Early City Motto "The Banner Inland City of the Midwest"
The Banner has been serving Whitewater, Wisconsin since August 1, 2006
Today is Monday, October 12, 2026
News & Events
To add an event, click here to go to the Community Calendar. Then, click on Submit Event.
Helpful Links
Search our Archives
To search our archives, enter a search term in the search box, then press enter to search.
| Gov. Evers Order Flags to Half-Staff in Honor of Former State Rep. Fred Kessler |
| MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #243 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Sat., Nov. 16, 2024, in honor of former Wisconsin State Rep. Fred Kessler, who passed away on Tues., Nov. 12, 2024, at the age of 84. “Having dutifully served the Milwaukee community both on the bench and in the Legislature, Rep. Kessler led a long, distinguished career of public service, and he was a tireless advocate for the people he served,” said Gov. Evers. “His legacy will live on through his countless accomplishments on behalf of the Milwaukee community, and Kathy and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, community members, and all those who knew and worked alongside him in mourning this loss.” Former Rep. Kessler was born in Milwaukee and received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1960, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as the youngest person to serve in the Wisconsin State Legislature at that time and represented the 10th Milwaukee Assembly District from 1961 to 1963 and 1965 to 1972, and later the 12th Assembly District from 2005 to 2019. Former Rep. Kessler also served as a Milwaukee County Judge from 1972 to 1978 and a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge from 1978 to 1981 and 1986 to 1988. During his 12 terms in office, former Rep. Kessler was a dedicated public servant and advocate on behalf of the people he served, working on legislation related to public education, civil liberties, fair housing, LGBTQ rights, freedom of speech, personal privacy, and redistricting reforms. In addition to his years of public service as an elected official, former Rep. Kessler was active in the Milwaukee community, serving civil and human rights groups, including as president of the Milwaukee ACLU Chapter and chairman of Amnesty International Group 107, and German language and heritage groups, including as president of Goethe House. Services for former Rep. Kessler will be held on Sat., Nov. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. |
Whitewater High School Class of 1961 Partners with Whitewater Arts Alliance to Launch Fundraiser for 2025 Paint Wisconsin-Marilyn Fuerstenberg Legacy during annual 2024 Members’ Exhibition
Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA), in partnership with the Whitewater Senior High Class of 1961 is proud to announce the launch of the Paint Wisconsin-Marilyn Fuerstenberg Legacy Campaign. This special fundraiser will help sustain and support Paint Wisconsin, a new annual art exhibition beginning in August 2025. Paint Wisconsin will showcase the creativity and beauty of Wisconsin through works of art that capture the state’s unique aesthetics, landscapes, and life.
The goal of the Paint Wisconsin – Marilyn Fuerstenberg Legacy Campaign is to ensure the longevity of the annual Paint Wisconsin exhibition while also supporting the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s educational and children’s art programs. Friends and community members are invited to support this initiative.
Anyone who contributes to the Paint Wisconsin – Marilyn Fuerstenberg Legacy Campaign between November 3 and December 20, during the Annual Members Show, will be entered into a drawing for one of two Marilyn Fuerstenberg’s original watercolor paintings. Additionally, attendees of the Annual Members Show who purchase a raffle ticket, will have a chance to win one of three original paintings by Tom Jewell, a recognized regional artist, Class of 1961 alum, and close friend of Marilyn. There will be separate winners for each drawing. The winners will be announced following the 2024 WAA Members’ Show, which runs from November 1 to December 20, 2024.
Marilyn Fuerstenberg, a founding member of the WAA and proud Class of 1961 alumna, was known for her passion for the arts and her dedication to fostering creativity and community spirit. By supporting WAA and the Paint Wisconsin exhibit, donors honor Marilyn’s legacy, helping to inspire art and creativity in Whitewater and beyond.
How to Get Involved
Donations are essential for this campaign’s success, and contributions of all sizes are welcomed. Donations can be made via check or online through the Whitewater Arts Alliance website.
- Gifts by Check: Make payable to Whitewater Arts Alliance and mail to PO Box 311, Whitewater, WI 53190, or drop off in person at the Cultural Arts Center Gallery, 402 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI, during posted gallery hours. Please note “Marilyn Fuerstenberg Legacy Campaign” on the check.
- Online Donations: Gifts by credit card, debit card, or PayPal can be made on the WAA website at: whitewaterarts.org/marilyn-fuerstenberg-legacy
With the community’s support, the Whitewater Arts Alliance can bring Marilyn Fuerstenberg’s vision to life, celebrating the arts and creating a lasting legacy in our community.
For more information, please visit whitewaterarts.org or contact:
Kim Adams, Gallery Director, Whitewater Arts Alliance
Phone: 608-201-2151
Email:wwartsalliance@gmail.com
Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by Whitewater Arts Alliance. Artwork by Marilyn Fuerstenberg is from the Wisconsin Watercolor Society website.
