Door County Pulse Podcasts

The Alpine Resort and Golf Course and the former Alpine waterfront parcels are a hot topic in Egg Harbor again as two separate proposals are making their way through village review. Debra Fitzgerald and Myles Dannhausen Jr. outline the proposals and the sticking points for the developers and those who hope the lodge can be saved. They also update us on road construction that will detour traffic around parts of Hwy 57 for the next two months, and the possible end of the Door County Treatment Court.

Jamie Fisher, senior project manager for Farmers for Sustainable Food, and Rachel Malcore Goblisch, PR specialist with the Voice of Milk, were included in this year’s Peninsula Pulse Sustainability issue, out April 18. Here, they talk with Debra Fitzgerald about what ‘sustainability’ means to local farmers and the sustainable practices being incorporated into local operations to create resilient farms that will produce for future generations.

The Peninsula Pulse’s annual Sustainability issue, out on April 18, contains the stories and voices of people across Door County who are working in some aspect of the climate-preparedness realm, whether through observations, data collection or actions. One of those voices and stories comes from Charlie Henriksen, a commercial fisherman for 50 years, owner of Henriksen Fisheries since 1987, and Henriksen’s Fish House, a retail operation, since 2022. In “Changing Waters,” Henriksen wrote for the Pulse about Door County’s fishing industry and how it’s navigating a new normal. Here, he talks with Debra Fitzgerald about the state of the fisheries, sharing knowledge gleaned from a life lived on the water.

The 2025 NFL Draft comes to Green Bay April 24-26. Aaron Popkey, public affairs director for the Green Bay Packers, joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about NFL draft preparations, what visitors to the city can expect, and what the Packers hope the big event will bring to the organization and the city. Popkey addresses some of the misconceptions about the draft and a few rumors swirling online about the Packers approach to selections this year.

He spent 25 years working in kitchens, operating a beloved Ephraim soup bar, and defending local service workers from uppity outsiders, but now Paul Wanish is one of the voices of Door County’s oldest radio station, 93.9 WDOR. Wanish joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about how a guy goes from kitchens to the hallowed grounds of Eddie Allen and Roger Levendusky’s mic at WDOR.

For 55 years Jim Ingwersen has been one of Door County’s most-acclaimed and prolific artists, painting portraits of Supreme Court Justices, contemporary artists and hundreds of other commissions from his studio on Old Stage Road outside Sister Bay. As he nears his 96th birthday, he has reached an agreement to donate his gallery, hundreds of paintings and home to the Peninsula School of Art to serve as a dynamic home to creativity for generations to dome. Adam Erickson, director of Pen Art, joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about Ingwersen’s gift, his legacy, and what the future holds for the property.

The Department of Natural Resources closed the Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower in 2017 and planned to demolish the structure – until Christie Weber took up its cause and the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation (SBHSF) put its weight behind a fight that would take seven years and end with a fully restored, historic tower. Weber and Chesla Anschutz, another former SBHSF member, join Debra Fitzgerald to talk about the SBHSF’s journey to save the tower.

Cam Ehlers-Kwaterski from Destination Sturgeon Bay joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to fill us in on everything going on for St. Patrick's Day in the city on Saturday. Plus, the Pulse was honored with 30 awards at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Convention last week. Myles shares his thoughts on who's to thank – the readers who support our work.

Debra Fitzgerald talks with Keren Cotter and Jen Aldrich from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin about the life-changing work they do matching adult mentors (Bigs) with young people (Littles) in our communities, including Door County. We dive into the organization’s mission, the positive impact these mentoring relationships have on kids, and their new recruitment campaign, the Big Draft, inspired by the upcoming NFL draft in Green Bay. Keren and Jen share insights on why they need 700 new volunteers, how they match mentors with youth and the challenges volunteers face. Plus, hear heartwarming success stories and learn how you can get involved.

