Wisconsin

Smith: Manitowish Waters latest in trend of Wisconsin communities passing wake-enhanced boating restriction

Published

6 months ago

June 11, 2025

Press Room

Smith: Manitowish Waters latest in trend of Wisconsin communities passing wake-enhanced boating restriction

The Town of Manitowish Waters in Wisconsin passed an ordinance restricting wake-enhanced boating on nine lakes.
This is part of a trend in Wisconsin, with 54 towns passing similar ordinances.
Wake surfing, while popular, has led to complaints about shoreline erosion and conflicts with other lake users.
Legal challenges and legislative efforts are ongoing regarding wake-enhanced boating regulations.

Supervisors of the Town of Manitowish Waters passed an ordinance June 10 on wake-enhanced boating in its jurisdiction.

The rule prohibits artificial wake enhancement activities on nine lakes (over 50 acres in size) within the town’s borders, including seven lakes on the Manitowish Chain, a northern Wisconsin destination very popular for boating and fishing.

The town’s vote is the latest in a statewide trend toward local control of wake-enhanced boating. The rules typically prohibit “artificial wake enhancement” activities but allow use of wake boats.

Including Manitowish Waters, 54 Wisconsin towns have passed similar ordinances, according to Richard Phillips of the Last Wilderness Alliance, a Presque Isle-based nonprofit organization that helps towns establish the rules.

Wake-enhanced boating involves use of a special power vessel with water-filled ballast tanks to increase displacement and create large waves for the enjoyment of surfers and tubers.

The waves, often 2 to 3 feet high, are big and strong enough for surfers to ride without a tow rope.

The activity is generally permitted on any Wisconsin water where power boats are allowed to make a wake, typically 100 feet or more from shore in lakes greater than 50 acres in size.

The form of water recreation is relatively new but has been increasing in popularity in Wisconsin, according to Darren Kuhn, Department of Natural Resources boating law administrator.

Wake surfing and tubing has provided a new form of fun but also led to many complaints, including reports of or concerns for increased shoreline erosion, damage to lake beds and fish habitat and conflicts with other lake users.

A half dozen states have passed laws on the topic in recent years. In 2022 and 2023, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee enacted rules requiring wake-enhanced boating to take place at least 200 feet from shore or docks.In 2024 Vermont passed a statewide law stating wake surfing can only occur in water at least 20 feet deep and at least 500 feet from shore. In addition, wake surfing can only take place on lakes with at least one area of 50 contiguous acres meeting the 20/500 requirements and the state has a “home lake” rule stipulating ballast tanks must be decontaminated before moving a wake boat to another water body.

Also in 2024 Maine enacted a law requiring wake surfing be conducted at least 300 feet from shore and in water at least 15 feet deep. Similar to Wisconsin, Maine allows municipalities or other local entities to petition to be wake surf-free.

Though Wisconsin residents have repeatedly shown up in large numbers at town hall meetings and listening sessions to voice their support for additional restrictions on wake-enhanced boating, no statewide rule change has been made by the Legislature or DNR.

That has led to a growing movement of local ordinances.

Among recent activity was an ordinance passed May 21 in the Town of Land O’ Lakes in Vilas County; the rule covers 24 lakes 50 acres or larger. And in southern Wisconsin a similar ordinance was enacted April 14 in the Town of Ottawa in Waukesha County. The town board’s action prohibits enhanced wakes on Pretty, Hunters and School Section lakes.

Other ordinances are being drafted or considered. In May the towns of Elkhart Lake and Whitewater held public meetings dominated by discussions over possible artificial wake ordinances.

The first legal challenge to one of the local ordinances in Wisconsin – in the Town of Scott in Burnett County – was filed May 16 in Burnett County Circuit Court. The town has until June 17 to file its response.

Last Wilderness Alliance and the Madison-based law firm of LawtonCates S.C. are attempting to serve as intervenors and assist the town in the suit.

Boating organizations are opposed to the ordinances.

In a statement, the National Marine Manufacturers Association said it recognized “the importance of protecting our waterways while also ensuring that boating enthusiasts can enjoy their activities safely and responsibly” but the “current patchwork of local regulations on wake enhanced boating creates confusion, inconsistency, and difficulty in compliance for boaters.”

“These rules can lead to inadvertent violations, reduced economic activity in boating communities, and hinder the growth of the recreational boating industry,” NMMA said. The organization said it advocates for “commonsense statewide standards that protect the environment and the safety of boaters without inhibiting the growth of the recreational marine industry.”

