Former Badger Basketballer Rod Ripley Rallies and Rebuilds
- Aug. 02, 2024
Lucky’s 1313 on Regent owner and former Badger basketball player Rod Ripley ’87, MAcc’88’s hotel is open for business again two years after a massive fire burned down his three-story motel located on Lake Wisconsin in Lodi. The former athlete is no stranger to starting over, as he survived a nearly fatal accident 10 years ago that almost completely severed his right arm at the elbow. With ingenuity, resilience, and hard work, he has overcome both. The new hotel, renamed Lucky’s Lodge on Lake Wisconsin, features a nice dose of Wisconsin charm, including 53 headboards that Rod handcrafted from old barn wood and nature photography taken by his son.
More Alumni Notes
David Wood Stewart MS’76, PhD’79 died on October 28, 2025, at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC. He was 95. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was born on December 12, 1929, the son of S. Glenn and Esther Wood Stewart. In 19...
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
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David Wood Stewart MS’76, PhD’79 died on October 28, 2025, at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC. He was 95. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was born on December 12, 1929, the son of S. Glenn and Esther Wood Stewart. In 19...
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
UW–Madison alumni Steve Katz ’76, MA’77 and Donna Webber MA’76, MA’77 were featured guests on the national podcast Pizza Quest, airing on September 28, 2025, hosted by bread-baking expert and author Peter Reinhart to discuss the cultural and culin...
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) welcomed Robert (“Bob”) Giblin ’82 to the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame during its annual meeting on June 24, 2025, in Kansas City, MO. AgriMarketing Magazine sponsors this award. Giblin is a 4...
David Wood Stewart MS’76, PhD’79 died on October 28, 2025, at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC. He was 95. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was born on December 12, 1929, the son of S. Glenn and Esther Wood Stewart. In 19...
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
UW–Madison alumni Steve Katz ’76, MA’77 and Donna Webber MA’76, MA’77 were featured guests on the national podcast Pizza Quest, airing on September 28, 2025, hosted by bread-baking expert and author Peter Reinhart to discuss the cultural and culin...
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) welcomed Robert (“Bob”) Giblin ’82 to the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame during its annual meeting on June 24, 2025, in Kansas City, MO. AgriMarketing Magazine sponsors this award. Giblin is a 4...





