Door County Pulse Podcast

Peninsula Pulse reporter Eleanor Corbin joins Debra Fitzgerald to discuss the Nov. 5 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) public hearing on the proposed expansion of Gilbert Farms to CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) size, which is larger than 1,000 animal units. The hearing will give residents a chance to voice concerns before the DNR finalizes the permit. Eleanor and Debra...

Write On, Door County is offering free registration to its upcoming young writers conference on Nov. 8 at Muse in Sturgeon Bay. Artistic Director Jerod Santek and Executive Director Al DeGenova join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the conference, the growth of the Juddville writing center, and the ongoing program to collect stories from local residents through the Memoir Mondays program.

Do you remember the Haunted Mansion? Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to one of the last people to work summers scaring visitors to the Thumb Fun Haunted Mansion. Rian Hill joins the podcast to look back at the legendary house on the hill in Fish Creek, but first, a rapid-fire bounce around the county to preview Halloween events over the next two weekends, including the haunted house in Baileys Harbor.

Debra Fitzgerald, Peninsula Pulse editor, talks with Pulse journalist Eleanor Corbin about her powerful story on homelessness in Door County, centered on Alex Stanelle’s journey through sobriety, housing instability and resilience. The piece sheds light on the often-invisible reality of being unhoused in rural communities like Door County. Eleanor shares what drew her to Alex’s story and what she...

Fuzzy Sunstrom interrupts a busy retirement to join Myles Dannhausen Jr. for a conversation about Fall Fest past and present, what he misses most about Fred & Fuzzy’s, and why he helped bring back the Fall Fest Derby.

When we tell the story of the cherry industry in Door County, are we leaving something out? Sergio M. González is Associate Professor of History at Marquette University and a historian of twentieth-century U.S. migration, labor, and religion. His work has found that we have overlooked the hardships and vital contributions of migrant labor that were indispensable in the growth and survival of the c...

Keeping Door County’s biggest weekend humming is no easy task. Kaaren Northrop has been a part of it from its humble early years, and now her daughter-in-law, Missy, is tasked with pulling together the many businesses, volunteers and vendors that are part of Egg Harbor’s big fall celebration. They join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about all that goes into the festival and the spirit of community t...

Girl Named Tom, a folk-pop band composed of three siblings, made history as the first group to win the reality singing competition show, The Voice. Peninsula Pulse reporter Eleanor Corbin talks with the group, Bekah, Caleb, and Joshua Liechty – who were gearing up for a Door Community Auditorium show in Fish Creek – about that Voice experience, growing up together in Pettisville, Ohio and coming t...

Iuscely Flores – an undocumented immigrant, DACA recipient, and powerful advocate for immigrant rights – joins Debra Fitzgerald to share her personal journey navigating life in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. Originally from Mexico, she discusses identity, resilience, and the ongoing fight for justice and belonging, regardless of legal status. From her work in policy and community organizin...

Our podcast editor Hans Christian steps out from behind the sound board to join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about his civic involvement, building a business as a producer in a small town, and helping other artists find their own sound and voice. Christian owns Studio 330 in Sturgeon Bay, where artists from the peninsula and afar come to record albums and voiceovers, and where this podcast is edit...

Don Weise is a veteran trail builder, author and advocate with the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference, where he helps care for an extraordinary 2,200-mile trail network. He joins Debra Fitzgerald on the podcast, with Amanda Stuck, Door County Trails board member, to talk about his experience and larger perspective on how trails transform places and connect people, while preserving biodiversity a...

The Door County Granary, built in 1901, carries a rich legacy – from its role in a bygone agricultural era to a near-demolition, and ultimately, a community-driven effort to save and repurpose it as a public gathering space. James Dallman, the lead architect behind the Granary’s ambitious restoration and transformation, was recently in town working on a model that will be unveiled to the public on...

