Remembering the poor farm

It was a quiet afternoon with gray skies that threatened rain when I stepped into the Jackson County Poor Farm Cemetery.

5 to be inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame

The deadline to purchase tickets to the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame banquet is Thursday, Nov. 3.

The WNA Foundation will induct the following newspaper leaders during a ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 10, at The Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St., Madison: Emma Brown (posthumous), The Wisconsin Chief, Fort Atkinson; Dickey Chapelle (posthumous), Shorewood native, photographer and one of the first female war correspondents, killed in Vietnam; Charles "Chuck" Gauger, Trempealeau County Times, Whitehall; Peter Fox, Wisconsin Newspaper Association; and Phil Muench (posthumous), Grant County Herald Independent, Lancaster.

MultiMedia Channels closes Clintonville office

MultiMedia Channels has closed its Clintonville office, the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette reports.

“MMC decided to close the office after evaluating all of our office space in Waupaca County,” Dave Wood, director of Operations and Distribution for MMC said in a story about the closure published Thursday. “COVID impacted how much office space was needed as many employees remained working from home.” The company’s offices in New London and Waupaca will remain open.

Photojournalist Daniel Kramer named managing editor of The Press Times

Daniel Kramer, a longtime photojournalist and Green Bay native, has joined The Press Times as managing editor, the newspaper announced Friday.

Kramer has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in documentary photojournalism from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He has served as a writer, photographer and editor at several newspapers and was a staff photographer for the Houston Press from 2003 to 2009. Most recently, he has worked as a photography instructor and independent photographer.

Marybeth Tschumperlin

Newspaper columnist Marybeth Tschumperlin dies at 74

Marybeth Tschumperlin, an Eau Claire native who wrote a column for the (Spring Valley) Sun-Argus, died on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Dove Health Care West in Eau Claire. She was 74.

She and her husband, Michael, made their home in rural Elmwood, and for several years, Tschumperlin wrote the weekly column “Cruising around Elmwood” for the Sun-Argus. She also worked in the newspaper office for a short time.

Pennekamp and hawk

Prairie du Chien editor Ted Pennekamp retires

After 33 years in the newspaper business — 22 as editor of the (Prairie du Chien) Courier PressTed Pennekamp is retiring, he announced in a column Wednesday. Prior to joining the Courier Press, Pennekamp worked as a reporter and photographer for the (Beaver Dam) Daily Citizen.

Pennekamp's longtime co-editor, Correne Martin, left the newspaper in August to teach special education English at Prairie du Chien High School. Earlier this month, the Press announced Mellissa R. Collum, a Prairie du Chien resident with a background in academia, had joined the newspaper as an editor.

Wisconsin Policy Forum logo

State tax burden drops yet again

Amid the pandemic and resulting recession, Wisconsin’s tax burden — or its state and local tax collections as a share of personal income in the state — fell in 2020 to its lowest level in at least a generation.

wisconsin civics games contest, first amendment, editorial writing, editorial cartoon

Civics Games editorial contest deadline extended until Nov. 14

The deadline for the Wisconsin Civics Games Editorial Writing & Cartoon Contest, presented by the WNA Foundation, has been extended until 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. With the extension, winners will now be announced in early January, at which time winning entries will be made available for publication by WNA newspapers.

Thank you to the many members who have published stories and ads to help promote the contest. Any assistance in publicizing the extended deadline would be much appreciated!

Wisconsin Newspaper Association