News & Events

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

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, state redistricting resulted in changes to both the Senate and the Assembly district assignments for the City of Whitewater. In fact, the city was split into two new Assembly districts, being divided by the Jefferson/Walworth County line. This redistricting appears to have played a major role in the city being represented on the state level by only Republican legislators for the first time in a decade. During that time the city was in Assembly District 43, which was served by Democrats Andy Jorgensen (2013-17) and Don Vruwink (2017-23). The city was represented for even a longer consecutive time by Democrats in State Senate District 15, including Judy Robson (1999-2011), Tim Cullen (2011-15), and Janis Ringhand (2015-23.)

Steve Nass (R) will represent Whitewater, which is now in State Senate District 11. Nass defeated Steven J. Doelder (D) by 44,967 to 32,083 votes.

Ellen Schutt (R) will represent the Walworth County portion of Whitewater in the State Assembly, District 31, having garnered 14,704 votes versus the 10,134 favoring Whitewater resident Brienne Brown (D).

Scott Johnson (R) will represent the Jefferson County portion of Whitewater in the State Assembly, District 33, having beaten Don Vruwink (D), who represented the entire city since 2017. Johnson received 13,709 votes vs. Vruwink’s 13,462. Vruwink previously served in District 43, but the redistricting that took place after the 2020 census resulted in his residence being located in District 33 instead of 43.

Bryan Steil (R) will represent the Walworth County portion of Whitewater in the U.S. Congress, District 1, having received 162,562 votes to Ann Roe’s (D) 135,788. The entire city was in District 5 until the recent redistricting.

Scott Fitzgerald (R) will continue to represent the Jefferson County portion of Whitewater in the U.S. Congress, District 5, having received 243,719 votes to Mike Van Someren’s (D) 134,562.

Ron Johnson (R) was reelected to the U.S. Senate by a slim margin, 1,336,873 to Mandela Barnes’ 1,310,451. Effective January, 2023 the only Democrat representing Whitewater in the state or federal legislatures will be Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Whitewater has been a popular target during redistricting.  The city had been in the Congressional 1st district and was represented by Les Aspin from 1971-93 until he was appointed Defense Secretary by President Clinton in 1993.  The city was moved to the 2nd Congressional district after the 2000 census and represented by Tammy Baldwin. After the 2010 census the city was moved to the 5th Congressional district and represented by Jim Sensenbrenner. The city has now come full circle as most of it is back in the First Congressional district. 

Meanwhile, Whitewater resident Dave Gerber (R) was elected Walworth County Sheriff, successfully besting a write-in campaign by his primary opponent, Craig Konopski, by a vote of 34,889 to 3,382.

The entire city ordinance regarding removal of snow/ice on city sidewalks is printed below, but the bottom line is that snow and ice must be removed within 24 hours after a snow/ice event. When ice is so formed that it cannot be removed, the sidewalk must be kept sprinkled with salt or sand. There’s a minimum cost of $100 if the city has to have snow/ice removed from a property owner’s sidewalk.

12.20.020 Snow and Ice Removal Required.
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. When any
ice is so formed on any sidewalk that it cannot be removed, then the responsible party shall keep the same
sprinkled with salt or sand. If any such owner, occupant, or person in charge refuses or fails to comply with the
provisions of this section within the time aforesaid, the city manager or an appointed representative may
remove such snow or ice and the cost thereof shall be charged at a rate of one hundred dollars per hour, with
a minimum charge of one hundred dollars. Work lasting more than one hour will be billed an additional twenty-five dollars. Any subsequent snow removal, which takes place within six months of the prior removal, will be
charged at a rate of one hundred fifty dollars per hour, with a minimum charge of one hundred fifty dollars.
Work lasting more than one hour will be billed an additional twenty-five dollars. If the city contracts the service
out for snow and ice removal, the city shall bill back to the property owner the cost, for any labor, equipment,
and material necessary to remove the snow and ice from the public sidewalk the rate of the cost of the
contracted service, plus a ten percent administrative cost fee, or, at the city’s discretion, the street
department’s going rate for time, materials and equipment. The cost of such removal shall be reported to the
city clerk in writing with a description of the premises, and such costs shall be and become a special tax and
lien against the premises, and if not previously paid shall be inserted by the city clerk in the next ensuing tax
roll as a special tax against such premises; and such costs may, in the discretion of the common council, be
collected by suit against the owner or occupant of the premises.

