Children’s Radiothon Going Strong Until 9am
6/20/14 – The WBEV/WXRO Children’s Radiothon wraps up Friday morning at 9am. The 27-hour marathon, live-auction broadcast kicked-off Thursday morning at 6am. Eight organizations that work closely with children will be benefiting from the funds raised. They include: People Against A Violent Environment, Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Dodge County, Green Valley Enterprises, YMCA of Dodge County, Clothes for Kids, the Watertown Family Center, ARC of Dodge County and Community Care Preschool and Child Care. After six hours on the air, the noon fundraising total was $15-thousand dollars. Scott and Lori Smith announced at 6pm that Noel’s Angel Walk brought in $11-thousand dollars. At 8pm, the announced fundraising total was $51-thousand dollars. By 10pm, the numbers climbed to nearly $65-thousand dollars. Those who do not want to bid have been encouraged to make an outright donation to the Radiothon by Chuck and Randy Neuman who have offered up to $2000 in dollar-for-dollar matching funds.
Relay For Life Begins At 4pm Today
6/20/14 – The Annual Relay for Life of Beaver Dam gets underway Friday afternoon at the high school track. Event Chair Kristen Fabisch says there are around 300 participants on over two dozen teams involved this year. The fundraising goal is $145,000. Last year, Relay pulled in nearly $142,000. Walkers take to the track at 4pm when the concession stands open, the silent auction begins and kids sections open up. The Honorary Survivor this year Dave Rose and the Child Survivor is Luke Gartland, who is celebrating his birthday today. Their stories will be recounted during tonight’s opening ceremony at 6pm. The Luminaria Ceremony is at 10pm. Mary Gerber Prieve is the honorary caregiver who will share her story at the Relay for Life closing ceremony tomorrow morning at 8am.
Walker In National Spotlight Following Records Release
6/19/14 – Court documents released Thursday indicate that Governor Scott Walker participated in a nationwide criminal scheme to coordinate fundraising with conservative groups. There have not been charges filed against Walker or his staff and debate continues in court over whether the activities are against election law. This is the first time Walker has been identified to be at the center of an investigation into alleged illegal campaign coordination in 2011 and 2012. The documents were filed in December as part of the John Doe investigation into fundraising involving Walker and his campaign, the Wisconsin Club for Growth, the state Chamber of Commerce, among others. The investigation has been on hold since a federal judge ruled in May that it violated the free speech rights of the Wisconsin Club for Growth. In the December filing, state prosecutors said that Walker, former chief of staff Keith Gilkes, top adviser R.J. Johnson and campaign operative Deborah Jordahl discussed illegal fundraising and coordination with national political groups and prominent Republican figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove.
Beaver Dam Man Appears Following SWAT Team Arrest
6/20/14 – A Beaver Dam man appeared in Dodge County court Thursday on charges that he threatened to kill his neighbors. 36-year-old Jonas Milan is charged with felony Intimidation of a Witness and misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. The SWAT Team was called to the 300 block of Haskell Street Wednesday evening following an apparent disagreement between neighbors. Authorities say that disagreement was sparked after Milan allegedly threw his neighbors chainsaw into the lake and then made threats that he was going to kill the neighbor’s family. As part of the investigation, it was learned that Milan had reportedly attempted to obtain firearms that day from a family member and may have been seen with a handgun in the days leading up to the incident. Milan’s family members and the neighbors also expressed concerns over his erratic behavior. Responding officers found him to be uncooperative. Beaver Dam Police and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team executed a search warrant just after 1am Thursday morning. No firearms were located in the residence. Cash bond was set at $1000 yesterday and a judge will decide next week of there is enough evidence to order a trial.
Kewaskum Counselors On Hand Following Student Deaths
6/20/14 – Kewaskum High School will have counselors on hand again today, to help students and others come to grips with the deaths of two students. The State Patrol says the victims were Travis Trapp of Cascade and Brent Schultz of Kewaskum, both 16. The names were released after the victims’ families were notified. The Kewaskum superintendent also confirmed what students were saying earlier — that both boys were involved in the school’s F-F-A, and came from excellent families. The State Patrol said the teens’ car crossed a center line and hit the oncoming Washington County sheriff’s unit. It happened yesterday morning near Kewaskum on County Trunk “H.” Officials said rain and wet roads were possible factors, but they’re still investigating. Counselors were at Kewaskum High today to help students and staffers cope with the tragedy. Those counselors will return tomorrow.
