News – December 1, 2020

(Herman) A Lowell man was sentenced yesterday (Monday) to four years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision for setting fire to his former home. The property owner told investigators that if the fire seemed at all suspicious Benjamin Mueller was (quote) “your suspect” and that the 42-year-old was not allowed at the residence anymore. Following an examination of the scene by a Wisconsin Deputy State Fire Marshall, it was determined that the blaze was caused by (quote) “the application and subsequent ignition, [by] open flame of an ignitable liquid.” At sentencing, District Attorney Kurt Klomberg said intentionally setting fire to a residence is dangerous in the extreme and incarceration is necessary to protect the public.

(Beaver Dam) A Beaver Dam gas station was robbed over the weekend. The Beaver Dam Police Department responded to an unidentified local gas station Saturday at 12:45am for a report of a robbery that had just occurred. Responding officers were informed that an employee of the gas station was confronted by a subject who sprayed them in the face with pepper spray. The employee physically engaged the suspects and was able to unmask one of them. Both suspects fled with an undisclosed amount of merchandise. Photos of the unmasked suspect can be found with this news story at DailyDodge.com.

(Dodge County) Wisconsin health officials are reporting 2,534 positive coronavirus cases in Monday’s daily update. There are 68,774 active cases in the state, a decrease of 1,120 from Sunday. The state reported six deaths bringing that total to 3,313. Dodge County has experienced 71 deaths and local health officials are actively monitoring 1,155 people.

(Dodge County) Several Dodge County prisons have seen increased coronavirus cases, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Over the last two weeks, Dodge Correctional jumped from 516 positive cases among inmates to 667. There are currently 216 active cases while 450 have recovered. At nearby Waupun Correctional, 716 inmates have tested positive; an increase of 30 from two weeks ago. All cases have recovered. Fox Lake Correctional currently has 84 inmates with the virus while John C. Burke has three.

(Ripon) A former Ripon teen who threatened to kill 17 students and a teacher at the Ripon High School last December was sentenced in Fond du Lac County court Monday. Nineteen-year-old Lillian Cavell of Spring Valley, Illinois pleaded no contest to a felony count of making a terrorist threat and misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. The felony conviction will go away if she commits no new crimes over the next 18 months, performs community service, and gets her high school diploma.  She was sentenced to 40 days in jail on the disorderly conduct charge.  Another student found what amounted to a hit list in a restroom at the high school on December 4th of last year. The threat led to a soft lockdown of the high school and middle school.

(Menomonee Falls) We Energies and Harley Davidson have completed installing nearly 84-hundred solar panels at the motorcycle company’s Menomonee Falls facility.  This is the largest single rooftop solar panel system in Wisconsin, which can generate enough power for over 400 homes.

(Wisconsin) More members of the Wisconsin National Guard are back in the U-S after a deployment overseas.  Five soldiers part of a contracting team have spent the past 11 months in the Horn of Africa to serve in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel to help acquire supplies and equipment.  They will be at Fort Bliss in Texas for demobilization before returning to Wisconsin.

(Wisconsin) A new effort aims to help folks dine with peace of mind. Wisconsin’s restaurants have taken a significant financial hit during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s new “Ready to Serve Safely” campaign highlights those that follow state and federal guidelines and adhere to public health orders. Restaurants that meet all the criteria are listed at Safe Dining Wisconsin dot COM. Criteria for the program include cleaning and sanitation practices, social distancing, employee health and training, and capacity limits. -WRN

(Wisconsin) The chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission has finalized Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state’s presidential election. Jane Jacobs’ signature on a statement of canvass puts the state on record as having found Biden the winner of Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes. Democratic Governor Tony Evers in turn signed and certified the results of the November 3rd General Election. That will be sent to Congress. President Donald Trump has threatened a lawsuit, and already the state Supreme Court is considering whether to hear two lawsuits from Republican voters seeking to have the Republican-controlled Legislature decide how to cast Wisconsin’s electoral votes. The Trump campaign has five days file suit. -WRN