Top Stories February 15th

Johnson Military Remembrance Today

2/15/12 - The Dodge County soldier who was killed in Afghanistan will be remembered by his military base Wednesday. The joint Lewis-McChord base in Washington State will hold a memorial services for Army First Lieutenant David Johnson of Mayville. The 24-year-old was killed last month by a home-made bomb while on a foot patrol in Kandahar Province. His funeral service was held on February fifth in Mayville. Johnson was part of the Third Stryker Brigade that was deployed to Afghanistan in December.

DNR: ‘Lake Ice Extremely Unsafe’

2/15/12 - DNR Warden Heather Gottschalk is warning the public to stay-off area lakes. Gottschalk says the season’s freeze-thaw cycles have taken a toll on the ice and the conditions are “extremely unsafe.” She says it you do feel the need to go on the ice, walk – do not take an ATV or other vehicle. Gottschalk says make sure you wear a life-vest and bring along a rope and ice-spikes to help pull yourself out. If you do go by yourself, let someone know where you are going, what time you plan on being back and stick to the plan. Gottschalk says it is important to keep in mind that when you venture out onto the ice you not only put yourself in danger but also the rescue personnel who respond.

Watertown Men Charged In Homemade Bomb Spree

2/15/12 - Four men from Watertown face felony charges in two counties for allegedly detonating homemade explosives. 17-year-old William Fischer, 17-year-old Nathan Wright, 18-year-old Travis Waters and 20-year-old Jade Hiller are all charged with felony Possession of an Improvised Explosives and misdemeanor Criminal Damage to Property. Some are charged in Dodge, some in Jefferson, some in both counties. Authorities say they made improvised bombs called “works bombs” that are made with a cleaning agent and tin foil in a two-liter bottle. The bombs were planted in December on porches and in mailboxes throughout Watertown, on either side of the county line. Some of the homes targeted were former teachers of the suspects. There were no injuries. The four have all been released on signature bonds and have preliminary hearings scheduled in coming weeks.

Walker To Greet Obama Today

2/15/12 - Republican Governor Scott Walker will greet President Obama when he lands in Milwaukee Wednesday. And Walker will then join the Democratic president during his visit to Milwaukee's Master Lock factory. That's a change from the recent past, when former Democratic Governor Jim Doyle almost never greeted Republican President George W. Bush in his visits to the Badger State. Walker also greeted Obama in his visit to Manitowoc a year ago, the only other time the president's been on Wisconsin soil since Walker's been governor. His office says Walker will not make any remarks during Obama's appearance tomorrow. But Walker has made his share of criticisms against the opposing party's president -- just as Doyle did during the Bush years. Walker has told supporters that if he wins his recall election, it would be a quote, "devastating blow" to Obama's re-election chances. The governor also slammed Obama in his speech to national conservatives last Friday, for the president's union support during last year's controversy over Walker's plan to limit collective bargaining for most of Wisconsin's state-and-local public employees.

Walker Touts ‘Ready, Set, Build’

2/15/12 - Governor Scott Walker has unveiled a new program to identify shovel-ready sites for business facilities, with a goal of getting them built faster. The program is called "Ready, Set, Build." Walker says it will pre-certify up to 10 sites each year, so economic projects can be developed in a faster time period. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state's former commerce agency, will run the program. A third party consultant will help in designing and carrying out the new effort. Walker says he hopes to get it up-and-running by spring. State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate called the program a "gimmick" that would work around established government review procedures, and perhaps create risks to the environment.

Oshkosh Area Freshman Republican Not Running Again

2/15/12 - At least three Republican state lawmakers plan to be out-of-office by this time next year. Freshman Representative Michelle Litjens of the Oshkosh area is the latest to announce that she won't run this fall. Litjens, from the town of Vinland, said she helped turn Wisconsin around -- and now she wants to spend more time with her family. Assembly Republicans Dan Meyer of Eagle River and Richard Spanbauer of Oshkosh also announced their decisions to step down over the past few weeks. Meyer was first elected in 2000, and he says 12 years is a good term limit for himself. Spanbauer, who's been in office for four years, says he's tired of legislators who care more about politics than about people. G-O-P lawmakers have been the targets of protestors ever since Republican Governor Scott Walker first proposed his collective bargaining limits just over a year ago.

Deficit Affecting State Funds For Start-Ups

2/15/12 - The newly-discovered state budget deficit might have killed one of the Republicans' top priorities for this year -- state funding for start-up businesses. Senate Republican Alberta Darling of River Hills has been trying to get her colleagues to support a major venture capital package. But now, she says the money is probably not available, after state officials learned last week that the current budget is 143-million-dollars in the hole. The Wisconsin State Journal said the measure got bogged down in a long debate over how much state funding should be provided. Also, Assembly Republicans had talked about getting certified capital companies involved -- which raised opposition due to a lack of accountability in state dollars given to the so-called CAPCOs in a similar effort a decade ago. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon recently said his party agreed to proceed without CAPCOs. But Governor Scott Walker's office said the new deficit would make it hard for a bill to be adopted -- even though Walker fully supports venture capital opportunities. Senate Democrat Julie Lassa of Stevens Point also favored state involvement in venture capital, and she said the deficit was a "convenient excuse" for Republicans to scrap it.

GOP Seeks To Halt Release of Redistricting Doc’s

2/15/12 - Republican state lawmakers have asked three federal judges not to release 84 documents about the way the G-O-P drew up new legislative districts last year. Most of the documents are e-mails, and Republicans say they should be subject to attorney-client privilege. A group of Democrats and the Milwaukee Hispanic group Voces de la Frontera have argued that the e-mails should be released. They're suing the G-O-P to try and strike down the new district maps, and a trial in that case is scheduled to begin next Tuesday in federal court in Milwaukee. The Hispanic group says previous orders from the three-judge panel make it clear that the Republican documents must be released. Lawmakers tried several times to withhold records and avoid depositions about the maps they drew, claiming the whole process was subject to attorney-client privilege. But the court didn't buy that, and most of the documents wound up being released.

Oshkosh Corp Prepared For Fewer Military Contracts

2/15/12 - The Oshkosh Corporation could be among the biggest losers in President Obama's federal budget -- but the maker of military vehicles says it's ready for the hit. U-S troops have already pulled out of Iraq, and Obama wants to get them out of Afghanistan. He has proposed 600-million dollars less in the next fiscal year for the heavy tactical vehicles made by Oshkosh. The Pentagon's spending plan includes 11-billion-dollars for ground vehicles for the year starting October first. That's 32-percent less than the current year. Oshkosh spokesman John Daggett says the company has anticipated the big cut. Meanwhile, the status remains uncertain for the next major contract on the horizon for Oshkosh and other vehicle-makers -- 20-billion dollars to replace an aging fleet of Humvees.

Prosecutors To Decide On Mayor Bob Charges After Election

2/15/12 - Voters in Sheboygan will decide next Tuesday whether to recall Mayor Bob Ryan. And local prosecutors do not expect to decide until after the election whether Ryan will be charged with sexual assault. Fond du Lac County sheriff's investigators looked into what Ryan did during a weekend drinking binge in Elkhart Lake last July. And they recommended two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree sex assault. District Attorney Joe DeCecco says there's no favoritism involved. He said felony cases take top priority -- and DeCecco probably would not have gotten to Ryan's case any sooner under any circumstance. Ryan denies any illegal activity during his drinking binge, which spurred a Common Council investigation and petitions for a recall election with just over a year to go in Ryan's term. Ryan faces former state Representative Terry Van Akkeren in next Tuesday's recall vote.