Rick Cleveland won an Emmy for his writing on The West Wing and has also written for Six Feet Under and several other television shows, in addition to writing for the stage. This month he’ll be taking part in the Door Kinetic Arts Festival, where he’ll stage a reading for his new play for Deaf West Theater. He joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about working in a writer’s room, the future of telev...

At last year’s Door Kinetic Arts Festival, David Maraniss and Eric Simonson came together for a fascinating discussion about turning Maraniss’s biography of Packers legend Vince Lombardi into a Broadway play. Moderated by Jacob Janssen of Third Avenue Playworks, the writers bring you a great discussion not only about Lombardi and the Packers, but also about the creative process and the choices the...

Fair representation is fundamental to Democracy in the United States. In Wisconsin, the way voting districts are drawn has long been a source of controversy and debate. But a dedicated group of advocates is working to change that. Debra Fitzgerald sits down with Nicole Gabrail and iuscely Flores, both with the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition about the organization’s nonpartisan movement to create tr...

Mark Honold didn’t plan to take on another job in retirement, but after his teaching career ended, a more challenging chapter began when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He talks to Myles Dannhausen Jr. about the difficult journey of navigating the disease, watching his wife’s decline and navigating a maze to find resources and assistance. He also discusses what he’d do differently if he c...

When Mitch Larson agreed to give a friend a ride to a clothing show in Chicago nearly 40 years ago, he didn’t know it would change the direction of his life. The founder of On Deck Clothing Co. joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about how that trip hooked him on the clothing industry, why his stores have their unique style, and his passion for historic preservation and rejuvenating spaces.

An important hearing is coming up Sept. 4th about the waterfront portion of the former Alpine Resort property (25:04), so Debra Fitzgerald and Myles Dannhausen Jr. hop on the mics to give listeners to the lowdown on where things currently stand on the two Alpine properties and the many issues in contention between the property’s different owners and the village. But first they discuss Marina Fest,...

This summer, Wisconsin lawmakers approved a major increase in special education funding — something districts across the state have been requesting for years. But while that’s good news for special ed programs, there’s a catch: general school aid is staying flat. In fact, several districts in Door County are seeing cuts. So what does that mean for schools, and for your next property tax bill? Elea...

“Why don’t immigrants just get in line?” is a common refrain when people discuss the illegal immigration problem. But if you ask where the line is nobody can tell you - because it doesn’t exist. Immigration attorney Luca Fagundes joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss the many nuances of the U.S. immigration system and the laws that make solving the riddle so complicated. They'll discuss Luca's pat...

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone that Door County’s robust music scene includes world-class chamber music. Allyson Fleck, executive director of Midsummer’s Music, and a talented violist herself, talks with Debra Fitzgerald about the organization’s roots, its mission, what chamber music means and the musicians who bring their music to the Door County community. Stay tuned: she also br...

Rural birthing centers are closing at an alarming pace in Wisconsin and across the country, but Door County Medical Center CEO Brian Stephens says their birthing center isn’t going anywhere. Stephens and Dr. Dorene Dempster join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about why rural hospitals struggle to keep the service going and what the Medical Center does to keep theirs open to serve our isolated commun...

The Door County Drug Treatment Court has been in operation since 2020. Earlier this year, the county paused new admissions to the program, and in May, announced it would be shut down due to staffing shortages. But last week, new developments suggested the program may continue after all. Joe Krebsbach, director of the Door County Health and Human Services Department and the person who oversees the...

Myles Dannhausen Jr. and Debra Fitzgerald discuss the Pulse’s approach to covering difficult stories and how we choose what merits a story. But first, a look at the growth in live music on the peninsula, the smoky haze settling in the air, and a potential third round-about coming to Sturgeon Bay.

Dr. Kristen Raney, President of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), talks with Debra Fitzgerald about how the college is transforming education into opportunity in Door County and elsewhere within the systems’ communities. Dr. Raney shares what makes NWTC her favorite college to lead, how job-focused programs are tailored to local workforce needs, and how the school is partnering with em...