Today is the Day
7/21/09 - Wisconsin Farm Technology Days gets underway today. The event is billed as the state’s premier agricultural technology exposition and largest outdoor agricultural show. The three-day event features the latest technology in production agriculture. There will be more than 600 commercial exhibitors with the latest product and service offerings along with field demonstrations of the latest in mowing, raking, harvesting, baling, transport equipment and manure system application and management. In addition, Dodge UW Extension will offer practical applications of recent research and educational programs in livestock production, milk quality, weed control, forage handling and storage, home landscaping and gardening.
Over 80,000 people are expected to file through the grounds of the Crave Brothers Farm before Farm Tech Days wraps up on Thursday. Organizers are taking a cue from last year’s rained out event by offering satellite parking and shuttle service this year. Executive Committee Secretary Matt Hanson says there are over 1000 parking spots at the Watertown High School and the shuttle will leave every 15 minutes. Shuttle service will also be also available from the Waterloo High School, where there are over 370 parking spots. There is no charge for the shuttle service and the busses will be routed around any traffic.
Phase II Plans Green Lighted
7/21/09 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night gave their stamp of approval to the early completion of a handful Phase Two projects related to the downtown renovation plan. Phase One will be completed ahead of schedule and after borrowing for the demolition, the city learned that grant funding will cover most of the costs of the venture. As a result, projects that had been planned for next year could see the light of day this year, if the money is there. Mayor Tom Kennedy says the city has enough in borrowed money and grant funding to resurface the exposed walls of the three buildings left exposed by demolition, at a cost of around $100,000. There is also money available to pay for a revision to FEMA’s floodplain elevation map. If a property is removed from the flood fringe it would no longer be limited by the DNR in the amount of money that could be spent on improvements, thus rescuing the area from inevitable blight. Other Phase Two projects, like the pedestrian walking bridge, new sidewalks, protective barriers along the open river channel and landscaping and general beautification, probably won’t be addressed until next year. Last night’s action allows the city to move forward with Phase Two but all the remaining projects will still need approval individually before work begins.
Liquor License Request Tabled
7/21/09 - Efforts to transfer a liquor license from the defunct MVP’s Sports Bar to the planned “Celebrations Bar and Grill” were tabled in committee last night. Beaver Dam City Attorney Mary Ann Schacht advised the Administrative Committee not to move forward with discussions until the party requesting the license, Alexander Sanful, is able to produce a signed lease with the property owner. Alderman Robert Butler questioned why having a lease would be necessary in this case when it hasn’t been needed in the past. Schacht said this was a unique situation as the property is currently being sold and neither the purchaser nor the seller was present at the meeting. Former MVP’s General Manager Jim LeBeau urged the committee to act quickly because the property is facing foreclosure in the next week to 10 days. The prospective buyer is reluctant to close on the property until a liquor license is secured. The matter could be brought back to committee as early as next week and LeBeau is hoping for a special meeting of the common council to consider license request.
BDUSD to Use Stimulus Money for Support Positions
7/21/09 - With federal stimulus dollars the Beaver Dam School District will fund two support teacher positions at schools that have a high poverty rate. That includes a majority of the districts elementary schools and the middle school. Director of Human Resources Steve Vessey says in addition to funding an additional literacy support position the district will attempt to duplicate the success they’ve seen in reading scores with a math support position. The federal stimulus money will fund the positions for the next two years at which point administrators will evaluate whether it’s worthwhile to keep the positions.
Waupun Denies Detachment Request
7/21/09 - The Waupun School Board denied a petition from a Fox Lake area group to allow the city and town to detach from the district. The Concerned Area Residents for Education had presented a petition with signatures from a majority of residents in the town and city of Fox Lake to allow the detachment. However, a motion to approve the detachment failed for lack of a second which then led to a motion to deny. That motion passed overwhelmingly. If the group wishes to pursue the detachment issue further it must get 10-percent of the people in the city and town of Fox Lake to sign another petition, this one for a referendum to detach. Once that’s completed, residents in the detaching district, Waupun, and the attaching district, Randolph, would vote on whether the change would go through. The issue stems from a failed referendum in February, which led to the closure of three schools in the district, including Fox Lake Elementary.
