Rick Olivo retires after more than 31 years with Ashland Daily Press

Mar. 17, 2023

Rick Olivo, who has been working in the newspaper business since 1973, is retiring after more than 31 years with the Ashland Daily Press.

Olivo began as a reporter with the The Skyline, the weekly newspaper of the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss. Since then, he has worked at newspapers in Odessa, Tex., Phoenix Ariz., and Hayward, Wis. He started full-time with the Daily Press in 1991, following an earlier stint with the paper in 1980.

Bill Gaier named group publisher for Bridgetown Media

Mar. 17, 2023

Bill Gaier, who served as publisher of The Daily Reporter in 2016, is returning to the company. He has been named group publisher, leading the company's markets in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Oregon, BridgeTower Media announced earlier this month.

Just four months after becoming publisher of The Daily Reporter in 2016, Gaier relocated to Minnesota, being named publisher of two other BridgeTower products Finance & Commerce and Minnesota Lawyer. He's been with the publications ever since. He previously held leadership positions for Townsend Communications, several McClatchy/Knight Ridder properties and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Steve Schuster named managing editor of The Daily Reporter

Mar. 17, 2023

BridgeTower Media has named Steve Schuster as the new managing editor of The Daily Reporter and Wisconsin Law Journal, the newspapers announced earlier this month. Both publications are in Milwaukee.

Schuster, who has more than a decade of experience as a journalist covering legal, business and public policy matters, previously worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun Media Group and as an editor with Bloomberg’s Bureau of National Affairs. He also worked as digital editor and assignment manager at WBAY-TV in Green Bay and as a digital producer for TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

Arlys Hawkes

Arlys Hawkes, former co-owner of two Jefferson County newspapers, dies at 89

Mar. 17, 2023

Arlys Jean Hawkes, a Menomonie native who previously owned two Jefferson County newspapers with her husband, Dennis L. Hawkes, died on March 9. She was 89.

In 1965, the couple purchased the Lake Mills Leader and Leader Printing Company, and in 1979, they purchased the Cambridge News. She worked full-time and remained active in the business until the newspapers were sold in 1999.

This August's primary is spurring an unusual summer debate over two constitutional amendments backed by Republicans.

A Supreme Court race for the record books

Mar. 17, 2023

The spring election isn’t over until April 4. But already spending in this year’s state Supreme Court has demolished the state and national judicial spending records.

state bar of wisconsin, legal rights, legal advice

Criminal justice funding must be a top priority

Mar. 17, 2023

The criminal justice system is at a breaking point. One of the root causes is a lack of adequate state funding to attract and retain lawyers to work in critical public safety positions, such as prosecutors and public defenders.

Wisconsin Policy Forum logo

Policy Forum identifies 5 keys to the next state budget

Mar. 15, 2023

As state lawmakers begin deliberations on Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal for the 2023-25 state budget, a record projected surplus of $8.8 billion hands them an historic opportunity to make generational progress on some of the state’s most pressing policy challenges.

In a new state budget brief released by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the statewide policy research organization identifies five keys it expects will be critical to the state’s future fiscal outlook, its economy, and the quality of life of its citizens. 

John Foust, advertising, ad-libs

Ad-libs: The power of enthusiasm

Mar. 13, 2023

There’s a story about a professor of literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. As he approached retirement, someone from the newspaper interviewed him.

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