Moraine Park Technical College, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Bureau for Drinking & Groundwater, worked to develop and conduct three online training courses to enhance the DNR’s Public Wisconsin Capacity Development program.   

The DNR regulates over 600 municipal water systems, the majority serving a population of fewer than 10,000 people. To ensure that the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of the state’s water utilities is maintained, the DNR created the Wisconsin Capacity Development program, which aims to help public water systems strengthen their ability to consistently supply safe drinking water to their customers. The program focuses on assisting system owners and operators with improving their technical abilities, managerial skills and financial resources to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.  

“The purpose for this training is to increase the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of municipal water systems in Wisconsin, and to help decision-makers at these water systems make informed decisions,” Nicholas Bertolas, Capacity Development & Operator Certification Coordinator for the DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater, said. “We hope these training opportunities will encourage better communication between decision-makers and water utility staff.”   

In 2019, Moraine Park’s Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) department was awarded the project, which included the development, hosting and maintenance of the training for the DNR.   

Each course includes four unique learning modules. The first two modules launched on Dec. 31, 2020, and are free to government bodies (village, city, or town boards), other utility governing boards (utility commissions), and professionals with decision authority as it pertains to drinking water utilities. To incentivize the online training modules, the DNR is offering continuing education credits to operators who take the training, as well as principal forgiveness points towards Safe Drinking Water Loan Program applications to municipalities who have a minimum of 50% of their governing body take and pass the training modules.  

“These training opportunities are unique in that they benefit anyone that takes the course, from the first-time water board member who is just getting an introduction into water quality to the veteran certified operator that can pick-up some best practices,” Matt Goff, Moraine Park instructor, said. “Together we have developed something rather simple that can have a big impact on our local utilities.”  

Moraine Park and the DNR have been long-standing partners on the DNR’s Operators Water Quality Program. They expanded their partnership in 2019 to add both the continuing education training for certified operators of small public drinking water systems and the online program. These programs are free for participants. This 3-year partnership between Moraine Park and the DNR is a first of its kind in Wisconsin, and its structure paves the way for future training opportunities.  

For more information on Moraine Park’s EWD efforts, visit morainepark.edu/training.   

For more information on the DNR’s Capacity Development program, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/DrinkingWater/CapacityDevelopment.html. 

Moraine Park Technical College has announced plans for a limited access in-person commencement ceremony—thanks to the support of their community partner, the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Fond du Lac. 

Typically, the College collaborates with its longtime community partner, Fond du Lac High School, to host the annual ceremony. However, with increased restrictions at the K-12 level, the College needed to explore alternative venues. The College considered options including both a virtual and an outdoor ceremony in hopes to make a celebration possible. 

“Last year presented many difficult scenarios outside of our control,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president, said. “While this year has had its fair share of challenges, we at least had time to consider options and prepare. It was a goal of ours to make a safe in-person event a possibility. We understand the extreme pressure our local K-12 school districts are under to maintain their operations and knew utilizing Fond du Lac High School would not be an option this year. However, we look forward to continuing our partnership with Fond du Lac High School in the future.” 

The College explored holding an outdoor ceremony at the College’s Fond du Lac campus. However, limited resources and heightened overall risk eliminated that possibility. 

“Commencement is a large undertaking on a normal year and working through scenarios to relocate it outside was challenging,” Baerwald said. “We had weather, access, equipment, security, and safety to consider, among other things. Our goal is to hold a safe ceremony for our graduates and an outdoor event simply presented too many risks.”  

The College considered holding a virtual ceremony, like many other Colleges in the state, until the Radisson Hotel and Conference center stepped forward with an option to use their facility. 

“The Radisson offers a large open space, and by utilizing their facility, we can hold an in-person ceremony that otherwise would likely not be possible,” Baerwald said. “There are restrictions to ensure overall safety—face coverings and temperature checks are required for entry and ceremony attendance will be limited to graduates only. Due to capacity and social distancing restrictions, we are unable to accommodate guests.”

Baerwald added that the College follows the current recommendations of city, state and county public health officials making a capacity restriction needed regardless of venue.

“Our students have proven to be resilient and flexible during a time of so many unknowns and difficult scenarios,” Baerwald said. “While we know this event will look different, we also know in-person ceremonies in our state are still few and far between. I am proud of the work being done to ensure an in-person celebration for our soon-to-be graduates and am grateful to the Radisson for helping us make this possible.”  

Only graduates and Moraine Park employees executing the event will be permitted to attend. The College is expecting 350 graduates to participate in the ceremony. With current capacity restrictions, the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center can accommodate a maximum of 500 guests, and Baerwald has a goal to stay well under the maximum capacity. 

While family, friends and supporters are not able to participate in person, the event will be available via live stream. Ceremony details will continue to be shared with graduates as they unfold and will be made public on the College’s webpage.

For more information on the 2021 commencement ceremony, visit morainepark.edu/commencement.