I'm Mike.

I was a prototypical Sheboygan kid. Frisbee, skateboards, Atari, the whole deal.

I played basketball, built rockets out of anything and mostly just had a good time.

At eight I pitched a championship game at Legion Park for Brunettes Ace Hardware.

Our store sat on the southwest edge of town, pretty much surrounded by farmland.

I ran the electronics: Pong, quadraphonic stereos, Nintendo. I ordered a truckload of skateboards before they hit. Gone before Thanksgiving.

Sheboygan has changed since then, for better and for worse. I've changed too.

I studied at UW-Platteville and got my master's in journalism at Iowa.

Then I shot for Gannett, Thomson and ABC Sports, from Packers sidelines to small-town front pages.

My paper in Albert Lea was the first in the world shooting 100% color. We could run color on any page, print anything, anywhere. I rolled it out across the chain.

In 2001 I saw voice assistants coming, ten years before Siri. I went to CES, met the Danger team, talked to Apple developers.

The patents went nowhere. I went back to school.

I've worked in Uganda. I've taught photojournalism, web design and radio.

I sing, do yoga by the library fountain and still fly on playground swings.

Now I point my camera at Sheboygan, and at the people who run it.

My Flock investigation helped kill a surveillance contract, 10-0.

“Who Runs Sheboygan?” is my long look at money, boards and power.

I'm seeking the District 7 seat because somebody has to do the homework.

I like people, music, water and moving.

I'm getting my life together. I want to live long, feel good, make friends and find love.

Get 1% better at one thing every day. It adds up like a flywheel.

Life should be easier, with less paperwork and more people smiling.

I move the future forward: Pong, color newsprint, voice assistants, now AI.

Getting better, longevity, relaxation, happiness, movement, photography (the seeing, not the gear) and AI tools.

I'm Mike Brunette. See me around Sheboygan.

Come say hi.