Katy Macek headshot

Reporter Katy Macek named editor of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh newspapers

Oshkosh Northwestern business reporter Katy Macek has been named editor of the Fond du Lac Reporter and the Northwestern.

Macek, a Port Washington native, joined the Northwestern in June 2021 after previously working as an entertainment reporter and editor for the (Eau Claire) Leader-Telegram and as a city reporter for the Chippewa Herald. She succeeds Nat Shuda, who joined The Columbus Dispatch in April as the newspaper’s county government and growth reporter and Saturday editor.

Patricia Rasmussen headshot

Patti Rasmussen, longtime editor and columnist, dies at 70

Patti Rasmussen, a longtime journalist who worked for several newspapers across Brown and Door counties, died Thursday, Aug. 4, following a decade-long battle with dementia. She was 70.

During her 33-year journalism career, Patti worked as a reporter for the Rockton-Roscoe Herald, as special sections editor for the Green Bay News-Chronicle, and as an editor of Kewaunee County weeklies that included the Algoma Record Herald, Luxemburg News and the Kewaunee Enterprise. She also served as editor of the Door County Advocate and the Denmark Press and was an accomplished columnist. Her favorite topics were quirky anecdotes from daily life and her grandchildren’s antics.

Hieb elected president of Newspaper Association Managers

Laurie Hieb, executive director of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, was elected president of Newspaper Association Managers, Inc. (NAM), for 2022-23 during the organization's annual summer conference on Aug. 5 in Austin, Texas.

Beth Bennett, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, becomes immediate past president. Continuing directors are Susan Patterson Plank, executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association, and Phil Lucey, executive director of the North Carolina Press Association.

Summit to address Wisconsin’s urgent workforce shortages slated for Aug. 11 in Eau Claire

Leaders from Momentum West, the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and Competitive Wisconsin Inc. will convene a statewide summit on how to best strengthen community recruitment and retention of workers needed to protect the state's economic future and wellbeing. In April, the WNA Board of Directors voted unanimously to join CWI, a non-partisan coalition dedicated to strengthening Wisconsin's economy, and members are encouraged to share information about the summit.

The in-person and virtual event for local government officials, employers, community leaders and interested residents will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Aug. 11, at UW-Eau Claire. 

Wisconsin Newspaper Association