Starting June 1, 2024, Wisconsin residents have had the option to add one emergency contact to the driver license or ID card record. This contact information could be available to law enforcement agencies in the event that you are in a collision or are experiencing a medical emergency. This information may save crucial time if ever it becomes necessary to contact your family members or other loved ones.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says 82,100 Wisconsinites added their emergency contact information to their DMV record in the first year of the “To Inform Families First” Act. An average of a little over 1000 people add the contact to their file every week.
As part of every application for a Wisconsin driver license or ID card, the applicant will be asked if they would like to include emergency contact information in their file. Adding the information is voluntary. If you would like to have an emergency contact listed, you will be required to provide the contact’s name, residential address, phone number and their relationship to you. This information will not be printed on the driver license or ID card.
If you would like to add an emergency contact to your file, click here.
The Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] is offering discounted private well water sample kits for the entire month of July to help residents protect their health and ensure the safety of their drinking water.
Well owners can purchase individual test kits at the following reduced prices:
Bacteria: $10 per sample
Nitrate: $10 per sample
Arsenic and lead water tests may also be purchased for the regular rate of $20 per sample. Well water test kits may be purchased and dropped off during regular business hours at Walworth County Health and Human Services. Only cash or check payments will be accepted.
Unlike municipal water systems, private wells are not regularly monitored, which means it’s the responsibility of the homeowner to test their water. Contaminants like bacteria, nitrate, lead, and arsenic are often invisible, tasteless, and odorless—but they can pose serious health risks, especially for infants, children, pregnant individuals, and those with weakened immune systems.
DHHS hours are: Mon/Wed/Thurs/Fri 8-4:30, Tues 8-6 The office is located at 1910 County Road NN, Elkhorn.
Carol McCormick writes, “Had to look this one up! It is an immature double-crested cormorant. Surveyed Trippe Lake for a few minutes, then took off.”
Our thanks to Carol McCormick for sharing another nature photo.
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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Enactus team, an organization that uses business as a force of good to improve people’s lives and their communities, was named the 2025 Enactus USA champion in late May at the Enactus United States Expo in Kansas City, Missouri.
This group of Warhawks will now represent the country as Team USA at the Enactus World Cup, set for this September in Bangkok, Thailand. They’ll compete alongside the top teams from more than 30 countries around the world.
Basu said the chapter’s two primary collaborations — an existing international project that empowers women, and a new project focused on supporting rural America — set the UW-Whitewater Enactus team apart from others in the nation and propelled it to win the 2025 national championship.
ProChapina
Students and faculty have been working with ProChapina, a nonprofit organization that serves to support, educate, uplift, and empower women in Guatemala through professional training programs and other services, since 2019.
Last year, Enactus teamed with UW-Whitewater’s American Marketing Association chapter — the 2025 International Chapter of the Year — to build a sustainable business plan with marketing and fundraising services for ProChapina. Two students from each group, along with AMA faculty advisor Lauren Drury, visited Antigua, Guatemala, for one week last summer to discuss product development and sales and to immerse themselves in Guatemalan culture.
Left to right, UW-Whitewater student participants Ruth Hammer, Faith Jones, Kylie Bilello, and Fionnbharr Hartnett stand with Julio Martinez of ProChapina, at center, at the top of Cerro de la Cruz in Antigua, Guatemala. (Photo courtesy of Fionnbharr Hartnett)
The team turned its focus to marketing this past year, working with the university and businesses in the area to gauge interest in selling ProChapina products, which include hand-crafted goods and other services.
RenewTowns
Over the last year, UW-Whitewater students and faculty have worked with three Wisconsin cities as part of Enactus’ RenewTowns project.
The goal of the project is to drive sustainable economic growth and revitalization in communities. Enactus has teamed with organizations and business leaders in Fort Atkinson, Cambridge, and Wauwatosa to build business pitch competitions that offer free rent and other incentives to small businesses who set up in the downtown areas of those communities.
For example, Enactus worked with Collaborative 532 on the Cambridge Storefront Competition to bring a small business to one of the vacant spaces in downtown Cambridge. In Fort Atkinson, the latest winner of the RenewTowns storefront competition was Tidy Tails, a dog grooming business that captured the community’s heart.
As with other participating towns, the winning entrepreneur received a year of free rent — a powerful incentive designed to jumpstart small business growth on Main Streets across rural America.
The student-led initiative is more than just the prize. RenewTowns is sparking a movement that unites community members, unlocks local resources, and creates a ripple effect of sustainable growth by bringing life back to vacant storefronts. It’s an economic — and emotional — revival.
“What’s unique about this project — and what continues to impress the Enactus judges — is its unwavering focus on rural America,” Basu said. “The direct beneficiaries are the small towns, the mom-and-pop stores, and the wonderful communities that are the country’s beating heart. We’re using cutting-edge business tools to support the places and people we care about. We’re working to uplift the folks you hear about in a Springsteen or Mellencamp song.”
Members of the UW-Whitewater Enactus team pose with the owners of Tidy Tails, a business in Fort Atkinson that won the RenewTowns storefront competition.
Ripon College has announced its Dean’s List for the Spring 2025 semester recognizing academic excellence. To qualify for the Dean’s List at Ripon College, students must achieve a 3.40 grade point average or higher on a 4.00 scale and complete at least 12 credits of regular letter-graded works.
Heather Charter, a Senior from Whitewater, WI was named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List. Charter’s majors are Business Management, Economics. Minor, Philosophy
Founded in 1851, Ripon College is a private liberal arts and science institution nestled in Ripon, Wisconsin. Ripon College is dedicated to delivering personalized education through a diverse array of undergraduate programs and extracurricular opportunities, ensuring students enjoy a well- rounded college experience. Ripon College enrolls more than 700 students with a student- to-faculty ratio of 12:1. The college’s picturesque, historic campus and vibrant community provide a supportive environment where students can thrive academically and personally.
City of Whitewater Landmarks Commission – Wednesday @ 6:00 p.m. Agenda includes Update on Starin Park Water Tower and Update on the historical gardens that were found next to Effigy Mounds. Cravath Lakefront room 2nd floor 312 West Whitewater St *In Person and Virtual Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone. Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/979719725 You can also dial in using your phone. Access Code: 979-719-725 United States: +1 (571) 317-3112 Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://meet.goto.com/install
The following student from the area has been named to the University of Wisconsin-Stout Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester.
The award is presented to students who have a grade point average of 3.5 or above.
UW-Stout, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, offers more than 70 industry-aligned undergraduate and graduate degrees and 40 professional certificate programs. Established in 1891, the university prides itself on the success of its students in the workplace, with nearly 1,000 national internship placements and an employment rate of 99% for recent graduates. UW-Stout is a top-rated Military Friendly and Best for Vets institution, a DOE Green Ribbon recipient for sustainability, and the only four-year institution in the U.S. to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
University of Wisconsin-Stout offers a polytechnic education distinguished by applied learning and research, business and industry collaboration, and career-focused experiences to prepare students for success in engineering, technology, design, management and other fields. It is one of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin.
Cameron ZehrGrimm, a Biology major from Whitewater, is engaging in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Summer Undergraduate Research (SURF) program.
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship is a faculty-mentored summer research grant. Students must apply for the highly-competitive program, which includes a stipend and an expense budget for supplies, travel, or publication costs. Participating students are paired with a UW-Whitewater faculty mentor.
After participating in the summer program, students will present at UW-Whitewater’s Fall and Spring Undergraduate Research Days and at either the national Conference on Undergraduate Research or the Universities of Wisconsin Symposium.
Students who participate in undergraduate research – a staple of the Warhawk experience – are exposed to hands-on learning opportunities, relationship building and networking, presenting at state and national conferences, and being published in prestigious journals.
To learn more about the SURF program, visit uww.edu/urp.
Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by UW-Whitewater.
Brandon M Herdman, 38, of N9123 Connelly Rd, Whitewater, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence—seventh, eighth or ninth offense, a felony.
Alyssa L. Pero, 21, of Cambridge, formerly of 320 N. Tratt St. #5, Whitewater, has been charged with Battery or Threat to Judge, Prosecutor, or Law Enforcement Officer, a felony.
Editor’s notes: The above information is taken from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.
It is a cardinal principle of our system of justice that every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until his or her guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt.
