Top Stories October 19th

Update 9 a.m. : Columbus Man Killed in Explosion At American Packaging

10/19/09 - Last night's explosion that killed a worker at American Packaging in Columbus was caused by sparks from a grinder being used by the victim. That's according to Columbus Fire Chief Randy Koehn. He says the explosion took place near a cleaning unit by dock door number eleven just before 6pm. Apparently the 47-year-old Columbus man was using a hand-held grinder to cut bolts out of the cement when sparks ignited some vapors. Columbus firefighters were able to put a minor fire out quickly. As they were searching the building they found the man and he was taken to the Columbus hospital where he was later pronounced dead. As a precaution a HazMat team was called in to conduct an air quality test but officials say the public was never in danger. The name of the worker killed is being withheld pending notification of family. The third shift was cancelled last night. In addition to Columbus Fire, other units responding included the Fall River and Beaver Dam Fire Departments, Fall River and Heartline Medix EMS, Columbus Police Department, Columbus Emergency Management, and the Portage Fire Hazmat Level B Unit.

Authorities Searching for West Bend Woman

10/19/09 - Authorities in Washington County were looking for a 39-year-old woman, after her car was found partially-submerged in the Milwaukee River. Officers and rescue divers were looking yesterday for Kathy Van Altena. She was last seen leaving a tavern in Fillmore about two yesterday morning. She placed a call on her cell phone about a half-hour later - and that was the last anyone heard from her. Officers said her car went off a two-lane bridge into the river. The keys were not left in the vehicle.

Weekend Accidents Injure Three

10/19/09 - Three injures were reported in three separate accidents on Dodge County roadways this weekend. A 17-year-old was transported to Hartford Hospital after a one-vehicle rollover accident just before noon Saturday on County Road AY in the Town of Theresa. A Beaver Dam man was injured after running off the roadway on County Road G in the Town of Beaver Dam just after 6pm Saturday. The 20-year-old was transported to the beaver Dam Community Hospital for treatment of injures and ticketed for his first OWI. A Madison man was arrested for his second OWI Friday night after a rollover accident on Highway 151 in the Town of Chester around 6:20pm. A 55-year-old Iowa woman sustained minor injuries and was transported to the Beaver Dam Community Hospital.

Dorn Sentenced in Embezzlement Case

10/19/09 - A Rio woman will spend one day in jail on federal bank embezzlement charges. Kari Dorn was also ordered to pay $32,000 in restitution after taking money from Forest Products Laboratory Credit Union in Madison. The 44-year-old served at the credit union's president in 2005 and 2006. Federal officials say Dorn manipulated credit union accounts to artificially inflate her own account balance and spent that money on personal expenses. The embezzlement was discovered in an audit conducted after Dorn left the bank in 2007.

Missing Person's Alert Still in Effect

10/19/09 - A missing person's alert remains in effect for a West Bend woman who hasn't been seen since reporting a domestic abuse incident involving her new husband. Stephanie Fischer was last seen on October 6 with Dennis Moe, who is considered armed and dangerous. Fischer is a 31-year-old Caucasian with blond hair, blue eyes, five-feet ten inches tall, 180lbs with a rose tattoo on her back. Moe drives a grey, 2006 Dodge Charger. Anyone with information is asked to contact the West Bend Police Department or the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Persons at 800-The HOPE.

Small Businesses Still Having Problems Getting Credit

10/19/09 - Wisconsin's small businesses and their customers still find it hard to get credit, more than a year after the markets tumbled. U-S House Republican Paul Ryan of Janesville says it's the biggest problem in the economy right now. He says small-and-medium-sized businesses need bank loans to get the recovery started - but banks won't lend it to them until they see things get better. Marquette professor Joe Daniels calls it a chicken-and-egg problem for small firms which rely on bank financing. But Kurt Bauer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association says it's wrong to portray his members as the bad guys. He said banks used to have only a quarter of the nation's available credit. Many non-banking options have dried up, and Bauer says it's impossible for banks to fill the gap so quickly.

Troops and Families Watch Packer Game Together...Sort Of

10/19/09 - About 22-hundred people watched yesterday's Packer game in Madison - while they could see their loved ones in Iraq watching the game on a video hook-up. The volunteer group "Serving the 32nd" put on the event called "Tailgating with the Troops" for Wisconsin soldiers and their families back home. Over three-thousand members of the National Guard's 32nd Red Arrow Brigade are among the Wisconsin troops in Iraq. They watched the game from eight locations. The computer and video arrangements also offered private time for many of the troops and their relatives. The Wisconsin Badger marching band performed on Madison's end. And the Packers filmed a short video providing well-wishes to both the troops and their families. The Packers provided the happy ending for the day, as they crushed Detroit 26-to-nothing.

Windmills in Lake Michigan? It's a Possibility

10/19/09 - There's been talk about putting high-tech windmills in Lake Michigan - and now, a Michigan college will find out how well it works. The federal government gave one-point-four million dollars to Grand Valley State University of Allendale to do research into wind turbines. And by next fall, the school plans to install a platform on Lake Michigan to see how much electricity a turbine can generate. The idea has been discussed in Wisconsin, but not for awhile. Governor Jim Doyle's Task Force on Global Warming suggested wind turbines in Lake Michigan early last year to take advantage of the strong winds on the water. At the time, three private groups were said to be considering projects in which up to 600 turbines would be put into the big lake off Wisconsin shores.

Fall Colors Reach Their Peak in Our Area

10/19/09 - Fall colors are at their peak in much of our area. According to travelwisconsin.com, autumn is in full force in Columbia, Dane, Washington and Dodge Counties. Ashland, Sawyer and Price Counties are already past their peak. Meanwhile, fall colors are still a week or two away from peaking in Jefferson County and places south; it could be even longer in Kenosha County. The change is a bit later this year than normal, perhaps because of the year-long dry spell in much of the north.