Short stories and photos shared with humor and love
Late Friday afternoon ahead of one of Appleton's busiest weekends, the Appleton Police Department encountered a suicidal, homicidal person just a few blocks away from an already busy downtown. Skillfully and compassionately, they negotiated an end to the drama with no injuries to anyone. The department, currently led by Police Chief Polly Olson, has enjoyed [...]
Our five-year old calls the park across the street “Our Park”, because that’s what he thought he heard me say the first time I took him to Erb. He’s right, though. Erb Park is our park. It’s your park too. It belongs to all of us in that wonderful, universal way all public parks belong [...]
We got to hang with the people in our neighborhood Monday night at a block party more than five years in the making. In the time since our last block party, families got bigger, new faces moved in, little peanuts grew up, couples married, babies came and my husband Vince and I officially became, well, [...]
In both the midst and wake of community protests, the Appleton Police Department has made eloquent efforts toward constructive conversation. The results have led to tangible steps forward. For instance, they listened to citizen concerns regarding systemic racism and responded by upgrading their technology. Thanks to funding they applied for through the Oktoberfest Community Grant [...]
I stood with my neighbors yesterday and watched as a long, sad line of heroes paid respects to one of their own. Firefighter inspector Mitchell Lundgaard died Wednesday, the first Appleton firefighter to be killed in the line of duty since 1933. From Milwaukee to Appleton, emergency responders and the citizens they protect made their [...]