Member News

C.L. Sill has returned to the role of editor of The (Osceola) Sun.

Sill, who joined the newspaper in March 2020, had been serving in a marketing position for the Baldwin Bulletin as part of a pandemic-related shift in duties among Sentinel Publications newspapers. 

While Sill shifted to marketing, Jason Schulte and April Ziemer — editors in Baldwin and Amery, respectively — took over news editing and reporting in Osceola. With Sill’s return to Osceola, Schulte and Ziemer will return to their usual roles as well.

Pam Humpal has retired after 36 years as advertising manager of the Amery Free Press. A lifelong Amery resident, she joined the newspaper in March 1985.

During her time with the Free Press, Humpal wrote a weekly column, "Pounding the Pavement with Pam" — a tradition established by previous advertising managers.

Steve Slack will no longer cover sports for the Edgerton Reporter, as he plans to pursue his law degree. Slack, who began writing for the newspaper in November 2018, will attend UW-Madison Law School in the fall. His last day was Tuesday.

Jeff Brown and Jack McLaughlin will cover sports for the Reporter following Slack’s departure. They have written for the newspaper since December 2018 and July 2015, respectively.

Darcy Zander-Feinauer, who co-owns The Brillion News with her sisters, has retired from her full-time position after more than 34 years at the family company.

Zander-Feinauer, who served in a variety of roles during her tenure, was most recently the newspaper's layout editor. She will be succeeded by her daughter, Bailey Lindgren — the company’s first full-time fifth-generation employee, following in the footsteps of her mother, who was the first full-time fourth-generation employee. The Brillion News has been in the Zander family since 1899, when it was purchased by Otto Zander. 

Joel Patenaude has been named managing editor of The (Janesville) Gazette, replacing the recently departed Ann Fiore.

Patenaude has served as a Wisconsin-based correspondent since February for the online publications NetZero Insider and RTO Insider. He previously was associate editor of Madison Magazine.

Fiore departed last month following a career with The Gazette dating back to August 1995. During her tenure, Fiore served in several roles, including entertainment editor, chief copy editor and managing editor.

Bob Heisse, executive editor of River Valley Media Group in La Crosse, has donated $50,000 to endow a journalism scholarship for students at his alma mater, Pennsylvania State University. A Pennsylvania native, Heisse earned his bachelor’s degree from the school after receiving a scholarship himself as an undergraduate — something that helped inspire him to give back.

Heisse has led the River Valley Media Group newsrooms since September, when he succeeded Rusty Cunningham, who retired after more than 40 years with Lee Enterprises. Prior to his move to La Crosse, he served as executive editor of the Kenosha News.