The WNA Foundation will honor eight industry leaders during this year’s Memorial Pylon ceremony
We will hold a reception near the Memorial Grove at the Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E Sheridan St., Eagle River. The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by lunch.
Friends, family
This year’s inductees will include (click to read more):
- Louis E. (Lou) Brandt, Chilton Times-Journal
- Nancy (Nan) C. Branen, Burlington Standard Press
- James E. (Jim) Burgess, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
- Robert Dye, Journal Communications, Milwaukee
- Michael E. (Mike) Mathes, Tri-County News, Kiel
- Theodore (Ted) Charles Edward Radde III, Sparta Herald
- Larry Michael Tobin, Tomahawk Leader
- Robert H. (Bob) Wills, Milwaukee Sentinel
Questions? Contact WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett.
Schedule
1 p.m. • Thursday, June 9
Golf Outing: Tee times begin at 1 p.m. at Timber Ridge Golf Course, 10030 Timber Ridge Road, Minocqua. Green fees will be paid to the golf course. Questions about golf can be directed to Bill Haupt.
4:30 – 6 p.m. • Thursday, June 9
Cocktail reception: Meet up with fellow Trees attendees under the tent at the Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E. Sheridan St., Eagle River.
Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E. Sheridan St., Eagle River, to take the bus to the WNA Press Forest. If you prefer to drive separately, you can find directions here. (A previously scheduled dinner at Eddie B’s has been canceled.)
6 p.m. • Thursday, June 9
Leave for the Steak Fry: Meet at the Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E. Sheridan St., Eagle River, to take the bus to the WNA Press Forest. If you prefer to drive separately, you can find directions here. (A previously scheduled dinner at Eddie B’s has been canceled.)
11 a.m. • Friday, June 10
Memorial Pylon Reception: We’ll gather near the Memorial Grove on the Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E. Sheridan St., Eagle River.
11:30 a.m. • Friday, June 10
Memorial Pylon Ceremony: We’ll honor industry leaders we lost in 2020, 2021 and 2022. An outdoor luncheon will follow.
Accomodations
The Wisconsin Newspaper Association has a limited number of rooms available at the Best Western Derby Inn in Eagle River. If you still need lodging, contact WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett. On-site dormitory lodging is also available at the Trees For Tomorrow campus.
2022 Pylon Inductees
Louis E. (Lou) Brandt (1936-2021)
Louis E. “Lou” Brandt, a former WNA Board member who in the 1970s served as editor and publisher of the Chilton Times-Journal, was born Nov. 11, 1936, in the town of Krok to Harry and Amanda (Genz) Brandt. He graduated from Kewaunee High School in 1955 and went on to serve in the U.S. Army.
Lou Brandt and Lucile Matzdorf married on Oct. 27, 1962. Together they raised three children, Mark, Judy and Wayne.
Lou began working at the Times-Journal in 1961 and purchased the newspaper in 1970. He served as editor and publisher until selling the Times-Journal to Gary and Linda Vercauteren in September 1979. Lou served as a member of the WNA Board of Directors during his time as publisher.
Lou died Friday, June 4, 2021, at his home in Chilton. He was 84.
Nancy (Nan) C. Branen (1929-2021)
Nancy “Nan” C. Branen, who with her family owned the Burlington Standard Press and Southern Lakes Media for many years, was born Oct. 27, 1929, in Milwaukee. The daughter of Clarence and Norma (Roestel) Noerenberg, she married William E. “Bill” Branen on June 18, 1949.
The Branen family started its nearly 50-year run of newspaper ownership when Bill Branen bought the Burlington Standard Democrat in 1954. A member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame and the first president of the WNA Foundation, he served as publisher of what later became the Standard Press until his death in 1988.
Following Bill’s death, Nan served as chairman of the board for Southern Lakes Media, parent company of the Standard Press and the family’s other weekly newspapers. She also handled accounting, ad layout and proofreading for the company, was a partner in Sauk County Media’s newspapers in Reedsburg and served as publisher of the Poynette Press and Evansville Leader.
