Gretchen Gerlach
Reporter/Multi-Media Journalist/Weekend Producer
Madison
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Gretchen joined the NBC15 team in June 2020 as an Associate Producer, working in the newsroom during her final year at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She contributed to online and on-air coverage of civil unrest, the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, among other breaking and local news stories.
Upon graduation in May 2021 Gretchen was welcomed to the NBC15 team full time as a weekday reporter and weekend producer.
When she’s not in the newsroom, Gretchen is probably trying out a new restaurant or brewery, stuffing herself with cheesy bread at the Dane County Farmer’s Market or watching a true crime documentary.
Gretchen also tries to make it back home to Minnesota as often as she can to visit her family, and to Milwaukee to see her boyfriend. While a Minnesota-native with ties to California, Gretchen is looking forward to staying in Madison post-grad and continuing to connect with the community that made her fall in love with journalism.
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Madison Police are investigating a hit-and-run crash that happened Saturday afternoon.
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Hundreds of high school students competed in a statewide esports competition Saturday and organizers say the turnout shows there is no sign the sport is slowing down.
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A company offering free COVID-19 testing is temporarily shut down amid customer backlash and a Better Business Bureau investigation.
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A Cottage Grove family is without two of its members after tragedy struck on vacation.
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Monday is a federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and people in the Madison community are gathering to remember his life and legacy.
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Ending gun violence in Beloit. That’s one woman’s mission after the loss of her cousin in 2020, and why she is brough the community together to discuss what can eb done to prevent it from happening again.
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Improving air quality in classrooms. That’s one Madison family’s goal as the pandemic wears on. But it’s also been a pillar of the Madison Metropolitan School District’s COVID-19 response, and district officials are not convinced a homemade solution is the right one.
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With demand for testing so high, the conversation about discerning legitimate testing locations is renewed.
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Residents of a Sauk City mobile home community have until the end of January to vacate the property and remove their homes, according to those who live there.
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The Madison Metropolitan School District is delaying the return from winter break for all grade levels due to increased concern over COVID-19, MMSD announced Thursday, meaning a greater burden for some parents and guardians heading into the new year.
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Madison Police say a suspect extensively involved in a string a westside carjackings is in custody, and a warrant has been requested for another. But detectives and victims alike are hopeful for more.
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An exciting weekend for UW Madison continued with in-person Winter Commencement Sunday. CNN’s chief congressional correspondent and former NBC15 intern Manu Raju addressed 1,200 graduates and their families on the importance of taking risks.
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Unseasonably warm weather is putting a damper on winter activities but prolonging the season for fall ones.
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Resident volunteers of Vista West, a senior living campus, are wrapping gifts as part of a partnership with the Madison Senior Center. The Silver Santa program provides gifts to local seniors in need.
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After nearly 69 years, a Madison mainstay will be no longer. Smoky’s Club will close for good at the end of February making way for a new apartment complex.
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Nationwide, a snow plow driver shortage could mean serious travel delays for people in states where winter weather typically hits hard. but counties in the NBC15 viewing area are doing ok on staffing; the current focus is on training and retaining employees.
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Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections and Bureau of Health Services leadership unveiled the Oakhill Correctional Institution’s assisted needs facility Tuesday.
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Eighty years ago on December 7, 1941 the Pearl Harbor naval shipyard was attacked by Japanese bombers. Twenty-one ships of the pacific fleet sank or were damaged; more than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack and another 1,100 were wounded. Today there are few survivors of that attack left, but Wisconsin is fortunate to have one of them: Stan Van Hoose.
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Proposed parking changes in downtown Janesville have business owners concerned. The City of Janesville is proposing stalls in the heart of downtown on West Milwaukee Street switch from angled to parallel out of concern for safety.
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Two Baraboo business partners are taking their axe throwing passion and turning it into a profession. Bret Williamson and Brian Buchanan opened the doors to 608 Axe Throwing just two months ago. But it’s their talent in competition that is getting them world recognition.
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Groundbreaking fashion designer and cultural visionary Virgil Abloh has died; over the weekend he passed from a rare form of heart cancer at the age of 41. He will be remembered as one of the most celebrated artists in fashion and beyond, but here in Madison he will also be remembered as a Badger.
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While many are still planning on the best time to get their Christmas tree, one farm is already closing their doors for 2021.
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The American Red Cross is helping two adults after their building caught fire in Sun Prairie Sunday morning, the communications director for the Red Cross of Wisconsin said.
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What was supposed to be a fun night at a Madison skating rink ended with arrests and injuries, and the manager of the rink says understaffing didn’t help the situation.
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Moving forward from a traumatic event like this, clinical psychologist Kathleen Hipke says the best way adults can help kids through this difficult time is by acknowledging what they experienced.
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Thanksgiving is now just days away and for many families the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree begins. Despite potential for a nationwide Christmas tree shortage -- because of supply chain issues and climate change -- a local tree farm says Santa does not have to be your last hope for a live tree this year.
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The Wisconsin Historical Museums ever-popular “Ever Gleaming” exhibit is back for the holiday season after a break from in-person visit due to the pandemic.
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Local youth organizers lead a rally Saturday at the Wisconsin state capitol building for Transgender Day of Remembrance.
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November is pancreatic cancer month, and to bring awareness to the nearly universally fatal disease, a woman from Oregon is sharing her survival story.
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After a review of the Madison Police Department’s response to protests in 2020 suggested police body-worn cameras would have been helpful in creating the report, a Madison Alder is hoping the Common Council will take up the issue of BWCs again.
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School safety. It was one of the focuses of the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Board meeting Monday after the fall semester has proved challenging for staff and students at East High School.
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You know when a friend or family member says something so memorable, so funny you wish you wrote it down? A Middleton family is encouraging you to do just that, with a special notebook they created for reliving life’s most quotable moments.
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The potential for Madison’s Bus Rapid Transit system is hitting another bump in the road. An amendment is proposing funding be withheld until alternate routes that do not include State Street and the capitol square are approved.
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Students at Prairie Elementary School did not have to go far Monday to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
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Adoptive families needed in every community in Colorado
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Honoring those who served. Ahead of Veteran’s Day. The McFarland American Legion Post 534 is recognizing eight veterans who served in World War II.
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A small village in Lafayette County is honoring a fallen navy machinist, nearly 80 years later.
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There’s the construction of the flex-lane and there’s the long-term reconstruction and expansion of the interstate. But both projects are finally nearing an end.
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Recent crashes in Wisconsin are illustrating a nationwide trend.
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A 17-year-old Baraboo High School student has succumbed to their injuries following a Friday morning crash in Sauk Co., District Superintendent Dr. Rainey L. Briggs confirmed Sunday.
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The Madison Police Department says most of their officers and staff are fully vaccinated, because they understand that protecting public safety involves protecting public health.
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The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health was one of the hospitals that was participating in pediatric clinical trials, dubbed the KidCOVE study, for Moderna.
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On Saturday people were working out with a little more purpose than usual.
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On Saturday members of the Junction Ridge Neighborhood Association celebrated the grand opening of a new, community park. They’re calling it the neighborhood Oasis.
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November is two weeks away, and with the new month comes the start of Wisconsin’s wolf hunt. But this hunt comes as a concern to conservationists and indigenous people after hunters exceeded the established wolf hunting quota last year.
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A small village in Sauk County is celebrating their general store’s 75th anniversary and the big impact its had on the community.
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Nearly 48 hours since a Madison police officer was shot on State Street, law enforcement agencies have yet to provide any new information. But while officials stay tight lipped, others in the community are weighing in on the violence.
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The DOJ says the MPD officer sustained non-life threatening injuries.