Western Kenosha County's news source
Madison Knipp of Twin Lakes was named to the Carroll University Dean’s List for Fall 2025.
Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and located in Waukesha. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning
Note: The following is a paid announcement from Western Kenosha County Senior Citizens Council — DH
The Western Kenosha County Senior Citizens Council, a non-profit, seeks a Senior Center Program Director for part-time weekdays and special events.
Experience in activity planning for older adults, in supervising volunteers and a desire to serve seniors required. Knowledge of wordprocessing, spread sheet and social media also needed.
Email or drop off a professional resume to WKCSCC Board of Directors, Westosha Senior Community Center at: westoshaseniorcenter@gmail.com.
The Westosha Senior Community Center is located at 19200 93rd St., Bristol.
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →
At 6:48 p.m., Town of Wheatland Vol Fire Department and Twin Lakes Rescue units and sheriff’s deputies are responding to a crash in the 4500 block of Dyer Lake Road in Wheatland.
Per dispatch: Single motorcycle has left the road and crashed. Injuries being reported.
UPDATE about 6:52 p.m. — Response requested from Flight for Life medical transport helicopter.
UPDATE about 8 p.m.:
At about 5:20 p.m., Bristol Fire and Rescue and Newport Fire Protection District units are responding to a crash in the 13700 block of Highway WG along the state line.
This week’s trend of warmer, snow-melting temperatures is expected to soon result in high temperatures we haven’t seen in a while.
The latest, local National Weather Service forecast calls for high temperatures 50 or higher starting Saturday through at least next Wednesday. Lows through that stretch should be over freezing.
Rain is not in the forecast forecast until Tuesday night, with a 50 percent chance.
Note: The following is a paid announcement from Hospice Alliance — DH
Hospice Alliance offers “Winter Memories” an event offered to children and teenagers (ages 17 and under) who have experienced loss. In addition to activities and refreshments, guests will craft a memory box in memory of a loved one.
The event is scheduled to take place Thursday, Feb. 19 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm at Hospice Alliance, 10220 Prairie Ridge Blvd., Pleasant Prairie.
This event is for any child or teen (ages 17 and under) from the community who has experienced loss. An adult chaperone must accompany attendees as they work on their projects.
Hospice Alliance understands the challenges that children and teens face when experiencing loss. This event provides the opportunity to normalize their feelings in a safe and fun environment by celebrating the lives of their loved ones.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, Feb. 17 to Bereavement at (262) 652-4482 x 1268 or bereavement@hospicealliance.org.
Hospice Alliance, the #1 provider of hospice care in Southeastern Wisconsin, is committed to offering compassionate physical, emotional, and spiritual care and educating our patients, those who support them, and the communities we serve. Personalized care for patients and families who are facing life-limiting illnesses is available in the patient’s or loved one’s private homes, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and in the Hospice Alliance Hospice House located in Pleasant Prairie. Hospice Alliance is your compassionate community non-profit hospice, incorporated in Hospice Alliance is also a proud 5-star member of the We Honor Veterans Program, a program developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, in partnership with the Veterans Administration. For more
information, call 262-652-4400 or visit www.hospicealliance.org.
Note: The following is a paid announcement from Kenosha County Aging & Disability Resource Center — DH
The Spring Primary for Kenosha County residents will be Tuesday, February 17. The Spring Election will be April 7.
Free Rides for voting purposes will be provided by the below transportation service providers with advance registration. Call early to reserve your ride.
Persons with disabilities can request special voting accommodations, such as curbside voting. To learn more call Disability Rights WI Voter Hotline: 844-DIS-VOTE.
The website myvote.wi.gov is also an excellent resource to register and request an absentee ballot.
For those unable to access the MyVote website, Kenosha County Aging and Disability Resource Center staff can provide direct assistance. To learn more, call the ADRC at 262-605-6646.
The Paddock Lake Village Board is scheduled to hold a committee of the whole meeting Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Village Hall (municipal building).
Agenda items include:
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →One man died as the result of an apparent crash along the state line Tuesday morning.
