Mayor’s Column May 1, 2026
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun,
Earlier this week, I posted a picture of myself with Congressman Glenn Grothman, and his team, from a recent visit of the Congressman and his Washington, D.C. staff from when they visited Waupun and toured the Waupun Correctional Institution. The post garnered a lot of attention locally and went somewhat viral in liberal political circles, and I was a little surprised at the amount of attention it got, especially the negative, rude, and hateful comments it received. I was most surprised at the comments claiming that I have never done anything to support correctional employees and that I’m only willing to meet with Republican elected officials. Both of these assertions are false, and I wish to set the record straight here.
First, that I don’t support correctional staff. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When I first ran for mayor four years ago, one of my top issues was for Waupun to return our branding to “City of Sculpture” and to reembrace our heritage as Wisconsin’s Prison City. I would give speeches and talk about how Waupun is Wisconsin’s oldest prison, and the fifth longest continuingly operating prison in the United States of America. Many infamous people have lived here, and that prison has created generations of family supporting jobs, with state benefits, for almost 200 years. This is a proud heritage of our community, and that’s why the Waupun Historical Museum even contains the only permanent display on the history of corrections in the entire state of Wisconsin.
In 2024, when charges were brought against the warden and several staff members at Waupun Correctional, I was the only elected official willing to push back against closure and to defend those who work at WCI. WBAY-TV had a headline “Waupun Mayor says prison should stay open despite issues.” https://www.wbay.com/2024/06/07/mayor-waupun-says-prison-should-stay-open-despite-issues/. A quick Google search came back with a TMJ4 headline, “Despite charges against prison staff for inmate deaths, Bishop has expressed support for the Department of Corrections (DOC) staff.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHrwR20uvlc
Last year after an inmate died at Waupun, FOX6 reached out and wanted me to do an interview about the death. The reporter seemed surprised when my response was no. I said until they did a story about correctional officers being attacked by inmates and fully explain to viewers how dangerous and stressful that job is, I’m not talking any more about inmates. I made it clear that it’s long past time for a TV station to do a story from a correctional officer’s view, not just the prisoners.
The second issue that I want to respond to is the accusation that I only meet with or am only willing to work with Republicans. This too is provably false. Several years ago, then state representative Michael Schraa invited the Democrat members of the Assembly Committee on Corrections to Waupun. They visited the prison, got a brief tour of the City of Waupun, and we had a round table discussion with local leaders about the importance of the prisons to our community. After that, we all went out and had lunch here in Waupun. It was a great discussion, and I really enjoyed meeting David Bowen (D-Milwaukee). I also have a very good working relationship with Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy, who was appointed by and works for Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat. (Secretary Hoy was a part of the Congressman’s tour at the prison)
Mayor of Waupun is a non-partisan office, and four years ago I pledged to keep it that way and honor that tradition. I have done that. I see my most important role as Mayor as being Waupun’s biggest cheerleader, our strongest advocate, and our city’s lobbyist with our elected officials. You the voters get to decide who our elected representatives are; I do my best to maintain strong relationships, so Waupun’s concerns are heard.
It’s no secret what my personal political views are, but I always put Waupun first. During the 2024 debate about closing Waupun Correctional, I heard from both Governor Evers’ office, and legislative Republicans, because both were upset with me for the criticisms I had towards the way both parties had ignored corrections since Tommy Thompson left office. I really don’t care what party an elected official is in. If they’re harming Waupun, I will speak out and push back. During that period, I heard from and received a lot of support from correctional officers from around the state, and many local residents were glad I was speaking up. I appreciated that support. I love Waupun and always put Waupun first and always will.
Finally, I think it’s important to have a mayor who has good working relationships, and friendships, with legislators, congressman, wardens, sheriffs, and the secretary of corrections. Thanks in large part to those relationships, and our work as a community supporting the prison, Governor Evers and the legislature announced plans to close Green Bay and keep Waupun open. The governor even said that the input from local leaders played a big role in that decision.
I’m grateful that our congressman and his team took the time to visit Waupun and learn about the prison, and I presented them with two cases of bottled delicious Waupun water for their Capitol Office.
In other news around Waupun: May 9th is opening day for Waupun Little League, and I look forward to throwing out the first pitch.
Envision Greater Fond du Lac will be hosting a Job Fair at the Waupun Community Center on May 7 from 1:30-4:00pm. It’s free to attend and a wide variety of industries will be represented like Construction, Manufacturing, Health Care, and Distribution. Employers from around Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties will be on hand including Tenneco, SSM Health, the Department of Corrections, and Michels.
The last numbers released for the state say that unemployment is up, but it’s important to point out that we have some excellent employers right here in our area who have immediate openings.
In case an employer is reading the column and is interested in joining the event with a booth, I can’t say for sure whether there will be openings because it’s capped at 30. This will come out on Saturday so we might be full by then. Hard to say, but you could direct people to contact us if they’re interested since there’s limited capacity for employers.
Here’s a landing page with a complete list of the businesses who have signed up to be there so far: https://www.envisiongreaterfdl.com/wba/waupun-happenings/
Thank you,
Mayor Rohn
