Month: June 2017

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is pulling out of the federal health care exchange in Wisconsin.  Anthem blames a volatile market for its exit from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Anthem spokesman Jeff Blunt says making pricing plans is increasingly difficult because of a shrinking and deteriorating individual market.   Anthem also cites "continual changes and uncertainty in federal operations, rules and guidance." The insurance carrier […]

The May unemployment rate is down in municipalities and counties across the state.  The city of Fond du lac’s jobless rate dipped from 2.6 to 2.5 percent in May.  Fond du Lac County’s unemployment rate dropped from 2.4 to 2.3 percent.  In Dodge County the May unemployment rate stands at 2.5 percent, down from 2.7 percent in April.

Replacement of a deteriorating Fond du Lac bridge has taken another step forward.  The Fond du Lac Plan commission has recommended to city council the approval of a relocation order and right of way plat for the Arndt Street bridge.  Public Works director Jordan Skiff says heavy truck traffic from Sadoff Iron and Metal has taken its toll on the more than 80 year old bridge.  Skiff says the new […]

The Fond du Lac Animal Shelter manager says describes the inside of an elderly Waupun woman’s home a “biological nightmare.”  The Fond du Lac Street home was condemned last week after police found the inside strewn with garbage and cat feces and urine.  Fond du Lac animal shelter manager Renee Webb wore a hazmat suit and entered the home to see if they could find any pets.  "This was literally […]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says the city will have a strong police presence in the part of the city where there was rioted following the fatal shooting of a black man last August.  Two nights of violence broke out in a north side neighborhood after then-Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown shot 23-year-old Sylville Smith. Heaggan-Brown, who is also black, was acquitted Wednesday of first-degree reckless homicide in the case. […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin residents could soon see robot delivery vehicles roaming the state's sidewalks.  Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Wednesday that allows robot delivery vehicles to operate on sidewalks and in crosswalks.  The robots are essentially high-tech rolling coolers loaded with sensors that can read the environment. People also can operate them remotely. Starship Technologies has been using them to deliver takeout food in Europe, California and […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin state Assembly has passed a bill designed to crack down on those who are manufacturing deadly opioids known as fentanyl analogs.  The highly potent drug is being added to heroin to stretch its use, leading to a recent spike in overdoses in Milwaukee and across the state. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly.  The bill would add fentanyl analogs to […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature has passed a bill that would make it a felony to use credit card skimmers to steal a person's identity.  The Assembly passed the measure on a voice vote Wednesday. It now heads to Gov. Scott Walker since it already passed the Senate.  The bill makes it a Class I felony to possess a credit card scanner. Those scanners, also referred to as […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A state representative from the home city of Jimmy the Groundhog is calling it a "sad day" with passage of a bill allowing open season on groundhogs.  Democratic state Rep. Gary Hebl, of Sun Prairie, argued against passage of the bill Wednesday. He is defending the honor and integrity of all groundhogs in the state, but Jimmy in particular.  Hebl says "Jimmy is a smart, little […]