News

Learn How AI Agents are Redefining How Organizations Operate  UWM’s Free AI Webinar: Tuesday, February 10, Noon-1 pm

Milwaukee, WI – Don’t miss this free AI learning opportunity! Join UW-Milwaukee’s School of Continuing Education for a free AI webinar — From Chatbots to Agents: AI’s Future in the Workplace — Tuesday, Feb 10 from noon-1 pm.  AI agents are changing the game.  Join us for a free webinar that breaks down: What AI agents really are (no tech jargon!)   • Why they’re revolutionizing business operations     • Real-world use cases in sales, HR, IT, finance & more     • How to avoid common implementation pitfalls   Event Details:  What: From Chatbots to Agents: AI’s Future in the Workplace   When: Tuesday, February 10, Noon-1 pm  [Editor’s note: The press release indicated that February 10 is Wednesday. We are assuming that the event is actually on Tuesday, which is Feb. 10.]  Where: Livestreaming online    Cost: Free   Registration: RSVP online at https://bit.ly/4qOYBMF  Reserve your spot today!   About UWM’s School of Continuing Education      The UWM School of Continuing Education is the largest provider of professional development in southeastern Wisconsin, delivering over 1,000 programs to more than 15,000 participants each year. As part of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which is recognized as one of the nation’s top research universities, Continuing Education offers individual courses, certificate programs, events, and conferences, as well as personal enrichment learning opportunities for all ages. Our conference center, complete with classrooms, computer labs and livestream capabilities, is in downtown Milwaukee.

Edgerton Hospital & Health Services hosting 2026 Community Health Needs Assessment

Over the next few months, Edgerton Hospital and Health Services will be working with other area community leaders to update the Rock County, WI 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Today we are requesting Rock County community members’ input regarding current healthcare delivery and unmet resident needs.

The goal of this assessment update is to understand progress from past community health needs assessments conducted in 2023, 2020 and 2017, while collecting up-to-date community health perceptions and ideas. VVV Consultants LLC, an independent research firm from Olathe, KS has been retained to conduct this countywide research.

A brief community survey has been developed to accomplish this work. *Note: The CHNA survey link can be accessed by visiting EHHS website. You may also utilize the QR code below.

All community residents and business leaders are encouraged to complete this online survey by February 16th, 2026. In addition, a CHNA Town Hall meeting to discuss the survey findings and identify unmet needs will be held on Thursday, March 26th for dinner from 5 pm-6:30 pm. More info to come soon! Thank you in advance for your time and support!

If you have any questions regarding CHNA activities, please call (608) 884-3441

“One Battle After Another” 
Tuesday, February 10, 1 pm
(Action/Dark Comedy/Political Thriller/Drama)
Rated R (Language, violence); 2 hours, 41 minutes (2025).

Washed-up revolutionary Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off the grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis, Colonel Stephen J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years, and Willa goes missing, Bob, the former radical, scrambles to find her, now father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past. The film also stars Regina Hall and Benito del Toro. This film and its diverse cast have received many nominations and awards.  “One Battle” has 13 Oscar Nominations.

Brooke Mason Named to Illinois Wesleyan University’s Fall 2025 Dean’s List

Brooke Mason, of Whitewater, Wisconsin, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester of the 2025-26 academic year at Illinois Wesleyan University. Mason is a junior majoring in Music Theatre.

Mason was among 884 students from 31 states and 23 countries named to the fall 2025 Dean’s List.

To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must earn a GPA of 3.50 or better during the semester, based on 4.0 for straight As.

Founded in 1850, Illinois Wesleyan is a nationally recognized, highly selective liberal arts university. The University is exclusively undergraduate and enrolls approximately 1,700 students from across the nation and around the globe. Illinois Wesleyan prides itself on producing graduates who are well-rounded, broadly educated individuals with a spirit of inquiry who can successfully adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing, complex world.

“At the Table: People Places and Things / A La Mesa: Gente, Lugares y Cosas” – A New Cultural Exhibition by Hannah Bennett

“At The Table: People, Places, and Things / A La Mesa: Gente, Lugares, y Cosas,”a new exhibition by Madison-based artist and educator Hannah O’Hare Bennett. The show is inspired by Bennett’s two years of Peace Corps service in Quillín, Loja, Ecuador, where she arrived with limited Spanish into a world of unfamiliar customs, landscapes, and rhythms. Her art reflects the people, places, and things that grounded her during that transformative period.

This exhibit will be open from Jan. 27 to Feb. 24. A special reception at 5 p.m. with an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. followed by an open house from 6 to 7 p.m. will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibition centers on the idea of substantivo, the Spanish word for noun, as a symbol of tangible connection. Bennett’s works combine materials and techniques she encountered in Ecuador, such as bead weaving, with the handmade paper and embroidery that define her current practice. Patterns and images appear and fade across these textured surfaces, mirroring the gradual process of gaining clarity in a new environment. Featured pieces include Tres Mesitas, three pieces inspired by domestic life in Quillin, and selections from Quillin, a portfolio that pairs small studies with reflections on daily life in the Andes. Other works reference local architecture, the three sisters crop system, and the surrounding sky, land and waterways.

At its heart, the exhibition celebrates human connection, our relationships to one another, our surroundings and the material world. Bennett’s experience of being welcomed into a community as a foreigner offers a hopeful reminder of the grace people can extend across cultures, something she strives to reflect in her own life twenty years later.

Hannah O’Hare Bennett is a Madison-based artist, papermaker, and educator. She holds a BFA in Printmaking and an MFA in Design Studies and currently maintains her studio at Arts and Literature Lab. She serves as UW Madison’s Peace Corps recruiter and is a lecturer in the Design Studies department. She recently received one of two Women’s Artist Forward Prizes. Her work combines personal experience with traditional craft techniques, and she has taught, exhibited, and participated in residencies nationwide. You can check out more of her work at www.hannahoharebennett.com.

Roberta’s Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the James R. Connor University Center at 800 W. Main Street, Whitewater, Wis. The gallery collaborates with campus departments, student organizations, and community artists to coordinate and sponsor exhibits. During the academic year, the gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday. Roberta’s Art Gallery is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

At Roberta’s Art Gallery, we pride ourselves in providing free and open exhibits to the public, and attending certain events can earn students class credit. If you are interested in being featured in the gallery, please contact us for a proposal request. Reach us at ucart@uww.edu or 262-472-3193. Visit our website for any questions or inquiries, and follow our Instagram at uww_rag.

Does your family include a student(s) between kindergarten and 12th grade who would enjoy being part of a production on The Young Performing Arts Center stage? This next week may be their opportunity, as Missoula Children’s Theatre is looking for approximately 50 local students to perform in their production of The Jungle Book on Saturday, February 14 at 3 p.m.

The letter below from The Young gives the details, but for starters:
Monday, February 9 @ 4 p.m. – Auditions on the Young stage, 930 W. Main Street – Students who are selected for acting or assistant director roles will begin rehearsing 15 minutes after the conclusion of the auditions, with the session continuing until 8:15 p.m. [Payment for parking will not be required.]
Tuesday-Friday, February 10-13 – Rehearsals from 4:00-8:15 p.m. – Depending upon role, some participants will not be needed for all of these times, but they must be available if assigned.
Saturday, February 14 @ 3 p.m. – Performance

The synopsis: Ever been abandoned in the jungle, adopted by wolves, taught by a bear, befriended by a panther and chased by a tiger? In the Missoula Children’s Theatre musical adaptation of THE JUNGLE BOOK, Mowgli the man-cub has all these adventures and more. Join him as he escapes from the Bander-log, outwits a tiger, enlists the help of a rock-python, explores what it means to be human and learns a lesson from the brave mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Original music and rollicking humor give new life to the classic tale by Rudyard Kipling.

Further details may be found below as well as at this link.

An Exhibition of Three Artists, Three Lifetimes in Art
Whitewater Arts Alliance • February 2026

Seasoned, on view from February 5–28, 2026, with a public reception on Saturday, February 7 from 1 pm-4 pm, brings together three artists whose lives have been shaped—steadily, and profoundly—by decades of creating. Each artist lives in or near Whitewater and arrives at this moment with a distinct voice, a deep well of experience, and a shared belief that art is not simply something one does, but something one becomes.

Gary Kincaid, an architect and farmer, creates from a lineage of makers stretching back generations. Raised in a family where art was woven into everyday life, he carries that inheritance into everything he paints, sculpts, carves, and builds. His architectural training gives his work clarity and balance, while his years on the farm keep him grounded in the rhythms of the land. Gary’s pieces honor materials, landscape and legacy— and include artifacts of a life lived close to structure, landscapes, culture, and family.

Sylvia Hall Linton came to painting after a long career as a librarian and educator, rediscovering the art she once tucked away in an attic. In Whitewater, she found a community that encouraged her to explore, experiment, and grow. Her work is rooted in the belief that we are all continually becoming—artist and artwork evolving together. Faces in tree bark, spirits in the natural world, and stories whispered by memory often emerge unbidden in her paintings. She welcomes these surprises, painting around them, letting them guide her toward meaning. For Sylvia, art is a bridge between the seen and unseen, the real and the remembered.

Caryl Yasko adds yet another dimension to Seasoned with a lifetime devoted to public art and community storytelling. A trailblazing muralist raised in Racine and trained in the Midwest before studying in Japan, she developed a style shaped by movement, narrative, and the conviction that art belongs to everyone. In the early 1970s, Caryl became one of the pioneering women of the Chicago Mural Group, transforming city walls into vibrant community voices. Her iconic mural Under City Stone remains one of Chicago’s most celebrated public artworks, but her influence extends far beyond it. Caryl has led community projects across the country, mentored generations of young artists, and continued to experiment with new materials and ideas
throughout her career. A founding member of the Whitewater Arts Alliance, she brings her spark, curiosity, and collaborative spirit to the community.

For more information, please contact Kim Adams, Gallery Director, at 608-201-2151 or via email at wwartsalliance@gmail.com. The Cultural Arts Center is open Thursdays through Sundays from 12 pm-4 pm. Learn more at whitewaterarts.org or follow WAA on Facebook at facebook.com/wwartsalliance. Join us! New members are always welcomed.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week’s image is a rare post card with a view marked “From Water Tower Towards Normal.” [The university was originally called Whitewater Normal School.] Given the appearance of Old Main, the view was probably taken around 1900. The perspective of a photo taken from the Water Tower is an image not seen in other photos in our collection. The view also shows some houses in this part of Whitewater, many of which might have been demolished for expansion of the university.

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

(3763PC, Whitewater Historical Society)

UW-La Crosse announces fall 2025 Dean’s List

The following area students have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for the fall semester of the 2025-26 academic year, ending in December.

Qualification for the Dean’s List is limited to students who have attained outstanding academic achievement. To be eligible, students must have earned at least a 3.5 semester grade point average and carried a minimum of 12 credits. 

UW-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 four-year institutions comprising the Universities of Wisconsin. UWL offers 130-plus degree programs from undergraduate to doctoral levels in the arts, social sciences and humanities; science and health; business; and education. UW-La Crosse – www.uwlax.edu – is a top-ranked regional university. It is the No. 1 public regional university in the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois – according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges ranking. 

Students on the Dean’s List from this area include:

 Ava Alvarado, Recreational Therapy Major
 Ethan Dugan, International Business Major
 Caroline Skindingsrude, Elementary/Middle Education Major
 Sami Van Daele, Statistics Major
 Jessica Wilson, Marketing Major

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

The free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance service [VITA] which has been provided by the UW-W College of Business and Economics is back after a one year break, according to Lecturer Victoria Torino, who is running the program this year. Full details, including the items that must be brought to an appointment, may be found here. Note that the service is only available by appointment – see above contact information.

Those who don’t qualify for the VITA service or are not available during its hours may want to investigate the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, which provides tax assistance to anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate income. You don’t need to be an AARP member to use the service.  The closest location is in Elkhorn. Due to renovations at the library, the service is being provided this year at the Elkhorn Chamber of Commerce, 203 E. Walworth Street. Appointments are required and may be made on Mondays and Tuesdays between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Call the Elkhorn library at 262-723-2678 to make an appointment. This site provides further information as well as the opportunity to prepare one’s own taxes online with the assistance of a volunteer. The AARP service is also being provided on Fridays in Delavan at City Hall, 123 S. Second Street. Appointments may be made for that location also through the Elkhorn library. The last week for appointments at both locations is the week of April 6.

This site provides a list of documents that should be brought to an appointment.

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Do-It-Yourself

The federal Direct File program that was introduced in Wisconsin last year has been discontinued. Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less may use a program called Free File, for which information is available here. The Wisconsin state return may be filed online through WisTax, which is found here.

In addition to Free File and WisTax, Wisconsinites have other options for filing their taxes, including:
Tax Filing Software: Numerous software options are available, ranging from basic to advanced, offering varying levels of guidance and support.
Tax Preparer: Enlisting the help of a qualified tax professional can be beneficial for those with complex tax situations or who prefer personalized assistance.

DOR’s Where’s My Refund tool is the quickest way for Wisconsinites to check their refund status, as it gives taxpayers instant access to the same information call center agents provide.

Individual tax filers are encouraged to visit the DOR website’s “Individuals” page, where they can find answers to common questions, forms and instructions, tax credit information, payment options, and instructional videos.