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December 17, 2019 

Per a press release from Kalil & Co., Tucson, AZ, a contract has been signed and an application is being filed with the FCC for the transfer of radio stations WFAW-AM and WSJY-FM, Fort Atkinson; and WKCH-FM, Whitewater; from NRG Media LLC to Magnum Communications, Inc. 

The Seller, NRG Media, LLC, is an Iowa-based company headed by Mary Quass. “We have been fortunate to have worked with the great people at the stations in Fort Atkinson for many years. The dedicated broadcasters at the stations will continue to provide the Fort Atkinson community with great local radio, and know they will contribute to the success of Magnum Communications going forward.” 

The Buyer, Magnum Communications, Inc., is a Wisconsin-based company headed by Dave Magnum. “I’m a sentimental person so two aspects of these acquisitions really struck me. First, my maternal Grandmother grew up on a Fort Atkinson farm. My Mom and her remaining siblings get together at Lake Ripley each summer in her honor. 

Second, we’re again getting to work with NRG. Back in the 90’s, my late wife, Lynn, had the chance to speak with Mary Quass several times at conventions. I told Reid and Ty that she considered Mary a role model. In 2007, five years after Lynn passed, I acquired three stations from NRG. That transaction went as smooth as silk. We look forward to the same outcome with the acquisitions of WFAW, WSJY and WKCH.” 

WFAW-AM operates at 940 kHz, with 0.5 kW day and 0.55 kW night. WSJY-FM operates at 107.3 MHz, with 26.0 kW at 676’ HAAT. WKCH-FM operates at 106.5 MHz, with 6.0 kW at 200’ HAAT. 

KALIL & CO., INC. is the exclusive broker for this transaction. 

The League of Women Voters, Whitewater Area presented the 2019 Making Democracy Work Award to Kristine Zaballos, resident of Whitewater and Seattle. Through her work as a founding board member of the Downtown Whitewater, Inc., she was instrumental in identifying “a little spark” in the development of the Tuesday evening Whitewater City Market, which will be celebrating its fifth anniversary next season. Along with her interest in creating The Community Space for area residents to find clothing, household supplies and food, she has been involved in the Grocery Coop development. The overarching goal of these efforts is to achieve a community vital and welcoming to current and future residents.

In Kristine’s acceptance speech, she mentioned four guiding principles that have helped her since she began to work on community projects: show up, tell the truth, look at where there is heart and meaning in addition to positive energy and finally, let go. These are deceptively simple, yet nuanced by further explanation in her acceptance speech. For example, she said her grandfather’s decision to defer plans for a new location of his church reflected the need at times to let go. Others may have better ideas.

League member Susan Crone gave an overview of Kristine’s many accomplishments as a master consensus builder who listens to what is said and also for what hasn’t been mentioned. Kristine uses the guiding principles of a democracy by holding faith in the majority and respecting the opinions of everyone.

View the entire award presentation recording here.

Crime alert issued by UW-W on 12/18/19

UW-Whitewater Police and area agencies are investigating a number of thefts of catalytic converters from parked vehicles, including from the Whitewater campus parking lots. Toyota vehicles, particularly the Prius models, are the main targets; however, all vehicle owners are advised to remain alert.

If you have information on these thefts please contact University Police at 262-472-4660, you may remain anonymous.

If you see suspicious activity immediately contact University Police by calling 911.

University Police have increased patrols in parking lots and are working diligently to locate the individual(s) responsible for these thefts. Owners wishing to further protect their vehicles can implement theft deterrent devices such as the “Catstrap”. A link for this type of product can be found here: https://www.catstrap.net/

If you believe your vehicle’s catalytic converter has been tampered with while parked on campus, please contact the UW-Whitewater Police immediately and DON’T move the vehicle. 

The catalytic converter is a target for theft as it contains precious metals, including platinum and rhodium.

Criminals can steal the converter in a few quick steps and often go unchallenged by members of the public.

