Top Stories, March 10th

Drunk Driver Racing To Family Crisis Sentenced

3/10/12 - A Milwaukee man woke up to an early morning phone call last April telling him that his step-father had died. Tony Godbolt II had spent the night before at a friends 21st birthday party in Oshkosh but immediately got in the car with his girlfriend and headed south on State Highway 41 to comfort his mother. While en route, around 6am, he hit a patch of black ice in the Town of Lomira, and his car rolled four or five times before coming to a rest. Neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt. Godbolt was OK but his girlfriend was ejected. He dragged her unconscious body from a bloody pool in the middle of the highway to the side of the road as a second car – unaware of the wreckage – struck their overturned vehicle. His 20-year-old girlfriend spent untold days at Froedtert Hospital in critical condition with numerous broken bones. Godbolt had a blood alcohol level that was over the legal limit for driving at point-zero-nine-five (.095). Witnesses on the road that morning say they were driving 70mph and Godbolt’s vehicle flew past them. Friday morning in a Dodge County courtroom, Godbolt pleaded “guilty” to a charge of Injury by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle While Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance. Two other felony charges were dismissed on a prosecutor’s motion while a misdemeanor charge of Operating without a Valid License was dismissed but read into the record. A five-year prison sentence was imposed and stayed and Godbolt will instead serve a nine month jail sentence with Huber privileges.

Reclaim Wisconsin Vs. Defending the Dream

3/10/12 - A year after the Wisconsin Legislature passed Act 10, the bill that curtailed collective bargaining for many state workers, pro-labor activists plan to the return to the Capitol. It's being billed as a "Reclaim Wisconsin March." Pre-rally activities will start at 1pm with speeches beginning an hour after that. Two weeks later, the conservative group, Americans For Prosperity Foundation, is going to be holding its own rally – the "Defending the American Dream Summit" – at the Wyndham Hotel in Milwaukee on March 24th.

Preferred GAB Recall Dates

3/10/12 - A general recall election against Governor Scott Walker could be held on June 12th. In a memo Friday, Government Accountability Board director Kevin Kennedy said he would ask the full board on Monday to seek a judge’s approval of a timetable for the Walker recall vote and up to five others. The agency is still reviewing an estimated one-point-nine million recall petition signatures. And Kennedy says they’ll need more time to decide if there are enough valid signatures to order elections against Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and four Republican state senators including Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau. The current deadline for that is March 19th. Kennedy wants it extended until April sixth. The first Election Day would be May 15th – either for primaries, or general elections if there are not at least two Democratic challengers to an incumbent. In the cases of primaries, the final votes could be held on June 12th. Kennedy says local election clerks around the state overwhelmingly approve that timetable over four others – a couple of which would have had elections on the day after the long Memorial Day Weekend.

Walker Establishes Defense Fund

3/10/12 - Governor Scott Walker has created a legal defense fund to pay for his expenses connected with the ongoing John Doe probe into his former Milwaukee County aides. Walker’s campaign issued a statement in which the governor said that no tax money has ever been used for the attorneys he hired to quote, “review documents and assist me in cooperating.” A few hours before his statement, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said it demanded to know who was paying for Walker’s legal bills. Mike Browne of One Wisconsin Now said Walker’s announcement quote, “raises more questions than answers.” He wanted to know who has given money to the defense fund – and whether they have business with the state government. Five former aides and associates have been charged as the result of the John Doe investigation, which deals with Walker’s former post as the Milwaukee County executive. The governor has said he is not a target of the probe – not to his knowledge, anyway. But he said he has agreed to meet with prosecutors in the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office who are continuing to investigate.

Judge To Announce Voter ID Law Decision Next Week

3/10/12 - Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess says he’ll wait until next week to announce whether he’ll permanently strike down Wisconsin’s voter I-D law. The judge held a hearing Friday in a lawsuit filed by the state’s League of Women Voters. The League says the law makes it difficult or impossible for poor, elderly, minority, and other residents to vote. The law took effect last month, but it was temporarily halted this week by a different judge in connection with a different lawsuit. The state has appealed that action.

Iron Ore Rally Planned For Today

3/10/12 - A rally is planned Saturday in far northern Wisconsin to encourage state lawmakers to make one final push to pass a mining bill. The measure all-but-died this week after the Senate rejected a compromise package, and Gogebic Taconite then said it would scrap plans for a new iron ore mine in Ashland and Iron counties. Economic development leaders in Iron County are holding today’s rally, which starts at noon at the Montreal City Hall. Kelly Klein of the Iron County Development Zone said the region needs the jobs and the benefits from the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine. And they’re hoping the company can change its mind. But the firm said its pullout was not a negotiating ploy. A lobbyist said so much was taken out of the bill on the relaxing of environmental rules, and there was nothing left to compromise.

Midwest Gasoline Benefits From less Expensive Crude

3/10/12 - You would be paying a lot more for gasoline today if it was not for our neighbors to the north. Canada and North Dakota are providing less expensive crude oil to the Upper Midwest – and refinery officials say it’s why Wisconsinites are paying an average of 61-cents a gallon less than folks in California. Gas prices in the Golden State have been above four-dollars a gallon for weeks. And the Triple-“A” says California’s average price is currently $4.35 for unleaded regular, while Wisconsinites are paying an average of $3.74. Neighboring Minnesota is getting an even better deal. That state’s average gas price is $3.61. In Rosemount Minnesota, refinery official Jake Reint tells the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that his state is “geographically blessed” to have access to reliable and abundant supplies of crude oil. Large refineries in Rosemount and Saint Paul Park Minnesota get most of their oil in pipelines from Canada and North Dakota.

Overnight Parking Ban Lifted in Beaver Dam

3/10/12 - Residents in Beaver Dam can park overnight on city streets once again. The winter parking ban that went into effect in January – a little bit later this year because of mild weather – is being lifted a little bit earlier than the April first deadline outlined in city ordinance. Police Chief Ron Smith says if a significant snowfall is predicted, the public will be notified through the media that enforcement would resume.

Frozen Road, Overweight Permits Suspended

3/10/12 - Loggers and salt trucks can no longer carry extra-heavy loads on Wisconsin highways. The state’s frozen road exception ended Friday in far northern Wisconsin, north of Highway Eight. Also, overweight permits are being suspended in the southern four-fifths of the state, as the D-O-T has officially declared a Spring Thaw. Similar permits in the far north can be suspended beginning next Wednesday.