Early City Motto "The Banner Inland City of the Midwest"
The Banner has been serving Whitewater, Wisconsin since August 1, 2006
Today is Saturday, June 13, 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.
Five students from Whitewater High School performed at Singing in Wisconsin, an event sponsored by the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association. The event was held on November 9th at Carroll University.
The WHS students performed along with other students from southeastern Wisconsin under the direction of Dr. Stephen Sieck, director of choirs at Lawrence University. The students rehearsed throughout the day and performed in a concert in the late afternoon. Students attending were Olivia Amundson, Lliam Stauss, Anisa Dauti, Haley Street, and Skylar Staebler.
From the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association website:
Singing in Wisconsin is a perfect place for those students who just love to sing regardless of ability. This event, which takes place at four sites throughout Wisconsin on the same day, is for any choir student who loves to sing and wants to be a part of this day. For some students it is the one time a year where they can sing with a large group of students and truly feel the power of singing with many voices. For other students it is a day to connect with new friends and work together to create a significant musical moment.
The National Honor Society hosted the 8th Annual International Student Exchange Weekend at Whitewater High School November 8 – 10! The festivities began with introductions, pizza party & pictures on Friday night, baking, shopping, movies, supper & Cosmic bowling in Fort Atkinson Saturday night, and a trip to Madison Sunday morning before the students had to leave Sunday afternoon. This year, the international students were from Peru, Brazil, Japan, Hungary, Sweden, Croatia, Ecuador, Thailand & Turkey. Thank you to Jim & Julie Caldwell (Jenna), John & Shannon Frye (Broderick), Alex & Holly Crowley (Caroline) and Brad & Patty Ceranske (Allison) for hosting the students in their homes! Another special thank you to Jim & Julie Caldwell for sponsoring supper on Saturday night, to the Whitewater Rotary Club for sponsoring the pizza party & bowling activities, and to Ron Binning for being the guest speaker when the students arrived!
Participating National Honor Society members were Broderick Frye, Caroline Crowley, Allison Ceranske, Jenna Caldwell, Abby Grosinske, Gwynne Sahyun, Madalynn Arnett, Colin Chenoweth, Jenna Lee, Hailey Murphy, Alyssa Schumacher, Mina Truesdale, Andy Vo, Cooper Pease and Bryce Hibbs.
The international students shared the following reflections about the weekend:
Laura Samardzija from Croatia said, “This was the best weekend yet. I saw more things in three days here than three months in Racine. Met people that I feel like they’re my best friends. Had an awesome time!”
Lisa Gornert from Sweden shared, “I had an awesome weekend with Maddie, Caroline, Abby & Alyssa. Thank you for taking us everywhere and thank you for being so welcoming!”
Alejandra Quecedo Cepeda from Ecuador said, “It was a good experience. The best part of the weekend was that I met wonderful people, especially Allison.”
Flora Banki from Hungary reflected, “Jenna & Caroline are definitely the best people I’ve ever met. Of course with everyone else from their school, including Ms. Sonmor-Wintz, the National Honor Society Advisor, who did an amazing job to organize this weekend for us. We participated in fun programs like bowling together, and I felt like I met new friends forever! Thank you so much for everything!”
Bartu Karabulut from Turkey shared, “This weekend was really fun. Everybody was nice to us. We had really good time on both Friday & Saturday. The pizza party was really good. We had the chance to meet everybody. After that we had really good time playing bowling.”
Pun Workakulpisut from Thailand said, “Thank you for making this an awesome weekend! I really enjoyed spending time with all the students from WHS. They are all nice & friendly.”
Fuka Sunagawa from Japan shared, “I had a good time! Thank you so much!”
Natalia Salinas from Peru said, “Thank you for spending your weekend with us. We had fun sharing our cultures and laughing!”
Marina Rangel from Brazil shared, “Thank you for this awesome weekend! It was really nice to meet new people and learn more about America’s culture. P.S. I had no idea I was good at bowling!”
