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Most of the 29 people killed in ATV/UTV crashes so far this year had never completed an off-highway vehicle safety course, according to the latest data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

And DNR officials say that 15 of those who died were over the age of 60 — meaning they were among those who are not required to take safety courses under state law.

DNR data shows most of the people killed in off-highway vehicle incidents were not wearing seat belts or helmets, and frequently alcohol was a factor in the crashes. Those are all aspects the state’s safety courses try to explain to riders.

Jacob Holsclaw, the DNR’s off-highway vehicle administrator, said that’s a notable trend and one the state is starting to look at.

“Many of the crashes could be prevented simply by adopting a safety code of conduct,” Holsclaw said. The DNR offers tips and class information on its ATV/UTV page. 

The DNR recommends all operators to take a safety class, no matter their age.

The data for 2026 shows most people killed in ATV/UTV incidents were born before Jan. 1, 1988.

“What we’re seeing is a majority of the folks involved in these fatal or serious injury crashes were born before that date,” Holsclaw said. “So the class would have been optional.”

Under the law, riders over 38 are not required to take courses.

Only five people killed in OHV incidents were younger than 38, according to state data.

Three UTV/ATV operators were confirmed by state officials to be safety-certified at the time of the crash, according to DNR’s data for 2026. 

There are still five cases with unclear safety certification, but the DNR said their status is pending at this time.

Randy Harden, the president of the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association, said his group has been working with the DNR to improve safety in the state’s riding population.

He says it’s often difficult to get older Wisconsinites to take protective gear seriously.

“That’s our challenge,” he said. “How do we keep communicating effectively to get the message over?”

Only three women died in UTV/ATV incidents this year. Two were over 65; the youngest was 40. All three women died on public roadways in Wisconsin.

Most of the fatalities were men, with a total of 25. The oldest was 83. One child died at 10 years old. 

And while 29 deaths this year were directly tied to crashes that happened this year, DNR officials said an additional OHV-connected fatality occured when a person died this year from injuries in a crash that occurred years ago, Holsclaw said. The medical examiner listed that death as a result of an ATV crash.

The top three kinds of fatal crashes were: rollovers, with 15 crashes; motor vehicle collisions with six; and people being ejected from the vehicle in four crashes, according to DNR data.

Harden says many riders mislead themselves into thinking they’re safe enough to ride in a machine without a helmet.

In reality, Harden says the vehicle doesn’t have air bags and riders have a real risk of being thrown out of the vehicle in a crash. 

“Even if you have your seat belt on, then your noggin is taking a beating in that roll cage,” he said. 

It’s not clear how many fatalities reflected in 2026 crash report data had alcohol in their system — but Holsclaw said it’s common in many OHV crashes.

As of Aug. 14, the DNR webpage for crash reports shows, out of 29 fatalities, 21 incidents where the BAC level is listed as “Pending.”

“It can take months for us to get alcohol or drug results back, and so that’s why we leave those open until we get that confirmation,” he said. 

But, Holsclaw said in a typical year, the department finds alcohol is a factor in between 40% and 50% of fatal crashes.

“That’s a pretty big percentage,” he said.

Five fatal crashes were confirmed to have involved alcohol, according to the DNR data. 

For comparison, Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources says that state has had only seven fatal crashes so far this year. In 2025, MDNR recorded 22.

This story was originally published by WPR.

More than half of people killed this year in Wisconsin off-road vehicle crashes were over 60 is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Two years ago, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, first introduced a bill to redesignate the Apostle Islands as a national park. While some elected and economic development officials backed the proposal, it was met with immediate pushback from local communities and Lake Superior tribes.

The post Should Apostle Islands be a national park? Some say proposal lacks community buy-in appeared first on WPR.

Most of the 29 people killed in ATV/UTV crashes so far had never completed an off-highway vehicle safety course, according to the latest data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The post More than half of people dead this year in Wisconsin off-road vehicle crashes were over 60 appeared first on WPR.

On Thursday, the policymaking board for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved the agency’s request to purchase a nearly $1 million conservation easement from the Michael A. Uihlein Exemption Trust.

The post Nearly $1M conservation easement approved on 1.2K acres in northern Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

A traffic safety expert attributes the rise in crashes to the emergence of illegal “e-motos” on the market, which can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour.

