Mayor’s Column September 12, 2026
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun,
Friday was a very busy day, with the Waupun Business Alliance Annual golf outing followed by Volksfeast. Both events paused with a moment of silence, followed by our national anthem, in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks.
It’s crazy to realize those attacks were a generation ago, because that day is seared into my memory, that it feels like an event that happened only a few years ago. No one under the age of 35 probably realizes how that day really changed everything.
I remember watching the news on 9/11 and some asking the question, “Why do they hate us?”
They hate us because of what it is to be an American. They hate that we’re a content that was set aside and put between two great oceans to be discovered and become the world’s melting pot. They hate our diversity of cultures. They hate that we let women vote, they hate that we accept gay people, they hate our freedom of religion, simply put, they just hate us.
Nearly 3,000 people died on that September day. We saw the face of evil, and America has responded, killing and capturing terrorists. We’ve replaced terrorist regimes, increased security, and have become more proactive in international affairs.
To his credit, President Bush vowed that it would never happen again, and 25 years later America hasn’t seen an attack anywhere close to what happened on 9/11, which is kind of amazing considering America will always be a target. Over 250 years, America has been sucker-punched a time or two, and it never works out well for the bad guys, because in America we still cherish liberty and freedom. We’re willing to sacrifice for it, to pay for it, and to die for it. So that our kids and grandkids can live in freedom, too.
Thank you to all who did something yesterday to honor the memories of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
Mayor Rohn
