Top Stories, December 5th

White Christmas In Beaver Dam

12/5/10 - The holiday season was ushered in this weekend as hundreds upon hundreds of people flooded the streets of downtown Beaver Dam to enjoy a fresh snowfall and a variety of activities. The Beaver Dam Chamber held their annual Holiday Open House and Downtown Tree Lighting with cocoa and cookies. The Spruce on Spring in front of the Chamber was lit by Mayor Tom Kennedy. The holiday parade got underway not long after with around 40 entries. Today, the Salvation Army is hosting their new “Red Kettle Concert” beginning at 4pm in the Beaver Dam High School Auditorium. The 90-minute concert will feature the Beaver Dam Middle School Jazz Choir, the High School SWAZZ group and vocal choirs from three area churches.

Accidents Blamed on Weather

12/5/10 - Several traffic accidents are blamed on a heavy snowfall in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, but authorities say they aren't dealing with any major issues. Areas south of the Twin Cities got 10 to 12 inches of snow. Most of southwest Wisconsin got six to eight inches, but Grant County measured 10 and a half inches, while more than nine inches was recorded in Vernon County. Closer to home, four inches was reported in Jefferson while Oconomowoc got 3.2 inches. Green Lake measured 3.5 inches while Beaver Dam was just over three inches. The snow could remain on the ground for a few days since freezing temperatures are expected for a few days. Highs shouldn't get out of the 20s for some time.

Snowmobile Fatality in Washington County

12/5/10 - Washington County investigators say an adult driver lost control of a snowmobile Saturday, causing an accident that killed a seven year old boy. The victim was riding with the adult in a neighbor’s backyard when the snowmobile flipped over. Both were injured, with the adult's injuries considered to be non life-threatening. Crash investigators say speed likely was a factor and neither person was wearing a helmet when the accident happened in the town of Polk.

Hengel Memorial Today

12/5/10 - A memorial service will be held Sunday for Sam Hengel, the Marinette High School student who held a class hostage for five hours before killing himself. The service begins at one Sunday afternoon at the Blesch Auditorium in Menominee Michigan, just across the river from Marinette. Visitations begin at 11 Sunday morning. The family has set up a memorial fund at Bank Mutual in Marinette. Part of the proceeds will go toward suicide prevention programs. Authorities and Hengel’s family say they may never know what caused Monday’s hostage incident. Police said it would take about two weeks to finish their investigation. The findings will then go to Marinette County District Attorney Allen Brey (bry), who will decide if anyone should be charged. Meanwhile, the teacher who was held hostage with her students – Valerie Burd – has not returned to school since classes resumed Wednesday. Officials have not said when she might come back. Many people have called Burd a hero for keeping both Hengel and the students calm during the ordeal.

Superior Targets Fast Food Toys

12/5/10 - A city councilor in Superior is proposing limiting free toys that are given out in fast food meals to kids. If a kiddie meal has more than 10-percent fat, this proposal would mean no free Shrek dolls or Beanie Babies in the Superior city limits. City Councilor Greg Mertzig says his proposal is similar to ordinances already passed in San Francisco. He compares free toys along with fatty meals to candy cigarettes. “It was a marketing tactic by the tobacco industry to get kids to think it was cool to smoke at a very young age, develop these lethal habits at a very young age,” says Mertzig. “To a lesser extent, these toys in their Happy Meals kind of do the same thing. They reward kids and get them to think that it’s the okay thing to do at a very young age.” Mertzig, an Iraqi and Afghanistan War veteran, says obesity is a serious issue for the nation and young people. The proposal gets a first reading next week. It would ban free toys in meals with more than 600 calories, 10-percent fat and can’t have any trans fat. It could also require fruits or vegetables.

