Right to Know: Rights clash in records dispute

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving records related to the voting rights of mentally incompetent people. No matter which side wins, the public has in some ways already lost.

Alex Gary returns to Beloit Daily News

Alex Gary joined the Beloit Daily News last month as a reporter. In his new role, Gary will cover city government, education and feature stories in the Beloit area.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Gary, who graduated from Northern Illinois University and started his journalism career in 1994 with the Daily News. He went on to join the Rockford Register Star, where he worked full time for 16 years and then another three as a freelancer. During his time in Rockford, he covered police, courts and city and community news, and he served as business editor. Most recently, he worked in development for a small business accelerator, fundraised for a local history museum, and worked as a teacher for the Harlem School District in Machesney Park.

Dick Nelson, educator and founder of KEMPA, dies at 85

Richard “Dick” A. Nelson, a longtime journalism educator, 85, died on Jan. 23.

Nelson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University. In 1976, he earned a PhD in educational administration with a focus in journalism from UW-Madison. He taught high school journalism and English in Belvidere and Arlington Heights, Illinois, before serving as the head of the journalism department at UW-Whitewater. Fifty years ago, he founded the Kettle Moraine Press Association for Wisconsin high school newspaper and yearbook advisers.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association