Direct deposit now required for federal payments: Dupaco helps members make the switch 

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Effective today, Executive Order 14247, titled “Modernizing Payments To and From American’s Bank Account,” goes into effect, marking a significant shift in how federal payments are delivered. The U.S. Treasury has officially phased out paper checks for most federal payments, requiring all individuals to enroll in direct deposit to avoid delays or disruptions.  

To help ensure a smooth transition, Dupaco Credit Union reminds individuals to update their payment method to avoid any disruption in benefits. This change affects all individuals who receive payments from agencies including: 

• Social Security Administration (SSA) 
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) 
• Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

Important details for individuals receiving federal payments: 

• If you are already using direct deposit: No action is needed. 
• If you are still receiving a paper check: Immediate enrollment in direct deposit is required to avoid payment delays. 

“Direct deposit is a safer, faster and more reliable way to receive your money,” said Katie Shemak, AVP, Deposit Operations at Dupaco. “It eliminates the risk of lost or stolen checks and ensures funds are available without delay. Our team is here to help members make the switch with confidence.”  

Dupaco urges those receiving paper checks for their federal payments to visit GoDirect.gov to sign up for direct deposit. To set up direct deposit, individuals will need their full account number and financial institution’s routing number.  

“If you don’t have access to technology or aren’t sure what to do, I recommend reaching out to a trusted family member or your financial institution to help,” said Shemak. “There are resources available to guide you and it’s important to get your payments set up to avoid delays.” 

Why the change? According to the U.S. Treasury, the move to electronic payments is intended to: 

• Reduce fraud: Check fraud has increased 385% nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Prevent delays: Paper checks are 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen, or delayed. 
• Lower costs: Paper checks cost the government about 50 cents each, compared to less than 15 cents for electronic transfers. 

The US Treasury is allowing exceptions to the new rule and waivers may be granted for individuals with documented mental disabilities or those living in remote areas without access to electronic banking. To request a waiver, call 1-855-290-1545. 

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ABOUT DUPACO COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION  

Dupaco Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa. It is dedicated to the financial well-being of its members, and specializes in personalized financial counseling, money advice and education. It offers savings, loans, investments, insurance and wealth management products for individuals and businesses. Dupaco serves residents in 118 counties throughout Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1948 by ten Dubuque Packing Company employees, membership has grown to more than 176,000 with assets exceeding $3.6 billion. It has over 600 employees and 23 branch office locations. Learn more at www.dupaco.com. 

Bank of Sun Prairie Joins ABA and Banks Across U.S. for #BanksNeverAskThat Campaign

America’s banks join forces in coordinated, industry-wide campaign to protect consumers during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Today Bank of Sun Prairie joined the American Bankers Association and banks across the nation to promote an industry-wide campaign educating consumers about the persistent and growing threat of scams. The FTC estimates that consumers lost $12.5 billion to scams in 2024, an increase of 25% compared to 2023. To combat these scams, the award-winning #BanksNeverAskThat campaign uses attention-grabbing humor and other engaging content to empower consumers to identify bogus bank communications asking for sensitive information like their passwords and social security numbers.

“It’s especially important for all of us to be diligent when it comes to recognizing scams. We’re all at risk; we need to take a moment to really understand if what is being presented to us is in reality criminals at work,” stated Jimmy Kauffman, president and chief executive officer at Bank of Sun Prairie. “This campaign by the American Bankers Association really hits the mark with humor and memorable examples to help us all get better at being safe.”

“As scams become increasingly sophisticated, it’s critical that individuals understand how to recognize and avoid deceptive tactics,” said Paul Benda, senior vice president, operational risk and cybersecurity at ABA. “The #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is designed to do just that —empowering consumers with knowledge in a way that’s engaging and memorable. By joining the campaign, Bank of Sun Prairie and financial institutions throughout the country are helping their customers stay one step ahead of scammers.”

Bank of Sun Prairie, along with banks from across the U.S., will join forces with ABA to kick off this year’s updated campaign on Oct. 1 to mark the beginning of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout the month Bank of Sun Prairie will share eye-catching and engaging short videos and consumer tips on social media and in bank branches designed to highlight common scams. Because cybersecurity education and fraud awareness can often be dull and forgettable to many consumers, the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is designed to be bright and bold with a bit of comedy.

This year’s campaign theme, “Snap Out of It!” highlights that scammers often lure consumers into a false sense of trust and security – almost a spellbound state – while demanding urgent action. The campaign’s short videos show various scams in progress, but before the consumer can be defrauded, a bank employee calls attention to the red flags and encourages the victim to “snap out of it!” The trance is broken, and the scammers are stopped in their tracks.

