7-2-14 manure spill update-water testing done

A month after a major liquid manure spill at a Fond du lac county dairy farm the Fond du lac County Department of  Public Health says no additional water testing is necessary.  On May 26^th an estimated 50,000 gallons of liquid manure spilled at Lake Breeze Dairy into nearby Pipe Creek…making its way into Lake Winnebago.  Public health officer Kim Mueller says the surface water of Pipe Creek has been tested three times along with surface water tests at various places along the creek, in the marina and along a beach area.  There has been no evidence of wells being affected by the spill.  Mueller says fluctuating levels of bacteria in Pipe Creek, up and downstream of the spill, is not unusual and no additional testing is needed, as the creek has returned to its usual state. Signage along the creek will remain up for the remainder of the year.

7-2-14 fdl man convicted in heroin overdose case

A Fond du Lac man accused of helping to supply the heroin that led to the death of a Fond du Lac County man has reached a plea deal.   At a hearing Tuesday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Jason Van Norman pleaded no contest to charges of first degree reckless homicide and delivery of heroin.  Other drug related counts were dismissed and read into the record.  A pre-sentence investigation was ordered.  Van Norman  was accused of supplying the heroin that led to the death of Devin Perry.

7-2-14 fbi:heroin abuse getting worse in wi

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The FBI says heroin abuse seems to getting worse in Wisconsin as abusers seek a cheaper alternative to prescription pills such as Vicodin and Percocet. Law enforcement officials have seen a spike in heroin usage since about 2008. The FBI says heroin apparently arrives in Wisconsin by way of Minneapolis, Chicago, and Rockford, Illinois. One hit costs $12 to $15 in Milwaukee and about twice that, due to supply and demand, in the Green Bay area.

7-2-14 oakfield man sentenced in owi injury crash

A Dodge County judge has placed an Oakfield man on probation and ordered he spend time in jail for an owi injury crash last summer  Dodge County Circuit Court judge Brian Pfitzinger placed 52 year old Bryan Novak on probation for two years with six months conditional jail time for the June 2^nd crash that injured a Mayville woman.  According to a criminal complaint Novak collided with a vehicle after running a stop sign at a town of Leroy intersection.  His blood alcohol level measured nearly three times over the legal limit.

7-2-14 fetal pain bill

The outgoing director of Wisconsin Right to Life says she is hopeful the group’s No. 1 priority next session will be approved.  Barbara Lyons says the “fetal pain bill” would ban abortion after 20 weeks. "The bbasis for the prohibition would be that science has proven that an unborn child at that age can feel extreme pain from the abortion procedure,"  Barbara Lyons said.  Lyons says the bill will take priority over two other WRTL-backed bills that didn't pass the Senate.   One sought to allow mothers, fathers and grandparents to sue physicians who perform an abortion based on the sex of the fetus. Another sought to ban abortion coverage through insurance plans for public employees along with exempting faith-based groups from a state law requiring policies that cover prescription drugs also cover contraceptives.   Similar bans have been struck down in states like Idaho, Georgia and Arizona. In the Arizona case, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year declined to review the appeals court decision. 

7-2-14 civil service

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker's administration is looking at ways to streamline hiring for state jobs to help cope with a looming wave of retirements.  Department of Administration spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis says the agency is querying other state agencies to understand why the hiring process can sometimes take as long as four months and find ways to tighten the timeframe.

She insists the administration has no intention of weakening the process for awarding civil service jobs, which are supposed to be based on merit rather than political ties.  But union leaders are still stinging from Walker's law stripping most public workers of nearly all their union rights. They say they don't trust the administration and speeding up the hiring process could lead to more political patrons landing state work.

7-2-14 fourth of july weather outlook

After a stormy start to the week and near record rainfall last month…things are looking up for the 4^th of July weekend.  Back to back storms toppled trees and power lines in southern Wisconsin and flooded streets.  But National Weather Service meteorologist Denny Van Cleve says the forecast looks great

for people planning picnics and watching fireworks shows across the state.  "No chance of precip and a good amount of sunshine,"  Van Cleve told AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program.  Highs in the mid 60s, so come the evening of the 4th we should have temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, nice and cool, maybe even get a blanket for you."

7-2-14 severe weather-wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Crews are working to restore power to thousands of customers left without electricity after storms battered southern Wisconsin.  At least 115,000 customers of Milwaukee-based We Energies were without power at the peak of the outage.  We Energies spokesman Rick White says power has been restored to more than 80,000 customers, but about 36,000 customers were still without electricity Tuesday morning.  White says Monday's storm damaged 29 power poles. He calls it the utility's worst outage in a decade.  Across the rest of southern Wisconsin, Madison-based Alliant Energy says about 1,500 customers remained without power early Tuesday, down from a high of 10,000.

7-2-14 colfax tornado damage

COLFAX, Wis. (AP) — A weak tornado that struck last week caused more than $1 million in damage to Colfax schools and the district's athletic complex.  The Chippewa Herald reports the tornado touched down briefly twice Friday before reaching the building housing the elementary, middle and high schools.  Besides causing significant roof damage to the building, the tornado also took out two storage sheds in the athletic complex as well as damaging fences, dugouts, bleachers, grounds and trees.  A couple of big vent covers were ripped off the school roof, leaving holes for rain to pour into the building. Some carpeting and windows will need to be replaced.  School Superintendent William Yingst says the goal is to repair all the damage before the start of the football season and the new school year.

7-2-14 state sell-off

UNDATED (AP) — The state Department of Administration has put together a list of state properties that could end up for sale.  The list DOA sent to the state Building Commission on Monday includes underused acreage at the Department of Transportation's Hill Farms building in Madison; a hangar at Dane County Regional Airport; telecommunications infrastructure around the state; Ethan Allen School, a now-shuttered juvenile prison in Wales; the Badger Road State Office Building in Madison; facilities for the developmentally disabled in Union Grove and Chippewa Falls; and heating and cooling plants around the state.  DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch said no decisions on selling or leasing the assets have been made.  The 2013-15 state budget required DOA to create an inventory of state assets that could be sold or leased in the next biennium.

7-2-14 marian university names new athletic director

Jason Bartelt has been named as Marian University’s Director of Athletics. Bartelt will oversee the Athletic department and its strategic plan, represent Marian with all NCAA, NACC and NCHA relations, manage Marian’s athletic facilities and all 19 varsity sponsored programs in the Athletic department.  “Marian University is honored that Jason has accepted the position as our Athletic Director,” said George Koonce, Jr., Ph.D., vice president for advancement of Marian University. “His knowledge, enthusiasm and leadership will continue to inspire our student-athletes with a holistic experience that is rich in the Marian tradition.”  Bartelt has served Marian for more than 13 years, and has served as interim director of athletics, assistant director of athletics for athletic facilities and as head baseball coach. While at Marian, Bartelt has overseen the construction of Herr-Baker Field, Marian’s baseball stadium, and the addition of Lenz Field House, Marian’s state-of-the-art indoor practice facility. Bartelt has coached more than 70 All-Conference players, three All-Region honorees and one Academic All-American student-athlete. Prior to coming to Marian, Bartelt served as the assistant baseball coach, sports information, and Wehr Center building supervisor at Lakeland College.  Bartelt earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and a secondary Bachelor of Science degree in Biology Education from Lakeland College.