The Fond du Lac County Board chairman and member of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation board says he was surprised that ConAgra planned to close a cookie plant in Ripon. County board chairman, Marty Farrell, lives in Ripon. Farrell says a large corporation such as ConAgra probably has no idea the history or legacy of the company that was founded in Ripon more than 80 years ago. […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that allows state transportation officials to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on some Wisconsin roads. Walker signed the measure Wednesday. It passed the Senate and Assembly on voice votes earlier this year. Under the law, the Department of Transportation can raise the speed limit to 70 mph only on four-lane roads that have entrance and exit ramps. […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack says "there's no chaos" on the state's highest court, and she has not spoken with former longtime Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson since she succeeded her. Roggensack said Wednesday that talking with Abrahamson now would not be "fruitful," and she understands that the transition is difficult. Roggensack was elected chief justice by four conservative justices April 29, replacing Abrahamson who […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker has signed a Republican-authored bill that would ensure scores on the statewide Badger Exam public school children are taking this spring aren't used against teachers or put on report cards measuring school performance. The Badger Exam was beset with a host of problems that generated widespread criticism from parents, school districts, state policymakers and the governor. Since the test is tied to the […]
EMS Strong. That’s the them for Emergency Medical Services Week this week. Fond du Lac Assistant Fire Chief Todd Janquardt says the week focuses on EMS as an indispensable part of the health care continuum. Janquardt says EMS workers experience a rollercoaster of emotions in their daily lives from the elation of saving a life to responding to the most horrific accidents and tragedies. "The amount of psychological load that […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Home-schooled students and those attending private, virtual or charter schools would have to be allowed to play sports and participate in extracurricular activities at their local public school under a proposal backed by Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature. The proposal was added to the state budget by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee early Wednesday morning. A student attending a charter school or a private school could […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin schools would be able to hire people who don't have a bachelor's degree to teach subjects like math, science, technology and engineering under a proposal approved by the Legislature's budget-writing committee. The Joint Finance Committee approved the proposal to create a new alternative track for people with real-life experience to get licensed to teach early Wednesday morning. The proposal would require anyone with a bachelor's […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Legislature's budget-writing committee has approved a wide-ranging Republican plan to increase public school funding and do away with an enrollment cap in the private school voucher program. The Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 with all Republicans in support and Democrats against early Wednesday morning to approve the plan after about five hours of debate. It is now added to the two-year state budget, which the […]
Ripon city officials are meeting with the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation Tuesday to discuss the next step following an announcement that ConAgra Foods is closing one of its cookie plants in Ripon. FCEDC president Steve Jenkins says the news came as a complete surprise. "I think its unfortunate that ConAgra did not notify Ripon or the county or us that they were getting ready to make that […]