Action Printing in Fond du Lac will permanently close on Oct. 31, resulting in the loss of 44 jobs.
Artist Chloe Tschudy is bringing color to Fond du Lac-area businesses
Chloe Tschudy of Waupun, the artist behind Oddball Arts LLC, specializes in murals, window painting and other art throughout Wisconsin.
FOND DU LAC – September has come and gone in Fond du Lac, bringing with it the start of school and the end of summer.
Fond du Lac learned about upcoming changes to two local businesses toward the end of the month, but other top-read stories included a round-up of apple orchards and pumpkin patches, a caution for blue-green algae and phosphorous pollution in Green Lake, and a feature on a local artist.
Here are seven stories you may have missed in September.
Action Printing to close Oct. 31
Action Printing, N6637 Rolling Meadows Drive, known for printing catalogs, magazines, books and more since 1973, will close its facility permanently Oct. 31.
The closure affects 44 employees as parent company JAL Equity decided to “discontinue the product line manufactured at that location,” according to a notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Action Printing was also known in the community as a division of Action Publishing, which put out the good-news-only free newspaper Action Advertiser until 2022.
In September 2024, Marketing.com — one of JAL Equity’s companies — acquired Action Printing to further scale its capabilities in the relevant printing markets.
Local orchards and pumpkin patches are open for fall fun
The most celebrated fall activities in the area include visits to local apple orchards and pumpkin patches, many of which include pick-your-own apples, kids’ activities and a retail shop with baked goods.
Local spots include The Little Farmer in Malone, Armstrong Apples in Campbellsport, Redmond’s Apple Basket Orchard in Ripon and Tom Dooley Apple Orchard in Waupun.
Pumpkins are available at The Little Farmer as well as Kelley’s Farmstead on the weekends, Petals & Plows Greenhouse and Airy Point Farms.
Blue-green algae spotted throughout Green Lake
Green Lake Association members noticed suspicious conditions throughout the lake in mid-September, and the water tested positive for blue-green algae, which is harmful to people and pets.
While conditions improved in the next several days, the cause was ongoing phosphorous pollution — which the GLA has been researching and addressing for about 10 years.
Phosphorous enters the lake from farm runoff, yard debris, rain and other factors, fueling algae blooms, clouding the water, depleting oxygen in the lake and putting a strain on aquatic life.
While the GLA has worked to prevent phosphorous from entering the lake as much as possible, the pollutants that were already there can linger for up to 20 years.
Mix It Up Bakery is for sale
After about 10 years on their corner spot in Fond du Lac, the owners behind Mix It Up Bakery are ready to retire.
Jeanne and Scott Page started the selling process on the bakery, but for now, the hours and the baked goods will remain the same.
They opened Mix It Up in 2015 with a passion for bringing Fond du Lac fresh, handmade baked goods, “the way it was done 50-plus years ago,” they said at the time.
The $495,000 price tag includes the business and the building, which also holds the office leased by an Edward Jones financial adviser, plus bakery equipment, fixtures and any business interest.
Facebook commenters wished them well, though they would miss their donuts. Some expressed hopes a buyer will continue on to keep the recipes and the legacy going.
The Main Exchange was known for sandwiches and cocktails until 2014
The top “Remember When …” story of September looked back at The Main Exchange in downtown Fond du Lac.
Chuck Boyd and his family bought the space in 1979 among their several real estate investments through the years and ran it as a bar with a dance hall for the first few years before converting the upstairs into a restaurant.
The 2008 flood, economic downturn, city smoking ban and other factors prevented expansion, then eventually led to The Main Exchange’s closure in 2014. After a few years and extensive updating, Laurie and Dan Baumhardt opened Brick House in 2018, which remains today.
August’s most expensive properties included North Fond du Lac Dollar General
Some Fond du Lac County properties sold for more than $750,000 in August, including vacant land that sold for $1.1 million Aug. 8.
Two of the other properties among the most expensive were homes. A multi-tenant commercial building in Waupun with a hair salon and spa sold for $806,000, and the North Fond du Lac Dollar General property sold for $775,000.
Oddball Arts brightens businesses in the area
Artist Chloe Tschudy shared her passion and process behind window paintings and murals in Fond du Lac County and beyond.
As Oddball Arts, she paints for a variety of businesses like stores, spas, daycares, dog groomers and even auto shops, holding a particular goal to help small businesses showcase who they are and what they do.
Some of her projects include a 200-foot long mural outside the Thirsty Beaver in Beaver Dam — followed by another mural inside with UV reactive paint — “Hippy Dippy” in the downtown Fond du Lac Art Lot and a mural at Alsum Farms in honor of their 50th anniversary in Friesland.
Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@gannett.com.
