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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 Painting “Stars” at work on their masterpieces – Courtesy of Tom Ganser
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 Credi
An Old Fashion Ice Cream Social
Music: Hardanger Fiddle. Pump Organ,
and Flute
Children’s Activities
Books, Bakery, and Photography Sale
100% proceeds go to church restoration.
August 17th 2:00 p.m.
Heart Prairie Norwegian
Methodist Episcopal Church
N7372 County Road P, Delavan, WI
Limited Parking ~~~Early Arrival Advised
>>>>>>> Ice Cream Free <<<<<<<
Editor’s note: The following are excerpts from an article dated July 15, 2025 on WRAL.com, the website of a North Carolina television station. A video about the story may be viewed here. Reese Brantmeier is a Whitewater High School alum who recently celebrated the grand opening of the restored tennis courts on the Washington Elementary School property which was made possible by the over $160,000 in donations that she raised.
UNC tennis player is headed to US Open again. Her legal fight to keep prize money just got a boost
A federal judge in North Carolina said Tuesday that she is likely to certify a class in the lawsuit brought by North Carolina women’s tennis star Reese Brantmeier against the NCAA.
A federal lawsuit brought by a North Carolina women’s tennis player against the NCAA over prize money is expected to receive class-action status, meaning it could have wide-ranging implications for college athletics.
Reese Brantmeier first filed a federal lawsuit in North Carolina against the NCAA in March 2024 over the organization’s restrictions on individual athletes keeping prize money won in outside competitions. Brantmeier, the 2025 ACC player of the year, earned about $50,000 from competing in the 2021 U.S. Open as a high school junior, but NCAA rules made her give up most of those winnings. She was allowed to keep $10,000 plus some expenses.
The original suit was filed on behalf of Division I athletes in all sports, but an amended complaint, filed in November, limits the class to just tennis players who compete or competed at the Division I level. Tennis players are allowed to accept up to $10,000 per calendar year in prize money from outside competition before enrolling. After enrollment, they are limited to actual and necessary expenses under current NCAA rules.
The amended complaint also includes former Texas women’s tennis player Maya Joint as a named plaintiff.
The NCAA’s long-held amateurism rules have undergone massive changes in recent years, ushering in an era of professionalization at the college level. Athletes can now directly receive payments from schools with some players earning millions. Most of the money is being directed toward football and men’s basketball players.
Brantmeier’s lawsuit challenging the prize money rules now looks like it’ll be allowed to advance. And the timing is fortuitous: The UNC senior just earned a spot in the U.S. Open tournament next month [August 24 – September 7], competing in the doubles bracket for a shot at hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. Under current rules, she wouldn’t be able to collect winnings.
“We have always thought the prize money case was a straightforward violation of antitrust laws,” said Jason Miller, a Raleigh-based lawyer who is representing Brantmeier…….
In June, Brantmeier and teammate Alanis Hamilton earned a spot in next month’s U.S. Open.
Brantmeier earned All-America honors in singles and doubles in 2025. She went 18-2 in singles and earned first-team All-ACC for the third straight year. She went 24-5 in doubles and earned first-team All-ACC honors. Brantmeier led UNC to the ACC title in 2024, earning All-America honors before an injury ended her season. She was key to the Tar Heels’ national title team in 2023.
Brantmeier is 60-9 in singles across three seasons in Chapel Hill. She sat out her first season at UNC in 2022-23 because, according to her lawsuit, the NCAA refused to certify her as an “amateur.” It challenged some of the expenses submitted by Brantmeier during her 2021 U.S. Open participation.
Editor’s note: The following announcement was made on the Sweet Spot Bakehouse Facebook page.
Hey folks, we have some bittersweet news to share—
At the end of August we will be closing the Bakehouse location of the Sweet Spot.
We are so grateful for our time in Whitewater and are so proud of what our team has accomplished over the past 5 years— bringing you freshly baked scratch pastries, morning coffees through our drive through, and working to be better every day.
While the doors at 1185 W Main will be closing, our two other locations— the Cafe in downtown Whitewater and the Langholf in Fort Atkinson— will continue to be open for your daily caffeine needs. We are working on a solution to provide pastries at these locations as well.
Our closing is coming much quicker than anticipated due to factors beyond our control. We know it will sadden many of you, and you may have questions about what comes next. We ask that you please refrain from asking our staff and instead direct them to our email: contact@sweetspotwhitewater.com
We’ll announce our official end date soon, but we will not be taking custom orders past August 24th. We will be open daily from 7am-4pm until then.
Where one door closes, another opens. This decision will allow us to invest more time and energy into our other ventures, and into our personal lives and communities. We hope that down the road, we can reopen our bakery in a new capacity (perhaps with a partner— and if this interests you, we’d love to chat!).
