Top Stories, April 16th

Wisconsin Spared Tornado’s, High Winds Reported

4/16/12 - Wisconsin escaped the tornadoes that whipped through the Midwest Sunday. But parts of western Wisconsin were under a tornado warning – and most of the state was hit with high winds. According to the National Weather Service, gusts reached as much as 53-miles-per hour in Dodge County yesterday. 56-miles-an-hour wind was reported last night in Vilas County, 52 at Monroe, and 49 at Kenosha. Winds were measured at 43-miles-an-hour at the Watertown Airport just before midnight. A Wind Advisory is in effect from 10am to 7pm today. Osceola in northwest Wisconsin had three-quarter-inch hail, while Waterford in the southeast had quarter-inch hail. Almost two-inches of rain fell by early Sunday at Westby in southwest Wisconsin. A funnel cloud was spotted in neighboring Minnesota. In Iowa, days of urgent warnings were credited for saving lives after several tornadoes hit. Five people were killed in a twister in Oklahoma. A low-pressure system headed east from Wisconsin during the night. Colder air moved in, and a mix of rain and snow are in the forecast this morning for the northern part of the Badger State. More frost is expected tonight in north central areas, with lows in the 20’s. Dry weather is expected tomorrow, with more rain possible Wednesday through Friday. A cool week is expected, with highs mostly in the 40’s-and-50’s statewide.

Charges Expected Against Track Coach

4/16/12 - Authorities expect sexual assault charges against an assistant Waupun track and field coach to be filed today. A 43-year-old man was taken into custody on Friday but did not make his initial appearance in court. He’s expected to be charged with two counts of sexual assault by a school staff member and one count of disorderly conduct. According to published reports, the alleged incidents involved two juvenile female students, who attend Waupun’s Jr/Sr High School. However, the acts were said to have occurred in the gym at Rock River Intermediate School. When administrators were made aware of the allegations, the man was immediately relieved of his coaching duties, while the district conducted their investigation. Authorities say the man is a paid coach and not a member of the teaching staff. Police are continuing to investigate to determine if there are any other victims.

Weekend Fire Damages Campbellsport Home

4/16/12 - Fire caused significant damage to a mobile home on County Highway B in Campbellsport early Saturday afternoon. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s officials say no one was home at the Kevin Kutz residence during the blaze. No one was injured. Firefighters from Eden, Campbellsport and St. Cloud put the blaze out. The Red Cross is assisting the family.

Woman Arrested Following Fight at Silks

4/16/12 - One woman was arrested and another cited following a fight at Silks Gentlemen’s Club in Juneau early Monday morning. The Dodge County Sheriffs Department was called out at 1:22am to the parking lot behind the establishment at 112 East Oak Street. A 21-year-old woman called authorities to report that a 20-year-old woman struck her over the head with a computer. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to jail on charges of Domestic Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Damage to Property. The woman who called police was cited for Possession of Marijuana.

BD School Board to Consider Borrowing Money

4/16/12 - The Beaver Dam School Board is expected to vote on a resolution to authorize the borrowing of up to $6-million dollars for district building projects when they meet tonight. The vote wouldn’t commit them to borrowing the money but would allow them an opportunity over the next three years to use the funds for a variety of projects. That includes the possible closure of Trenton Elementary, with the students there moving to Prairie View Elementary, where an additional six classroom could be added on. Other projects under consideration include an electrical overhaul at the middle school and upgrades to the cafeteria and science rooms at the high school. The projects listed are based on a feasibility study done by the district. The public is welcome to attend an open house to discuss the future of the district’s buildings prior to tonight’s regular board meeting. The open house starts at 5pm with the meeting beginning at 6:30pm at the Educational Service Center.

Student Sentenced for Stealing Car

4/16/12 - A former Horicon High School student will spend time in jail for stealing a car from a classmate. 18-year-old Jesse Roberts entered a guilty plea to a charge of operating a motor vehicle without consent, and was sentenced to 120-days in jail with Huber privileges. Roberts, who now lives in Milwaukee, stole a car that belonged to a Horicon football player while the team was at an away game last September. In-school video surveillance caught him entering the locker room during the game, and prosecutors say he riffled through the lockers stealing iPods, cash, car keys and then the car. A teacher contacted Roberts and got him to leave the vehicle in the Milwaukee-area. He’ll also spend three years on probation.