As Gibraltar High School prepares for the next stage of its big renovation, the community is gearing up to celebrate its rich history with The Last Dance. The event aims to honor the memories made in the old gym, a cornerstone of the school since its construction in the 1930s. The Last Dance is not just a farewell; it's an invitation for alumni and community members to come together, reminisce, and create new memories. The old gym has hosted countless events, from dances to graduations to Peninsula Music Festival, and it holds a special place in the hearts of many who walked its floors. Organizers have formed the Gibraltar Schools Historical Preservation Committee to ensure that the history of the school is preserved even as renovations take place. This project aims to educate current students and visitors about the rich history of the school and its surrounding areas. The committee is also working to preserve key elements of the old gym, including a beloved tile mosaic and parts of its iconic arches. The

Owen Alabado joins the podcast to discuss this weekend’s Northern Door Pride Cabaret at Northern Sky’s Gould Theater. The founder of Northern Door Pride chats with Myles Dannhausen Jr. about bringing locals together for the show on stage and in the audience, the Knobs, and why he’s been so driven to do community work from the day he landed in Door County almost five years ago.

Debra Fitzgerald talks with Wisconsin Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) about his priorities as chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, and a new bill he’s introduced that would ban cell phone use in K-12 classrooms. They also talk about immigration policy and how it would impact Wisconsin farmers; priorities for crafting the new, biannual budget this year; and how some federal orders coming down from the Trump administration may impact us at the state level.

Door County is in an electrical region that is considered high risk for shortfalls occurring at normal peak conditions this summer and for the next 10 years based on assessment data. Door County resident Roy Thilly, who spent a career working in the electricity sector – attorney, CEO of WPPI, board member and chair of NERC – talks with Debra Fitzgerald about the factors causing the risks and what we may expect in the future.

TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, talks with Debra Fitzgerald about his (extremely well-written) book that was selected for this year’s Door County Reads program, which began Jan. 18 and runs through February). Klune talks about his writing process, why he writes, who he writes for – and life on a remote 10 acres in Washington state. The Lamda Literary Award-winning author Klune has written 30 books, including the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea – Somewhere Beyond the Sea.

The craft beer industry is at an inflection point. Many upstart breweries have shuttered not long after opening, and even some of the original stars of the craft beer scene have gone bottoms-up in the last couple years. But one of the original craft breweries and most famous is doubling down. New Glarus, brewers of Spotted Cow, Moon Man and some of the most appreciated beers in the country, announced plans in October to build a $55 million, 65,000 square-foot addition to its campus. Founders Deb and Dan Carey join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the expansion, Dan’s 40-year beer-making journey, and of course, why New Glarus beer is only sold in Wisconsin.

The husband-and-wife filmmaking team of Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss their new documentary film, All Too Clear, which explores how quadrillions of tiny invasive mussels, known as quaggas, are re-engineering the ecosystem of the Great Lakes at a scale not seen since the glaciers. To capture this epic change, they spent more than 150 days filming underwater, making it the most ambitious underwater film ever made about the Great Lakes.

The Town of Gibraltar has finally closed on its purchase of the 118-acre Redmann property to expand Fish Creek Park. Administrator Travis Thyssen joins the podcast to talk about property and discuss what the process will look like as the town embarks on trail and park improvements for what will now be a 150-acre public space.

Most public “input” sessions aren’t actually designed to put constituent feedback to use. John Kamp and James Rojas, authors of the book “Dream, Play, Build” argue that most of these sessions are used simply to tell the public what has already been decided. The sessions are usually intimidating to the average resident and aren’t designed to build community and generate ideas, but to meet statutory requirements. They join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about a different approach to public planning sessions that helps create the communities desired by the people who live and work in them.

Door County Land Trust Executive Director Emily Wood talks with Debra Fitzgerald about the organization’s record year of land conservation in Door County (17 projects concluded in 2024); the role the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund plays in accomplishing the organization’s mission; and how they balance conservation with other priorities, such as economic development

Ryan Mueller talks with Debra Fitzgerald about his frequent UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) sightings in Ellison Bay; his evolving ability to summon their appearance; his theory about what they are and how that relates with the heightened drone activity on the East Coast (and around the world); and what he believes these sightings and experiences are teaching him – and us – about the past, present and future. Mueller is a local business owner (Uncle Tom’s Cabin candy store), husband, father and Gibraltar School Board member who recently completed his PhD in Education, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and political leadership.