(Watertown) The National Weather Service says the Dane County Airport reported 5.4-inches of snow by midnight. Baraboo had five inches at 5:30-am today, Sullivan had 4.9-inches as of 6:30am while Hartford got 4.5-inches; Oconomowoc recorded 4.6-inches through 7am while Slinger had 3.1-inches. Snowfall totals were higher near Lake Michigan with West Allis, Wauwatosa and Glendale picking up between 9-and-a-half and 10-inches.
(Beaver Dam) This year’s state budget is getting off to a somewhat later start than usual. State Representative Mark Born, who sits on the Joint Finance Committee, told us Friday on WBEV’s Community Comment that the process itself has not changed, it’s simply a matter of the legislature giving incoming Governor Tony Evers an extra couple weeks to craft his budget. The address is typically held the first week of February but now it will take place on February 28. The Beaver Dam Republican says roughly a month later, public hearings will begin. Born says discussions are still being had on exactly where those public hearings will be and how many will be held.
(Madison) Governor Tony Evers is signaling his plans to decriminalize marijuana. Evers says he will include the changes as part of his upcoming state budget. The measures include legalizing medical marijuana as treatments for chronic pain, P-T-S-D and cancer recovery. The measure would also allow for people who were convicted of having small amounts of marijuana to get their criminal records expunged. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said he does not think the idea can earn passage in the Wisconsin Senate.
(Beaver Dam) All of the Payless ShoeSource store closings in the Dodge County-area are housed inside ShopKo stores. On Friday, the company announced that it was closing all of its 21-hundred locations across the country. That includes Payless outlets in Beaver Dam, Columbus, Mayville and Watertown. The Beaver Dam ShopKo is the only ShopKo in the Dodge County-area that has not had a closure announced. However, the Beaver Dam store is still reeling from losing its pharmacy and loss of its shoe supplier is another devastating blow. Company officials have not commented on the latest development.
(Wisconsin Dells) Authorities are still looking for a second person after a semi-truck crashed into Mirror Lake on Interstate 90 near Wisconsin Dells. A damaged guard rail was found Sunday morning at about 7:30am. The truck was then discovered more than 100 feet down the embankment fully-submerged in the lake. One body was recovered but a second person remains missing. Names have not been released. Investigators suspect that weather may have played a factor.
(Oakfield) A semi driver suffered serious injuries but survived when his truck went off a railroad overpass Friday and fell 30 feet to the Canadian National Railroad tracks some 30-feet below. It happened on Fond du Lac County Highway F in the Town of Byron. Paul Hebert was taken to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac with serious injuries. A second man was injured when he stopped at the scene to speak with firefighters but left his gear in reverse and was partially run over by his own vehicle. Marion Shafer was also taken to St. Agnes with serious injuries.
(Beaver Dam) The family of a Beaver Dam woman killed in a fire last year is marking their daughter’s memory with a gift to the community. Twenty-four-year-old Jade Wilson perished in the April blaze at the Executive Apartments. Her father Joe Wilson told city officials that the family wants to install a floating dock and kayak launch in her memory. He says Jade loved the lake and when her grandfather asked how she could be remembered, the kayak launch felt like it would be the right tribute. The Beaver Dam Common Council formally accepted the gift at their most recent meeting. Mayor Becky Glewen calls it a (quote) “fantastic way to not only remember Jade but to help others enjoy the lake as well.” The kayak launch, and related signage remembering Jade Wilson, will be installed off Lake Shore Drive at Oneida Street.
