Saturday, June 27, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Racine Public Library executive director wins state poetry award
Ryan Patterson
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Nick Demske, left, and Dave Demske celebrate after Nick received an award at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison. |
RACINE — Nick Demske has always loved words.
In middle school, language provided an outlet for him.
That was when Demske began writing poetry to help deal with the mental health challenges he was facing, including anxiety and depression.
“I realized at some point, ‘Oh, when I do this, it really helps balance me out,” said Demske, who is executive director of the Racine Public Library. “Poetry has been a really important health and wellness tactic in my survival strategy in life.”
He continued writing poetry while studying English and creative writing at Carthage College.
After that, Demske received some notice for his work, publishing one full-length book of poems and a chapbook.
Demske put poetry on the backburner for several years as he became more involved in civic engagement, including being a Racine County Board supervisor from 2018-24.
In fall of 2024, he began writing poetry again.
That creative reignition was recently recognized when Demske won a state prize, the Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award.
He was one of eight honorees at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison.
Demske
SUBMITTEDHua Xi, the award judge who is also a poet, wrote that Demske’s poems are delightful, “full of witty observations and pure feeling.”
“These are risky and defiant poems, full of unexpected twists of language and imagery that produce a sharp and melancholy whimsy,” Xi wrote.
Demske was honored and surprised to win a poetry prize for the first time in many years.
“I was over the moon about it,” he said.
Niedecker was born in Wisconsin and lived for most of her life near Fort Atkinson, about 60 miles west of Racine.
Demske adores Niedecker’s work so was thrilled to win a prize named after her.
The award includes $500 and a five-day residency later this year at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Demske looks forward to having several days to write and “be in community with other writers and other creatives.”
Rita Mae Reese, from left, Nick Demske and Steven Espada Dawson at a Wisconsin Writers Awards event in May in Madison.
Dave DemskeThe relational aspect of poetry has become more important to Demske over the years.
Writing poems remains a cathartic outlet similar to when he was younger, but Demske also greatly enjoys the people he has met through poetry.
“It’s still a very important therapeutic tactic in my life,” Demske said. “The community became really important and central to me, differently than my creative work.”
After several years off, Demske, who recently finished a poetry manuscript and is working on a new collection, plans to keep writing.
He writes poetry for his own health, but Demske also hopes his words connect with people.
“This stuff actually has an impact if you do it correctly,” Demske said. “I want to heal myself and heal others.”
Clergy Gone Wild: Madison priest stripped of clerical role after child sex crime charges
David Clarey
A Madison Catholic priest was stripped of his clerical duties after allegations of child pornography surfaced against the man in 2025.
The June 24 stripping of Andrew J. Showers’ clerical duties comes after Waupaca County prosecutors charged the 38-year-old man with felonies after they say he he attempted to meet with a 14-year-old girl to have sex with her, but it was actually a police officer. Prosecutors also charged him with possession of child pornography earlier this year.
Showers was also the subject of two other misconduct allegations following his 2025 arrest, one for inappropriate questioning during confession and another allegation of groping a woman.
The Diocese of Madison announced Pope Leo XIV made the decision to remove Showers of his duties after Showers requested the removal himself, according to the Diocese’s June 25 letter. That church process, known as laicization, means he is known longer a member of the church’s clergy.
“I ask for your continued prayers for all those affected and commend everyone involved, including Andrew, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” said Donald Hying, Bishop of Madison, in a letter to diocese members. “May we find comfort in the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy, remembering that He remains with us in every trial, suffering, and sorrow.”
The charges came after Clintonville Police Department officers arrested Showers on Aug. 24, 2025 after he attempted to meet with an officer posing as a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Then, in March, prosecutors charged Showers with two additional felonies for possession of child pornography. Authorities said they found two pornographic images of girls on a messaging app on Showers’ phone.
The Diocese of Madison had previously announced Showers’s first arrest Aug. 25, 2025, and restricted him from ministry during the investigation. In that announcement, it erroneously said the church had not received any prior allegations of misconduct conduct against Showers.
However, two days later, the Diocese of Madison said Showers was the subject of a previous complaint in December 2021. The Journal Sentinel previously reported that complaint came from a parent who reported his son was asked about watching pornography and masturbating during confession at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lodi, according to a police record.
The Lodi Police Department investigated the complaint and determined it was not criminal. The father also said he reported it to the church, who said Showers’ actions were within his role as a priest.
More allegations surfaced against Showers in Sept. 2025. A woman said she was groped by the man during a social event, where he introduced himself as a priest and gave her his business card.
