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Thank you.

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Wisconsin hit record-breaking

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tourism numbers for 2025,

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according to a new report.

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It was the fourth year in a row that

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it broke the previous high.

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But a tourism boom is often

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accompanied by workforce challenges,

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with many areas relying on seasonal

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workers visiting with temporary

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visas.

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So far this year, Wisconsin has

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received a fraction of the

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short-term workers with an H-2B

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visa that it has in the past.

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To see how the industry is faring

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this year we turn to John Jarsh.

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Chief Communications Officer for

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Destination Door County.

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John, thanks for joining us.

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Good to be with you, thank you.

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So I think it's fair to say that a

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lot of people will associate Door

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County with rest,

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relaxation, putting all your worries

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behind you.

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I wonder what these staffing

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shortages, how these Door

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County tourism businesses are

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feeling right now.

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Yeah, we certainly had a few

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challenges with some of the H2B

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visas that our workers

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and our employers have been trying

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to get.

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Because we really ramp up

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in the summertime, as a lot

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of viewers may know, it takes

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a lot more workers than we have

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that live here to be able to

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operate our businesses and to

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maintain a level of service that

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I think most people have come to

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expect when they visit Door County.

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And so, our business owners have

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had to go to...

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Alternative methods to find enough

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workers to fill those needs.

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And the primary one that we use

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here is the summer work travel

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program or a J-1 visa.

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That's a fairly common one.

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That program's been around for a

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long, long time.

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And a more recent one that is

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used is what you had, or you

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suggested or said, the H-2B

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visa.

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The numbers of H-3B

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workers that we've had in the last

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couple of years pale in comparison

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to the number of want visas.

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That are here in Door County.

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And so, but nevertheless,

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the H-2B visa is an important

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one for some of our businesses

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because those folks can stay

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longer.

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They're not students, unlike the J-1

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students that are here, they have to

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be a student in order to qualify for

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a J-one visa.

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So that means they're here for only

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a couple of months.

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And Door County season now is a

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good, you know, five, six months

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long at that really that peak

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season. And so.

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Some of our businesses have

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turned to the H2 visa option,

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H2V visa option because

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they can stay longer and they can

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stay through the entire season to

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make sure that they're being covered

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and we have enough workforce through

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the fall season in October into

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November.

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Okay, so there are other parts of

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the state maybe where the season is

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shorter and those shorter visas

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work, but the H-2B visas

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are more critical in Door County

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because it has a longer season,

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is that right?

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Yeah that is that's correct and our

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season has expanded here in the last

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ten twenty years indoor county

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really for up for a long time

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it was memorial day to labor day

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uh... But that is no longer the case

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and so uh...

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You know again uh...

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The jay one visa this year were

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probably going to be in the

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neighborhood of about five hundred

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and sixty of the summer work

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travel students and

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uh... Last year i think

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we had uh...

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Maybe 85 to 90

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H2B.

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Visa workers that were in the

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county. So again, much smaller

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numbers, but increasingly businesses

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have looked to that as an

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alternative to make sure that they

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have coverage longer in the

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season instead of that three months

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that those, you know, collegiate

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students that are here on the J-1

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visa can stay.

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So why have they slowed down these

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visas?

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There's a couple of reasons.

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Certainly, we're unsure

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exactly why.

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I know there's been some challenges

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with some of the consulates.

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There is actually a cap on

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the H-2B visa.

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And so, when that cap is

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reached, a lot of times, businesses

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that may have put in a

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request for some H- 2B visa

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holders to come and work,

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they just, you know, the cap has

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hit, and those are no longer

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available. There's also a lottery

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system that is in Bye!

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And if you draw

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a poor lottery number,

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I don't know exactly how that system

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works, but your chances of

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getting an H2B worker are

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really slim, if not none.

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And so again, it's a much smaller

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percentage of our workforce here.

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It's relatively new.

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And so what we're learning this year

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is really what the needs of

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our constituents are, our

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employers, the businesses that have

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relied on them. So we can use

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that as to

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help better advocate here in the

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next year moving forward.

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The process to get either a J-1

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visa student or an H-2B

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is quite lengthy.

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It takes a long time and so it's

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not something that you can just do

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over the course of a week or two and

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so we'll start to plan and our

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advocacy efforts will cook in later

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this summer probably going into the

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fall when those processes need to

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start for the summer of 2027

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already and so you

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know we're learning and we're

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certainly going to be reaching out.

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It's a federal issue.

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Since those visas are at a federal

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level, not at a state level.

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And I'm sure we will talk amongst

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our tourism industry peers across

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the state of Wisconsin to figure out

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how we can better work together to

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advocate for the needs of our

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tourism industry from

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an employee standpoint, in

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particular with these visas.

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So, real quick, as we wrap up here

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with a lot of travelers staying

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closer to home due to high

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gas prices, can

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local destinations like yours

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handle another record-breaking year?

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Yes, the short answer, and indoor

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county, I'm very confident

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that we can.

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We are, because of our seasonal

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nature, we are comprised

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of entrepreneurs up and down

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this peninsula and on Washington

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Island, and they always figure out a

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way to make it work, one way

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or another.

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You know, they may have to reduce

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hours a little bit to accommodate

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maybe a reduced workforce to

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some extent, but rest assured,

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people can expect the same great

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service that they have or that

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they're used to.

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When they come to Door County, and

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it is shaping up, I think, to be

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another great summer.

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Door County is a great place, really

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close to home, and yet it feels like

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you're a world away when you're

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here.

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And we're anticipating another good

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year here in Door County and look

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forward to welcoming everyone.

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All right, we'll leave it there.

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Thanks so much for joining us.

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My pleasure.

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All right.

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Thank you

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Yeah, you're very welcome.

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I'm sorry I didn't get a few more

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expletives in my comments.

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I'll have to work on that for next

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time.

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Good for the internet shorts.

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I'm teasing, I'm teasing.

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All right, thanks so much, you guys.

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I appreciate it, enjoy the rest

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of your day and have a good weekend.

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All right, thanks, you too.