Winter in New Glarus always seems to carry a quiet kind of momentum. Basketball season is heating up with playoffs right around the corner, Valentine's Day is soon here, businesses are preparing for spring, and behind the scenes there’s no shortage of planning and progress happening across the community. This week’s New Glarus 360 brought you a closer look at the people, projects, and stories shaping our village right now. Don't miss today's article about Fran Zimmerman. We think you'll love it.

What Else We're Working On

• With the retirement of longtime owner Mike Nevil, the Chalet Landhaus Restaurant is now under new management. We’re digging into what’s next for this New Glarus staple and will have all the details.

• UW–Platteville students recently visited Village Park to explore design concepts for a future band shelter and retaining wall. We’ll share what they’re proposing and what it could mean for the park.

• The New Glarus Glarner Knights girls basketball team has a big rivalry game coming up Tuesday night against Belleville. We’ll have a preview — and full coverage after the final buzzer.

• Kristie’s Restaurant is aiming for a grand re-opening next week, pending HVAC installation and a successful building inspection. We’ll be there to cover the moment doors reopen.

• Valentine’s Day is just over a week away. We’ll round up everything happening in town that weekend and publish a practical, no-panic guide for guys who need a little help picking out flowers.

• New Glarus sophomore Brogan Hoelscher is the lone Glarner skating with the Monroe Cheesemakers cooperative hockey program. We’ll check in with him to see how his season is going between the pipes.

And that’s just a snapshot. We’re hard at work on many more stories too — much, much more — all aimed at keeping New Glarus informed, connected, and in the know.

Photo of the Week

What You May Have Missed

Here are the five stories that interested readers the most this week:

Fran Zimmerman: A Lifetime of Teaching in New Glarus

From a one-room schoolhouse in 1955 to substitute teaching at age 90, Fran Zimmerman’s classroom legacy spans generations. And it still grows.

New Glarus 360Todd Klassy

Kristi’s Restaurant Prepares to Open Next Week, New Menu Unveiled

After 12 years downtown, Kristi’s Restaurant is preparing to reopen at its new location with an expanded breakfast menu and many new—and familiar favorites returning.

New Glarus 360Todd Klassy

The Day New Glarus Bakery Found its Lost Recipes

As the New Glarus Bakery prepares for a new chapter, owner Angela Neff reflects on the remarkable story of how the bakery’s original recipes were nearly lost — and unexpectedly found again.

New Glarus 360Todd Klassy

Photo Essay: Mike’s Last Day

From a quiet, pre-dawn start in the kitchen to a community-filled evening, Mike Nevil’s final day as head chef of the Chalet Landhaus Restaurant marked the end of 45 years of service, tradition, and gratitude.

New Glarus 360Todd Klassy

New Glarus Students Earn Top Finishes at SkillsUSA Regional Event

Seventeen New Glarus students competed at a regional SkillsUSA event at UW–Platteville, earning multiple podium finishes and showcasing career-ready skills.

New Glarus 360Todd Klassy

Something We Noticed

The New Glarus High School varsity girls basketball team just might be the best kept secret in town. Their record doesn’t fully reveal how good they are — or how much fun they are to watch. They are scrappers, they defend hard, and they play with an edge that makes every possession fun to watch. What’s more impressive is that this is a young group, loaded with underclassmen, with a deep bench that keeps the pressure on all night. There’s a sense that Coach Parman isn’t just coaching a season, but building something special, and it might be arriving sooner than a lot of people realize. They play Belleville at home Tuesday, who they lost to in overtime just a few weeks ago. I can't think of a better way to spend a winter Tuesday in New Glarus than to go see them play.

Editor’s Note

New Glarus 360 will launch its newest weekly newsletter, The Weekender. It will come out every Thursday and tell you everything that's happening in the greater New Glarus community that weekend. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it's the perfect way to know what's happening in New Glarus.

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Thanks for supporting local journalism and for helping us tell the story of New Glarus and the people who make this community what it is.

Todd Klassy
New Glarus 360