Top Stories, January 22nd

Archbishop Dolan Coming To Region This Spring

1/22/12 - Former Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Tim Dolan will return to Wisconsin this spring to celebrate his elevation to cardinal. He’ll preside over a Mass at Holy Hill near Hartford on the afternoon of April 28th. The Vatican announced two weeks ago that Dolan is among 22 prelates to be elevated to cardinals during a ceremony in Rome next month. He led the Catholic Church in 10 southeast Wisconsin counties – including Dodge County – from 2002 until about three years ago, when he became the Archbishop of New York. While in Milwaukee, Dolan had a special relationship with the National Shrine of Mary at Holy Hill. He helped the shrine get designated as a basilica, and he presided over a Mass to celebrate the honor in 2006. The shrine’s rector, Father Don Brick, says he’s excited that Dolan’s coming back. He says it will apparently be the first time that a cardinal presides over a Mass at Holy Hill – and he expects all of the shrine’s 15-hundred seats to be full for that service.

DMV Expanded Hours Begin This Week

1/22/12 - The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is expanding its DMV service center hours statewide. Kristina Boardman, with the Division of Motor Vehicles says "Beginning the week of January 23, all of Wisconsin’s 72 counties will have a DMV service center offering at least 20 hours per week of driver license, skills testing and identification card services. This expansion is a requirement of the current state budget." Four new service center locations include Alma in Buffalo County; Eau Claire South in Eau Claire County; Keshena in Menominee County; and Viroqua in Vernon County. There will be no change in hours at the Beaver Dam Service Center on Plaza Drive, which serves the Dodge County area. Statewide DMV service hours will increase by more than 625 hours each week, or more than 32,000 hours a year. A list of DMV locations, hours and services is on the Web at www.wisconsindmv.gov.

Alliant Energy CEO To Retire

1/22/12 - The chairman and CEO of Alliant Energy says he will retire at the end of March. William Harvey has led the energy company for the last six years. He’s been with the company for 25 years, since it was known as WPL Holdings. The company’s board of directors has chosen Patricia Kampling to take over for Harvey. That will happen April 1st. Kampling came to work for Alliant in 2005.

Wisconsin Attracting Less Start-Up Capital

1/22/12 - New Wisconsin companies attracted a lot less start-up capital last year. According to the national “Money Tree Report,” 72-million-dollars in venture capital was raised in the Badger State in 2011. That’s about 40-percent less than the previous year, at a time when venture capital grew by 22-percent nationally. Wisconsin firms only attract less than one-percent of the nation’s total venture capital investments. Therefore, John Neis of Venture Investors in Madison says it’s hard to draw conclusions. But in general, he says the state’s situation is lagging behind the nation as a whole. Majority Republicans are trying to do something about that by drafting a bill to provide millions in state funds for venture capital. But the measure has been held up over an insistence by some lawmakers to allow certified capital companies, or CAPCOs, to get state money. That’s drawn criticism by many lawmakers, after a similar program in 1999 saw one company get around eight-million tax dollars without investing it. At last word, CAPCOs have been removed from the latest venture capital bill – but supporters say there might not be enough time to pass a measure before the legislative session ends in March.

Assembly To Consider Mining Law Tweaks

1/22/12 - Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly say they want to make small changes in the mining bill being considered to route more tax money to local governments. Party members released a bill last month aimed at helping Gogebic Taconite brings hundreds of jobs to the area by building an iron mine in the Penokee Hills. That legislation called for half of the revenue from a state tax on ore sales to go to local governments. The change proposed by the GOP would increase the local share to 60 percent. A legislative committee is expected to approve the bill next Tuesday.