The post UW ER sees massive increase in visits for e-bike and e-scooter accidents among children appeared first on WPR.

In only about a month, more than 23,400 Wisconsin state park passes have sold through a new program allowing residents to purchase the stickers while renewing their annual vehicle registration.

The post DNR says park pass sales up 20 percent, thanks to program for renewing registrations at the same time appeared first on WPR.

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On Milwaukee’s North Side, women 40 and up are coming together to jump double Dutch. Members say that beyond the ropes they are building a sisterhood, strengthening their health and becoming confident in aging.

40+ Double Dutch Club is a nonprofit founded in Chicago by Pamela Robinson in 2016 that uses double Dutch and other fitness activities to encourage wellness, sisterhood, mental health and more for women over 40.

“It amazes me how God can use something as simple as a plastic clothesline to connect women all over the world,” said Robinson, who is also the group’s CEO and board president. 

Robinson, 55, launched the organization after discussing the idea with her friend Catrina Dyer-Taylor. At the time she was battling depression. 

“My husband and I were about to get divorced, my oldest kids were grown and I just had my youngest one in the house,” Robinson said. “I needed to find a happy place.”

She promoted the meetup on social media, and many of her friends and community members came out to support her.

“I remember telling (Dyer-Taylor) that if no one came then we’d tie the ropes to a fence and jump together,” Robinson said. “However, we never had to do that because our friends came out.” 

Since being founded, the organization has expanded into hundreds of subclubs nationwide, including Milwaukee’s. 

“I knew that God wanted me to do something and it’s given me purpose and he has put me on a path where 40+ Double Dutch is a part of that,” said Angela Scott, captain and founder of Milwaukee’s double Dutch subclub.

Launching the Milwaukee subclub

Scott, 54, established the 40+ Double Dutch subclub in Milwaukee in 2024 after discovering the organization on Facebook. She took weekend trips to Chicago and sometimes Texas to participate with women of the club.

“The feeling I got from the ladies when I entered the gym was like I’ve known them all my life,” Scott said. 

As a breast cancer survivor, Scott said she was glad to have found something that brought her comfort that wasn’t a traditional gym space. 

“Double Dutching is a full body workout, and I don’t like the gym, but I knew I needed something to keep my body moving and to keep cancer out of my body,” Scott said.

Once officially joining 40+ Double Dutch, Scott talked to Robinson about bringing a subclub to Milwaukee.

“She said that they had been wanting one in Milwaukee, they just had no one that was interested and committed,” Scott said.

Milwaukee’s subclub now consists of 37 members. Among them is Scott’s mother, Shirley Tomlinson, 76, who is the first and oldest member.

“I feel like my family has grown here and that’s a very positive thing for a person my age,” Tomlinson said. “It helps keep me feeling young, and there’s a lot of support in it.”

Tomlinson said she joined the club after hearing about her daughter’s Chicago experience and watching the film “Beyond the Ropes: The 40+ Double Dutch Club Documentary.“

Though Tomlinson doesn’t jump double Dutch, she does other things for the subclub like record keeping, videography, planning birthday celebrations and more. 

“I do everything I can because I’m my daughter’s ride or die,” she said.

Reliving childhood memories

Scott said double Dutch gives her a joyous nostalgia from growing up, especially as she learned how to double Dutch from her aunt who was like a big sister.

“If you were a girl that jump-roped, then you know it takes you back to that space,” Scott said. 

When the Milwaukee subclub appears at local events like the Juneteenth parade, residents typically will jump in the ropes with smiles and recall memories as they walk down the streets.

“As you watch us grow, you can see God’s hand in it,” Tomlinson said.

The women of Milwaukee’s subclub meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday at Abundant Faith Church of Integrity, 7830 W. Good Hope Road.

The meet typically begins with a stretch, then leads to open play that includes dances and songs to let them double Dutch, hula hoop or play a rhythmic game. 

One fitness activity recreated by 40+ Double Dutch is African Hopscotch, which includes members jumping to a song called “Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith and sometimes holding pompoms. 

To end the session, members close with a double Dutch hymn followed by a circle of prayer. 

