Delivery of Sand for Public Sidewalks – Monday

The City of Whitewater – Department of Public Works will deliver sand on Monday, December 1, 2025.
Key Details:

  • Residents who want sand for use on public sidewalks during winter should:
    o Place a sturdy container (not a cardboard box) at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on Monday, December 1.
  • If weather or other conditions prevent delivery that week, sand will be delivered as soon as weather permits.
  • Reminder: Per City Ordinance 12.20.020, the owner, occupant, and person in charge of any building or lot fronting upon or adjoining any sidewalk shall remove all snow and ice from the sidewalk no later than twenty-four hours after a snow or ice event. The full ordinance can be found at this link.

    For questions, contact the Department of Public Works at (262) 473-0560.

    Brian Neumeister
    Superintendent – Streets/Parks/Stormwater Utility

NCAA Football: UW-W Falls to DePauw in NCAA Second Round

Blake Haggerty hauls in a touchdown catch (Olivia Zinanni)

In nearly whiteout conditions at Perkins Stadium Saturday, the UW-Whitewater football team fell to DePauw 26-23 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. 

The snow started early this morning and only got heavier as the game went on. UWW’s hard-working field crew had plows out before the game and a contingent of shovelers clearing lines at nearly every break in play. 

The Tigers, with the top rush defense in Division III, limited the Warhawks to just 20 yards on the ground, but UWW picked up 221 yards in the passing game. However, it was penalties that proved costly for UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks were flagged for eight penalties for over 100 yards in the contest. DePauw posted 357 yards of total offense including 175 on the ground. 

After a scoreless first, the Tigers broke the stalemate with a three-yard rush up the middle for the score. The kick sailed through the uprights for a 7-0 Tiger lead. The Warhawks responded on the next drive. After picking up a first down on three consecutive runs, UWW went to the air — Justin Klinkner dropped back and lofted a ball deep down the middle of the field. Blake Haggerty hauled in the over-the-shoulder catch in stride at the 11 and waltzed into the endzone. Seth Adams hit the point after to tie the game 7-7. 

DePauw put together a long drive to set up a Matthew Berry 21-yard field goal with just seconds before halftime. The Warhawks took a knee with just two seconds on the clock to head into the locker room trailing 7-10. 

The UW-Whitewater defense provided a spark on the other side of the break. On DePauw’s first drive of the second half, Karsten Libby jumped a passing lane on third down for the pick-six. Libby reined in the interception at the 29 and took it to the house with the extra point giving UW-Whitewater its first lead, 14-10. 

The Tigers reclaimed the advantage on the next drive. DePauw hit paydirt on a Ballentine to Ballentine connection from 12-yards out. The extra point made it 14-17 DePauw with less than eight to go in the third. 

Adams capitalized on a long drive for the Warhawks, splitting the uprights from 40 yards out to knot the game at 17 as the clocked ticked down to the end of the third quarter. 

The offenses kept rolling despite the deteriorating field conditions as the Tigers scored on their next drive. This time the DePauw quarterback lofted a ball to the back pylon. UWW’s defensive back had great coverage, but the receiver tipped the ball and ended up hauling in the catch as he fell to the ground near the sideline, his back clearly out-of-bounds. The side judge was moving toward the play, looking to the back judge to check for a foot down and inbounds. After a second, the back judge threw up his hands to signal a touchdown. Noah Moris got a mitt on the point after attempt, knocking it to the ground near the line of scrimmage. With the failed point after, DePauw led 17-23 with under 12 minutes to go. 

The Tigers capitalized on a three-and-out for UWW with another field goal, this time from 24-yards out for a 26-17 lead. 

UW-Whitewater responded once again. Klinkner hit Ethan Mitchell on a pass up the middle for 20 yards. Two plays later, Klinkner launched a deep ball to the far hash marks. Jacques Brooks showcased his prowess on the tip drill as the DePauw defender got a hand on the ball, tipping it up for Brooks to pull it down at the Tiger 18 and scamper in for the 45-yard score. The kick was no good as UWW narrowed the gap to three, 23-26 with less than five to play. 

The Warhawk defense came up with a huge stop on third down, standing up the Tiger running back at the line of scrimmage to force a punt and get the UWW offense back on the field. The DePauw punt sailed out-of-bounds at the Warhawk 35 as the offense came on with 2:15 left. 

A pass interference had the Warhawks at the 50 and another Klinkner to Brooks completion saw UWW into Tiger territory. DePauw stopped the UW-Whitewater drive in its tracks with an interception with less than two to play to seal the game. 

Klinkner completed 16 of 22 for 221 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Haggerty and Vasey each hauled in five catches combining for over 100 yards. Defensively, Ethan Gallagher paced UWW with 11 tackles including a tackle for a loss. Efrein Ramirez joined Gallagher in double figures with 10 tackles. Libby had a phenomenal game with eight tackles, a sack for a loss of two, a pick-six and a pass breakup. 

DePauw Postgame Press Conference: https://vcloud.hudl.com/broadcast/embed/3168711

UW-Whitewater Postgame Press Conference: https://vcloud.hudl.com/broadcast/embed/3168712

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by UW-W Athletics.

Storm Still Expected to Bring 9-12″ of snow; Travel conditions to deteriorate quickly

The National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Forecast Office is maintaining the Winter Storm Warning until Sunday at 6 a.m. They continue to estimate that the Whitewater area will receive a total of 9-12 inches of snow and are warning that travel conditions will be deteriorating as drifting occurs and roads become more slippery. Peak blowing snow potential on Sunday is expected to be between 4 AM & 4 PM.

Medicare B Premium Increase Cuts Social Security COLA

Nearly all Social Security recipients are enrolled in Medicare B, for which they have the premium automatically deducted from their monthly Social Security payment. The Medicare B monthly premium in 2026 will exceed $200 for the first time, as it rises 9.7% to $202.90, an increase of $17.90. It’s the largest percentage increase since 2022, when the premium jumped by 15%.

The Part B deductible — the amount seniors must pay out of pocket before their coverage kicks in— is also rising about 10%, jumping to $283 next year from this year’s $257. 

The Social Security Administration set next year’s cost-of-living increase at 2.8%, which will boost the average Social Security check by $56 to about $2,071 per month.

The Medicare Part B premium hike will consume about a third of next year’s average COLA [cost of living adjustment] effectively lowering the rate to 1.9% — far below the current inflation rate of 3%. People with lower monthly benefits could even see an effective COLA of zero, according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). The law specifies that the Medicare B premium increase cannot cause a recipient’s Social Security payment to decrease.

WI Makers Presents “Making Handmade Books” and “Felting”


A workshop titled “Introduction to Making Handmade Books” will take place Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Wisconsin Makers, 200 E. Clay Street in Whitewater. The two-hour class begins at 7 p.m.

Attendees will learn how to make their own blank notebook using historic bookbinding techniques.

They will make two blank books: a very simple folded booklet with hand sewn signature binding and a casebound blank notebook of one or two signatures, as time permits.

Participants will learn basic paper folding and assembly of signatures into a codex, longstitch binding using needle and waxed linen thread, using bookbinding glue to make a casebound book cover, and using bookcloth to create a sewn longstitch spine binding for their casebound notebook.

All materials will be provided. Attendees may bring their own decorative paper if they want to use it for the notebooks; otherwise, decorative paper samples will be on hand.

Class will begin with a short overview of handmade books, the history of bookbinding and looking at samples of various types of books.

The fee for the class is $20, payable to the instructor, Arthur Durkee.

Durkee is an interdisciplinary artist whose work ranges across book arts, photography, music, poetry, letterpress, printmaking, video, installation, and teaching. He makes artist’s books using all these and more.

To sign up for the bookbinding class, please confirm either Durkee via phone or text at (608) 332-3653 (preferred) or Al Jewer via phone or text at (630) 430-9498.

Attendance is limited to 10 students.

________________________________________________

Felting Workshop

A felting workshop will take place Monday, Dec. 1, in
Whitewater. It is set for 5 to 8 p.m. at Wisconsin Makers, 200 E. Clay St.

Attendees — beginners to advanced felters — may work on
needle or wet felting or both.

The fee is $20, materials included. Payment may be made at
the class.

Register by calling instructor Leani Schoor at (608) 421-4078 or
emailing her at leanischoor@gmail.com.

Having earned her Bachelor of Science degree in art education
and master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Schoor taught art at
Jefferson High School for 38 years. The owner of Studio 2154 in Madison, she teaches wet and needle felting, beadwork, glass fusing, cement yard art, ceramics, copper enameling, metal work and quilting.

Located at the corner of East Clay and Wisconsin streets in
Whitewater, Wisconsin Makers is a makerspace or community
workshop. For more information, contact Chris Spangler at
(920) 728-2960.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Banner

Editor’s note: We are grateful for you, our reader, and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. We’d also like to express our appreciation to the many individuals and organizations that provide event announcements, Readers Share submissions, obituaries, etc. for us to share with the greater Whitewater community.

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Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United StatesCanadaGrenadaSaint Lucia, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.

Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among most religions after harvests and at other times of the year. The Thanksgiving holiday’s history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.

[The above information is from Wikipedia.]

Arts Alliance Call for Art: Artrageous Birds

The Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA) is excited to announce a Call for Art for the 3rd Annual Artrageous Birds Juried Exhibition, a celebration of creativity inspired by the beauty and spirit of birds. This juried exhibition welcomes artists from the local and regional community to submit original work in both traditional and digital mediums.

The exhibition will run from Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 29, 2026 at the WAA Cultural Arts Center Gallery 402 W. Main St., Whitewater. All accepted works will also be displayed online, offering artists the opportunity to reach a wide audience.

As a juried exhibition, all entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges, and accepted works will be eligible for cash awards. A Best of Show award of $250 will be presented, along with first, second, and third place prizes in both the Traditional and Digital Salons. Additional honors such as Viewer’s Choice, Public’s Choice, and Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.

Artists may submit work in the following categories:
Traditional Salon: Painting, drawing, illustration, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, 3D art, and photography.
Digital Salon: Digital painting, drawing, illustration, mixed media, and photography.

Submissions are now open and close on Sunday, January 18, 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent on Monday, February 9, 2026. Accepted works for the Traditional Salon must be delivered to the gallery on Tuesday, March 3 (4 pm-6 pm) or Wednesday, March 4 (12 pm-4 pm). Artwork pick-up will take place on Monday, March 30 (4 pm-6 pm).

Artists can submit entries through ArtCall, accessible via the WAA website at whitewaterarts.org/artrageous-birds-2026-call. Discounts for WAA members and students are available.

“This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for artists to share their creativity and connect with audiences both in Whitewater and beyond,” said Exhibit Co-Chair Emily Painter. Exhibit Chair, Jeff McDonald added, “By expanding the mediums, welcoming regional artists, and offering cash awards, we are creating a vibrant showcase that reflects the diversity of artistic expression in our community.”

For more information, please contact Exhibit Co-Chairs Jeff McDonald at waa.franachen@gmail.com or Emily Painter at wwartsalliance@gmail.com, or Gallery Director Kim Adams at wwartsalliance@gmail.com or 608-201-2151.
Website: whitewaterarts.org
Facebook: facebook.com/wwartsalliance

Gallery Hours: Thursdays-Sundays, 12 pm-4 pm
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!”

#FlashbackFriday with the Historical Society: Happy Thanksgiving

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society, this week on a Thursday, so we can wish you all “Thanksgiving Greetings.” This early 20th century post card is another in our collection of holiday cards from this era. Once again, it features a turkey, a holiday tradition dating back over 100 years. We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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