Show your support for kindness and civility in Whitewater at a nonpartisan CommUnity Walk on Saturday, Nov. 16.
This free, family-friendly event will start at 9 a.m. at the Whitewater Armory, 146 W. North St. There will be refreshments, materials for making kindness and civility signs will be available and time to connect with friends and neighbors. There will be a number of community-based organizations offering information regarding their commitment to kindness and civility. Any organization interested in participating should email bekindwhitewater@gmail.com
The itinerary for the morning is as follows:
9 a.m.: Armory opens for gathering and conversations.
9:15 a.m.: Welcoming statement and remarks by John Weidl, Whitewater city manager.
9:30 a.m.: Walk to the Andersen Library begins. The route will include Main Street through part of downtown and then to the UW-Whitewater campus library.
10 a.m.: Arrive at Andersen Library for more interactions, refreshments, and campus organization tabling. Dr. Dwight C. Watson, former UW-Whitewater Chancellor and current faculty member, will offer remarks.
10:30 a.m.: Leave Andersen Library and return to the Armory where the event will conclude.
A non-perishable food drive to benefit The Community Space will be held. Items current needed include: breakfast cereal, canned tuna, canned vegetables, canned fruit and peanut butter. Be Kind yard signs will be available for a $5 donation at the Armory.
“I love the community. Whitewater is a wonderful place to live,” Watson said. “This is an opportunity to be unified around a common cause, which is to be kind and supportive of all people.”
In case of inclement weather, the event will be held inside the Armory. For updates about this event and other kindness-related events visit the Be Kind Whitewater page on Facebook or search by #BeKindWhitewater.
Editor’s note: The above announcement was provided by the Be Kind Committee.
Stevens Point, Wis. — The No. 7 UW-Whitewater volleyball team punched its ticket to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 28-26) sweep at UW-Stevens Point Thursday night. The Warhawks have advanced to the league tournament title match for the 11th consecutive time and will be seeking their third straight title on Saturday. UWW has won five of the last ten conference tournament championships.
In the other WIAC Tournament semifinal, top-seeded UW-Oshkosh defeated UW-Platteville in five sets. The Titans will host the title match Saturday at 7 PM in a rematch of the 2023 championship.
UW-Whitewater registered a phenomenal performance in the rematch of a regular season loss in Whitewater Thursday night. On the Pointers’ home court, UWW hit .356 with three Warhawks tallying double digit kills. Meanwhile the defense limited UWSP to an attack efficiency of .202 bolstered by nine total team blocks in the contest.
The Warhawks trailed through the majority of the first set but were able to capture their first lead of the match on a 4-0 run that forced a Pointer timeout with UWW leading 17-15. From there, the UW-Whitewater advantage hovered between one and three until a 3-0 spurt capped the set. A UWSP miscue was the catalyst on the run as Jenna Weinfurt and Alayna Jansky followed with two consecutive kills for the 25-21 final.
The first set was the best for UWW offensively. The Warhawks hit .421 led by a fantastic six-kill set from Weinfurt. The powerful outside hitter hit .600 with zero errors in the opener.
UW-Whitewater registered the first five points of set two before UWSP began whittling away at the lead. The Pointers came back to tie the set 9-9 and the squads traded points until UWW was able to put a small run together. With the gap pushed to three, 15-12, UWW maintained the advantage the rest of the way. Abbie Dix and Aubrie Krzus turned away a Pointer attack with a huge block to cap the set and secure the 25-22 win.
Chloe Werner had the hot hand in set two with six kills. Dix showcased her blocking supremacy with five assist blocks in the second set.
Set three was a battle from start to finish. The largest lead by either squad was a 7-4 UWSP advantage early in the set. The Warhawks staved off a first set point for the Pointers before UWSP held on match point to tie it up, 26-26. Weinfurt pounded down a kill to force a second match point and a UWSP error provided the final point.
For the match, Weinfurt posted a team-high 14 kills followed by 12 each from Jansky and Werner. Jansky added three aces and led UWW with 12 digs on the night. Krzus notched 40 assists in the three-setter adding six blocks.
Dix hit .462 with 6 kills in 13 attempts with no attack errors. Defensively, she was stellar matching Krzus’ six-block performance.
Steve Watson writes,
10-13-24. Skate park.
Came upon a heron sound asleep.
I was quiet, didn’t make a peep.
A human passed with a couple dogs.
The heron slept like a log.
Finally woke up and looked around.
Walked into the leaves, and it was gone.
Our thanks to Steve Watson for sharing yet another great wildlife photo .
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com. Thanks for thinking about this!
