When La Follette School alum Craig Knutson took a position as assistant to the county administrator in 1979, he had no idea that 35 years later he'd be looking back on a lifelong career serving residents of Rock County in southern Wisconsin.

Two dozen La Follette School students descended on Chicago November 6 for a whirlwind career exploration visit, the second such event sponsored by the school in the past year.

Twenty-nine La Follette School students are going to Chicago on Thursday, November 6, for a career development visit that culminates with an alumni reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce in the Wrigley Building, Suite 900, 410 N. Michigan Avenue.

The critical thinking skills George Rindelaub learned at what is now the La Follette School helped his Minnesota county reduce its jail population. The 1981 alum's ability to approach problems creatively won him recognition from the Minnesota Association of County Administrator.

As Detroit faces bankruptcy and other U.S. cities address an ongoing crisis in municipal finance, a new interactive database allows for the first time meaningful comparisons of city finances — from spending on schools, police, and public works to revenues from the property tax and other sources.

The La Follette School's Policy and a Pint after-work speaker and networking series has another great lineup of speakers planned for spring semester, with the opening session on Wednesday, January 23.

The results surprised a few people: Milwaukee Public Schools' per-pupil expenditures are in keeping with the Wisconsin average and with comparable districts across the United States. The findings were published in a report co-authored by 2007 La Follette School alum Vanessa Allen, a researcher with the Public Policy Forum in Milwaukee.

Nominations are being accepted for the Lloyd D. Gladfelter Award for Government Innovation until March 15.

While working as finance director for Blackhawk Technical College, Natalie Feggestad realized what she enjoyed most about her job was helping staff in other units navigate finance and budget processes, so she added a  Master of Public Affairs degree to her certification as a public accountant.

2000 alum Wesley Sparkman is the new president of the chapter of Rotary International. With 500 members, the group is the eighth-largest Rotary chapter in the world. The Dane County contract compliance officer shares his thoughts in the Capital Times. Read the article …