La Pointe, WI

The Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce will be hosting two special events for members in La Pointe, Wisconsin during June.

On June 10th, the Madeline Island Golf Club will host a "Chamber After Hours" party for members of the Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce and the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce. The event will run from 5 to 7pm and refreshments will be served.

On June 26th, there will be a Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce Membership Dinner at the newly-opened Lightkeeper's Lodge, located next to The Pub Restaurant in La Pointe. The Lightkeeper's Lodge is Madeline Island's newest lodging and special events facility. There will be a social hour and tours of the new building from 5:30 to 6:30pm, with dinner to be served at 6:30pm. The cost per person is twenty-five dollars. Members should RSVP no later than Monday, June 23.

Gasoline prices have reached the $4.25 mark on Madeline Island.

The price of 87-octane unleaded regular gasoline at the pump next to the Madeline Island Marina & Yacht Club, in La Pointe, Wisconsin, reached $4.25 over Memorial Day weekend.

Boat fuel at the Marina is expected to approach five dollars per gallon when summer arrives. It's too early to determine whether or not high prices will have a significant impact on recreational boating in the Apostle Islands region.

At the small craft marina in LaPointe, across from the Yacht Club, there are still few boats in the water. The late arrival of spring and prolonged cool weather seems to be slowing the beginning of boating season.

Memorial Day on Madeline Island is usually a bit warmer than it was this year.

This year's celebration, at the Madeline Island Ferry Landing, was a chilly one. The outdoor temperature was in the mid-40s, with brisk winds and overcast skies.

The Madeline Island Community Choir gathered in front of Island Thyme gift shop at dockside. A veterans' group, including WWII veterans from Red Cliff and La Pointe performed a rifle salute during the ceremony. A veterans' wreath was tossed onto the water.

"Island Thyme" gift shop in La Pointe, Wisconsin is having a Madeline Island "Spring Cleaning Sale"!

Today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days, Island Thyme will be presenting a plant sale with Free Hand Farms of Ashland, Wisconsin. The plant sale will include potted perennials, annuals, herbs and vegetables.

Quiet Creek Farm has its own market stand, located at the corner of Le Sueur and Main Streets, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., with produce, flowers and fresh pork available for purchase.

The Madeline Island branch of Bremer Bank is now open Monday through Friday each week, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Madeline Island resident Michael Murphy takes his rowing very seriously.

Murphy recently rowed his diminutive seventeen-foot boat, the "Mikerowave" from the Bad River area (near Odanah, Wisconsin) to the Duluth, Minnesota lift bridge and back again, to promote public awareness of the need for cardiac health. The nearly 140-mile round trip took Murphy about nine days.

Murphy works for the National Healthy Heart Project, which is administered through the Indian Health Service and provides health assistance to over thirty Native American tribes across the United States. Murphy also works at the Ashland County Memorial Medical Center in the hospital's emergency room walk-in clinic.

Murphy is a staunch advocate of rowing as an excellent form of cardiac exercise. He counsels members of the Bad River tribe on measures aimed at preventing diabetes, stroke and heart attack.