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Moraine Park Technical College was again awarded Workforce Advancement Training (WAT) grants from the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). The College’s Economic & Workforce Development team submitted six grants for consideration for $1,178,314–the highest in the state for two consecutive years. Moraine Park received full funding for all 6 grants which will support over 54 companies and almost 7,000 hours of training. Approximately $5 million is available each year in the WAT competitive application process to fund projects in partnership with a single business or consortium of businesses. “We are continuously thankful to WTCS for the significant grant support,” JoAnn Hall, dean of economic and workforce development at Moraine Park, said. “WAT grants allow us to support our business partners through customized training– keeping them at the forefront of their strategic initiatives. These training projects will assist businesses in their employee engagement and retention efforts, supporting extensive skill development of their employees.” The grants were written for consortium initiatives in quality and advanced manufacturing, industrial maintenance, advanced automation and robotics, leadership, welding, fabrication and supervision. The Wisconsin Technical College System has distributed WAT grants since 2005 to support employers in their efforts to retain and advance the skills of their workforce. WAT grant funds promote increased investment in the development of incumbent workers, improve Wisconsin businesses’ productivity and competitiveness, and expand technical college training to local businesses and industry. The grant process involves discussions with company leaders from several business areas to uncover regional challenges and needs such as increasing sales, fulfilling greater customer demands, recruiting and retaining employees, and more. MPTC conducts a business assessment, and in collaboration with individual companies, develops a long-range strategic training plan that focuses on their specific goals. One example of this collaboration is Moraine Park’s partnership with Didion, a local company benefiting from specialized training made possible by grant funding. “The WAT grant and training program through MPTC is just one example of our commitment to investing in team member growth,” Amy Jones, director of human development at Didion, said. “Dedicated training like this empowers our team members to be more confident in their skills and increases pride in their new capabilities and knowing their impact will support our company-wide operational needs and personal growth.”

Reader question: We live near Appleton West High School and see that Boldt and McMahon are preparing a site near the pool building and athletic fields for something new. No signs on the fences say what it is. What is this project? How much does it cost? Answer: The activity at Appleton West High School,...

At each President’s Ball, there’s always a group of people moving in imperfect but dazzling synchrony with one another, commanding the energy on the floor in front of the band. Those people are likely members or casual attendees of the Lawrence University Swing Dance Club, somewhat humorously called LSD for short. “Swing” is an umbrella term for a dance form first created in the early 20th century by Black Americans and often associated with jazz music. Two major subcategories are East Coast swing, which adheres to more traditional ballroom culture and is accompanied by a big band, and West Coast swing, characterized as more flexible and adaptable to different musical genres.

The Fox Cities and Green Bay SCORE chapters recently merged to become SCORE Northeast Wisconsin. For clients requesting a mentor, that will mean a broader range of expertise to select from. For the newly-combined chapter, it will mean the ability to serve more communities, including minority business groups. One of the mentors, Bill...

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY (WLUK) -- The celebration is on at an area recreation site. Mosquito Hill Nature Center near New London is marking 50 years this fall. At the end of a place called the overlook trail sits a view that Outagamie County Parks Director Justin Schumacher says is tough to top.

Fond du Lac residents are being asked to help donate supplies that will be transported by truck to aid hurricane victims in North Carolina. Cheryl Meyer is organizing the relief effort which is being held this weekend at the Fond du Lac County Airport. Meyer says the clothing and supplies will be loaded on a semi donated by TTI Trucking and transported to North Carolina where church volunteers and a group of military veterans called Christian Rangers will distribute them to those in need. Meyer says among the items that are needed include cold weather items. The drive-through relief effort will be held from 3pm to 6pm Friday, 10am to 1pm Saturday, and 2pm to 5pm Sunday at the Fond du Lac County Airport.

