(Beaver Dam) Authorities have identified the person found dead in the Beaver Dam River over the weekend. 48-year-old George W. Stodola, whose last known address was in the city of Beaver Dam, was found by two kayakers in the water south of Cooper Street and north of Highway 151 on Saturday afternoon. The exact cause of death is still unknown, and the circumstances leading up to his death are under investigation. There are no indications at this time that any other citizens are at risk because of the death. Officers did recover a 10-foot-long, lime green kayak in the river on Saturday but there is no indication that the kayak was ever used by Stodola. Beaver Dam Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
(Oconomowoc) A standoff in Waukesha County ended late last (Tuesday) night with one suspect taking into custody following two officer-involved shootings during the incident. It stared around 4:15pm on the Highway 67 overpass at I-94, resulting in road closures on the major thoroughfares. Authorities say there is no longer a threat to the community but are not saying much else until later this morning. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says police surrounded a minivan on the interstate overpass in Oconomowoc during the standoff; a man inside was said to be armed. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is being called in to investigate what was described as one officer-involved shooting and “a second subsequent one.”
(Beaver Dam) Beaver Dam Fire Chief Alan Mannel is going to reach out to a non-partisan municipal research group in his efforts to construct a second fire station. Bids came back too high to hire a for-profit company to study the need and location of a second station. The Police and Fire Commission last night was reluctant to fund a study at the same time the county is looking at the protentional regionalization of EMS services due to increasing staffing shortages. Mannel initially asked the commission to approve paying for a pared-down facility study but later agreed with the mayor’s suggestion to work with the non-profit researchers at the Wisconsin Policy Forum. If the county commissions an EMS study, it could be next year before its completed and even longer before anything changes. Mannel says the decision on a second station is imperative for public safety.
(Beaver Dam) The old Lakeview Hospital should be down by December. The Beaver Dam Operations Committee this week signed-off on the hiring of Badgerland Demolition of De Pere to demolish the old Lakeview Hospital for $386-thousand dollars, pending council approval later this month. In October, the city purchased the La Crosse Street building for $225-thousand dollars. The dilapidated structure and an adjacent property are being developed into high-end, lakefront condominiums. Asbestos removal is expected to be completed by October 31. The deadline for demolition is two months later. The property is expected to be turned over to the developer on February 1.
(Frederick, Colorado) The Patriot Tour is making its way out west. The non-profit Nation of Patriots coordinates the journey that sees a series of flag-bearers carry one American flag by motorcycle, city-to-city, through all 48 contiguous states. The ride departed from Beaver Dam last month and is due back in the city in September. Flag-bearer Kyle Easley recently traveled the segment from Iowa to Minnesota. Easley says it was (quote) “amazing riding alongside the flag flying in the wind on a beautiful day.” The ride is moving out of Colorado today and heading to Utah before ending the week in Wyoming. The Patriot Tour is hoping to surpass the one-million-dollar mark in money raised for veterans over the past ten years.
(Beaver Dam) Charges were dropped yesterday (Tuesday) against a Beaver Dam man accused of spitting and throwing a pie into the face of a sheriff’s deputy. A doctor determined that Mark Gallagher is not competent, and the state moved to dismiss charges, which include felony Resisting and misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. The dismissal comes with the condition that Gallagher sign a placement order to go into protective custody. The incident occurred while the 22-year-old was being evicted. Gallagher was said to be belligerent when the deputy arrived on scene, grabbing the pie and throwing it in the deputy’s face.
