Top Stories June 1st

Public Enemies Most Likely to be Shown in Beaver Dam

6/1/09 - It appears likely that the film “Public Enemies” will be shown in Beaver Dam this summer. The movie starring Johnny Depp as Depression-era gangster John Dillinger was shot throughout Wisconsin last spring. Scott Koran with Rogers Cinema says he spoke with his studio rep last Friday and was told, while it’s not 100%, it certainly looks like Public Enemies will be shown on their mega screen in Beaver Dam. Koran says the studio is still in the very early stages of the film print allocation process but because some of the movie was filmed in the city, the studio is “adamant” about getting Beaver Dam a copy. The premier is set for July 1.

BDUSD to Review Facilities Study

6/1/09 - The Beaver Dam School Board is expected to review a district facilities study tonight that projects the elementary schools will need more than $6.6-million-dollars of improvements over the next five years. The board is also expected to discuss the state budget deficit and what effect the proposed 2.5-percent cut in aid to schools would have on the district. The meeting is set for 6:30 at the Educational Service Center.

Downtown Demolition Continues

6/1/09 - Demolition resumes today on the two remaining buildings on the 100 block of Front Street in downtown Beaver Dam. Instead of removing Doc’s Corner first and moving east, as originally planned, crews removed 145 and 149 Front Street late last week. That leaves Doc’s currently standing on the corner and the building at 151 Front Street an island surrounded by rubble. Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy says the reason for the change in plans was because Doc’s and 151 have concrete floor sand that will be used as a landing zone for the rubble. It will be next Thursday before demolition crews begin to remove the five buildings on the 200 block of Front Street in downtown Beaver Dam. The culvert removal in the Tower Parking lot will begin at mid-month.

Columbus Looking Into Student Illnesses

6/1/09 - Officials at Columbus High School say the possibility of school closure is not being considered at this time. That’s after two students at the high school were kept at home Friday with flu-like symptoms. According to the district’s updated website, medical personnel are involved and the H1N1 virus has neither been confirmed nor ruled out and school closure would only be considered if a large number of students were to be absent. Meanwhile, the state of Wisconsin has more than 14 hundred confirmed cases. Nearly nine thousand confirmed cases have been reported nationwide. A spokesperson for the Department of Health Services says almost all the cases here have been relatively mild.

Man Injured While Riding Motorcycle

6/1/09 - A man trying to avoid a deer crashed his motorcycle yesterday morning. 26-year-old Michael Tetting was riding his motorcycle on Highway 175 near Highway HH in the Town of Lomira when a deer jumped out in front of him. He swerved and crashed the cycle. Tetting was taken to St. Agnes hospital. The accident happened just before 9am.

Outhouse Bombers Due in Court Today

6/1/09 - The three men suspected of using homemade bombs to blow up a mailbox and porta-potty last month are due in court this morning for their initial appearances. 19-year-old’s Stephen Peterson and Kyle Livingston along with 20-year-old Michael Peters all face a variety of felony charges including Possession of Explosives and Damage to Property in connection with the pipe bombings. No one was injured in the blasts.

NASCAR Driver in Beaver Dam Tuesday

6/1/09 - It’s Casey Kahne night at Charter Raceway Park tomorrow night. The driver of the number-nine car on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and the two drivers he employs on the World of Outlaw circuit will take on the local IRA and Bumper to Bumper drivers. Charter Raceways Carolyn Mueller says getting Kahne was a huge undertaking but now that it’s only a day away they are extremely excited for his arrival. The pits open at 2 pm and the gates at 3 p.m. Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. with racing following at 7 p.m. For more information you can call the raceway at 887-1600.

BD Losing Longtime Fireman

6/1/09 - The Beaver Dam Fire Department will be saying “so long” today to a longtime firefighter. Captain Don “Ducky” Wellnitz is retiring after 31 years of dedicated service to the community. His colleagues are throwing Wellnitz a Farewell Party at the station. The public is invited to share lunch and a few stories beginning at noon.

Officials Cracking Down on Health Insurance Companies

6/1/09 - It could soon get harder for Wisconsin health insurers to jack up the rates of individual policy-holders for getting sick. State Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg has been working on measures which are now pending in the new state budget – as well as in individual bills. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, officials are going after insurers that create closed blocks of policies which eventually get dominated by sicker people as healthy customers go into their own lower-priced plans. The paper says it’s how those who get sick eventually see their insurance rates go up. Karen Pollitz of the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute says the pricing is allowed to continue because it’s quote, “amazingly invisible.” The Wisconsin Preferred Provider Organization opposes the change. Director Dan Schwartzer said the group does not oppose the elimination of closed blocks of higher-priced policies – but he says there are better ways to fix the system.

High Speed Rail a Possibility in Wisconsin

6/1/09 - As Governor Jim Doyle pushes to get high-speed rail service from Milwaukee to Madison, a new group is making its own push to get trains from Milwaukee to Green Bay. New Rails wants state officials to ask Washington to approve an experimental Amtrak passenger line on the current Canadian National tracks, with a connection to Amtrak’s Hiawatha line from Milwaukee to Chicago. The group says it would provide a more efficient and powerful economic link between the Fox Valley and the Windy City. And if Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics, Paul Linzmeyer of New Rails says northeast Wisconsin could be part of the action. The experimental line could have stops in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Menasha, Appleton, and Neenah.

Emu Makes Its Presence Known in FDL

6/1/09 - Motorists are used to seeing wildlife on their travels, but rarely the kind that was trotting down Highway 41 near Van Dyne last Friday morning. An emu was running south in the median. State Patrol Sergeant Mark Abrahamson says the highway had to be closed while a Fond du Lac County Sheriff's deputy shot the bird. He says there was no other choice other to euthanize it. The large bird could have seriously injured a driver had a vehicle hit it. Although there is a farm nearby that raises emus, no one claimed ownership of the flightless fowl. Emus can grow to a height of nearly 7 feet. (KFIZ)

TV’s and Computers Makers Could Be Forced to Recycle Obsolete Products

6/1/09 - A public hearing will be held Wednesday on a Wisconsin bill to force the makers of T-V’s and computers to have their obsolete products recycled. Madison Democrats have tried for years to pass such legislation – and it’s expected to be easier now that their party’s in charge. But Assembly Democrat Spencer Black says the need for such a mandate is bigger than ever, now that people are converting to digital T-V’s. The federal E-P-A says over 80-percent of old electronics go to landfills, where their toxic materials can pollute the ground-water. But the bill’s supporters say more people understand the problem these days.

$1M Powerball Winner in Marshfield

6/1/09 - Somebody in central Wisconsin won a million dollars playing Powerball over the weekend. A ticket sold in Marshfield matched five regular numbers but not the Powerball to win 200-thousand-dollars. The buyer also chose the Power Play multiplier of five to make the prize a million. Ironically, the big win came in the drawing after somebody in South Dakota won a 232-million-dollar jackpot last Wednesday night. Saturday’s top prize was back down to 20-million – and nobody won that, so it goes up to 25-million for the next drawing on Wednesday. Wisconsin players did win just over 17-thousand smaller prizes this past weekend.