From the Kenosha County sheriff’s Office:
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a traffic incident that occurred this morning at approximately 6:46 a.m. at the intersection of State Line Road (128th Street) and CTH HM (374th Avenue) in the Town of Randall.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office deputies and rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene for a report of a single-vehicle crash. Upon arrival, deputies located a 2012 black GMC Terrain SUV approximately 50 yards south of State Line Road, resting on a berm.
Deputies made contact with the operator and sole occupant of the vehicle, Jose Gonzalez, a 50-year-old male from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, who was found to be unconscious and not breathing. The male was removed from the vehicle, and life-saving measures were immediately initiated by rescue personnel. Despite these efforts, the individual was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was traveling southbound on CTH HM when it left the roadway, continued south across State Line Road, and came to rest on the berm. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) was requested and responded to the scene to conduct a complete and thorough investigation. Based on the investigation, there is no indication that speed, alcohol, or drugs were contributing factors.
Investigators believe the incident was the result of a medical emergency.
Sheriff David Zoerner offered the following statement:
“This is a tragic loss for the individual’s family and loved ones. Our deputies and emergency responders acted quickly and professionally in their efforts to provide aid. We extend our sincere condolences to the family during this difficult time. Incidents like this are a reminder of how quickly circumstances can change and the importance of looking out for one another on our roadways.”
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office extends its appreciation to all responding agencies for their assistance. The investigation remains ongoing, and no further information is available at this time.
The Westosha Central High School District board is scheduled to hold a regular meeting and a special meeting Tuesday.
The regular meeting is first, starting at 5 p.m. in the Upper Commons, immediately following an executive session that starts at 4:20 p.m. in the principal’s conference room.
Agenda items include:
For executive session:
For the regular meeting:
The full regular meeting agenda is available here.
The special meeting follows at 6 p.m. in the Upper Commons. Agenda items in the special meeting relate to interviewing and selecting a person to fill the vacant at-large board member seat.
Note: The following is a paid announcement from Western Kenosha County Senior Citizens Council — DH
The Western Kenosha County Senior Citizens Council, a non-profit, seeks a Senior Center Program Director for part-time weekdays and special events.
Experience in activity planning for older adults, in supervising volunteers and a desire to serve seniors required. Knowledge of wordprocessing, spread sheet and social media also needed.
Email or drop off a professional resume to WKCSCC Board of Directors, Westosha Senior Community Center at: westoshaseniorcenter@gmail.com.
The Westosha Senior Community Center is located at 19200 93rd St., Bristol.
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →
The Salem Lakes Village Board gave its approval last week to staff exploring creation of a road maintenance consortium with other municipalities.
Such a consortium could allow municipalities to bid road work as a larger group and get better pricing through economy of scale. And, the effort might qualify the village for a state grant program that could pay 25 percent of the 2025 program expenses for 3 to 5 years with a maximum grant funding of 115 percent if Salem Lakes is the lead municipality for the consortium.
The proposal comes out of the village’s Economic Development Committee. The Village Board voted unanimously (with Trustee Angela Brooks absent) to have staff and legal counsel move forward with developing an intergovernmental agreement to govern the consortium and develop a legal opinion on the matter.
Trustee Peter Poli, who also is a member of the EDC, said Paddock Lake and Twin Lakes are among the other municipalities interested in joining the consortium. The Paddock Lake Village Board has the matter on its agenda for a committee of the whole meeting this Wednesday. The Twin Lakes Village Board has not discussed the matter at a meeting yet.
The consortium would have its own governing board made up of representatives of participating municipalities, said Brian Filiatreault, an EDC member who presented the consortium idea and answered board questions at last week’s meeting.
The project has a deadline due to the grant aspect. Application to be considered for the state Department of Revenue Innovation Grant must be made by March 31.
At about 11:18 a.m., Salem Lakes Fire/Rescue units and sheriff’s deputies are responding for a crash at Highways BD and JB in Brighton.
Per dispatch: A car and a truck involved. Injuries being reported.
