Local News Briefs Wednesday 1/27/16

Weapons Incident Leads To Charges Against Waupun Man

A pair of charges has been brought against a 43-year-old Waupun man following an armed confrontation with police last weekend.  It happened early Saturday morning in the 400 block of Bittersweet Avenue. Police were called there for a family dispute. When they saw the man exit a room he had two handguns. Police say one of the guns was pointed at his head and a pistol was at his side. He surrendered the weapons to police and no shots were fired.  Charges against him are reckless endangering safety and disorderly conduct. 

Waupun Man Facing Drug Charges After He Is Found Slumped Behind Wheel

Bond has been set at $5,000 cash for a 28-year-old Waupun man facing drug possession charges after he was found slumped behind the wheel of a running vehicle last weekend. Waupun Police say it happened in the 500 block of Fond du Lac Street Saturday afternoon. Justin Kohl was determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance, but did not require medical attention. He’s facing 2 felony charges and 5 misdemeanors. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 5th.  

FDL City Council Preview

There’s a relatively light agenda for the Fond du Lac City Council tonight. During the meeting the Council will be asked to approve a three-year agreement with the Fond du Lac Fire Supervisory Association. The agreement mirrors one that the Council approved with Firefighters Local 400. It covers 2016 through 2018 with a 3 percent increase each of the first two years and a 3.25 percent raise in 2018. Employee contributions to the Wisconsin Retirement System would also be similar to what was agreed upon with Firefighters Local 400. The meeting is at 6 p.m. at the City-County Government Center.

Thiesfeldt Unofficially Announces Run For Reelection

He hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but unofficially State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt announced to some Fond du Lac High School history students that he will seek another term in office. He says he told William Morgan’s first hour history class he was seeking another two-year term. Thiesfeldt says he’s enjoyed representing the 52nd State Assembly District the past six years. Thiesfeldt says his address to the history class started out as a project the students were doing. He says he was getting a lot of emails at his office from students and felt it might be better to appear before the class to answer their questions. Thiesfeldt taught at Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac before he ran for the state legislature.

FDL Superintendent On Proposed Referendum Legislation

Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Jim Sebert feels the school board did a good job addressing proposed legislation that could impact when school referendums are held. The board recently sent a letter to local state legislators stating their view on the proposed legislation. Sebert says referendums are a way of addressing a district’s needs. He says it’s a conversation between the board of education, a school district and its community about needs and desires to make something happen. He says districts and communities need to maintain local control and the proposed legislation would take away some of that. He feels the board did a good job of stating their stance on the proposed legislation.

New Regional Dean Introduces Himself

The new regional executive officer and dean for the UW System’s Northeast region introduced himself to KFIZ listeners Tuesday. Martin Rudd says his previous position as CEO and Dean at the UW-Fox Valley was similar to what John Short did while Dean of the UW-Fond du Lac. He says he did a lot of community work, oversaw personnel, curriculum and budget of the campus for four years. He says he started out as a chemist and taught chemistry and organic chemistry at the UW-Fox Valley from 2002 until about 2010 when he took on more administrative roles. He says his new role overseeing the UW-Fond du Lac, UW-Fox Valley and UW-Manitowoc schools is more externally focused. He says he’s meeting with Chambers of Commerce and legislative groups during his first 90 days in his new position.

Vote Delayed On Ripon Room Tax

The Ripon Common Council this week delayed a decision on increasing the room tax from 6 to 7 percent. City Administrator Lori Rich says the council member who proposed the increase wasn’t able to attend Monday’s meeting. She says they will take it up again at the next common council meeting. Rich says hotel and motel operators have been invited to meetings where the subject of the increase has been discussed, but only one showed up at a previous meeting. She says that was at their December 8th meeting and no one showed up at Monday’s meeting. The Ripon Common Council last increased the room tax in January of 2005 when it was increased to its current rate of 6 percent.

Omro Man Big Badger 5 Winner

State lottery officials say an Omro man was one of the winners of a $279,000 Badger 5 jackpot. Lorenzo Bosquez purchased his ticket for the Wednesday, January 20th drawing at Service Oil Company in Oshkosh. The other winner was Tracey Hucek of Sturgeon Bay.