Top Stories January 29th

Police Arrest Stalker Inside Victim’s Home

1/29/12 - Mayville authorities say they have a man in custody who they believe has been stalking his ex-girlfriend for more than month, including entering her home while she wasn’t there. Police Chief Chris MacNeill says the woman filed a report earlier this month saying she started noticing footprints to and from her house in early December. MacNeill says they stepped up patrols in the area and even went as far as installing a small surveillance camera to identify the suspect. On Friday night, while the woman wasn’t home, an officer found a vehicle parked on a back street with footprints leading to the residence. As the officer was speaking with the upstairs tenants he heard footsteps in the woman’s residence. He called for more officers, and they eventually took the man into custody without incident. MacNeill says there were some things taken from the residence, and they were working to recover those items. The man was jailed on charges of burglary and stalking, though MacNeill says more charges are possible.

Evers Asking for Expansion of Tax-funded Vouchers

1/29/12 - State school Superintendent Tony Evers has asked the Assembly to pass a bill that prevents the expansion of tax-funded vouchers for low-income kids to attend private schools. Last June, lawmakers approved a last-minute package of items to the current state budget which expands the Milwaukee voucher program to other cities based on their sizes, poverty levels, and public school spending. But critics said it would spread the voucher program throughout the state, and cause large declines in public school enrollments. And the program’s supporters said they intended to limit the program to the current Milwaukee County and Racine. Lawmakers promised to pass legislation to clarify that stand. But G-O-P Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon now says he’s not sure if there are enough votes to pass it. The Senate okayed the measure last fall.

“Open Enrollment” Time Could Expand

1/29/12 - The Wisconsin Assembly has voted to give parents more time to try and have their kids transferred to public schools outside their home districts. On a voice vote, the house gave final legislative approval to a longer sign-up period under the "open enrollment," or public school choice law. Also, a student's home district would have to share details with the new district about any discipline problems. The bill's supporters say it would give struggling youngsters a second chance in a different educational environment. But there were concerns that some districts would have larger net student losses under the expanded measure -- and that more youngsters would be attracted to on-line virtual schools.

Churchgoers to be asked to Oppose New Rule

1/29/12 - When Catholics in northeast Wisconsin go to church this weekend, they’ll be told to oppose a new federal rule that requires most health insurance plans to pay for contraceptives. Green Bay Bishop David Ricken has asked priests in his diocese to read a letter from him during their Masses. He said the contraceptive coverage rule is quote, “unjust” – and it’s a direct violation of Roman Catholic teachings. He says federal health officials should overturn the rule. And if they don’t, Ricken says Catholics will either have to go against their consciences – or if they’re employers, they’ll have to drop coverage for their workers and suffer the consequences. The new rule takes effect August first. Most health plans would have to cover contraceptive services without charging co-pays or deductibles. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the rule was drafted with religious concerns in mind. But Bishop Ricken disagrees, and says the rule goes much farther than invading individual conscience.

Number of Traffic Crashes for Teens Down Significantly

1/29/12 - The number of traffic crashes and fatalities involving teen drivers has dropped significantly since Wisconsin’s Graduated Driver License law was enacted over a decade ago. This is Wisconsin State Patrol Major Sandy Huxtable who heads the DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety.
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The GDL law places restrictions on the number of passengers young drivers can carry until they gain more experience behind the wheel. Still, Huxtable says, teen drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes because of their inexperience — they’re also among those least likely to buckle up.

Record Number of Travelers on Hiawatha Line

1/29/12 - The number of passengers on Amtrak’s Hiawatha line from Milwaukee-to-Chicago surpassed 800-thousand last year for the first time. State transportation officials say that a record 823-thousand-163 people rode the high-speed line in 2011. That’s up four-percent from the previous year. Also, new monthly ridership records were set in each month but August. The Hiawatha makes seven round trips each day between the downtowns of Milwaukee and Chicago. It only makes three stops along the way – at Mitchell International Airport, Sturtevant, and Glenview Illinois. Amtrak said a few months ago that the Hiawatha is the most heavily used passenger line in the Midwest – and it’s the sixth-most popular line throughout the country.

Flooding Unlikely on Mississippi at La Crosse

1/29/12 - There's less than a one-percent chance that the Mississippi River at La Crosse will hit its flood stage this spring. That's according to a preliminary flooding outlook released by the National Weather Service. Hydrologist Mike Welvaert says the forecast shows that La Crosse area rivers will have plenty of room to handle the melting snow. Only 16-inches have fallen in La Crosse since December first. The normal is 20-inches. Twice that much fell by this time last year. That created some moderate floods in the spring of 2011. Walvaert said many rivers had higher-than-normal water levels for most of last summer -- but they dropped in the fall, thanks to below-average precipitation that has continued. Walvaert cautions that things can change, and long-range forecasts call for normal precipitation for the rest of the winter. The Weather Service will issue its first formal flooding outlook on February 16th.

Flood Insurance Could Go Away if Mining Bill is Approved

1/29/12 - The federal government says Wisconsinites might lose their access to flood insurance because of an item in the mining bill the Assembly passed last night. Iron ore mines would be allowed to dispose of their waste in flood-plain areas. But the head of flood plain for the Federal Emergency Management Agency says mining is on a list of flood-plain actvities that can jeopardize a community's ability to qualify for federal flood insurance. And David Stearrett said the Assembly's provision might prompt FEMA to quote, "seek enforcement of requirements that include suspension" from the insurance program. Assembly Democrat Brett Hulsey of Madison asked FEMA to comment on the G-O-P's mining bill. He said Wisconsinites hold about 18-thousand federal flood insurance policies with a a total of just over three-billion dollars in coverage.

Senate President Apologizes for Calling School a “Sewer”

1/29/12 - The president of the Wisconsin Senate has apologized for calling Green Bay Preble High School a "sewer" during a private dinner with some colleagues at a Madison restaurant. Somebody used a cell phone to record Mike Ellis's conversation -- and it ended up on PolitiScoop-Dot-Com. His group was talking about the possibility of expanding private school voucher programs beyond Milwaukee and Racine. The voucher program gives state tax funding to low-income kids to attend private schools, with a goal of escaping poverty. Ellis, of Neenah, brought up the idea of letting just part of a school district be in the program -- and he used Green Bay as an example. In the recording, he said quote, "Green Bay East is fine. West is fine. Preble's a sewer. They have the poverty possum." Ellis said he was only mentioning a hypothetical example. He apologized to a reporter, and said he called the Green Bay superintendent to aplogize as well. Preble students, staff members, and parents went to the school to protest Ellis's remarks and highlight the school's achievements.

Company Adding 125 Jobs by End of June

1/29/12 - A company near Madison that makes freight containers and grain haulers says it will hire 125 more people by the end of June. Stoughton Trailers added 300 workers last year, and is now at 800. Company president Bob Wahlin says the hiring reflects a recovery from the Great Recession. He says quote, “Freight tonnage is up considerably, and a lot of trucking companies are preparing for better economic times.” Stoughton Trailers has plants in Stoughton, Evansville, and Brodhead. It had 15-hundred employees in 2005 – but that number plunged to 250 in the recession-plagued year of 2009. Wahlin says the new employees will be spread evenly across its three plants. Most will be assembly workers.

Thompson Net Worth of $13M

1/29/12 - A financial report filed by U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson shows he had a net worth of around 13 million dollars.  Most of that money was apparently earned after he left office and started work as a consultant.  Thompson is Wisconsin’s former governor and the former secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.  Thompson is opposed by two other candidates, all trying to replace the retiring Herb Kohl as U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.