Quad Graphics Closing Two Plants In Neighboring States
6/20/14 – Wisconsin’s largest printing company says it will close two of its plants in neighboring Minnesota and Illinois. Quad-Graphics of Sussex says it will shut down its commercial printing facilities in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and Woodstock, Illinois. The Saint Cloud Times says the shutdown in that city is a consolidation move, after Quad recently bought the Brown Printing Company of Waseca, Minnesota for 100-million dollars. Spokeswoman Claire Ho said full-time employees at both plants would be eligible for separation packages — and job opportunities will be available at two other Quad-Graphics plants in Minnesota and ten in Wisconsin. The Saint Cloud plant expects to close in late August, affecting 280 employees. Quad acquired the plant in 2010 when it bought the large Canadian firm of World Color. Quad Graphics is one of the Dodge County-area’s largest employers.
Planned Parenthood Closing Fond du Lac Clinic
6/20/14 – Planned Parenthood said Thursday it will shut down its clinic in Fond du Lac on September 25th. C-E-O Teri Huyck blamed the closure on the governor and Legislature. Majority Repubilcans voted last year to eliminate a million dollars in reproductive health care funding in the current state budget. The G-O-P has been working to put curbs-and-controls on abortion facilities in the last session. But Huyck said the Fond du Lac clinic does not provide abortions — and neither did the other four Planned Parenthood facilities that have closed in the last two years due to a lack of state funds. Huyck called the Fond du Lac closure a loss for families who rely on the agency for cancer screenings, health exams, birth control, and treatments for sexually-transmitted diseases. She said the Fond du Lac facility served about 11-hundred patients each year — and they’ll be referred to the group’s closest clinics in Oshkosh and West Bend. Planned Parenthood closed clinics in Beaver Dam and Johnson Creek last year.
Wisconsin Job Growth 13th Lowest
6/20/14 – Only 13 states had slower job growth than Wisconsin over the past year. That’s according to a new quarterly analysis released Thursday by the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Badger State created just over 28-thousand private sector jobs during the 2013 calendar year. That’s an increase of one-point-two percent — the 37th smallest percentage growth among the 50 states. It put Wisconsin two places lower on the totem pole than the last report three months ago. The national job growth was nine-tenths-of-a-point higher than Wisconsin’s, at two-point-one percent. Republican Governor Scott Walker guaranteed it would be a hot-button political issue four years ago, when he promised 250-thousand new private sector jobs during his first campaign. That total is just over 100-thousand, as Wisconsin has seen an unsteady recovery from the Great Recession. Democrats have been blaming the Republican Walker and the G-O-P’s policies — but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says job growth has lagged behind the national norms for most of the last ten years. That includes four years under Democratic Governor Jim Doyle before the recession hit in 2008.
State Unemployment Rate Drops Again
6/20/14 – Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has dropped for the ninth month in a row. State officials said today that the seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was five-point-eight percent. That’s down one-tenth of a point from April, and it’s more than a half-percent below the national rate of six-point-three. Preliminary figures showed that Wisconsin has added around 38-thousand private sector jobs over the last year, and 116-thousand since Governor Scott Walker first took office at the start of 2011. That’s far below Walker’s campaign promise of 250-thousand new private sector jobs during his four-year term. However, new charts from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show that Wisconsin’s job growth has lagged for much of the last decade under both Walker and former Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. The federal government reported today that the Badger State created 28-thousand jobs during 2013, a gain of one-point-two percent throughout the year. That was the 37th slowest job growth in the 50 states on a percentage basis, down from 35th in the last report three months ago.
Milk Production Ends Six-Month Decline
6/20/14 – Wisconsin dairy farmers have ended six straight months of declining milk production. The U-S-D-A said the Badger State produced the same amount of milk in May as a year ago, just under two-point-four billion pounds. Wisconsin is the nation’s second-largest milk producer. First-place California had a one-percent increase last month, to three-and-three quarter billion pounds. Nationally, just over 18-billion pounds of milk were made last month. That’s up one-point-four percent from May of 2013 — but U-S dairy farmers are still behind the pace needed to match the entire national output for last year of 206-billion pounds. Wisconsin averaged 18-hundred-80 pounds of milk per cow last month, about 70 pounds less than the national norm. The long cold winter, poor feed quality, and higher cull rates have been listed as the major reasons for Wisconsin’s recent declines.