Reports of unidentified flying objects in Wisconsin jumped 48% in 2025, with the National UFO Reporting Center collecting 74 reports statewide — up from 50 in 2024 and 47 in 2023.
Four of those reports came from Manitowoc County, a stretch of Lake Michigan coastline that sits inside the so-called Lake Michigan Triangle — an area with a history of unexplained aerial and maritime events dating back over a century.
The Manitowoc County Sightings
March 24 — Black Triangle Over Manitowoc
NUFORC classified this sighting as Tier 2 — objects exhibiting unusual characteristics such as incredible speed, non-inertial turns, or unexplainable propulsion.
“Was walking dog and saw large black triangle above clouds but could see outline and three bright yellow lights on corners. It looked about the size of a city block very high up, it was moving southwest. It was moving slow with no sound.”
The witness described a massive, silent triangular craft with three bright yellow lights at its corners, moving slowly to the southwest.
May 24 — High-Altitude Object Over Mishicot
Also classified Tier 2 by NUFORC.
“My wife and I were tending to our horses. We are surrounded by open farm field for miles. It was a bright, sunny day with clear skies. I looked up past one of the horses and saw what looked to be a perfectly white balloon. Within a few seconds my eyes adjusted and realized it was much too high — estimated around 40,000 feet — to be a party balloon or something similar.”
The witness, a self-described aviation hobbyist who attends airshows regularly, watched the object descend from roughly 40,000 feet to 25,000 feet, hover for 5–7 seconds, then shoot away at what they called “incredible speed.” Two separate flight radar tracking apps showed zero aircraft in the area at the time.
August 25 — Moving Light Over Two Rivers
Classified Tier 4 by NUFORC — likely explainable as a satellite.
A witness walking their dog observed a star-like light near the Big Dipper that moved erratically before fading. While this one has a probable conventional explanation, it adds to the concentration of reports from the county.
December 6 — Bright Light Heading Over Lake Michigan
Classified Tier 3 by NUFORC — cannot be easily explained.
“Through the windshield I noticed a large, bright white light to my left. The light was moving west-to-east on a flat, horizontal path at noticeable speed. Its apparent size was about half of the moon’s diameter.”
Two witnesses driving north on Highway 42 observed a large white light — roughly half the apparent size of the moon — moving on a flat horizontal path toward Lake Michigan. Smaller lights trailed it, flickering out as if the object were breaking apart. The entire event lasted about 15 seconds. No sound was heard.
The Lake Michigan Triangle
The four Manitowoc County sightings sit inside the Lake Michigan Triangle, a region bounded by Manitowoc, WI, Ludington, MI, and Benton Harbor, MI. The area has a long track record:
- 1679 — The French sailing ship Le Griffon vanished with its entire crew. No wreckage has ever been found.
- 1891 — The schooner Thomas Hume and its seven crew members disappeared without a trace.
- 1912 — The Rouse-Simmons vanished in clear sailing conditions.
- 1913 — The first recorded UFO sighting in the triangle.
- 1921 — The Rosa Belle was found overturned; all 11 crew were missing.
The Lake Michigan Shipwreck Research Association disputes the triangle’s significance, arguing the area has no more shipwrecks than the rest of the Great Lakes. But the concentration of modern UAP reports in the same geography is worth noting.
The Congressional Connection
Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Manitowoc, is represented by Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI). Grothman chaired a House Oversight Committee hearing on UAPs on July 26, 2023 — the hearing that featured testimony from David Grusch, David Fravor, and Ryan Graves.
In his opening remarks, Grothman said: “The lack of transparency surrounding UAPs has fueled wild speculation and debate for decades, eroding public trust.”
A proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have required disclosure of all government UAP records was never passed.
By the Numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Wisconsin UFO reports (2025) | 74 |
| Wisconsin UFO reports (2024) | 50 |
| Year-over-year increase | 48% |
| Manitowoc County reports (2025) | 4 |
| Manitowoc County reports (2024) | 1 |
| Peak month statewide (Jan 2025) | 14 reports |
| National reports (Jan 2025) | 581 |
Other 2025 sighting locations across Wisconsin include Superior, Madison, Solon Springs, Sheboygan, Oconomowoc, Presque Isle, Hayward, and Rhinelander. Northern Wisconsin had the fewest reports.
Related: Black Triangle Photo from Wisconsin
In July 2025, radio personality Ken Hayes reported that his wife captured a photograph of what appear to be two black triangular objects in the night sky during a camping trip at Totogatic County Park in Wisconsin. The image was covered by Coast to Coast AM.
How to Report a Sighting
If you’ve witnessed something unusual, you can file a report with:
- National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC)
- Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)
- Americans for Safe Aerospace
- Enigma Labs
- AARO (Pentagon)
Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel · NUFORC Wisconsin Index · House Oversight Committee · Wikipedia: Lake Michigan Triangle