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Paula Kay (Davel) Fredrickson, a longtime writer for The Dodgeville Chronicle, died on May 15, 2022, following a brief illness. She was 76.

After studying journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, she was hired by the Blanchardville Chamber of Commerce to write stories about local businesses. She began her 38-year newspaper career with the Blanchardville Blade-Atlas, and went on to work for The Dodgeville Chronicle, The (Mineral Point) Democrat-Tribune, and the Pecatonica Valley Leader. 

Jon Nels Olson, a longtime reporter and editor who lived in Milwaukee,  died on on Thursday, May 19, 2022, of complications from Myotonic Dystrophy following a fall from his bicycle during the previous month. He was 63.

Olson began his career as the editor of the Middleton Times-Tribune before moving in to work as a reporter and associate editor of The Business Journal. He also produced the television show Business of Wisconsin. He worked as a business reporter for the Milwaukee Journal from 1991 to 1995 and then as a copy editor from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from 1995 to 2009.

Thomas G. Larson of Minong, Wis., former owner and publisher of The Osceola Sun, died April 12, 2022. He was 86.

In 1974, Larson purchased the Sun, which he owned for 18 years. Prior to purchasing the newspaper, he worked for the Quinco Press in Lowry, Minn., and the Morris (Minn.) Sun.

Royce Miles, a former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel executive, died unexpectedly on April 3 at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha, the Journal Sentinel reports. He was 54.

Miles started his career as a press operator trainee at The Washington Post and later moved through the production ranks at the Journal Sentinel, eventually becoming executive vice president and general manager — the No. 2 spot to the publisher. He also was part of the team that planned and helped fully open the Journal Sentinel‘s West Milwaukee printing plant in 2003.

Former Wisconsin newspaper owner Charles “Chuck” Stephen Hagen, Sr., died March 21 at his home in Chippewa Falls. He was 86.

In 1966, Hagen and his then-wife Lorraine purchased the Cornell Courier. They added the Cadott Sentinel in 1971 and merged the two newspapers. They sold the Courier Sentinel in July 1974, when Hagen briefly left the newspaper industry to work for a commercial printer in the Twin Cities area. In 1975, he purchased The Colfax Messenger and the The Boyceville Press-Reporter from Lyle Christianson. The following year, the Hagens sold both newspapers back to Christianson.

Carol Illean Aultman, a former journalist whose career included a stop at The Platteville Journal, died Wednesday, March 2, at her home in rural Highland, Wis. She was 79.

Aultman's first job was at Associated Publishers in Durand, Ill. She spent 15 years with the company and later served as editor of one of its newspapers, the Winnebago News. After she and her husband, Leland, moved to Highland in 1977, she joined the staff of The Platteville Journal.

Kenneth A. "Ken" Troedel, who enjoyed a 26-year career publishing newspapers in Wisconsin, died Tuesday, Jan. 25, at his home in Waupaca. He was 69. Troedel graduated from West Bend West High School studied accounting and business administration at Moraine Park Technical College, during which time he worked at The West Bend Company.

He started his career in advertising sales and worked his way up to serve as publisher of several Wisconsin newspapers. Over his 26-year career, Troedel ran the Washington County Sunday Post in West Bend, Ozaukee County Sunday Post in Cedarburg, The Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls and the Waupaca County Buyer's Guide.

Dennis West, longtime editor and publisher of The Beacon in Williams Bay, died Wednesday, Jan. 28, at his Williams Bay home. He was 78.

After spending the first two decades of his career at WIFR-TV in Rockford, West attended UW-Madison and earned his journalism degree in 1992. After graduating, he moved to the Lake Geneva area, where he joined The (Williams) Bay Times. He later purchased The Beacon, of which he served as editor and publisher for several years before selling the newspaper in October 2017 to Southern Lakes Newspapers. He continued on as editor of The Beacon until retiring in February 2020.

Raymond Eugene Schoenfield, an award-winning former teacher and newspaper adviser at Beloit Memorial High School, died Saturday, Feb. 5, in Rockford. He was 86. Schoenfield started his teaching career at Beloit Memorial High School in 1961 and was named the head of the English department in 1981. Throughout his 36-year career, he taught a variety of classes, including media and journalism. He also served as the adviser for The Increscent school newspaper. 

Schoenfield served as state director of the Journalism Education Association and vice president of the Wisconsin Journalism Teacher-Advisors' Council. His efforts were recognized through several awards during his career, including Wisconsin Journalism Advisor of the Year in 1974 and Wisconsin PTA Teacher of the Year in 1992.