FDL Sheriff’s on Scene of Possible Chemical Spill
7/21/09 - Fond du Lac County Sheriff's deputies are working at the scene of an accident in the Brandon area this morning. A truck tipped over on the northern side of the County Highways TC and M intersection. Fire and hazardous materials teams are also on hand because the truck has been leaking liquid, possibly chlorine. Traffic is being detoured away from the site. (KFIZ)
FDL Police Investigating Possible Drowning
7/21/09 - Fond du Lac police are investigating a possible drowning this morning. Fire Captain Shannon Oswald says a body was discovered in the Fond du Lac River near the City-County Government Center. He says it appears to be that of a man in his mid 30s. The body had suffered some head trauma, possibly from a fall. Oswald says they believe it was an accidental death, but that has to be determined by the medical examiner's office. The fire department got that call about 3:15 this morning. (KFIZ)
Oshkosh Solider Killed at Military Base in Texas
7/21/09 - A soldier is in custody after he allegedly opened fire at a party in Fort Hood Texas, and killed a soldier from Oshkosh. 30-year-old Army Specialist Ryan Schlack died Saturday at an Army medical center. Media reports said he was at a casual get-together Friday night on the lawn of the McNair housing facility at Fort Hood, when a soldier fired a gun into the crowd. Schlack was shot in the hip, and the gunman fled. The suspect was arrested Saturday morning, and was in custody on the post at last word. It was not clear yesterday whether he had been charged. The incident remains under investigation. Schlack joined the Army in 2004 as a repairman for computer detection systems. He was arrived at Fort Hood in ’05, and became part of the 27th Brigade’s Support Battalion.
Swine Flu Deaths Up to 6 in WI
7/21/09 - Wisconsin now has six deaths from the H-1-N-1 swine flu virus. A Portage County resident died over the weekend. Health officer Faye Tetzloff would not give the person’s age or gender, and did not say where the patient lived. She did say there were underlying medical conditions involved. It’s the second death from swine flu in central Wisconsin – the other being a 12-year-old Wausau area girl. The state’s four other deaths were all in Milwaukee. Two of those were adults, and two were kids.
WI 2nd in Voter Turnout for ’08 Presidential Election
7/21/09 - The U-S Census Bureau said Wisconsin had the second-highest voter turnout among the states last November, when President Obama was elected. But the state’s figure of 71-point-two percent was down by more than five points from 2004. And the percentage of adults nationally who voted was down for the first time since 1996. It dropped two tenths of a percent to 63-point-six. Minnesota had the biggest percentage of residents 18-and-older who went to the polls – around 75-percent. Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Maine tied for second among the states. Washington D-C had a slightly higher turnout than the Badger State, at 74-percent. Nationally, the Census Bureau said the percentage of whites 45-and-older who voted dropped by one-and-a-half percent – while younger voters had an increase of two-percent, with blacks showing the biggest gains. Forty-six percent of whites said they didn’t like either Obama or Republican John McCain, or they had better things to do on Election Day.
Van Hollen Building Up Campaign Funds
7/21/09 - Wisconsin’s attorney general has 214-thousand dollars in the bank for a re-election campaign next year. New reports show that Republican J-B Van Hollen raised 160-thousand dollars in the first six months of this year, and he spent 80-thousand during that period. Van Hollen, a former federal prosecutor, is expected to seek a second four-year term. No other candidates have officially declared themselves yet. But former D-N-R Secretary Scott Hassett says he’s thinking about running as a Democrat. And media reports said Milwaukee Alderman Tony Zielinski has been talking to Democrats about a possible bid.
