Stoughton Trailers to Host Vaccine Clinic

STOUGHTON, Wis. (Tuesday, March 30, 2021) — Stoughton Trailers, LLC, will offer a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for its employees at the company’s Plant 6 location, 1111 Veterans Road, on Friday, April 2.

Read the full press release here.

Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools: MMSD Delivers on Community Promise with Full-Day 4K Pilot Program

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2021

Contact:
Melinda Heinritz
mheinritz@fmps.org

---

Madison, Wis. – Today the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools released the following statement after the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Board of Education approved a motion to provide an increase of $1,300,000 to both 2021-22 elementary and Early Childhood Program staffing budgets and non-personnel budget.

Melinda Heinritz, Executive Director of the Foundation and its affiliate, Schools Make Madison Advocates:

“The district is delivering on their promise to our community with this historic action that will enable the launch of a pilot to evaluate the effectiveness of the district’s first full-day 4K program. Full day-4K was a critical element of the successful fall referenda and is an essential component of the district’s equity strategy. We look forward to our continued partnership with MMSD as they work to implement this pilot program.”

MMSD currently offers partial-day 4K at 26 elementary schools and 27 Early Care and Education (ECE) sites. Thanks to an overwhelming passing of the operating referenda on November 3rd, 2020, MMSD is now able to offer pilot programs for full-day 4K at Leopold, Mendota, and Sandburg Elementary schools. The Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools advocacy arm, Schools Make Madison Advocates, was proud to lead the Vote Yes 2 Invest campaign that championed the passing of both the operating and facilities referenda.

A significant body of research suggests that early learning opportunities for young children can impact their developmental trajectory throughout their life, as well as have a positive impact on families, communities and society. Research also indicates that providing full day 4K programming will increase academic gains to close achievement gaps for our most vulnerable student populations.

Schools selected for the pilot were based on need and those who have systems in place that would support successful testing of a full-day 4K pilot. Leopold and Mendota are Community Schools (schools that offer a range of services in addition to educational services) and Sandburg offers bilingual programming for native Spanish speaking families.

Read more about MMSD plans for the full-day pilot.

For more on the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools: SchoolsMakeMadison.org

###

Rick Cushman Named Madison Market President at Wisconsin Bank & Trust

CONTACT:
Shawn Kesler
Regional Marketing Officer, VP
414.394.5946
SKesler@htlf.com

RICK CUSHMAN NAMED MADISON MARKET PRESIDENT AT WISCONSIN BANK & TRUST

March 26, 2021 — MADISON, WI — Wisconsin Bank & Trust is pleased to announce that Rick Cushman has joined the organization as Madison Market President. He will be responsible for leading and growing the bank’s presence in the Madison market, and surrounding areas.

“Rick has built an impressive 35-year career and reputation in the banking industry and his experience will support Wisconsin Bank & Trust’s goals of continued growth in the Madison market,” said Doug Kohlbeck, Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Banking at Wisconsin Bank & Trust.

Rick earned both his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, and is also RMA credit certified. He has been actively involved in the Madison area as a member of Rotary, and has previously served on the boards of the YMCA and Madison Development Corporation.

Of his recent hiring, Cushman said, “I’m excited to be joining the Wisconsin Bank & Trust team, which has a reputation for excellent customer service and providing financial products and services that customers value.  I look forward to helping the organization achieve their goals of being a top-performing banking organization that actively contributes to the vitality of the community where we live and work.”

About Wisconsin Bank & Trust

Wisconsin Bank & Trust (WBT), a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., (NASDAQ: HTLF), is a business-focused community bank with assets of more than $1.2 billion. With 13 banking centers and one loan processing office, Wisconsin Bank & Trust serves customers in the Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Monroe and southwest areas of Wisconsin. WBT offers a wide range of personal and business banking, private client and mortgage lending services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinbankandtrust.com or call 608.203.1214. Wisconsin Bank & Trust is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.

About Heartland Financial USA, Inc.

