Fond du Lac School District layoffs & the latest on 7 more top stories from April

FOND DU LAC – Spring has a assortment of appealing aspects to Fond du Lac, and truthful did the apical stories of April.

Some of the most-read stories of past period were related to the outpouring predetermination April 1, which decided the aboriginal of section schoolhouse districts and municipal leadership. Additionally, April held updates connected 2 properties connected the Forest Mall site, with 1 opening and 1 getting a caller tenant.

Here are 8 Fond du Lac stories you whitethorn person missed successful April.

Spring predetermination successful Fond du Lac included failed referendums

April started instantly with a outpouring predetermination that decided section enactment and 4 Fond du Lac County schoolhouse referendums.

One of the biggest contested races was Fond du Lac City Council, for which Tiffany Brault, Keith Heisler and Patrick Mullen kept their seats. However, the Fond du Lac School District Board of Education met 3 newcomers: Luke Frame, Karen Moehn and Tom Oliver.

The schoolhouse districts for Fond du Lac, North Fond du Lac, Oakfield and Waupun each presented operational referendums for the election, but lone Waupun Area School District's passed.

Local predetermination results explained: Fond du Lac-area predetermination results pb to schoolhouse committee changes, failed referendums

Fond du Lac School District announces a fig of fund cuts

As a effect of the Fond du Lac School District referendum failing, the territory was the archetypal successful the region to determine connected fund cuts to code a shortage for adjacent schoolhouse year.

The schoolhouse territory committee April 14 unanimously approved 5 measures to trim the deficit: changing the mediate schoolhouse schedule, changing the precocious schoolhouse teacher schedule, reducing 1 of the unit benefits, and scaling backmost contracted services, successful summation to eliminating 83 positions. A full of 27 employees volition beryllium laid off, including 14 teachers.

About a week later, preliminary layoff notices went retired to those affected, including the president of the section teachers' union.

Rolling Meadows Golf Course gets astonishment visitor

On April 26, a section achromatic carnivore decided to walk the time hanging retired astatine Rolling Meadows Golf Course, to the daze and disbelief of play people staff.

On the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife and Fisheries division, they closed respective holes and watched the carnivore from a distance. The bear's chosen enactment was to remainder successful the woods until helium moved on connected his ain by the adjacent day.

Wendy's prepares to unfastened a caller Fond du Lac location

Fond du Lac's Hardee's determination closed past September, and respective months later, determination is enactment astatine the tract connected Johnson Street.

Known for its burgers and Frosty crystal cream, Wendy's announced its incoming beingness to Fond du Lac with caller signs successful April. This volition beryllium the 3rd clip the fast-casual concatenation has travel to the metropolis since 1979.

ThedaCare Medical Center-Fond du Lac opens connected Johnson Street

The highly anticipated ThedaCare Medical Center-Fond du Lac opened April 16 arsenic a infirmary field equipped to supply each levels of care, including an exigency department, cardiovascular care, and different inpatient and outpatient services.

ThedaCare and Froedtert Health archetypal announced the joint task to physique the Fond du Lac hospital in October 2022, and the task broke crushed successful February 2024 to physique the astir 25,000-square-foot infirmary connected the tract of what was erstwhile a long-vacant Younkers store astatine the Forest Mall.

Throughout the process, Jenny Nikolai, vice president of ThedaCare Medical Centers-Fond du Lac and Oshkosh, has emphasized that the imaginativeness of this caller wellness halfway is to connection a section installation truthful patients don't person to question for care.

Antonio Godfrey Sr. volition proceed advocating for section kids aft leaving schoolhouse board

Since Antonio Godfrey Sr.'s clip connected the Fond du Lac School District Board of Education came to an extremity successful April, helium reflected connected the past fewer years and shared his experiences of watching the territory improve.

"These past 3 years person been amazing, navigating successful a abstraction that wasn't designed for a Black idiosyncratic originally," helium told The Reporter. "I tin honestly accidental it was 1 of the astir rewarding, astir challenging experiences."

What's adjacent for him? Godfrey was passionate astir advocating for each students, and helium said helium volition proceed to bash that arsenic a citizen. Additionally, helium volition absorption connected metropolis council, mentoring programme Men of Vision, and — possibly astir importantly — his woman and family.

Health attraction professionals bespeak connected COVID-19 5 years later

The last COVID-19 five-year day communicative invited Fond du Lac-area wellness attraction professionals to stock their experiences of being connected the beforehand lines of the pandemic.

This included Renee Weier, who was astatine the clip St. Agnes Hospital's Emergency Department manager and led her squad successful figuring retired however to support some unit and patients safe, ration PPE supplies, make attraction plans and inactive support the department's day-to-day operations.

The lasting toll connected wellness attraction workers includes burnout from changeless agelong shifts, and the hospital's Director of Hospital Nursing Resources Lori Cardinal said that unit are inactive haunted by the nonaccomplishment of beingness they witnessed.

Fond du Lac trade stores invited customers aft Joann closure

Fond du Lac's Joann fabrics and crafts determination announced its closure earlier this year, but did you cognize astir the city's small-business trade stores?

Knitty Gritty Shop, 63 N. Main St., offers yarn, needles, patterns, and an array of notions and gadgets for knitting and crocheting, and mother-daughter duo Joan Ziegel and Samantha Clark besides big classes, unfastened societal knitting and crocheting, and different related events.

Quilting Legacies, 1325 S. Main St., is stocked with fabric, task kits, and different supplies for each levels and types of sewing and quilting enthusiast. Owner Amanda Bauer-Frisch moved the store — which utilized to beryllium called Stitches 'N Tyme successful Oakfield — to Fond du Lac past year, and now, she and her squad person abstraction to see classes and more.

Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise newsman for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her astatine [email protected].

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac School District fund cuts & much apical quality from April