Report: Assembly Members Illegally Took Money During Budget Negotiations
7/21/09 - A watchdog group said at least seven State Assembly members accepted campaign money while the state budget was being considered. And that violated a ban on fund-raising imposed by Assembly Democratic leaders. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign uncovered the violations after the lawmakers submitted their latest campaign finance reports. The group said it reviewed half the reports by yesterday afternoon, and director Mike McCabe said the members generally did a good job with complying with the budget-time fund-raising ban. But Democrat Sandy Pasch of Whitefish Bay said she took 125-dollars from a pair of donors the day after Governor Jim Doyle introduced the budget. She said it was a typo – and she actually took the money before Doyle unveiled his budget plan. Marathon City Republican Jerry Petrowski was told he could take the 125-dollars he got because it was not solicited. Port Wing Democrat Gary Sherman said his campaign treasurer took 100-dollars before the ban started, but did not deposit it until later. He called it a simple mistake, but was returning the gift anyway. The others flagged were Republicans Rich Zipperer of Pewaukee, Keith Ripp of Lodi, and Fred Clark of Baraboo, and Democrat Ted Zigmunt of Francis Creek. Speaker Mike Sheridan’s office said it would review the lawmakers’ reports before deciding whether to sanction any of the members. Sanctions could include letters of reprimand up to censures or removals from leadership posts.
Emerald Ash Borer Has Not Spread, So Far
7/21/09 - State officials say the tree-killing emerald ash borer has not been found outside two large areas in southeast and southwest Wisconsin. But the infestation found in March in Vernon County has spread to adjacent to Crawford County. And the infected area now appears larger than one found last year at Newberg in Ozaukee and Washington counties. The agriculture department placed seven-thousand traps around the state this summer to look for new areas where the tree-killing beetle might be. Program manager Jennifer Statz says they haven’t found any problems in northern Wisconsin – and they’ll start removing and analyzing the traps in southern Wisconsin early next month. The ash borer was discovered at Victory in Vernon County this spring, and it was recently found six miles to the southeast. The infected area at Newberg now appears to extend about for about three miles. The emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees in the upper Midwest since it first appeared near Detroit in 2002. In Milwaukee, officials have treated about 75-hundred trees with a pesticide to try-and-keep them from being infected.
7/21/09 - Wisconsin Farm Technology Days gets underway today. The event is billed as the state’s premier agricultural technology exposition and largest outdoor agricultural show. The three-day event features the latest technology in production agriculture. There will be more than 600 commercial exhibitors with the latest product and service offerings along with field demonstrations of the latest in mowing, raking, harvesting, baling, transport equipment and manure system application and management. In addition, Dodge UW Extension will offer practical applications of recent research and educational programs in livestock production, milk quality, weed control, forage handling and storage, home landscaping and gardening.
Over 80,000 people are expected to file through the grounds of the Crave Brothers Farm before Farm Tech Days wraps up on Thursday. Organizers are taking a cue from last year’s rained out event by offering satellite parking and shuttle service this year. Executive Committee Secretary Matt Hanson says there are over 1000 parking spots at the Watertown High School and the shuttle will leave every 15 minutes. Shuttle service will also be also available from the Waterloo High School, where there are over 370 parking spots. There is no charge for the shuttle service and the busses will be routed around any traffic.
Phase II Plans Green Lighted
7/21/09 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night gave their stamp of approval to the early completion of a handful Phase Two projects related to the downtown renovation plan. Phase One will be completed ahead of schedule and after borrowing for the demolition, the city learned that grant funding will cover most of the costs of the venture. As a result, projects that had been planned for next year could see the light of day this year, if the money is there. Mayor Tom Kennedy says the city has enough in borrowed money and grant funding to resurface the exposed walls of the three buildings left exposed by demolition, at a cost of around $100,000. There is also money available to pay for a revision to FEMA’s floodplain elevation map. If a property is removed from the flood fringe it would no longer be limited by the DNR in the amount of money that could be spent on improvements, thus rescuing the area from inevitable blight. Other Phase Two projects, like the pedestrian walking bridge, new sidewalks, protective barriers along the open river channel and landscaping and general beautification, probably won’t be addressed until next year. Last night’s action allows the city to move forward with Phase Two but all the remaining projects will still need approval individually before work begins.
