Top Stories December 22nd

Markesan-area Man Killed in Crash

12/22/08 - Snow, ice and speed are being blamed for the death of a 22-year-old Markesan-area man. The Sheriff’s Department tells us the man was driving south on Highway 73 late last night when he lost control of his truck near Highway G in the Town of Westford. The man entered the ditch and rolled over onto the passenger side of the vehicle. He was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing his seatbelt. The crash remains under investigation by the Dodge County Crash Investigation Team. The death is Dodge County’s 18th of the year.

Wind Chill Advisory Active until Noon, More Snow on the Way

12/22/08 - We remain under a wind chill advisory at this hour and the national weather service has also issued a winter storm watch. The current bone chilling cold will be accompanied with more snow late tonight through tomorrow evening, which snow totals between 3 and 6-inches. More snow is expected on Wednesday with possible accumulations of an additional 4 to 7 inches for southern Wisconsin. All the snow we’ve gotten has put us on pace to top last years record snowfall. In Beaver Dam, officials say we’ve received about 40-inches of snow putting us 10-inches in front of the record pace from last winter.

Accidents Aplenty

12/22/08 - Highway 41 saw its share of weather related accidents yesterday morning. Within a half-hour the State Patrol responded to two rollovers at the same location. Just after 8 a vehicle lost control and rolled their vehicle near 41’s intersection with Highway 67. There were minor injuries. Less than 25-minutes later a second rollover occurred at the same location, injuring two people. The Dodge County Sheriffs Department also dealt with its share of accidents. That includes an accident in which a car and a county plow truck collided. The accident occurred on Highway 41 in the Town of Theresa around 11:15am. The people in the car were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries. The Sheriffs Department says they also responded to dozens of runoffs during the day.

Train Strikes Skid Loader in Watertown

12/22/08 - A man was nearly injured when a train struck his skid loader on Friday afternoon in Watertown. The Watertown Police Department tells us the man was using the skid loader to clear snow when it got stuck on the tracks. However, he was able to exit the loader before the eastbound train collided with it. There were no injuries, but there was extensive damage to the loader and crossing sign, as well as the train. The accident took place just after 2:30pm and stalled traffic for a few hours.

Shaky Economy

12/22/08 - Wisconsin enters the holidays with an economy that hasn’t been this shaky in almost three decades. Dennis Winters, the state’s chief labor economist, says our economy will probably keep struggling through the coming year. But we won’t decline as much as other states that had more benefits from the recent economic expansion. Still, U-W Madison economist Menzie Chen says we’re going through quote, “The Great De-leveraging.” Chen says everyone from the typical homeowner to the bigger investment banks feel the after-effects of a borrowing rush that pushed home prices to levels that could not be sustained. Wisconsin had way fewer risky loans than other states – but it couldn’t shake off the problems from the country’s general economic meltdown.

Check the Prices

12/22/08 - As the final three days of Christmas shopping begin, state officials urge consumers to watch the price-scanners – and make sure they reflect those last-minute mark-downs. Judy Cardin of the state’s consumer protection agency says the busiest shopping days of the year also make it more likely for the wrong prices to be rung up. State inspectors check about three-percent of Wisconsin stores each year – and they take action when they find repeated problems. The Pamida department store chain was fined 50-thousand-dollars this year for its price-scanning over-charges. That was the highest fine among six major chains that were caught. Officials say most over-charges are not done on purpose. Mostly, they say stores don’t act fast enough to keep up with all the pricing changes – or take down sale-signs when they’re over. Last year, almost 40-percent of the stores inspected had scanning problems involving about four-percent of the total items checked.