The engagement and approaching marriage of Tara Utesch and Mike Cruz, both of Appleton, Wis., is announced by their parents, Jim and Jan Utesch of Le Mars and Louis and Pat Cruz of Davenport.

The couple is planning a 4 p.m. ceremony on July 16, 2005, at Doty Park in Neenah, Wis. The reception and dance will immediately follow the ceremony at Appleton Paper Valley Radisson in Appleton, Wis.

Tara is a 1994 graduate of Le Mars Community High School and a 1998 graduate of Iowa State University. She is employed as a chemical engineer at Bemis in Oshkosh, Wis.

Mike graduated from Bettendorf High School in 1994 and is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin in Fox Valley.