How health and fitness are emerging from the pandemic
Tara Ryan Nowak and Jared Boyle, from left, Ashlie Montana Zeidler and Tim Buchholz
Tara Ryan Nowak had reason to celebrate last March, though that was also paired with some apprehension. On March 16 she passed her certification test to be a personal trainer. The former owner of Sweet Lolaâs downtown had completed her transformation from cupcake baker into a certified fitness professional who completes in figure bodybuilding competitions.Â
The transformation wasnât easy. Sheâd been unhappy with the weight sheâd gained, understandable considering she worked in a bakery that she owned. One day, sheâd had enough and after some research found personal trainer Jared Boyle. She was stressed, had no energy and felt like life was getting away from her. It was impacting her marriage and her business. âI looked at him and said âI will do whatever you want me to do,â Nowak told City Pages she sai
How COVID has reshaped the wedding and event business in Central Wisconsin
Courtsey The McCartneys Photography
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, Kelsy and Butch McCartney said the impact on their business was slow at first; but soon those impacts were felt strongly as things changed in the wedding business, especially as the state imposed more stringent rules around gatherings to hold the pandemic at bay.Â
The McCartneys, who started their wedding and senior portrait photography business more than ten years ago and opened a location downtown on Jefferson Street roughly five years ago, saw some big changes in the wedding business. âCouples with indoor weddings switched it up to an outdoor plan or postponed it,â Kelsy told City Pages. âHalf the weddings moved to this year.â The McCartneys ended up shooting a lot of weddings in Door County, and numbers started to become limited. âMany scaled back their weddings from 200 guests to more like 50 or less,