NHS members shared the following reflections about the weekend:
Jenna Caldwell said, “Meeting & talking with all of the Foreign-Exchange students was a truly unforgettable experience. Combining all of our cultures together made for a great time. Through our conversations, I learned so much about the different countries that the students were from. This instilled so much knowledge into myself and my peers. I cannot wait for next year’s exchange and everything it has to hold.”
Broderick Frye shared, “It was great to get to know the people from Turkey & Thailand. Hearing about their culture back in their home country was interesting. Even just hearing about the place they are staying here in the United States was incredible too. Some people have stereotypes about people from different cultures and I believe the only way to diminish that is to get to know the people. I was able to get to know them and it was a great experience.”
Madalynn Arnett shared, “It was fun to show the two girls different parts of Wisconsin. They enjoyed shopping, going to Culver’s to eat cheese curds, and even stopping at Dunkin’ Donuts twice. Instantly on Friday night, all of our personalities clicked and saying goodbye on Sunday was very hard. We all are already planning on when to meet next and are so grateful that this weekend brought us all two new best friends.”
Abby Grosinske said, “I loved this past weekend and everything we did. From meeting everyone on Friday night to watching the sectional meet with our students Saturday, it was truly a great time. I made life-long friends with the two girls I spent the weekend with and I hope more students are encouraged to participate in this weekend next year. All the students were so respectful when they met new people and loved sharing some of their favorite things from the exchange so far!”
Alyssa Schumacher reflected, “I absolutely loved getting to know all of the foreign exchange students. They were very talkative and were willing to answer all of our questions about their home countries. It was really cool to be able to learn about their cultures and the biggest differences between here and there. I have definitely made some great new friendships and will have some great travel buddies when I travel to different countries!!!”
Submitted by:
Pamela Sonmor-Wintz, School Counselor (M-Z)
Coordinator of School Counseling Services/National Honor Society Advisor/International Student Exchange Advisor/Scholarship Coordinator
The UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club will be hosting a series of fun-filled events for Youth Appreciation Week. Wednesday, November 13 from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. there will be free bowling at Hawk Bowl, sponsored by Hawk Bowl. Saturday, November 16 the club will host a free screening of the movie Secret Life of Pets 2 at Whitewater Cinemas starting at 10:30 a.m. Food and beverages will be available for purchase at both events.
The UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club has been committed to serving the youth of the Whitewater community since 1981. On December 7, 2019 the Optimist Club will be hosting its annual Breakfast With Santa.
If you are interested in joining the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club, please visit our blog (http://blogs.uww.edu/uwwcommunityoptimist/) for more information.
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, is hosting a monthly Memory Café for individuals who are living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), early-stage Alzheimer’s or other dementia, and their care partners. This free social event is held on the second Monday of every month in the Library Community Room at 431 W. Center St. in Whitewater, at 10:30 am.
The next meeting will be November 11th. The theme will be Gratitude.
The Memory Café offers participants a safe and fun way to share their stories and socialize with others who have similar experiences. Learn how staying physically, socially and mentally active is good for the brain.
If you are attending for the first time please call 800-272-3900.
LEAF AND YARD WASTE COLLECTION:
The City of Whitewater Department of Public Works will conduct a leaf and yard waste collection the:
- Week of November 4 – November 8
- Week of November 11 – November 15
Yard waste is defined as leaves, grass clippings, small branches, and yard and garden debris. Yard waste must be bagged in clear, transparent, or biodegradable bags only. The City offers Bio-Bags in the fall at the Finance Department free of charge while supplies last. Yard waste will not be collected if not properly bagged or placed in non-transparent or black bags.
The compost site is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. The compost site will close for the season at 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 20, 2019.
Residents requesting brush collection should call 473-0560 to make an appointment for pick up on Tuesdays.
On Monday, October 28, the Whitewater Unified School District unanimously approved Dr. Jim Shaw as the District Administrator for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
The Whitewater Unified School District School Board held interviews with candidates and was impressed by Dr. Shaw’s extensive experience, commitment to public education and proven track record of strong leadership. After Dr. Shaw’s appointment was approved he said, “I am honored to serve the Whitewater Unified School District and community.”
