January 16, 2026

By Lane Kimble

Jonah Wehmeier and his mom, Jenny, couldn’t avoid it on their way up to Wisconsin Dells from Elkhorn Thursday afternoon.

They drove by the multi-year Wisconsin River Bridge replacement on I-39/90/94, which slows traffic from 70 to 60 MPH for several miles as cars pass huge machinery, cranes, barrier walls, and workers.

“On the way up here, (Jonah) turns to me and says, ‘Mom, you’ve gotta slow down. Do you know how many people died (in work zones) in the last year?’ And I said, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ So, he already is impacting us,” Jenny Wehmeier explained.

Clearly Jonah’s decision to take WTBA’s Work Zone Safe Wisconsin course is already paying off.

Wehmeier was recognized as the latest WZSW scholarship winner during Thursday’s Contractor-Engineer Conference in Wisconsin Dells, receiving a $500 check.

WTBA launched Work Zone Safe in April 2024, providing a modernized online work zonesafety education platform, teaching young drivers what to expect through personalized stories from real people.

While many of the thousands of students who have taken the course are required to do so through their driver’s education classes, Jonah decided to take the course himself. He found out about it through Elkhorn Area High School’s local Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) program.

“People need to stop thinking that they’re better than needing to learning more (about driving), because there’s always more to learn,” Wehmeier told WTBA.

Wehmeier, who stands well over six feet tall, plays basketball and hopes to get a business degree from UW-Whitewater after high school. His mom is proud of the educational steps Jonah is taking now, including those that should make the roads and work zones a little safer.

“As a teacher, I really like it when kids are lifelong learners,” Jenny Wehmeier said. “They understand that it doesn’t stop. Being able to learn about different things around work zonesafety is just really important.”