Valley Sentinel - 07-21-2021

Inside this edition

Regional: Door County faces housing stuggles in tourist market

Community Calendar: Theater, live music and more!

Views from the Sauk County Fair

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Spring Green, Wisconsin

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Vol. 2, No. 29 FREE, Single-Copy

Local artist jazzes up Slowpoke Lounge in downtown Spring Green with mural Photo by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief

Local artist Pam Miles recently finished a mural on the side of the Slowpoke Lounge and Cabaret in downtown Spring Green.

The mural is a reproduction of an already existing painting with unknown origins.

Slowpoke was given a Creative Community Grant from River Valley ARTS, formerly the Spring Green Area Arts Coalition, to create the mural.

Village of Spring Green talks next steps for parks, convenes in closed session for Kane lawsuit Taylor Scott, Managing Editor The Village of Spring Green Board met July 14 to discuss what comes next for its tennis courts, continued its discussion regarding the Woodbury Sanitary Sewer Project and convened into a long closed session regarding the ongoing Kane lawsuit before ultimately postponing action.

Woodbury Sanitary Sewer Project The board heard from Village Engineer Todd Deibert, of Jewell Associates Engineers, Inc. regarding easements for the Woodbury Sanitary Sewer Project, continuation of discussions that have been happening since May. The easement would connect the Usonian Inn, E5116 US Hwy 14, Spring Green, to the Village of Spring Green Sanitary Sewer System.

Deibert is also working with Village Attorney Allan Peckham on a deed restriction, at the request of adjacent property owner Marty Liegel and his family, that would ensure the village will never build a water tower on the property it owns on the cul-de-sac off Woodbury Drive. An updated request asked that it additionally be added to the deed restriction that no structure would ever be built on the property.

The draft of the deed restriction currently includes language that says “no water tower shall ever be erected, located, used or maintained” on the property, with a request that it be updated to include “or other structure.”

Deibert said he spoke with Peckham and there was concern that the new request was strongly worded and wide-reaching. Trustee Michael Broh asked if “structure” would technically include a future park shelter, with Deibert concluding that it would. Broh and Village Clerk Wendy Crary suggested language that would include the request for no structures, with an option to build

structures with the consent of adjoining property owners.

A consensus of the board agreed to move forward with drafting that language and having Deibert present it to Liegel. The board will take up the deed restriction with the final language at its Aug. 4 meeting. The project is slated to start in August.

Repairs and Maintenance in North Park Trustee Jane Hauser presented the recommendations that the Parks and Recreation Committee forwarded to the board after meeting July 7 to discuss needed repairs and maintenance in North Park and options for the tennis courts.

The committee recommended that the basketball courts be repaired, resurfaced and striped. A quote from Wis-Coat, LLC, out of Lone Rock, puts the cost at $6,292.10, along with replacing the lights with LED’s for $1,200.

The committee recommended replacing the nets and cleaning/painting the posts of the volleyball courts and refilling the sand, at a cost of around $120.

The committee recommended removing the playground equipment on the north end of the park.

The committee stated that the tennis courts require complete removal.

“They are, at this point, irreparable,” said Hauser.

The work to remove the court can be completed by Spring Green Public Works. Ewers Construction would then take the asphalt to be repurposed. The fence would be taken to Gauger’s Salvage. Lights would need to be removed.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering the village three options in response to the agreement in the original grant to keep the courts in perpetuity:

a. Replace two courts at an approximate cost of $100,000 or less. b. Declare the courts obsolete and request a release on the property. c. Request permission for a ‘Change of Use’.

According to Hauser, when the courts were originally built the land was donated to the village by a Mr. Rieder, with the agreement that the courts would stay as a recreational facility. Mary Liegel, Rieder’s niece, attended the committee meeting and asked that the agreement be upheld and that the sign honoring her uncle’s donation be replaced.

Upholding the agreement would eliminate the DNR’s ‘Option B’.

Hauser said if the village requested a ‘Change of Use’, it would be able to apply for a DNR grant in May 2022 for 50% of the cost of replacement, to be completed in 2023.

The committee recommended that the village select ‘Option C’ to replace the two tennis courts with one tennis court and two pickleball courts, which were both activities requested by community members, and apply for the grant next May, to be built the following year.

The estimated cost of the project would be $100,000, less 50% if the grant is approved.

Crary stated that there is roughly $180,000 in the budget already for North Park improvements.

The board will need to update the village’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) in order to apply for the grant. The last CORP was completed in 1998.

Broh made a motion to approve the recommendations of the committee, minus removing the playground equipment on the north end of the park in order to have more public input. The motion passed unanimously. The tennis courts will be dug up and reseeded in the

meantime while the grant process proceeds.

Kane Lawsuit After hearing opposition in public comment to a long-contested dog breeding for research facility proposed by Clinton and Jill Kane in the Town of Spring Green, the board went into closed session under section 19.85(1)(g) of the Wisconsin Statutes regarding “conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved” to discuss and possibly take action regarding the lawsuit Kane v. Village of Spring Green Plan Commission et al.

The Kanes filed a lawsuit in November 2019 against the Spring Green Plan Commission and Village of Spring Green Board of Zoning Appeals over the denial of a conditional use permit to operate the facility.

A Sauk County committee had previously unanimously approved a conditional use permit and the Spring Green Plan Commission and Joint Extraterritorial Zoning Committee ultimately denied the conditional use permit after some back and forth.

Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock in January found that the Plan Commission didn’t adhere to what was required under statute when deciding on the permit and the board was to consider an appeal to the decision in closed session.

The board returned to open session nearly an hour and a half later, around 10:00pm, with the consensus of the board to not take action regarding any appeal of the decision at this meeting and to take the next two weeks to consider the discussions that were had in closed session and to include another closed session on the next board agenda at its Aug. 4 meeting.

Village of Plain encounters difficulties with on-going developments, construction Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief The village of Plain met for its regular board meeting July 14, where they discussed on-going developments in the village and authorized the purchase of a mower for the golf course.

The board round-robin style presented reports from its various committees during the meeting, where Trustee Steve Whitford reported sanitary lines for the new housing development at the edge of the village golf course have been completed. Following completion, crews did not cover manholes, which allowed for mud to penetrate the sewer lines, leaving crews to flush out all lines

and determine any damage.

Whitford reported crews have run into issues with the restructuring of Nachreiner Avenue. The road was originally designed with a valley gutter at the north end of the street, to control water drainage due to the steep angle of the street, however the gutter was installed too high. Meaning, the distance between Nachreiner Avenue and Main Street is too high and cars are bottoming out, reported Whitford.

A curb, cutter and sidewalk were also installed too high, around the incorrectly engineered valley gutter. Whitford reported the valley gutter will be removed and the two streets will be connected to the curb, additional gutter and sidewalk will also

need to be redone, all redo projects will be at no cost to the village.

The board came to a consensus it felt there was not enough engineering presence at this project from Strand and Associates, due to the company and village working on two projects at once in the village.