If your catalytic converter is stolen, you’ll know about it because your vehicle will sound different when the ignition is started.

They are often positioned on the underside and towards the front of the vehicle and can be removed by criminals in as little as five minutes with battery-operated tools.

Please feel free to contact University Police at 262-472-4660 or police@uww.edu, with any questions or information you may need.

Sincerely,
Chief Matt Kiederlen

Whitewater Middle School hosted a school-wide National Geographic Geography Bee on Wednesday, December 18.    Special congratulations to Emerson Ellenwood, son of Christian Ellenwood and Elisabeth Duessen, Whitewater, for maintaining his 1st place finish for the second year in a row. Henry Gehrenbeck, son of Robert and Sarah Gehrenbeck, Whitewater, earned 2nd place.  3^rd place went to Lucien Pomazak, son of Mark and Anita Pomazak, Whitewater.  4th place went to Quinton O’Toole, son of Tim and Mindy O’Toole, Whitewater,  Quinton was also the top-scoring 6th grader.

Champion Emerson will now complete a qualifying test to go on and compete at the state level National Geographic Bee where he has a chance to win a $50,000 college scholarship. Congratulations to all of these students!  Good Luck to Emerson as he advances to the next level of competition.

Janesville Craig Invitational

On Saturday December 14th the Whitewater Whippet gymnastics team traveled to Janesville Craig High School to compete in an eight-team invitational. The gymnasts had a successful meet scoring a team score of 111.225. The highlights of the meet include Junior Jenna Caldwell scoring a record high on Vault with an 8.2. Freshman Halee Peters made significant improvement on the Vault and Balance Beam scoring an 8.2 on the Vault and an 8.27 on the Balance Beam. Lastly, Freshman Maddy Donnelly scored a 7.8 on the Vault along Caleigh Yang scoring a 7.4 making these their highest scores of the season thus far. These Whitewater Whippet athletes will be back in action on Tuesday January 7th in a home dual against Jefferson. Come on out and support your Whitewater Whippet gymnasts!! Goooo Whippets!!

Winter commencement set for Dec. 21

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will celebrate the achievements of its graduates at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, as proud families and friends gather for the 2019 winter commencement ceremony.

More than 757 students will cross the stage to receive their degrees. The ceremony, which is approximately two hours long, will be held at Kachel Fieldhouse.

This year’s commencement speaker is Rex Hanger, a professor in the Department of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science. Hanger is adamant about immersing his students in out-of-the-classroom experiences, with the guiding principle of “The best geologists are the ones who have seen the most rocks.” In 2018, UW-Whitewater awarded Hanger its highest academic accolade: the W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award. And in 2019 the UW System Board of Regents named him as one of two 2019 Regents Teaching Excellence individual award recipients.

The student speaker is Mikayla Frick. A native of Stoughton, Wisconsin, Frick has sought to deepen her understanding of diversity in human resource management by engaging in undergraduate research and completing internships at the Wisconsin Department of Justice and at American Family Mutual Insurance in Madison. At the latter, her efforts to create programs and initiatives to support diversity — from company values to hiring practices to employee culture — resulted in the company creating a full-time position for her. Frick will be graduating with a BBA in human resource management.

The ceremony will recognize 82 undergraduates from the College of Arts and Communication, 226 from the College of Business and Economics, 149 from the College of Education and Professional Studies and 198 from the College of Letters and Sciences. Of the 647 undergraduate degrees awarded, 13 were completed online. The School of Graduate Studies will award 110 degrees, including 100 master’s degrees and 10 doctorates.

The graduating class includes 13 international students, 51 military veterans and 147 nontraditional students, defined as undergraduate students who are 25 years of age or older. In addition, 57 self-identified students with disabilities will receive degrees.

A total of 87 graduating students, including Frick, participated in the university’s Hired Before Graduation campaign, which celebrates students who landed a job, were accepted to graduate school or started their own business before commencement.

Commencement will be broadcast live online by UWW-TV, the university television station.  

For more information: https://www.uww.edu/commencement