Decision Today on Fake Democrat Fraud Allegations

4/16/12 - The state elections panel is expected to decide today whether six Republicans committed felony election fraud by running as fake Democrats in the recall elections. The Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board last week, challenging the G-O-P’s maneuver to hold Democratic primaries for all six seats on the same day. Otherwise, Republican officials say four G-O-P incumbents might be at an unfair risk in the Senate contests. That’s because their general elections would be held on the same day that Democrats will be voting en masse for their choices to run against Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Fake Democrats are on all six ballots, as the G-O-P tries to ensure that all the general elections will be held on the same day. The Board today will set the order for the candidates on the May eighth primary ballot. The primary winners will face the recall targets on June fifth.

Food Prices Spike

4/16/12 - Wisconsin food shoppers spent about two-and-a-half percent more for the same groceries in the first three months of the year. The state’s Farm Bureau Federation said the cost of 16 food items in two dozen cities rose to 49-dollars and 55-cents, about a-dollar-20 more than in the final three months of last year. But Wisconsin shoppers are getting a bargain compared to their national counterparts. The same food items cost about three-dollars more throughout the country. And the national price hike since New Year’s Eve was seven-percent – almost three times the Wisconsin increase. Ground-chuck, bacon, and cheddar cheese all cost at least seven-and-a-half percent more in the Badger State. Casey Langan of the state’s Farm Bureau said the higher cheese prices reflected a strong demand through the holidays and the Super Bowl – and those prices went down since then. The Farm Bureau says farmers only get about one-sixth of what food shoppers pay. That’s down from about one-third in the mid-1970’s. But while store prices have gradually gone up, Americans still spend only about 10-percent of their disposable incomes on food – the smallest percentage in the world.

Dole ‘Seven Lettuces’ Test Positive For Salmonella

4/16/12 - Dole Foods is recalling over 750 cases of bagged salad sold in Wisconsin and 14 other states. The company said a random sample of its Seven Lettuces salad in New York State tested positive for salmonella. No other Dole salads were affected. The Seven Lettuces salad had a use-by date of April 11th – and the products had product codes ending in 112-A and 112-B. Dole says it’s working with government health officials, and no illnesses have been reported. The company said consumers should throw out the recalled products, and retailers were contacted to make sure they were not being sold.

Talgo Maintenance Contract Canceled

4/16/12 - The state has canceled a 116-million-dollar maintenance contract for two new trains built by Talgo for Amtrak’s high-speed line from Milwaukee-to-Chicago. But Talgo, of Spain, promises to seek mediation – and if that fails, the firm says a lawsuit could be next. Talgo, of Spain, built the trains in Milwaukee to replace older units on the popular Amtrak Hiawatha line. A separate deal would have provided a maintenance base in Milwaukee for the new trains. But the state Legislature’s finance panel recently killed the project by rejecting new planning funds. As a result, the D-O-T has told Talgo it cannot afford to make payments under the state’s maintenance agreement. A state attorney also told the train-maker that costs are rising to test the new trains – and the federal government said they don’t meet standards for handicapped accessibility. But Talgo vice-president Nora Friend said the D-O-T is putting quote, “politics ahead of legality,” and it cannot back out of the contract that easily. D-O-T spokesman Brock Bergey says the state’s purchasing deal for the two new trains remains in place.

Two Winning Powerball Tickets Sold In Whitehall

4/16/12 - The odds could be astounding. The same store in Whitehall sold two Powerball tickets that won a million dollars on Saturday night. Each ticket matched all five regular numbers but not the Powerball to win the game’s second prize – and the odds of doing that are about one in five-point-two-million. Wisconsin Lottery officials say they’re waiting to find out if the same player matched the numbers twice – or if two different players matched those them. The tickets were sold at the Whitehouse Cenex convenience store, and the winners must claim their prizes at the lottery headquarters in Madison. Almost 13-thousand Wisconsin players won something in Saturday’s Powerball drawing. But nobody won the jackpot, so it goes up to 131-million dollars for the next drawing on Wednesday. In Mega Millions, the jackpot for tomorrow night is 53-million dollars.

Kennedy to Hold Listening Sessions

4/16/12 - Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy has listening sessions scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday). City residents are invited to meet with the mayor without appointment, in a one-on-one setting, on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Kennedy says he wants constituents to have the opportunity to speak with him the day after each regular meeting of the common council. The listening sessions are held in Room 158 on the first floor of City Hall from 10am until noon and again from 5pm to 6pm. If the regular schedule doesn’t fir into your schedule, residents are encouraged to schedule a private meeting through the mayor’s office.