Fond du Lac native and former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager has died. Bill Rippl, her husband of 29 years, said she died shortly after midnight Saturday while surrounded by her family at the couple’s home in Fond du Lac. She had been diagnosed with cancer. She was 62. Lautenschlager was the first woman elected state Attorney General. Before she was elected to the state Assembly in 1989 she was the first woman elected to serve as district attorney for Winnebago County in 1985. She was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of the state in 1993. In 1992, she gave then U.S. Rep. Tom Petri the closest race of his career. Petri won re-election by six points. Lautenschlager was “one of Wisconsin’s most dedicated grassroots progressives, for whom no work was too small or too big in her fight for justice, fairness and opportunity for all Wisconsinites,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairwoman Martha Laning said in a written statement. “She was a trailblazer for many women in Wisconsin politics, a loyal friend and true blue Democrat,” said Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, in a statement. “Peg was a trusted political mentor to many and was always willing to lend her insight, advice and enthusiasm to friends and family across the state.” Republican Gov. Scott Walker described Lautenschlager as a “dedicated and passionate public servant.” Her son, Josh Kaul, is now seeking the attorney general job his mother once held, as he challenges current Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel.