Trustee Melissa Marx reported that 47 pool passes have been sold this summer, 1,134 patrons so far, which is down by 200 from last year. Marx noted in June of 2020, Plain’s was the only pool open.

Trustee Merry Lynn Riek reported delivery for the newly purchased ambulance has been moved to mid-August.

Riek also reported the village’s EMS will be switching to FirstNet, a private cellular network for first responders, for better service.

Village President Ray Ring Reported the manager of a new restaurant coming to Plain is expecting to open for pizza by August, with the other aspects of the restaurant opening in September.

Ring said the restaurant is looking to do pizza delivery, and will go as far as Spring Green.

The village took action to allow the purchase of a new mower for the golf course, with the price to not exceed $36,000.

The next village board meeting will be August 11, starting with a tour of the pool at 6:30 p.m.

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opinion/Columns

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

Keeping My Eyes on the Roads—Howard Marklein traveling 17th district Howard Marklein, WI State Senator Now that State Budget deliberations are completed, the COVID-19 pandemic is ebbing and life is getting back to normal, I am traveling all over the 17th Senate District to participate in parades, community festivals, meetings and other events. The number one issue I continue to hear most is the need to improve our local, rural roads.

As you may remember, I led a second effort this year to include $100 million for local roads in the State Budget.

Thankfully, this appropriation survived the veto pen. My plan included $100 million to the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP). It will be allocated across county, municipal and town governments; $35,559,100 for county projects, $25,386,000 for municipal projects, and $39,054,900 for town projects.

I am grateful that this funding survived the veto pen. I tried to take similar action

last budget and it was vetoed by Governor Tony Evers. As you may recall last budget, we started with $133 million for local roads, which was then compromised to $90 million to be divided among the towns, counties, cities and villages for local road maintenance and repair. This is what the legislature passed in the 2019-20 state budget.

Unfortunately, Governor Tony Evers shaved $15 million off of these dollars and further vetoed all of the language to direct the funding to local roads. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled this veto unconstitutional. The DOT ended up creating the Multi-modal Local Supplement (MLS) program and funded bicycle paths, transit and other projects in addition to roads. It was also competitive, so many of our most needy municipalities were left behind.

I am optimistic that sending the new funding through the existing LRIP criteria

will make distribution more equitable and effective. I am hopeful that directing these funds this way will go to repair and maintain local roads.

I was also proud to support 2% increases in each year of the State Budget for General Transportation Aid (GTA) to counties, municipalities and towns. This equates to $2,681 per mile in 2021-22 and $2,734 per mile in 2022-23. These funds are used by local governments to improve, maintain and construct roads.

It is important to note that all Department of Transportation (DOT) projects will remain on schedule with no tax or fee increases, as well as the lowest level of DOT bonding in decades.

This is all great news for drivers, local governments and taxpayers.

We are already seeing a lot of road construction throughout the 17th Senate District this summer. According to my contacts at each of our counties, we

have at least 51 road projects investing at least $35 million in our communities this summer. There are 19 state projects worth $23 million and 32 county and local projects worth $12 million. Crews are working hard to take advantage of the short road construction season to improve our roads.

I will continue to keep my eyes on the roads in Wisconsin. As I drive through the 17th Senate District to take advantage of all of the community events that have been scheduled this summer, I hope to see a lot of orange cones and earth moving. If you see road construction crews during your travels, please slow down and move over to keep them safe.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide information or assistance on any state related matter.

Please call 608-266-0703, email Sen. Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov or write to me at PO Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707.

Rep. Considine: Wisconsin’s past, present and future with hemp

Dave Considine, WI State Representative Dave Considine represents the 81st District in the State Assembly. The 81st District includes Baraboo, Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, Portage, and many other communities. His office can be reached at (608) 266-7746 or via email at Rep. Considine@legis.wisconsin.gov July 17-23 is Hemp History Week, so it’s a great opportunity to highlight Wisconsin’s past, present, and future in the industry. In the past, Wisconsin was a national leader in hemp. Industrial hemp was grown experimentally here in the early 1900s, we had 7,000 acres dedicated to hemp farming in 1917, and by the 1940s we led the nation in hemp production.

At that time, hand labor was necessary

and this crop was intensive to produce.

However Wisconsin’s farmers used their great work ethic to become leaders in harvesting this crop. During the height of hemp production our state also had 42 processing mills. These mills were able to process the fibrous hemp stalks into a number of materials including rope, shoes, sewing materials, and caulking for the U.S. Military.

From the mid-1900s until the passage of 2017 Senate Bill 119 it was illegal to grow hemp in Wisconsin. After I introduced bills in April 2015 and February 2017 on this topic, my colleagues and I finally got a bill to the Governor’s desk in November of 2017. This bill was the first step in many to get to the hemp program that we now

have in Wisconsin. Today the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection licenses farmers to grow hemp for CBD and fiber.

The hemp crop is not without struggles as producers have experienced unfavorable seasons, little access to processing facilities, and crops that are “hot” or too high in THC. Thankfully the USDA and DATCP published rules that allow hemp growers to take advantage of hemp remediation. This means that growers have an alternative to total hemp destruction if their crop exceeds the regulatory limit of .3% total delta-9 THC. Unfortunately testing is currently a burdensome task as DATCP must test each variant grown by producers and they must

send staff on site to do so. As a passionate advocate for the hemp industry, I have been and will continue to encourage to increase efficiencies in this program. One of these opportunities is for the state to encourage public-private partnerships for testing hemp for THC. Another would modernize Wisconsin’s old hemp and paper mills, which could help increase processing markets for our producers.

If you didn’t already know it, you now understand that hemp and Wisconsin’s history as an agricultural leader are intertwined. We have a unique opportunity to add hemp as another viable tool in a producer’s toolbox. In future years I pledge to continue to advocate for progress in this industry.

From The Plain & Simple Correspondent— When Bad Things Happen to Good People, 2021 Katie Green, Contributor Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote When Bad Things Happen to Good People in part to console himself when his toddler son was diagnosed with a terminal illness. A later reviewer, initially suspicious of a book that had sold millions of copies, read it and agreed it was helpful to “anyone who’s trying to face pain and suffering with their sanity intact.” That probably means all of us. Our local communities are currently reeling in reaction to a series of injuries and deaths of people whose outstanding humanitarian contributions should have been protected and rewarded with years more of abundant life --if the Universe were organized consistent with our human ideas of fairness, which it isn’t. These “unfair” events are preoccupying virtually everyone I talk with at the moment, and have generated interesting philosophical conversations with the neighbors and family members about the fickle finger of fate, premature death, the blasting of hopes, and other related heavy topics ... and caused me to think of Rabbi Kushner’s wise book again, which I read years ago when it was first on the best seller list. It might help you, too, if your sanity is in jeopardy from enduring or witnessing too much pain and suffering.

