Politics

(Beaver Dam) The Dodge County Fairgrounds will be hosting a new professional rodeo this summer. Those who attend will be able to watch high-quality bull riding, rodeo and free-style bull fighting from the grandstands. Fair organizers say this is a full International Professional Rodeo Association event and is also co-sanctioned with the World Champions Rodeo Alliance. Rice Rodeo Company, who is producing the show, is a full-service family-operated company located in nearby Medford. The two-hour event will be held from 7pm to 9pm at the Dodge County Fairgrounds, located just outside of Beaver Dam, on June 29th.

(Beaver Dam) A number of local students have been announced as members of the next Wisconsin Agriculture Youth Council. They include Max Luedtke of Beaver Dam, Jamie Damm of Columbus, and Ashton Brusveen of Cambria. Each member of the council will be high school seniors during the 2024-2025 school year. Members will meet each month of the school year during their one-year term. The council membership was selected after an application process.

(Beaver Dam) A number of local students have been announced as members of the next Wisconsin Agriculture Youth Council. They include Max Luedtke of Beaver Dam, Jamie Damm of Columbus, and Ashton Brusveen of Cambria. Each member of the council will be high school seniors during the 2024-2025 school year. Members will meet each month of the school year during their one-year term. The council membership was selected after an application process. The goals of the Wisconsin Agriculture Youth Council are to highlight agricultural-related careers, share resources available for farmers, provide insight in agricultural policy development, and increase networking opportunities for participants.  

(Waupun) Waupun City Administrator Kathy Schlieve says a Fire and Emergency Response Staffing Study confirmed a few things they already suspected. The call volume for both fire and EMS services has been going up while the number of paid on call volunteers has declined for the fire service. She says their fire department, which also handles calls for three townships, has two full-time staff and the rest are paid on call volunteers. Schlieve notes they have no one under the age of 33 working for the fire service. She says adding an Emergency Medical Responder Program in 2022 has helped when their contracted ambulance service, Life Star, is handling calls for its 9 jurisdictions in a roughly 200 square mile service area.

(Beaver Dam) Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice along with current military members and veterans will be honored during the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Veteran’s Park in Oakwood Cemetery on Monday. The names of those veterans lost in the past year will be read, there will be a flyover and the Beaver Dam High School and St. Katherine Drexel bands are also scheduled to play. Dodge County Veterans Services Officer Katlynn Rhyner will be the guest speaker. The Marine Corps League of Beaver Dam is once again sponsoring the event, which begins at 10:15am. It will be broadcast on DailyDodge TV and 95.3 WBEV.

The mayor’s column is back! Sorry I didn’t have one last week, but it was a super busy week and I just ran out of time. It’s May! My favorite time of year. Baseball, warm weather, more daylight, and more time spent outside. With the nice weather our city public works crew installed the mill pond fountain for the season. Once again, Mike Rens went for a swim, and I get to tease him in my column! Haha! In all seriousness, I tell this story as an example of the good and dedicated crew we have at our DPW. They do a lot of good work, usually behind the scene, and are on call at all times for storms, fires, crashes, snow, etc. Waupun is very fortunate to have the team we have on our public works crew. With spring is lawn mowing season. I would like to remind you that you shouldn’t mow your lawn clippings into the street. It violates city ordinances and is a hazard to plugins storm sewers. This past week was National Correctional Officers week. I want to thank all the men and women who work at the three Correctional institutions here in Waupun. No group of Americans has a more difficult and a less publicly visible job than the brave men and women who work in the prisons. They’re responsible for the safety, containment, and control the inmates, and their hard work helps keep us safe! It was also National Teachers’ Week. I want to thank all the great teachers here in Waupun! Specifically, my favorite teacher, Jenny Bishop and my second favorite teacher, Kyle Bille. This next week I’ll be throwing out the first pitch for Waupun Little League, and hopefully attend the Police Officers’ Memorial. I’m also trying to change some city ordinances to allow kids older than 10 to ride their bikes on the sidewalk, strengthen our truancy ordinances, because I think school is important, and I’m trying to clean up our fine schedule. I want to thank Jay Graff for making a donation to the Forrest Mound Cemetery Association to fix up the grave stones of President Harding’s great grandparents. I’m also working with Mrs. Des Hull at Rock River Intermediate School on a project where the kiddos have designed banners for the light poles out front of the school. Waupun Utilities has generously willing to hang the banners, but I need to raise $300. Whatever we don’t raise, I’ll pay the difference, but if anyone is willing to help us, please let me know.

On a recent Tuesday morning in Portage, Wis., Sharon Wade tended to her craft and antique furnishing shop. Standing in front of a wall lined with color-coded paints, she helped a friend find the correct tools to spruce up an old dresser. “You’re going to be fine, Sandy! I promise...

