July brings the peak of the summer season to the Northwoods. While residents and property owners enjoy the lakes, town and county boards continue to make critical policy and financial decisions.

Below is our latest reporting on the events shaping our communities.

• Presque Isle's $377,000 Tax Error and the Vilas County EMS Crisis: A detailed breakdown of the math behind a major tax calculation error, and how the resulting funding gap is placing immediate pressure on local emergency medical services. [Read the Full Article]

• Tourism Taxes: How State Law Starves Northwoods Infrastructure: An analysis of how Wisconsin's shared revenue limits and tax allocation structures leave local property owners footing the bill for heavy seasonal traffic on municipal roads. [Read the Full Analysis]

• Oneida County Zoning Changes: Ordinance 13-2025 and the Lark Road Impact: A close look at proposed zoning adjustments on Lark Road and what they reveal about changing shoreline development standards in our area. [Read the Zoning Breakdown]

• Northwoods Tick Management: Best Practices and Data: A review of current tick data and evidence-based prevention strategies to protect your family this summer. [Access the full article]

  

Inside the July print edition, you will find:

• Seasonal Observations & Foraging Guides: A practical guide to tracking midsummer shifts, including scouting tips for the upcoming hazelnut crop and a simple method for freezing wild berries without clumping.

• The All-Night Walleye Bite: A look at the local tradition of night fishing.

• The Chemistry of Red Barns: A brief exploration of rural architecture, tracking how early homesteaders combined skimmed milk, lime, linseed oil, and iron rust to create a natural, protective sealant that kept raw timber from rotting.

• Skywatching Lower Orbit: Why our northern latitude makes July the peak season for spotting satellites as they reflect lingering sunlight just past the Earth's shadow.

• Looking Back at the 1977 Blowdown: A historical retrospective on the July 4th derecho that flattened thousands of acres of Vilas County timber, permanently changing modern regional forest management and fire safety policies.

Informed stewardship is the only effective buffer against fiscal mismanagement and the erosion of our regional resources. This reporting is entirely subscriber supported. Thank you for funding the audits that make this work possible.