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This family runs a distillery in an old fire station

Marcus Chen
Marcus Chen
Marcus Chen
Managing Editor · St. Paul, MN

Marcus manages the day-to-day editorial workflow across all brands, coordinating coverage assignments and ensuring editorial standards are met. He previously served as city editor at the Pioneer Press and holds a degree in Political Science from Carleton College.

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Managing Editor · Friday, October 30, 2026 at 2:29 PM · 1 min read
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This family runs a distillery in an old fire station — Marco Island Arts news

DALE, Wis. (InvestigateTV) — A Wisconsin family runs a distillery in an old fire station along Highway 96 in Dale, with a business designed to support the fire departments that keep them safe.Volunteer firefighter Alex Hopfensperger works at the family business, Old Station 31 Spirits.“Right now we’re distilling in-house vodka and gin, so we have the four vodkas and two gins,” Alex Hopfensperger said.“We wanted to become a part of the community, and 20-plus years ago, part of becoming part of the community was joining the volunteer fire department,” Rob Hopfensperger said.Alex’s father, Rob, is also a volunteer firefighter. He and his wife, Tavia, decided to honor the fire service when they created Old Station 31 Spirits.“You start to do it and, you know, I’m on it, then your sons get on it, your daughter-in-law gets on it, and it’s just, and we have that,” Rob said.“Living in a small town, people just pop in and you get to meet so many different people and people that have memories of

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