News

Paint Wisconsin Overview/Reception: Roberta’s Art Gallery, Friday, August 8, 2025, 3-4:30 p.m.

Paint Wisconsin Awards, Art Auction and 20-Year Gala: Cultural Arts Center, Friday, August 8, 2025, 5-8 p.m.

• 5:00 pm – Gallery viewing, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and piano music by Jim Olm
• 5:45 pm – 20th Anniversary Acknowledgement, Marilyn Fuerstenberg Tribute and Thank You to WHS Class of 1961, Paint Wisconsin Awards
• 6:15 pm – Appeal by WAA Board Member Dwight Watson
• 6:20 pm – Live auction of “Painting with the Whitewater Stars” pieces and WAA artwork
• 7:30 pm – Performance by “Here Comes Treble” Sweet Adeline Quartet

The Marilyn Fuerstenberg Paint Wisconsin Exhibit Reception and Whitewater Arts Alliance 20-Year Anniversary Gala Scheduled for August 8, 2025

The Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA) is proud to present the 1st Annual Paint Wisconsin Exhibition and to host its 20th Anniversary Gala on Friday, August 8, 2025. The Paint Wisconsin Exhibit will run from Thursday, August 7 – Wednesday, September 10, 2025. Due to the overwhelming response to the call for art and the high-caliber pieces submitted for this juried exhibition, the WAA has partnered with Roberta’s Art Gallery in the James R. Connor University Center, located on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UW-W) campus, to display some of the works. A list of the exhibiting artists and biographies of jurors Thomas Jewell, Frank Juarez, and Graeme Reid are available on the WAA website at https://www.whitewaterarts.org/paint-wisconsin-2025.  Roberta’s Art Gallery will hold a Paint Wisconsin Overview and Reception on August 8, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Free parking will be available in UW-W Lot 12. The lot is located behind Andersen Library, near the corner of Prairie and Main Streets.

At 5:00 p.m., the program and celebration will continue in the Cultural Arts Center, home of the Whitewater Arts Alliance, located at 402 W Main Street, Whitewater. The ticket cost is “pay what you will.” The event will open with free heavy hors d’oeuvres, a beer and wine cash bar, and live piano music by Jim Olm. At 5:45 p.m., the WAA will honor former member, self-taught artist, and inspiration for the Paint Wisconsin Exhibit, Marilyn Fuerstenberg. When Marilyn passed away in June 2024, her many friends in the WAA and classmates from the Whitewater High School class of 1961 wanted to establish an event in her honor. Through their generosity and the contributions of local sponsors, the Paint Wisconsin Exhibition became a reality. The Paint Wisconsin Awards will be announced at this time.

Marilyn Fuerstenberg was instrumental in the development and growth of the WAA as she led workshops and brought renowned artists from around the country to Whitewater. Thanks to dedicated members like Marilyn, the WAA is also celebrating its 20-year anniversary on August 8. Established in 2005 by community members and local artists working together to preserve the Prairie Tillers Mural at the corner of Center Street and Whitewater Avenue, the organization strives to expand its mission to “support, promote, and develop the arts as an essential and integral part of our community.” To that end, the evening will include a live auction at 6:20 p.m. as a fundraiser. Auctioneer Jenny Gehl from Bravo Benefit Auctions will auction off the 12 pieces from the “Painting with the Whitewater Stars” event (to include pieces by Chancellor Corey King, City Manager John Weidl, and First Citizens State Bank CEO Jim Caldwell, among others), two paintings by Marilyn Fuerstenberg, two pieces by Albert Benedict, and other works. Directly following the auction, Jenny will guide a live paddle raise; all donors over a certain amount will be entered in a drawing for a gift basket valued at more than $500. The festivities will close with a performance by “Here Comes Treble” Sweet Adeline Quartet featuring Christine Hayes, Valerie Troxel, Lori Heidenreich, and Kim Taylor.

Everyone is welcome to the Cultural Arts Center for an evening of food, drink, art, and music in celebration of Marilyn Fuerstenberg, the Whitewater Arts Alliance, and community.  Many thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible: Anonymous sponsors, Edge Broadband, Fort Community Credit Union, Gomez Landscaping, Harbor Homes, Jim Leaver Family, Sandy Adams, Serenity Concepts, TDS, and Triton Roofing.

Please visit the Whitewater Arts Alliance website for additional details regarding the schedule, or contact: Kim Adams, Gallery Director, Whitewater Arts Alliance

Phone: 608-201-2151
Email: wwartsalliance@gmail.com
Website: whitewaterarts.org

Gallery Hours: Thursdays-Sundays, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. Please Note: The gallery is closed outside of Gallery Exhibit Hours except for special events and is also closed when no show is currently running.

“20 Years Of Celebrating The Arts And Creating Community!”

Editor’s note: The above press release was received from the Whitewater Arts Alliance.

   The Catholic Spirit Radio Network announced that its network has expanded to Wisconsin, broadcasting to Whitewater and its surrounding communities and roadways.  It can be heard on 89.3 FM on the radio, by using the app Catholic Spirit Talk Radio, streaming on catholicspiritradio.com, and listening to Alexa.

   It airs 24 hours a day with a wide variety of hosts and a mix of programs from national networks of EWTN, Guadalupe, Ave Maria, Virgin Most Powerful, and Station of the Cross. It also includes five local shows. They have a website (catholicspiritradio.com) and a presence on Facebook and X. 

   Jon Hall, Founder and President, states, “We are thrilled to finally be broadcasting in your communities. All ages of Catholics and non-Catholics listen for the contemporary talk shows, analysis of news, and prayer opportunities. We hope you’ll tune-in often!”

   Founded in 2011, Catholic Spirit Radio has grown to 11 stations throughout central and northern Illinois plus now Whitewater. It has over 1.5 million potential listeners. Catholic Spirit Radio, based in Normal, Illinois, is a non-profit organization.

Bethel will host a Farmers Market & Faire on Saturday, August 2, 2025 from 10 AM – 2 PM – the perfect time to see what’s happening with our community garden. All are welcome to join us for this special day. A featured part of this gathering is our bake sale, which was a huge hit last year. No one does a BAKE SALE like Methodist women, and this year will be no exception. Mark your calendars now – Saturday, August 2nd! We have 14 confirmed vendors – including our very own Bethel Garden goodies, organic flowers, Casa Mia cookies, local honey products, hand crafted artisan pieces, Quednows’ apples, 3-D printed toys, handmade stamped paper products, sweet corn, knitted pieces, and so much more! Back by popular demand is our live music area, and a free kids’ play zone. We all hope to see you there!

Editor’s note: The following article was previously published on The Banner.

Bethel’s Community Garden Project

One of the delights of spring is the opportunity to plant a garden. Gardens provide great food, physical and mental health benefits, and social connections to other gardeners. However, not everyone has the space for a garden, the time to tend to it from planting to harvest, or the experience to grow one. That’s where community gardens can be a valuable resource.

In 2024, a garden was planted at Bethel United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Hwy 12/67 and County Road A (www.ElkhornBethelUMC.org). The garden was planted on a piece of unused land at the church and provided beautiful flowers and produce which all community members and congregation members were encouraged to enjoy.

In 2025, with help from the gardening group Wisconsin Food Forests, this garden is being expanded. Wisconsin Food Forests (www.wisconsinfoodforests.com ) is an organization dedicated to establishing community gardens based on perennial plants
that will provide food for years to come.

The Bethel Garden sits on a half-acre behind the church building and will include an annual garden of flowers and vegetables, an herb garden, and a variety of perennial food-producing plants, from root crops to trees. It is an open space where all community members are encouraged to participate. Anyone can come maintain the garden, help themselves to flowers and produce, wander around, or just sit and read a book. We encourage sharing of the flowers and food grown there with all who visit. All surplus produce will go to the Elkhorn Food Pantry, while we hope to share flowers with those in local nursing homes, care facilities, and senior living complexes.

Our most recent planting day was Saturday, May 31, 2025, where Bethel members and community friends came together to share their hands, their hearts, and their green thumbs.

What is a food forest? Like a forest, food is grown from plants at different levels, including roots, ground cover, and herbaceous plants, as well as trees and shrubs. (From: https://www.fairamountfoodforest.org/what-is-a-food-forest.html )

The expansion of the garden is fairly labor intensive for the first year. In subsequent years as the garden becomes dominated by perennials, we anticipate that it will become more self-sustaining by virtue of being relatively low maintenance, and by the collective participation of people in the community.

We are deeply grateful for the number of folks who have already stepped up to help get this garden established. We had our first planting day on May 3, 2025, and had 20 plus volunteers, including children, show up to help put in the primary plants of the food forest. Since then, we have planted more perennials and annuals, including the vegetable garden, pumpkins, and lot of flowers. If this project sounds intriguing to you, please contact us with any questions (or advice). Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested and feel free to share our contact information with them.

Contact info:
Diane Bustamante
Tim Middleton
Email: middlemante@genevaonline.com

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.

