The staff of the Wisconsin Examiner won 12 Milwaukee Press Club Awards for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism in the online category Friday evening.

Editor Ruth Conniff took first place for Best Multi-story Coverage of a Single Feature Topic or Event for her series, Midwest-Mexico Connections on Mexican farmworkers and Wisconsin dairy farmers.

Deputy Editor Erik Gunn won the first place award for Best Long Hard Feature Story for his piece Wisconsin legislators pause to remember former colleague Jonathan Brostoff 

Isiah Holmes took home the first-place gold award in the Best Investigative Story or Series category for How the Milwaukee Investigative Team protects officers when investigating police shootings. 

Top honors went to Baylor Spears for Best Coverage of a Single News Topic or Event for her series about public schools and the struggle over Wisconsin’s budget. Spears also took first place in the Best Short Hard Feature Story category for ‘What is the bar?’: Wisconsin Legislature divided as it passes resolution honoring Charlie Kirk. 

Criminal Justice Fellows Andrew Kennard and Frank Zufall won gold in the Best Public Service Story category for Shredding of legal mail by Wisconsin prisons worries advocates

Conniff also won the second-place silver award for Best Single Editorial, Statement of Editorial Position or Opinion for her column We need a populist, pro-democracy movement, not more gerrymandering, and third place for Best Columnist for her 2025 columns.

Gunn won third place in the Best Short Hard Feature Story category for People with autism and their families find Trump-Kennedy autism message harmful and wrong.

Holmes won the the second-place silver award for Best Long Soft Feature Story for UW psilocybin study gives man second chance after 10-year opioid addiction and the bronze award in the Best Explanatory Story or Series category for Biodiversity in Wisconsin amidst the 6th great mass extinction.

Spears won bronze for her Best Short Soft Feature Story Wisconsin Democrats want to say ‘Bye Bye Baby’ to unfair ticket selling practices  and another bronze award for Best Coverage of a Single News Topic or Event, including Breaking News for a series of stories over five months about the defunding of a Wisconsin veterans housing program, and the conflicting attempts to revive that funding.

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Additional Promotions Also Announced

Farm Foundation, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, is pleased to announce that Timothy Brennan has been selected as their vice president of programs and strategic impact, a new role reflecting the increased emphasis on prioritizing work with clearly defined impact.  

“Tim brings both breadth and depth to this role,” said Farm Foundation President and CEO Shari Rogge-Fidler. Brennan, who comes from an Ohio farm family and maintains his own hobby farm south of Chicago, joined Farm Foundation nearly 12 years ago to manage external relations. Brennan previously served in a variety of externally facing roles at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.  Brennan also currently serves as the co-chair of the Chicago Wilderness Growing with Agriculture Green Vision Goal which seeks to bring conservationists and farmers together to protect and improve land in the states surrounding Lake Michigan.  

“As Farm Foundation continues to build on our past and expand our programs at our new Innovation and Education Campus (IEC) at our farm just outside of Chicago, Tim’s experience in fundraising, innovation, and coalition building makes him ideally suited for this role” said Rogge-Fidler.   

“I am thrilled for this opportunity,” Brennan said.  He goes on to say that “the Innovation and Education Center allows us to bring our programs and projects to life in new and exciting ways. Even though we are a 91-year-old organization, we have the spirit and drive of a start-up that fosters an exhilarating, enabling environment focused on real-world impact.” 

Additional Promotions Announced

Two additional promotions will bolster the next chapter of growth and impact at Farm Foundation.  Morgan Craven has been named as the director of programs and events, and Dr. Amanda L. Martin has been designated the new senior director of external relations.  

Craven came to Farm Foundation in 2015 as the events manager, then moved into the senior manager of events role before her latest promotion. Prior to joining the Farm Foundation team, Morgan served as the conference and events manager at Trinity Christian College and as a premium hospitality game-day staff member for the Chicago Bears NFL team. Craven also worked at various Hilton brand properties furthering her hospitality experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, in recreation, sports leadership, and tourism management. 

Martin joined the team in 2022 and has an extensive career in agriculture and higher education. Working within the colleges of agriculture at Auburn University and Louisiana State University, Martin most recently served as an assistant dean at LSU. Prior to making the move to Farm Foundation, Martin worked with the executive team at the American Egg Board. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Louisiana State University and holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Agribusiness Economics. She currently serves as one of ten members selected to the National Agriculture Future of America Alliance Advisory Council. 

For over 90 years, Farm Foundation has been a pioneering force in agriculture, consistently leading the charge in developing ideas and fostering conversations that champion farmers and the agricultural community. In 2022, Farm Foundation took a bold step forward by becoming place-based, acquiring a century farm to deepen the understanding and experience of farming. This farm, alongside the Innovation and Education Center, will serve as the national headquarters for the organization.  

With this strategic addition, the latest innovations in agriculture, conservation, and technology will have a dedicated space to be showcased, allowing Farm Foundation to collaborate with stakeholders across the food and agriculture sectors in advancing the people and ideas that will shape the future. Rather than functioning as a tourist attraction or a research facility, this farm will provide agriculture leaders with authentic on-farm experiences through new programs. 

The Farm Foundation Innovation and Education Center (IEC) was officially opened on September 28^th with a public celebration that included food tasting stations, high-tech agriculture demonstrations and site tours.  The IEC is a state-of-the-art facility supporting a variety of uses, including gathering program participants to collaborate, community building, and engagement. There are also conservation projects, a variety of crops, and historic buildings on the campus.  

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