Local News Briefs Saturday 2/13/16

Oshkosh Defense Contract Upheld

An effort to stop Oshkosh Defense’s building of thousands of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the U.S. Army has failed. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims Thursday denied Lockheed Martin’s request for a preliminary injunction. Oshkosh Defense has a $6.7 billion contract that calls for making 17,000 of the new vehicles over 8 years. They will replace a large fleet both the Army and Marines currently use.

Could Sturgeon Be Registered The Way Deer Are

Could sturgeon be registered online the way that deer are during the deer season? DNR Sturgeon Biologist Ryan Koenigs says it would be very difficult because they have sex specific harvest caps and for the untrained it’s very hard to determine the sex of sturgeon. He says the sturgeon season is self-funded through the fees that spearers pay for licenses. He says that allows them to maintain the level of data collection at registration stations. He says the registration of a fish is also a very positive experience for the successful sturgeon spearers and sheds a positive light on the Wisconsin DNR.

FDL City Council Honors Kathryn Scharf

For the better part of 29 years Kathryn Scharf worked for the Fond du Lac Public Works Department, but that came to an end with her retirement this past week. She was honored with a proclamation and given a key to the City during the City Council’s meeting. Scharf told the Council this week that it was hard to belief that she had reached the point in her career where she was retiring. She started out as an engineering aide, then became a civil engineer, and finished up her career as Water Operations Manager. She told the Council in accepting the proclamation that it’s hard to believe how many big projects she had a hand in over the years.

Sturgeon Stories

The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac will have their kick off to the sturgeon season today. A Wisconsin Humanities Council Grant is paying for a 5-part program about the sturgeon season. Education Manager Marta Knodle says Sturgeon Stories is the focus today with Kathleen Kline the author of People of the Sturgeon available to talk about her book. She says there will be other events as well, although most will be inside the museum due to the cold. She says there will activities and crafts all centered around sturgeon and they will even recreate a replica of the biggest sturgeon taken during the last season. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Johnson Staff Hours In Randolph Monday

Senator Ron Johnson’s staff will be keeping office hours in Randolph Monday. They will be at the Randolph Village Hall from 9 to 10 a.m. The mobile office hours give constituents a chance to meet with the senator’s staff to request assistance with a federal agency or regarding other federal matters.