Top Stories March 11th

DNR to Host Deer Hunting Meetings

3/11/12 - The status of deer hunting in Wisconsin is the subject of 35 public forums taking place throughout the state this month. The D-N-R says anyone with an interest in hunting or deer management should attend. A biologist will make a presentation at each session, following by a question-and-answer period. The forums run through March 29. The forum in Dodge County will be held Thursday, March 22 from 6pm to 8pm at the Horicon Marsh International Education Center. Additional times and locations can be found on the DNR’s website. http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=314#art1

Debt for College Graduates Skyrocketing

3/11/12 - Thirty years ago, the average University of Wisconsin graduate left school with five-thousand-dollars in student loan debt. Now, the average grad owes 27-thousand-dollars – and a U-W vice president says there are a host of reasons. Mark Nook told the Board of Regents yesterday that tuition has grown a lot faster than inflation, while public financial aid has dropped. And fewer parents can help pay the freight because some have lost jobs – while many have seen their home equity plunge along with their ability to get credit. Nook says families with average incomes of 67-thousand dollars are feeling the biggest squeeze. That’s because low-income families don’t have to pay, while the rich can still afford it. Nook says it’s true that some students are borrowing more than they need, so they live better than they should while in college -- but he said the lack of middle class family income is still a big factor. U-W Madison financial aid director says Harvard is now more affordable than public colleges in California – and she says the same will happen in Wisconsin soon.

Legislator Hopes to Cut Governor’s Pay

3/11/12 - Wisconsin lawmakers will adjourn for the year this coming week – but a freshman Democrat hopes majority Republicans will find time to cut the pay of their party’s leader. Assembly Democrat Brett Hulsey of Madison says he’ll try for a second time to limit the governor’s pay to three times that of the average Wisconsin employee. It would give Republican Scott Walker a 27-thousand-dollar pay cut from his current annual salary of 144-thousand. Hulsey tried to do the same thing last year – but he failed to add the measure to a bill involving public school teachers. He says he wants to make it a rider to another bill in the coming week. But because it’s a spending measure, Walker could use his line-item veto power on it. Still, Hulsey says he’s trying to make a point – that Walker needs to be held accountable for the estimated 81-hundred public-and-private sector jobs lost since Walker took office 14 months ago. Hulsey says the number is more like 12-thousand-500, counting those who’ve given up looking for work and are not part of the official statistics. Also, Hulsey called Walker to task for what he called a “mandatory eight-percent pay cut” for state workers and officials – the amount of the increased contributions for their pensions and health care.

DNR Boss Upset With Lack of Mining Legislation

3/11/12 - The head of the state D-N-R says her agency could have approved an iron ore mine near Hurley without harming the environment. Cathy Stepp issued a statement blasting the Senate’s rejection of a compromise bill on Tuesday, which caused Gogebic Taconite to abandon its project. Stepp, a former Republican state senator, said it was hard to sit back and watch the debate and what she called the “hyper political language.” The D-N-R secretary said she hoped calmer heads would have prevailed considering the one-and-a-half billion dollar investment and the thousands of resulting jobs that the state could have added. She said the plan would have protected the environment. Instead, she said the issue became quote, “just another political piñata, with some senators clearly displaying that politics is more important than getting things done for Wisconsin citizens.” And she said the bill eventually died because of quote, “the motivation not to allow a political success for Governor Walker.” Even with all the compromises from lawmakers, Stepp said mining would still have been one of the most regulated industries. She said the mine would have also had to be approved by the federal E-P-A, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U-S Fish-and-Wildlife Service. And it would have to meet the water quality standards dictated by the Bad River Indians, who have the power to control the quality of waters that flow into their reservation.

Murder, Robbery and Revenge in Milwaukee

3/11/12 - Four people are charged with robbery and murder in a crime prosecutors say involved money – but also revenge for a suspected romantic relationship.  Marlon Booker was suffering from multiple gun shot wounds when he was found in the basement of an empty Milwaukee house February 8th.  Tamyra Smith reportedly began renting a house from Booker last year, just across the street, and was paying only 19 dollars a month.  Smith’s boyfriend, Tommy Hollis, suspected she was having a relationship with Booker while he was in prison.  Hollis got out in January.  He told his nephew, Devante Hollis, and Marionte Anderson that Booker had three kilos of cocaine, 10 thousand dollars cash, a pickup truck and a Mercedes-Benz.  Anderson told detectives that Bookie told the others, they could have the take from the robbery, but he was going to kill the victim.

Some Retirees Got Too Much or Too Little from Pension

3/11/12 - About one of every 30 Milwaukee County government retirees who received lucrative lump-sum pensions either got too little – or too much. County Executive Chris Abele says that 601 people who retired since 2009 were underpaid by a total of 300-thousand dollars. And County Auditor Jerome Heer said some retirees were either overpaid or underpaid by as much as 30-thousand-dollars each. He blamed it on a computer glitch that miscalculated the so-called “back-drop” pensions given to county government retirees starting in 2001. Those who were underpaid will get checks to make up the difference. There was no immediate word on whether those who were overpaid would have to give the money back. Over 200-million dollars have paid out in back-drops – which are lump sums for those who worked beyond their minimum retirement ages, plus compound interest based on how long they stayed on the job. Some top county officials got backdrops of a million-dollars, but most were for far less. The payments got virtually no publicity when they were approved just over a decade ago. Former County Executive Tom Ament had faced a recall effort for that – but he retired before he could go up for election. Seven County Board members were recalled soon after that. Officials said the backdrops cost far more than expected.

DOD Gives Concussion Study $2M

3/11/12 - The Defense Department is giving a Milwaukee scientist almost two-million dollars to study better ways to diagnose concussions and determine recovery times. Michael McCrea of the Medical College of Wisconsin will examine four computerized tests to determine cognitive skills. Two of those tests are often used in sports. McCrea will then decide how well the tests uncover the effects of concussions, and how well they measure time estimates for recoveries. McCrea – who’s a neuro-psychologist at Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital – says there are number of cognitive assessment tools. But there’s very little data on how valid and reliable those tools can be. The Pentagon is giving McCrea one-point-nine million dollars to improve diagnoses for troops. Over 178-thousand service personnel were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries during the decade ending in 2010.

Big Hit to Meth Trade on Minnesota Border

3/11/12 - Minnesota authorities report they have arrested 20 people and put what they call “a big dent” in the methamphetamine trade in that state and western Wisconsin.  An unnamed suspect from Eau Claire was apparently among those arrested.  As a part of a wide ranging investigation, drug agents seized nearly 17 pounds of meth worth an estimated 500 thousand dollars. Authorities are saying the sellers were targeting the Hmong community.  They say taking the 20 suspects off the streets has made metropolitan Minneapolis a safer place to live.

Teen in Court for Starting Fire

3/11/12 - A 16 year old boy accused of starting a fire at St. Anthony School in Oconto Falls will make an appearance in adult court on Monday.  The Oconto County Sheriff’s office says the boy was booked into the adult section of its jail yesterday.  The boy had originally been charged in juvenile court with start the fire last month.  No adult charges have been filed yet, but that action is expected to be taken Monday.  The fire at the school caused an estimated two million dollars in damages.  Investigators say the suspect had admitted starting the fire, but he reportedly told them he didn’t intend for it to get out of control.