In the small town of Kewaskum, Wisconsin, a local Dairy Queen became the center of a national conversation, proving that even a neighborhood ice cream shop isn’t immune to the country’s cultural debates. The controversy began when the store’s owner, Kevin Scheunemann, posted a sign in his window outlining his stance on “political incorrectness,” a message that had been familiar to locals for years but ignited a firestorm when it reached a wider audience online.
The sign served as a declaration of the owner’s values, explicitly stating the restaurant’s use of phrases like “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Easter,” its support for the motto “In God We Trust,” and its policy of offering free sundaes to veterans. For Scheunemann, the decision to post the sign in 2012 was a matter of transparency. He explained that it was a response to a customer who had been upset by Christian music playing in the store, and he felt it was appropriate to be clear about the views he and his staff supported.
This transparency, however, was seen as exclusionary by some. The debate reached a tipping point in 2017 when a customer from Oregon shared a photo of the sign on Dairy Queen’s national Facebook page. This act unleashed a flood of comments, with critics arguing that the sign’s tone was divisive. One critic from Milwaukee specifically took issue with the owner’s use of the term “snowflake” and his dismissal of “safe spaces,” arguing that such language alienates customers and belittles important concepts for people struggling with their mental health.
In response to the growing controversy, American Dairy Queen Corporation issued a statement distancing the parent company from the sign. They clarified that they do not encourage franchisees to post non-business related messages and that the sign expressed the views of the independent owner only. Despite the corporate statement and the online backlash, Scheunemann stood firm, and his stance garnered significant local support, with some patrons even making special trips to his store to show their solidarity.
The story of this Dairy Queen is a microcosm of a larger national dialogue. It raises questions about the role of personal belief in business, the limits of political expression in a commercial space, and the challenges of navigating a deeply divided cultural landscape. Whether viewed as a principled stand or a polarizing misstep, the sign succeeded in starting a conversation that extended far beyond the borders of the small Wisconsin town.
