Top Stories, March 25th

Wall of Fame Reservations Deadline Approaching

3/25/12 - Those wanting to attend the Beaver Dam School District’s Annual Wall of Fame Banquet on April 1 have until Friday to obtain tickets. This year’s Outstanding Alumni is Ray Kuehl, a 1952 graduate who has been a prominent figure in the dairy industry for 60 years. After attending UW-Madison, he started his own dairy cattle consulting business, eventually becoming a partner of American Genetics, where he served as a farm manager and marketed cow embryos around the world. Later in life, his career path led him to real estate and he even started his own auctioneer business. But Kuehl is perhaps best known in the farming community for his instrumental role in the creation of the World Dairy Expo, which is held annually in Madison. When it was announced that the U.S. National Dairy Cattle Show would be discontinued, Kuehl and a few other cattle breeders developed a plan to hold the show in Wisconsin. The Expo is now the largest dairy industry exposition in the nation. He was appointed by Governor Thompson to the World Dairy Center Authority, which found the sites for the new State Department of Agriculture and the World Dairy Center buildings in Madison. Kuehl brought state-wide attention to Dodge County’s dairy industry when he chaired the “Alice in Dairyland” competition, which was held in Beaver Dam in 1964. In submitting his application, Kuehl’ supporters said he is “very dedicated to the youth in the dairy cattle industry and has been instrumental in raising money to promote Agriculture to schools.” He frequently returns to Beaver Dam High School to encourage, inspire, and challenge young FFA members to set their goals high and respect others. Kuehl will be honored during this year’s 16th Annual Wall of Fame Banquet a week from Sunday. The deadline to make a reservation, once again, is this coming Friday.

Santorum In Fond du Lac Today

3/25/12 - When Rick Santorum campaigns in Fond du Lac and Racine today, don’t be surprised if he brings his Etch-a-Sketch toy with him. He’s been using it to attack comments by one of Mitt Romney’s advisers, who said “everything changes” for Romney’s fall campaign – and it’s like shaking an Etch-a-Sketch and starting all over again. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, said it’s more proof that Romney will say anything to get elected. And at an appearance in Texas, Santorum that if he’s not the nominee, Republicans may as well vote for Obama. It was his way of saying the former Massachusetts governor is not conservative enough to give voters a clear choice – and only Santorum can offer that choice. Otherwise, Santorum said quote, “We may as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the Etch-a-Sketch candidate for the future.” Romney said he was disappointed that Santorum would rather have Barack Obama as president a Republican. Newt Gingrich tweeted that any G-O-P nominee would be better than Obama. Romney is expected in Wisconsin this week. Gingrich hasn’t announced any plans yet. Ron Paul is also planning to visit Madison this week. The Republican White House hopeful has scheduled a town hall meeting on the U-W campus on Thursday. Santorum will visit the Ledgeview Bowling Lanes in Fond du Lac at 2:30pm, and Racine’s Roma Club at 6pm.

Romney Has Edge Among Republican Voters in WI

3/25/12 - Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the favorite among Republican voters in Wisconsin. Rasmussen Reports says its most recent survey shows Romney favored by 46 percent of likely Republican voters in the state primary. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was the choice of 33 percent of the people responding. Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed far behind, neither getting more than eight percent. A whopping 84 percent of those questioned think Romney will be the eventual nominee and 59 percent said they think he would offer the strongest opposition for President Obama.

GOP Targets Falk and Barrett

3/25/12 - Tom Barrett has not said whether he’ll run for governor this spring. But that’s not stopping the Republican Governors Association from attacking Democrats Barrett and Kathleen Falk in a T-V ad. The R-G-A is running a 30-second ad throughout Wisconsin that attacks Barrett’s taxing-and-spending record as Milwaukee’s mayor, and Falk’s record when she was the Dane County executive. Falk declared her candidacy a few weeks ago in the expected recall election against Republican Governor Scott Walker. Barrett has said he’ll announce before the April third mayoral election whether he’ll try to win the governor’s office again. Barrett lost to Walker in the last gubernatorial contest in 2010. Two other Democrats have also said they’re running for governor – State Senator Kathleen Vinehout of Alma and Secretary-of-State Doug La Follette. The primary is tentatively set for May eighth, and the general election would take place June fifth.

