A Rochester man, accused of killing his roommate and hiding the body has reached a plea bargain with Buffalo County prosecutors. Randall Merrick, pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in Buffalo County Court on Tuesday. Merrick was accused of killing Beth Johnson in Nelson in December of 2016 and then hiding the body in Blaine, Minnesota. Merrick will be sentenced at a later date.
A federal judge has sentenced an Eau Claire man to 15 years in prison for his second child porn conviction. Forty-nine-year-old Jay Liestman has already served three years in state prison for a 2014 child porn conviction. In this latest case, Liestman was found guilty of sending the illegal product over the internet. The U-S Attorney’s Office says he forwarded a link to hundreds of videos to an undercover agent. Liestman entered a guilty plea to the charges last April.
A Barron County man, accused of killing his passenger in a vehicle crash during a high-speed chase has fled the country. Mohamed Shire, was due in court on Tuesday but his attorney said he left the country. In August Shire was pulled over for suspected drunk driving and he allegedly struggled with the sheriff's deputy, got back in the car, and fled. He crashed a short time later and the passenger in his car was killed.
The Northern Wisconsin State Fair is expanding. The fair association has launched a $5.2 million campaign to build five new buildings, including two cattle barns, a small animal barn, a coliseum for animal shows and includes showers, restrooms, and a FEMA designed safe room to be used during severe weather. If the money can be raised, construction would begin next spring.
The remains found at Ft. McCoy has been identified. The Monroe County Sheriff's Department says the remains are that of 45yr old Christopher Doeslaere. According to the department, Doeslaere was involved in a high-speed chase with Sparta Police on September 10, and officers ended the pursuit on the west side of the city due to the reckless operation of Doeslaere's motorcycle. His remains were found November 6 by hunters at the fort in a remote area of the base outside of the gate or controlled access areas.
The former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice investigating the 2020 presidential election has given state lawmakers an update. Michael Gableman said his investigation is expanding and he accused some people of trying to obstruct his efforts. Gableman says the investigation will now include the allegations last month from Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling. Gableman says he’s going to look into electronic voting machines and the way the Wisconsin Elections Commission handled the November vote. No official timetable for completion of the investigation was given, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said it could be done by the end of this year.
Governor Tony Evers says the state is awarding 15-million dollars in grants to Destination Marketing Organizations across the state. E vers says Wisconsin tourism was one of the hardest-hit industries during the COVID pandemic, "but local folks at D-M-Os statewide have been innovative, and resilient, and "it's because of them that this industry is bouncing back and better." A total of 120 organizations have received D-M-O grants ranging from two thousand to one-million dollars based on expenses incurred by eligible tourism promotion and tourism development organizations.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce confirms that the growing demand for energy is going to drive heating prices higher this winter. Speakers from the organization say the demand for energy since the pandemic is continuing to rise. American Petroleum Institute V-P of Natural Gas Markets Dustin Meyer says demand peaks in winter. That’s why there is so much concern about the November prices. While the market is pushing those increases, the current inflation rate of five percent is also having an impact.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission will award 100-million dollars in grants for the expansion of broadband internet service in the state. The Wisconsin two-year budget plan approved in July set aside 129-million dollars for extending the service to underserved areas. Governor Tony Evers says the COVID-19 pandemic deepened the digital divide across the state. Evers says high-speed internet is essential to ensuring that families, communities, and the state bounce back from the pandemic. Over the seven years since the State Broadband Expansion Grant Program started, 268 grants have been handed out to connect more than 20-thousand businesses and 296-thousand homes to high-speed internet.
Students walked out of class Tuesday at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts saying they don’t feel safe. The students tell W-I-S-N Television they felt walking out was the only way to get the attention of school leaders. They say nobody seems to be listening to their safety concerns. Police have been called to the school 20 times in the last two months. The school district discontinued its school resource officer program through the Milwaukee Police Department last year. One student says there have been multiple shooting threats without anything being done.
The Department of Natural Resources says prices on recycled materials are up and that's a good thing for local municipalities. DNR recycling coordinator Jennifer Semrau says prices on the open market have rebounded thanks to increased demand and the current disruption in shipping. Semrau says that's good news for local recycling plants which are getting more money from the materials they collect and sort from Wisconsin homes.
Police in Texas reports the victim in a 1980 cold case murder is a teenage girl from Stillwater. The Walker County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that 14-year-old Sherri Ann Jarvis was murdered in Huntsville, Texas and her body was found on the side of a highway in November 1980. Detectives say they were able to figure out Jarvis' identity with the help of D-N-A analysis. In a statement, the Jarvis family thanked law enforcement in Texas for not giving up. Sherri's killer has not been found.
Coronavirus activity in Wisconsin appears to be diminishing. As of Monday, state health officials say only four counties have what’s called “critically high” COVID-19 activity. That number was closer to 20 just last month. Most of the rest of Wisconsin is considered to have “very high” coronavirus activity. That’s been the case for months. The counties with the lowest COVID-19 activity are Dane, Rock, and Milwaukee Counties, which the Department of Health Services considers to have “high” activity.
A trail camera in West Bend has captured the latest image of a cougar inside a populated area. Twenty-year-old Matt Geldnich says he got a text alert to his cell phone Sunday during dinner with a picture taken by that camera. Researchers at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have confirmed that the animal is a cougar. State officials say cougars have also been sighted in Waupaca County and Fond du Lac. Cougars are protected species in Wisconsin and the D-N-R says people should stay away from one if they spot it.
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