The most recent incident to make me feel like an emotional punching bag occurred in Haiti, of all places, the western, Frenchspeaking portion of the island of Hispaniola, a country with a horrific and tumultuous history. The indigenous peoples there were decimated, the remnants colonized first by repressive Spanish, then the harsh French, who also imported thousands of African slaves to work the sugar and coffee plantations. Before and after Haiti gained its independence in 1804, the common people

have lived in abject poverty, while the rich monopolized the wealth their laborers generated. In recent decades earthquake, hurricanes, coups, and political corruption have only increased the rate of poverty, increasing the misery. In response, many organizations world-wide have tried to reach out to Haitians at the bottom of the heap. A church in Richland Center has long supported medical missionaries on the island. Andrew and Wayne, sons of Vernon and Erma Hershberger of Loganville, for instance, have spent as long as a year at a time in Haiti, but the usual volunteer assignments for adults are for a few weeks or a month at a time.

Two weeks ago the President of Haiti was assassinated by mercenaries and who knows other dissatisfied citizens, and the ensuing chaos further complicated logistics for the medical mission. Instead of driving about the island to connect with the mobile clinic, volunteers have been forced to ride in small airplanes and helicopters to their destinations. This past week one of the small planes flew into a cliff on the mountainous island, killing all six persons aboard. Two of the men were from Mt. Pleasant Church in Richland Center, who intended to be away from home for two weeks. They leave behind widows, ten fatherless children, and a world of woe. Andrew Hershberger is leading efforts to raise money to support the families of the deceased, should you be so-moved.

One of my friends asked me, are they martyrs? No. By definition a martyr is one who is killed for his or her religious beliefs.

These deaths are attributable to bad luck, part of the risk of living, and could just as well have happened by getting entangled in farm machinery, in childbirth, accident on an icy road, by falling off a ladder while

cleaning your gutters, inheriting a lethal gene. Is it a tragedy? Yes. The word tragedy has now expanded in English to include all manner of traumatic happenings, but once it meant only the downfall of an erstwhile noble person by a fatal flaw in his or her character. However defined, it means disintegration of a way of life and shock waves moving out in circles, affecting a multitude.

Next day another friend and I stood by the mailbox, speculating on the way the spontaneous, innate impulse to respond can lead one into mortal danger, as in the case of Parker Kruse, the young lad who launched forth on what he thought would be an easy assist to a boat on the Wisconsin River and who perished in the attempt. My friend said, “Even if I had time to realize that it would be dangerous to try to help in certain situations, could I restrain myself? And if I was afraid to try,and didn’t, would my conscience then plague me for the rest of my days?” I think these are inevitable questions, important ones that don’t have answers.

Unless you are a cynic and subscribe to “No good deed goes unpunished”, or are chronically fearful, chances are you go about your daily life preoccupied with routine, oblivious to lurking danger, so that the ultimate test, when it comes, will catch you unawares. How can you possibly know for sure in advance how you will react to sudden opportunities to help someone in distress?

I knew a woman years ago who went into a decline when her husband died. Evelyn had a long history as a teacher and was loved by scores, but her will to live disappeared after George went into the dark. Nothing any of her friends and kinfolk did could reverse her downward spiral into emptiness. She was fragile in a way we didn’t anticipate, so we were anguished when we proved

helpless to reanimate her will to go on. She withdrew further and further into the Great Forgetting. The ancients noticed that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, so mindful of that the good Rabbi suggests we focus on converting heartaches and tragedy into something meaningful, if we can, rather than try to explain why tragedy happens or to whom, or to cave under the weight of it, as Evelyn did. It’s another way of saying make lemonade from the lemons you are given. From long experience, the Rabbi said that without cultivating that crucial sense of meaning, tragedy can lead to chronic feelings of threat, emptiness, selfpity, depression, or destructive behaviors, among a shopping bag full of negative responses. Some of those have surfaced in the aftermath of loss for me, too, and might I add I’ve even seen trauma play out with a sad outcome in the animal kingdom, to birds and beasts when they lose a mate or a close companion.

Well, it’s a tall order to emerge bloody but unbowed after coming face to face with personal trauma and abrupt endings. The timetable for healing can seem endless, extending from here to the moon. However, take your time. The good news is that most humans are resilient and mend eventually.

In my case, it helps if I create a soothing blanket of gratitude by listing the endearing traits and uniqueness that characterized the people who have passed from my life through death or other final forms of separation. Numerous injuries to body and soul have allowed me to practice my father’s mantra, filched from boxing cant, “Roll with the punches.” Haven’t mastered it yet. You just have to hope no one attempts to cheer you up by sending you one of those irritating smiley-face emojis.

Community Column: Driftless Grace — Magic in the Air Grace Vosen, Contributor Since the last day of June, the space outside my front door has been invaded by magical creatures. I had to do a double take when I left the house that day, rubbing my eyes to make sure they weren’t being deceived. Hundreds of fluffy white something-or-others were drifting past my face and bobbing gently in an air current.

These were not your friendly neighborhood cottonwood fluff. They had solid, dark heads, like upside-down dandelion seeds. They were clearly animals, but they made no sound. I couldn’t even tell if they were in control of their motions. As I arrived at my car, I still wasn’t sure I hadn’t just gone crazy.

I’ve learned to coexist with these “fairy bugs” since. I haven’t inhaled any or

let any into the house. I also avoided asking about them for weeks, because I didn’t have the words to describe what I was seeing in a rational way. Recently, without having to ask, I learned that this magic show is an annual event. And the critters have a name: woolly aphids.

For me, giving them a name doesn’t detract from their beauty. Would we ever say that fireflies are less magical because

we know what they’re called?

The moral to this story is not the clichéd “there’s magic in the little things”. It’s that my home is so magical that, at least for a minute, I believed these creatures were not of the same world as you and I. May you get the chance to feel this way about your own home place. Such stories are worth a thousand facts.

regional News

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

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Wisconsin Watch—In Door County, luxury, tourism leave little room for affordable workforce housing Daphne Lemke, Wisconsin Watch

Lessons to learn from Door County This piece was produced for the NEW News Lab, a local news collaboration in Northeast Wisconsin. This story was originally published in the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Microsoft is providing financial support to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region to fund the initiative.

In a community funded by tourism and affluence, much of Door County’s year-round and seasonal workforce is struggling to live comfortably.

Resorts, seasonal rentals and second or third homes dominate the land, but without more affordable housing, the county could lose many of its employees.

According to a 2019 study by Housing Door County, three of the biggest forces driving the county’s demand for housing since 2010 are job growth; an expansion of tourism, particularly in northern Door County; and a heightened interest in second homes, especially for people in their 50s or 60s whose income is higher than the national median household income.

Many homes in the county — almost 10,000 as of 2019 — are in seasonal use but not rented. Based on interviews conducted as part of the report, some are empty year-round due to aging or busy owners and have the potential to support workforce housing.

Door County Land Use Services Department Director Mariah Goode said part of the housing problem is tied to construction costs, which have climbed higher due to the coronavirus pandemic and shortage of materials, slowing the construction of new housing.

However, the pandemic did not stop a surge in the real estate market.

“People don’t even bother putting up ‘for sale’ signs here,” Goode said. “Something

lists, and within a day, there’s multiple showings and multiple offers.”

