Top Stories February 26th

Barn Fire Just Off Highway 151

2/26/09 - Firefighters are on the scene of a barn fire in the Town of Calamus. The call was reported just before 3:30 to the structure fire along Highway 151 at East Salem Road. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Winter Weather Advisory for Dodge County

2/26/09 - We’ll see a mix of rain and snow this afternoon as a storm makes its way through the Midwest. Dodge County is under a winter weather advisory beginning at noon today through midnight. The National Weather Service says rain will start in far southern Wisconsin in the early afternoon before mixing with snow and sleet later this afternoon. It’s expected to change to all snow later on with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. Ice accumulations are also possible but they are not expected to be more than a tenth of an inch. However, with the storm hitting right around rush hour officials are asking motorists to take it slow during their commute.

New Chief Selected for Beaver Dam Fire Department

2/26/09 - The Beaver Dam Police and Fire Commission has tabbed a Matteson, Illinois man to be the city’s next fire chief. Alan Mannel is a second generation firefighter who has served 30 years with the Matteson department. Mannel is currently a Lieutenant and serves as Arson Inspector and EMS Coordinator and has experience as a water rescue diver. He is also a certified paramedic, and says his background will bring valuable expertise to the city’s fledgling paramedic program. Mannel describes himself as a family man and is married with two kids. He replaces George Sheets who resigned abruptly in the weeks following the June floods last year, after 18 months with the department. Sheets brought a lot of change in that time, implementing not only the paramedic program, but also the interfacility transport program which last year generated over $100,000 in profit for the city. If Mannel passes his physical, he will begin April 1.

Koch’s Guilty of Taking Bike that Led to Fatality

2/26/09 - It took a jury less than three hours yesterday to convict a Beaver Dam couple for taking and hiding a motorcycle. 46-year-old Michael Zuhlke died accidentally after getting into an altercation with management at the Kinda Country bar, after blaming management for the missing bike. Jeffrey and Ingrid Koch were found guilty of one misdemeanor count of Taking A Vehicle Without Consent related to the April 27 incident at the Town of Trenton tavern. According to the criminal complaint, Zuhlke was engaged in a pushing confrontation in the parking lot with the bar’s manager, Brian Schultz. That’s when Zuhlke’s brother shoved Shultz. Zuhlke and Shultz got their feet entwined and fell backward with Zuhlke striking his head on the bumper of a pick-up truck. A forensic pathologist later determined that Zuhlke died as a result of a spinal chord fracture. Authorities say the Koch’s were inebriated when they pushed Zuhlke’s Harley Davidson into an unlocked shed on the tavern premises. Ingrid Koch says she “vaguely remembers” the incident. They face up to nine months incarceration at sentencing, which will be scheduled at a later date. There were no other charges filed in connection with the death. Dodge County DA Bill Bedker had previously said that he does not see anything in the criminal report that leads him to believe the injuries were intentional.

20 to 30 Steer Killed by Train

2/26/09 - Around two dozen steer were killed and several others injured after wandering onto railroad tracks just east of Columbus. The incident occurred around 1pm yesterday afternoon on the Canadian Pacific line right near the Highway 60 overpass. Sheriff Todd Nehls says there were 20 to 30 carcasses strewn along the tracks for over a mile and half. The survivors were treated by a veterinarian for injuries. The steer were owned by the Roche family and Nehls says they have been very cooperative did not spare any resources in the clean-up. No one was injured on the eastbound freight train or the passenger train that followed minutes later.

Rural Development Loan

2/26/09 - Home Repair Loans are available for very-low income homeowners in a number of area counties. The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development recently announced the loans would be available for 15 counties, including Dodge, Jefferson, Fond du Lac, Washington and Green Lake. The loans can be used to improve or modernize a home, make it accessible, or to remove health and safety hazards such as electric or roofing issues. The home repair loans are at one percent interest with a maximum term of 20-years. The loan amount will depend on the ability to make monthly payments based on income levels. For more information on the loans you can visit Rural Development online at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/.

Soldier from Baraboo Killed in Afghanistan

2/26/09 - A National Guard specialist from Madison has been killed in Afghanistan. His family said 24-year-old Daniel Thompson was one of four people who died on Tuesday by a roadside bomb in the southern province of Kandajar. He was the lead driver of a convoy when the bomb went off. Thompson’s family lives in Portage, where he graduated from high school in 2003. His girlfriend is a hospital nurse in Madison, where the two had a house. Thompson was part of Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company in Madison. He was sent to Afghanistan with a unit from Illinois. His family said Thompson’s body was due back in the U-S last night, where the military would officially identify him.

Town of Alto Man Killed in Motorcycle Accident

2/26/09 - One person is dead and two others injured in an accident between a motorcycle and mini van in the Town of Alto yesterday afternoon. Fond du Lac County Sheriff's officials say a 26-year-old Town of Alto man was on his motorcycle when a mini van turned in front of him at Lake Maria and Marsh View Roads. He died at the scene. The 76-year-old man driving the mini van and his wife were taken to Waupun Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Authorities say the speed of the motorcycle was a factor in the accident. It's the first fatal traffic accident in the County this year. (KFIZ)

Town of Fox Lake Man Injured in Skid-Loader Accident

2/26/09 - A Town of Fox Lake man was injured by a skid loader yesterday morning. Dodge County Patrol Captain Molly Soblewski says the 41-year-old property owner was moving hay bails in the backyard of a home on Country Trunk F when a bail fell on him, pushing him onto the skid loader. The metal fork of the skid loader was driven up under the skin just above both of his knee-caps. A doctor successfully removed the man’s legs from the machinery. Soblewski says he did not break any bones and was very lucky. The victim was flown from the scene by Med-Flight to Froedert Hospital near Milwaukee.

No Powerball Winner

2/26/09 - Nobody won the Powerball jackpot last night, so it goes up to 173-million-dollars for the next drawing on Saturday. Wisconsin players didn’t have much luck, as nobody won more than 400-dollars. Saturday’s cash option is 92-and-a-half million dollars, for a single winner who takes whole prize now instead of in installments.