“We hold hands and then we sing the song,” Scott said. “Regardless of what meet you go to each one will have the same format.”

Building a strong sisterhood

Scott said the relationships being built at the club remind her of the organization’s mission. 

“Part of the mission is friendship, fitness, fun and fellowship,” she said. “All of those things resonate with me and in my spirit because it’s a sisterhood that’s based on God’s direction.”

When away from the ropes, members try to support each other in different ways.

“There are several of the ladies in our club that have businesses, and we’ll do anything to support them,” Scott said. 

For Tomlinson, who experienced a few health crises this year, it brought relief knowing that there was a sisterhood standing behind her.

“They reached out to me and let me know they were praying for me,” she said. “It’s like having a big family of daughters.”

Achieving long-term goals

Within the next few years, Scott hopes to see the subclub grow in membership and the women begin to intentionally take more time for themselves.

“I truly believe that a healthy and strong woman makes a healthy and strong world because we are the mothers of this world,” she said. “If the woman is not healthy mentally, physically or spiritually, then the world is not healthy.”

Another goal of hers is to visit with incarcerated women. 

“For whatever reason that they’re there, I just want to take them out of that space for just 30 to 40 minutes,” she said. 

Tomlinson said it amazes her to see her daughter lead, receive support from the community and promote health to other women. 

“It’s been wonderful watching her grow and watching how dedicated she is because that’s a big responsibility,” she said.

How to join 40+ Double Dutch Club

If you are a woman over 40 and interested in joining, click here to find a subclub near you and find details about weekly meetups.

Membership is $120 and includes a digital ID card, access to all nationwide subclubs, subclub support and more. 

Scott said the summer has been the busiest time for the organization and wants to remind women that you don’t have to jump to be a part of it. 

“People are starting to realize we’re in the city and we like it that way because the more women that know then the more that can be impacted by what we have to offer,” she said.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

‘You can see God’s hand in it’: How Milwaukee women are building a double Dutch community through sisterhood and fitness is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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In April, a woman in Green Lake County was driving three passengers on a UTV when she took a curve too quickly. The vehicle rolled and hit a tree head-on. One passenger died at the scene and a second just days later. The 26-year-old driver’s blood alcohol concentration was three times the legal limit, according to the police report.

So far this year, 18 people have died in fatal crashes on off-road vehicles like ATVs and UTVs statewide, according to data reported by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The latest reported fatality was June 13, when a 71-year-old ATV driver collided with a UTV while both vehicles were cresting a hill. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alcohol was involved in at least four of the deaths reported so far in 2026. Blood alcohol results are still pending in 11 of those fatalities.

Riding off-road vehicles is becoming an increasingly popular pastime in Wisconsin. The total number of registrations for these vehicles has increased by about 20% since 2020, according to the state DNR.

Crashes and fatalities are also on the rise. Drugs and alcohol are involved in about half of those crashes, said Jacob Holsclaw, an off-highway vehicle administrator for the DNR.

“In a lot of those cases, if the folks had not been drinking and driving, they may even still be alive today,” he said. “I think that’s an important thing to remember.”

Forty-two people died in a crash on an ATV or UTV last year, a 90% increase since 2015, according to DNR data. There were 300 total crashes reported in 2025, about a 45% increase from 10 years ago. A rise in the number of UTV crashes significantly contributed to that increase. About 30% of the fatalities in 2025 involved alcohol or THC, and toxicology results are pending for a handful of those fatalities.

In recent years, municipalities have opened more roads to ATVs and UTVs across the state. All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, often seat just one passenger and are steered by handlebars like a motorcycle. Utility-terrain vehicles, or UTVs, allow the passenger and driver to sit side-by-side, and drivers control the vehicle with a steering wheel. UTVs are generally larger and often include a partially enclosed cabin that can seat four.

Drivers of both vehicles can now operate them across more than 65,000 miles of roadway. Unlike snowmobiles, ATVs and UTVs aren’t as weather-dependent and can be used all year, especially during mild winters. In some communities, it’s normal for people to use their recreational vehicles for everyday errands. Holsclaw said the pandemic also contributed to the upward trend in their use.

