Top Stories, July 25th

Columbia County Assessing Storm Damage

7/25/10 - Emergency Management officials in Columbia County are assessing the damage that resulted from the recent round of heavy rains. Emergency Management Director Patrick Beghin says the current flooding conditions experienced in some communities have caused damage to some residence and property. Columbia County Emergency Management is conducting a preliminary damage assessment and is asking those who have damage from the flooding to contact their offices. Contact information is available on our website. Flood clean up kits will also be available upon request.

Call 608-742-4166 ext 1309 or ext. 1308 and report the damage. They are asking for assistance in the damage assessment and require the following information: The address of the property; How high the water came into the structure. Basement flooding, sewer backup ect; If it is a seasonal or permanent residence; Estimated dollar amount of damage; If you had flood insurance.

Officials in Columbus dodged a bullet this weekend. With heavy rain in the forecast, officials were taking precautions Friday night and Saturday morning with sandbagging efforts, and there was talk of closing River Road if they got the amount of rain predicted. That didn’t happen. Public Information Officer Jerrod Fox says all roads are open, and there does not appear to be any major flooding concerns. Columbus officials are also reminding residents that they can stay up to date with what’s going on by registering at nixle.com. The Nixle system allows for the city to send warnings via email or text message.

Milwaukee County Storm Damage At $28 Million

7/25/10 - Milwaukee County emergency management officials put the storm damage from Thursday's heavy rain and flooding at 28 million dollars. Nearly six inches of rain fell in less than two hours. The damage has led Governor Jim Doyle to declare a state of emergency in the county. The National Weather Service has confirmed four tornadoes in that storm. More storms Saturday hit Argyle in southwestern Wisconsin with 4-point-4 inches of rain. Darlington got 3-point-9. Seven inches of rain fell in Chicago and in eastern Iowa the New Delhi dam failed, causing the water level to drop 45 feet and threatening the nearby town of Hopkinton.

B&E At Mischler’s Highway 33

7/25/10 - Someone broke into Mischler’s Highway 33 Power Center in the Town of Beaver Dam this weekend. According to the Dodge County Sheriffs Department, the breaking and entering was reported yesterday morning and the break-in would have occurred after business hours Friday night or yesterday morning. The Mischler’s Highway 33 Power Center is located at N8077 Highway 33. A window was broken to gain access and approximately $150 worth of items was stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dodge County Sheriffs Department or the anonymous We-Tip hotline at 800-78-CRIME.

Unemployment Payments On Their Way

7/25/10 - Approval of additional unemployment benefits from Congress will immediately help dislocated workers in Rock County. Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development named Beloit as the city with the highest unemployment rate in the state. According to DWD, Wisconsin has over 66,000 individuals whose payments ended as a result of the earlier expiration of the programs and it will take several days to make payment to those individuals. The jobless rate in Dodge County sits at 8.2%, just a click above the statewide average of 8.1%. Jefferson County is at 8.8%, while Washington County is 7.9%. Columbia County is at 7.5%.

Factory Jobs Increase

7/25/10 - A statewide group that gives advice to factories said it helped create 337 jobs in Wisconsin last year, and kept another 636 jobs from being eliminated. The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership said 264 companies asked for its help. The partnership’s director, Mike Klonsinski, said his group often tried to strengthen small manufacturers to keep them from dying in the recession. He said many firms diversified their product lines to attract new customers, even while seeing reductions in orders for their established items. In past years, Klonsinski said his group helped create more jobs than they helped retain. But in 2009, he said the goal was to preserve what the state has. The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership has 45 employees with an eight-million-dollar annual budget.

Oil Refinery For Sale

7/25/10 - Would you like to own an oil refinery? The only one in Wisconsin is offered for sale by Murphy Oil Corporation. Murphy’s Board of Directors has approved plans for exiting the refining businesses to focus on “Upstream” retail sales. Murphy reports it anticipates selling the operation in Superior -- and two others -- in the first quarter of next year. Murphy employs over 150 people at the Superior Refinery, which began operating in 1950. The company also has terminals in several Wisconsin communities, including Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay.

Republican Candidacy Called Into Question By GOP

7/25/10 - The chairman of the Republican Party of Manitowoc County, sees a problem with the candidacy of Andrew Wisniewski, a GOP candidate in the state’s 25th Assembly District. Don Zimmer says the party thinks Wisniewski is not really a Republican and that this is a ploy by the Democrats to take votes away from incumbent Bob Ziegelbaur who recently left the Democratic Party to declare himself an Independent. This week the Government Accountability Board ruled Wisniewski did not have enough valid signatures to be on the ballot, but reversed itself the next day. Zimmer finds fault with the Wisniewski campaign, saying their treating the political process like it’s a joke.

Wisconsin Congressional Seats Projected Unchanged

7/25/10 - Congressional seats get reapportioned among the states every decade to make sure that they're roughly equal in population. Some states end up losing seats. Some states gain. At a forum on redistricting, UW-Madison Political Science Professor Ken Mayer said that won't happen to Wisconsin this year. He puts the odds of gaining or losing a seat at zero. Mayer says you can predict reapportionment fairly well into the future based on population trends. He says “the places that will lose seats are probably states in the northeast and the rust belt and the states that gain are Florida, Texas, California. But the Census Bureau uses a very set determined formula and Wisconsin is nowhere close to where it would need to be to lose a seat."

Zimmerman Family Drops Wrongful Death Claim

7/25/10 - The family of a murdered U-W Madison student now says it will not pursue a wrongful death claim against Dane County. Instead, relatives of Brittany Zimmermann will try to show that the county was responsible for emotional distress she suffered before she died. The 21-year-old Zimmermann, who’s from Marshfield, was stabbed and strangled in her Madison apartment in April of 2008. Her family said Dane County’s dispatch center botched a 9-1-1 call Zimmermann made just before she died – and police never responded until her fiancée called later on. A judge delayed the wrongful death suit three weeks ago until police could finish its investigation. They’re still looking for Zimmermann’s killer. Family attorney Robert Elliott said the family had to make a choice between the wrongful death and the emotional distress claims. He would not be more specific. The family is also suing the owner of Zimmermann’s apartment building, saying more should have been done to guard her safety. A trial in the case is set for December. Yesterday, a state appeals court said Zimmermann’s fiancée – Jordan Gonnering – could not be part of the family’s legal action because he’s not directly related.

Milwaukee Police Officers Caught In Sting

7/25/10 - Two Milwaukee police officers are caught in a federal sting and are now accused of covering for drug dealers. Sergeant Royce Lockett and officer Paul Hill will have a hearing soon to decide whether they qualify for a court-appointed attorney. Lockett is accused of helping the dealer when he said he was having problems with a vehicle he was using to transport at least 500 grams of cocaine. If convicted, Lockett could get up to 40 years in prison. Hill could spend up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of helping conceal the proceeds of an alleged drug deal.

Whooping Crane Chicks Unaccounted For

7/25/10 - Five of the seven whooping crane chicks that were hatched this year in a central Wisconsin wildlife refuge have apparently died, but the crane migration will go ahead this fall. The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership has had trouble getting the cranes to reproduce in the wild at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. This spring, seven crane chicks hatched, but the International Crane Foundation says one of the young birds has been found dead, and a federal team is trying to determine the cause. Crane Foundation spokeswoman Joan Garland says four other chicks are missing, possibly killed by coyotes, raccoons, eagles or other species. She says if the two remaining chicks survive, it's hoped they will be among the 24 birds migrating south for the first time this fall, either behind older cranes or ultra light aircraft.