Top Stories, July 6th

State Fairgrounds Limit Access Following Attacks

8/6/11 - Young people under the age of 18 are no longer allowed onto the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds after 5pm without a parent or guardian who is at least 21. Fair CEO rick Frenette says he has never implemented such a policy before in his 40 years of fair management. That change, plus the increase in security forces, comes in response to opening night violence that left 11 people injured and 31 arrested. The trouble started at about 7 p.m. Thursday when fights broke out among black youths. State Fair Police say those fights didn't appear to be racially-motivated. A few hours later, around the 11 p.m. closing time, witnesses say hundreds of black youths attacked white people as they left the fair, punching and kicking people and shaking or pounding on their vehicles. Seven of the people injured were police officers.

Waupun Inmate Changes Plea In Vandalism Case

8/6/11 - An inmate at the Waupun Correctional Institution, accused of causing over $43,000 in damage to the Waupun Hospital, has changed his mind about the plea he entered at arraignment. Arthur Hill pleaded “not guilty” when he was arraigned in May. Hill changed that plea Friday to “not guilty by reason of mental defect.” As a result of the change, the court ordered an evaluation of Hill by two examiners to determine his mental state. Hill is charged with one felony count of Criminal Damage To Property Over $2500, which carries a maximum three-and-a-half year prison sentence upon conviction. The 24-year-old allegedly ripped out the sprinkler heads of a cell in the secure ward of the hospital on December 12 of last year. According to the criminal complaint, Hill stood on a toilet in his cell, wrapped a plastic bag around the sprinkler heads and jumped off while yelling, “let’s make it rain” and “let’s go swimming.” Water gushed from two broken sprinkler heads and Hill reportedly put blankets under the door allowing six to eight inches of water to pool. The jail cell sustained over $4800 in damage. Another $38,000 in water damage was reported to adjacent rooms and the ICU, which is located one floor below the secure ward in the hospital. A hearing will be scheduled after the court receives the reports from the psychologists.

Fond du Lac Bank Robbery Suspect Appears

8/6/11 - Bond was set at $50,000 cash Friday for the 22-year-old Milwaukee man suspected of robbing Hometown Bank in Fond du Lac this past Monday. Deangelo Hull made his initial appearance in Fond du Lac County Court on a charge of Robbery of a Financial Institution. No one was hurt during the robbery in which he presented a threatening note to a teller and made away with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was displayed. Video from the bank and evidence left at the scene pointed investigators in Hull’s direction. Fond du Lac detectives with the aid of Milwaukee Police arrested Hull in the Milwaukee area Tuesday afternoon. According to court records Hull has previous convictions for armed robbery, burglary and escape charges in Milwaukee County. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 2nd.

Recall Elections Break Spending Records

8/6/11 - A state government watchdog group said Friday that spending records have been broken in five-of-the-six recall elections against Republican state senators. The G-O-P incumbents all face Democratic challengers on Tuesday. And the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said all but one of those contests have had total spending in excess of three-million-dollars. That’s the previous record for a Senate race. The watchdog group said Republican incumbent Alberta Darling and Assembly Democrat Sandy Pasch have attracted the most money for their race both by their campaigns and outsiders – around eight-million dollars in all. The Democracy Campaign said spending in four other races ranged from three-point-one million dollars to five-and-a-half million. And in the other recalls against one Republican and two Democrats, the spending has ranged from three-quarter-million dollars to almost two-million. Recall votes against the Democratic incumbents are set for a week from Tuesday.

Voting Irregularities Probe Opened

8/6/11 - Milwaukee County prosecutors say they have opened a pair of official investigations into possible irregularities in the recall election race between Republican Alberta Darling and Democrat Sandy Pasch. The district attorney's office says it is checking to see if any laws were broken. The group Wisconsin Jobs Now is being investigated for its block parties held in low-income areas of Milwaukee. The possibility that bribes were handed out is also part of the investigation of Wisconsin Right to Life, which is accused of giving gift and gas cards to volunteers who asked voters to fill out absentee ballots.

Clean-Up Begins At Veterans Cemetery

8/6/11 - The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs says it will cost about 18 thousand dollars to clean up trash left behind by a former employee. The maintenance worker had admitted burying personal garbage at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Dover. The trash was left in an area away from the burial sites.

DuPont Stopping Sales of Imprelis

8/6/11 - The DuPont Company is stopping sales of its new herbicide, Imprelis. It has been blamed in lawsuits filed in Wisconsin and several other states for damaging trees. The company sent a letter to distributors last Thursday informed them of the suspension. It came one day after the EPA told the chemical company it may have misbranded Imprelis, including directions and warning that weren't adequate to protect some plants and trees. DuPont has set up a return and refund program for customers who bought Imprelis.

Canoeists Rescued on St. Croix

8/6/11 - The Burnett County Sheriff's Department rescued a group of young female canoeists who were stranded on the banks of the St. Croix River this week. They were stuck when some of their canoes were swamped by high water. The call for aid came in a little before 9 Thursday night. A hovercraft and boats were used to complete the rescue, which took a good portion of the night. The 14 teenagers and young adults were accompanied by two counselors. They were in a remote wilderness area which can only be reached by river travel. One canoeist was treated for what appeared to be exposure. The group was then returned to Camp St. Croix.

Milwaukee Air & Water Show This Weekend

8/6/11 - There will be lots of activity in the skies over Milwaukee this weekend. Plenty of colored smoke could be seen, and a group of fighter jets streaking past. The Milwaukee Air and Water Show is being held at Bradford Beach Saturday and Sunday. Taking part are the Air Force Thunderbirds, the U.S. Army Black Daggers, the Air Force Vipers, Navy Rhinoes and the return of the 440th Airlift Wing.

Super Bowl Ring Auction Higher Than Expected

8/6/11 - A Super Bowl ring given to Green Bay Packers’ star Fuzzy Thurston was sold at an auction Thursday night for two-and-a-half times more than expected. The ring was from Super Bowl-Two in the late 1960’s, and it sold for 50-thousand-788 dollars. Heritage Auctions of suburban Chicago had expected 20-thousand for it. The federal government required the sale to help Thurston pay one-point-seven million dollars in back taxes. His tax troubles were first publicized earlier this year, and some Packer fans had hoped somebody would buy the ring and give it back to Thurston. We’re not sure if that will happen. Chris Ivy of Heritage Auctions said the buyer wanted to stay anonymous – and it’s not known what the person will do with the ring. The 77-year-old Thurston got into tax trouble after his playing days. Authorities said his former restaurant chain withheld federal income taxes from its employees, but did not pay all the money to the I-R-S. Thurston was ordered to pay 190-thousand dollars in 1984. But that never happened. And with interest, the charge ballooned to around one-point-seven million.