News – July 7, 2021

(Beaver Dam) Beaver Dam has a new fire chief. At last (Tuesday) night’s regular monthly meeting of the city’s Police and Fire Commission action was taken to approve the hiring of Michael Wesle as fire chief. Wesle is succeeding Alan Mannel, who retired in mid-April. PFC Chair Jeffry Kohman says it will now fall to the new fire chief to appoint a deputy chief as former Deputy Chief Matt Christian also retired earlier this year.

(Madison) Governor Tony Evers says he is examining the budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The two year plan spends $87-and-half billion-dollars and includes three billion in tax cuts. The budget allocates $128-million-dollars in new funding for K-12 schools over the biennium. Evers calls that “inadequate,” but Republicans say more state money is not needed, because Wisconsin schools are receiving more than $2-billion in federal aid related to the pandemic. Evers must act by Friday.

(Markesan) State Senator Joan Ballweg says they included additional funds in the state budget for six additional meat inspectors and grants for meat processors. The state lawmaker from Markesan says one thing learned during the pandemic’s early days is a need for more protections for meat processing plants. Ballweg adds that making grants available to meat processors will help them expand freezers or hire more workers.

(Beaver Dam) Road construction is slated to start this Monday to extend Woodland Drive in Beaver Dam. Director of Engineering Todd Janssen says work will consist of extending Woodland Drive from its current termination point westerly to Commercial Drive. He says it will also include new pavement structure, storm sewer, and street lighting. The project area will be closed to through traffic during construction which is anticipated to be completed by September 5th. Janssen says the work schedule will be determined based upon weather conditions.

(Fond du Lac) Road construction work on Highway 175 from the south Fond du Lac County line to Highway 151 in the city of Fond du lac is expected to begin in mid-August. Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation say work includes resurfacing just over seven miles of 175, beam guard replacement, concrete barrier, and culvert pipe replacement. Highway 175 will be closed and detoured during the first stage of construction which is anticipated to be complete by early October. A website is available to review the scope of the project, traffic impacts, and temporary business signing information. A link can be found at DailyDodge.com.

(Fond du Lac) More than fireworks were being shot off in Fond du Lac the morning of July Fourth. Police say the Fond du Lac County Communications Center got two calls about possible gun shots fired in the area of Forest Avenue and South Military Road at 3:15am Sunday. Officers recovered shell casings in the roadway and a canvass of the area found a witness that saw a red color 4-door vehicle that pulled a U-turn at that intersection. The driver stuck a gun out the window and fired a number of shots straight up into the air as he drove off. No injuries were reported. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Fond du Lac Police.

(Wisconsin) Wisconsin communities now have some help from the state, in their legal disputes with opioid manufacturers. The new law requires the state attorney general to cooperate with local governments that are suing manufacturers and distributors. The Governor said he signed the bill despite some misgivings over a provision that allows the state legislature authority to approve any settlement reached by the state. – WRN

(Wisconsin) A new report says more wolves were killed in Wisconsin than state wildlife officials first reported. Three University of Wisconsin scientists say another 105 wolves were killed either by poachers, farmers, or hit by cars since the federal government removed protections for the gray wolf. That is over and above the 218 wolves killed during Wisconsin’s wolf hunt last year. The U-W researchers say people are hostile toward wolves, and they think the killings will continue. The Department of Natural Resources is not commenting on the U-W report. – WRN