Share This
The Whitewater City Market has normally moved into the library for the colder months, but due to the construction project at the library, the market has moved to the Cravath Lakefront Community Building, 341 S. Fremont Street. The market will be held there every Saturday through April from 9 a.m. to noon. The only day off will be December 28.
The market typically includes produce, handmade crafts, baked goods, jellies, and many other items. The Facebook page routinely features a listing of the vendors that will be present for each week.
There’s also a craft and conversation corner for kids to have a bit of fun especially around holidays and for lingering over conversation with neighbors/friends.
Ferradermis members have been busy doing STEM outreach this fall as they train new members and wait for the launch of the new season in January.
On Thursday, November 7, team members Erison Dreksler, Margaret Brown, and Preston Miller spent the morning with the sixth-grade language arts classes at Whitewater Middle School. The sixth graders had just finished reading the book Wild Robot, and the trio of Ferradermis members was invited by teacher Alyssa Orlowski to demonstrate their robot and share stories that paralleled the themes of the book. Throughout the morning, the students focused mainly on the theme of change – how the game changes each year, how the robot changes throughout the season, how the team has evolved, and how their involvement with the team has changed them and even their future plans.
On Saturday, November 9, a small group of team members traveled to the FIRST Robotics Competition Training Day held at Waukesha County Technical College. Students were able to soak up a lot of great information from presentations by other teams, and they also contributed two presentations of their own. Ferradermis Electrical Subteam Lead Erison Dreksler offered a session on how to use AutoCAD to document a robot’s electrical system. Ferradermis Business Subteam Lead Andrew Zimmermann conducted a session called Securing Your Team’s Financial Future. During the presentation, Zimmermann had other teams conduct a SWOT analysis for their team and then shared a Ferradermis SWOT analysis. He also shared information about the team’s endowment fund at the Whitewater Community Foundation, the recent creation of the WUSD Robotics Booster Club supporting robotics in grades 4-12, and the strong bond between our team and the school district, which treats the team like a sport. Also attending workshops were Ferradermis Technical Team Captain Andrew O’Toole and team member Vivian Harris.
Sunday, November 10, brought 31 Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts to Whitewater High School for a Robotics Badge Workshop. Eleven members of Ferradermis rotated the girls through six different sessions throughout the afternoon, depending on their age level. Brownies were able to learn about simple machines and see how they could be used to design a robot for a FIRST Lego League robot mission, while Daisies created binary bracelets and learned about buggy code by giving directions to move a Ferradermis student through a physical maze. Both groups got to experience SNAP Circuits to learn about electricity and used an app called Tynker Junior to learn about coding. Both groups also spent some time with the Ferradermis robot, learning how it uses sensors and playing catch with it. The brownies learned to code small Sphero robots, and the Daisies worked with line following robots called Ozobots. As a result, the Daisies were able to earn their, “How Robots Move,” badge, and the Brownies earned two badges, “Showcasing Robots” and “Programming Robots.”
This weekend ten members of the team will be volunteering at the Mukwonago FIRST Lego League (FLL) Regional in order to learn what will be required when Ferradermis hosts the Whitewater FLL Regional on Sunday, December 8. Whitewater will be hosting 24 FLL teams from around the state for a full day of competition and judging that day. That event will be free and open to the public, and we invite the community to join us to see the FLL teams from Lincoln, Lakeview, Washington, and the Middle School in action as well as demonstrations from the Whitewater Middle School Iron Dragons FIRST Tech Challenge team and the Ferradermis FIRST Robotics Competition Team.
Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. A few weeks ago, we posted several views of the old East Side School, now Washington School. Giving equal time, this week’s photo is a post card of what was probably the newly built west side school, now Lincoln School. Completed in 1953, the school building met the needs of the burgeoning school-age population in westside Whitewater. It was designed by noted Madison architects Law, Law, Potter & Nystrom and has stood the test of time. The core building has been remodeled and expanded several times, but still serves the west side today.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
(2117PC, Whitewater Historical Society)
Obituaries
Sally A. Schutte, age 73, of Whitewater, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on September 21, 2026, while at Hearthstone Memory Care in Whitewater. Sally was born on November 6, 1952, to Roy and Elsie (Rohloff) Haas. Sally married William Schutte in the spring of 2003. Sally grew up on the family farm in the Town of Hebron and graduated from Jefferson High School. She dedicated nearly her entire career to Fort HealthCare, where her hard work and versatility shone through various roles. Over the years, she served in housekeeping and medical records, Center for Dermatology. Sally … Read more
Zachariah “Zach” Schoenke, 41, of Whitewater passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. He was born April 4, 1985, to Keith W. Schoenke and Kathleen Schoenke in Fort Atkinson, WI. He grew up and graduated from Whitewater High School in 2003. Zach worked various jobs over the years but was currently working at Cracker Barrel in Janesville. He was a big Packers Fan and liked to play fantasy football. He enjoyed reading, cooking, and watching horror shows. Zach fiercely loved his son, Lincoln, his sisters, Cami and Cary, his mom and stepdad, and his aunt Robin. He will be dearly … Read more
Carla Winn, 82, died September 5, 2026. Funeral Service will be at 12:00 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026, at East Heights United Methodist Church, 4407 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67218, followed by a burial at 2:00 PM at White Chapel Memorial Garden 1806 N Oliver Ave. Carla is preceded in death by her parents, Vivian Dwight and Wilma Lois Krehbiel; and sister, Jennifer Krehbiel. She is survived by husband, Stephen; daughter, Ashley (Clint) Gagel, of Overland Park; siblings, Paul (Kay) Krehbiel, of Socorro, NM, Lynn (Bill) Oetting, of Wichita, Ellen (John) Querner, of Wichita, Teresa Woodson, of Lawrence, KS, … Read more
Susan Miller Celebration of Life There will be a gathering of friends and acquaintances at Susan’s Farm Store to celebrate Susan’s life on Saturday, September 19th from 2-5 p.m. at N6623 Lake Lorraine Rd., Delavan, Wisconsin
Our loving mother, JoAnn E Harrop, age 95, passed away on September 11, 2026. Our sorrow is deep, but we are filled with gratitude for the many years we had with her. Even as her mind was failing, she remained strong and appreciative of all who cared for her. JoAnn was born on January 13, 1931, daughter to Fred Braun and Evelyn Braun {Storck). She was raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin by her grandparents, Otto and Edith Storck. She attended Whitewater High School and helped at the Storck tavern where she met her husband Earl C. Harrop. They married on November … Read more
Russell O. Johnson “Russ,” 88, passed away on September 4, 2026 in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Russell was born on July 12, 1938, in Janesville, Wisconsin. Russ grew up in Janesville, and after high school he joined the Air Force on May 1, 1958, serving as an aircraft mechanic until June 12, 1962. He then worked at Parker Pen in Janesville for a time, where he met his future wife, Avis. After marrying Avis Mason in April 1964, Russ worked for Gillman Manufacturing for a time, then began a career at Dana until its closing in 1980. In 1981, Russ started working … Read more
Marcia Zingg, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, businesswoman, and friend, passed away peacefully on September 1, 2026, at the age of 75. Marcia will be remembered for her unwavering love, remarkable strength, generous spirit, and lifelong devotion to her family. She shared 40 wonderful years of marriage with her husband, Jeffrey Zingg, who considered her not only his wife but also his best friend, business partner, and the love of his life. Together, Marcia and Jeffrey built a successful life rooted in perseverance, hard work, laughter, and love. As entrepreneurs in Whitewater, Wisconsin, they owned and managed new car franchises and … Read more
Amanda Jean Hunter was born to Ralph and Malinda (Thomas) Hunter of Whitewater, Wisconsin, on October 6, 1976. She passed away on August 4, in Fort Worth, Texas, where she lived with her family. Amanda passed peacefully in the hospital, surrounded by her loved ones. Amanda was a kind-hearted free spirit with an unmistakable hippie warmth. Generosity, spontaneity, a quick wit, a macabre sense of humor, and an open heart were traits that she embraced. She was a tireless champion of those in need, an innate characteristic that became among the best of her qualities. She proved to be a … Read more
Ellen Eichmiller, 82, of Whitewater, Wisconsin, passed away on Saturday, August 22, 2026. Ellen was born on September 10, 1943, in Monroe, Wisconsin, to Chester “Guy” and Irene (née Holmen) Steig. She married the love of her life, Paul Eichmiller, on December 7, 1963, and together they made their home in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Ellen spent much of her working life as a secretary at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, where she formed many lasting friendships and memories. Ellen cherished her family and friends and treasured the time she spent with those closest to her. She was known for her love of … Read more
Janet Quinn, age 71, of Jefferson passed away on Thursday, August 20th. Janet was born on December 22nd, 1954 in St. Joseph, MI to Robert Mounsey and Edith Christison Mounsey. She was a granddaughter to Herbert Bragg Mounsey, Charlotte Mounsey, and Ester Christison West. She married Michael Durden in 1979 and later married Eury Quinn Jr. (J.R.) in 1988. Janet grew up in Benton Harbor, MI, and subsequently lived in New York and Arkansas before moving to Wisconsin in 2016. She was a dedicated caregiver to her disabled Mother, and worked as a custodian for various employers over the years. … Read more
Other Recent Posts
Click on the title to view the post. To open the post in a new tab, press Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) while clicking on the title.