How did people exist without air conditioning at the turn of the 20th century? This photo suggests one way: sitting on the porch and/or lawn. Note the woman reading a book and the rocking chairs on the porch and the lawn. This photo is from the Scholl collection of glass plate negatives from the c.1900 era.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(3777GP, Whitewater Historical Society)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued a statewide “unhealthy” air quality advisory from Thursday at noon until Friday, August 1 at noon, stating that “Canadian wildfire smoke will continue to impact Wisconsin`s surface air quality over the next several days. Widespread Unhealthy (Red) AQI for PM2.5 [particulate matter] is expected across Wisconsin on Thursday, with NowCast AQI values in the Very Unhealthy (Purple) category possible.

Sensitive groups: Consider rescheduling or moving all activities inside. Go inside if you have symptoms.
People with asthma: Follow your asthma action plan and keep quick-relief medicine handy.
People with heart disease: Symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, or unusual fatigue may indicate a serious problem. If you have any of these, contact your health care provider.
Everyone else: Keep outdoor activities shorter and less intense. Go inside if you have symptoms.

Conditions are expected to slowly improve beginning Friday. However, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (Orange) to Unhealthy (Red) AQI will remain possible through the weekend. Conditions will be reevaluated on a day-to-day basis through the weekend, including updates to the forecast and any associated Air Quality Advisories.

Jefferson County Land and Water Department invites nature lovers of all ages to Snapshot Day, a search for aquatic invasive species (AIS) on Saturday, August 9, 2025 at Rock River Landing Park (629 N Elizabeth Ave, Jefferson, WI 53549) from 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. Snapshot Day is a statewide effort to protect Wisconsin’s streams, lakes, and wetlands by monitoring designated sites for invasive plants and animals that may threaten the state’s wildlife and water ecosystems.

Snapshot Day is coordinated in partnership by the UW-Madison Division of Extension, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network. Information collected during the event will provide the Wisconsin DNR with data to help them tailor response efforts accordingly for each site. Volunteer efforts are crucial to the success of this endeavor.

More and more people want to know how they can help protect the local lakes, rivers and streams they love. As said by Dawn Nelesen, 2023 Snapshot Day Volunteer, “Gathering samples of invasive species on Snapshot Day is a great way to give the Wisconsin DNR a heads up on invasive species that may have recently arrived at particular lakes and rivers. With this information, gathered by volunteers like me all across the state, the DNR can hopefully get out in front of the problem and reduce their impact—I think that’s very important”.

This will be the 9th time Jefferson County Land and Water has hosted Snapshot Day, working alongside over 20 other conservation organizations to prevent the spread of invasive species across Wisconsin.

Volunteers will search for invasive species at critical monitoring sites. Any potential invasive species will be verified and cataloged with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to help tailor species removal and conservation plans accordingly.

This event requires no prior experience and training is provided. Snapshot Day is free and open to volunteers of all ages but is recommended for ages 8 and up. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.

REGISTRATION:
Register and see all event details at:
Aquatic Invasive Species Snapshot Day – 2025 – Water Action Volunteers

Advance registration is requested to help site leaders build monitoring plans but will remain open until August 8.

Photos courtesy of Tom Ganser

Written by Kristine Zaballos | Photos by Craig Schreiner and Kyle Winter

For the ninth consecutive year, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been named among the Colleges of Distinction, a national honor that recognizes campuses for exceptional teaching and dedication to student success. UW-Whitewater is one of just five public universities in the state to receive this distinction.

For the second year in a row, UW-Whitewater has been awarded the international badge, and is the only public university other than UW-Madison in the state to earn this distinction. To be recognized, UW-Whitewater must be seen as a university that goes above and beyond to support international students, demonstrating their dedication to helping students from around the world not only adjust — but truly thrive.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the educational experience international students are having at UW-Whitewater. Small classes, approachable professors, welcoming community — these are just some of the things that allow international students to experience the best of what UWW and the US have to offer,” said John McGuigan, director of the Center for Global Education. “And just as our Warhawks can learn and grow through studying overseas, they benefit as well from working side-by-side with students from around the world. International students bring such a wide range of experiences and perspectives to the classroom and campus. They add real vitality to the campus and local community.”

UW-Whitewater is also the only university among the Universities of Wisconsin to earn a badge in military support, recognizing an institution’s efforts to support and cultivate the skills that military students bring to the classroom while helping them achieve their personal and professional goals. Among the resources and support services recognized by the badge are the university’s Veterans, Military Service and Family Members Lounge, two full-time veterans support staff members, an active Chancellor’s Committee on Veterans and Military Student Success and a dedicated website of resources for students.