The Water Sports Industry Association has also promoted its “Wake Responsibly” campaign. It calls for wake surfers to minimize repetitive passes, keep music at a responsible level and to stay at least 200 feet from shore and other boaters.

A May 28 meeting convened in Madison by Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R, Tomahawk) did not produce an agreement among various Republican Legislators and lobbyists for the boating industry and Lakes At Stake Wisconsin, a group formed in 2023 to advocate for wake surfing restrictions.

No wake-enhanced boating bill has been introduced in this legislative session.

The Town of Manitowish Waters ordinance is effective immediately. It requires signs to be posted on each lake affected.

Since two of the lakes in the Manitowish Chain – Clear and Island – straddle the border of the Towns of Manitowish Waters and Boulder Junction, observers expect a joint ordinance to be voted on soon.

Following the 2-1 vote June 10 in Manitowish Waters, some in the audience threatened to sue the town. As of June 11 no suit had been filed.

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Wisconsin

No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns: Game Thread

Published

11 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

The Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the Texas Longhorns in the Elite 8 on Sunday evening, looking to make their way back to the Final Four in Kansas City next week.

Wisconsin pulled off an impressive win over the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Friday, as it out-hit the latter in a thriller behind strong efforts from Mimi Colyer (27 kills) and Charlie Fuerbringer (61 assists).

Now, they’re facing a team that they were swept by earlier in the season, as the Longhorns thrived off Badger errors during their first matchup.

Texas has cruised through its competition so far in the NCAA Tournament, beating Florida A&M, Penn State, and Indiana en route to the Elite 8.

If Wisconsin can win, it would face the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday in the Final Four, with the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers being the other two teams still left in the field.

Can the Badgers get a huge upset and break the Texas streak of wins on Sunday? Join us as our game thread is officially active.

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Wisconsin

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Published

23 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Data centers proposed in our area pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. We all can take action by asking our senators and representatives to back SB729.

Letters to the Editor
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The data centers proposed in our area in Mount Pleasant, Port Washington, and Beaver Dam pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. The centers will require vast amounts of water to cool their equipment. Plus, 70% of the water consumed each year in Wisconsin goes to electric power generation, so the water needed for energy production adds to the millions of gallons these centers will need on peak days.

The massive energy infrastructure required to build and operate the data centers is expensive and threatens to burden customers for years with the huge costs. Also, at a time when the impacts of climate change make it clear that we should be transitioning to clean renewable energy sources, utility companies are using data centers as justification for building new fossil gas power plants, thereby keeping us from achieving the zero emissions future that we so desperately need.

Take action by backing Data Center Accountability Act

The Data Center Accountability Act, bill SB729, was introduced recently in the Wisconsin legislature. If passed, the bill would stipulate that:

Data center must meet labor standards and use at least 70% renewable energy.
All data centers must be LEED certified or the equivalent.
Data center owners must pay an annual fee that funds renewable energy, energy efficiency, and a low-income energy assistance program.

We all can take action to prevent the worst impacts from data centers by asking our senators and representatives to vote for SB729. To find your legislators go to https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Elected-Officials.

Jenny Abel, Wauwatosa

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Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.
Generally, we limit letters to 200 words.
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Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page.

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Wisconsin

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Wisconsin and Texas volleyball teams will face each other in the NCAA regional finals after first meeting near the start of the season.
Key factors for Wisconsin include overcoming Texas’ physicality and managing their talented pins.
The Badgers’ ability to handle adversity in a hostile environment will be crucial for a potential return to the Final Four.

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball’s first weekend of the 2025 season featured a high-profile match against Texas.

Wisconsin’s either final or penultimate weekend of the season – depending on whether UW can advance – also features a high-profile match against Texas.

But both sides will caution against reading too much into Wisconsin’s Aug. 31 loss to Texas ahead of a rematch in the NCAA tournament regional finals as each team seeks a return to the Final Four.

“We are completely different teams than what we saw however many months ago that was,” Wisconsin middle blocker Carter Booth said.

Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said almost the exact same thing in the Longhorns’ press conference, and his players echoed similar sentiments as well.

“I feel like both teams are just a lot more developed at this point in the year,” Texas setter Ella Swindle said. “At the beginning of the season, we were kind of just figuring out who we are and who we want to be. So now at this point, I feel like we know our identities, and we’re ready to go out and battle.”

