Top Stories March 9th

GKB Mourning Loss of Longtime Friend and Broadcaster

3/9/09 -The Good Karma Broadcasting family has very sad news to report today as we are mourning the loss of our long-time friend and fellow broadcaster, Jim Stowell. Jim passed away Saturday morning at his home surrounded by his family. Jim was born in Fort Atkinson in October of 1948. He served his country in Vietnam in the late 1960’s. Radio was his lifelong passion and he began his career over forty years ago, working at stations in Shawano, Madison, Portage, Poynette and Wisconsin Dells before being welcomed in Beaver Dam in 1986. His family says Jim loved to travel, enjoyed cooking and was an avid reader, both for his own pleasure and to prepare for his many on-air interviews.

Station Manager John Moser says, “The loss of Jim Stowell leaves a void that is impossible to fill, not just in terms of the hours he spent being a voice for our listeners but in the hearts and minds of all of those he touched every day with a cheerful laugh, seasoned insight and kind words. To say he will be missed does not remotely convey the deep sense of loss the Good Karma Broadcasting family is experiencing.”

Jim is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jackie Stowell, and two children: J. Thomas and Heidi. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 11th at Smith Funeral Home in Pardeeville, WI, between 4 and 8pm, and on Thursday at the United Methodist Church in Pardeeville, WI from 10:00am until the time of service. The funeral will be held Thursday morning at 11am at the church with full military rights presented by the Pardeeville American Legion and VFW Posts. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Jim’s name to the United Methodist Church in Pardeeville.

Storm Brings Rain, Ice, Snow

3/9/09 - Numerous runoffs and accidents were reported through the county during and after yesterday’s storm though none resulted in significant injuries. Ken Stock with Dodge County Highway Department says his crews were out fighting the conditions until about ten last night and back at it again by four-am with the biggest issue facing them being the ice underneath the snow. Storm totals are also starting to filter in. The National Weather Service says Beaver Dam picked up 4.5-inches of snow and a quarter-inch of ice. The heavy snow and ice resulted in a number of tree branches breaking under the weight. Ripon saw 7.1-inches of snow while Berlin got 6.4-inches. Our entire listening area is also under a High Wind Watch beginning tomorrow morning into Wednesday morning. Wind gusts of 60-mph are possible.

Storms Lead to Power Outages

3/9/09 - Sunday’s snow and ice storms led to several power outages in the area. Representatives with the Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative said there were a “large number of customers” affected for at least several hours. Officials with the Coop haven’t given any further details as of yet. Alliant Energy reported at 8pm last night that they had scattered and isolated outages that were all corrected in a short amount of time.

Three Injured in Wreck

3/9/09 - Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident that occurred Saturday night in Dodge County. The Sheriffs Department says the wreck occurred just before 7pm in the Town of Theresa. Paul Stark of Portage was traveling westbound on Highway 28 when he struck a vehicle that was northbound on Highway 175. The 41-year-old Stark had to be cut from his vehicle. He was transported to St Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac along with his passenger, 60-year-old Susan Stark of Mayville. They were later transferred to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, along with the driver of the other vehicle, 61-year-old Joanne Wertz of Oshkosh. The crash remains under investigation but dense fog is considered to be a contributing factor.

Donovan Sentenced for Theft and Forgery

3/9/09 - A 23-year-old Waupun man will spend time in jail after being sentenced on charges of theft and forgery. Joseph Donovan was accused of passing stolen checks and will spend 90-days on the amended charges. According to the criminal complaint, a woman who Donovan was living with told police he had stolen checks from her home in Juneau last year. It was later revealed the checks had been made out to cash and signed by Donovan at a Waupun bank. Donovan later admitted to stealing and forging the checks. A Fond du Lac Judge also ordered Donovan to pay court fees and restitution.

Madison Diocese Looking for Funds

3/9/09 - Catholics in 11 south central Wisconsin counties will soon be asked to pay 84-percent more to their diocese. And for the first time, the Madison Diocese will use a direct-mail campaign to appeal to parishioners directly. It now uses a tax on parishes to raise three-point-two-million dollars a year. It wants to increase that amount to five-point-nine million, so it can care for the growing number of retired priests in the area, and train their replacements. The church tax will continue, but it will be reduced. John Philipp, the finance director for the Madison diocese, says the direct appeal will give folks a stronger connection to the regional ministry programs. The Madison Diocese serves 270-thousand Catholics in 134 parishes, including those in Columbia and Jefferson County.

Early Tax Filing Way Up

3/9/09 - Almost one-point-one million people have filed their Wisconsin income tax returns – and they’ve gotten average refunds of 667-dollars. The revenue department says about 70-thousand more people filed their returns through the end of February than at the same time a year ago. That confirms other reports that the recession is causing folks who expect refunds to get the money in their hands as soon as possible. The fastest way is to file on-line – where people can have their refunds deposited to their checking accounts in as little as five business days. Officials say 95-percent of the early filers have used the Internet. For the first time, the state’s Free-File Web program uses an exact copy of the paper return. You’ll find it at Wisconsin-Dot-Gov. The deadline to file, of course, is April 15th.

Koschnick Took Campaign Money from Attorneys

3/9/09 - State Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick has taken campaign money from lawyers who appear before him as a Jefferson County circuit judge. But he says there’s a big difference in what he did, and what his Supreme Court opponent has done. Koschnick has criticized Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson for taking 11-thousand-dollars from lawyers who appeared before her in a malpractice case last week. He said Abrahamson should have either given the money back, or withdrawn from the case. She did neither. And she denied it would influence her decision in the case. Meanwhile, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said Koschnick took 13-hundred-dollars from lawyers in his first campaign for circuit judge in 1999 – attorneys who later appeared before him. But Koschnick says there’s a big difference. He said those lawyers did not have a case pending before the judge when they donated the money -- while those in the Abrahamson case did. If that ever happened, Koschnick said he’d withdraw from the case in question.

Federal Stimulus Will Help with Health Insurance

3/9/09 - Wisconsinites who lose their jobs now have a better chance of keeping their health insurance. The federal economic stimulus package has one-point-two billion dollars for low-income families to get coverage under Badger-Care-Plus. And the government will pay two-thirds of the cost of “COBRA” insurance – which is health coverage from a former employer – for nine months. That’s for people who lost their jobs since last September. But it could still be unaffordable for many, since the average COBRA family payment may be around 400-dollars-a-month. That could drive qualifying families into Badger-Care-Plus – where premiums start at zero and go up on a rising scale according to income.