In addition to videos, consumers can find an interactive quiz, the educational “Scam City” video game, and tips on how to spot a scam at BanksNeverAskThat.com. There is also a Spanish language version of the website, BancosNuncaPidenEso.com, which provides a host of #BanksNeverAskThat resources in Spanish.

For more information about scams and how to stop fraudsters in their tracks, visit BanksNeverAskThat.com.

Bank of Sun Prairie is a locally owned, full-service community bank with $724 million in assets and four branches in Sun Prairie and Cottage Grove, Wis. Its mission is to be trusted advisor and community ally lifting people and organizations up, milestone to milestone, through leading-edge financial services and personal support. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender.

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MMSD Launches “Mad for Reading” App to Spark Student Engagement

MADISON, Wis.—The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has launched the Mad for Reading App, powered by Beanstack, giving students and families a new way to celebrate and track their reading.

The app makes reading fun and interactive for students of all ages. By logging their reading, students can earn digital badges, participate in challenges, and build streaks by reading and tracking their progress on a personal virtual bookshelf. Any kind of reading counts—fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, articles, audiobooks, even being read to by a teacher or family member. 

“Our goal is simple: to get students reading more and enjoying it,” said Maegan Heindel, MMSD’s library services coordinator. “By providing all kinds of literacy connections and entry points, we’re helping kids discover and read what they love while building a lifelong habit.”

The district has set a shared goal of 2.6 million minutes read this school year. Every student’s reading contributes toward that total, reinforcing the idea that individual efforts add up to collective success.

“Reading is the foundation of learning, and this app helps us meet students where they are,” Heindel added. “Whether a child is just beginning their literacy journey or already devouring books, the Mad for Reading App makes it easy to recognize their growth and celebrate it with their family and school community.”

Getting started is simple. At school, students are able to log in through their device using Classlink. At home, families can download the Beanstack mobile app from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store, using their student’s Classlink username (ID number) to connect reading minutes between home and school.

The launch of the Mad for Reading App aligns with MMSD’s districtwide literacy priority, building excitement and accountability around reading while engaging families as partners.

For more information about MMSD’s ongoing Mad for Reading initiative, please visit the district’s website.

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About the Madison Metropolitan School District

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is the second-largest school district in Wisconsin, serving more than 25,000 students across 52 schools. The district’s vision is that every school will be a thriving school that prepares every student to graduate ready for college, career and community. With more than 6,000 teachers and staff, MMSD is committed to ensuring the district’s goals and core values are held at the center of its efforts, so students can learn, belong and thrive. For more information, visit mmsd.org.

Carnelian Art Gallery’s “Tending the Balance” Closing Reception Happening Oct. 24

Madison, Wisconsin, Sept. 15 – Carnelian Art Gallery, located at 221 King St., Suite 102, in downtown Madison, is pleased to host its fourth art exhibition of the year, titled “Tending the Balance,” whose theme is centered around ongoing care, as well as the intentional effort to maintain equilibrium, whether emotional, relational, internal or in nature. It also touches on connection, transformation and growth.

The exhibition will conclude with a closing reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, at the gallery. 

As always, admission is free and light refreshments will be served. Tending the Balance is slated to be on display until Halloween, or Friday, Oct. 31.

Participating artists include Amanda Langer, Aaron Laux and Eric Peterson, who all specialize in three-dimensional artworks.

“My work is an exploration into the contrasting and often conflicting natures we hold within us and around us,” Langer writes on her website. “By exploring the dualities within the materials I work with, I seek to similarly expose the variability within ourselves. I enjoy investigating how fiber and metal can be combined in new and surprising ways, and I believe it shows how the multitudes of elements between humans and our societies have infinite potential to combine and work together to find harmony.”

Langer earned her undergraduate degree in fine arts from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2017 and has since worked in ecological restoration while pursuing art on the side. She is currently returning to her art in pursuit of melding her two primary passions into one cohesive whole.

Born in 1972, Laux, according to his website, first understood that his life would be driven by a need to create at the age of five. His individual evolution, growth as a professional artist and commitment to community has largely been shaped by exploring the alternative. After three years of undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he followed his passion and accepted an apprenticeship with artist Steven Spiro. This blossomed into a decade of mentorship and training in wood sculpting technique which grounded Aaron’s technical skills and unique vision.

