Top Stories June 7th

Vote For Waterworks Park Project $100K Grant

6/7/12 - Beaver Dam’s Waterworks Park Project is in the running to win $100,000. For the third year, Coca-Cola is sponsoring the “America Is Your Park” campaign to and some park some where can win the title of “America’s Favorite Park” and a six-digit recreation grant. The park that secures the most online votes can get the top prize, second place is good for $50,000 and third place earns $25,000. Right now, the Waterworks Park Project is in tenth place nationwide. The Waterworks group is seeking to create Dodge County’s first all-inclusive park that children of all abilities can access. To vote, check out the Waterworks Park Project on Facebook, you can find links on our facebook page or go to www.livepositively.com. You can vote as many times as you want.

New Box Store Coming To Beaver Dam

6/7/12 - A new retail chain is coming to the Heritage Village Mall and Shops in Beaver Dam.  Developer Todd Hedberg announced Wednesday that Jo-Ann Fabrics, a specialty retailer of crafts and fabrics, will be setting up shop next to the Slumberland/Sears store. He says the store will have it’s own entrance and make up 15,000 square feet.  As for employment, the store will have five full-time management positions and another 25 to 30 part-time positions.  Hedberg says the store is just another step in the continued revival of the mall area and says they could add another big box store in the next six months or so.  Jo-Ann Fabrics is expected to open next February or March. 

Klodowski Pleads ‘Not Guilty’

6/7/12 - A Beaver Dam teen entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment yesterday to charges that he injured several passengers in a November drunken driving accident. Adam Klodowski was southbound on Thompson Road with five other teenage passengers around 11:30pm when the 18-year-old lost control near Highway 33 and rolled the vehicle into a ditch. Klodowski was one of the three ejected. The victims injuries included punctured lungs, bone fractures, broken backs and snapped vertebrae. Klodowski reportedly admitted to investigators at the scene that he had consumed six beers while driving in the truck. His blood alcohol level was allegedly point-one-two-two (.122). Klodowski is charged with four felonies and six misdemeanors, which – if he is convicted -- carry a combined maximum of 31-years in prison.

Columbus Looking at Demerit Points Ordinance

6/7/12 - The Columbus Council is discussing enforcement of the Demerit Points Ordinance. Some council members feel that an incident between bar patrons at “The Cage” last August was serious enough to consider revoking or suspending their liquor license. Bar owner Chad Purvis and operator Jolyne Meier have already paid fines in Municipal Court related to the incident. Cage attorney Rick Petri questioned the Police Chief Dan Meister’s assessment of 230 demerit points for the incident. The Council will meet again on June 19^th to decide what course of action to take on the licenses.

Democrats Control of the Senate Could Be Short-term

6/7/12 - Democrats say they’ll move ahead with some things but not others, as they plan to assume the majority in the state Senate for at least the next seven months. The Democrats needed to win one-of-four recall contests on Tuesday to take control at least until November, when half the Senate’s up for election. They appear to have defeated Racine Republican Van Wanggaard. But he has not conceded, after losing by just over one-percent to Democrat John Lehman. Wanggaard said his election was rife with voting irregularities and uncounted absentee ballots. And he’ll consider a recount after an official canvass which starts next Tuesday. But Senate G-O-P leader Scott Fitzgerald says Wanggaard’s 779-vote margin is a lot to overcome. He’ll wait and see what happens. But if Lehman wins, Fitzgerald promised full cooperation in handing control to the Democrats. Yesterday, Monona Democrat Mark Miller proclaimed himself as the new majority leader. He said one of his goals is to force a G-O-P minority to disclose records showing how they secretly drafted the new legislative districts to be used for the next decade. Technically, Democrats could claim committee chairmanships, larger offices, bigger staffs, and higher pay for aides with their newfound majority. But Madison Democrat Fred Risser, who could become the Senate’s president, said those things will probably wait until after November. The legislature isn’t expected to meet prior to the election.

