August 2021

The shoes are immense.

The expectations remain sky high.

Good thing for Middleton’s girls swimming program they found a familiar face to try and keep things rolling.

Longtime Cardinals coach Lauren Cabalka — a former MHS standout — stepped down recently to spend more time with her family.

Middleton turned to R.J. Leiferman — another former MHS standout who swam collegiately at the University of Minnesota — to replace Cabalka. And the Cardinals hope passing the baton from one legend to another means Middleton’s tradition of greatness will continue.

“R.J. will be excellent,” Middleton athletic director Jamie Sims said. “Lauren did some amazing things with the program, and we think R.J. can keep it going.”

MIDDLETON–Jenna L. (Vanden Brook) Baker, 33, of Middleton, passed away on July 6, 2021, at University Hospital in Madison after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Jenna was born March 31, 1988, in Madison the daughter

of Julie and Mark D. Vanden Brook. She married Jesse Abraham Baker on June 22, 2013 in Bedford, VA.

In May of 2006, Jenna graduated from Waunakee High School where she was active with concert choir, girl’s tennis, and vocal jazz performing. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Liberty University and her Master of Business Administration earned at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA.

A woman won the lottery. All of her friends stopped by to congratulate her. 

“You won $10 million!” they said. “That’s great! You are so lucky.”

“Maybe,” she replied. 

Her friends, who were sure they understood far more of the world than they actually did, walked away shaking their heads, puzzled by her response.

A few months later, the woman bought her son, who was 19, a car with some of the money. It was new and shiny, and full of fancy electronic features. One day, while driving to class, the new car slid on some ice and smashed into another vehicle. The young man’s leg was badly broken. 

“You will walk with a limp for the rest of your life,” said the doctor. “Physical therapy will take many months, maybe years.” 

The woman’s friends all called to offer their condolences. 

“We’re so sorry your son was injured!” they said. “What a horrible accident! This is terrible.”

“Maybe,” the woman replied. 

MIDDLETON–Students and staff of the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) will be required to wear face masks indoors at district facilities, on school buses and at as spectators at indoor athletic events, the Board of Education mandated Monday.

In-person instruction will begin Sept. 1, five days a week with about 100 students participating in the district’s fully virtual program.

The mask mandate was made retroactive to August 2.

Superintendent Dana Monogue said it is “our ethical and moral obligation to continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, care for our most vulnerable students and staff, and keep everyone as safe as possible.

“Our operations will likely be able to continue largely without interruption if we continue to require masks in all of our schools,” Monogue told the Board.

Some parents asked the board not to impose the mask mandate and questioned their authority to do so absent an emergency public health order.