Stories you might have missed form across Wisconsin.
Waukesha: County Parks to unveil accessible fishing pier and kayak launch.
For differently-abled people, access to lakes and rivers can sometimes be difficult. In an effort to make the Fox River Park and the Fox river more accessible Waukesha County undertook a project to build pathway extensions and a fully accessible fishing pier and canoe/kayak launch. the project is now complete and the public is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow, August 29 at 10 am at Fox River Park. The ceremony will include comments from County Executive Paul Farrow. Construction on the project began in June. It was officially opened July 26th. The new pier overlooks a great place to fish for muskie, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye. The project was funded 100% from grants. The Fox River in Waukesha is part of “the Fabulous Fox! Water Trail” that spans 200 miles form the Illinois River to the northern limits of Waukesha County. Full Story
Brookfield: A Non-Profit pledged to restore Breakwater Light house. Nothing has happened.
The breakwater Lighthouse has been a fixture of the city’s landscape since it was built in 1926. it has been empty since 1966. In 2013 a local non-profit made promises to restore the historical landmark. Eleven years later it remains untouched and inaccessible. Brookfield-based Optima Enrichment got the lighthouse for free from the National Park service after promising $2.5 million worth of renovations. The hope was to turn the lighthouse into a publicly accessible museum by 2015. That didn’t happen. A Madison native, Steve Tyska bought property in Sheboygan and noticed the lighthouse in the harbor. He thought that renovating it would be a good project for retirement. When he began to investigate he found old Journal Sentinel stories about the lighthouse. After trying to reach the organizer of Optima Enrichment and getting no response, he reached out to the Journal Sentinel’s Public Investigator team who also got no response. The National Park Service is aware that the lighthouse is still owned by Optima. Under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, the entity that acquires a lighthouse must make it publicly available for educational and recreational use. If they fail to do that, it is up to the general Services Administration to determine if the entity should lose ownership. Full Story
East Troy: Beer tasting Train boarding this weekend.
We know drinking and driving is not only irresponsible but illegal. That’s not the case when it comes to enjoying a beer and riding the train, especially this Saturday in East Troy. The Beer Tasting train will depart from the East Troy Railroad Museum at 5:00 for a two-and-a -half hour excursion. Passengers will enjoy sampling a variety of beers, including weissbiers, lagers, ales and steam beers as well as “heavy apps”. The tasting will be lead by an expert from Black Point Estate. Many more styles of beer will be discussed and passengers will learn about five beer barons who used to summer in lake Geneva. The evolution of the craft beer movement will also be discussed. Dress code is casual. All Aboard! Full Details