Paige Funkhouser, now the Door County Maritime Museum’s community engagement manager, moved from Southern California to Sturgeon Bay in 2003, when housing was a little easier to find. A few years later, just before the recession hit in 2008, she moved further up the peninsula to the Gibraltar area, and spent a long time looking before she settled into a new house that she could afford that had propane heat.

“It was a beautiful house,” she said. “But here’s the problem: I set it on fire when the heat went out and I had to use the stove to keep warm.”

Luckily, she woke up before the fire spread past the carpet, but this wasn’t the end of her housing woes, as she later moved into a house where black mold grew on her walls, in her shoes and on her belongings.

Emily Johnson, a personal banker at North Shore Bank’s Sturgeon Bay location, also faced mold among other issues in a living space that was less than adequate, but affordable at the time.

“The day I moved in, the floor was flooded from the bathroom, and the floor squished when you walked on it,” she said. “In the same breath, I am very grateful for having a place when I needed it that was affordable for me.”

While they are living more stably now, Johnson and Funkhouser struggled in those times, working full time or holding multiple jobs, to stay afloat.

“I have always been raised that you do what you have to do to make ends meet and pay your bills,” Johnson said. “There were many years where I worked 60 to 80 hour work weeks just to be able to keep up, but that’s what I did.”

Funkhouser said she still notices that many residents earning modest incomes are paying so much for housing that they don’t have savings, and are barely paying the bills.

“Door County is one of those places people choose to live,” she said. “They

like it here, but I’ve learned that after two or three years, they either make it or break it.”

Seasonal workforce housing is a unique need in Door County The tourism industry raised the need for seasonal employees, which in turn raised the need for seasonal housing, one of the three main types of housing in short supply in the county, according to the 2019 county report.

The other two types are year-round workforce housing for employees earning 60% to 120% of the county’s median income, and year-round housing for independently living seniors ages 65 and older.

In 2019, the county had a workforce housing shortage of 470 apartment units, described in the report as a “basic mismatch” between job creation and new housing. The gap means that hired employees in Door County often have to live in another county for lack of suitable, affordable housing.

An employee who works in the county but has to live in Green Bay faces a long daily commute, which is seen as “prohibitive” to attracting employees, according to stakeholder interviews in the report.

Funkhouser has struggled to recruit both seasonal and year-round employees.

“I can’t recruit, because there’s no place for anyone to live,” she said. “We get a ton of inquiries, but guess what, the first question out of their mouth after ‘how much does it pay’ is ‘where can I live?’”

The housing needs of seasonal employees, especially workers on J-1 visas, for whom employers are required to provide housing, has further limited options for full-time workers.

Many employers have bought property to provide housing for seasonal workers, but that leaves fewer options for those seeking a year-round home.

“There are lots of employers that are snatching up houses for their workers, which is good, but also limiting,” Goode said.

Contact us

PO Box 144 Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588 USA (608) 588-6694 editor@valleysentinelnews.com valleysentinelnews.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Nicole Aimone Managing Editor Taylor Scott Legal Editor Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

As tourist growth triggered an increase in seasonal employment, it also increased demand for hotel rooms and other lodging, but that did not lead to new construction.

Instead, many homes and cottages that otherwise would have been vacant or available for rent have been turned into tourist rentals, such as Airbnbs, further narrowing the year-round housing pool.

Housing prices across Door County surpass what over half the residents can afford In 2018, the average price for a home in northern Door County was $376,568, according to the report. Excluding waterfront homes, the average price was $268,137.

Southern Door County is less expensive, with an average non-waterfront house price of $195,014, and Sturgeon Bay is even less at $161,146.

Countywide, the median selling price of homes in the county this year was $270,000 as of the end of April. At that price, the typical mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, would be about $1,600.

The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households “costburdened” when over 30% of their income goes toward housing, leaving little room for basic necessities and medical care.

Under that guideline, a household that earns the county’s median annual income of $56,500 could afford to spend $1,412 per month on housing, making a home purchase tight, but manageable.

But home prices put ownership out of reach of many residents, including entrylevel patrol officers, registered nurses and elementary school teachers, according to the Housing Door County presentation.

An entry-level teacher, for instance, makes about $36,000 annually, allowing for a monthly housing budget, as recommended, of $900 a month.

That teacher would still be better off than the roughly one-third of working

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Community

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

COmmunitycalendar Events for July 22 - August 4 Thursday, July 22 Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Pattern/Geometry Workshop 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM . Arts Lab, 143 S. Washington Street, Spring Green . $25 . www.artslabspringgreen.org. This workshop will cover the beauty of simple geometric shapes and grids as they generate pattern for compositions of all kinds, from graphics, to quilts, to crafts, etc. No previous knowledge of geometry or math is required. All principles will be demonstrated visually so we can follow and use them as visual artists.

Wine & Yoga 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM . Wild Hills Winery, 30940 Oakridge Dr. Muscoda . $10 cash only . www.wildhillswinery.com. Wine & Yoga every Thursday in the Vineyard with certified Yoga Instructor Lara Carpenter.

Local Night: 4H 5:30 PM - 8:00PM . The Shed/Post House Garden, 123 N Lexington Street, 119 E Jefferson Street Spring Green . Come out and spend your Thursday evenings with some local music and local food. The food cooked on the grill on the patio is from our many local vendors in Spring Green and surrounding towns, and the musicians are from the River Valley area.

Friday, July 23 Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Circus Show 3:00 PM . Downtown Mazo . Come join us for the Circus in Downtown Mazo! Hosted by Wild Rumpus Circus.

Wine Down Fridays: Scott Wilcox 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Wild Hills Winery, 30940 Oakridge Dr. Muscoda . Free . www.wildhillswinery.com. Wine down and chill at Wild Hills Winery! Live music every Friday! Enjoy the sounds of local musicians and singer-songwriters outdoors on the patio. Food and drink specials.

Sugar Mama and the Rent Check 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM . SlowPoke Lounge 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com. Playing a mix of funk, soul and rock 'n roll, Sugar Mama and the Rent Check are a Spring Green-based band featuring Laura Burbaugh on vocals, Ellie Barta-Moran on vocals, killer tambourine and guitar, Todd Miller on lead guitar, John Christiansen on vocals and keyboard, Tim Gittings on bass and harmonica, and Rob Steffen on drums.

APT: Facemask Fridays Showtimes vary . www.americanplayers.org. For those of you who want or need to be masked at APT, we have set aside select performances on July 9, 23 & 30 where masks are mandatory on the grounds and in the Hill Teatre. Visit our website for tickets and additional information.

Saturday, July 24 Give Back to Wild Places! 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM . Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Spring Valley Tract . www.driftlessconservancy.org. Calling all botanists interested incontributing to a plant species list for this newly acquired preserve. Interestand experience in documenting species in Wisconsin woodlands, prairie and savanna, and wetland communities needed! Lunch to be provided.

Spring Green Farmers Market 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM . S230 E. Monroe St Spring Green . www.facebook.com/SGFMarket. Local farm fresh produce, coffee, fresh baked goods, honey, soaps & lotions, bedding plants, cut flowers, maple syrup and more.