The international and military support badges round out existing badges that highlight UW-Whitewater’s excellence in business, education, equity and inclusion and as a public institution in Wisconsin. And it continues to be the only college in the Universities of Wisconsin to earn the career development badge and one of just two universities in the state to be awarded the affordability badge.

To be named a College of Distinction, UW-Whitewater demonstrates continued excellence in undergraduate education in such factors as student engagement, teaching excellence, outcomes-based learning, and community involvement. This evaluation process differs from those of popular college rankings publications, whose formulas grade institutions based on factors like faculty salaries, endowment size, and peer opinion.

The Colleges of Distinction selection process consists of a review of each institution’s freshman experience and retention efforts alongside its general education programs, alumni success, strategic plan, student satisfaction, and other criteria. Schools are accepted on the basis that they adhere to the four distinctions: engaged students, great teaching, successful outcomes and vibrant community.

Distinction 1: Engaged students

Distinction 2: Great teaching

Distinction 3: Vibrant communities

Distinction 4: Successful outcomes

Editor’s note: For additional information regarding the persons depicted in the photos above, please click here.

The Young Performing Arts Center at UW-W is expected to announce its ’25-26 season soon, but the first show already sold out, resulting in the addition of an additional performance. Wisconsin native comedian Charlie Berens is returning, “with brand new material” in a show called Working it All Out, on Friday, September 12. The 7:00 p.m. show sold out long ago, but as of noon on July 30, 233 tickets are still available on the website for the 9:30 p.m. show. Seats are priced at $45-50. The ticket office is closed until late August, but in case of questions a message may be left for the staff at (262) 472-2222.

Editor’s note: The following is from the Young website.

CHARLIE BERENS is a comedian, New York Times Best Selling Author, Emmy-winning journalist, musician and creator of the Manitowoc Minute. The Wisconsin native has been featured on Comedy Central, Fox, CBS, Funny or Die, TBS, Variety, MTV News and more. He creates weekly content for his various social platforms and has amassed over 7.5 million followers.

Charlie began his career working for MTV News’ Choose or Lose. After that he worked in front and behind the camera for emerging YouTube news channels. In 2012, Tribune Media tapped Charlie to host the comedic news show Nightcap. In 2013 he won an Emmy for “The Cost of Water” while reporting for KDAF.

In 2017, Charlie began hosting his weekly comedic online news show, the Manitowoc Minute. Since then, Charlie’s been creating Midwest-focused sketch comedy videos on his social media platforms. He’s also traveled the country with three sold out stand-up comedy tours.

In 2020, Charlie paired up with Horseshoes & Hand Grenades alum Adam Greul to release the music/comedy album, Unthawed. The album, which is a mixture of bluegrass, country and Charlie’s comedy, hit #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart and #6 on the Bluegrass Comedy chart.

Charlie’s first book, The Midwest Survival Guide, was released in November of 2021 by William Morrow/Harper Collins and immediately became a New York Times Best Seller! Charlie is currently on his third stand-up tour in support of the book’s release. His Midwest Survival Guide Tour sold over 150,000 tickets!

Charlie hosts the Cripescast podcast where he interviews musicians, artists, comedians, creators and more to talk about their story and connections to the Midwest. Guests have included Jeff Foxworthy, Nate Bargatze and Roy Wood, Jr.

Studio 84 is pleased to announce that Second Saturdays are back! Every second Saturday of the month Studio 84 will open its doors to the community with a new and exciting artistic adventure. We are extremely grateful to the Geneva Lake Women’s Association for their grant, making Second Saturdays possible again.

Second Saturdays provides the opportunity to drop in, hang out and participate in a fun artistic activity as a family, group or individual at no cost. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide any assistance needed and at the end you’ll be able to take your new art piece home with you!

Studio 84 is a non-profit art studio, gallery and store located at 121 W. Center St. in downtown Whitewater. Our mission is to provide fully accessible opportunities in the arts to enrich people’s lives. Our regular weekday programming provides individual guidance and instruction to people of all ages and abilities for a cost. We are privileged to be able to provide this free opportunity to create art together as a community thanks to the generosity of the Geneva Lake Women’s Association. 

An adult must accompany kids under the age of twelve. Anyone with special needs may also be required to have a guardian or caregiver present depending on their needs. 

You can learn more about Studio 84 at our webstite www.studio84inc.org , Facebook @ Studio84, Inc. or Instagram @ studio84inc