Throughout the remainder of his 20s and early 30s, Laux eschewed convention by deciding to go off the grid. Building and living in a yurt, he poured his passion and intellect into personally understanding the experiences of the first humans. Art for him at the time was survival, learning long lost skills that connect us to the natural world. This included the process of making stone tools, which is a symbolic element in his current contemporary mosaics. 

Other experiential education including world travel – especially living in South India for a year – contributed to Aaron’s interest in the ways other cultures relate to the natural world. This relationship with our environment is a constant theme that he explores in his work and life. 

From 2016 to 2018, Laux was a Fellow in the Clark Hulings Fund Business Accelerator program. This experience helped Laux bridge the gap between the necessity of creating an income, with the vision and spiritual side of making art. Within Laux’s diverse portfolio, you will find original art, commissions, community-based projects, public art, as well as functional and architectural works.

In 2015, Aaron was selected to participate in GLEAM, an exhibition at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. GLEAM celebrates the symbiosis of art and nature with installations of predominantly light sculptures throughout the outdoor gardens, Aaron’s entitled “Luminous Grass.” In 2018, Laux was invited to exhibit his functional art with the Handmade Craft Invitational at the Dubuque Museum of Art. This exhibition featured a selected group of regional artists whose work is influencing the current functional art movement. 

Both of these exhibitions exemplify Aaron’s innovative approach and commitment to helping us understand how we connect to the natural world.Laux has become increasingly vocal – and with a young daughter increasingly worried – about the impact of human caused climate change. He was recently selected to participate in “The Phoenix from the Ashes,“ an exhibit of public art organized by the Madison Arts Commission which explores climate change issues, including deforestation.

Peterson is the purveyor of Mobius Frame Art, located at 5000 Turner Ave., in Madison. He has, according to his website, over 20 years of fine art experience, and his works are strongly influenced by the movements of contemporary art and mid-century modern minimalism, as well as Japanese motifs.Peterson’s aesthetic takes from the aforementioned styles with strong crisp lines, bold fields of color and shimmering accents of metallic ripples that can be observed in his artworks.

“Tending the Balance is an exhibition that I hope encourages people to examine how they can bring steadiness into their lives and retain it,” said Carnelian Art Gallery marketing director Emilie Heidemann. “Through stillness, we find clarity and truth. We discover, once again, who we are.”

“We are so unbelievably excited to showcase the works of local talents like Amanda, Aaron and Eric,” said Carnelian Art Gallery owner and head curator Evan Bradbury. “Not only that, but this is the first exhibition in the Carnelian Art Gallery’s history that will feature exclusively three-dimensional artworks. Please join us to both celebrate fine art, and invest in Madison’s broader art community.”

WisDOT Invites You To Attend US18/151 Public Involvement Meetings

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) invites you to attend one of our two upcoming public involvement meetings (one in-person and one virtual) to present and gather feedback on the US 18/151 Corridor Study between the US 18/151 interchange in the town of Dodgeville and County PD (McKee Road) in the city of Fitchburg. The study corridor is approximately 35 miles long and travels through Iowa and Dane counties.

The purpose of the meeting is to:

• Introduce the study
• Present draft study purpose and corridor needs
• Gather feedback

Both meetings will include a prerecorded presentation and the chance to ask questions of study team staff. The in-person meeting will also include informational exhibits. You can choose which meeting works best for your schedule. The input received from these meetings will help shape the future of the corridor.

In-Person Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Mount Horeb High School, West Commons/Cafeteria, 305 S. 8^th Street, Mount Horeb, WI 53572

Virtual Meeting

Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025, 5:30 p.m.

Link: https://app.pima.wisconsindot.gov/public/event-registration/search?project_id=14587&pe_guid=2078cbdf-c6b7-4569-93d5-d843dff00a97

The materials WisDOT presents at the meetings will be available on the public involvement page of the US 18/151 Corridor Study website following the meetings. The website can be found at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/18151study/default.aspx.

The hearing facility is ADA-compliant and wheelchair accessible. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may request an interpreter by contacting the Wisconsin Telecommunications Relay System (dial 711) at least seven working days prior to the hearing date. If you require a Spanish- or Hmong-speaking interpreter at the meeting, please contact WisDOT Southwest Region Communications Manager Michael Bie (email michael.bie@dot.wi.gov or call 608-246-7928) at least seven working days prior to the meeting.

If you have any questions, or if you’re unable to attend the meeting and would like to find out more about the study, please feel contact Jeff Berens (email jeff.berens@dot.wi.gov or call 608-245-2656).