The Village of Marshall has sold Whistle Stop Campground (Wisconsin) to Dana Voit and Robert Brinkmeier for $500,000, following a 4-1 vote by the Marshall Village Board.
The sale closed after years of village involvement in the campground’s management and financial challenges.
Improvements are underway, including the construction of four new sleeping cabins. Currently, Whistle Stop is open for the 2025 season under Voit’s ownership.
“Right now my main focus is just resurrecting and fixing things… we would really hope that residents of Marshall, Waterloo and Deerfield would come out and enjoy what we have to offer,” Voit said.
Trustee Julie Bowman cast the lone vote against the sale, while Trustees Josh Moses and Elesa Kinder were absent from the meeting.
The property, located within a Tax Increment District (TID), had been owned by the village since October 2017, when officials began evaluating options for its operation and long-term viability.
According to Village Administrator Brandon Bledsoe, the village opted in 2018 to operate the campground directly to recoup its investment and open the facility.
At that time, the village entered into a consulting and management agreement with Bud Styer and Dana Voit to oversee operations.
Styer and Voit managed the campground until 2022.
For the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the village brought in Kiefer Campgrounds.
However, during that period, visitors raised concerns about deteriorating conditions and communication issues, while revenue also declined.
Audited financial statements show that campground revenue dropped from $400,422 in 2022 to $299,802 in 2024.
Village President John Schuepbach cited the campground’s financial losses as a priority issue. “We had a $44,000 loss last year, and that’s not how you run a business,” Schuepbach said during a June board meeting, as reported by The Gazette on July 2.
While Schuepbach later said selling the campground was his “plan B,” he acknowledged the board’s decision and expressed satisfaction that the matter had been resolved.
Board discussions had increasingly focused on the strain campground operations placed on municipal resources.
To keep the campground operational for the 2025 season, the village reached a lease agreement with Styer for $360,000.
The contract included provisions for either party to extend the lease into 2026 or to allow Styer to purchase the campground outright for $500,000.
Styer passed away on April 11. Voit, who had worked with him for 17 years, submitted an offer to purchase the property at the price outlined in the lease.
She partnered with Brinkmeier to secure financing for the purchase.