Here are three keys for the much-improved Badgers to have a better outcome against the also-much-improved Longhorns in the NCAA tournament:

How efficient can Wisconsin’s attack be against Texas’ physicality at net?

Wisconsin’s path to advancing in the Texas regional has already required defeating one team with outstanding physicality at the net, and it is unlikely to get any easier in the regional finals.

“I was watching Stanford warm up, and you’re like, ‘Jiminy Crickets,’” Sheffield said. “It’s like watching the NBA dunking contest. It’s like, ‘Holy cow.’ They’re just bouncing balls on the 10-foot line and just really dynamic and impressive. And Texas probably has it even more than that.”

Texas’ physicality was abundantly apparent in its three-set sweep over Indiana in the regional semifinals. The Longhorns had a 12-2 advantage in blocks, and Indiana committed 23 attack errors. Going back to when UW faced Texas in August, the Badgers committed a season-high 26 attack errors despite it lasting only three sets.

“But each team has their thing,” Sheffield said. “And if we try to play their game, we’re going to get whacked. And if they try to play ours, that’s going to be problems for them as well.”

Can Badgers keep Texas’ talented pin hitters in check?

The Wisconsin-Texas match will feature two of the best outside hitters in the country.

Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer has averaged 5.38 kills per set, which is the highest among players who advanced to the NCAA regional finals and is destined to break the UW program record. Texas’ Torrey Stafford is ninth in the country with 4.78 kills per set while hitting .368.

“Both of them are fearless,” Sheffield said. “They’re extremely, extremely talented. I think volleyball fans are going to be following them for a long, long time. Both of them have tremendous careers in front of them.”

Stafford was virtually unstoppable in the Longhorns’ sweep over Indiana, recording 19 kills without any attack errors and hitting a video-game-like .679. But for as talented as the AVCA national player of the year semifinalist is, she is not the only pin that can give opponents fits.

Texas freshman Cari Spears has immediately stepped into a major role in the Longhorns’ attack as the starting right-side hitter in every match this season. In the second match of her career, she led Texas with 11 kills while committing only one attack error in the win over the Badgers.

“She was just trying to figure out how to breathe during that first match, and it just takes time,” Elliott said. “And now she actually understands our offense a lot more, she’s developed a lot of her blocking, her range has gotten better, and that applies to all of our team. Ella’s been doing the same thing. Her offensive system is completely different than it was the first week of the season.”

The Wisconsin match was the first of seven consecutive matches for Spears with at least 10 kills.

“Seeing that I can compete with one of the top teams in the nation and seeing the trust that my teammates had with me and the trust that the coaches had in me – it was a huge confidence boost for me,” Spears said.

As for how to stop Stafford, Spears and Co., Booth said it goes back to the Badgers’ fundamentals.

“I know I’m beating a dead horse, but that’s really what this is all about,” Booth said. “At the highest level, the margins are so thin that you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel again. You’re honing in on the details of what you already know to do. So it’s not necessarily about being perfect on the block. … Our focus is just going to be taking away good space for our defense and then trusting that the people around us have put in the work to be able to defend those shots.”

How do Badgers respond to adversity?

When Wisconsin defeated Stanford after an otherworldly offensive showing in the first set, Booth said it was “really an emphasis for us to always be the one throwing punches, not the ones taking them.”

The ability to punch first is far from a guarantee against a team as talented as Texas is, however. The Longhorns have only lost once this season at Gregory Gym, and that was against Kentucky, which is one of the other top seeds in the NCAA tournament.

Even in a neutral crowd situation, Wisconsin’s ability to not let Stanford’s momentum snowball was crucial in the four-set win. Now with the vast majority of the anticipated 4,500 people in attendance rooting against the Badgers in the regional finals, Wisconsin’s resiliency when Texas does pack a punch will be crucial.

“We are definitely more equipped to withstand those highs and lows of a set and able to step up after a mistake or come back after a battle,” Booth said. “You see yesterday, (we) come out very dominant in the first set, and then we dropped the second in a fashion that was a little bit uncharacteristic to the way we want to play. And being able to just step up and come back third and fourth playing our game – I think that goes to show how much we’ve grown in that sense.”

The Badgers – already confident before the tournament and now with even more reason for confidence after the Stanford win – are not ceding the possibility of still throwing that figurative first punch either.

“We are the writers of our own destiny, and I think that we are always in a position to be able to throw the first punch, no matter who we’re seeing across the net,” Booth said.

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