With more people using off-road vehicles, more people will get hurt, he said. The tires aren’t designed for pavement, and the vehicles handle differently than cars, another reason “it’s really important that folks are driving sober,” Holsclaw said. Riders tipped or rolled their machines in more than half of the fatal crashes last year.

Driving an ATV or UTV while drunk and on property open to the public is illegal in Wisconsin. Even if drivers don’t exceed the 0.08 limit, they can be stopped, cited and arrested if law enforcement believes they are impaired, Holsclaw said. It’s about coordination and reaction time, he said. But the penalties are lighter than for cars.

Drivers convicted of a first offense for operating an off-road vehicle while intoxicated – a civil forfeiture and not a crime – would pay a $450 fine, Holsclaw said.

“It is a fair amount less than the motor vehicle world,” Holsclaw said. “It is unfortunate that the fines are lower because it almost sends the message that an OWI is not as important.”

A first offense for an OWI in a motor vehicle comes with about a $700 bill and a license revocation.

But regulating alcohol use in the recreational vehicle world is different, Holsclaw said. Some people don’t want to be told what to do. And in Wisconsin, drinking is a part of the culture. 

“That’s all well and good as long as you’re not operating a vehicle,” Holsclaw said.

The state DNR’s power to tighten gaps in law is limited.

Its most recent batch of regulations, which went into effect June 1, closed a loophole by requiring both passengers and operators in UTVs to wear seat belts. Taken literally, state law had only required passengers to wear them. Even still, the DNR can’t change the fact that an OWI from an ATV or UTV doesn’t affect your driver’s license, Holsclaw said. If it did, maybe that would keep people from driving drunk.

More substantive change “comes down to the state representatives,” Holsclaw said. “They’re the ones that have to make that decision.”

Waiting for ‘a new day in Madison’

Lawmakers in Madison have tried and failed to toughen state law that regulates the overlap between alcohol use and recreational vehicles. Both Democratic and Republican legislators say the Tavern League, the state’s influential beer lobby, has stymied serious progress.

When it comes to drinking and driving cars and ATVs, “Wisconsin has among the worst laws in the country,” said state Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee. 

Larson – who said he lost a good friend in a head-on collision with a repeat drunk driver when he was in high school – believes special interests like the Tavern League have helped keep things the way they are. 

The league did not respond to requests for comment.

At the moment, if a person gets a first OWI on an ATV and soon after gets a first OWI while driving a snowmobile, the courts treat them both as first offenses.

“They don’t talk to each other,” Holsclaw said.

OWIs for automobiles also accumulate separately.

In 2019, a bipartisan band of legislators tried to change how this works. If they had succeeded, the person in the earlier scenario would instead have a first- and second-offense OWI, the latter of which is a misdemeanor. The bill would also have restricted people from operating recreational vehicles like snowmobiles, boats or UTVs if their driver’s license was currently suspended because of a normal OWI.

But the bill failed. When lawmakers resurrected the attempt in 2021, it died again.

The 2021 bill passed seamlessly out of its committee in the state Senate, Larson said, but then stalled for nine months and eventually died.

“That’s unfortunately the power of some special interests who don’t want to change the law,” Larson said, “but I think that they are coming out of power.”

The senator said he believes the influence of organizations like the Tavern League will fade in parallel with the Republican majority, which must now face competitive political maps it didn’t draw for the first time in nearly two decades. 

The powerful lobbying organization that advocates for bar owners did not register in opposition to the 2021 bill, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission website. Instead, Larson said the organization often works through long-established expectations that lawmakers won’t advance bills related to drunk driving.

“There’s just an agreement that they know they don’t have to lift a finger or do anything, but the Republicans are beholden to that interest group,” Larson said.

But not all Republicans. State Sen. André Jacque, a Republican from the Green Bay area who is retiring at the end of the year, also worked on the 2021 bill and similarly criticizes how the Tavern League operates. He said it exercised its “silent veto” to put the 2021 bill to sleep.

“I would argue that in some cases there are groups that fail to indicate the actions that they have taken to stop legislation,” Jacque said, referencing how the state requires lobbyists to register with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and report their activity.

The fight isn’t over, though. Under the right circumstances, Jacque said, the bill could return. He said law enforcement wants tougher laws. Other states already have them.

