Mayor’s Column April 27, 2024
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hi everybody!
Coming up on May 3rd is the annual Downtown Waupun Wine Walk, which is always a sure sign that spring has sprung. I hope that, as usual, the wine walk will be a sellout. When my parents had the store downtown, I really enjoyed serving wine and talking to everybody. It’s always a lot of fun and a cool way to check out business you might not otherwise wander into.
If you’re doing the wine walk, it’s a lot of walking, so I would recommend stopping at Brooks Shoes and getting Brooks shoes. I did before Christmas and I have to admit, they’re the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. As you wander down Main Street, you can pop in at Werner Harmsen and take a nap on a couch, visit my friend Teresa and try on a cool new pair of glasses at Rock River Eyewear, and stop at Reiki Essentials and find unique gifts. I must admit, I always seem to find something cool there. You can wind up the evening with Jenny and I at the Other Bar, and see our cheerful friend Andy. The wine walk is a fun and a cool way to show off everything downtown Waupun has to offer. It’s really becoming a destination point, and our city should be proud of the business owners who are investing in our city.
Speaking of downtown, one of the biggest frustrations I have as Mayor are the three buildings down there that look crappy and are falling apart. I’m also tired of being told I can’t do more and shouldn’t be more aggressive. In my new term as mayor, I’m going to look at every legal option to bounce absentee or bad landlords from our city. Waupun is too good a city to have to put up with them. There is no excuse for the old Golden Cup building to look like it does, or a building on South Madison Street. I also want to get more aggressive cleaning up the old Schrank Clinic, and the old shoe factory building across from Wee Care. These properties hurt all of Waupun, and I’m done putting up with them.
Last Friday, I had the privilege of visiting Central Waupun Christian Schools and spoke with students. My favorite part of being your mayor is visiting schools and talking to kids. They ask great questions and make my job more fun. It was also a blessing to see my friend Gregg Zonnefeld again. As mayor, I’ve tried hard to treat both schools equally, as both are assets to Waupun.
Lastly, I bought my annual Waupun Little League Calendar Raffle tickets this year. If you’d like to support Waupun Little League and help more kids play baseball, just contact little league or any little league parent.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
