July 8, 2025
By Lane Kimble
STOUGHTON, Wis. — Brian Wipf had just one hour to introduce, inform, and inspire a state senator while walking through an active construction site Monday afternoon.
Not a problem for a guy used to speaking from a pulpit on Sunday mornings.
“Just talk to her as a human being,” Wipf said matter-of-factly.
For twenty years, Wipf served as a pastor before joining James Peterson Sons, Inc. as a project manager. He gladly guided State Sen. Melissa Ratcliff around JPS’ $10 million reconstruction of Highway 51 (E. Main Street) in the heart of Stoughton.
“While she’s just a normal person like you and I, she is one of the few voices in our state that actually casts votes for funding,” Wipf said.
“So, it’s good to get her out here to expose her to what we do so she is more knowledgeable and aware when those votes come around, she can cast those votes for the good of our industry and for the good of the state.”
Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) saw Phase II of the three-part project well underway right in front of Stoughton Hospital. Crews were busy working in the dirt, removing and replacing underground pipe ahead of a full concrete replacement.
The up-close vantage point gave her a fresh perspective.
“I just think about (laborer) Ira in the trenches and having to just rely on his coworkers to do their job accurately so that he remains safe,” Ratcliff said. “Having that level of trust and experience with each other is something you don’t usually think about.”
Fresh off the newly signed 2025-27 budget, the visit is the first in a series of lawmaker site tours this summer organized by WTBA Director of Government Affairs Elise Nelson and the WTBA of Tomorrow council she oversees.
“Gov. Evers has been working on getting more funding for fixing our roads. We need to continue that and keep at it, not letting them get really bad before we fix them,” Ratcliff said.
“This really helps me to know that our taxpayer dollars are being well spent.”
JPS has until early November to complete the project, which stretches for nearly two miles.
It’s a fairly tight timeline. But for Wipf, the pastor-turned-project manager, it was time well spent if it means another industry believer in the state Capitol.
“I would hope that she would appreciate the hard work that we’re doing for, of course, the locals here in Stoughton but for WisDOT, too,” Wipf said. “JPS takes pride in getting the work done well and in cooperation with the stakeholders in the area.”