Editor’s note: The following announcement was received from UW-Whitewater.

Mark Zimmermann, from Whitewater, who is majoring in history at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, has won the Outstanding Nontraditional Student Award for 2022-2023.

There are approximately 900 nontraditional students (ages 25 and older) at UW-Whitewater. These students’ drive and intellectual engagement is impressive as they work to juggle school, work, family and other obligations to accomplish their educational goals.

Each year, faculty and staff are asked to nominate individuals who have made notable contributions in the classroom and to campus, and they are recognized during National Nontraditional Student week (Nov. 7-11). This is a time to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments and contributions that our adult students bring to our campuses.

The Adult Student Outreach, which offers resources to adult students at UW-Whitewater – whether they are returning students or are attending for the first time – coordinates the awards program. In addition to student awards, faculty and staff members are eligible for the CARE (Concern for Adults Returning to Education) Award. These faculty and staff members have provided extraordinary support and encouragement to returning adult students. This year’s CARE recipients are Teri Alder in the Department of Mathematics and Karl Brown in Department of History.

Editor’s note: The following was prepared by the National Weather Service – Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Forecast Office as of 3:50 p.m. on Monday, November 14.

Here’s an update regarding wet, slushy snow for Tuesday into Wednesday.

Bottom Line Up Front:

• Accumulating wet, slushy snow is expected to start during the Tuesday morning commute, continuing through Tuesday night, with light snow showers lingering on Wednesday. 
• Highest snowfall amounts & increased impacts look to occur across east-central Wisconsin, due to lake enhancement.
• There is high uncertainty with snowfall amounts in far southeast Wisconsin, mainly around and south of Milwaukee, due to milder temperatures and some rain mixing in.
• With this being the first widespread accumulating snowfall of the season, expect some travel impacts.

Timing of snow:

• Snow begins 5-7 a.m. Tuesday morning, becoming widespread with a quick inch of snow accumulation by 9 a.m.
• Peak snowfall is expected mid-morning Tuesday through Tuesday evening.
• Light snow lingers through Wednesday.

What has changed?

• A quick inch of wet, slushy snow is expected to occur during the Tuesday morning commute, which may cause reduced visibility and slippery roads.
• There is high uncertainty with snow amounts in far southeast Wisconsin, mainly around and south of Milwaukee.

Editor’s note: The image on the homepage is by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library

Check Out Wisconsin’s State Parks At Your Library
Pilot Program Plans To Increase Park Access

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Irvin L. Young
Memorial Library have announced a pilot program to make state park and forest vehicle admission day
passes available to library card holders at Irvin L. Young Memorial Library.
Starting Tuesday, Nov. 10th, library card holders at 20 libraries across Wisconsin can check out a pass
for free admission for one vehicle at any state park, forest or recreation area where admission is
required. The pilot program ends March 1, 2023.

“The DNR is continually looking for innovative opportunities to bring more people to state parks and
forests and to ensure everyone in Wisconsin has access to our incredible natural resources,” said
Steve Schmelzer, Director of the DNR Bureau of Parks and Recreation. “By partnering with Wisconsin’s
library system, we can reach households who may not be as familiar with the wide array of
opportunities Wisconsin’s state parks and forests offer.”

The pilot program, Check Out Wisconsin’s State Parks at Your Library, is a collaborative effort between
the DNR, Wisconsin Library Association’s Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries and Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction. Nicolet Federated Library System and Southwest Wisconsin Library
System underwrote the day passes cost.

“Our library provides resources for everyone of all ages and backgrounds about a broad range of
topics, so adding access to our state park system is a natural fit. We are excited to participate as a pilot
library, and we hope to see this program flourish in our community. Anyone with questions about the
program should stop by the library,” said Diane Jaroch, Assistant Library Director.

Along with the day pass, the cardholder will receive an informational kit of state park system materials
and maps, a Wisconsin Explorer Program book, stickers, accessibility information and more. The
program’s goal is to expand access to the Wisconsin state park system to new park visitors. Irvin L.
Young Memorial Library received 50 passes, each with a one-time use.