Principal Accused of Selling Pot

1/22/12 - The Antigo High School football coach, who’s also an elementary principal, was one of three people charged Friday in a marijuana sales ring. 47-year-old John Lund was charged in Langlade County Circuit Court, more than seven weeks after he was put on paid administrative leave. He faces eight felony counts of possessing, manufacturing, and delivering marijuana – and maintaining a drug trafficking place. Twenty-six similar charges were filed against 55-year-old Scot Peterson of Antigo. And three counts were levied against 46-year-old Bradley Maahs of Wittenberg. All three are scheduled to make initial court appearances on Monday. Authorities said they found drug evidence when they searched the homes of Peterson and Maahs in late November and early December. Peterson reportedly told investigators he bought marijuana and re-sold it to others, naming 10 people. Lund apparently told officers in late November he received the drug from the other defendants several times – and he also sold marijuana to Peterson so he could distribute it to others. The Antigo School District refused comment on thecharges, and said it would review Lund’s administrative leave status this week. The School District sent parents a letter in early December saying Lund was put on leave. He was the principal of Pleasant View and West elementary schools in Antigo.

Teacher Accused of Relationship With Former Student

1/22/12 - A teacher at Hales Corners Lutheran School could spend up to nine months in jail if he’s convicted of having a relationship with teenager. Craig Perino is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl who was a former student. Perino was charged in Racine County Court last week. He has been suspended from his job as a middle school teacher. Perino told police he knew the victim from the time when he was a student at his school. He reportedly confirmed sex contact had happened.

Plea Set For Prisoner Who Made Fake University

1/22/12 - A state prisoner is scheduled to enter a plea February 10th to creating a fake university, and encouraging a fellow inmate to enroll and pay tuition. Prosecutors labeled 45-year-old Kenneth Shong as a career con-man with eight aliases. He was ordered Friday to stand trial on a felony fraud charge. Investigators said he was serving time in the state prison at Oshkosh in 2006 when he set up Carlingford University, and convinced a fellow inmate to enroll. The inmate reportedly had his mother send a check for 17-hundred-dollars in tuition to Carlingford’s campus in Mobile Alabama – which turned out to be a post office box set up by Shong. Investigators also said a convicted sex offender from Green Bay had persuaded another inmate to enroll in the fake school – and the sex offender created his own post office box and got help from another Green Bay man to set up a Web site. State corrections’ officials have not said whether the sex offender or his alleged helper would face charges.

UW Scientist Suspends Bird Flu Research

1/22/12 - U-W Madison scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka joined others Friday in suspending their research into the potentially-deadly bird flu. About three dozen scientists said they would “pause” their studies for 60 days, while international specialists discuss what should be done with the products of their work. Researchers at the U-W and Erasmus University in the Netherlands created a lab version of the bird flu to study how the disease would threaten people. But U-S officials who funded the studies urged the scientists last month not to publicize the formulas of their lab flu, so bio-terrorists would not steal it and the strains don’t escape if an accident were to happen. The scientists reluctantly agreed not to publish all of the details, as long as the government comes up with a system to give the data to scientists who need to know the formula for their own research. The National Institutes of Health is working on the system. In announcing their “pause,” Kawaoka and the other researchers called for an international public meeting to debate the best ways for scientists to learn safely about what’s been developed so far.

Wisconsin Ag Trade With Vietnam Likely

1/22/12 - It might take a few years, but it seems clear that Wisconsin’s agriculture industry will do more trade business with Vietnam. State Ag Secretary Ben Brancel and his department’s international consultant, Jennifer Lu, went on a trade mission to Vietnam last week to look for exporting opportunities. Brancel tells Brownfield Ag News that Vietnam has a fast-growing economy with a rapid growth in dairy consumption, and 80-percent of their disposable income is spent on food. Brancel said he and Lu were surprised when the Vietnamese said they wanted a-thousand dairy heifers and 30 embryos from Wisconsin. Only a limited amount of land is available in that country. And Brancel said it’s more suitable for confinement-based cattle which are common in the U-S – and they’ll need to import grains to feed whatever cows they get. Also, the state’s ag leader says Vietnam’s population is growing by 900-thousand people a year – and the country’s own dairy industry won’t be able to keep up with the increasing demand. Brancel says the state will work with the U-S-D-A to find people interested in doing business with Vietnam – and it will take a few years to build the necessary relationships.