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SAUNA BOAT EXPERIENCE COMES TO LAKE COMO
DENNIS HINES
The temperature of the Svett Ship's sauna ranges between 165
degrees and 215 degrees.
Erick Munck got the idea for a sauna boat while vacationing in
Norway.
DENNIS HINES PHOTOS, REGIONAL NEWS
There's a new option for folks wanting to spend some time on Lake Como — a sauna boat experience.
Svett Club's "Svett Ship is moored at the French County Inn on the Lake, W4190 W. End Road in the Town of Geneva.
Passengers may choose from two options.
Option one is a "floating session," which includes 8-12 minute sauna intervals followed by sitting on the boat's deck or swimming in the lake while the boat is docked.
Option two is a "chartered session," which includes a boat ride on the lake.
The temperature of the sauna, which is heated by rocks, ranges between 165 degrees and 215 degrees.
Erik Munck decided to start the business after renting a sauna boat during a family trip to Norway last summer.
"It was such a cool experience. I was like, 'This needs to happen in the U.S.,'" he said. "I saw there were a few places doing this but nothing in Wisconsin."
Munck purchased a houseboat in August 2025 and renovated it, a process that took about eight months to complete.
"It was a fun project,' he said. "It was the perfect size for what I wanted to do."
The Chicago native may be new to the boating industry but not to saunas.
Munck operates a sauna business in Waupaca and is in the process of establishing a sauna boat business in Chicago.
"I grew up doing saunas with my family," Munck said. "I grew up in the winter doing a sauna and then running outside in the snow and coming back in."
No details of superintendent's compensation released
DENNIS HINES
LG JOINT NO. 1 SCHOOL BOARD
Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School Board members narrowly approved a contract for Superintendent Peter Wilson on Aug. 11 by a 3-2 vote.
Board members Marcie Hollmann, Linda Bailey Boilni and Barb Dinan voted in favor of the contract and board members Chad Bittner and Carrie Speigelhoff dissented.
The board did not discuss details of the contract before voting, which several members of the audience disapproved of.
“Where was the discussion,” an audience member asked.
Former Mayor Spyro Condos, who was in the audience, told the board members that they should have discussed the contract.
“Point of order. Taxpayers need to know what it is,” Condos said. “We pay for this through our taxes.”
After the vote, Bittner indicated that he had not received a copy of the contract.
“Where was the contract?,” Bittner said. “I don’t have a copy.”
Hollmann, the board’s president, said members discussed the contract about two months ago.
Bittner also asked if the Lake Geneva-Genoa City Union High School Board members voted on the contract. Hollmann said the high school board approved the contract in July.
Details of the contract were not released, but Boilini said the contract is “normal customary increases you get with cost of living.”
Wilson has worked as the Lake Geneva Schools’ superintendent since July 2022, overseeing both the Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District and the Lake Geneva-Genoa City Union High School District.
He did not respond to multiple attempts seeking comment.
Lake Geneva schools adopt Act 89
DENNIS HINES
Lake Geneva Schools staff and volunteers will be required to complete state-required training as it relates to proper communication with students and reporting incidents of student grooming by Sept. 1.
The training is related to Wisconsin Act 89, which was enacted on March 6, that requires all state schools to adopt a policy for staff and volunteers to have appropriate communication with students and for school districts to provide annual training for employees to "identify, prevent and report grooming and professional boundary violations beginning in the 2026-27 school year."
Superintendent Peter Wilson announced the training during the Aug. 10 Lake Geneva-Genoa City Union High School District Board meeting and the Aug. 11 Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District Board meeting.
He said both districts will work with law firm Buelow Vetter Buikema Olson & Vliet, LLC of Waukesha to administrator the online training.
As part of the training, participants will answer several multiple-choice questions on how they would handle different situations.
Volunteers will be required to upload their personal email addresses and complete the training as part their background check.
Holly Eckola, director of communications and community engagement, said she is working with James Adams, director of technology, for selecting a single platform that staff and volunteers will use to communicate with students and their families.
"There's many platforms on the market that will allow us to protect our employees and more importantly protect our students in how we communicate," Eckola said. "James and I started looking at platforms for what will be the best fit for the districts in terms of streamlining that communication."
Marcie Hollmann, Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School Board president, said she is pleased that the school districts and the state have adopted policies to help protect students from misconduct.
"I'm glad we're being proactive on this issue because it's a very important issue facing all communities," Hollmann said.
Both school boards unanimously approved to adopt Act 89 policy updates, as well as Wisconsin Act 57 policy updates, which requires Wisconsin schools to immediately notify a student's parent or guardian that they "received a credible report of sexual misconduct or serious sexual offense involving a school staff member or volunteer."
State Act 57 was enacted on Dec. 10, 2025.
LGFD receives approval for fire safety trailer
DENNIS HINES
The Lake Geneva Fire Department is set to receive a fire safety
trailer, which will be used to educate people how to react during a
fire and other emergency situations.
RENDERING LAKE GENEVA CITY COUNCIL IMFORMATION PACKET
The Lake Geneva Fire Department is set to receive a new vehicle to help educate people about fire safety.
On Aug. 6, Lake Geneva Police and Fire Commission members unanimously approved allowing the department to obtain a fire safety trailer, following approval by City Council last month.
The trailer will be paid for using $223,900 of leftover capital funds from projects that either came under budget or did not need to be completed.
The trailer will be used to teach people about how to properly evacuate a building during a fire, react during a tornado and use a fire extinguisher. It will be accessible to people with disabilities and is set to feature a smart stove, smoke detector, 911 training phone and hazard-simulation props including a smoking toaster, chemical cabinet, heated smoke door, smoking electrical outlet and window with an exterior-mounted escape ladder.
The fire department currently borrows a safety trailer from McHenry, Illinois, Fire Protection District for community events and educational programs.
Division Chief Dennis Detkowski said the department should receive the trailer within the next few months.
Prehospital ultrasound equipment
The department also is now using a handheld ultrasound device that allows emergency crews to perform heart scans during resuscitations, assess cardiac activity and identify causes of a cardiac arrest.
Fire Chief John Peters said that about 24 hours after implementing the equipment, emergency crews used the device to help resuscitate a patient.
LGPD to establish K9 program
Police and Fire Commission approves confirmation of the program
DENNIS HINES
The Lake Geneva Police Department is set to move forward with a K9 program, after the Police and Fire Commission unanimously approved confirmation of the program Aug. 6.
City Council established the program July 13 using $62,922 in leftover capital funds from projects that either came under budget or did not need to be completed.
The department plans to obtain a German shepherd/Malinois mix, which will be used to assist during patrols and narcotic investigations.
Lt. Kaitlin Tietz said drug offenses have increased by about 40% during the past three years, with about 178 drug-related calls occurring in 2025.
“We feel there are many situations where if we were to have a K9 program within our department, it would improve officer safety and efficiency with our services,” she said. “The quality of our response would increase, as well.”
The department also will obtain a Labrador retriever, which will be used for explosive detection and firearm-related investigations.
Both dogs will be used to help track missing people, locate fleeing suspects, recover discarded weapons and search for evidence. They also will appear during school and community events.
“They’re both going to have shared capabilities, which also is going to help us not overwork one over the other,” Tietz said.
Five officers have been selected as candidates for the two K9 handler positions.
Training for the program is scheduled to begin in 2027, and the department plans to have fundraisers to help pay for equipment and ongoing costs.
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