In Minnesota, a first offense for driving an off-road vehicle while impaired is a crime that could result in up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail. In Wisconsin, the same offense results in a fine but no jail time. Unlike in Minnesota, your driver’s license won’t be affected if you get busted for driving an ATV or UTV while drunk in Wisconsin.

More recently, Wisconsin lawmakers tried to ban having open containers of alcohol in or on off-road vehicles. No groups registered in opposition to the bipartisan bill, but it failed in April 2024. 

That bill would have been relevant in the fatal crash in Green Lake County where law enforcement found empty containers of alcohol strewn about the crash site.

Larson said people want common-sense drunk driving laws in Wisconsin.

“It’s going to be a new day in Madison,” Larson said.

The Badger Project is an independent, reader-supported news nonprofit in Wisconsin.

This article first appeared on The Badger Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

With ATV crashes up in Wisconsin, some legislators want to strengthen OWI laws. The Tavern League stands in the way. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The Phantom Lake Summer camp opened its doors to boys in 1896, and 130 years later it’s still going strong and giving all kids opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

The post Wisconsin summer camp, one of the oldest in North America, turns 130 appeared first on WPR.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Riders of all-terrain vehicles in Wisconsin have some new requirements after new rules took effect at the start of this month.

Changed rules include include prohibitions against towing objects with people onboard, restrictions on window tinting — and a seat belt requirement.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said under the new law “ALL occupants of a UTV including the driver and passengers have to wear a seat belt.”

These regulations were approved by a unanimous vote of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, which updated the administrative codes.

Wisconsin has seen a surge in ATV and UTV activity in the past few years and an accompanying increase in fatal crashes.

As of January, the DNR reported more than 528,000 registrations for the trail-ready vehicles. The Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association says it has more than 40,000 members and about 130 local chapters across the state.

Randy Harden, the group’s president, said the association was included in talks with lawmakers about the regulation updates. The old ATV/UTV regulations were inconsistent, and behavior seen on trails was also part of the reason for the updated regulations.

A previous version of the law required seat belts, and Harden says its intention was always for it to apply to everyone in a vehicle. But when a rider in southwest Wisconsin challenged a ticket in court, it revealed an inconsistency in the way the policy was worded.

“The judge looked at the wording that was drafted, and it said all passengers must wear a seat belt, (but) didn’t say the driver,” Harden said. “This (new rule) corrects that and says all passengers and the driver must wear a seat belt.”

Last year, there were at least 300 ATV or UTV crashes reported to the DNR, resulting in 277 reported injuries.

“The majority of our serious injury and fatal crashes occur because of occupants choosing to not wear a seat belt or helmet,” said Lt. Jacob Holsclaw, DNR off-highway vehicle administrator.

In 2025 alone, the DNR reported a total of 41 deaths. In 32 of those fatal crashes, the people involved were not wearing seat belts. Only four of those deaths were in vehicles other than a UTV, DNR data shows.

It was the second-deadliest year for Wisconsin UTVs and ATVs on record.

While the new seat belt requirement is clear, advocates are realistic about its use.

“Will everybody do it? Absolutely not,” Harden said. “Does everybody wear their seat belts in the car? No, but that doesn’t mean you stop trying, and that’s really what this effort is.”

The DNR says enforcement will be handled through normal patrols by conservation wardens, sheriff’s offices and police in some areas.

“Officers will often use education and even citations if operators are found in violation of the new laws,” the DNR said in an email with WPR.

 DNR data for 2024 shows 115 citations for operators not wearing seat belts.

Towing, tinting rules among other requirements

Under the new restrictions, it is now illegal for a UTV/ATV to tow people on a roadway or trail. The restriction has exceptions for private lands and on ice while going under 10 miles per hour, the DNR says.

“It excludes if your machine breaks down,” Harden said. “That’s a common sense exclusion,” he said.

Other changes include making it mandatory for riders younger than 18 to have a DOT-approved helmet and requiring eye protection if the machine does not have a windshield. The new law also limits window tinting.

The DNR says there are now fines for causing intentional damage to an ATV/UTV, which could be up to three times as much as the cost to repair it.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Riding an ATV/UTV in Wisconsin? Buckle up, with updated laws is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.