Mayor’s Column December 16th, 2023
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun!!
This past weekend, Waupun Fire and Rescue held their annual Christmas Banquet and honored several firefighters for their years of service, including:
Scott DeMotts – 25 years
Wayne Oppermann – 25 years
Nate Schlieve – 15 years
Dan Perry – 15 years
Erick Searvogel – 5 years
Nick Duer – 5 years
Rick Smith – 5 years
I would like to thank all of our firefighters and emergency first responders for their dedication to Waupun. These awesome people volunteer their time to help keep Waupun a great place to live!
I’m sure you’ve seen the news that Police Chief Louden has resigned to pursue a new endeavor. I would like to thank Chief Louden for his 23 years with the Waupun Police Department; the last seven years serving as our chief. This week, the council approved naming Deputy Chief Jeremy Rasch as our interim chief. Chief Rasch brings years of experience, continuity, and steady leadership to our police department. I’m proud of the work the Waupun Police Department does. Their work helps keep Waupun one of Wisconsin’s safest cities in Wisconsin.
The process for a new police chief has already begun. As that process moves on, this column will keep you up to date as we move forward. We’re hopeful to have a new chief named by Spring.
Finally, I received a text message last Saturday that I really appreciated. The text read, “thank you for making downtown so awesome! I spent half my paycheck down here today!” This text reminded me that our family did most of our Christmas shopping in downtown Waupun. It’s becoming a destination where people come to eat, drink, shop, and be merry. And while I appreciated the text, I don’t deserve the credit. The credit belongs with the small business owners who are investing in our city. The credit belongs to the volunteer members of the Business Improvement District board, the Community Development Authority, and the Discover Downtown Waupun group. Credit belongs to organizations like Destination Lake Winnebago Region and Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Waupun Business Alliance who both help to promote our downtown. And finally, credit belongs to our Economic Development Director Kathy Schlieve, who works tirelessly with downtown business owners, making sure the city is meeting their needs, so that they can succeed.
Thank you to all of you who have made downtown Waupun the place to be. Thanks to you, Waupun has got it going on!
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