For now, we hope to see you for a cup of coffee at one of our other locations! Running a small business is no easy feat, and it takes a village. Thank you to our staff, customers, and everyone who has supported us for the past 5 years. We hope that you continue to support your local businesses— not just our shops or even the ones in Whitewater, but in every community wherever you go. Supporting small matters in big ways.
Editor’s note: There are many online comments indicating that this property at 1185 W. Main Street will be the site for a Dunkin’. Attempts by The Whitewater Banner to confirm this report with the current owners or with a manager of the Fort Atkinson Dunkin’ have thus far been unsuccessful.
Wisconsin Man Sentenced for Possessing Chemical Weapon Precursors
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 1, 2025, United States District Judge Brett Ludwig sentenced James Morgan (formerly known as Karactus Blome) to 29 months in prison. Morgan had pled guilty to one count of possession of chemical weapon precursors— chemicals that combine to create chlorine and chlorine gas—not intended for peaceful purposes, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 229(a).
According to court documents, on December 21, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Morgan’s storage unit and found the precursor chemicals. Morgan had studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and had described himself as a weapon designer who did not need a conventional weapon. In a video, Morgan displayed the chemicals and said they were for making a lot of chlorine very quickly. In messages in 2022, he said that what he had was “scary,” and that the chemicals react to produce a lot of chlorine gas, which can be “effective if your enemy is not ready for it.” He sent links for purchasing the chemicals and discussed the amounts needed to make a lot of chlorine gas quickly. In messages in 2023, Morgan discussed a plan to defeat the government, if it came for his guns, by producing a large amount of chlorine that he claimed could be used against approximately twenty government agents. The FBI Laboratory determined that the chemicals Morgan possessed could produce a large amount of chlorine that could result in rapid, serious health effects, including death.
In announcing the sentence, Judge Ludwig focused on the incredibly dangerous nature of chlorine gas and the defendant’s possession of the chemicals knowing that he could combine them to harm law enforcement. Judge Ludwig also discussed the need to provide deterrence to others who might try to do the same.
“The defendant’s conduct posed a serious risk to others and the community as a whole,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling. “This individual spent substantial time discussing and constructing weapons and expressing opposition to law enforcement and individuals whose race, ethnic origin, or backgrounds differed from his. I commend the hard work and collaboration of everyone involved in seeking to hold him accountable for his criminal activity.”
“Mr. Morgan obtained commercially available chemicals with an intent to manufacture chemical weapons which could have had a devastating impact to citizens and law enforcement officers in Wisconsin,” said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle. “Morgan is already serving a two-year sentence for possessing destructive devices. The Milwaukee Field Office of the FBI will continue to work aggressively with our partners to prevent the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction.”
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John Scully prosecuted, with assistance from Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.
Editor’s note: The above press release was received from the U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Updated 8/4/25 @ 2:45 p.m. with identification of the insect.
Tom Ganser writes, “This is the most interesting butterfly, moth, dragon fly, or ??? that I have ever seen. Stayed at its resting location long enough for me to grab my camera.
Anyone know what species it is?”
Our thanks to Tom Ganser for sharing this beautiful photo. Anyone who may be able to identify this creature, please write to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Crystal Singer writes, “With Picture Insect’s help, I learned that this species is a Widow skimmer. You should check it out!
Our thanks to Crystal Singer for this identification.
You asked for more variety, and Music Boosters listened again: we are selling new Whitewater Music apparel in several WUSD colors! We have T-shirts for $16 and crewneck sweatshirts for $30. All shirts come in various youth and adult sizes and are available in blue, green, or red. Apparel will be available for pickup during or after the October meeting (10/6 at 5:30 p.m.)!
The merchandise may be viewed at this link. Per the website, the order closes on September 15. Whitewater Music Boosters, originally founded as the Whitewater Music Parents Association, supports the WUSD music program by coordinating volunteers and providing funds to the program and to students attending music camps, the website indicates.
Editor’s note: The above announcement was provided by WWUSD Music Boosters.
