Kleidon and Sara Rae Lancaster get together for a pre-Spring check-in. What restaurants are open, where's the live music, and what are we looking forward to as the snow melts. Also, a look at several bicycling topics, from getting your bike tuned up before your first ride of the season, to a mountain biking club forming at Peninsula State Park, and a look at Cycling Without Age, a group dedicated to providing bike rides to the elderly and those with mobility challenges and disabilities.

Kurt Kiefer is the former Assistant State Superintendent of Libraries and Technology and when he and his wife retired to Baileys Harbor last year, he didn’t waste any time helping the town get ready for bringing high-speed, dependable, low-cost broadband to every home and business. Kiefer sits down with Pulse Editor Debra Fitzgerald, to outline the 1-2-3’s that Baileys Harbor is following and that other municipalities can use to get set for broadband in their towns.

For 32 year Greg Diltz has been the local expert on cell service in northern Door County. Greg has announced his retirement and is selling Northern Door Communications, but not before joining Myles Dannhausen Jr. for a look back at the evolution of communication in the county, changes in emergency services, and finding your way into business in a small town you didn’t expect to call home.

It was a wrap for the Wisconsin Assembly last week and Peninsula Pulse Editor Debra Fitzgerald sits down with Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) to talk about session highlights, local impacts and Kitchens' plan to run for reelection in November.

Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to Ann Morgan, the founder of 100+ Women Who Care about the organization’s simple approach that opens the doors to giving to the broader community. The organization has donated $270,000 to area nonprofits since it was founded in 2018, and recently received a $20,000 matching grant from the Richard Shulze Foundation to grow its impact.

The county pulled in more than $138 million in lodging revenue in 2021, shattering previous records. Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to Andrew Kleidon about what it tells us about tourism in Door County now and in the year ahead. Plus, Dannhausen talks to short-term-rental operator Rob Esposito about a different way to regulate the industry.

Debra Fitzgerald joins the podcast to talk about the tragic fire at Butch's Bar in Sturgeon Bay. But first, Myles Dannhausen Jr. and Fitzgerald discuss a proposal for a Starbucks at the old Woldt's Corner location, good news for Pebble Beach, and a potential change to shoreline building rules.

Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to Dan Peterson about the sale of the Viking Grill, the Ellison Bay mainstay that he has owned since 1984. We also outline potential plans to expand sanitary lines in Fish Creek and what that could mean for future housing development.

Andrew Kleidon sits down with Sara Rae Lancaster to talk about the ice carving competition this weekend during Fire & Ice in Sturgeon Bay. Also, Carly Sarkis of Destination Sturgeon Bay breaks down all of the events offerings, from fireworks, the online auction, community snowman building, and more.

Andrew Kleidon is joined by Northern Door Pride's President Owen Alabado to talk about his journey from L.A. to Door County, the beginnings of Northern Door Pride, their mission and creative events, and a sneak peak at the upcoming cabaret performance: For the Love of Love on Feb. 17. Learn more about the performance here: https://www.northerndoorpride.com/event-details/for-the-love-of-love-a-cabaret

Andrew Kleidon talks with Sara Rae Lancaster about the upcoming Pond Hockey tournament at the Sister Bay ice rink. Also, a conversation with Pond Hockey veteran Simon Hedeen about the ins and outs of the sport, and the pros and cons of it's new location.

Andrew Kleidon sits down with Pulse editor Debra Fitzgerald to talk about a pending management change — and perhaps even a change in the location, down the road — for the Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market; how the county is looking at spending some $5.3 million in pandemic-related funding; and the latest on the Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower.

In October 2021, Write On, Door County held the first Door County author book fair, bringing together more than 30 local authors. Following the fair, the authors continued to meet to provide support for each other, eventually coming together formally as the Door County Published Authors Collective. They hope to make Door County not only a center of the visual arts, but literature as well. Grace Johnson chats with one of the group organizers and author, Dan Powers, to learn more about the group and how other authors can join.

Andrew Kleidon and Myles Dannhausen Jr. break down the latest info from Door County Medical Center about the number of hospital beds being filled by COVID patients. After the break, a look at how many restaurants have changed owners, been revamped, or been closed over the last year, including the recent turnover at the Whistling Swan and Harbor View Grille.

The Boys and Girls Club of Door County has experienced a lot of turnover in recent years. New CEO Eric Blumreich joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the future of the club, it’s role in the community, and how he hopes to bring stability to the position and the organization. Blumreich comes to Door County from St. Norbert College, where he spend the last five years in development department, and Blumreich has been involved with a number of other youth-focused organizations including Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), International Youth Sailing of Oshkosh, and PALS as a mentor and board member.

Peninsula Pulse editor Debra Fitzgerald talks with high-performance architect and home builder Virge Temme upon the occasion of Temme's retirement from building sustainable and net-zero homes in Door County; and what's next for an architect who still wants to change the world one house at a time.

Pulse editor Debra Fitzgerald talks with Beth Renstrom, executive director of the Door County Granary project, and Laurel Hauser, vice president of the board of the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation that owns the structure, about the history of the granary, how the project came to be and what's in store for the project by June of this year.

Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to journalist Gloria Liu about how officials and organizers in Crested Butte, Colorado have found ways to address the shortage of affordable housing in the seasonal ski resort town. Liu’s article “How to Save A Ski Town,” appeared in Outside magazine in November, and describes a situation strikingly similar to Door County’s own housing struggles.