Plain Weekend Charity Event Plain Park, Plain . Prices vary. Come join us for a 2 day charity event. All proceeds donated to local charities. The Travis Studnicka Memorial Volleyball Tournament starts at 9:30 AM ($60 per Coed Team), the Street Dance on Alma Avenue starts at 8:00 PM ($5 cover; County music by The Michael Mikrut Band) and a Girls Softball Tournament.

Driftless Landscape Tour 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM . Taliesin Preservation Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center 5607 County Road C Spring Green . $6 – $25 . www.taliesinpreservation.org. Join Taliesin for a conversation about the interconnectedness of land and culture while enjoying an approximately 1-mile walk across the Taliesin estate. This completely outdoor tour will speak to the natural history of the estate, using Frank Lloyd Wright as the connecting theme between topics.

APT The Backstage Series: Lighting Design Outdoors (and in the TS) 11:00 AM . www.americanplayers.org. Inside intel on how APT operates from the folks who make it all happen. These virtual events will be streamed live and recorded, so join at the scheduled time, or watch any time afterwards.

Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Myles Talbott Dyad 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Road Spring Green . www.wiriverside.com/entertainment. Summer music continues on the River Stage!

Acoustic Jam 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S Albany St., Spring Green . Free . www.springgreen.com . Come and listen or grab your instrument and come and play with them.

Sunday, July 25 Summer Stock: Free Movie Screening in the Big Red Barn 8:00 PM . White Oak Savanna, 4352 WI-23, Dodgeville . Free but donations are encouraged . www.whiteoaksavanna.com. Please join us for a free movie and free popcorn to benefit SWCAP Iowa County Food Pantry. Drinks for sale but feel free to bring your own snacks.

Plain Weekend Charity Event: Plain Parade 11:00 AM . Plain Park, Plain . $5 entry fee. Register at the St. Luke Playground bewteen 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM. Half the entry fee will go to first place, the other half to the Plain EMS & Fire. Theme this year is: Year of COVID.

AD German Warehouse, Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Tour: City Employees Special Rate 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM . $15/person, cash or check only . 300 South Church Street, Richland Center . www.adgermanwarehouse.org. Tour the only warehouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. City Employees will receive $5 off their tour. Tours are available by appointment only.

Plain Fire & EMS Celebration Chicken BBQ 12:00 PM . 820 Wachter Ave. Line up will begin in the Mathy Construction parking lot . Contact 608-434-1217. Drive-thru only. Come support Plain Fire & EMS by enjoying drive-thru half chicken, baked potato, baked beans, bread and cookies. All proceeds to benefit the Plain Fire & EMS.

Monday, July 26 Big MoJo 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Road Spring Green . www.wiriverside.com/entertainment. Summer music continues on the River Stage!

Food for Thought: Designing Architecture with Food in Mind (Ages 12-16) 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM . Taliesin Preservation Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center 5607 County Road C Spring Green . $200 . www.taliesinpreservation.org. In this virtual, weeklong summer camp, students will be empowered and guided to reimagine current foodways during individual design challenges that will result in their own architectural creation to address one element of foodways.

Take & Make Craft Kits: Wire Photo/Note Holder 11:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org.

Drop by the library to grab a Take and Make kit:Wire Photo/Note Holder! These kits are created with adults in mind (all are welcome to them!) and contain materials needed to complete the project. Kits are available first come, first served, while Story Night 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . SlowPoke Lounge 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com. Gather with us as we tell our stories, as we listen to each other’s stories, as we come together to laugh and cry about our real lives.We’re going to try this like an open mic. Not planned. Not curated. Just laid back and wild in the same breath. Our theme for our first try at this: FAMILY. Rural Musicians Forum: Angela Puerta duo or trio 7:30 PM . Mazomaine Outdoor Pavillion, Mazo. Performing Columbian traditional music and Latin Maerican rhythms.

Tuesday, July 27 Tails & Tales Outdoor Storytime 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM . Plain Kraemer Library and Community Center, 910 Main St, Plain . www.kraemerlibrary.org. Storytime lasts between 30 minutes and aimed for ages 0-6 with themed songs and stories.

Take & Make Craft Kits Kraemer Library and Community Center, 910 Main St. Plain . www.kraemerlibrary.org. Kids 0-12 can drop in for fun filled Take and Make Kit they can do from home. Each kit includes supplies and instructions. Limited to 1 per child.

While supplies last.

Pizza on 14 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM . The Shoppe, 7352 Hwy 14, Arena . Pizza from our wood-fired oven and live music every Tuesday.

Wednesday, July 28 Virtual Story Time 10:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org. Join Ms. Christi for this live Facebook event!

While we need to keep our social distance, we can still get together online for stories, songs, rhymes, and fun. All are welcome!

Raine Stern // Buffalo Nichols 6:00 PM . Sh*tty Barn, 506 E Madison St, Spring Green . www.shittybarnsessions.com. Madison's own guitar legend Raine Stern and Austin-via-Milwaukee's Buffalo Nichols kick-off our much anticipated 2021 season!

Advance tickets sold out. That said, tickets often come up that people can't use. Check website or socials for the latest details about ticket availability.

Thursday, July 29 Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wine & Yoga 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM . Wild Hills Winery, 30940 Oakridge Dr. Muscoda . $10 cash only . www.wildhillswinery.com. Wine & Yoga every Thursday in the Vineyard with certified Yoga Instructor Lara Carpenter.

Local Night: Carla Pustina 5:30 PM - 8:00PM . The Shed/Post House Garden, 123 N Lexington Street, 119 E Jefferson Street Spring Green . Come out and spend your Thursday evenings with some local music and local food. The food cooked on the grill on the patio is from our many local vendors in Spring Green and surrounding towns, and the musicians are from the River Valley area.

Friday, July 30 Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wine Down Fridays: Ann Christoffer 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Wild Hills Winery, 30940 Oakridge Dr. Muscoda . Free . www.wildhillswinery.com. Wine down and chill at Wild Hills Winery! Live music every Friday! Enjoy the sounds of local musicians and singer-songwriters outdoors on the patio. Food and drink specials.

Premier Cooperatives: River Rumble Tractor Pull 6:30 PM . Lion’s Park, Mazomanie . www.mazochamber.org. Food and beverage stands on site. Please no carry-ins.

Re-Opening Concert: Old Time in the Barn: Jess McIntosh w/ Aaron Smith 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM . White Oak Savanna Events Farm & Sanctuary, 4352 State Road 23, Dodgeville . Free . www.whiteoaksavanna.com. Join us for our re-opening! Opening act: Jonas Friddle with Anna Jacobson and Andrew Wilkins.

APT: Facemask Fridays Showtimes vary . www.americanplayers.org. For those of you who want or need to be masked at APT, we have set aside select performances on July 9, 23 & 30 where masks are mandatory on the grounds and in the Hill Teatre. Visit our website for tickets and additional information.

