Amtrak Empire Builder Delays Increasing Out West
1/30/14 – The Amtrak passenger train that goes through Columbus and Portage is getting disrupted more often out west. A riders’ group says part of the problem is massive rail shipments of crude oil from North Dakota. The National Association of Railroad Passengers says it’s gotten so bad, it’s asking U-S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to intervene. Another problem is the cold-and-snowy winter. Westbound Amtrak trains bypassed several stops in North Dakota this week, and used buses to get riders to their destinations. That caused delays of up to 10 hours. Amtrak’s Empire Builder — which runs from Chicago through Wisconsin to Seattle — uses a Burlington Northern-Santa Fe route that has seen higher oil shipments from oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Amtrak and Burlington Northern have had talks on resolving the delays — but oil freight companies have told Amtrak not to expect improvements for months. Ross Capon, head of the railroad passengers’ group, says the delays are intolerable. In his words, “Crude oil is being given priority over people.” The Empire Builder is Amtrak’s most popular long-distance overnight train. Its Wisconsin stops are also at Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dells and La Crosse.
Beaver Dam Police Arrest Man On Sex Crime Charges
1/30/14 – A Wisconsin Rapids man is accused of traveling to Beaver Dam to meet an underage boy. Bryce Lenz is charged with a felony count of Using a Computer to Facilitate A Child Sex Crime along with three felony and one misdemeanor counts of Bail Jumping. Authorities say the 26-year-old responded to an online ad posted by an undercover officer Beaver Dam Police officer claiming to be a 14-year-old boy. Prosecutors say Lenz sent explicit pictures to the officer believing it was the underage child. He was arrested on Monday after meeting at an agreed upon location. Lenz is being held in the Dodge County Jail on a $10-thousand dollar cash bond. A judge will decide next week if there is enough evidence to order a trial.
Former Racine Mayor No Longer In Custody
1/30/14 – Former Racine Mayor Gary Becker is no longer in custody, after he violated a probation that stemmed from his 2009 conviction for seeking child sex online. The 56-year-old Becker was arrested January 17th for what the state Corrections’ Department called “treatment violations.” Officials did not elaborate then — and they won’t do so now, citing the federal “HIPPA” law that keeps most patient data confidential. The state did confirm that Becker was released Tuesday afternoon after 11 days in custody. He was Racine’s mayor for almost six years before he resigned after he was caught seeking sex online with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl. When he met the person, she turned out to be an undercover agent. Becker spent three years in prison, before starting five years under extended supervision as of last February.
Prison Time Ordered For Campbellsport Camp Assault
1/30/14 – A Fond du Lac County judge has sentenced a 19-year-old South Milwaukee man to 16 years in prison for the sexual assault of boys at a YMCA camp in the Campbellsport area. Judge Robert Wirtz also sentenced Troy Orthmann to 8 years of extended supervision and 10 years of probation. Last October he pled no contest to sexual assault of a child charges. Orthmann was a camp counselor.
Maple Street Resurfacing Scheduled For June
1/30/14 – There will be another attempt to resurface Maple Street in Horicon this summer. The street saw mill and overlay work three years ago after it was used as a detour for the reconstruction of Highway 33 through the city. Mayor Steve Neitzel says there were premature cracking problems with the finished product almost immediately. City officials have been working with the Kunkel Engineering and Northeast Asphalt for the past three years to find a solution. The city’s portion of this new project will cost roughly $3000. Neitzel says Horicon taxpayers are getting their money’s worth as the new road is anticipated to last 15 to 20 years.
Summer Vacation Will Be Shorter Because of Weather
1/30/14 – Many Wisconsin school district’s will be staying in school a little longer this spring to make-up for the days they took off this winter due to severe weather. In the Beaver Dam School District, the school year was originally slated to end on Monday, June 9. The new last day of school will now be one day later on Tuesday, June 10. The Beaver Dam School District had three “snow days” built into this year’s calendar. With over one-third of the winter behind us, the district, like many others in the state, has taken four days off…all for extreme cold temperatures and not snow. The calendar for next school year was unanimously adopted by the Beaver Dam School Board at this month’s regular meeting. It also has three “snow days” built-in with the final day of school on Monday, June 8. Spring break for Beaver Dam in both calendar years is the final, full week of March.
