Whitewater, Wisconsin

Whitewater is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located mostly in Walworth County and partly in Jefferson County. Whitewater is home of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Geography

Location of Whitewater, Wisconsin

Whitewater is located at 42°50′6″N 88°44′10″W (42.834950, -88.736119)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.9 km² (7.3 mi²). 18.1 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (3.98%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census,Template:GR there were 13,437 people, 4,132 households, and 1,685 families residing in the city. The population density was 742.2/km² (1,923.5/mi²). There were 4,340 housing units at an average density of 239.7/km² (621.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.25% White, 2.34% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.48% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.50% of the population.

There were 4,132 households out of which 19.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.2% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 53.2% from 18 to 24, 15.7% from 25 to 44, 9.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,600, and the median income for a family was $48,185. Males had a median income of $33,078 versus $22,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,965. About 10.6% of families and 27.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Local government

The City of Whitewater has a council-manager form of government. Whitewater has a Common Council. The Council is made up of one Councilmember from each of the five districts in the city and two Members-at-Large positions. The City Manager is Kevin Brunner.

Council Members

• District 1: Craig Stauffer
• District 2: Max Taylor
• District 3: Roy Nosek
• District 4: Kim Hixson
• District 5: Patrick Singer
• Member-at-Large: Jim Stewart
• Member-at-Large: Marilyn Kienbaum – Council President

The Common Council meets on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at City Hall and can be seen live on Cable Station 13.

Culture

Annual events in Whitewater include an evening Lighted Holiday Parade and Open House in December, "Freeze Fest" in January, the Bridal Fair, Donkey Basketball and Farm Toy Show in February, Maxwell Street Day and the 4th of July Celebration in July. Adding to these annual events are the Minneiska Water Ski Shows [1] Saturday evenings on Whitewater Lake, weekly Concerts in the Park and Family Fun Nights throughout the summer. [2]. Twice weekly throughout the year guided walks are held departing from the Hwy 12 crossing at the Ice Age Trail free of charge and group biking tours depart several times a week from the area. September through April Young Auditorium [3] features world class entertainment.

The Fourth of July Celebration features several days of fireworks, a parade, musical entertainment, food, a carnival, car show and other fun activities.[4]

Contact the Whitewater Tourism Council [5] for event updates or more information at 1-866-4WW-TOUR.

Notable residents

Notable people associated with Whitewater include:

• Stephen Ambrose, author, historian
• John Belushi, comedian, actor (attended University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
• Tom Bigelow, auto racer
• Edward S. Curtis, photographer, director, actor, cinematographer
• Tom Hulce, actor
• Warren S. Johnson, inventor of the electric thermostat, founder of Johnson Controls, Inc. (professor at State Normal School)
• Steve Meisner, musician (Polka)
• Benjamin McCready, painter

External links

• City of Whitewater official website
• Whitewater Tourism Council
• Whitewater Unified School District
• WhitewaterBanner.com - News, Photos, Events and Calendar for Whitewater WI
• FreeWhitewater.com - Toward a Free and Honest City