Top Stories, July 10th

Oconomowoc Pair Injured in Rocky Mountain Crash

7/10/10 - A single-engine airplane that crashed in a remote section of Rocky Mountain National Park was carrying two people from Oconomowoc. Officials say 54-year-old Jim Michaels and his 18-year-old daughter Tonie were on board. They say both occupants of the small plane suffered only minor injuries. That plane crashed in Forest Canyon. Michaels and his daughter used trees and debris from the aircraft to build a shelter while they waited to be rescued. The plane crashed midday Thursday and rescue crews were able to reach them Friday morning.

Flight For Life Called In Jefferson County Wreck

7/10/10 - Flight For Life transported two people from the scene of a car versus motorcycle accident last night in Jefferson County. According to Sheriff Paul Milbrath, the crash occurred just after 7:30pm on US Highway 18 in Sullivan. Brian Hartig of Waukesha was eastbound on Highway 18 in a 1971 Corvette when he entered the westbound lanes to pass another vehicle and struck the motorcycle head-on. Neither passenger on Harley Davidson was wearing a helmet. Timothy Thiel of Jefferson and Jody Orchel of West Allis were flown to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee while Hartig was transported by ambulance to Aurora Hospital in Oconomowoc. The extent of their injuries was not immediately available. The accident remains under investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department Crash Investigation Unit.

Drug Drop-Off This Morning

7/10/10 - A prescription drug collection will be held in Horicon this morning. Prescription drugs should be kept out of the water supply and landfills. Authorities say the availability of prescription medications can also be a stepping stone for youth into harder drugs. In addition, it’s one of the most common items stolen in residential burglaries. The Kiwanis Club is sponsoring the event and also has two more planned this month in Fox Lake and Beaver Dam. There will another collection in Beaver Dam this September as part of the Clean Sweep program. This morning’s drug drop-off is from 9am to noon at the Safety Building inside the Horicon Fire Department, organizers say look for the signs.

BD Considers Real Estate Purchase

7/10/10 - City officials in Beaver Dam are considering another real estate purchase. The Operations and Administrative Committees will be asked to consider the purchase of the duplex on Henry Street directly east of the fire station. The Polcie and Fire Commission this week agreed to advance the request for consideration by elected officials after Mayor Tom Kennedy and Fire Chief Alan Mannel says the purchase could allow for future expansion of the fire department. The city already owns a rental property on Washington Avenue, directly east of the municipal building parking lot where current police and fire facilities are located. With plans now in place to build a new police station on Park Avenue, that rental property may no longer be needed. Mayor Kennedy says he thinks the city could be around $100,000 if they sell the house on Washington Street and he believes they could purchase the house on Henry Street for around $75,000. If it is acquired, the next step would be for city officials to determine if they need to raze the structure or continue renting out the property until plans are in place for expansion of the fire department.

DOT Hosting High Speed Rail Meeting In Watertown

7/10/10 - Engineers with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation say work on a high speed rail route between Milwaukee and Madison is continuing and more than 50 million dollars may be spent by the end of the year. DOT engineer John Oimoen says he hopes the bridge construction will start by October. The department has just scheduled a meeting in Watertown next week to discuss the station site there, but there remains skepticism about the 800 million dollar high-speed rail effort. Brookfield State Senator Ted Kanavas says he doesn't think a passenger train going between 79 and 110 miles an hour will be much of an option for travelers. The Wisconsin DOT says it plans to have the rail line running by 2013, although Republican candidates for governor are threatening to halt work on the project if they're elected this fall.

Feds Donate 3300 Acres To Wisconsin

7/10/10 - The state of Wisconsin gets more than 18 hundred acres of land from the federal government. It was once the home of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The land was cleaned by the U.S. Army and donated by the National Parks Service at no cost to the state, will be available for public use. Another 1,500 acres will be donated to the state in the coming years when the Army completes its clean up efforts. In total, Wisconsin will receive more than 3,300 acres of new public land to create the Sauk Prairie Recreation Area, connecting Devil’s Lake State Park to the Wisconsin River.

Wisconsin Debt Projection: $2.5B

7/10/10 - Wisconsin’s next governor will inherit a serious debt. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau reports state government will be two and a half billion dollars short of what it needs to meet current spending commitments in the next budget, which begins next July. A year ago, the next deficit was projected to be around two billion, meaning it has grown by 462 million dollars. That’s because revenue from new taxes-and-fees in the current budget won’t grow as quickly as first expected and because state lawmakers approved additional spending just before they ended their legislative session in March. To cut the deficit, the next governor and Legislature would have to make deep spending cuts – raise taxes-and-fees – or do both, as Governor Jim Doyle and his Democratic majority did last year. All three candidates for governor have promised to make state government leaner if they’re elected.

Barrett Hand Surgery Tuesday

7/10/10 - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will undergo the latest round of surgery on his hand next Tuesday. Barrett injured that hand when he was assaulted outside State Fair Park last year. The surgery comes just a week and a half before Barrett is scheduled to testify at the sentencing of his attacker, 21 year old Anthony Peters. Prosecutors are recommending Peters get a sentence on nine years. He beat Barrett with a tire iron last August as the mayor tried to help a West Allis woman who was calling for help. Barrett's right hand was shattered and several teeth were knocked out. Tuesday's procedure is aimed at improving movement in Barrett's hand and fingers. He is running for governor as a Democrat and often uses his left hand to shake hands. The mayor says he has limited movement in the hand, but it doesn't cause him pain.

Neumann Would Repeal Smoking Ban

7/10/10 - Former Congressman Mark Neumann says the state’s smoking ban is a case of “government overstepping where they should be” and he’ll take steps to repeal the measure if he’s elected governor. Neumann says he’s not a fan of smoke-filled rooms, so the ban is desirable to him, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. He says business owners and citizens should be able to make their own decisions. For the people who get sick around cigarette smoke, Neumann says they should just find another place to go. Neumann also downplayed the decades of research showing that cigarette smoking is dangerous. He says driving down the street and plenty of other activities can be dangerous, but people should be smart enough to make their own decisions about behavior that could be detrimental to their health.

Lake Superior Water Temps Above Normal

7/10/10 - It's not quite Miami Beach, but the waters of normally frigid Lake Superior are about 20 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. The University of Minnesota-Duluth's Large Lakes Observatory reports those temperatures may set records this summer. That's good news for people who want to swim in the usually chilly waters, but the long-term implications aren't clear yet. Water temperature in recent days has been measured at 59 degrees. Normal is 39 degrees. Scientists at the university say climate change is responsible for the difference. They say Lake Superior is responding to the global climate shifts as clearly as any location on Earth.