Member News

Abigail Makowiak, a recent college graduate, has joined the (Black River Falls) Banner Journal as a general assignment reporter.

Makowiak, a Brookfield native who resides in Merrillan, graduated from Hartford Union High School in Richfield. In 2023, she earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing from UW-Eau Claire, where she minored in multimedia communications.

Sara Zimmerman, a former lifestyle/entertainment reporter for the Oshkosh Northwestern and (Appleton) Post-Crescent, has released a new novel.

"Every Dark Shadow," is a young adult/adult crossover fantasy set across parallel versions of New York in the 1800s. It was released under the pen name Sara Zimm. Zimmerman earned her journalism degree in 2005 from UW-Oshkosh, where she wrote for the student newspaper The Advance-Titan. She worked as a reporter for Gannett from 2005 to 2008, before shifting to a career in marketing and communications. She resides in Appleton with her husband and son.

Meg Kissinger, whose reporting on the broken Milwaukee County mental health care system led to public policy changes, has told the story of her own family's mental health crises in her new book "While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence.

Through interviewing her surviving siblings; digging through diaries and letters, public and medical records; and even tracking down a babysitter from decades ago, Kissinger pieces together the portrait of a clan that's simultaneously loving and troubled, writes Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Joseph Peine, who recently earned his degree as a non-traditional student from the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism, has joined the Pierce County Reporter in Prescott as a sports reporter.

A native of Hastings, Minn., he moved at the age of 12 to Prescott, which is where he graduated from high school. He went on to earn a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota before pursuing careers as an airline pilot and real estate agent. He recently returned to school at the age of 35 to pursue his dream of being a reporter.

Oconomowoc native Andy Fisher has been named general manager of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, effective Oct. 1, the newspapers have announced. He is vice president of sales for Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota and will continue in that position.

Fisher, who has worked for Gannett for five years, is a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and a the WNA Board of Directors.

Wisconsin reporter Reagan Hoverman has joined the Duluth News Tribune as a sports reporter. He'll cover high school athletics for Forum Communications Co.'s Duluth Media Group, which also includes the Superior Telegram and Cloquet (Minn.) Pine Journal.

A native of St. Croix Falls, Hoverman earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from UW-River Falls in 2020. Following graduation, he worked at the (Balsam Lake) Polk County Ledger, the (Frederic) Inter-County Leader and the (Ellsworth) Pierce County Journal.

Jelissa Burns is the new regional food and drink reporter for the USA TODAY Network-Wisconsin, based in Appleton. She will cover northeastern Wisconsin from Fond du Lac to Door County.

As the regional food and drink reporter, Burns will focus on highlighting signature foods and drinks from local restaurants, diving deeper into the history of restaurants and their owners, and covering all things food-related for local festivals and events. Burns previously worked as the streetwise reporter for the Sheboygan Press.

Seasoned adventurer and journalist Eilee Heikenen-Weiss has joined the Sun Prairie Star as a local government reporter, the newspaper has announced.

A Madison native, Heikenen-Weiss returns to Dane County after nearly a decade traveling the globe as an adventure tour guide with the active travel company, Backroads. Prior to that role, she worked for seven years as a producer for WBEZ 91.5 FM (formerly Chicago Public Radio).

Katie Garcia, a Sheboygan native who graduated from Mount Mary University in May with a bachelor's degree in writing for new media, has joined Adams Publishing Group as a reporter, the company has announced.

In her new role, she will serve as the community and police and courts reporter for The (Janesville) Gazette, Milton Courier and the Beloit Daily News. During college, she served as a peer tutor for the English Department and helped create and launch the first edition of Arches, the student paper, as a creative journal.

Ava Buttacavoli, a journalism student who is expected to graduate in December, has joined the reporting staff of Hometown News Group and the Daily Jefferson County Union, the news organizations have announced.

A native of Chicago, Buttacavoli is currently a senior online at the University of Maine, where she is majoring in journalism and English, with a concentration in news writing and a minor in German. She recently relocated to Madison.