Mayor’s Column February 7, 2026
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun,
Permit me a more personal column this week. I’m a little sleep deprived and wired from an exciting couple of days in the world of local high school sports. I’m up early to write this week’s column, because we got home about 11:00 last night after spending the day in LaCrosse cheering on the Waupun Varsity Dance Team at the State Competition! As you likely already know, my daughter Reagan is on the team. And while Waupun didn’t place at state, I’m very proud of the girls for making it to state! The competition, once you get to that level, is insanely good, and we competed with all those schools up to the last day of the season! Congratulations and thank you to Coaches JoHanna Rens and Kelly King for all you do for the girls, and congrats to the student athlete dancers who’ve worked so hard since late summer and made Waupun proud!
While I’m talking about sports, congratulations are also in order for my friend Kyle Bille, who won his first game as the varsity basketball coach. This has definitely been a challenging season both on and off the floor, but the coaches are doing their best to tune out the noise and focus on basketball. The players have responded professionally and maturely, going out and giving it their all every game.
Thursday night I attended the Girls’ Basketball game as they won, and this morning I’ll be cheering on my little friend Reeve Nelson as she plays in her first Hoopsters tournament here in Waupun.
We sure are a busy little city that offers multiple options for kids to stay active in a positive way. As mayor I’ve been pretty aggressive in putting funds towards our youth sports because they’re an important part of a community’s quality of life. Youth sports help to keep kids out of trouble by giving them positive goals to work towards, and once in school it’s an additional incentive to work hard at your grades. This support of youth sports is one of the many reasons I worked so hard to change our city’s purchasing policy. I feel strongly that whenever possible the city should buy from the local business that invests so much into Waupun, and Waupun’s next generations.
For a city of our size, Waupun is fortunate to have so many options. Soccer, baseball, softball, football, basketball, pickle ball, tennis, dance, etc. etc. But none of it would be possible without the support of the local sponsors who help pay for it.
Thank you, Waupun, and enjoy the weekend. The weather is getting nicer, the days longer, and the Super Bowl is Sunday.
God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