Dr. Jim Shaw is the former Superintendent of the Menomonee Falls and Racine Unified School Districts. He also served as Clinical Professor and Director of the Wisconsin Idea Executive PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He started his career as a social studies teacher. He is also a school psychologist, and worked as director of pupil services, director of curriculum and instruction, and school business manager in the Kettle Moraine School District. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University, a master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee and a PhD from UW-Madison.
Dr. Shaw is a former Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year, and was recognized by the Wisconsin and National Education Associations, the Public Policy Forum in Milwaukee, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his leadership and contributions to public education.
Casey Judd, Whitewater Unified School District School Board President, said, “We are excited to have Dr. Shaw lead our District for this school year. I hope our staff, teachers, parents, and the broader community will join me in welcoming Dr. Shaw to our exceptional school district.”
Dr. Shaw’s first day as District Administrator is Tuesday, October 29. There will be an event held in the coming weeks where all staff, parents and community members will be invited to meet him.
Judd indicated, “The School Board will conduct a full search for a permanent District Administrator to lead our District as we work to fulfill our mission of inspiring and empowering students to achieve excellence in a safe, innovative and educational environment.”
Whippet harriers were led at the Marshall Invitational by Trenten Zahn and Gio Anello. These two finished in third and sixth with impressive times of 16:54 and 17:10. Cooper Hammond was the team’s third runner and placed 30th by dropping nearly a full minute off his best time this year. Also grinding out some great performances on the varsity team were Peter Zimdars, Will Hofmann, CJ Tomomitsu and Jack Mayer. The team finished in 4th place overall out of 12 teams.The JV team was led by Mason West placing 14th overall with a time of 20:34 and not far behind were Marcus DePorter and Evan Schepp. Both boys finished together in 25th and 26th place. Noteworthy races were also completed by Broderick Frye and Andrew Rollette.
The girls were led by Olive Coburn and Gwen Truesdale. They are hitting their stride and push each other well in races and finished with the same time of 24:47, good enough for 48th and 49th. Also crushing their race and making a huge drops in time were Sophie Walton, Sabrina Bomberg and Jenna Lee. The varsity girls placed 11th with 279 points. The JV team was led by Nikole Pelot placing 30th with a time of 28:12. Having stand out races in this field were Jeanette Falcon and Emma Weigel.
Next up for the Whippets is the Racine Saint Catherine’s Invitational at UW-Parkside on Saturday.
Attached pictured is Trenten Zahn (L) and Gio Annello (R), medal winners.
Full Results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=162731&show=all
A 14-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl were killed in a crash involving a Ford Excursion and a semi hauling an empty tanker trailer on US Highway 12 at Walworth Avenue in Whitewater Thursday evening, Aug. 1. The accident happened around 7:30 p.m.
None of the persons involved were reported to be Whitewater residents.
For more information from Fox6Now.com, click here.
Obituaries
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
Leo E. Wurzer, 65, of Eagle, Wisconsin passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at his home. Leo was born on April 15, 1961 in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Cyril and Shirley (McNeil) Wurzer. He grew up between Pleasant Prairie and Antigo, spending his childhood summers on his uncle’s farm where he discovered his love for all things tractors. Although he never had a farm of his own, he was able to partially fulfill his dream by working as a driver for Robin’s Trucking in Whitewater, WI in his last days and collecting miniature Tonka toys. He began his career … Read more
Lois Cummings, 99, of Fond du Lac, WI (formerly of Janesville, WI, Fort Atkinson, WI, Fountain Hills, AZ, and Green Valley, AZ) passed away peacefully on May 5, 2026 at the Meadows Senior Residence in Fond du Lac surrounded by family. Lois was born on February 17, 1927 in Fort Atkinson to Edward and Clarice (Roseth) Stevens. The middle child of 9 children, she attended Fort Atkinson schools and graduated in 1944. On September 11, 1948 Lois married Grant Cummings at Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Delavan, WI. Together they had 3 children, Gary, Colleen (Tom) Sabel, and Patty (Paul) … 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.
