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FOND DU LAC - Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation recently recognized Fond du Lac County businesses in the 30th Wisconsin Main Street Awards for revitalization, COVID-19 response and exemplary service.
Downtown Ripon took home two awards in the virtual ceremony held April 21: Best Volunteer Engagement and Best Historic Restoration.
Best Volunteer Engagement went to Rotary Square Beautification Project, for which volunteers raised funds and helped lay pavers, assemble pergola shades and install string lights in the 100 block of Watson Street, according to the Ripon Rotary Club Facebook page.
Mapes Hotel, at 300 Watson St. in Ripon, earned the city Best Historic Restoration for last year s renovation. The hotel was originally built in 1853 by Timothy Mapes, the son of Ripon s co-founder David Mapes, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Historic Mapes Hotel was a bold, dramatic and exciting addition to the downtown Ripon streetscape in 2020.  Tim Lyke photo
Before we condemn 2020 as being an undisputed annus horribillis, letâs recognize that during the previous 12 months, the Ripon area enjoyed some pretty terrific moments.
Here are 12, one for each month:
January: Aromaâs opens in the vacant supper-club site at 1300 W. Fond du Lac St., offering patrons an expanded menu and more spacious dining room from the restaurant down the road theyâve come to know and love, El Fogon. Muy bueno!
February: Green Lake resident Dan Hutter hosts the first-ever downtown Ripon hockey tournament. The competition on the Village Green in February is a slap shot, with 200 skaters and their families, most out-of-towners, coming to Ripon for hockey with some staying to drop a few bills at downtown stores and restaurants. A hat trick!
Should auld acquaintances be forgot? 2020 s darkness broken by rays of hope | riponpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from riponpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.