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Welcome to the New Year for DRI
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Keep Up to Date and Informed
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Greetings!
July is the start of a new fiscal year for DRI. First we want to thank Joan Belongia for initiating the "What's Up Downtown Rhinelander" Newsletter. We love its current news and upcoming events. Joan promised six months and gave us the push we needed. Our new year brings a slightly new format. Let us know what you think. We get feedback at drinews@frontier.com
The Editors
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Maggie Steffen with our newest Hodag,
located at the Plaza.
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Mainstreet with Maggie
by Maggie Steffen, DRI Executive Director
Although Aug. 31 is still two months away, the preparation is in full swing now for PotatoFest.
This festival has SO many layers, but without funding it could not happen. A huge thank you needs to go out to our sponsors who see what we see in having this event and have offered us financial support.
- Trigs, our major sponsor, was the first organization to say We Want to Help!
- NRG Media came through as our major media sponsor.
- Sowinski Farms, BMO Harris Bank, Dean Distributing, Rhinelander Honda and Heck Capital Advisors have also offered their support.
- We have also received support in a form of a grant. Thank you to the Rhinelander Chamber Room Tax Committee for awarding us this grant!
All this support is telling us that we are on to something here. The only other support we need is YOU. Please plan to attend Rhinelander's first PotatoFest. You can say you were there in the beginning!
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 | | Star of the Show: Model T Ford 1914, owned by G.J. Schltz |
Car Show Wrap-Up
"Best attended car show ever" for Downtown Rhinelander, according to several participants. That may account for the 130 beautifully restored cars that lined Brown Street. In addition, the Sound and Motion competition drew a new crowd of "car people." Despite the threat of midday rain the event was very successful.
A BIG thank you to Dennis McGill who spent months planning and working behind the scenes to make this event an outstanding one for Rhinelander. Plan to attend the car show next year, when we celebrate 100 years of the Model T! |
 | Photo by Sarah Juon
Capuchin monkey in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. |
Oneida County Fair is going to the monkeys
By Dick Timmons for DRI
Opening Thurs., Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 4, at Pioneer Park, this year's county fair is building on the success of last year. Coordinator Nancy Gehrig and the Fair Committee are aiming for attendance to top 20,000.
Some of this year's highlights include:
- Family Land for Children, pony rides and a petting zoo. Kids will have the opportunity of seeing and actually playing with live monkeys. Gehrig says the Capuchin monkeys will be great fun for interacting with children.
- "You Beat the Band!" will invite kids to come onto the stage and actually handle and try out different musical instruments. The purpose is to allow them to listen to and and try their hand at making music.
- Calvary Baptist Church will be giving away school supplies and backpacks to children as long as supplies hold out.
- The Rhinelander Railroad Association will be selling "Monkey Tails" (bananas dipped in chocolate) as a fundraiser for their continuing effort to restore the train and rail cars on display in the park.
Bringing this many people into Rhinelander over the Fair's four days opens an opportunity for Downtown Rhinelander businesses to promote the Fair and their individual business at the same time.
Volunteers are needed (and there are never enough). Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Toni Schiekert at 715-362-3010.
Any DRI business interested in having a booth at the Fair may contact Nancy Gehrig at 715-362-5684. It's not too late!
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Design
by Pat LaPorte, Chair
The design committee has been working hard to keep the hanging flower baskets alive and continuing. We need donations to help with the cost of the plants, planting and watering. We are looking for any donations that people feel they can afford. The hanging flowers add a lot to the appeal of downtown and that is a benefit for everyone in the community. If we all participate in the flower basket program, it will continue to thrive. But our project needs to be ongoing, not just this year but every year. If you don't wish to donate money, your time donated to the daily watering of these beautiful baskets would be greatly appreciated. Contact Patti Francoeur at 715-362-7374. Economic Restructuring by Dan Kuzlik, Chair
Here are some informational points regarding the DRI Economic Restructuring Committee:
- Three businesses have followed up with the DRI Office regarding locating their businesses in our downtown as a direct result of the Vacant Property Open House we held on May 18.
- The ArtStart building on Stevens Street has offered our ER Committee gallery space for the PotatoFest Educational Display. The display regarding the history of potato growing and research in the Rhinelander area will run from July 10 through Aug. 30.
- The ER Committee approved a list of measurable outcomes for its focus in the 2013-14 year.
Organization
by Joan Belongia, Chair
- DRI's new newsletter: Sarah Juon and Sally Latimer will collaborate on creating the new DRI monthly newsletter.
- With several events coming up in July and August we plan to be ready with volunteers. We will work more closely with committees regarding communication to keep everyone informed of DRI events.
- The Rhinelander Area Chamber website will have a DRI link on its page to our newsletter. Back issues of the newsletter will be available on the DRI webpage.
Promotion by Ray Burgan, Chair PotatoFest teams are working hard. We meet each week to update each other about the areas of music, food, marketing, historic display, activities, vendors, and volunteers. The biggest challenge is to plan the logistics of an event for 8,000 people in one space for one day. |
 Meet the DRI Board of Directors
Each month a board member will be featured.
