22-05-2025
I've been a reporter in Manitowoc since 2016. Send me your questions and I'll find the answers.
MANITOWOC COUNTY – Hello, it's your friendly neighborhood watchdog reporter here and I am looking for your questions about local government, education and more.
Most of the time, I'm following the stories as they pop up. I'll report on road construction projects in the summer and municipal budgets in the fall and local elections every spring.
It's all information that a well-read citizen needs to know, but I also wonder if sometimes I'm a little too close to the subject to realize what real people want to know. Here's where you can come in and help me.
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What questions pop into your head about local government and the projects they champion? What do you want to know about our leaders? What issues keep you up at night? I want to know it all!
I've been a reporter with the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc since 2016. Even though we don't have a physical office in the county anymore, I'm still around to pound the pavement and chase down facts and perspectives for the hundreds of articles I've written as a community reporter.
The stories I've covered range from the federal court case of a local doctor accused of using his medical practice to traffic drugs, to local impacts of climate change on Lake Michigan. I've covered every local election since 2016, and if you look into my history, you'll find at least two articles on the strange and inexplicable, such as UFO sightings. I've even shared personal accounts of my encounter with a tornado and my experience being hospitalized for COVID-19.
Send me your questions and frustrations and I will work to find your answers. The best way is to send an email at aschafer@ You can also reach me by calling or texting me at 920-242-4866. I'll share what I know and likely feature your issue and solution in the next "Ask Alisa" column.
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My colleague, Duke Behnke, has written similar columns for the Appleton Post Crescent. Here are a couple of recent headlines to some of his recent work to see what questions he has answered for his readers:
Do Appleton and neighboring communities require a permit for recreational fires?
Guess how many businesses are licensed to sell vape products in Appleton?
Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Send news tips, questions to Manitowoc watchdog reporter Alisa Schafer
