WAUPUN — Waupun has seen much community development over the last year, from both business and municipal projects.
A significant success was the reorganization of the township fire departments under the City of Waupun through the new Fire Services Agreement passed in October. Changes were made to the food truck ordinances to encourage more traffic. The Waupun Ice Arena put in a new rink flooring to replace the aging original floor and the Waupun Baseball Complex put in new turf fields. The City Council also increased the Mayoral term from two years to three, and increased the salaries for elected officials for the first time in fifteen years.
The City also made significant plans for downtown Waupun. Early in the year, the City purchased an old building at 18A N Madison St and tore it down to make room for more parking. In November, the City held an informational meeting for downtown business owners to learn about plans for the first phase of downtown redevelopment. This project would include expanded parking and simplified alleyways—and could include new sculptures and art through the Vibrant Spaces program.
New sculptures were also brought to Waupun in 2025. This included the second year of Waupun Icefest and the second year of the Sculpture Tour program by Create Waupun. As part of the Sculpture Tour program, “Catching the Wind” was brought to the Food Truck Alley downtown, which will be added to the permanent collection of Waupun sculptures. Another sculpture called “Oxbow” can be found outside of Horicon State Bank on the intersection of Main Street and Fox Lake Road. In September, another sculpture called “Eddies & Etchings” was unveiled at Harris Mill Park at the Mill Pond, which depicts the flow of the Rock River and can be used as an educational tool about river formation. Create Waupun also announced the purchase of a new sculpture called “Rising Star” depicting a young softball player to honor Mamie Redman, a professional female ball player during the 1950s who grew up in Waupun.
In 2025, the Waupun Historical Society held their Tenth Annual Forest Mound Cemetery Walk, continuing the event started by Rohn Bishop Sr in 2015. The Historical Society also started a new downtown historical walk called “Haunted History”, which is a paid tour where attendees learn about some more spooky history in downtown Waupun—held once a month through the summer. The City had done some repairs to the Historical Museum as well, including a new roof and exterior tuckpointing.
The community also lost a pillar this year in CWC leader Gregg Zonnefeld, who had been fighting brain cancer for two years. A retirement celebration was held for him in July, which was followed by his passing in November. Zonnefeld served in many capacities over his 33 years at CWC.
One particularly shocking case occurred last April, when two pitbulls attacked a 6 year old boy Jace Bunkowske who was playing in his family’s backyard. The boy survived the attack with injuries to his head and arm, and after healing was able to return to school before the end of the year and was honored as Mayor for the Day in June.
2025 was also a significant year for Waupun business development. The United Cooperative plant is now joined by the new Eagle Flexible Packaging facility in the Waupun Industrial Park. A new Kwik Trip was constructed at the former Marshland Mobil lot, and a Dollar General Market was constructed next to Stobb Plumbing on the west side of town—opening on the same day, July 31, 2025.
For more local businesses, Hoyahophousebrewing opened last January, and are now seeing their first anniversary—a celebration for which will be held this Saturday, January 10, 2026. In October, Chic Tique purchased the former Waupun Senior Center downtown and it’s currently being renovated into a two-story shopfront. In December, the City discussed changes to the Childcare Grant Fund, and plan to convert it into a revolving loan for childcare service providers.
In March, the Waupun Business Alliance held their third annual banquet to present awards to the most successful businesses of the previous year, along with present plans for the future of the community. In November, Envision Greater Fond du Lac held an “Ignite Rural Business” event at City Hall, where entrepreneurs would pitch their business ideas for a chance at an investment grant. And finally, many members of the Waupun business community attended an event put on by the Waupun Community Fund for philanthropic projects to improve Waupun.
As for what the next year brings, many plans are in the works. Keep up to date by reading Waupun Pioneer News this 2026.