December Jobless Numbers a Mixed Bag
1/30/14 – The December jobless numbers in the region were disappointing compared to November but improved considerably from last year. Last month’s unemployment rate in Dodge County was 6.2-percent, the same as November but eight-tenths lower than December of 2012. Columbia County was up one-tenth over the two-month period to 5.7-percent but dropped a full percentage point from last year. Jefferson County was at 6.1-percent last month up two-tenths from November but a half-point lower than a year ago. Washington County was unchanged from November to December at 5.1-percent. Fond du Lac County was up one-tenth over the two-month period to 5.4 percent. Green Lake County was up two-tenths to 7.7-percent. Dane County’s jobless filings were down two-tenths to 3.8-percent, the lowest in the state. Iron county has the highest rate in the state at 13.3-percent. In total, 20 of the state’s 72 counties were lower or unchanged from November to December. Compared to last year though, all but three counties saw their jobless numbers drop. The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2-percent last month while the national rate was a half-point higher at 6.7-percent.
Walker Says School Accountability Still a Priority
1/30/14 – Governor Scott Walker says Wisconsin lawmakers should make it a top priority this spring to make schools more accountable. But it won’t happen today, after Senate Education Committee Chairman Luther Olsen canceled a vote he had planned on a major reform package he unveiled this week. Olsen, a Republican from Ripon, said he didn’t have the votes to approve the package — and it might have to wait until next year’s session. The bill would create more definitive letter grades for evaluating public schools, force failing schools to either close or become charter schools, and release test results for tax-funded private school students in the voucher program. Olsen said Democrats and Senate Republican Paul Farrow of Pewaukee opposed the plan. Farrow said he wants an “accountability council” to be formed in the Department of Public Instruction. He also wants all voucher schools to be judged by test data, not just the tax-funded students within those schools. The Republican governor re-iterated that he wants a school reform bill on his desk by early April, when the legislative session is due to end. Walker says he’s talking to leaders of both houses about the matter. He said parents need to be able to compare schools, to decide which ones are best for their children.
Obama Visiting Waukesha’s General Electric Plant Today
1/30/14 – President Obama will talk about a less-polarizing subject when he visits Wisconsin Thursday — job training. The Democratic president will speak this morning at a General Electric plant in Waukesha where about 700 people make natural gas engines. Job training is a priority among both parties in state government. Last week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joined other big city leaders to discuss manufacturing partnerships with Vice President Joe Biden. A White House official says Obama will talk about the executive orders he plans to impose to reform federal job training programs. He’s also expected to highlight other parts of his State-of-the-Union speech from Tuesday which caused friction between the parties — especially his desire to boost the minimum wage, and to be more forceful about sidestepping Congress and use executive orders to boost his agenda when he believes it’s necessary. Obama is visiting Wisconsin at a time when his approval ratings have slipped to their lowest levels in two years. A Marquette Law School poll this week said 44-percent of Wisconsin voters approved of the job the president’s doing — down from 49-percent last October.
Healthcare.Gov Enrollment Fair Next Week at MPTC
1/30/14 – Dodge County residents who are still planning to sign-up for insurance through the federal exchanges can get some help next week. A Healthcare Reform Enrollment Fair will be held at Moraine Park Technical College’s Beaver Dam campus on Thursday. Officials say there will be certified agents available in-person to help with application filings and answer questions. Throughout the day, there will also be Information Sessions about the Affordable Care Act and Marketplace to learn more about this new law. Those applying will need to be prepared with basic information about yourself and your family and current insurance options. Identification is also needed. The fair at Moraine Park is hosted by the Dodge County Regional Enrollment Network, which consists of local organizations including the Dodge County Human Services and Health Department and the Beaver Dam Community Hospital, among others. Details and contact information is on our website wbevradio.com / wxroradio.com.
Dodge County Healthcare Reform Enrollment Fair will take place Thursday, February 6, at Moraine Park Technical College, 700 Gould Street in Beaver Dam, in Rooms K207 and K208 from 12pm-7pm. For more information, please call 608-288-2545 or email MarketplaceQuestions@gmail.com.