Showers had been set to lead a small group trip to Rome and Siena at the time of the allegations, according to since-deleted social media posts.
Showers had the following assignments, according to the diocese:
- Director of diocesan office of worship, 2024 to present.
- Parochial vicar for a grouping known as Pastorate 22 or Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which collectively includes two churches, St. Raphael and Good Shepherd, and one school, St. James, all in Madison, 2023 to present.
- Priest in residence at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake, 2022 to 2023.
- Provided Spanish Mass assistance at St. John the Baptist in Waunakee, 2022.
- Pastor of St. Stephen in Clinton, 2020 to 2022.
- Parochial vicar for St. Paul's Catholic Student Center, which serves UW-Madison students, 2018 to 2020.
- Parochial vicar of St. Cecilia in Wisconsin Dells, summer of 2017.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Microsoft completes construction on first Racine County data center
Ricardo Torres
Data center is first of several planned
Microsoft Corp. has completed construction of its first data center in Mount Pleasant – with several more to come.
The company said the facility, which it calls Fairwater, is "fully operational."
"Wisconsin is now home to the world's most powerful supercomputer," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a June 23 statement.
“This campus will help power the next generation of AI innovation globally and provide long-term economic opportunity locally through hundreds of highly skilled jobs and continued investment in the region," Smith said.
Microsoft has committed more than $7.3 billion to building multiple data centers in Mount Pleasant. The company has a second data center under construction to be completed in 2028.
The company has roughly 375 people working at the data center and plans to have roughly 800 workers on the campus once the second data center is completed.
Village President Dave DeGroot called the completion of the first data center a "historic milestone" for Mount Pleasant and Racine County.
"Microsoft's decision to invest here elevates our community into a destination for innovation and advancement," DeGroot said, in a statement.
"As this campus continues to grow, it will create lasting opportunities for residents, strengthen our regional economy and help position Wisconsin for long-term success," he said.
The data center puts Microsoft at the top of largest taxpayers in Mount Pleasant and Racine County. The company's facilities in Mount Pleasant are worth about $1.224 billion, according to assessment data, which means its annual tax bill is $19.75 million.
Microsoft has been approved to build up to 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant during the next 10 years. Those centers are being built with union workers.
""I'm very proud of the work our members have done to build this facility," Michael Ervin, organizing director of Operating Engineers Local 139 said, in a statement. "Since day one, they have helped build it safely, professionally and with pride in their craft."
"This isn't an ordinary construction project," Ervin said. "Our members are getting the chance to work on some of the most advanced infrastructure, and those skills and experiences will stay with them throughout their careers.”
The Microsoft development is taking place within a tax incremental financing district. The district uses property tax revenue from the development to pay for roads, sewers, and other public infrastructure improvements.
Microsoft completes construction on first Mount Pleasant data center
Holly Gilvary
MOUNT PLEASANT — After two years, construction of Microsoft's first data center in Mount Pleasant is complete.
Microsoft said Tuesday that the facility is fully operational. The plan for the facility was first announced in May 2024.
Almost 10,000 construction crew members worked on the facility and there are currently almost 550 full-time employees on-site. Microsoft said the company and its contractors are actively hiring and expect this number will continue to grow.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said Wisconsin is now home to the "world's most powerful supercomputer."
"This campus will help power the next generation of AI innovation globally and provide long-term economic opportunity locally through hundreds of highly skilled jobs and continued investment in the region," Smith said in a news release.
Mount Pleasant Village President David DeGroot called the facility's completion "a historic milestone for Mount Pleasant and all of Racine County as we become home to one of the most advanced technology campuses in the world."
"Microsoft's decision to invest here elevates our community into a destination for innovation and advancement," DeGroot said in the release. "As this campus continues to grow, it will create lasting opportunities for residents, strengthen our regional economy and help position Wisconsin for long-term success."
Microsoft estimates the company will have spent $4.7 billion between 2024-28 locally on hyperscale construction in Wisconsin. It has directly purchased from 29 businesses across 11 Wisconsin counties, rippling across many more local companies through supplier networks, subcontracting, logistics and related services needs, according to Microsoft.
Direct purchases include construction suppliers in Racine County, contractors and steel fabricators in Outagamie and Marathon counties, electrical equipment manufacturers in Rock and Columbia counties, and machinery manufacturers in La Crosse County.
Construction of Microsoft's second facility in Mount Pleasant, which is immediately adjacent to the first, is ongoing. Current work includes foundation installation, steel erection and underground utility placement. This facility is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
When the second facility is fully operational, Microsoft expects the number of full-time employees in Mount Pleasant will grow to about 800.
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