Stories you might have missed from around Wisconsin.
Madison: Small Wisconsin company will run its first Super Bowl ad and give away $1.2 million.
For a small company, getting an ad on the Super Bowl can be, pun 100% intended, a game changer. One Madison based company is hoping to score big (yep, we went there) with their first Super Bowl commercial and a big money giveaway. The Madison based consumer rewards app Fetch will give away $10,000 each to 120 lucky winners this Sunday. According to a news release from the company, and quoted in the Journal Sentinel, the $1.2 million sweepstakes will take place after Fetch’s first-ever Super Bowl ad, titled “The Big Reward.” But you’ll have to wait until the end of the game for a chance to win a monetary prize. After the fourth-quarter two-minute warning, Fetch will give away $10,000 for every second of the remaining two minutes of regulation game time. The winners will be revealed in a livestream on the Fetch app. “The Big Reward” is slated to be the last official game-day advertisement. It will feature Fetch founder and CEO Wes Schroll, a UW-Madison graduate who founded the app in 2013. Fetch started as a grocery rewards app and evolved into a “rewards-for-(virtually)-everything” app. Full Story
Milwaukee: Discovery World renovating Caribbean aquarium.
There’s something very calming about looking at an aquarium. When the aquarium is a 65,000 gallon salt water tank you can walk through, the calming nature is awe inspiring. Discovery World is hoping to bring back some of that awe. According to a permit application filed with the city of Milwaukee, the lakefront museum is planning a $900,000 upgrade to its Caribbean tunnel-tank aquarium on the lower level of the property. Milwaukee Business Journal reports that according to the museum’s website, the Caribbean exhibit is filled with Caribbean aquatic species such as bamboo sharks and honeycomb cowfish. The tank has been emptied, and work is expected to be completed by summer 2026. The project comes after an unexpected change in leadership at Discovery World in November, when former CEO Bryan Wunar, who had served in the position since July 2019, departed the museum. The museum promoted internally for its new CEO, John Emmerich, who served as vice president of exhibits and audience engagement since June 2018 and with the museum for more than 17 years. Full Story
Oconto Falls: Student absenteeism Lowers Oconto Falls’ school report card scores.
School districts across the state are suffering from less than admirable report cards. Oconto Falls is the latest to face some hard truths. The Oconto Falls School Board discussed the school district’s state report card, chronic absenteeism, bus driver pay increases and referendum-project progress at its last meeting. The school district’s overall rating on the state’s school report card was “meets expectations,” said Heather Kangas, director of teaching and learning. The Peshtigo Times reported that the district received a score of 67.7, based on a complicated formula that gave more weight to student growth scores from one year to the next than actual achievement scores. Absenteeism rates also were considered. Chronic absenteeism rates at Oconto Falls schools are on a downward trend after rising during Covid-19 to 18.5% in 2021-22. “We’ve peaked with our chronic absenteeism,” Kangas said. “Students are considered chronically absent if they miss more than 10% of the scheduled school days. We want to see that number get smaller and smaller.” In 2023-24, Oconto Falls High School had the highest absenteeism rate in the district at 11.9%, an improvement from 17.5% in 2021-22. While the school district has seen improvement, parents also play a part. “This is an area where we really need the support of our families, our parents and the community to help to encourage others as well.” Full Story
