Month: June 2019

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that federal courts have no place in policing political district boundaries means a challenge to Republican-drawn legislative boundaries in Wisconsin is likely over.  Democratic voters filed a federal lawsuit in Madison in 2015 alleging boundaries Republicans drew in 2011 unfairly diluted Democrats' voting power.   A trial is set for July. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that partisan gerrymandering claims […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says law enforcement officers can generally draw blood without a warrant from an unconscious person suspected of driving drunk or while on drugs.  The high court issued its ruling Thursday in a case involving a Wisconsin law about impaired driving.  The question before the Supreme Court had to do with what happens when a motorist suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan group of legislators from Milwaukee and Green Bay is proposing a most valuable player week to honor Aaron Rodgers, Christian Yelich and Giannis Antetokounmpo.  The group introduced a resolution Thursday that would designate the first week of December 2019 as "MVP Week in Wisconsin." The lawmakers selected that week because Rodgers' birthday is Dec. 2, Yelich's birthday is Dec. 5 and Antetokounmpo's birthday is Dec. […]

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR FOND DU LAC COUNTY... At 437 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 6 miles southwest of Oshkosh to 6 miles south of Oakfield, moving east at 45 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. These storms have a history of producing          wind gusts between 50 and 65 mph with sporadic trees down. […]

A Foundation established in memory of a New York firefighter who died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks has announced it will pay off the mortgage of  the home of slain Appleton firefighter Mitchell Lundgaard.  The 36-year-old Lundgaard was killed in the line of duty on May 15, when an individual they were attempting to help opened fire on first responders.  The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation  supports the families of first responders with a mission […]

A Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s captain says he supports a couple of bills that would stiffen drunken driving penalties.  The state Assembly has approved a measure that would require anyone arrested for a first offense to appear in court.  Sheriff’s captain Bill Tadych says currently a first offense is a civil violation and people can skip their initial court appearance.  The bill would also eliminate provisions in state law that allow second […]

Fond du Lac County emergency management officials are warning people take lightning seriously, and go indoors when you hear thunder.   Lightning strikes kill an average of 47 people a year in the country…but direct lightning strikes are not the biggest threat.  Direct and contact strikes account for only 3-5 percent of lightning deaths and injuries.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ground current,  which spread out over the ground after lightning strikes, are the  […]

The local unemployment rate is up slightly in the latest reporting period.  The city of Fond du Lac’s May unemployment rate stands at 2.5 percent, up from 2.1 percent in April.   The Fond du Lac County rate is up three-tenths of a  percent to 2.4 percent.  In Dodge County the jobless rate is up a tenth of a percent  to 2.4 percent.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Senate have narrowly approved the state budget.  The $81 billion two-year spending plan now goes to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who can sign the budget into law, veto it in its entirety or use his partial veto powers to revise it.  The Legislature's Republican-controlled finance committee eliminated a host of Evers' policy proposals from the budget, including a Medicaid expansion, legalizing marijuana and […]