You can’t just bottle up any beer and enter it in the Shawano County Fair’s beer and wine contest. Mike Conard, a certified beer and wine judge from Kewaunee, will know the subtle differences, and he will call you out on them. Thursday’s judging was more than an opportunity for bragging rights.

Dennis Ladwig comes to the Shawano County Fair tractor pull every year. It’s a chance for him and his 1937 John Deere to compete against friends. “Probably since 2003, we come every year,” Ladwig said.

No visit to the Shawano County Fair can end without a visit to the food booths along the midway. Many of them are run by church groups, veterans organizations and other nonprofit organizations that use the profits for a variety of community outreach projects, scholarships and more.

Aubrey Netzel has done well at the Shawano County Fair over the years, so it is not unusual that she again will be involved in several competitions at this year’s fair, which opened Wednesday at the fairgrounds in Shawano. A member of the Belle Plaine 4-H Club for 10 years, Netzel said her favorite projects are rabbits and poultry, which are yearlong projects. “I’ve been in them for so long,” said Netzel, who will be a senior this fall at Clinton

Frank P. Lardinois, 93, Howard, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013. He was born in Green Bay on Feb. 22, 1920, to the late Arthur and Helena (Verheyden) Lardinois. Frank served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was honorably discharged. He married his first wife, Lorraine Michaels, and she preceded him in death on Sept. 21, 1998. He married his second wife, Lilla Rentmaster, and she preceded him in death on May 2, 1986.

Gary M. Condon, 64, of Clintonville, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, at the New London Family Medical Center. Gary Miles Condon was born Aug. 3, 1949, in Laurium, Mich., to George and Helen (Lake) Condon. He was raised and attended school in the Crystal Falls, Mich., area. Gary entered the U.S. Marines and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970.

Shawano Police Department Aug. 27 Police logged 22 incidents, including the following: Theft — A carnival worker reported money was stolen out of a vehicle in the 1100 block of East Green Bay Street. Shoplifting — Goodwill Industries, 300 Lakeland Road, reported a shoplifting incident. Hit and Run — Police responded to a property damage hit-and-run complaint in the 600 block of South Union Street. Shawano County Sheriff’s Department Aug.

The Wisconsin Senate president on Wednesday questioned Gov. Scott Walker’s criteria for approving a new tribal casino, saying the standards contradict the free market system. The Menominee Nation has been pushing for years to build an $800 million off-reservation casino in Kenosha and finally won federal approval for the project last week.

Efforts to replace outdated radios in the Sheriff’s Department saw Sheriff Randy Wright and the Shawano County Board operating on different wavelengths this week. The board voted 16-9 Wednesday to postpone a final vote on spending $214,408 to replace 50 radios — 34 in patrol vehicles and 16 portable radios — that do not work with the department’s new digital simulcast system. The vote was postponed because the county did not request bid proposals