Top Stories July 2nd

Record Heat Blasts Wisconsin

7/2/11 - For the second time in less than a month nearly all of Wisconsin saw record high temperatures yesterday. The high temps in the south central part of the state peaked in the upper 80’s and mid 90’s but high humidity made it feel even warmer as the heat index climbed into the 98 to 107-degree range. Watertown hit 91-degrees but with the humidity it felt like 102-degrees. Portage saw a high temp of 94-degrees with a heat index of 106-degrees. It only got up to 87-degrees in Juneau, two degrees short of the record of 89 degrees set back in 1975. But it was hot enough that the pavement on Highway 151 northbound near Gunn Road in Beaver Dam buckled forcing authorities to close down one lane for about 2-hours for repairs. The warmest temps and heat indices were seen in the western part of the state. It was 99 degrees in Boscobel at four o’clock – and the humidity made it feel like 112. La Crosse had 98 degrees and it felt like 115-degrees, while places as far north as Hayward were putting up with temps in the mid-90’s. It’s going to be warm again today but not as hot as yesterday.

Southeast Continues Clean-up Process

7/2/11 - Crews worked through the night trying to restore power to thousands of people who lost their electric service when a storm swept through Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties Thursday night. As of last night, more than 30 thousand customers had their service restored, but about 85 hundred were still in the dark. We Energies got help from out-of-state contractor crews, with a goal of having all outages in Kenosha County fixed by midnight tonight. The storm killed one person and seriously injured another. A tree fell on a 31 year old motorcycle rider in Kenosha, killing him. A Pleasant Prairie woman broke her hip when debris hit her. Carthage College in Kenosha reported more than two dozen trees knocked down. A wind gauge at Racine's Batten International Airport registered a wind gust at 82 miles per hour.

Walker to Sign Concealed Weapons Bill

7/2/11 - Governor Scott Walker will sign the concealed weapons bill one week from yesterday – and it will take effect this fall. The Republican Walker has scheduled a ceremony for next Friday afternoon in Wausau. That’s the home city of freshman Senate Republican Pam Galloway, who authored a much less restrictive package than what the governor was eventually willing to accept. Galloway had pushed for the so-called “constitutional carry,” with no requirement for gun training -- no need to get a state permit with a very limited exception – and as few places as possible where guns would automatically be restricted. Walker will sign a bill that tightened up standards on all those counts. It requires state permits and training, and it adds more government-owned places where concealed weapons will automatically be banned. Private businesses can post signs to ban concealed carry – but they might end up being liable in the event of a shooting on their property. A key Republican leader says it has not turned out to be a problem in other states. Wisconsin will end a 140-year ban on concealed weapons. That leaves Illinois as the only state not to allow some form of hidden guns.

Big Reductions for Schools Revealed

7/2/11 - Wisconsin school districts got the news they were bracing for Friday morning – the amount of state aid they’ll lose under the new state budget. All but 14 of the 424 districts in the Badger State will lose at least some money. They’ll share about four-point-two billion dollars in general aid from Madison – down eight-point-four percent from last year. Most districts in our area will lose between 4.9% and 10.1% from 2010-2011 school year and this coming school year. The Beaver Dam School District will see about $1.4-million less while the school system in Watertown is looking at a $2.3-million reduction. But officials in Milwaukee County and Racine schools say their reductions will be even bigger. That’s because more students will leave the public systems – and take their state aid with them – when they go to private schools this fall under the expansion of the state’s voucher program. There was talk at a recent Racine School Board meeting about doing whatever they could under the law to raise local property taxes to cover some of the loss. But Governor Scott Walker and fellow Republicans say that’s a no-no – and the idea is for people to pay less in total taxes, not more, to try-and-turn the state’s economy around. A U-W Madison analysis says up two-thirds of Wisconsin districts will have to cut their property taxes to comply with the law. To guarantee that local taxes won’t go up, Walker reduced the state school revenue limits by five-and-a-half percent on average. Residents who want to pay higher taxes can do so by getting local referendums approved.