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is a $17.9 billion diversified financial services company providing commercial and retail banking, residential mortgage, wealth management, investment services and insurance services.  Heartland currently has more than 130 banking locations in more than 100 communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin.  Additional information about Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is available at www.htlf.com.

# # #

UScellular Names Christine Paulsen Director of Retail Sales and Operations for Wisconsin

Madison, WI. (March 8, 2021) – UScellular has named Christine Paulsen to director of retail sales and operations for Wisconsin. In this role, Paulsen is responsible for leading her team of wireless technology experts to help customers select the devices, plans and consumer electronics to best meet their needs.

Paulsen has 21 years of wireless leadership experience, with more than 25 years of experience in the field. Prior to this promotion, she served as the director of sales for the company’s agent channel in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois and the director of sales for company-owned stores in Nebraska and Iowa.

“Christine is a motivated sales and management leader with an extensive background and track record of success in the wireless industry,” said Eric Conlon, area vice president/general manager for UScellular in the Wisconsin/Illinois Region. “At U.S. Cellular, we focus on providing the best wireless experience for our customers through a high-quality network and the most knowledgeable associates in the industry.”

Paulsen graduated the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. She is the mother of four and actively involved in her community through the school district and food pantry. She volunteers her time with Junior Achievement, she is the board chair for U.S. Cellular’s Women in Action Wisconsin Chapter Affinity Network Group as well as acting as the UScellular Ambassador for the Dane County Boys and Girls Club, organizing 5 major events each year along with recruiting volunteers and fundraising.

About UScellular UScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier is building a stronger network with the latest 5G technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with UScellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.

# # #

For more information, contact: Julie Embling, jembling@laughlin.com, 630-388-9933

AM Best Upgrades National Guardian Life Insurance Company Credit Ratings to A (Excellent)

National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is pleased to announce AM Best has upgraded its Financial Strength Rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) rating effective March 24, 2021. The outlook of these ratings has been revised to stable from positive. This rating reflects the excellent ability of NGL to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations and further attests to its financial strength.

“Last year NGL finished with capital and surplus reaching historic records. Our strong financial position is the result of generations of employees consistently doing what is right and always putting our policyholders first. This rating both confirms our strength and stability, and gives us confidence to enter new markets so that we can expand our societal impact,” said Knut Olson, NGL President & CEO.

AM Best has also upgraded NGL subsidiary, Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company, to A (Excellent) rating with stable outlook.

“Despite the challenges NGL faced in 2020 with the pandemic’s impact on sales and claim levels combined with the low interest rate environment, NGL had a solid year from an income perspective. We strengthened our balance sheet by selling blocks of business, updating our investment strategy and managing risk. Through these actions, total adjusted capital has reached $451.8 million with an RBC ratio of 556 percent, the highest level in NGL’s history,” said Nancy Stoddard, NGL Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary.

According to a news release from AM Best, the rating upgrades are driven by continuing improvements in NGL’s balance sheet, including a decline in financial leverage from the pay-down of surplus notes, favorable capital and surplus growth on an absolute and risk-adjusted basis, and a conservative investment portfolio. AM Best also noted that operating earnings remained consistent in 2020 despite the challenges of operating in a pandemic environment.

AM Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating information source. The financial strength rating is based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a company’s balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile.

As a longtime leader in the insurance industry, NGL is dedicated to serving policyholders and partners by offering high-quality products that are among the safest and most stable in the industry.

To learn more about NGL’s financial strength and stability visit our website, www.nglic.com. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.

About NGL

Established in 1909 National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is an insurance company headquartered in Madison, Wis. Licensed to do business in 49 states and the District of Columbia, NGL markets preneed and individual life and annuities, as well as group markets products. Information about NGL can be found at www.nglic.com; Facebook: Facebook.com/NGLIC and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-guardian-life-insurance-company.

About Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company

Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company became a wholly owned, stock subsidiary of National Guardian Life Insurance Company in 2017.

Ratings current as of 03/24/21. National Guardian Life Insurance Company is not affiliated with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America a/k/a The Guardian or Guardian Life.

###