News – June 3, 2020

(Milwaukee) Protests over the death of George Floyd continued last night in Milwaukee and remained peaceful. In Madison, most of the day was peaceful but ultimately nine people were arrested. Authorities made no attempt to break up the rally at the Capitol after the city’s 9:30pm curfew. However around 1am, Channel 3000 is reporting most of the protesters went home but some stayed behind to vandalize and loot stores on State Street for a third straight night. Police Chief Vic Wahl says the National Guard and Madison Police deployed chemical agents after officers were hit with rocks.

(Dodge County) Wisconsin health officials are reporting an increase of 140 cases of COVID-19 in yesterday’s (Monday’s) daily update. The two-week daily average is 423 daily infections. There is a total of 18,543 people now having tested positive. Three-point-nine-percent (3.9%) of the nearly 3,500 tests administered came back positive on Monday, compared to 2.3-percent on Sunday and 5.3-percent on Saturday. State public health officials reported three deaths bringing the total to 595. Dodge County saw an increase of seven cases Monday, for a total 228, with two deaths on record.

(Waupun) The Wisconsin National Guard conducted specimen collections yesterday (Monday) at the John C. Burke Correctional Center in Waupun. The prison so far has tested six inmates with two negative results and four tests still pending. According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Waupun Correctional saw three more employees test positive for COVID-19 yesterday (Monday) and that number now stands at 18. The facility has 213 positive tests among inmates, the most in the state, with six tests still pending. At nearby Dodge Correctional, no inmates have tested positive for coronavirus while 948 have tested negative; 1,362 tests are still pending.

(Wisconsin) Six months after deadlocking on it, the state Supreme Court will try to resolve a lawsuit over Wisconsin’s voter rolls. The state Elections Commission sent letters to about 232,000 voters in October asking them to update their registrations. The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty sued on behalf of three men who argued state law required the commission to take them off the voter rolls if they hadn’t acted within 30 days. An Ozaukee County judge agreed, but an appeals court reversed that ruling. Many voters have since updated their registrations, but the decision could still impact 150,000. It’s not clear whether the court will rule before the November presidential election, in which Wisconsin will be critical.

(Beaver Dam) Cash bond was set at $20,000 yesterday (Monday) for a Beaver Dam charged with his ninth OWI offense. Gregory Rasnick allegedly admitted to drinking eight beers prior to driving the evening of May 29th. When police were questioning Rasnick, he reportedly had blood shot eyes, was slurring his speech and smelled heavily of intoxicants. Due to his eight prior convictions, dating back to 1991 with the most recent in 2007, Rasnick had a reduced blood alcohol concentration limit of point-zero-two (.02). If convicted, the 57-year-old faces no more than 18-and-a-half years in prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled June 11th.

(Leipsig) Motorists crossing the bridge on County Highway S near Leipsig will notice new stop signs and concrete barriers. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt says this is due to a defect with the bridge’s railings and it is uncertain they would perform as expected if a vehicle strikes them. The bridge is scheduled to be replaced in the summer of 2021, until then, the concrete barriers and stop signs will remain in place. Schmidt says there will also be extra enforcement due to motorists failing to stop at the stop signs.

(Beaver Dam) Last (Monday) night’s Beaver Dam Common Council meeting had to be rescheduled because the date for the video conference link on the agenda was wrong. Because proper notification was not given to the public, the state Open Meetings Law leaves very little wiggle room. The city’s Administrative and Operations committees did meet yesterday (Monday). The new meeting date for the common council is this Thursday, June 4.

(Beaver Dam) The intersection of South Spring Street and Cooper Street/Judson Drive will be closed to all Beaver Dam traffic tomorrow (Wednesday) throughout the rest of the week. Director of Engineering Todd Janssen says work is slated to start on construction of underground utilities at the intersection. South Spring Street through traffic is encouraged to use an alternative route or the signed detour route on Front Street, South Center Street, Cooper Street, Myrtle Road and Beltline Drive. The project is scheduled to be finished Friday, weather permitting.

(Columbus) The Columbus 4th of July Festival has been cancelled. President of the Columbus 4th of July Organization Inc. Roger Venden says planning for the celebration began long before COVID-19 appeared and it was the desire of the committee to hold the festival in a safe manner for the community. He says as events over the past few weeks have evolved, they find it necessary to take this action to prevent any unnecessary impact on their partners. Venden thanked all local businesses and community organizations for their support as well as volunteers who put in countless hours in planning the festival.