Based on participant feedback and funding, the DNR plans to continue the program in 2023. Each pass
includes a survey link so the DNR can gather information about who used the passes and how they
enjoyed their park experience. After using the pass, participants who complete the survey will be
eligible to win one of ten 2023 annual state park and forest vehicle admission stickers paid for by the
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.

Learn more about Irvin L. Young Memorial Library and how to get a library card at
www.whitewaterlibrary.org. For more information about the pilot program, visit the DNR website at
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/outwigo.

Editor’s note: The following press release was provided by the University of Wisconsin System. In an April 6 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, Jim Henderson, who served as Interim UW-Whitewater Chancellor until he abruptly resigned on April 3, was quoted as saying “that a major reason for his decision [to resign] was UW System leadership’s handling of the free speech survey.

UW System to launch free speech survey, expand citizenship and civil dialogue initiatives
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman announced today that a team of faculty researchers will distribute a survey to students starting Monday with a goal of soliciting student attitudes toward free speech, viewpoint diversity, and self-censorship on campus.

Rothman also announced that the UW System would expand its efforts to promote citizenship and civil dialogue at UW universities and beyond.

“The First Amendment is a bedrock principle of American democracy, and this survey will help us understand what students know and think about free speech rights and responsibilities,” Rothman said. “At the same time, we have an obligation to promote respectful dialogue – inside the classroom, around residence halls, and on the campus square. What better place than a university to foster the vigorous, considerate exchange of ideas and opinions?” 

The survey will be sent to a random sample of UW System students from each campus and remain open until Dec. 14. The research team seeks approximately 500 responses from each university and will sample anywhere between 2,500 and 7,500 students per campus depending on the overall student population and response rate. Results are expected to be reported in early 2023.

The research team includes Tim Shiell, professor of philosophy and director of the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation at UW-Stout; Eric T. Kasper, professor of political science and director of the Menard Center for Constitutional Studies at UW-Eau Claire; Geoffrey Peterson, professor of political science, UW-Eau Claire; and April Bleske-Rechek, professor of psychology at UW-Eau Claire. The survey is overseen by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau, led by Eric Giordano, executive director.

The survey is funded by UW-Stout’s Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation and includes an advisory board that provided feedback on the survey content and design. The research team solicited input from students and other state and national experts as it refined the survey over the previous months.

“The research team has decades of collective experience in survey administration, public policy analysis, and research on the Constitution, political science, education, and psychology,” Giordano said.

The survey comes amid an ongoing conversation about speech on campuses and in the wake of a 2021 report by the Bipartisan Policy Center, “ Campus Free Expression: A New Roadmap,” which recommends collecting this type of data as a part of continuous quality improvement for universities. While national surveys have been conducted, the UW System study is expected to be the first with specific data from UW System students. The survey project has been reviewed by appropriate Institutional Review Board authority on each campus.

The citizenship and civil dialogue initiatives Rothman announced include:

• Creating the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue (WICCD) based at WIPPS. WICCD will coordinate the various research and policy centers across the UW System focused on the Constitution and public affairs to share best practices, consider joint programming, and discuss ways to elevate civil dialogue and the First Amendment on UW campuses.
• Organizing peer-to-peer conversations on challenging topics. Inspired by “It’s Just Coffee,” a student-conceived project at UW-Madison, the UW System will convene conversations between students of different backgrounds and beliefs in an effort to develop understanding and build civil dialogue. The conversations will be voluntary, open to the public, and include the participation of President Rothman.
• Sponsorship and promotion of the Wisconsin Civics Games and its accompanying editorial writing and cartooning contest. The $20,000 annual commitment would fund scholarships, cash awards and targeted promotions in an effort to encourage citizenship among middle and high school students.
• A new civil dialogue website for UW System universities.

The free speech survey and initiatives build on the UW System’s existing commitment to free speech and freedom of expression, as evidenced by Regent Policy Document 4-21, which includes a requirement that the “UW System shall report annually to the Board of Regents regarding the efforts of its institutions to uphold the principles expressed in this policy and to fulfill the Board’s Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression.”