Nygren Won’t Be on the Ballot

7/2/11 - A judge in Madison refused today to put a state representative’s name on the ballot for a Senate recall election, after he failed to get enough valid nominating signatures. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess refused to buy John Nygren’s argument that the state Government Accountability Board should have taken more time to review his papers – and that they rejected signatures that should have been approved. The board ruled on Monday that Nygren, a Republican from Marinette, was two signatures short of the 400 valid ones he needed to get on the ballot for Senate Democrat Dave Hansen’s seat. Today’s decision means that David VanderLeest of Green Bay will be the only candidate against Hansen. They’re scheduled to square off in a July 19th general election.

Cruz Makes Initial Appearance

7/2/11 - A man accused of possessing marijuana and cocaine with intent to deliver made his initial appearance in Dodge County court this week. 21-year-old Fabian Bautista Cruz faces more than 15-years in prison and significant fines if he’s convicted. Authorities say a deputy pulled over after seeing an SUV stopped on the side of Highway 33. The criminal complaint says Cruz got out of the vehicle and asked the deputy for directions. However, Cruz realized he had locked the car behind him and got upset. The deputy went around to the passenger side and got the door open. The complaint says it was then that the deputy saw a bag of marijuana. After searching the vehicle a total of five small bags of marijuana were found as were four small bags of cocaine. Cruz is due back in court next week.

Teen Taken Into Custody After Chase in Mayville

7/2/11 - A Mayville teen is facing charges after leading authorities on a four-mile car chase early Friday morning that reached speeds in excess of 105-miles per hour. Acting Mayville Police Chief Chris MacNeill says an officer attempted to pullover 17-year-old Matthew Rogahn for an illegal muffler around midnight but he took off. The officer was eventually able to stop Rogahn on Highway A-Y near McArthur Road. MacNeill says Rogahn stopped because he realized that the officer had identified him and even if he had gotten away they’d eventually catch him. Rogahn faces a number of charges including reckless endangerment and driving on a suspended license. A teenage female passenger was also taken into custody for underage drinking. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department and the Horicon Police Department assisted Mayville in the chase.

Plan Would Change How Supreme Court Justices are Seated

7/2/11 - Two members of the Wisconsin Senate think it's time to quit electing Supreme Court justices. Democrat Tim Cullen of Janesville and Republican Dave Schultz of Richland Center are co-sponsors of bipartisan legislation that would replace those elections with a merit-based system. Change would not be a quick process. The constitutional amendment would have to pass two straight legislative session, then be sent to statewide voters. The approach supported by Cullen and Schultz would create a judicial selection commission, which would recommend five candidates to the governor. He would make an appointment, which would be subject to Senate approval. The two senators will introduce their bill next September.

Johnson Unable to Attend BDCC Breakfast Network

7/2/11 - U.S. Senator Ron Johnson got what he wanted this week and the Senate won’t be taking a vacation as they normally do around the 4th of July holiday. Johnson wanted them to stay in session to deal with what he calls the nations “fiscal crisis”. And because of that, Johnson won’t be able to attend the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast Network on July 5th at Rogers Cinema as planned. He will instead by sending his State Director, Tony Blando, to the breakfast. It will run from 7:30 to 9 a-m and it costs $5.

MI Man Arrested On His Way to Marry Paris Hilton

7/2/11 - A Michigan man arrested in Dane County says he was on his way to California to marry heiress Paris Hilton. Ryan Grunewald was picked up after he tried to panhandle cash from strangers at a truck stop in the town of Burke. He told authorities Hilton had sent his 40 thousand dollars to buy the truck he was driving, though it proved to be stolen. When he was arrested, Grunewald told deputies he and Hilton had fallen in love "telepathically." He explained he had not actually stolen the truck he was driving because the keys were in it when he took it. He said he was borrowing it. Grunewald's record shows he has been arrested in nine states before this visit to the Dane County Jail.