KFIZ News Tuesday 12/13/16

Snowplow Fire

A half-ton pickup truck equipped with a snowplow caught fire Sunday morning at Pioneer and Martin.  Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue officials say they got a call about the fire shortly after 9:30 a.m. The fire started in the engine compartment and the truck was a total loss. No one was injured in the blaze.

Thiesfeldt On Recount

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says he was surprised to see Green Party candidate Jill Stein ask for a recount of the Presidential vote in Wisconsin. He says Stein didn’t really have a stake in the race and even though Stein came up with the money for the recount, it wasted the time of a lot of municipal and county clerks across the state. He says the one silver lining is that the recount showed how effective the count really is in the state’s election system. He says the recount was done by hand in Fond du Lac County and it confirmed how effective the machines used for tabulating the vote are. Thiesfeldt was one of the authors of state legislation that gave clerks the option of doing recounts using the voting machines.

Johnson Not Giving Up On Right To Try Legislation

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson says he hasn’t given up on passing the Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act. The legislation is named after a Waukesha woman who suffered and died from ALS over two years ago. An effort to pass the bill by unanimous consent in the Senate last week failed. Johnson says it would give people with terminal illness the right to try drugs that have already been proven safe. He says it’s an option and hope for people who are running out of hope. He says companies have already shown it is en effective drug or they wouldn’t have submitted themselves to the expense of going through the FDL approval process. Johnson says it is an issue of basic freedom. He says he is encouraged the legislation has 43 co-sponsors.

FDL CVB Starts Festivals And Events Department

The Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau recognizing the importance of festivals to tourism in the area has formed their own department to head up festival endeavors.  CVB President Craig Molitor says they feel they can make their own impact in the festival arena. So they have opened up a brand new department in the CVB called Festivals and Events. Eden native Pete Wilke has been hired as the new Director of Festivals and Events. Molitor says Wilke has a background in marketing and worked at a marketing firm in Milwaukee.  Wilke was hired about two months ago. Molitor says Wilke has been working primarily on the Sturgeon Spectacular, which is done in conjunction with the sturgeon spearing season.

Phishing For The Holidays

An official with the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection warns residents to be careful about emails they receive saying there is a problem with their shipping order. Frank Frassetto, the Division Administrator for Trade and Consumer Protection, says it’s a form of phishing trying to get you to share information about yourself or to open malware that could harm your computer. He says if you did make an online purchase you should have confirmation you can check the information against. He says there should be a phone number you can call for verification. He says often the scam email will have improper grammar and spelling in it. Frassetto says there is a way to check the URL to make sure you are getting the email for the actual company you ordered your package from. He says to hover the cursor over the sender’s address, which will give you their URL. He says if it is a scam email it won’t have specific details about the sender or package’s contents.

Marian Commencement Ceremonies This Weekend

Marian University will hold its winter commencement this Friday. The Commencement celebration will begin with the School of Nursing and Health Professions pinning ceremony at 4:00 p.m. at Holy Family Catholic Community Parish. The graduation ceremony will follow at 6:00 p.m. in the Sadoff Gymnasium. All graduates and guests are invited to a reception following the ceremony in the Stayer Center Dining Room and Atrium. Sister Judith Schmidt will serve as the commencement speaker.