Local

Bob Auerbach, 94, of Middleton – affectionately known as “The Piano Man” for volunteering his musical gifts at a variety of area senior centers, assisted living and memory care facilities – was selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2023 AARP Wisconsin Andrus Award for Community Service. It was formally presented to Auerbach at a ceremony on Monday, Dec. 4, at 10:30 a.m. at the Middleton Senior Center, 7448 Hubbard Ave., where Auerbach thrilled the crowd with his playing. Read more on page 5 this week. Photo  by Mary Langenfeld. 

City of Middleton residents may have noticed their city-purpose tax bills increasing by 2.9% when they opened their tax bills over the weekend, but they may not realize the city-purpose increase was just 16 cents from $5.37 to $5.53 per $1,000 of property valuation.

This year's free Santa Visit for the children of the Village of Cross Plains and surrounding communities will be held on Saturday, December 2. 

Sponsored by the Cross Plains Optimists, the Cross Plains Lions, the Cross Plains American Legion, the Cross Plains Community Chest, and various merchants and individuals in the community, the event begins at 9 a.m. with a tour of the Village of Cross Plains with Santa riding on the Cross Plains-Berry fire truck.

Beginning at 10:00 am, Santa will be at the front of the American Legion Hall to greet our 'drive-thru' attendees. Families will receive a 'goodie bag' of treats and toys and will have the opportunity to participate in a non-perishable food drive as well. (flyer for the event attached)

This week marks the start of a special new series in the Times-Tribune, featuring the photography of renowned Middletonian Michael Knapstein. His images, captured primarily right here in your backyard, will serve as a regular reminder that beauty really is all around you. Knapstein is an international award-winning photographer who has lived in Middleton since 1985. His images have been exhibited across the United States as well as in 21 countries around the world. Visit www.knapsteinphotography.com to see more of his work.

The City of Middleton’s eight-member common council and current mayor Emily Kuhn bestowed the highest honors posthumously to the late former Middleton alderman Gordon E. Ellis who died of a heart attack at age 75 on May 17, 2023 in Green Bay.

When Christian Huber was eight years old, he read a book about some kids his age who raised money to help endangered penguins. He thought, “If they can help, then I can too!” The resulting cookie and lemonade stand drew a steady stream of neighbors and even brought in donations from out-of-state relatives. 

 The tenth season of Wisconsin Life on PBS Wisconsin offers plenty to get excited about. Host Angela Fitzgerald connects viewers with people whose passions, experiences and expertise celebrate the best of Wisconsin, introducing new stories from every corner of our state. And this season has a very local highlight.

Middleton pilot David Tan was featured in an all-new episode of Wisconsin Life, 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 on PBS Wisconsin. The episode is now available to stream at pbswisconsin.org/WILife and on the free PBS video app on all streaming devices and Smart TVs.

Originally from Singapore, Tan learned to fly while attending boarding school in England. He went on to join the Singapore Air Force and flew rescue helicopters. These days, his rescue missions look a little different. He works with Pilots N Paws, an organization that matches aviators with animals in need of rescue from natural disasters or overcrowded shelters.

After over two hours of discussion, the Middleton Common Council voted 7-1 to approve the first reading of an amendment to the Future Land Use (FLU) Map, which would designate the western half of 2159 Allen Blvd as “avenue mixed-use” and the eastern half, which borders single-family homes, as “established neighborhood.”

Plots designated as avenue mixed-use could be used for “wide range of indoor and outdoor retail, service, office, institutional, and residential uses outside of the downtown area,” according to city documents. “These are generally larger and/or more intensive than business in the Neighborhood Mixed Use category.”

The City of Middleton is proposing to repeal and replace Chapter 10 (Zoning Ordinance), Chapter 22 (Sign Code), and Chapter 33 (Outdoor Lighting Code), and to adopt a new Zoning Map. Upon adoption of the ordinances and new zoning map, all properties in the City that are not located in a Planned Development District will receive a new zoning classification. 

A hearing on the possible changes will take place Tuesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 7426 Hubbard Avenue.

Emergency open-heart surgery at age 47 forced photographer Cameron Gillie to make significant lifestyle changes. He started to combine exercise and photography, a practice that evolved into the biggest photographic project of his decades-long photography career: to hike and photograph the Ice Age Trail.

Gillie set out to tell the story of Wisconsin’s landscapes, communities, and people by backpacking the 1200-mile-long Ice Age National Scenic Trail. His recently published photography book “Around Wisco: Hiking the Ice Age Trail” chronicles his journey as he explored Wisconsin on foot.

The beautiful 264-page book is a mixture of photojournalism and nature photography. Cameron documents the scenic landscapes left behind from the last ice age. In addition, he photographed the small towns he passed through and the proud hard working people who call Wisconsin home.