On Monday, Oct. 14, Lawrence hosted its ninth annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event was held by Lawrence University Native Alliance (LUNA), a student organization that promotes “awareness about Native American/Indigenous cultures through education and activism,” as stated in their description. As a result, the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration focused on personal experiences and greater cultural identity.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, poet Niina Pollari gave a reading in the Wriston Art Center Galleries. She read mostly from her book “Path of Totality,” but she included some other original poems as well. The 45 minutes or so that Pollari was reading were absolutely incredible and life-changing.

RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon football program gave up 17 points over a seven-minute, second-quarter stretch on Saturday afternoon as the Red Hawks fell 30-6 to the University of Chicago at Hopp Stadium. After a pair of punts to open the game, Chicago (3-3, 3-2 MWC) drove inside the...

The Notre Dame Academy Tritons (9-0) took on the Oshkosh North Spartans (6-3) in a home conference game last Friday. This was senior night for the Tritons, and the last week for regular season play. The Tritons dominated the game with a final score of 41-7. Notre Dame Academy 2024 football team won the Southern Fox River Valley Classic Conference, and brought home the plaque.

APPLETON – The Appleton West boys soccer team extended its winning streak to four with a 9-2 rout of Xavier in a nonconference match Thursday at the Nienhaus Sports Complex. Kivi Itecha had a hat trick, Lomona Ilunga and Salah Zeineldin both scored twice, and Michael Wilondja and Lincoln Vang added goals for Appleton West.

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On Wednesday, Oct. 16, sorority Beta Psi Nu (initialized as BYN) co-hosted their Fundraiser for Palestinian Children in collaboration with fraternity Beta Theta Pi. The fundraiser took place in Warch Campus Center (WCC) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with proceeds going towards the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). Though BYN is unaffiliated with either organization below, the Fundraiser for Palestinian Children was hosted just over a week after a walkout for Palestine on Monday, Oct. 7 organized by Appleton Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and is part of a longer string of Palestine-related events on campus since Oct. 7, 2023.

This is Justin from Draft Diamonds here with my top Division Three matchups of Week 8. Below you will see which teams are in these matchups along with players on them. University of Wisconsin-Platteville at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Pioneers visit the Titans in this one. Trae Tetzlaff senior receiver...

On Saturday, Oct. 12, the whirlwind spectacle of Kaleidoscope, featuring students and faculty of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and Lawrence Community Music School (LCMS), returned to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (PAC) for its eighth occurrence since the event’s inception in 2006. Coinciding this year with the 150th anniversary of the Conservatory, the 90-minute show was an exhilarating celebration of the wide array of musical styles flourishing in our university community.

(Waupun) Waupun Fire Department Chief B.J. DeMaa says fire and smoke are not the only things firefighters have to worry about when they enter a burning building. He says synthetic materials used for construction and furnishings these days can produce toxic smoke, which has contributed to the rise in cancer rates they have seen in firefighters. He says those in the field of firefighting are still trying to grasp how big a number they are talking about. DeMaa notes that anytime a firefighter has to put on SCBA or self-contained breathing apparatus gear they wash that equipment thoroughly after the fire. Once a year they also bring in a company they professionally cleans, sanitizes, and disinfects seats in their fire truck.

Winneconne had already won five in a row and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 3-0 margin over the Plymouth Panthers. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Wolves have posted since September 19th. The final...

The Fox Valley Association crown will be split by three teams. After Friday night, Kaukauna, Kimberly and Neenah all finished with a 6-1 conference record. On the TV32 WACY Sports Showdown game of the week, Kimberly held off Appleton North for a 10-9 win in a thrilling matchup at Papermaker Stadium.

Kimberly had already won nine in a row and they went ahead and made it ten on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Appleton East Patriots with a sharp 3-0 victory. That's more bragging rights for the Papermakers, who also won the pair's last head-to-head. Kimberly's not only won,...

Wautoma was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They fell 3-1 to the Mauston Golden Eagles. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Hornets of the 3-1 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in September.