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

Community/regional

Page 5

Monday, August 2

Saturday, July 31 Give Back to Wild Places! 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM . Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Sardeson’s Forest Preserve . www.driftlessconservancy.org. Girdling and or cutting and treating aggressive clonal species – sumac and gray dogwood – in the heat of the summer is hot work, but effective.

Spring Green Farmers Market 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM . S230 E. Monroe St Spring Green . www.facebook.com/SGFMarket. Local farm fresh produce, coffee, fresh baked goods, honey, soaps & lotions, bedding plants, cut flowers, maple syrup and more.

Heart of the Sky Fair Trade Pop-Up Fundraiser 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . Stop by the Heart of the Sky Fair Trade booth at the Spring Green Farmers Market. Shop an amazing selection of fair trade goods from Guatemala and market baskets from Ghana. All proceeds will be donated to the Spring Green Area Arts Coalition.

Mom’s FUN IN THE SUN DAY 9:00 AM . Liza’s Lagoon, S13220 Shifflet Rd, Spring Green . Moms only, we will meet up at Liza’s Lagoon and enjoy the Sunshineand water and lots of laughter!

Driftless Landscape Tour 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM . Taliesin Preservation Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center 5607 County Road C Spring Green . $6 – $25 . www.taliesinpreservation.org. Join Taliesin for a conversation about the interconnectedness of land and culture while enjoying an approximately 1-mile walk across the Taliesin estate. This completely outdoor tour will speak to the natural history of the estate, using Frank Lloyd Wright as the connecting theme between topics.

Wyoming Valley School Tour 11:00 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 State Road 23 Spring Green . Free . www.wyomingvalleyschool.org. Tour times are 11am, 1pm, and 2pm. Our tours are free to the public and casual. The rehabilitated historic project is finally complete. Come visit the only public elementary designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

3 Souls 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Road Spring Green . www.wiriverside.com/entertainment. Summer music continues on the River Stage!

Rob's Alibi 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S Albany St., Spring Green . Free . www.springgreen.com . Come join us for Rob’s Alibi! Rock classics with an acoustic infusion. Vocal harmonies focusing on your favorites from the 70's to now.

Arcadia Book Signing: "American Vaudeville" by Geoffrey Hilsabeck 3:30 PM 4:30 PM . Arcadia Books, 102 E. Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.readinutopia.com. Join us at Arcadia for a book signing with Geoffrey Hilsabeck, author of American Vaudeville.

Sunday, August 1 Scott Stieber & Don Myers 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Road Spring Green . www.wiriverside.com/entertainment. Summer music continues on the River Stage!

Rural Musicians Forum: Red Door Duo 7:30 PM . Mazomaine Outdoor Pavillion, Mazo. Guitar duo extravaganza in a myiad of styles.

Grab and Go: Tails and Tales 10:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org. Grab and Go Kits are activity bags with all the supplies you'll need for families to enjoy at home! Available while supplies last. Pick up on the parking lot side of building during our open/curbside pick up hours.

Tuesday, August 3 Tails & Tales Outdoor Storytime 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM . Plain Kraemer Library and Community Center, 910 Main St, Plain . www.kraemerlibrary.org. Storytime lasts between 30 minutes and aimed for ages 0-6 with themed songs and stories.

Pizza on 14 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM . The Shoppe, 7352 Hwy 14, Arena . Pizza from our wood-fired oven and live music every Tuesday.

National Night Out 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM . Wisconsin Heights High School, Mazo . Join us for National Night Out. Sponsored by Mazo & BE Police Depts with Mazo & BE Fire Depts & District One EMS. Lake Marion Tuesday Concerts 6:00 PM . Lake Marion Park, HWY. KP, Mazo .

Concerts held every Tuesday, Aug 3-24. Sponsored by Mazomanie Music Conservancy.

Wednesday, August 4 Virtual Story Time 10:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E Monroe St Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org. Join Ms. Christi for this live Facebook event!

While we need to keep our social distance, we can still get together online for stories, songs, rhymes, and fun. All are welcome!

Nature Pattern Workshop 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM . Arts Lab, 143 S. Washington Street, Spring Green . $25 . www.artslabspringgreen.org. This workshop builds on the Patterns/Geometry material but takes on the challenge of using a plant or flower as a reference to develop geometric patterns inspired by nature's beauty. This is a Taliesin tradition that started with Louis Sullivan (Wright's mentor), was continued by Wright with his art glass windows and integral ornament, and furthered by his secretary and fine artist Eugene Masselink who turned the art form into a teachable class on which Aris bases his workshop.

Music in the Park! 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM . White Mound County Park, S7995 Whitemound Dr., Hillpoint . $5 per vehicle, unless you have the Sauk County annual sticker .

Contact 608-355-4800. Join us at White Mound County Park on August 4 for live music from the Hard Tellin' Band! Bring a picnic, blanket or lawn chair with your family and friends.

APT: Spring Green Night 8:00 PM . American Players Theatre, 5950 Golf Course Road, Spring Green . $25 . www.americanplayers.org. Join us for our Spring Green night for Rough Crossing. River Valley School district residents only. Use promo code SG21 at checkout.

Community Calendar curated by Whitney Back, from events submitted by the community

Views of the Sauk County Fair at the county fairground in Baraboo

Photos by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief The Sauk County Fair was held at the county fairground in Baraboo last week, featuring a carnival, 4-H exhibits and classic fair food. Pictured, an overhead view of the Sauk county fair from the top of the Ferris wheel. Pictured, Kids prepare for a ride on the Sizzler at the county fair last weekend.

Wisconsin Watch: Door County searches for year-round housing solutions continued from page 3 households in Door County that make just enough money to be above the federal poverty level, but not quite to a level that United Way calls “household stability.” For Door County, that’s about 31% of the population, according to a United Way of Wisconsin report.

These ALICE households — Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed — live on a survival budget and can’t comfortably afford necessities, such as housing, food, health care, transportation, child care and technology.

For these and other households, homeownership is particularly difficult, but finding affordable apartments and rentals also can be challenging due to a limited supply.

At the start of June, there was just one single-bedroom apartment listed as available in the county on apartmentfinder.com, located in Sturgeon Bay with a minimum rent of $1,170 a month. One two-bedroom apartment was available in Sister Bay

with a minimum rent of $1,325.

Rent in the county often starts at $800 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, on the high end of the $500-to-$900 range the housing report identifies as affordable.

A single adult making an ALICE minimum income of $19,956 can afford to spend $499 per month on housing in Door County and not be cost burdened, and a single adult making a minimum wage income can afford to spend $377 per month.

The lack of less expensive rental options reflects the hesitance of developers and construction companies to build affordable housing projects because they often can’t make enough money to cover construction costs, Funkhouser said.

“The challenges go back to developers thinking not just, ‘How am I going to make money,’ but ‘How am I going to break even?’” she said.

In time, the housing market’s problems will eventually drive away the yearround workforce and slow the county’s economic activity, according to the report.

“I understand our tourist industry is what feeds us, but what people need to remember is that if you want to attract a workforce to keep up with your growing industry, they need a place to live and an affordable and decent home,” Johnson said.

