U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, the chief author of Wisconsin’s Open Records Law and a strong advocate of the Open Meetings Law, has been named the 2013 recipient of the Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award.

Award-winning investigative journalist and University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Lea Thompson will deliver the keynote address at the third annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards on April 24.

Nominations are being sought for the Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award, presented annually to recognize an individual’s extraordinary contributions to open government or investigative journalism in Wisconsin.

Dick Wheeler, the late founder of the Wheeler Report, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award in recognition of his four decades of tirelessly opening Wisconsin state government to public scrutiny.

The award is part of the second annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards reception and dinner, presented jointly on Wednesday, April 25, by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Walt Bogdanich, three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, will deliver the keynote address at the second annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards on April 25.

Dave Zweifel, editor emeritus of The Capital Times, will be honored April 20 at the first Wisconsin Watchdog Awards reception and dinner, presented jointly by the nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Next week is Sunshine Week — time to celebrate open government in Wisconsin. A guest column by Mark Pitsch, assistant city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal and a member of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

The Ken Kratz case is exhibit number one why secrecy in government harms the public’s interest.