Top Stories July 19th

Heat Wave Continues

7/19/11 - A 141-year-old heat record was broken in Madison yesterday. The overnight low was 77 in the Capital City, breaking the record for the date of 76 in 1870. It’s hot everywhere in Wisconsin, but the rolling hills of the southwest are really getting baked. The heat index was 127 near Prairie du Chien yesterday – eight-points warmer than the state’s high on Sunday. It was still 89-degrees in Beaver Dam around 6:30 last night but it felt like 109-degrees. It was even warmer in Watertown at the same time where the temperature was 94-degrees but with the heat index it felt like 121-degrees. Experts say Wisconsin is covered under a large heat mass that’s not going anywhere for a couple more days. The heat index will go back into the triple-digits today in much of the state. Actual highs are expected in the upper-80’s and 90’s. Some big storm systems continue to pop up from time-to-time. Sheet metal from a building was tossed through the air last night at Brandon in Fond du Lac County. New London had hail, and winds in the region hit 50-miles-an-hour. We remain under an Excessive Heat Warning until Thursday night.

BD Residents Could Face New Vehicle Fee

7/19/11 - City residents in Beaver Dam could soon be paying a $10 fee for each car they own. Director of Facilities David Stoiser says the annual registration fee was suggested by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to supplement cuts in funding that are outlined in the new state budget. As part of the budget repair bill, the city is anticipating a $66,000 reduction in road funds from the DOT. Stoiser says there are 15,714 vehicles registered in the city and a $10 fee would bring in $157,000. A $5 fee was also discussed which would cover most of the anticipated $66,000 shortfall in road funds. The proposed vehicle fee ordinance was brought before the city’s Operations Committee last night and while there was no vote in support or against the new fee, the matter was forwarded on to the Administration Committee for consideration. Also last night, the Operations Committee tabled discussion on a proposal that would limit the amount of brush city residents can leave in front of their house for pick-up by the Department of Public Works. The plan would also limit the amount of brush that residents could drop-off in one day at the DPW garage.

Land Sale In New Beaver Dam Business Park Approved

7/19/11 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night approved the sale of land in the city’s Lakeside Business Park. Engineered Treatment Systems is purchasing 4.4 acres of land at a cost of $20,000 per acre. ETS is owned by Chuck Neuman and provides ultraviolet technology for improving water quality in not only swimming pools and water parks but also drinking water and wastewater. The construction value of the facility is estimated at around $2 million. ETS currently has 14 employees and the new facility could add another half dozen jobs. The council also approved an option by Neuman Properties to purchase an adjacent 5.3 acres of land at the same price for a possible expansion. Construction is anticipated to begin as early as next month.

Beaver Dam Council Approves New Voting Wards

7/19/11 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night unanimously approved an ordinance establishing new voting wards in the city. Redistricting is required to be done in conjunction with the ten-year census. As part of the process, the Dodge County Board chose to eliminate four of its 36 supervisory districts. Because one of the county board districts being eliminated is in the city of Beaver Dam, the 14 aldermanic wards inside the city have to be redrawn. Most city wards will see very little alteration but some alderpersons were going see as much as 75% of their wards completely change. The city’s Director of Administration John Somers says he worked with the county to lessen that impact and now no ward in the city should see more than a 30% shift in its constituency. The biggest changes will be in the two county board supervisory districts that used to each have two city wards but now will have three wards. Those wards are Four, Five, Eight, Ten, 12 and 14.

Lunch Fees Going Up in the BDUSD

7/19/11 - Lunch fees will be going up over the next three years in the Beaver Dam School District. That’s after the school board approved the increases last night. Officials say the increase is directly related to a federal requirement that schools serve more nutritious meals that will include fresh fruit and vegetables. The increase will be implemented over the next three years to the point where the average between the elementary school and the middle and high schools will be $2.46. That means lunches at the elementary schools will be $2 this fall, up 15-cents from last year. Another 15-cent increase will be seen in the following two years. And lunches and the middle school and high school will increase 20-cents to $2.30 this fall. Another 20-cent increase will happen next year, with an additional 15-cent increase for the 2013-2014 school year. The board also set its annual budget hearing for August 15th.

Senators to Vote on Two Controversial Bills Today

7/19/11 - Wisconsin senators will vote today on one bill to help the long-term unemployed – and another bill that critics say is designed to keep Republicans in power for awhile. The Republican-controlled Senate is scheduled to vote on the controversial plan to create new state-and-congressional districts. The G-O-P said it properly drew the new maps in its obligation to reflect population changes from the new Census. But Democrats said the G-O-P unfairly drew the lines to try and give themselves an advantage at the polls for up to a decade. The unemployment bill would provide 13 more weeks of benefits to thousands of long-term jobless residents. Those people were cut off in April, and the federal government has made 89-million stimulus dollars available in extended benefits. They would be given retroactively. The Assembly is expected tomorrow to act on both the unemployment and the redistricting bills.

Realtors: ’09 – ’10 Home Sales ‘Apples and Oranges’

7/19/11 - Wisconsin home sales dropped by over 17-percent in the first half of this year, compared to the first six months of 2010. And the Wisconsin Realtors’ Association said the median price of the homes sold by their members plunged by seven-point-one percent. The median sales price of a home in the Badger State was 130-thousand dollars from January-through-June, down from 140-thousand the year before. But Realtors say the comparisons are like apples-to-oranges, because first-time home buyers were still getting big federal tax credits a year ago that have long expired. The program ended last April, but buyers still received the tax credits if they were in the process of closing their deals. John Hornung of the Realtors’ Association board says it will quote, “be a couple months before the distortions from the federal tax program work their way out of the data.” The group said the smallest sales declines this year have been in northern Wisconsin and the heavily-populated southeast. Hornung says the sales figures from the north are encouraging, and it shows “signs of life” in the market for second homes. For June, home sales dropped 16-percent from last year to just over 55-hundred. The median price last month was 140-thousand dollars – down 10-thousand from a year ago.

Kohls Not Separating From J-Lo Clothing Brand

7/19/11 - The Wisconsin-based Kohl’s Department Store chain says it will not be hurt by the Jennifer Lopez-Marc Anthony divorce. The Menomonee Falls company still plans to launch men’s-and-women’s clothing lines in September with each celebrity’s name. Kohl’s vice president Vicki Shamion said the Lopez and Anthony brands were always meant to be two separate, distinctive contemporary fashion collections. And they still look forward to launching the new lines. Lopez announced the couple’s break-up last Friday. Kohl’s C-E-O Kevin Mansell had said the celebrity launch would the biggest in his company’s history – and it marked the first time a big-name couple has tied their names to retail clothing lines.

State Parks Jobs Being Filled

7/19/11 - Things could soon get a little cleaner at Wisconsin state parks. Almost one-of-every-four full-time park jobs is vacant because of a hiring freeze. But the new state budget allows for at least some new hiring – and parks’ director Dan Schuller says recruiting efforts have begun. About 50 of the parks’ 212 full-time jobs have been vacant. And the number of seasonal workers is around 630. That’s 250 less than four years ago – and it shows. Office hours have been reduced – trails are being mowed less often – and restrooms don’t get cleaned as often as they used to.

Peeping Tom Reported To BDPD

7/19/11 - A peeping tom incident was reported to the Beaver Dam Police Department over the weekend. It was said to have occurred Thursday at 5pm on the 800 block of Madison Street. The occupant said someone tried to get in her back door. The suspect is described as a male in his 20’s or 30’s, slender build, between 5’8 and 6 foot tall. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department.