Obituaries
Marion Jauch Burrows (Feb. 2, 1930 – June 5, 2026) Her sparkling eyes, warm laugh, and generous ways were gifts Marion brought into this world, touching family members and friends alike over the ninety-six years of her life. She was born and raised in Lombard, IL, and in the course of her life lived with her husband and growing family in Abilene, TX, St. David’s, PA, Arkadelphia, AR, Ada, OK, and Colorado Springs, CO, before settling in Whitewater, WI, in 1965. Generosity of heart, compassion toward those in need in and beyond her community, and an unwavering commitment to fairness … Read more
Patricia “Pat” Lynn Bailey, age 70, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2026 with her daughter by her side. Pat was born February 21, 1956 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to John and Ruth (Hudock) Prentice. After a brief time in Ann Arbor, the Prentice family moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where Pat grew up as part of the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater community, where her father served as University Registrar. Pat attended the University School and later graduated from UW Whitewater with a degree in Elementary Education. Although she did not pursue teaching, she built a meaningful career in Human … Read more
Gemelino Paris Esperante, 83, long time resident of Whitewater, passed away on Thursday, June 4th, 2026. He was born on January 10, 1943, to his late father and mother, Evaristo and Carmen in Spain. In 1973 he moved to the United States as a sheep herder. On August 21, 1981, he was united in marriage to Cyndie Esperante in Colorado. Gemelino also worked in Mining and construction for many years. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, raising sheep and growing things in his garden, and flowers. He will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife … Read more
Mary Ann Warner died peacefully on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Crestridge Assisted Living in Dodgeville. Her physical heart failed, but her actual, loving heart never did. Ann was born June 28, 1939 to Mary and Charles Kearns in Iowa. She moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin and graduated with many dear friends in the class of 1957. Ann married John Warner on September 19, 1959. They lived in Whitewater, Sturgis Michigan, and finally settled in Janesville where they built a beautiful life and raised their family. Together, they ran a business, traveled, played cards, and enjoyed their lives. When they became … Read more
Patricia Ann Jacobson (Bureau), age 81, of Whitewater, WI, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. Born on September 2, 1944, in Marquette, MI, to the late Donald and Margaret Bureau, Pat grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She graduated from Graveraet High School, attended Michigan State University, and later earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan University. Pat dedicated her professional life to shaping young minds, working as an elementary and junior high school teacher in both Flint, MI, and Whitewater, WI. At the heart of Pat’s life was a beautiful, … Read more
In loving memory of Lois Lauritzen, age 92, who passed away on June 1, 2026 at Lakewood Memory Care in Brookfield. Lois led an active life full of devotion to family and friends. Born July 14th, 1933 in Silvis, IL, daughter of Harry and Elsie Wilson, she grew up in the Quad Cities with older brother Harry Wilson Jr. Lois graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with a degree in physical education. She met her husband Paul Lauritzen on the college tennis team. Their marriage on June 12th, 1955 lasted 59 years until Paul’s death on September 26th, … Read more
Donald Walter Triebold passed on to his eternal home on May 21, 2026. Don was born on April 23, 1935, in Evanston, IL, to the late Frederick W. and Mildred (nee Stecher) Triebold. Through his teen years, Don lived and worked on the family’s dairy farm, where he developed a life-long work ethic. His first eight years of education were in a one-room country schoolhouse, in which all eight grades were taught by one teacher. He graduated from Whitewater City High School in 1953 and then graduated from UW Whitewater in 1958 with a degree in Business Education. He continued his education, and earned a Master’s … Read more
William Kincaid Davis, age 84, passed away on Tuesday, May 19 at Agrace Hospice Center in Fitchburg. He was born on November 1, 1941, in Madison, Indiana, the second son of Salvation Army Officers Agnes (Dixon) and William C. Davis. He attended several schools in Indiana and Illinois, including University of Illinois Experimental High School (Champaign), and graduated from Galesburg High School in 1958. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire in 1964 and his master’s degree from UW-Whitewater in 1972. He had an expansive career in education, beginning as an English teacher in Whitehall, Thornton Township (IL) and … Read more
Magdalene “Maggie” Stetter (nee Fritz), 79, of Whitewater, Wisconsin passed from this life onto the next on Monday, May 4, 2026. She was born on January 16, 1947, to the late John and Mary (Presser) Fritz in St. Stefan, Austria. Maggie immigrated from Austria with her parents and brother, became a US citizen, and grew up and attended school in West Allis, WI and then graduated with a teaching degree from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Maggie served as a substitute, English, and German language teacher in the Whitewater, Elkhorn, Delavan, and Palmyra schools and at Divine Word Seminary. Maggie … Read more
Lawrence “Larry” C. Hartung, a proud Marine Veteran of the Vietnam War, and longtime resident of Fort Atkinson, WI, passed away peacefully at his home on May 1, 2026. Larry was born June 7th, 1949, to Levon and Charles Hartung in Chicago, IL. Larry enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1968 and served 3 consecutive tours in the Vietnam War. During this time, he became pen pals with his future wife, Candy, via a connection through his father. In 1970, he came home on leave to marry Candy. They celebrated 55 years of marriage on October 31st, 2025. During … Read more
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