Blog & News

OFS participants testing out the hoses used to control prairie burns. Earth Day at Operation Fresh Start isn’t symbolic. It’s hands-on, technical, and grounded in real work. At CamRock County Park in Cambridge, all OFS Legacy and Conservation Academy crews spent the day, Thursday, April 30, rotating through field stations led by Dane County Parks, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Dane County Land & Water Resources Department (LWRD), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

The Dane County Community Restorative Court Staff (L-R): Program Leader Donnetta Foxx, Social Worker Riley Bremmer, Social Worker Rebeca Repaal, Social Worker Supervisor Stephanie Marino, Data Analyst Michele Johnson, Program Leader Teresa Tellez-Giron, and Program Leader Jackie Hammond. At Operation Fresh Start (OFS), we often say that every young person is an asset in our community. Through our partnership with Dane County Community Restorative Court (CRC), that belief beco

The CareePoint Healthcare graduates at the Overture Center. Pictured (L-R): (1st row) Janiece and Jazmin. (2nd row) Karen and Damani. (3rd Row) Daishelle and Shay. (4th row) CareerPoint Coordinator Nicole Knox and Kaleah. Not pictured: Olandriya. On March 26, the Promenade Lounge at the Overture Center filled with anticipation as eight young women prepared to graduate from the CareerPoint Healthcare program. One by one, they shared how far they’d come. Just six weeks earlier

Mary works at Stewart Lake County Park on February 18, 2026. The hum of saws and the crack of brush breaking echo across Stewart Lake County Park. In the middle of it all stands Mary McDonough-Sutter — steady, focused, and working shoulder to shoulder with Operation Fresh Start crews. “I’m here today doing what I often do,” she said on one February morning. “Cut and treat the brush and stack it to burn later.” Then she smiled. “The happiest part of what I’m doing today is wor