Their sons, Bob and Shad, served as publisher and president of Southern Lakes Media, respectively. Bob also was president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in 2000. The family ran the newspaper business until April 2001, when it sold to the Cruger family, which continues to run the company today.
Daughter Kathy Tobin also spent her career in the newspaper business, as owner of the Tomahawk Leader along with her husband, Larry Tobin. The Tobins bought the Leader in April 1982 and published the weekly newspaper until selling it to Multi Media Channels in June 2019.
In addition to her work with Southern Lakes, Nan was actively involved in the Burlington community and with the WNA Foundation. She was a member of several groups and clubs in Burlington and served as secretary, treasurer and vice president of the WNA Foundation.
Following her husband’s death, Nan established the William E. Branen Scholarship, which annually awards $1,000 to each of the top three high school journalism programs in the WNAF High School Better Newspaper Contest.
Nan died Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, at her home in Burlington. She was 91.
James E. (Jim) Burgess (1936-2021)
James E. “Jim” Burgess, who grew up in La Crosse, was a longtime publisher for Lee Enterprises, past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame. The son of Margaret (Forseth) and William T. Burgess, he attended Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from UW-Madison in 1958.
Jim married his wife, Catherine Qualey, on Dec. 20, 1958, in Geneva, Ill. Shortly after their wedding, Jim and Cathie moved to Germany, where he served three years in the U.S. Air Force. They were married 63 years and together they had four children and 11 grandchildren.
Following his time in the military, Jim started his newspaper career in the newsroom at the State Journal in Madison. He went on to serve as business and production manager at the Missoulian in Missoula, Mont., and publisher of the (Helena, Mont.) Independent Record. Jim returned home in 1972 to join the La Crosse Tribune as publisher — following in the footsteps of his father, William, and grandfather, Frank H. Burgess.
He was named executive vice president of Lee Enterprises and publisher of the State Journal from 1984 to 1993. During his final year with the Madison daily, Jim was named WNA president. A tireless advocate for the newspaper industry, Burgess also served as president of the former Inland Press Association (now America’s Newspapers) and as a director of The Associated Press.
In 2005, Jim made a $1 million gift to the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His gift helped establish the school’s Center for Journalism Ethics and endowed the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics, a position currently held by Kathleen Bartzen Culver. Burgess’ contributions to the Wisconsin newspaper industry were recognized in 2008 through his induction into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Jim died Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Madison. He was 85.
Robert Dye
Robert Dye served as an editor at the Milwaukee Sentinel before joining the communications department of its parent company, where he was an integral part of the 1995 merger between the Sentinel and The Milwaukee Journal.
A Missouri native, Robert attended Baylor University and started his career in Kansas City, Mo. He was hired by the Sentinel while on a layover in the city during a trip to Canada for another job interview.
Robert went on to serve as an assignment editor, assistant city editor and news systems editor for the Sentinel. He later moved to the newspaper’s parent company, Journal Communications, where he served as vice president of corporate communications.
After his retirement, Robert remained involved through the Journal Foundation, serving on the board and as chair of its advisory committee. He led the committee for more than 20 years, helping guide its distribution of scholarship funds and grants to Wisconsin college students as well as journalism and communications research.
Robert died Monday, Sept. 3. 2021. He was 74.
Michael E. (Mike) Mathes (1953-2021)
Michael E. “Mike” Mathes, past president of the WNA and former longtime publisher of the (Kiel) Tri-County News, was born Sept. 1, 1953, in Sheboygan, the oldest child of Earl and Betty (Wendling) Mathes. He graduated in 1971 from Kiel High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-La Crosse in 1975.
In 1980, Mike started at the Kiel Record — now the Tri-County News — where his father, Earl A. Mathes, had served as editor and publisher since 1962. Mike took over as publisher when Earl retired in 1986, running the paper alongside his brother, Joe.
Mike served as publisher for more than 30 years until selling the newspaper in September 2019 to O’Rourke Media Group. Since the sale, Joe has served as general manager of O’Rourke’s Wisconsin Media Group.
During his time as publisher, Mike was an active member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. He served as WNA president in 1996 and was the longtime master of ceremonies of the annual WNA Trees Retreat in Eagle River.