Liquor License Request Tabled
7/21/09 - Efforts to transfer a liquor license from the defunct MVP’s Sports Bar to the planned “Celebrations Bar and Grill” were tabled in committee last night. Beaver Dam City Attorney Mary Ann Schacht advised the Administrative Committee not to move forward with discussions until the party requesting the license, Alexander Sanful, is able to produce a signed lease with the property owner. Alderman Robert Butler questioned why having a lease would be necessary in this case when it hasn’t been needed in the past. Schacht said this was a unique situation as the property is currently being sold and neither the purchaser nor the seller was present at the meeting. Former MVP’s General Manager Jim LeBeau urged the committee to act quickly because the property is facing foreclosure in the next week to 10 days. The prospective buyer is reluctant to close on the property until a liquor license is secured. The matter could be brought back to committee as early as next week and LeBeau is hoping for a special meeting of the common council to consider license request.
BDUSD to Use Stimulus Money for Support Positions
7/21/09 - With federal stimulus dollars the Beaver Dam School District will fund two support teacher positions at schools that have a high poverty rate. That includes a majority of the districts elementary schools and the middle school. Director of Human Resources Steve Vessey says in addition to funding an additional literacy support position the district will attempt to duplicate the success they’ve seen in reading scores with a math support position. The federal stimulus money will fund the positions for the next two years at which point administrators will evaluate whether it’s worthwhile to keep the positions.
Waupun Denies Detachment Request
7/21/09 - The Waupun School Board denied a petition from a Fox Lake area group to allow the city and town to detach from the district. The Concerned Area Residents for Education had presented a petition with signatures from a majority of residents in the town and city of Fox Lake to allow the detachment. However, a motion to approve the detachment failed for lack of a second which then led to a motion to deny. That motion passed overwhelmingly. If the group wishes to pursue the detachment issue further it must get 10-percent of the people in the city and town of Fox Lake to sign another petition, this one for a referendum to detach. Once that’s completed, residents in the detaching district, Waupun, and the attaching district, Randolph, would vote on whether the change would go through. The issue stems from a failed referendum in February, which led to the closure of three schools in the district, including Fox Lake Elementary.
FDL Sheriff’s on Scene of Possible Chemical Spill
7/21/09 - Fond du Lac County Sheriff's deputies are working at the scene of an accident in the Brandon area this morning. A truck tipped over on the northern side of the County Highways TC and M intersection. Fire and hazardous materials teams are also on hand because the truck has been leaking liquid, possibly chlorine. Traffic is being detoured away from the site. (KFIZ)
FDL Police Investigating Possible Drowning
7/21/09 - Fond du Lac police are investigating a possible drowning this morning. Fire Captain Shannon Oswald says a body was discovered in the Fond du Lac River near the City-County Government Center. He says it appears to be that of a man in his mid 30s. The body had suffered some head trauma, possibly from a fall. Oswald says they believe it was an accidental death, but that has to be determined by the medical examiner's office. The fire department got that call about 3:15 this morning. (KFIZ)
Oshkosh Solider Killed at Military Base in Texas
7/21/09 - A soldier is in custody after he allegedly opened fire at a party in Fort Hood Texas, and killed a soldier from Oshkosh. 30-year-old Army Specialist Ryan Schlack died Saturday at an Army medical center. Media reports said he was at a casual get-together Friday night on the lawn of the McNair housing facility at Fort Hood, when a soldier fired a gun into the crowd. Schlack was shot in the hip, and the gunman fled. The suspect was arrested Saturday morning, and was in custody on the post at last word. It was not clear yesterday whether he had been charged. The incident remains under investigation. Schlack joined the Army in 2004 as a repairman for computer detection systems. He was arrived at Fort Hood in ’05, and became part of the 27th Brigade’s Support Battalion.
