Top Stories March 21st

Kaiser Pleads ‘Not Guilty’

3/21/12 - The suspect in last July’s armed robbery of the Shell Travel Mart in Beaver Dam pleaded not guilty during arraignment yesterday. 32-year-old Josiah Kaiser is charged with Armed Robbery with the Threat of Force. Kaiser is accused of brandishing a handgun during the robbery and a firearm was among the items taken as evidence and sent to the State Crime Lab for investigation. Kaiser is still being held at the Dodge County Jail. He has a telephone conferencing schedule on the calendar for May.

Human Service and Health Department on the Move

3/21/12 - A building that’s housed Clearview Long-term Care and Rehabilitation residents since the 1960’s will be the new home for a Dodge County department. On a 35-2 vote - the county board approved a recommendation to move the Human Services and Health Department to the soon-to-be empty Clearview North building. The department is currently spread out over three buildings. The renovation will allow them to consolidate to one location. The projected cost of the remodel is $6-million and the county plans to borrow $3-million to help pay for it. Construction could begin in October and take about a year to complete.

Classification and Compensation Study Approved

3/21/12 - The Dodge County Board approved hiring a firm to conduct a classification and compensation study for county employees last night. The goal of the study is to establish some consistency in pay among employees performing similar jobs and also use data to pay county employees fairly when compared to the private sector. The $70,000 study will use purchased market data that will then by evaluated by Carlson Dettmann Consulting. Officials say the study is needed in the wake of Wisconsin Act 10, which ended a version of collective bargaining for most public employee unions. The county has contracts in place with six of their seven bargaining units until December 31st of this year - but none of the unions filed for recertification. For that reason officials say a wage structure is needed in place by the first day of 2013.

WI Primary Just 13-Days Away

3/21/12 - The Wisconsin primary is just 13 days away – and it could be the next major battle between G-O-P White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. Both candidates are starting to plan appearances in the Badger State. And Santorum’s the first one due in on Saturday when the Americans for Prosperity holds a forum in Milwaukee that also features House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan. The pro-Romney group “Restore Our Future” has been running two-million-dollars worth of T-V ads throughout Wisconsin, which slam Santorum’s voting record as a former U-S senator. Santorum has spent about 50-thousand dollars answering those ads. Louisiana’s primary is on Saturday, where Santorum’s been pushing the hardest. And then the focus shifts to April third when Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington D-C have their primaries.

Rindfleisch in Court

3/21/12 - One of Governor Scott Walker’s top aides when he was the Milwaukee County executive pleaded innocent yesterday morning to four felony charges. 43-year-old Kelly Rindfleisch of Columbus is accused of working on Brett Davis’s failed campaign for lieutenant governor in 2010, during the hours she was supposed to be serving Walker as his deputy chief-of-staff. Rindfleisch is one of five Walker associates charged in a John Doe probe into Walker’s former Milwaukee County aides. Prosecutors said Rindfleisch knew she was breaking the law because of her past experience as a legislative aide during the State Capitol’ s illegal campaigning scandal a decade ago. But defense lawyer Franklyn Gimbel has said the assertion violates the woman’s right against self-incrimination – because she was under immunity while testifying about the caucus scandal. And he has asked that the current charges against Rindfleisch be dropped. Also, Gimbel has asked for a different location for the defendant’s trial. He recently said Rindfleisch should have been charged in Columbia County where she now lives, instead of Milwaukee where the alleged offenses took place. A 2007 law gives state officials the options of being tried in their home counties for government ethics charges.

Mock Accident in Waupun Today

3/21/12 - If you see a Med-Flight helicopter touching down in the parking lot of the Waupun High School this afternoon, don't be alarmed. As part of a student project, the school's west parking lot will be the scene of a mock accident. Organizers say the event will have first responders being dispatched, and they will treat it like a real accident. It's slated to get started around 1pm.

Break-In Under Investigation

3/21/12 - Authorities are investigating a break-in at AmeriGas in the town of Calamus. It was reported yesterday morning around 7am. Records show that a window was broken to gain access. The business was apparently ransacked and the safe was entered. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department.

Clintonville Mystery Continues

3/21/12 - A public meeting will be held tonight at Clintonville High School, where officials will share what they’ve learned about the mysterious rumblings and house rattling in that city. In the meantime, the Waupaca County community is considering the use of motion sensors to try and nail down the cause. Public Works Director Mike McCord calls it a “shallow ground disturbance” – just short of an earthquake, which seismologists say it’s not. Over 250 Clintonville residents complained to authorities about their shaking homes – mostly in the nighttime and early morning hours since Sunday evening. There have been no injuries, and no reports of building or street damage. McCord said he’s heard the rumbling a dozen times, both at home and in the city’s water building. When he’s outside, McCord says it sounds like a muffled boom. Inside, it sounds like a 50-pound weight dropped on a concrete floor. Others have described it as distant thunder and the sound of a jackhammer. The shaking homes were limited to Clintonville’s northeast side on Sunday night, but the trend spread to the south and west on Monday night. Utility lines were re-checked yesterday, and tests were done for leaks. McCord says officials are taking “extreme precautions” to try and keep city residents safe.

Mega Millions Up to $290M

3/21/12 - The Mega Millions’ jackpot has jumped to 290-million dollars for Friday, after nobody won the top prize last night. A ticket sold in Milwaukee was among 68 throughout the country to win a quarter-million-dollars, by matching all five regular numbers but not the Mega Ball. Friday’s jackpot has rolled over 16 times since it was 12-million on January 27th. It’s the third-highest prize since the Wisconsin Lottery started offering Mega Millions in February of 2010. Friday’s cash option is 205-million dollars for a single winner who takes the whole prize now instead of in annual installments. The next Powerball drawing is tonight. The jackpot in that game is at 70-million dollars.