In addition to his involvement with the newspaper industry, Mike was also a church and community leader, sports enthusiast, coach and musician.
Mike died Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, following a brief battle with brain cancer. He was 68.
Theodore (Ted) Charles Edward Radde III (1948-2021)
Theodore “Ted” Charles Edward Radde III, longtime publisher of the Sparta Herald and former Sparta City Council member, was born Jan. 26, 1948, in Sparta. The son of Donald and Mildred (Jones) Radde, he graduated from Sparta High School in 1966 and went on to attend UW-La Crosse.
With his grandfather, T.C. Radde, and father, Don Radde, each having served as publisher of the Herald before him, Ted grew up in the newspaper business. He began his career with Monroe County Publishers at age 14, working his way up through the ranks of the company, which published the Sparta Herald and Monroe County Herald.
Ted became publisher of the Sparta Herald in the late 1970s, a role he held for several decades. He was named general manager of Monroe County Publishers in 1988, while retaining his title as publisher. Ted retired in 2015, when the newspapers were sold to current publisher Greg Evans, who merged them to form the Monroe County Herald.
Ted also spent 10 years as a member of the Sparta City Council from 2000 to 2010. During that time, he served on or chaired most of the city’s major committees.
Married 46 years, Ted and his wife, Andrea (Heitman) Radde, had two daughters, Jennique and Mirannda.
Ted died Monday, July 12, 2021, in La Crosse. He was 73.
Larry Michael Tobin (1946-2021)
Larry Michael Tobin, former publisher of the Tomahawk Leader, past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and WNA Foundation, and Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame inductee, was born Feb. 4, 1946, in Kansas City, Mo., to Charles A. and Fern (Lamar) Tobin. He graduated from St. Pius X High School in Kansas City and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University.
During his third job out of college, as director of member services for the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association, Larry was assigned to attend the 1973 WNA convention, an event that changed his life. It was there that he began to develop a passion for the Wisconsin newspaper industry, and it was also where he met his future wife, Kathleen Ann Branen.
Larry and Kathy married 15 months later, on Feb. 8, 1975, in Burlington. Together they had two children — son Kerry and daughter Kelly — and five grandchildren.
Larry joined the WNA staff in 1977, serving as assistant manager and legislative coordinator. He later spent a combined 21 years on the WNA Board of Directors and the WNA Foundation board, serving as president of each.
He held a fierce loyalty to the WNA long after his time on the boards, often stating that it “brought all the best things to his life.” The Tobins were regular fixtures at WNA events, including the annual convention and the Trees Retreat in Eagle River.
Larry’s impact on the Wisconsin newspaper industry was recognized in 2015, when he was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
In August 1980, the Tobins purchased the Jefferson Banner, a weekly publication and one of the state’s oldest newspapers. They sold the Banner in January 1982, and three months later they purchased the Tomahawk Leader.
Larry and Kathy published the Leader together for 37 years until selling the newspaper in June 2019 to Multi Media Channels. As weekly newspaper owners, the Tobins blazed trails in community publishing, earning state and national acclaim.
Larry died Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. He was 75.
Robert H. (Bob) Wills (1926-2021)
Bob Wills, a native of Colfax, Ill., was the longtime editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel and an open government champion.
In 1944, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as an aviation electrician’s mate. After his discharge, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
He worked at the Duluth (Minn.) Herald and News-Tribune before joining The Milwaukee Journal as a reporter in 1951. Bob was an assistant city editor at The Journal in 1962, when it bought the Sentinel from the Hearst Corp., naming Bob city editor of the newly acquired paper. In 1975, he was named editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel, and in 1991, he was promoted to executive vice president of Journal Sentinel, Inc.
Bob retired in 1993, two years before the newspapers merged into the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A strong proponent of government transparency, Bob was a founder of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and served as its first president from 1979 to 1986.
Wills also served as a president of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Milwaukee SPJ Chapter, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and Wisconsin Associated Press. In 2001, he was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Bob and his wife Cherie, who predeceased him, had three sons — Bob, Ken and Mike —eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He died Thursday, July 22, 2021, at age 95.