The Wheatland Town Board is scheduled to meet Monday, starting at 6 p.m. at Town Hall in New Munster.
Agenda items include:
The Bristol Village Board is scheduled to meet Monday, starting at 7 p.m. at Village Hall.
Agenda items include:
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →
From the Kenosha County Division of Highways:
Kenosha County Highway A (160th Avenue) is scheduled to be closed to through traffic between Highway 142 (Burlington Road) and Highway D (172nd Avenue) in the Town of Paris from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25.
This is to allow for the replacement of a culvert roughly 1,200 feet north of Highway 142. Local access will remain on either side of the hard closure.
Drivers are advised to use Highway D as a north-south alternate.
This work schedule is weather-dependent and subject to change.
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →The next gathering of 100+ Women Who Care (100+WWC) Kenosha, a local volunteer organization focused on collective impact through philanthropy, will be Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the historic Woman’s Club of Kenosha, 6028 8th Ave., Kenosha.
Onsite registration will begin at 5 p.m. and the program will start promptly at 5:30 p.m.
Women attend from around the community and bring a donation ($100 for women 40 and over, $50 for women aged 20-39, or $20 for women aged 13-19).
Each donor can nominate a local nonprofit organization. Nonprofits must be registered 501 c (3) organizations that serve Kenosha County residents. Three charities are selected at random to present to the women in attendance. The
group then votes to determine which nonprofit will receive the money raised the night of the event.
At the November 11, 2025 meeting the ELCA Outreach Center was chosen as the designated nonprofit. The organization received donations of $4,960. Since 2018, more than $281,000 has been donated to nonprofit organizations serving Kenosha County. Through the support of matching funds from the Richard M. Schulze Foundation, over $75,000 has been added to the community’s donations.
Local nonprofits including Western Kenosha County Special Olympics, Matthias Academy, God’s Kitchen, Kenosha Literacy Council, KAFASI, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Just Live, Inc., 1Hope, Kenosha Human Development Services, Habitat for Humanity -Kenosha, the Kenosha Public Library, the Woman’s Club of Kenosha and the Kenosha County Food Bank are just a few that have benefitted from this collective impact.
100+WWC Kenosha meets quarterly. After this month’s gathering, the next meeting will be Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at the Woman’s Club of Kenosha. To learn more, visit the 100+ Women Who Care – Kenosha Facebook page or the website at https://100wwckenosha.org/.
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →
Improved financial performance of Twin Lakes’ downtown tax increment financing district has village officials doing some thinking about how to use the proceeds.
A TIF district is a financial tool to build public infrastructure with the aim of driving economic development. A TIF district freezes the tax base at its creation. Subsequent increased tax revenue — or increment — goes to fund the costs of the infrastructure projects.
After early on not being able to meet its required debt payment through increment and thus needing an infusion of cash from the village, the TIF has more recently been able to pay debt on its own plus generating a surplus, said village administrator Laura Jager.
“For a long time the village TIF was not doing well and was not generating its own increment,” Jager said. “As property values have since increased, the TIF is now generating sufficient increment to meet its obligation.”
The Twin Lakes TIF is now expected to generate an estimated $150,000 annual surplus starting this year. With a scheduled termination date of 2032, the district could generate about $900,000 in surplus by the time it expires.
Deciding how the village should spend the surplus is just getting started. Use of the TIF surplus would have to be in the district and contribute to economic development, Jager said.
If the district ends with a surplus, it would be distributed to all taxing bodies, such as the village and school districts, Jager said.
At Monday’s Village Board meeting, Trustee Kevin Fitzgerald presented an informal proposal related to increasing accessibility to the downtown parking lot south of Main Street and perhaps some improvements to Central Park. President Howard Skinner said improvements at Lance Park could be another possibility, but did not elaborate on specifics.
Trustee Aaron Karow suggested gathering public opinion, perhaps with a dedicated workshop meeting.
Seems like forever since we have had a high temperature over 30 degrees around here.
Well the wait is over. The latest, local National Weather Service forecast says Thursday’s high is expected to reach 31 and temperatures are expected to stay over 30 for at least the next week. We might even top 40 on Monday.
There could be a little snow Thursday, mostly likely mid morning, with less than a half inch of accumulation expected. There’s another chance of snow early Friday morning, with less than a half inch of snow expected then as well.
The February book sale sponsored by the Friends of Community Library will be held this weekend on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Feb. 5, 6 and 7 at the Twin Lakes branch.
The selection of books are different at every sale due to donations from area residents and books culled from the library’s stacks.
Sale hours begin on Thursday are from 3 until 7 p.m, continues on Friday from 10 a.m until 3:30 p.m and concludes on Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The popular bag of books for $9 is available for Friends members and memberships are available at the door. Everyone is welcome to find their favorite books.
The Twin Lakes branch is located at 110 S. Lake Ave. in Twin Lakes.
From the Kenosha County Division of Highways:
The Kenosha County Division of Highways wishes to notify residents in the area of the county-owned gravel pit in Wilmot that a controlled burn will take place at various times throughout the month of February.
This burning of brush on the property will be conducted as weather permits, and may take place over the course of roughly two to five days.
The Kenosha County gravel pit is located at 32303 116th St. (Highway C) in the Town of Randall.
Anyone with questions about the work may contact the Kenosha County Department of Public Works at 262-857-1870.
This post sponsored by Westosha Floral.
The following deaths of local residents and those with local connections are being reported by funeral homes today. Click on name to see obituary/service information:
Continue reading →
Note: The following is a paid announcement from Westosha Sports Complex — DH
Westosha Sports Complex offers Private Softball Lessons with Addison Waido.
Looking to take your game to the next level? Addison specializes in catching, hitting, and fielding and has experience coaching righties, lefties, and slappers.
With experience from both sides of the plate, Addison focuses on helping every athlete reach their full potential while building strong work ethic, mental toughness, and a love for the game.
Call or text 262-581-3199 to schedule your lesson!
From Wheatland Center School:
Steve Ketterhagen of the Wheatland J1 School District was recognized as one of three Wisconsin Custodian and Maintenance Professionals of the year by the Wisconsin Association and Business Officials (WASBO). Steve was honored in person at the yearly convention held at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells on February 2nd. This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of those making a difference in their local school district, community, and the custodial and maintenance profession.
Steve has worked at Wheatland School for 17 years as a critical member of the maintenance staff. He is well known and respected by students and staff for his incredible work and caring personality. Steve not only is the master of fixing things and making adaptations to save district resources, he also drives a school bus when needed.
District Administrator Marty McGinley said this when asked about Mr. Ketterhagen, “Steve is incredibly positive and does everything with a smile. He is frequently mentioned by staff members in our yearly staff survey when asked who has made your job easier. He mentors new custodians and helps them become acclimated to our building and expectations. Steve leads by example and sets the standard for excellence for all to emulate.”
It is not just teachers that love Mr. Ketterhagen “Mr. Steve”, as he is called by students, know and respect him as well. When they encounter him in the hall he is treated like a rock star. Students give him high fives and fist bumps as they pass. Mr. Ketterhangen is always willing to help both students and staff with projects big and small. He is especially creative when it comes to helping students with physical disabilities access the physical education curriculum. Whether it is a homemade golf course that accommodates a wheelchair, or a controlled ball apparatus to make a game of catch for a student’s appropriate developmental level, Steve is there to use his imagination and expertise to create inclusive activities for all students. Mr. Ketterhagen has also created sets and props for school musicals and helped students with class engineering projects. Steve has even participated in the spring music concert by playing his banjo for a song with 3rd graders.
Tom McCormack, Director of Facilities and Transportation nominated Mr. Ketterhagen for the award. “I could not imagine a more deserving candidate for this honor than Steve Ketterhangen. He is a phenomenal employee, and an even better person. Wheatland would not be the same without him.
Here is a video from Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials, including some words from Ketterhagen, McGinley and Tom McCormack, Director of Facilities and Transportation:
News from Kenosha Lens
