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Margaret ‘Lonni’ Lown, former Assistant Editor of the Sauk-Prairie Star and Editor of Wisconsin Dells Events, died May 26, 2024 at age 80.

David Giffey of Arena, Wisconsin, died on Friday, July 19th. Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1941 and raised on the Giffey dairy farm, David grounded his actions in love, kindness, and ethical clarity.

William “Bill” Lizdas, age 74, of Madison, passed away on July 12, 2024, at Inglehaven Assisted Living in Mount Horeb, Wis. 

Gregory Arthur Smith, 75, died Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at his home in Stevens Point, WI. After college Greg and his family returned to Austin MN where he started his career in the newspaper business as an advertising salesman at the Austin Daily Herald where his father worked as publisher.

Paul Salsini, a longtime Milwaukee journalist and educator, died on June 5 in Milwaukee, after a long illness. He was 88.

A journalism graduate of Marquette University, Salsini worked at the former Milwaukee Journal for 37 years as a reporter, editor and staff development director. He also taught journalism courses and the history of musical theater at Marquette University. In 1985, he founded the quarterly magazine The Sondheim Review and was its editor for 10 years. 

Former Milwaukee journalist and educator Stephen R. Byers died on June 2, at the age of 81.

Byers earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana State University before going on to earn a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a doctorate in Urban Studies from UW-Milwaukee. He worked for the Milwaukee Journal for more than three decades, serving as a columnist, reporter and section editor. In 2004, he became an assistant professor of journalism and student media adviser at Marquette University.

Former Wisconsin newspaper publisher Peter "Pete" W. Selkowe died Sunday, June 2, in Bismarck, North Dakota. He was 81.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Selkowe worked in several roles over the course of his career, including photographer, reporter, editor and publisher, overseeing both the Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune and The (Racine) Journal Times. After retiring from the latter, he started a local news blog, the Racine Post. 

Longtime Milwaukee journalist David Behrendt has died at the age of 89, reports Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A native of Stevens Point, Behrendt earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from UW-Madison. He went on to work as a reporter for the Decatur (Illinois) Review and joined the The Milwaukee Journal as a reporter in 1960. He became a copy editor in 1970 and an editorial writer the following year. Behrendt later served as editor of the newspaper's Crossroads section, and he was a member of the Journal Sentinel editorial board from 1995 — when the newspaper was formed through The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel merger — until his retirement in 1998. He also was The Journal‘s editorial page editor from 1984 to 1995.

Susan Kay Siemens, 69, of Janesville, died on Saturday, May 11, at Agrace in Fitchburg after battling an illness.

The former graphic designer was born to Paul and Dolly Siemens in Freeport, Illinois. Later in life, she settled in Janesville and, after exploring different careers, found a passion for graphic design. She ran her own newspaper for a few years, and continued to be involved with design for Evergreen Impact and The Edgerton Reporter.  A private memorial service will be held at a later date.