BadgerCare Photo IDs ‘Impractical’

3/25/12 - State officials say it would be expensive – and maybe impractical – to put photos on the cards people use to get government benefits like food stamps and Badger-Care. The Health Services Department checked out the possible costs of having updated photo benefit cards, after reports of fraud surfaced last year. Food-Share recipients were reportedly selling fraudulent cards in Milwaukee County to others. Officials said it would cost anywhere from one-point-eight million dollars to seven-point-four million to create photo I-D’s for Food-Share recipients, depending on the approach that’s used. The cost to create photo I-D’s for Badger-Care patients is estimated at one-point-nine million dollars to six-point-three million. Officials say it would also cost almost five-million-dollars a year to keep the I-D system updated. And it could take over two years to get the new system going, since it would need both state-and-federal approvals. That’s because both governments cover the cost of the benefits. Assembly Republican John Nygren of Marinette asked for the cost estimates – and he’s still reviewing the report to see if it might be feasible to push for the photo I-D’s. But Sherri Tussler of Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force says fraud in Food-Share is minimal – and it doesn’t justify the cost of the new I-D’s. Other critics have said they would make it harder for legitimate recipients to get what they need – and the photo I-D’s might be against federal rules.

Oak Wilt Disease Surfacing Early In Wisconsin

3/25/12 - State natural resources officials say trees are being hit with oak-wilt disease about a month earlier than normal. Forest pathologist Kyoto Scanlon blames the unseasonably-warm weather this month. The D-N-R is encouraging homeowners to delay the pruning of oak trees from now until the end of July. That’s because any disturbance in red-oak trees can trigger an invasion of the oak-wilt fungus, and interrupt a tree’s nutrient-and-watering system. Sap beetles transfer the fungal disease from one tree to another – and it can pass through a root system as well. Oak wilt disease has killed tens-of-thousands of oak trees in Wisconsin. It’s a fatal disease unless it can be treated in time. Scanlon says there are fungicides that can fight oak wilt disease – but they’re expensive, and they must be administered by professionals. The disease has been found in most of Wisconsin except the far northern counties, and along Lake Michigan from Door to Sheboygan counties.

UW Professor Named To Federal DOT Panel

3/25/12 - A U-W Madison engineering professor has been named to a national transportation advisory panel. Federal D-O-T Secretary Ray LaHood announced Teresa Adams’ appointment yesterday to the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee. The panel advises the nation’s transportation secretary on the study, creation, and adoption of intelligent people-moving systems. The group also makes recommendations on funding for research, and strategic planning measures. Adams heads the National Center for Freight-and-Infrastructure Research at Madison.

Minority Unemployment Focus Of New Task Force

3/25/12 - State officials have formed a new task force to try and reduce high minority unemployment in the Milwaukee area. Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson says the new group would look at current job training programs in the region. And it would recommend a focus on skills that prepare and connect minorities with job opportunities. Newson said the task force would especially deal with quote, “the unacceptably-high unemployment rate among black males.” A recent U-W Milwaukee study found that only 45-percent of working-age black men in the city had jobs. Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Milwaukee Assembly Democrat Elizabeth Coggs will co-chair the next group. Its membership is still being finalized, and it plans to start a series of public meetings in the next few weeks.

Officials Urges Helmut Usage

3/25/12 - The warmer weather this spring has motorcycle riders hitting Wisconsin roads, with state transportation officials reminding them to use their heads about safety. Motorcycling fatalities were down last year, but one state official points out that 92 percent of those killed weren’t wearing a helmet at the time. In the past that number has been closed to 65 percent. This is leading to a call to action by the DOT. Bikers are being urged to voluntarily strap on a helmet each time they ride.