Top Stories February 15th

Time Running Out for BDUSD to Make Decision on Referendum

2/15/10 - It’s getting down to crunch time for the Beaver Dam School Board as they debate whether to put a referendum to district voters to help pay for a number of maintenance projects. In its current state, the district is asking for 15-million-dollars, though other options are expected to be discussed at their meeting tonight. If there is to be a referendum on the April 6th ballot, the board must vote on adding it no less than 45-days in advance. That leaves them until the end of the week to make a decision. The board meets at 6:30 at the Educational Service Center.

Dodge County Fair Acts Announced

2/15/10 - Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler and Eric Church will headline the 2010 Dodge County Fair. In addition, Tesla will be on the grandstand stage Friday for rock night. The cost to enter the fair before 2pm will stay at $6, the same price as last year. After 2pm, the charge will go up one dollar this year to $10. Season tickets will remain unchanged: $25 in advance or $30 closer to the fair. Kids under age 9 are free. There is no additional charge for the grandstand acts or parking. There will also be an increase in some camping prices for prime spots closer the grandstand. The Dodge County Fair will be held August 18th through the 22nd at the fairgrounds.

2010 Spring Primaries

Polls Open at 7am tomorrow morning.

Mayoral

(Waupun) Three mayoral candidates are on the Waupun primary ballot tomorrow. Current Alderman Jim Van Buren says his goal as mayor would be to keep property taxes low by controlling spending. Van Buren says that was done this year by going through the budget line-by-line and eliminating wasteful spending. Incumbent Mayor Jodi Steger says the city tax levy has gone down 2.6% during her time in office, while the tax rate has gone down 3.9%. Steger says the city was also able to complete three municipal expansions last year with no property tax increase. Businessmen Jay Graf says Waupun’s recent investment in municipal infrastructure returns no real economic value. Graff says the money should have been directed to economic development and job creation. You can hear our complete conversation with the candidates for Waupun Mayor during our Community Comment program this afternoon at 12:35pm.

(Juneau) Four candidates are competing in the Juneau mayoral primary. Incumbent Mayor Ron Bosak says he has many things he wants to accomplish in his third term and wants to continue to working for all the citizens in the city. Jim Ronge previously served as both an alderman and EMS Coordinator and is president of the Dodge County Emergency Medical Services Association. Ronge says he doesn’t like the way things have been going the past several years and he says there are long-term financial problems that need to be addressed. Third Ward Aldermen Clarence “Butch” Chase is currently the chairman of the finance committee. Chase says he is running to give to current mayor some competition and he says there needs to be more guidance in the city’s financial matters. Dan Jahnke is in his fifth term as Alderman and serves the city’s First Ward. Jahnke says he can provide the leadership, direction, and teamwork that can get the city back on track.

City Council Races

(Fox Lake) In Fox Lake three candidates are looking to fill the seat of Dan Bednarek who is not running for another term. They are Russell Grueneberg, Dennis P. Linke, and Jason Harmsen. Two candidates will move onto the election in April.

(Mayville) In Mayville, Trevor Jones, Scott Mastalish, Tom Bellino are running for the Ward 1 seat on the city council. The top two vote getters will appear on the April 6th ballot.

School District Races

(Waupun) In Waupun, four candidates are running for the seat representing the Town of Alto and Trenton. They include incumbent Lori Lemmenes, Linda Voight, Jamie Marwitz and Bill Bruins.

(Fall River) In Fall River, there are five candidates running for two open positions. They are incumbent Leroy Dieckoff, Steve Bader, Todd Brumm, David Brozek, and Diane Weiner. The top four candidates will advance to the April 6th election.

4th District Court of Appeals

(Countywide) There are three candidates vying for the open seat on Wisconsin’s Fourth District Court of Appeals, which is comprised of 24 counties, including Dodge, Columbia and Jefferson and counties west. We recently had the opportunity to speak with all three candidates about the role they believe public and private funding should play in a judicial race. Richland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Leineweber says the judicial election should be broadly supported by numerous smaller contributors who together get enough “critical mass for their client’s message to get out.” La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge Roberta Gonzales says she has been a strong supporter of public financing and “its time to change how judges are elected,” which is why Gonzales says she is not accepting institutional endorsements. Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard says his campaign is remaining “independent” by not accepting any special interest money and Blanchard says he also put a limit on personal contributions. The three are competing in next Tuesday’s primary for a place on the April ballot.

DNR to do Study on Thrill Killings

2/15/10 - The state D-N-R says more young people in Wisconsin are killing wildlife just for the thrill of it – and researchers at U-W Green Bay will find out why. Researchers will survey about 500 U-W-G-B students to learn their attitudes on animals and the hunting culture. And game warden Chuck Horn, who’s also working on the study, says 13 thrill-killers have agreed to be interviewed to say what motivated them. D-N-R chief Warden Randy Stark says surveys have shown an increase in such killings, and more people are shooting game with no plans to eat or mount them. One of those high profile incidents happened in the Beaver Dam area when at least 15 teens were arrested for allegedly clubbing raccoons, muskrats, and possums to death last year. The faculty members hope to release their findings by this summer.

Assembly to Hold Hearing this Week on Rep. Wood Expulsion

2/15/10 - A state Assembly committee will begin a hearing on Wednesday to decide whether to recommend the expulsion of Representative Jeff Wood. But Wood’s lawyer is not sure if the case can be resolved before next January – when the Chippewa Falls Independent will voluntarily leave after his term ends. An Assembly resolution seeks to make Wood the second lawmaker in history, and the first in 93 years, to be expelled by his colleagues. But defense lawyer John Hyland questions whether Wood can be expelled for conduct not related to his legislative duties. And he’ll pose a host of procedural questions. Wood is not running for re-election, but he refuses to quit the Assembly after facing O-W-I charges in three counties, including Columbia.

Billboard in Oshkosh Asks for Obama Impeachment

2/15/10 - A new billboard in Oshkosh urges Congress to impeach President Obama. An undisclosed company rented the billboard on the Highway 41 expressway for at least six months. It says quote, “Impeach Obama – America’s small businesses are failing, help us spread the message.” An attorney for the firm that rented the billboard says there’s a sentiment that Washington politics are bad for small companies. It will cost a-thousand-dollars a month to keep the message up. Jeff Hall, who chairs the county Democrats in Oshkosh, says a bad opinion about the president does not mean that an impeachable offense has been committed. The new sign comes a few days after one in Minnesota which asks if people miss former President Bush.

WI Resident Wins $1M in Powerball

2/15/10 - Somebody in northeast Wisconsin won a million dollars playing Powerball. A ticket sold in Green Bay matched all five regular numbers in Saturday’s drawing to win the 200-thousand dollar second prize. And because the Power Play option was bought, it was automatically multiplied by five – even though a multiplier of four was drawn. The ticket holder has 180 days to claim the prize – and it won’t be done today, because the Lottery office is closed due to a state furlough day. The jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing will be 40-million dollars, with a cash option of just under 20-million.