Change coming as housing solutions develop In the past two years, the county and housing organizations have begun to implement some of the recommendations included in the 2019 report.

According to Goode, construction projects in the county’s future include Habitat for Humanity houses; 45 affordable rental homes near the Northern Door Children’s Center in Sister Bay, which received a WHEDA tax credit award; and the West Side School project, which is funded by community development grant dollars and will consist of 15 units, with eight or nine of them being affordable.

Currently, the county’s Land Use Services Department is working on amendments to zoning regulations to encourage more affordable housing projects, Goode said.

Allowing smaller lot sizes, taller structures and fewer public hearings could make it easier to find land and build more multi-family units, the report suggested.

The zoning amendments would affect Sturgeon Bay and nine of the county’s 14 towns, and would act as a model for the remaining towns and villages, Goode said.

In addition to her office’s regular duties, Goode is also involved in some of the county’s upcoming initiatives.

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority chose Door County, Marinette County and two counties on Lake Superior for a pilot program that aims to develop local solutions to the lack of affordable workforce housing in rural areas.

The initiative started in December and has completed the first phase, an analysis of the issues holding back development of affordable housing, including financing, land use and homeowners’ negative perceptions of affordable housing.

See page 6

Page 6

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

outdoors & recreation/Regional

This week’s Sauk County Gardener — Proper Harvesting Jeanie Manis, SCMGA President I like to pick my own vegetables.

- Shelley Duvall Once again, it has been a busy week at our house. I helped a fellow master gardener plant a demonstration garden, set up a booth to promote the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association, and co-presented two talks at the Sauk County Fair. Add in setting up a surprise birthday party in our backyard and I’m sure you can imagine how much work I got done in my gardens – not much at all! My kale is going gangbusters, my broccoli is producing amazing heads, the cabbage needs to be processed into sauerkraut or a yummy batch of coleslaw, the peas need picking, the garlic is really to be pulled – the list right now is getting long! As you can tell, it’s harvest time in the vegetable gardens.

Knowing when and how to harvest your vegetables is important so you can get the most out of your investment of time and money. With some vegetables it’s not always obvious when to harvest them to take advantage of their peak ripeness and nutritional value. Here are a few tips to remember. Unless you are trying to enter a contest for the biggest pumpkin, bigger is not always better. Consider the zucchini –

6 to 8 inches is the optimal size. As we all know, there’s always that one that hides really well and becomes the size of a baseball bat. Don’t’ throw it away – it can be used to make zucchini bread or even better, zucchini relish. My family has an amazing recipe for zucchini relish and is incredible in tuna fish or chicken salad sandwiches, on ham, hot dogs, brats, and a variety of other foods.

The extra-large zucchini has helped make many of those batches. When you pick your fruits or vegetables, carefully remove them to prevent breaking stems and branches.

Consider using garden shears to remove them with ease. Once your crop starts producing, you need to check it regularly, preferably daily. For example, my broccoli started coming in and I forgot to check it for a couple days. I now have a few heads that are close to bolting.

Here are few vegetables that should be producing now or very soon in your gardens.

Basil – Harvest it as soon as the flower buds appear, but before they open.

Beans (pole or bush) – Pick when they are pencil thick, before the seeds bulge.

Beets – For best texture, harvest when 1-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter so they are not tough or woody. Don’t forget you can eat the leaves when they are at 4 to 6 inches long.

Broccoli – Cut the heads when they are dark green, the buds are compact and before they start to flower or turn yellow.

I have a few that are just starting to turn yellow. I have plans to cut and freeze them this week.

Brussel sprouts – I used to strip the leaves, but I’m learning that’s not such a good idea, as they need them for growth. They should be harvested when they are about 1 inch in diameter.

Cabbage – The head should be firm and have crisp leaves.

Corn – The husk should be tightly attached, pliable, healthy, and green. The tassel is brown, the ear feels plump and if you poke a kernel with your fingernail, it should have light, milky liquid leak out.

Cucumber – Harvest when 6 inches long or as soon as they are big enough to use – for example, making baby dill pickles.

Garlic – When the leaves are 1/3 brown, check the bulbs to see if they are big enough. If you are satisfied with size, it’s time to harvest. If they are too small, give them a little more time to grow, but not too much time. Once the leaves are a half to two-thirds brown, they need to be harvested, no matter what.

Kale – Leaves should be harvested when they are about the size of your hand, so it doesn’t get too tough. Mine is starting to

max out that size, so I may have to make kale chips or freeze it to throw into soups this winter. I’ve read a lot about “massaging” kale and I want to try it. However, with all the yard work, I feel like I deserve a massage more than my kale.

Onions – The tops should turn brown and fall over before you pull them.

Summer Squash and Zucchini – Both are best when they 6 to 8 inches long.

Tomatoes – Oh, the delicious wonders of the tomato! It’s so hard this time of year to wait for them, but have patience. Leave them on the vine as long as possible for the best flavor. The perfect tomato should be slightly firm and plump, have glossy skin, be a rich color, and smell amazing.

These are just a few of the vegetables coming in right now. Take the time to learn when the best time is to harvest your fruits and vegetables and you’ll be rewarded with delicious and nutritious food for you and your family.

This week’s article is written by Jeannie Manis, a Wisconsin Certified Sauk County Master Gardener Volunteer. If you have any gardening questions, please contact the Extension Sauk County by emailing to tim.ripp@saukcountywi.gov or calling the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County office at 608355-3250.

River Valley Community Gardens offering free produce for second season Photo contributed by River Valley Community Gardens To reduce food waste and share the abundance of fresh veggies with the community, the River Valley Community Gardens is offering a free produce stand that will be stocked with excess veggies and fruit from various plots at the garden.

There are no set times for the using the produce stands and gardeners harvest at various times, allowing for various quantities and varieties of foods to be available.

Community Garden organizers are asking any patrons only take food from the produce stand, and ask they do not pick produce from any of the garden plots.

The produce cart was original installed in 2020, this will be its second year in use.

The community Gardens are located on Westmor Street in Spring Green.

Door County struggles for affordable, workforce housing as residents push back on developments continued from page 5 Another ongoing project is a University of Wisconsin- Madison program, UniverCity, comprising around 150 students in three classes studying real estate. The students were tasked with studying properties in Egg Harbor and coming up with project ideas, but the scope has since expanded into the other northern areas and Sturgeon Bay, with a focus on affordable housing.

“That project will be interesting because it will show what these properties could

look like,” Goode said.

The program has one more year to complete, and the county can use the final draft to discuss ideas for the future, but isn’t required to adopt any of them.

Goode is also a board member for the Door County Housing Partnership, a non-profit housing trust that helps make housing perpetually affordable for working families.

“The trust acquires land and continues to own it so it can control who moves in and how much it’ll cost, based on the affordable price for families,” she said.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Kraemer Brothers, one of Wisconsin’s leading construction companies, is seeking a Marketing & Communications Specialist. An innovative and dynamic company, Kraemer Brothers offers tremendous opportunities for qualified and motivated professionals.