Kennedy Holds Listening Sessions

12/5/10 - Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy has listening sessions scheduled for Tuesday. Kennedy says city residents are invited to meet with him, one-on-one, without appointment on the first and third Tuesday of every month. He says it is important that constituents have the opportunity to speak with him the day after each regular meeting of the common council. The meetings are held in Room 109 on the first floor of City Hall from 10am until noon and again from 5pm to 6pm. Kennedy also makes himself available for private meetings by appointment by contacting the mayor office.

Cheese Production Up Slightly

12/5/10 - Wisconsin’s cheese production went up slightly in October, compared to the same month a year ago. The Badger State made almost 225-million pounds of cheese, but second-place California caught up a little. The Golden State produced about 183-million pounds, which is four-and-a-half percent more than the year before. Both California and Wisconsin had healthy increases in Italian cheeses, while both had declines in their American and Cheddar products. Nationally, October cheese production rose three-and-a-half percent from the year before. The total was almost 893-million pounds.

Janesville Losing More Jobs

12/5/10 - The Janesville area loses another 75 jobs when Norwood Promotional Products shuts down its plant. Work done at that plant is being moved to the company's operation in Red Wing, Minnesota. Promotional products like pens and mugs are made at the Janesville manufacturing facility. The company says it is streamlining its processing and taking advantage of its excess capacity in Minnesota. Employees losing their jobs can apply for other positions within the company.

St. Croix Bridge Progress Stalls

12/5/10 - The National Park Service changes its mind and stalls progress on a bridge across the St. Croix River. Federal officials say the river is protected by the U.S. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and only Congress can clear the way for the 668 million dollar project. Backers plan to take their case to Washington next month. They say the new bridge is needed to address problems with heavy traffic in downtown Stillwater and the rapid population growth in the region. The Park Service had supported the idea in 2005, but changed its stance when a recent analysis suggested the bridge would, quoting here, "forever change the look of the river." Before the Park Service reversed its approval, Minnesota had hoped to start work on the bridge in 2013.

Fiscal Commission Approved Budget Plan

12/5/10 - President Obama’s fiscal commission voted Friday to approve a plan to cut federal deficits, but it’s future is uncertain. The proposal would cut federal deficits by almost four trillion dollars over the next decade, but it needed 14 votes from the commission to get immediate congressional action. It got just 11. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is one member of the commission who voted no. The Janesville Republican said, while there were some thing he likes about the plan, it has one fundamental flaw – it doesn’t sufficiently fix the health care problem. Ryan says the country’s debt problem is the health care problem. He cited new numbers from the Government Accounting Office, indicating an 88-point-6 trillion dollar unfunded liability, primarily stemming from federal health care programs. Ryan said the proposal doesn’t adequately address that.

Feingold- Johnson Races Breaks Record

12/5/10 - Ron Johnson and Russ Feingold spent a combined 27-million-dollars this year on their U-S Senate race – the most by far for any congressional contest in Wisconsin history. New federal election reports show that Feingold’s Democratic campaign spent 13-million-dollars since January first to try-and-keep the post he’ll be leaving next month after 18 years in office. Johnson’s Republican camp spent around 14-million-dollars on their winning effort – and that includes eight-point-seven million of Johnson’s own money. The Oshkosh businessman had also raised about six-million from others. The combined spending was almost twice that of Feingold’s last contest in 2004, when he and Republican Tim Michels spent a total of almost 15-million dollars in a two-year period. In 1988, when Senate Democrat Herb Kohl was first elected, he and Republican Sue Engeleiter spent a combined 10-million – and a lot of that was Kohl’s own money.

Combat Ship Launched in Northern Wisconsin

12/5/10 - Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger christened the USS Fort Worth in northern Wisconsin Saturday by smashing a bottle of champagne across its bow. Then, the new littoral combat ship was launched into the Menominee River. The ship was built at Marinette Marine as part of a major defense contract. It was named after the major Texas city, the Navy says, since Fort Worth has a long history of supporting U.S. armed forces. There's more work to be done. The ship will continue to be outfitted and tested before it is delivered to the Navy in 2012.