Local News
Local News Briefs Wednesday 7/1/15
A Dodge County judge has sentenced a 31-year-old Waupun man to life in prison without parole for repeated sexual assaults. A jury on June 19th found Jesse Madison guilty of three counts of 2nd degree sexual assault of a child. The mother of a 15-year-old boy last September alerted authorities that her son had been with Madison who is a registered sex offender. The boy admitted to having sex with Madison. Madison was originally convicted of sexual assault of a child in Lincoln County in 2001.
Bear Sighting In Oshkosh
Oshkosh Police issued an alert Tuesday afternoon after a bear was seen in the 3100 block of Quail Run Drive. A resident saw the bear on the west side of town and notified police who urged residents not to approach it. There have been several bear sightings in Winnebago County over the past couple of weeks.
Woman Who Lied About Robbery Sentenced
A tearful Amanda A. Sutton took responsibility for lying to police about a fake armed robbery of a West Bend convenience store as she was sentenced Monday in Washington County Court. Under a plea bargain, Sutton will serve 90 days in jail and spend two years on probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of obstructing an officer. A charge of theft in a retail setting was dismissed. The 26-year-old Sutton lied to police investigating what she reported as an armed robbery at Pat’s Jiffy Stop back in January. Turns out her brother, Andrew, had taken the money to buy drugs. Prosecutors say at least 14 West Bend police officers became involved in the investigation of the crime. Andrew Sutton is serving an 18-month prison term for his part.
Beaver Dam Man Charged For High Speed Chase
Cash bond was set at $50,000 when a 32-year-old Beaver Dam man accused of leading police on a high speed chase made his initial appearance in Dodge County Court. Totoxsy Randle is facing felony counts of fleeing an officer causing damage to property and marijuana possession. Randle fled from police during an attempted traffic stop eventually rolling his vehicle over on North Spring Street. Speeds reached 80 miles an hour during the pursuit. His preliminary hearing is set for Thursday, July 9th.
State Budget Deal Reached
(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Majority Republicans have reached a potential deal on the state budget. Following a month-long stalemate, Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke says they have agreed to drop the Milwaukee Bucks arena and prevailing wage issue from the budget, with plans to take those issues up separately. They’re also going to cut less than $800 million from the transportation budget. He says he’s glad the Assembly and Senate have been able to work out their differences and state taxpayers should be happy with the result. Steineke says part of the deal will protect major road projects, such as the Zoo interchange in Milwaukee. Lawmakers are expected to reveal more details at a press conference at the Capitol later this morning.
State Supreme Court Upholds Wind Turbine Construction Rules
(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The state Supreme Court has upheld state rules for wind turbine construction. The Wisconsin Realtors Association, Builders Association, and Towns Association challenged wind farm siting rules adopted by the Public Service Commission in 2012, arguing that the agency should have done a report on how the package would impact the housing industry. The rules established minimum distance standards between homes and wind turbines, in order to address concerns about noise levels and shadow flicker. The challengers have argued the rules could affect home prices, and the PSC is required by law to take that into consideration. In a 5-2 decision, the state Supreme Court found such a report was not needed, upholding similar decisions made in lower courts.
Master Plan For Lakeside Park
Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff likes the idea of creating a master plan for Lakeside Park. It was mentioned while Lakeside Park Exploratory Committee members were giving their final report to the City Council last week. Skiff says the City would hire a professional consultant that’s a planner or an engineer and the work the committee and others have done would be the base line for the start of the plan. He says it would make sense to do it in 2016 while the committee’s work is still fresh in everyone’s minds. As for the committee’s report Skiff says they were very thorough and open about their work. He says some of the 27 recommendations the committee made could be the basis for future capital improvement projects in the park. The committee’s report is available for viewing at the City’s website.
Thiesfeldt On Supreme Court Obamacare Subsidies
State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says if the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the Affordable Care Act the way it should have last week about 30 states including Wisconsin wouldn’t be receiving subsidies. He says the law known as Obamacare started out in a controversial way with the way the U.S. Senate put it into law. He says state were not supposed to receive subsidies if they didn’t create their own state exchange and over half of them didn’t, but got the subsidies anyway. He says the high court’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for an interpretation of the law. Thiesfeldt says some of the justices in the majority used the problems a literal interpretation of the law would have created to justify their decision. He says that’s not their job. Their job is not to write the law, but to look at the law and say this is what it says.
Blue Line Family Ice Center Makes Improvements
Those going by the Blue Line Family Ice Center in Fond du Lac should notice some of the aesthetic improvements that are being made to the center. Center Manager Ryan Blick says the painting and landscaping on the outside is just the tip of the iceberg. He says they recently took out a $1.1 million loan to do some major renovations. He says the rink has been one of the top rinks in the state for the past 25 years and they want to keep it that way. He says they needed to improve the compressor system and bathrooms. He says the purple paint on the inside is now gone. He says they repainted with a different color scheme. Blick says to help pay for the improvements they will be holding fundraisers including one on August 22nd. He says there will be golf outing at noon, an adult cook-out at 6 p.m. and at 8 p.m. the Rabid Aardvarks will be performing.
Milwaukee Symphonic Orchestra Returns To Buttermilk Tonight
For the first time in five years the Milwaukee Symphonic Orchestra will be performing at the Buttermilk Festival in Fond du Lac. Mary Arthur does the publicity for the Festival at Buttermilk Creek Park. She says it won’t cost you anything to see the Orchestra perform at the park tonight, but it would if you went to see them in Milwaukee. She says there are might cost you $30 or more. There is a free will offering at the park. She says it would be great to welcome the orchestra back with a great turnout at the park. She says since it is a few days before the 4th of July expect a patriotic theme, but they will be performing some other favorites too. The concert gets underway at 7:15 p.m. In the event of inclement weather it would be held in the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds Recreation Building.
New Travel App Available Through State DOT
The state’s Department of Transportation has launched a free smart phone application that will provide statewide travelers with information on traffic incidents, delays/backups, closures/detours, work zones and weather-related road conditions. Available on both Apple and Android devices, the app provides up-to-date traffic related information through traffic alerts that can be programmed to align with the users favorite travel areas. It also features nearly 400 traffic camera live-feeds to view road conditions.
To download the free application visit: