The director of Fond du Lac Festivals is defending a decision to hire a carnival ride operator from Michigan’s upper peninsula for Walleye Weekend even though at least one state official referred to the firm as being “shady”. Fond du lac Festivals wants to hire Spectrum Entertainment to run a Midway at Walleye Weekend this June. The former assistant deputy secretary of the agency that oversees amusement rides said the state does more inspections of Spectrum than any other firm. But Fond du Lac Festivals director Leanne Doyle admits she was surprised to hear that, but says her references have good things to say about the company. “My initial reaction was shock because this is not what my research has found,” Doyle told WFDL news. “We don’t know about all the other Midways out there. There’s a Midway I won’t name, in Oshkosh, a man was electrocuted and died. So I think if you dig in your research you can find plenty of dirt on any of them.” Doyle says Spectrum has served several Wisconsin communities for several years. Doyle says liability would rest with the Midway operator, not the city or Fond du Lac Festivals.
