Month: February 2019

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' plan to freeze enrollment in Wisconsin's program that allows students to attend private schools using a taxpayer-funded voucher is drawing opposition.  School Choice Wisconsin president Jim Bender said Monday that the proposal "will not result in better academic outcomes for anyone." Instead, the choice program advocate says the governor's plan will "pour gas on the fire of opposition for those who view […]

The head of the Wisconsin Board for People Developmental Disabilities is praising governor Tony Evers creation of a Task Force on caregiving to look at ways to attract and retain a strong care workforce.  Beth Swedeen says the Task Force will help find ways to recruit, support and  retain direct caregivers and support families who provide the countless hours to  loved ones. Swedeen says its also important to make sure […]

The executive director of the Wisconsin Conservation Voters is applauding Governor Evers’ plan  to join the U.S. Climate Alliance.  Conservation Voters director Kerry Schumann says it shouldn’t come as a surprise given the governor’s science background.  Evers announced this month that Wisconsin will join the group that works to implement an international climate accord and combat climate change at the state level.   The group was formed in 2017 after President […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A DeForest man has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally dealing guns.  Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Eugene Ripp admitted to selling firearms without a federal license from October 2015 to December 2016, even after being warned by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The U.S. attorney's office says Ripp attended gun shows throughout Wisconsin and outside the state, selling guns under […]

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — A Sheboygan resident was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation after becoming trapped on a balcony by an apartment fire.  Firefighters responded to the scene about 7 p.m. Sunday and used a ladder to reach the person stuck on the second-floor balcony.  Three tenants were displaced by the fire that caused about $45,000.  The cause of the blaze wasn't immediately determined.

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (AP) — Authorities have identified a Kentucky woman who died when a semitrailer went off a bridge, down a cliff and into a Wisconsin lake.   The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says 24-year-old Devenna Patterson of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, was a passenger in the semi that plunged into Mirror Lake near Wisconsin Dells on Feb. 17.  The crash also killed the driver, 39-year-old Timothy Green, of Elizabethtown.  Authorities say […]

ALLOUEZ, Wis. (AP) — Consultants say replacing a century-old prison near Green Bay would cost taxpayers up to $500 million.  A draft report from two consulting firms found that almost 30 percent of the Green Bay Correctional Institution in Allouez is in need of replacement. Some cells at the maximum-security prison house two inmates within 56 square feet (5.2 square meters) and the kitchen struggles to feed nearly 300 more […]

Authorities have identified a 30-year-old teacher as the person killed in a massive pileup in Wisconsin.  Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz on Monday identified Andrew Schefelker of Oshkosh as the victim of Sunday's 131-vehicle pileup on Interstate 41.  Matz says Schefelker was a middle school/high school science teacher in the Iola-Scandinavia School District.  Seventy-one others were injured in the chain-reaction crash that happened in the Neenah area amid whiteout conditions.

...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 25   below zero expected. * WHERE...Portions of east central, south central and southeast Wisconsin including Dodge and FDL counties. * WHEN...Until 9 AM CST this morning. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite   on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A […]