News 03.08.17
8 March 2017 News
A 62 year old woman is arrested following a high speed chase that started in Waupun. Deputy police chief Scott Louden says shortly after midnight Monday an officer attempted a traffic stop for a speeding violation but the SUV did not stop. The vehicle continued out of Waupun traveling east on Hwy 49 across the Horicon Marsh. The chase ended when the vehicle ran over spike strips that had been deployed just outside Brownsville. The driver, a 62 year old McFarland woman, was arrested and charged with fleeing an officer and drunken driving, first offense.
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The owner of three scrap metal companies accused of defrauding a Fond du lac scrap metal company out of millions of dollars posts his $1 million cash bond. Sterling Kienbaum made his initial Fond du lac court appearance Monday on charges of racketeering and theft The complaint alleges Kienbaum worked with two other men to overcharge Sadoff Iron and Metal for scrap metal, bilking the company out of $14 million. Prosecutors say Kienbaum, owner of Fox Valley Iron and Metal, paid one of his employees, Daniel Christianson, to take scrap vehicles loaded with dirt to Sadoff’s. Christianson would then pay a Sadoff’s employee, Donald Krueger, to accept the vehicles, which were heavier than Sadoff’s limit. Kienbaum would then get money from Sadoff’s as if the dirt were scrap metal. Those individuals, Daniel Christianson and Donald Krueger were convicted last year and placed on probation. A preliminary hearing for Kienbaum is scheduled for March 16th.
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says shifting more tax dollars toward roads in the next budget isn’t a long-term solution for transportation funding. The state’s transportation fund faces a nearly $1 billion shortfall. Gov. Scott Walker has refused to raise the gas tax or vehicle fees to fill the hole. His biennial budget calls for $500 million in borrowing and delaying projects. Vos and other Assembly Republicans say every revenue mechanism should be considered, including cutting income or sales taxes to offset a gas tax increase. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says that shifting more tax dollars from the state’s general fund to roads in the budget. Vos told reporters Tuesday that leave legislators facing the same funding problem in two years when projects have grown even more expensive.
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The Wisconsin Legislature passes a bill long sought by parents of children who suffer from seizures. The state Assembly voted 98-0 Tuesday to legalize possession of CBD oil, a marijuana extract used to treat seizures. The oil doesn’t produce a high. The Legislature passed a similar bill in 2014, but it restricted access to people involved in medical trials. That led to renewed lobbying by parents still unable to legally obtain the treatment for their children, many of whom suffer from epilepsy. Democrats say the bill should have gone farther by allowing the sale of CBD oil in the state. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill on a 31-1 vote. The bill now heads to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature. Walker says he supports it.
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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs finds five deficiencies at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, whose request prompted a DVA review in early January, released a copy of the department’s report on Monday. Deficiencies included administering the wrong cough syrup to a resident, failing to create a treatment plan for a resident with spasms and seizures and failing to monitor a resident’s automated mattress to prevent falls. Facility staff also failed to routinely test elevators and update a plan to prevent aspiration pneumonia. The findings were based on a survey conducted Jan. 10-13. Around 700 residents receive care at King, which provides them with nursing, counseling and social activities. The facility has been plagued by allegations of mismanagement.
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The number of cheeses, yogurts and butters competing at this year’s U.S. Championship Cheese Contest is at an all-time high. The contest organizer, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, says that’s because cheesemakers are seeing what a win does for sales. Wisconsin cheesemaker Emmi Roth USA won last year’s world championships with their Grand Cru Surchoix (sur-SHWAH’), and since then they’ve seen sales of that cheese increase by 20 percent. Contest entries are up 22 percent to more than 2,300 this year. There will also be 25 first-time competitors. Wisconsin has the most entries from any state, but more than half of the other entries are coming from 32 other states. The contest is being held in Green Bay and the winners will be announced Thursday.
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