Swine Flu Deaths Up to 6 in WI
7/21/09 - Wisconsin now has six deaths from the H-1-N-1 swine flu virus. A Portage County resident died over the weekend. Health officer Faye Tetzloff would not give the person’s age or gender, and did not say where the patient lived. She did say there were underlying medical conditions involved. It’s the second death from swine flu in central Wisconsin – the other being a 12-year-old Wausau area girl. The state’s four other deaths were all in Milwaukee. Two of those were adults, and two were kids.
WI 2nd in Voter Turnout for ’08 Presidential Election
7/21/09 - The U-S Census Bureau said Wisconsin had the second-highest voter turnout among the states last November, when President Obama was elected. But the state’s figure of 71-point-two percent was down by more than five points from 2004. And the percentage of adults nationally who voted was down for the first time since 1996. It dropped two tenths of a percent to 63-point-six. Minnesota had the biggest percentage of residents 18-and-older who went to the polls – around 75-percent. Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Maine tied for second among the states. Washington D-C had a slightly higher turnout than the Badger State, at 74-percent. Nationally, the Census Bureau said the percentage of whites 45-and-older who voted dropped by one-and-a-half percent – while younger voters had an increase of two-percent, with blacks showing the biggest gains. Forty-six percent of whites said they didn’t like either Obama or Republican John McCain, or they had better things to do on Election Day.
Van Hollen Building Up Campaign Funds
7/21/09 - Wisconsin’s attorney general has 214-thousand dollars in the bank for a re-election campaign next year. New reports show that Republican J-B Van Hollen raised 160-thousand dollars in the first six months of this year, and he spent 80-thousand during that period. Van Hollen, a former federal prosecutor, is expected to seek a second four-year term. No other candidates have officially declared themselves yet. But former D-N-R Secretary Scott Hassett says he’s thinking about running as a Democrat. And media reports said Milwaukee Alderman Tony Zielinski has been talking to Democrats about a possible bid.
Report: Assembly Members Illegally Took Money During Budget Negotiations
7/21/09 - A watchdog group said at least seven State Assembly members accepted campaign money while the state budget was being considered. And that violated a ban on fund-raising imposed by Assembly Democratic leaders. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign uncovered the violations after the lawmakers submitted their latest campaign finance reports. The group said it reviewed half the reports by yesterday afternoon, and director Mike McCabe said the members generally did a good job with complying with the budget-time fund-raising ban. But Democrat Sandy Pasch of Whitefish Bay said she took 125-dollars from a pair of donors the day after Governor Jim Doyle introduced the budget. She said it was a typo – and she actually took the money before Doyle unveiled his budget plan. Marathon City Republican Jerry Petrowski was told he could take the 125-dollars he got because it was not solicited. Port Wing Democrat Gary Sherman said his campaign treasurer took 100-dollars before the ban started, but did not deposit it until later. He called it a simple mistake, but was returning the gift anyway. The others flagged were Republicans Rich Zipperer of Pewaukee, Keith Ripp of Lodi, and Fred Clark of Baraboo, and Democrat Ted Zigmunt of Francis Creek. Speaker Mike Sheridan’s office said it would review the lawmakers’ reports before deciding whether to sanction any of the members. Sanctions could include letters of reprimand up to censures or removals from leadership posts.
Emerald Ash Borer Has Not Spread, So Far
7/21/09 - State officials say the tree-killing emerald ash borer has not been found outside two large areas in southeast and southwest Wisconsin. But the infestation found in March in Vernon County has spread to adjacent to Crawford County. And the infected area now appears larger than one found last year at Newberg in Ozaukee and Washington counties. The agriculture department placed seven-thousand traps around the state this summer to look for new areas where the tree-killing beetle might be. Program manager Jennifer Statz says they haven’t found any problems in northern Wisconsin – and they’ll start removing and analyzing the traps in southern Wisconsin early next month. The ash borer was discovered at Victory in Vernon County this spring, and it was recently found six miles to the southeast. The infected area at Newberg now appears to extend about for about three miles. The emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees in the upper Midwest since it first appeared near Detroit in 2002. In Milwaukee, officials have treated about 75-hundred trees with a pesticide to try-and-keep them from being infected.
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