Top Stories May 9th

Compas To Face Fitzgerald

5/9/12 - Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau will face Lori Compas of Fort Atkinson in the general election on June 5. Compas beat out declared “fake” Democrat Gary Ellerman of Lake Mills to take District 13. Compas was responsible for organizing the recall petition against Fitzgerald.  She secured 73% of the vote compared to the 25% Ellerman picked-up.

Barrett V Walker

5/9/12 - Unseating Republican Governor Scott Walker will be up to Tom Barrett, who won Tuesday's primary. Barrett took the primary ahead of second place finisher Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.  In Dodge County, Barrett received 55% of the vote compared to 38% for Falk. Kathleen Vinehout, Doug La Follette and “fake” democrat Gladys Huber were also on the ballot. Walker, meanwhile, secured over 98% of the ballots cast in the county with opposition from “fake” Republican Arthur Kohl-Riggs. Analysts expect next month’s race to be tight, with hard campaigning on both sides. Barrett is outmatched by Walker in fundraising, with the latter having raised a record 25-million dollars. The last time the two men went head to head, in 2010, Walker beat Barrett by nearly six percent.  Madison firefighter Mahlon Mitchell will take on Republican Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in the recall election. Mitchell beat private investigator Ira Robins and Isaac Weix. Mitchell is a union leader.

Dodge County Voter Turnout at 45%

5/9/12 - Close to 45% of registered voters in Dodge County cast a ballot in yesterday’s Primary Recall Election. County Clerk Karen Gibson says there are 47,118 registered voters in Dodge County and there were 21,495 ballots cast.

Recall Prompts Domestic Incident

5/9/12 - In Chippewa Falls, police said a man was injured when his wife struck him with a car, after they argued about who she was going to vote for in today’s recall primary for governor. The incident occurred around 12:45 this afternoon. 36-year-old Jeffrey Radle was taken to an Eau Claire hospital with undetermined injuries. Chippewa Falls Police Chief Wendy Stelter said Amanda Radle was trying to drive away in an alley when her husband stood in front of the auto to keep her from leaving. The driver reportedly nudged her husband several times – and when she finally tried to drive around Jeffrey, he apparently jumped in front of the auto and was hit. Amanda then drove to the police station to report the incident. Officials say both spouses face possible domestic-related charges.

Prosser Soliciting Justice Withdrawl

5/9/12 - State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser has officially asked a fifth colleague to withdraw from his disciplinary case. The State Judicial Commission has filed three ethics charges against Prosser, mainly for last summer’s incident in which Prosser got into a physical altercation with fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Prosser filed court documents Tuesday saying that Justice Michael Gableman should recuse himself if the Supreme Court is asked to make a final judgment on Prosser. That’s because Gableman directly witnessed the incident, as did all the other justices except Pat Crooks. Prosser has asked Bradley, Crooks, Pat Roggensack, and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson to withdraw from his ethics case. Only Roggensack has agreed so far. If three others do so, it means there won’t be enough left to consider punishing Prosser – and his charges would be dropped.

Juneau Seeks To Reconstruct Mill With TIF Funds

5/9/12 - The Juneau Common Council last night moved ahead with a plan to reconstruct a portion of South Mill Street. The two-block stretch is the primary access road for Sensient Industries and has been in need reconstruction for several years. The city has secured a $504-thousand dollar grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation but needs another half-million dollars in matching funds to complete the project. Juneau Mayor Ron Bosak says the city is looking at creative ways to fund the city-portion of South Mill Street without borrowing. City officials last night approved the hiring of MSA Professional Services at a cost of $10,000 to begin the process of reopening Tax Increment Finance District #2. The TIF includes the city’s newest industrial park as well as the strip mall with Piggly Wiggly and is due to expire in 2020. Bosak says the TIF has performed “exceptionally well” and has $2 million dollars in available funds that had been designated for other projects that no longer need to be completed, like the construction of another water tower. The city would also need approval of the various taxing entities – like the county, the school district.

Damaged Squad Could Cost Juneau $8K

5/9/12 - It could cost the city of Juneau $8000 to replace the squad car that was damaged in a hit-and-run accident last month. The Common Council last night unanimously approved the purchase of a new squad car from a Madison dealership at a cost not to exceed $30,000. Mayor Ron Bosak says insurance will only cover $22,000 of the cost with the difference the result of depreciation and new equipment needed for the squad. The 2012-model vehicle was only in operation for a few months when it totaled last month.  Officer Brittany Borchardt was parked on the side of West Oak Street when 2000 Ford Explorer struck the rear of the squad car. Authorities arrested 41-year-old Chad Buelter the next morning at his Lake Sinissippi home. While not formally charged yet by the District Attorney’s Office, deputies charges Buelter with Hit-and-Run Causing Injury and Leaving the Scene of an Accident. The new model is expected to be delivered in the next month. Bosak says it’s badly needed as the police department is down to one squad car.

Kraft Foods Fined $36,900

5/9/12 - Kraft Foods has paid a fine of $36,900 for selling meat products that were lighter than the weights listed on the packages. The state’s consumer protection division announced the penalty Tuesday. Weights-and-measures inspectors said they found two dozen cases of short-weighted quantities in several Wisconsin stores between last August and February. The short-weight items include 11 packs of Oscar Mayer light beef franks, a dozen packages of Oscar Mayer roast beef, and one pack of Oscar Mayer roaster turkey breasts. Officials said Kraft was also penalized last July for selling under-sized packages – so the new penalties are higher than the minimums.

Wisconsin Whooping Cough Cases Top 2000

5/9/12 - Wisconsin is close to having two-thousand confirmed-and-probable cases of whooping cough so far this year. That’s well above last year, when just 158 cases were reported by now. The Dodge County Health Department was among the agencies late last year urging the public to get vaccinated. Beth Kaplan of the state Health Services Department says widespread outbreaks of pertussis have occurred throughout Wisconsin. It’s a highly-contagious disease that produces almost uncontrollable coughing, thus making it hard to breathe. Officials say whooping cough is especially dangerous for infants. State officials said one baby died from pertussis in February. And for most infants, pneumonia is the prime complication. Milwaukee alone had 54 cases of whooping cough in April, and six so far this month. Paul Biedrzycki (bid-zick-ee) of the Milwaukee Health Department says the city is not at epidemic proportions just yet – but he’s monitoring the situation very closely.