Cousins Enters Plea In Purdue Slaying
1/24/14 – An innocent plea was entered Thursday for a Purdue University student accused of killing a fellow student from Wisconsin. 23-year-old Cody Cousins attended an initial court proceeding, where Magistrate Sean Persin entered the plea — standard procedure in Indiana. Cousins was held without bond, and a tentative trial date was set for April 22nd on the murder charge that was filed yesterday. Prosecutors say Cousins both shot and stabbed 21-year-old Andrew Boldt of West Bend in a Purdue classroom on Tuesday. Boldt’s funeral is set for Tuesday night in West Bend.
Teens Proceed To Trial For Beaver Dam Break-Ins
1/24/14 – Two teenagers charged with burglarizing several homes in Beaver Dam will proceed to trial. 18-year-old Cody Anderson and 17-year-old William Simmons both waived their right to preliminary hearing yesterday. Anderson appeared for a subsequent arraignment hearing and entered a “not guilty” plea. Authorities responded to a home on Lakeshore Drive in November following a report of individuals trying to enter the residence without consent. Throughout the morning, several other calls were received about attempted entry to various homes in the same area. Simmons apprehended a short time later following a traffic stop of a suspicious vehicle on South Center Street. Stolen items were allegedly recovered from his vehicle. The next day, as part of the follow-up investigation, Anderson was arrested along with a 16-year-old juvenile. The two have court activity on the calendar again next month.
Reichwald Waives Prelim To Chase Charge
1/24/14 – A Beaver Dam man will proceed to trial on charges that he sparked a drunken high speed chase. Mark Reichwald Jr. waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday to one felony count of Attempting to Flee a Traffic Officer. Beaver Dam police initiated a stop for a traffic violation near Madison and Rowell streets just before midnight Wednesday. The 21-year-old allegedly refused to stop, sparking a chase down Madison Street that reached speeds of 80-miles-per-hour. The pursuit left the city limits, where speeds on County Highway G reportedly reached speeds in excess of 95mph. The chase continued down Highway DE to Forest Road, where the suspect crashed his vehicle into several mailboxes near the entrance of a mobile home park. The 21-year-old then fled on foot into a nearby residence and was taken into custody a short time later. Reichwald allegedly had a blood alcohol level of point-one-nine-seven (0.197). The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of three-and-a-half years.
Fitzgerald Unsure Of Votes For Tax Cut
1/24/14 – Governor Scott Walker has called a special legislative session to act on his 504-million-dollar tax relief plan. The Republican Walker issued an executive order that the session begin immediately on a package that returns just over half of the projected budget surplus of almost a billion dollars. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he wants a public hearing on the property-and-income tax relief package next week, with a vote in his house on February 11th. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau says he did not have enough votes to pass any tax relief plan yet. Some other Republicans predicted a smaller tax cut, with more of the surplus going toward the expected structural deficit at the start of the next budget in mid-2015. Under the proposal, the average homeowner would get a 101-dollar property tax break over the next year-and-a-half. Income taxes would be cut by 44-to-58-dollars a year per filer. Withholding tables would also be revised, so folks could get an extra 58-dollars a month on their paychecks — instead of waiting until the following spring to get that same amount back in their income tax refunds. The Walker plan would also add about 100-million dollars for the state’s rainy day fund, and 35-million toward worker training and technical college programs.
Jefferson County DA Running For AG
1/24/14 – A third Democrat is entering the race for Wisconsin attorney general. Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ has filed paperwork with the state elections’ agency to indicate that she’ll run. Dane County D-A Ismael Ozanne and State Representative Jon Richards of Milwaukee are also running as Democrats. If at least two of them file, there will be a Democratic primary in mid-August. As it stands now, the winner will take on the only Republican in the race, Waukesha County D-A Brad Schimel, in November. Happ first signaled her possible candidacy a month-and-a-half ago. She said she was approached about running, and she was exploring the best way to put her experience to work for Wisconsin. Happ has been the chief prosecutor in Jefferson County since 2009. Voters will pick a replacement for J-B Van Hollen, a Republican who will step down after eight years in office.
Ten Wisconsinites Have Died From Flu
1/24/14 – State health officials say that 10 Wisconsinites have died from the flu this winter — and unlike past years, three-fourths of the victims were 50-or-younger. Flu surveillance coordinator Tom Haupt said none of the state’s deaths involved anyone under 18 yet. Normally, it’s the very old and the very young that get hit the hardest. But the U-S Centers for Disease Control says it’s likely that those 58-and-older remain immune due to their past immunizations for this year’s prevalent strain, the H-1-N-1 flu. Lyn Finelli of the C-D-C says older people and young children traditionally have higher vaccination rates — which was borne out by a recent study showing that 47-percent of Wisconsin between 18-and-64 never got flu shots last winter. Finelli says that age group has the lowest immunity as a result — and it’s still not too late to get a flu shot.
Walker Accidentally Recognizes Sex Offender
1/24/14 – A worker who was recognized during Governor Scott Walker’s State-of-the-State speech is a registered sex offender who spent time in prison and violated probation twice. 32-year-old Christopher Barber of Two Rivers wore his welding helmet on stage Wednesday night, when the Republican governor showed him off as an example of how, quote, “Wisconsin is going back to work.” It was the kind of thing all governors do in their State-of-the-State messages, to praise those who’ve done Wisconsin and their administrations proud. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Barber served three years in prison for a plea deal in 2005 in which he was convicted of third-degree sexual assault while two drug charges were dropped. Barber has also been convicted of misdemeanor battery, and he spent a year in jail for felony forgery. He was convicted of drunk driving three times. Barber took a seasonal job in late 2012 as a welder at the Ariens riding mower and snow-blower plant in Brillion. He later grew into a full-time position. The governor’s office said it asked employers around the state to recommend workers who were hired since Walker took office in 2011. Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice said neither Walker’s office nor Ariens knew the details of his criminal record. Had the governor’s office known, spokesman Tom Evenson said Barber never would have been invited. Ariens’ spokeswoman Ann Stilt said the firm is now conducting an internal review of his hiring.