The mother of Cameron Williams, a prisoner at Waupun Correctional Institution who died from a rare stroke after other prisoners say he begged staff for help, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and prison officials. "Hopefully no family has to go through this again," said...

(Beaver Dam) Every day, students are looking for ways to finance their education. Almost half of Moraine Park Technical College students receive some type of financial assistance. “About 50% of our students applied for financial aid,” Financial Aid Manager Treina Bodart says. “And of that group, we have 50% of...

Fond du Lac, Wisc.: Angelia Foster, regional president for Marshfield Medical Center in Beaver Dam, will serve as Moraine Park’s keynote speaker at the Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony on May 18. Foster has more than fifteen years of health care leadership experience, including her past role as executive vice president/chief administrative officer at Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers in Bryan, Ohio. She began her health care career at Memorial Health System in Springfield, Illinois, where she served as the affiliate vice president of Human Resources and Support Services. Before serving in healthcare, Foster has served as an organizational development consultant for over 20 years, to a variety of human and healthcare entities. Foster has been in her current role since March 2020. Upon her arrival to Beaver Dam, COVID-19 presented and her team needed to move into incident command, within her first 10 days, to manage the complexities and needs of the health care community. During the fall of 2020, Dodge County was on the NYT Top 10 for positivity cases for COVID-19 for nine weeks. During this difficult season, Foster’s team remained calm to the chaos and served their patients, residents and children. Foster was requested countless times to speak to national, regional and local media sources including the Wall Street Journal about the challenges her community was facing and how her team was responding to those needs. She also participated in weekly radio addresses to help her community understand and manage the COVID-19 impact. Foster received her master’s in management and organizational behavior from Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. and bachelor’s in political science and communications from Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. She currently resides in Horicon with her husband, David. They are the proud parents of five children and three grandchildren.

The following is a recap of the Common Council meeting from Tuesday, May 21, 2024. A recording of this meeting and the Committee of the Whole is available on the City website. Approved Consent Agenda including minutes of May 7th meetings and picnic license for Columbus Softball Association. Ordinances. Adopted...

City Administrator notes for the Common Council meeting taking place on Tuesday, May 21, 2024:. Ordinances – First Reading (Final action may be taken by a motion to suspend the rules and waive the readings under City of Columbus Ordinance Sec 2-46) Ordinance 791-24 to Repeal and Recreate Article...

(Waupun) Waupun Utilities is joining communities across North America to celebrate Drinking Water Week this week. It is an annual observance led by the American Water Works Association. The week highlights the importance of safe drinking water and recognizes the efforts of water professionals who keep it flowing all the time.

Waupun, Wis. – At approximately 8:30 p.m. the city was hit by strong thunderstorms that were associated with a tornado warning in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties. Damage assessments are underway. An estimated 270 customers lost power in the central portions of the city. Electric crews from Waupun Utilities are dealing with downed trees and power lines and mutual aid from Juneau Utilities is enroute to assist. Residents are reminded to stay clear of downed lines as they may still be energized. Waupun Utility line workers are restoring power to sections of the impacted area with the southeast portion of the affect area restored at this time. More complex outages that require backyard work exist with trees down and broken poles between W Main, W Franklin, then Commercial down to Brandon St. Additionally, crews are evaluating downed lines in the Elm Ave / Grace Street neighborhood. For residents without power, it is recommended that electronic devices running low on power be connected to a power source in a vehicle for charging. Additionally, it is recommended to check basements if sump pumps are not running and move valuables to higher storage to avoid potential water damage. Those impacted with damage are advised to take pictures and contact their insurance company to report property damage. Beginning Wednesday, May 23rd, impacted residents may move brush curbside and Public Works crews will complete brush collection. At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We have checked with senior and assisted care facilities and.

(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Department of Public Works is reminding residents to avoid discharging grass clippings into the street. Stormwater Utility Manager Todd Janssen says the city is under mandate by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to assist in improving water quality in lakes, streams, and drainage ways which city storm sewers dispense.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue a permit for the incidental taking of a rare lizard, which may result from the River Road Reconstruction Project in Adams and Columbia counties. Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that...

(Beaver Dam) The public is invited to attend a community presentation by the Beaver Dam Action Plan Committee. The presentation will showcase the committee’s ideas, concepts, and recommendations for the city’s comprehensive plan. More than 40 members of the community signed up to participate on the project’s committee at the kickoff meeting held in December.

(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Common Council is set for meet tonight at 7pm. Items on the agenda include awarding the contract for the Kellom Road Extension Project and awarding temporary liquor licenses to the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce for the Taste of Wisconsin in June. At the last...

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue a permit for the incidental taking of a rare lizard, which may result from the River Road Reconstruction Project in Adams and Columbia counties. Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened...