News & Events

A copper tooling workshop will take place Monday, Aug. 18, at Wisconsin Makers, 200 E. Clay St., Whitewater.

Leani Schoor will teach the class from 5 to 8 p.m. Attendees will make a 6×10-inch copper-tooled picture to take home. Bring an idea, photo or drawing for inspiration. Materials and tools will be provided.

The fee is $20. Payment may be made at the workshop, which is geared toward ages 10 and up.

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

Schorr earned her Bachelor of Science degree in art education and master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She taught art at Jefferson High School for 38 years.

The owner of Studio 2154 in Madison, Schorr teaches wet and needle felting, beadwork, glass fusing, cement yard art, ceramics, copper enameling, metal work and quilting.

Schorr welcomes suggestions for “Mondays@Makers” classes. “If there is a skill in the arts you are interested in learning, please let us now and we will see what we can do to help you on your journey,” Schoor said.

Located at the corner of East Clay and Wisconsin streets in Whitewater, Wisconsin Makers is a makerspace that creates an affordable, collaborative and educational environment that inspires people of all ages to becoming innovators by unlocking their skills through continual training. It has members from Jefferson, Walworth, Rock, Dane and Waukesha counties and beyond, and all have access to the workshops around the clock.

The facility houses machine, welding/fabrication, electronics, automotive, 3-D printing, laser engraving and woodworking shops. It also offers pottery, ceramics, metal art, quilting, fabric arts, matting/framing and more.

The building is accessible and has off-street parking, Wi-Fi, and many other amenities.

For more information about the makerspace or workshops, contact Chris Spangler at (920) 728-2960.

Update: 8/10/25 @ 8;20 a.m. – Due to very heavy rain in the Milwaukee area, many roads are flooded, and the State Fair has been canceled for today, which was to be its final day.

WISN TV announced on Saturday evening that someone was injured by a lightning strike on the Carlin Hiking Trail near Palmyra.

The Wisconsin State Fair closed early due to flooding, as did the Thomas Rhett “Better in Boots” show at Alpine Valley Music Theater

The National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Forecast Office announced the following on Saturday at 8:26 p.m.

• The Flood Watch has been expanded into the rest of southeast Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee metro area, through early Monday morning. 
• Very heavy rainfall is expected with rounds of storms this evening into Sunday, and again early Monday morning. 
• There will be a risk for flooding and flash flooding, especially where multiple rounds of storms move over the same area. 
• Rises on area rivers are likely.

Editor’s note: The photo on the homepage is from 511WI.

Updated 8/10/25 @ 11 p.m. to add WUSD Policy Review Committee meeting.

Whitewater Unified School District Policy Review Committee – Monday @ 3:00 p.m.
Whitewater Unified School District Central Office
419 South Elizabeth Street
Agenda includes School Resource Officer policy

City of Whitewater Plan & Architectural Review – Monday @ 6:00 p.m.
Agenda includes Discussion and possible approval of a Conditional Use Permit for more than 1 wall sign for
Fanatico’s located at 162 W Main Street and Discussion and possible approved of a site plan for the Police Department Evidence
Storage Building to be located at 109 County Road U. Parcel # 292-0515-3313-000.
Whitewater Municipal Building Community Room, 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 my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/540200189
You can also dial in using your phone.
Access Code: 540-200-189
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412
Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://meet.goto.com/install

City of Whitewater Public Works Committee – Tuesday @ 5:15 p.m.
Agenda includes Discussion and Possible Action regarding Request for Proposal for City Engineering
Services.
Cravath Lakefront Room, 2nd floor, 312 W. 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 click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84170103284?pwd=91zoWLLZqr39PD7bxi8AhYGCvs2cWo.1
Telephone: +1 (312) 626-6799 US (Chicago) (Houston)
Webinar ID: 841 7010 3284
Passcode:
601871

City of Whitewater Equal Opportunities Commission – Wednesday @ 5:00 p.m.
Agenda includes A discussion regarding the potential consolidation of the Community Involvement and
Cable TV Commission with the Equal Opportunities Commission, based on their overlapping goals and shared areas of focus.
City of Whitewater- Virtual Meeting
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85616156375?pwd=mF60j9lsa0Yea5aJAIoaWSkMqSoitl.1
Phone one-tap: +13052241968,,85616156375#,,,,*670357# US
Join via audio: +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Webinar ID: 856 1615 6375
Passcode: 670357

City of Whitewater Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission – Thursday @ 5:30 p.m.
The agenda has not yet been posted as of August 10.

City of Whitewater Community Stars Gala – Friday @ 5:00 p.m.
This notice is given to inform the Public that the City of Whitewater is hosting the Community Stars Gala.
The information follows:
When: Friday, August 15, 2025 from 5:00 pm- 8:00 pm
Where: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University Center-Hamilton Room, 190 Hamilton Green Way, Whitewater, WI
A quorum of the Common Council and/or Committee members may be present. This notice is given to
inform the public that no formal action will be taken at this training.

Editor’s note: The following excerpts are from an article dated August 7, 2025 by Tamia Fowlkes and Natalie Eilbert in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The full article may be viewed here or here.

Four Wisconsin nursing homes put into receivership, have racked up 384 violations

Four Wisconsin nursing homes with a litany of health care quality concerns have been put in court-ordered receivership as of July 31, the result of dire financial strains.

Until recently, the four homes — Silver Springs Health Care Center in Glendale, Heritage Square Health Care Center in Greenfield, Riverdale Health Care Center in Muscoda and Fort Atkinson Health Care Center in Fort Atkinson — were managed by Bedrock Healthcare.

The Milwaukee-based company manages 10 nursing homes across Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida.

In that time period, state health inspectors cited the four Wisconsin facilities that are entering receivership 384 times for deficiencies, including violations related to the death of one resident and the alleged sexual assault of another, according to CMS data.

Of the citations, 282 were triggered by complaints and the rest were the result of standard health inspections.

The four facilities owe more than $2.6 million dollars in rent and backpay to vendors, according to court records and CMS data.

Judges can order financially distressed nursing homes into receivership and appoint a neutral third party to take over management and file regular reports to the courts. Receivers are typically paid at the same rate as the previous operators, according to state statute.

Attorneys for Bedrock Healthcare argue the court’s decision to order the nursing homes into receivership was hasty and unnecessary. In court filings, they said the company was in negotiation with the state to address owed bed taxes and assessments.

Benny Waknin, Bedrock’s director of operations, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Bedrock was hired to operate the four facilities after they were previously placed into receivership in 2019….

According to Waknin, Bedrock turned down an offer in October 2024 to continue managing the nursing homes. But after the homes were unable to find a new operator, Bedrock continued to operate the facilities for seven more months, “maintaining the high standards of service and compassion that define our approach.”

Waknin also disputed Bedrock’s role, both in terms of debt and the quality of resident care…

Still, the Wisconsin nursing homes have accumulated around $900,000 in federal health or fire safety fines as of January, according to a recent CMS report….

Fort Atkinson Care Center faced some of the most severe complaints among Bedrock-operated facilities over the past year.

The 87-bed center houses around 34 residents daily. From August 2022 to April 2025, the facility accrued more than $270,000 in federal fines due to serious health or fire safety citations.

In January, the facility was cited for “immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety” after a resident with a history of seizures was left without consistent monitoring. Nursing staff failed to establish a seizure care plan and no one on staff requested or picked up prescribed seizure medication, inspectors found.

After several incidents, the resident continued to have seizures and eventually was transferred to the emergency room. The resident entered a coma and died, the inspection report detailed….

Tamia Fowlkes is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at tfowlkes@gannett.com.

Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert.

Editor’s note: The image on the homepage is from the Fort Atkinson Health Care Center website.

Current ratings and survey [inspection] reports for Fort Atkinson Health Care Center are “not available” on the Medicare.gov website. However, this page from ProPublica appears to have current information.

Medicare.gov does have current ratings for other area skilled nursing facilities. The overall rating is on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the highest. Medicare ratings are only one of many factors to consider when choosing a facility.

Haven’t gotten a chance to donate to the school supply drive yet?

There is still time! Donations are accepted through Monday, August 11th.

You can drop off the supplies at the following locations: Starin Park Community Building, Associated Bank- Whitewater, The Community Space [open 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. on Saturday], Second floor of the Municipal Building, and the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center!

Some things that the children may need:

– Crayons

– Markers

– Colored pencils

– Folders

-1″ binder

– Wide ruled notebooks

– Pencils

– Bottle of glue

“The Amateur”

Tuesday, August 12, 1 pm 

(Spy/Action/Thriller)

Rated PG-13. 2 hours, 2 minutes. (2025)

After his life is turned upside down when his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant, introverted CIA decoder (Rami Malek) takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors (Laurence Fishburne) refuse to take action. An exciting deadly chase ensues across many European locales. 

Gov. Evers Orders Flags to Half-Staff in Honor of World War II Army Air Forces Private Herbert E. McLaughlin Who Lost His Life

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #271 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff across the state from sunrise until sunset on Sat., Aug. 9, 2025, in honor of U.S. Army Air Forces Private Herbert E. McLaughlin, who lost his life during World War II at Hickman Field following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed Private McLaughlin’s remains for identification, and he was accounted for in December 2024. He will now be brought home to be laid to rest in his hometown of Shawano. “Private McLaughlin gave his life defending the values and freedoms we hold most dear, and on behalf of the state, we are forever grateful for his service, selflessness, and sacrifice,” said Gov Evers. “It is our responsibility to make sure every hero receives the recognition they deserve, and it is an honor to be able to help welcome Private McLaughlin back to his home to be laid to rest.” Born in Shawano, Private McLaughlin enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in the midst of World War II and was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 17th Air Group at Hickman Airfield on the island of Oahu. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, surrounding U.S. military installations were attacked, including Hickman Field and Schofield Barracks. While the exact circumstances of his passing are unknown, Private McLaughlin was one of 91 men who died at Hickman Field that day. In the days following the four-hour attack, Private McLaughlin’s remains were interred in the Schofield Barracks Cemetery. In August 1947, the American Graves Registration Service disinterred the remains of the Schofield Barracks Cemetery for analysis and was unable to identify the remains of 12 men from the Hickman field attack, including those of Private McLaughlin. Subsequently, the unidentified remains were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming unknown remains believed to be associated with the Hickman field losses for analysis and identification, at which point Private McLauglin’s remains were positively identified. Private McLaughlin was 31 years old when he passed. Private Herbert E. McLaughlin will be buried in Shawano on Sat., Aug. 9, 2025.