Western Wisconsin will have warmer temperatures today and tomorrow. The National Weather Service says strong southerly winds will bring in much warmer air. Temperatures today and tomorrow are expected to be in the 50's, with little to no precipitation expected. After the warm-up, seasonal weather is expected for the weekend and into next week.
Ezra McCandless is trying to appeal her murder conviction, again. McCandless' lawyers this week filed an appeal with Wisconsin's appellate court. Her lawyers want a new trial and want her interviews with the police to be kept out of that new trial. McCandless is serving a life sentence for stabbing her ex-boyfriend to death back in 2018. She left his body in a car, halfway between Eau Claire and Menomonie. McCandless's appeal comes after a Dunn County judge refused to give her a new trial a few weeks ago.
A Fountain City Man is facing charges of sexually assaulting three children. Kaleb Doerr, from Fountain City, was charged Monday in Buffalo County with three counts of first degree child sexual assault. According to authorities, the girls said the assaults started when they were four, six and eight respectively. They all said the assaults continued for several years. They said the assaults sometimes happened under the guise of playing a game. Doerr would have been 15 when the assaults began, and 19 when they ended. He will be back in court in January.
Wildlife officials have captured hundreds of invasive carp from the Mississippi River near Trempealeau, Wisconsin. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced last Friday that officials caught 296 silver carp, 23 grass carp, and four bighead carp on Nov. 30 in what the agency called the largest single capture of invasive carp in Minnesota to date. Agency officials said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tracked six tagged invasive carp in that area of the river the week which led officials to larger schools moving upstream. Observations from commercial anglers also helped officials pinpoint the fish. Grace Loppnow, the Minnesota DNR’s invasive carp coordinator, said the large number captured on Nov. 30 is concerning but it’s likely they moved upstream and didn’t hatch in Minnesota waters.
Governor Evers has signed the deal to spend a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money on the Brewers ballpark. The governor yesterday went to American Family Field to sign the package. The agreement will spend just over 350 million-dollars from the state, and another 135 million from Milwaukee and Milwaukee County on renovations and upkeep at the stadium over the next 27 years. The Brewers are also kicking in 100 million-more. The governor says the package is a good deal for taxpayers because it keeps the Brewers, and the quarter-billion dollars in taxes the team generates, in Milwaukee til 2050.
More salmonella cases tied to contaminated cantaloupes are being reported in Minnesota. The state Department of Health says there are now 20 confirmed cases of the illness, including two deaths. The agency is working with the state Department of Agriculture, the CDC, and the FDA to investigate the outbreak. They want to find out if each case was caused by cantaloupes identified during the initial recall or if there were other reasons for each illness. State health officials expect even more cases will be reported in the next few weeks.
A bill introduced in the State Capitol would decriminalize possession of smaller amounts of marijuana in Wisconsin. Currently, the penalty for possessing up a half-ounce of pot in the state is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. The proposed bill which has bi-partisan support would change that to a fine between $100 and $250. The bill also removes the possibility of a repeat offender becoming a felon and lowers the penalty for paraphernalia possession to $10. Proponents see the measure as a smaller step the lower the punishment for marijuana possession as the state’s Republican-controlled legislature continues to oppose the legalization of pot.
A bill circulating at the state Capitol would cover school supply expenses covered by teachers. The proposal would have the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction reimburse teachers for as much as $250 on out-of-pocket purchases of school supplies for their classrooms. Teachers who qualify must work full-time in either a public or private school and would need to send the state a receipt with the signature of the principal where the teachers works. The proposal was based on laws in seven other states that give teachers money for classroom supplies. The bill could receive a public hearing as early as January.
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The University of Wisconsin is installing a heated field at Camp Randall. Crews began to tear-up the turf Monday. The plan is to install a heating system so the turf isn't so icy or slick. It will cost about five million-dollars to install the heat system. The university says the new heated field will look the same, and should feel the same for most of the season.
A Dane County judge has said Wisconsin's 1849 abortion ban doesn't really ban abortions. Judge Diane Schlipper yesterday ruled that the law, which bans almost all abortions in the state, only applies to people who intentionally kill a baby, what she called feticide. Schlipper says the law does not apply to consensual abortions where a woman agrees to end her pregnancy. While the specifics of the ruling are new, no one is surprised that Schlipper struck down Wisconsin's abortion ban. Planned Parenthood yesterday said the ruling is 'another important step forward in restoring and expanding access to abortion in Wisconsin.' Pro-life groups in the state say it's a step backward.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants to remind those who fish that they need to keep their trash off the ice. A law that took effect on July 1st requires all trash to be put in secured containers attached to an ice house or vehicle. That includes drink cups, cigarette butts, and fish remains. The goal of the policy is to keep lakes and shorelines clean after the ice melts. DNR officers can issue citations with fines of up to 100-dollars to those who refuse to obey the law.
Video footage from a Lowry Hill neighborhood home records a cougar walking in the area. The cat was seen jumping over a fence and walking across a driveway before heading into another yard around 3:30 a.m. yesterday. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says cougar sightings in Minneapolis are rare. Since 2004, there has only been one other sighting captured in Hennepin County.
The latest higher education package at the State Capitol includes millions of dollars more for UW schools. Democratic lawmakers introduced ten pieces of legislation yesterday that they say will invest in higher ed. The plans cover everything from expanding the UW's free tuition Promise Program, to a new needs-based financial aid system. There's also a pitch for 49-million dollars more in state aid for technical colleges, and 60-million dollars more for the Universities of Wisconsin.
- It's that time of year again--MnDOT's "Name a Snowplow" contest is here. The Department of Transportation is asking residents to submit creative ideas by December 15th. Past winners include "Betty Whiteout," "Sleetwood Mac," and "Blader Tot Hotdish." You can only submit one name, and no vulgar or political names will be considered. Name suggestions can be submitted on MnDOT's website.
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Wisconsin's DOT boss is warning that the state could lose-out on millions of dollars for electric vehicle chargers because of a quirk in state law. DOT Secretary Craig Thompson yesterday said 78 million-dollars from the federal government is at risk. The money has been earmarked to build a network of fast EV chargers across the state, but the money is in jeopardy because Wisconsin law doesn't allow anyone other than a utility to sell electricity by the hour. Thompson says Wisconsin has hundreds of EV chargers, but there are just four Level 3 chargers that can recharge an electric car in as little as 30 minutes. Lawmakers are looking to update the state's law, but it's likely won't happen until at least next year.
A pastor from Green Bay is going to prison for exploiting boys in Venezuela and Cuba. A federal judge sentenced 40-year-old Cory Herthel to 15-years behind bars this week. Herthel pleaded guilty back in August. He was caught after federal investigators got a tip about Herthel sending explicit videos to a 15-year-old in Venezuela. Prosecutors say he was also involved in a sexual relationship with a boy in Cuba, and was sending that boy's family money. Herthel was the pastor at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Green Bay.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth say Lake Superior is warming due to climate change. Data from the Large Lakes Observatory shows the lake has warmed about one-degree a year since the 1980s, making it one of the fastest-warming lakes in the world. Researchers say that the warming trend leads to a variety of problems, including large algae blooms spotted on the lake during the summer. One expert said in a recent study that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, Lake Superior will stop freezing during the winter sometime after 2060.
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