Joan Belongia
The North Woods is home to me because of the wonderful people, the changing seasons, and the outdoor sports available. Where else can you enjoy bicycling, running, walking, XC skiing, snowshoeing, paddle boarding, and kayaking, all sports I enjoy. Star Lake and Tomahawk are towns I grew up in and vowed I would never live below Highway 29 so I could continue enjoying the beautiful outdoors. As for my family, my son Terry Clements, a landscape architect who designed both downtown green spaces, lives in Rhinelander as do his two children. My daughters - Laura lives in Minneapolis and Sharon lives in Shanghai, China. My other two grandchildren live in Boston and Chicago. When my children were 4, 6, & 8 I went to Nicolet College to pursue a teaching career graduating with a 2 year liberal arts degree. Then on to UW Stevens Point where I received my BS and Masters Degree in Education. I taught in several cities prior to moving to Rhinelander in 1985, where I taught mainly at the junior high school. While teaching I opened Brown Street Books in downtown Rhinelander which was here for 18 years before I closed my doors due book sales being affected by the internet and the Kindle. What a wonderful place to have an independently owned business - in downtown Rhinelander. It was through my book store that I became involved with the main street program when a large group of downtown businesses banned together working diligently to become a Wisconsin Main Street City. We accomplished this in 2006 forming a Downtown Rhinelander board of directors of which I have been a member of since. My energy was focused primarily with the Promotions Committee, as co-chair, and chair person at one time. Currently I am Organization chairperson working on communication. Without a newsletter editor for some time I volunteered to get our newsletter back in circulation by being the editor but for only six months. This was accomplished with the help of Sally Latimer who was editor with me. And as of this July newsletter, it will be in the competent hands of Sarah Juon. My involvement does not end with Downtown Rhinelander as I also serve on St. Mary's Hospital and Rhinelander Library Foundation Boards, and Rhinelander Area Retired Educator's Board. Several days a month I work with other retired teachers in the Rural School House at the Logging Museum complex. Even though they are changing, Main Street Downtowns are a still a vital part of small cities. They are the gathering place for events. They provide unique shopping experiences in independently-owned shops with owners who give back to the community. And ... they are here to stay! |
You may have noticed that our newsletter is looking a bit different. DRI continues to evolve, and as we move ahead, changes will be happening. The newsletter just happens to be one of the noticable things. Thank you for staying "on" for the ride. 
Maggie Steffen
Executive Director
Downtown Rhinelander Inc.
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SAVE THE DATE
Downtown Events
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July 4
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Parade
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Aug 2-4
| Oneida County Fair
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Aug 7
| Redikulus Dae
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Aug 17
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ATV Pull
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Aug 19
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ArtStart Fashion
Show
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Aug 31
| PotatoFest
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Oct 26
| Trick or Treat
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TBA
| Hodag Howl
| Nov 22-24
| Holiday Open House
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Nov 29
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Tree Lighting
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Sat., Aug. 31 2013
Updates
- Watch for an announcement on the Potato Salad Cook-Off
- Dweebs band is booked for the Mainstage at 7-11 pm. Check this hot band by clicking here.
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We are taking applications for food vendors and craft vendors. Click here for the application.
- Gather your friends to participate in the "Couch Potato Race" sponsored by the YMCA.
- Look for a full list of activities in our August newsletter.
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Downtown Property Owners Wanted
The ER Committee is looking for a property owner in our downtown who would like to work with a team of Urban Design students from UW-Madison who will assist the owner in identifying creative and profitable uses for their property.
The ER Committee will pay the $200 cost for the project. If you are interested, or know someone who would benefit from this opportunity, call 715-362-1714 and leave a message.
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Stay Connected
 
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What's Up Mark?
Message by
DRI President Mark Gutterer Owner of Rhinelander Cafe & Pub Downtown property open house delivers results In May DRI hosted an available property open house. We invited realtors and prospective future business owners to tour the properties that were available for purchase or rent. Thank you to Joe Flanders and the Economic Restructuring Committee for putting this event together. The results are now in, and we have one confirmed rental, two more tenants are negotiating and we have had three additional phone calls asking about the available properties. There are many good ideas which are acted on and that is good, but it's even better when a good idea gets acted on and it produces results. Downtown is evolving and moving forward. Available properties link
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New Committee Members Welcome
If you would like to be a member of a DRI committee, please call Maggie or attend one of our meetings.
July meetings for all committees are held at the DRI office.
Mon. July 15
Organization
1 pm
Tue., July 16
Design
8 am
Tue., July 16
Economic Restructuring
11 am
Promotions meets every Monday at 4 pm until PotatoFest.
Wed. July 26
5:30 pm
DRI Board Meeting
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 Volume 2 Issue 1
Downtown Rhinelander, Inc.
Maggie Steffen
Executive Director
26 N Brown St
P.O. Box 1638
Rhinelander WI 54501
Phone 715-362-7374
Fax 715-362-7340
msdri@frontiernet.net
downtownrhinelander.com
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Photo by Daryl Youngstrum
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Diane's Frame Shoppe Torrey Youngstrum
I am a Wisconsin native, born and raised in the Milwaukee area (Shorewood). I attended Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin/Madison, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.
It was while living in Austin that I discovered clay. I was not a fine arts major, so I couldn't take ceramics classes at the university, but classes were offered through Laguna Gloria, Austin's fine arts museum.
After leaving Austin I was able to use the ceramics studio at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., where I taught for the next four years.
We moved to the Washington D.C., area, where I apprenticed myself to a potter for a year, learning to mix glazes from raw chemicals, fire kilns and pack pots for shipping. We used electric and gas kilns, raku barrels and mounds built into hillsides for firing our pots.
We returned to Wisconsin in 1989, and since then I have been involved in the arts community in the Rhinelander area, serving as vice president of the Northern Arts Council, supporting ArtStart as a founding member and exhibitor, teaching at the University of Wisconsin/Madison School of the Arts at Rhinelander, and showing my pottery in local stores and galleries.
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