Requirements: Degree in Marketing, Journalism or Media required or 5 years of related experience. Proficiency with Mac & PC based design software, strong organizational skills, writing, and communication skills are recommended. Related experience in the construction industry is preferred but not required. Responsible for creating, coordinating, planning and implementing various materials including digital project proposals, website enhancements, project photos and videos, promotional material and social media communications.

Please forward your confidential resume to: Kraemer Brothers, LLC • 925 Park Ave. Plain, WI 53577 608-546-2411 • jobs@kraemerbrothers.com

The trust pays the cost difference to builders, and the families can turn around and sell the house after they have some home equity. They can then use this money to live on their own more comfortably.

However, a lack of public support remains a major challenge in the effort to develop more affordable housing in the county.

Affordable housing efforts across the nation meet “not in my backyard” opposition, according to the report, and Door County is no different, with

neighbors pushing back against proposed developments.

Concerns over these efforts have ranged from how the county will finance the projects to whether the county needs to develop housing for lower-income families, the latter of which often stems from confusion over what “affordable” and “workforce” mean.

“Low income doesn’t mean trailer park, and low income doesn’t mean we are trash,” Johnson said. “We are the ones you rely on to make your time up here enjoyable.”

Construction Superintendent

Kraemer Brothers, one of Wisconsin’s leading construction companies, is adding an experienced construction professional to its staff. Kraemer Brothers consistently provides top level compensation and a challenging and safe work environment.

Requirements: 5+ years of field management and a related degree or equivalent experience for this position. Experience supervising and coordinating the construction of complex commercial or institutional projects.

Duties include: ■ Overall responsibility for the management of construction activities.

■ Ensuring compliance with design, schedule and budget requirements.

■ Coordinating company performed trade work.

Successful candidate must be able to demonstrate prior success in working effectively as a team member with project owners, architects and subcontractors.

Please forward your confidential resume to:

Kraemer Brothers, LLC • 925 Park Ave., Plain, WI 53577 Phone: 608-546-2411 • Fax: 608-546-2509 Email: jobs@kraemerbrothers.com www.kraemerbrothers.com

EEO/AA EMPLOYER

Community

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

COVID-19 Dashboard

Page 7

Wisconsin Summary

615,378 Positive Cases

Cases as of 7/20/2021

+1,321 from 7/13

3,004,752 Negative Test Results +9,566 from 7/13

7,383 Deaths +23 from 7/13

Vaccine Summary Statistics Updated: 7/20/2021

6,809,515

5,746,196

Administered

Allocated

3,160,377

2,349,054

Pfizer doses administered

236,765

Moderna doses administered

Johnson & Johnson doses administered

Vaccine Data

These two core measures are all measures of herd immunity in Richland, Sauk and Iowa County. We do not yet know what level of vaccination leads to herd immunity for COVID-19, or how current or future variants might affect herd immunity. We know based on other diseases that herd immunity is likely at least 60%, and if more transmissible variants become more common, that threshold may become higher, so our current target range is 60-90%.

-Madison Public Health and Dane County

Richland County

1,340 Positive Cases +3 from 7/13 8,220 Negative Tests +1 from 7/13 16 Death +0 from 7/13

Richland

Sauk

Target Range

49.6%

Iowa County

2,069 Positive Cases +2 from 7/13 12,026 Negative Tests +37 from 7/13 13 Deaths +0 from 7/13 Sauk County 6,019 Positive Cases +22 from 7/13 36,780 Negative Tests +121 from 7/13 51 Deaths +0 from 7/13

52.6%

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

50%

47.3%

Percent fully vaccinated

Target Range

Percent fully vaccinated

Iowa

Target Range

58.7%

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

56.7%

Percent fully vaccinated

Percent of Wisconsin residents ages 12-15 who have received at least one dose by county

Cases per zip code Cases as of 7/20/2021

Updated: 7/20/2021

Lower %

Higher %

Richland County Ages 12-15 28.8%

Iowa County Ages 12-15

Percent of Wisconsin residents who have received at least one dose

39.9%

Sauk County

Ages

12-15

Ages 12-15 30.8%

16-17

18-24

Dane County

Ages 12-15 65.4%

Graphic by Whitney Back

25-34

35-44

Updated: 7/20/2021 31.3% 41.1%

43.5%

48.2%

45-54 55-64 65+

Data From: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm

56%

58.3%

68.5%

83.5%

“The good stuff.”

Page 8

outdoors & recreation

WednesdaY, juLY 21, 2021

DNR biologist finds “holy grail” of rare plants in State Natural Area Ryan O’Connor, DNR Conservation Biologist MADISON, Wis. – A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation biologist has found the “holy grail” of a rare plant in Wisconsin: A green violet long thought gone from the state, but growing by the hundreds in a State Natural Area (SNA) in west central Wisconsin.

The species (Hybanthus concolor) was last documented in Wisconsin in 1958 when it was collected from a site in Grant County. That site was severely impacted by grazing and the species was thought to no longer grow in the state.

“It was pretty exciting,” said DNR Conservation Biologist Ryan O’Connor. “It really drives home several things, including that there are still important things to discover on State Natural Areas and that our SNAs are vital to the conservation of plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else in the state.”

This isn’t the first rare plant finding within Wisconsin’s State Natural Areas – 75% of wildlife species listed in Wisconsin as threatened or endangered, and 90% of state-listed plants are supported on State Natural Areas.

These sites, owned both by the DNR and more than 50 partners, represent Wisconsin’s best native forests, wetlands, prairies and geological and archaeological sites. Their primary purpose is to maintain this natural heritage for future generations.

O’Connor’s discovery also underscores the importance of having experts conduct “biotic inventory surveys” to document the different rare species on state-owned lands and assess how the natural community they are part of is faring.

Natural communities are defined by the soils, geology, plants and animals that evolved together to form different types of prairies, wetlands and forests.

Wisconsin has more than 100 of these distinct communities, some of which are globally rare. The state legislature created the State Natural Areas program to conserve examples of these

Photo via Wisconsin DNR Green violet, a species last documented in Wisconsin in 1958, was found this spring on a State Natural Area in west central Wisconsin by DNR Conservation Biologist Ryan O’Connor. communities The DNR uses the inventory survey information to inform master plans determining how to manage properties and prioritize the attention they receive.

Green Violets At A Glance

•Green violets are native to the eastern United States. Wisconsin is at the very northern edge of the green violet range. Across its range, green

violet is limited to rich mesic forests on limestone soil. Many of these sites have been lost to logging, grazing and invasion by weeds like garlic mustard and honeysuckle.

•Most violets have white, yellow or purple petals and green sepals, but green violet has much less showy flowers. The plant’s scientific name, Hybanthus concolor, refers to the petals and sepals being the same color

(green). The word “concolor” is Latin for “same color.”

•Like other violets, green violet has a gelatinous substance, called an elaiosome, attached to its seeds. The elaiosome is rich in fats and proteins, which attract ants. The ants bring the elaiosomes back to their nests to eat, and as they move them around, distribute the violet seeds.

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