From One Circus to Another: Professional Clown Serving in Wisconsin Legislature

From one circus to another: Professional clown serving in Wisconsin Legislature

Reading Time: 5 minutes Back in her clowning years, Karen DeSanto got a call from the king of Morocco. “We hung up on him,” she said. “We thought it was one of our friends pranking us.” It was actually employees of the consulate, but the king wanted them. DeSanto and her then-husband were both professional clowns with the Ringling Brothers, and they also performed as a duo. Somehow, King Hassan II had heard about the DeSantos, and he flew them i…

How a Baraboo clown became a Wisconsin lawmaker

Rep. Karen DeSanto traveled for years with the Ringling Brothers circus. Now she represents a legislative district. The jobs are very different, she says.