Now that the calendar has turned, it’s now that special time of year we all look forward to: tax time! If it stresses you out, help is on the way. Steve Hellmann joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the AARP Tax Aide program that is available to help Door County residents file taxes for free.

As the year comes to a close, we look back on the most-read stories of 2025 and the news that defined 2025 in Door County. Debra Fitzgerald and Myles Dannhausen Jr. also discuss the stories that readers should have read more of that will continue to make waves into 2026.

How can a marathon runner be overweight? That was one of the questions that led dietician Jennifer Sherman of Gills Rock to leave a 20-year career in civil engineering and earn a master’s degree in human nutrition. In conversation with Debra Fitzgerald, Sherman shares her own 40-pound weight loss (she’s the marathon runner) and how she now helps clients reach personal goals – from reversing high cholesterol or hypertension to boosting energy and overall health. Part of the 2026 Door County Talks Series exploring the Blue Zones, her talk on nutrition and healthy eating will take place Jan. 10 at the Door County Auditorium.

Dr. Simon Gilroy of UW–Madison joins Debra Fitzgerald to reveal the fast, unseen sensory lives of plants – how they detect danger, send signals through their entire bodies within seconds, and respond intelligently without anything resembling a brain. Gilroy also takes us into orbit, where his NASA-partnered research explores how plants behave in space. If you’ve ever wondered whether your plants are, in their own way, listening – or if they feel pain – this conversation will change how you see the green world around you.

In September, Executive Director Cindy Trinkner-Peot celebrated the expansion and renovation of Northern Door Children’s Center’s facility in Sturgeon Bay, increasing the center’s capacity by almost 30%. She joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss what the expansion means for meeting the demand for child care in northern Door County and the many challenges that remain. They’re joined by Molly Gary of the United Way Child Care Task Force to look at how people on the ground stepped up to take on a seemingly intractable issue and change the conversation.

As the Door County Housing Partnership nears the completion of its seventh home, board members Scott Bader and Mariah Goode join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the long road to putting people in homes and the long-tail impact on the community. But for Bader and Goode, the project is also an example of how people from different ends of the political spectrum can put politics aside to address community problems.

The South is often characterized as resistant to change, but there have always been Southern writers willing to speak out, even if at great personal cost, to the injustices in their communities and the South at large. Writers Melanie Ritzenthaler, assistant professor at Doane University, and Jenn Alandy Trahan, a lecturer at Stanford University, join Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss Southern writers and their upcoming presentation at Write On, Door County on Dec. 6 at 10 am.

Yes, there are black bears in Door County, but we don’t yet know where the one that washed ashore in Egg Harbor came from. Myles Dannhausen Jr. talks to Debra Fitzgerald about that bear, but first they dig into the news that the U.S. Navy has cancelled contracts for four Constellation-class frigates being built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine with assistance from its Sturgeon Bay yard. What does it mean for local workers when a multi-billion dollar contract ends?

Colin Welford has served as the music director for theater hits like Wicked and Hamilton during their Chicago productions and traveled the world as a music supervisor for The Lion King, but a stint with Northern Sky Theater hooked him on Door County. Now, he has returned to his first musical love playing the organ and shares that passion through his Colin & Friends community concerts. He joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss his journey, leaving the big stage, and finding joy in plying his craft in a tight-knit community.

Angostura Bitters is the essential ingredient in many cocktails, including the Wisconsin staple, the Old Fashioned. And it is the concoction that made Nelsen’s Hall and Washington Island famous. But the company and the beverage have always been a bit of a mystery. Robert Simonson, cocktail writer for the New York Times, journeyed to the distillery in Trinidad to get answers about Angostura, and even found some. His story about the journey appears in the winter edition of Door County Living. He joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk bitters, the rebirth of cocktails, and the evolution of the bartending craft.