Walker Moving Forward After Recall Attempt

6/7/12 - `Governor Scott Walker received a three-minute standing ovation from his Cabinet yesterday afternoon. He and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch circled the table in the Governor’s Conference Room and hugged the head of every state agency. The Republican Walker survived his recall challenge with a seven-percentage point victory over Democrat Tom Barrett. Walker said he spoke with Democratic legislative leaders and state public school Superintendent Tony Evers – and he offered to work with them to create jobs. Walker said he has a sense that most people want to move on from the politically-divisive recall effort. And he said he would not back down on his promise to create a quarter-million private sector jobs by the time his term is scheduled to end at the start of 2015. Walker said quote, “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, to get people of the state back to work.” After his initial comments, Walker met in private with the Cabinet.

Petri Coming to Dodge County

6/7/12 - Congressman Tom Petri will be in Dodge County next week as part of a series of Town Meetings. The Republican from Fond du Lac will be at the Horicon City Hall next Wednesday from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. He will then spend an hour at the Dodge County Administration Building beginning at 3:30pm. Later this month, US Senator Herb Kohl will hold office hours in Beaver Dam. No appointment is necessary to speak with Kohl’s Regional Representative on Monday, June 18 at the Beaver Dam Senior Center from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

DNR Sets Grey Wolf Hunt Quota

6/7/12 - The state D-N-R has set a preliminary quota of 142-to-233 grey wolves for the new hunting-and-trapping season that’s scheduled to begin in October. Wildlife manager Bill Vander Zouwen said his agency is trying to be conservative for the initial hunt, to make sure a long-time recovery of the grey wolf in the Badger State continues. The state had around 800 wolves as of last winter. The D-N-R’s recovery goal was 350 outside of Indian reservations. The Legislature and governor approved the wolf hunt earlier this year, after the animal was removed from the federal endangered species’ list. The season would run from mid-October through February in about the northern quarter of the state, as well as a zone in west central Wisconsin. The D-N-R is establishing seven wolf harvest zones. Public hearings are being held on the new season before it gets final approval from the Natural Resources Board.

Boy Killed While Sitting at Picnic Table

6/7/12 - A seven-year-old boy killed in a freak accident in Madison was identified yesterday as Aiden Mueller. Police said his family was eating dinner at a picnic table on Tuesday evening when a car left a nearby street, hit a tree, went airborne, and landed on the dinner table. It happened behind the First Business Bank Center where Aiden’s father Jonathan Mueller works. Police said the 59-year-old female driver might have suffered a medical condition at the time of the incident. That possibility is still being investigated. The 38-year-old Mueller and his four-year-old daughter Elizabeth both had non-life-threatening injuries. Jonathan’s 36-year-old wife Amy Mueller was critically injured, and was hospitalized in stable condition at last word.

Fake $20 Bill Surfaces in Beaver Dam

6/7/12 - A counterfeit $20 bill was passed at the Beaver Dam Kwik Trip on Tuesday evening. The Beaver Dam Police Department says the phony bill was used to pay for services at the North Spring Street location. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police. The bill has been turned over to the Secret Service for investigation.

Powerball Jumps Over $200M

6/7/12 - The Powerball jackpot has gone above 200-million-dollars for the second time this year. Nobody won the top prize last night. And again, players from Wisconsin did not have much luck. Two-hundred-dollars was the most anybody won in the Badger State, and eight tickets did that by getting the Power Play option and matching four regular numbers or three-plus-the-Powerball. Just over 14-thousand-400 Wisconsin players won something. About 75-hundred won four-bucks by matching the Powerball. Last night’s numbers were 19, 30, 33, 48, and 59. The Powerball was 27. Saturday’s jackpot is the biggest since a 325-million-dollar prize was won on February 11th. The cash option for Saturday is just under 140-million dollars. In Mega Millions, the jackpot is at 22-million dollars for tomorrow night.