The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council’s Opee Awards, now in their 20th consecutive year, recognize outstanding efforts to protect the Wisconsin’s tradition of open government, as well as highlight some threats to it.
We held our event on March 19, 2026 at Rigby’s in Madison, WI, during national Sunshine Week, March 15-21.
Awards are being given this year in six categories. The winners are:
Public Openness Advocate (Popee): Vilas County District Attorney Karl Hayes
Citizen Openness Advocate (Copee): Midwest Environmental Advocates
Media Openness Advocate (Mopee): The Badger Project
Open Records Scoop of the Year (Scoopee): Tie: Tom Kertscher of Wisconsin Watch; Danielle DuClos of The Cap Times
No Friend of Openness (Nopee): Deborah Kerr, superintendent of the St. Francis School District
At 22:30, we play a clip courtesy of TMJ4 reporter Megan Lee.