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News 05.06.16

6 May 2016 News


A Wisconsin appeals court affirms a judgment finding a frequent University of Wisconsin System protester guilty of obstructing an officer while trying to enter a UW-Oshkosh building. According to the ruling, former UW-Stevens Point student Jeff Decker attempted to attend a campus event in May 2014, even though he wasn’t permitted on campus. Two police officers intervened, but Decker avoided them and started struggling when they grabbed his arm. Decker fell to the floor and locked his arms and legs onto a table as the officers pulled him to the doorway. Winnebago County circuit court found Decker guilty of obstructing an officer last year, a decision the 2nd District Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday.

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Fond du Lac County is not the only county in the area that has seen a significant spike in tourism and visitor spending. According to a study by Tourism Economics, spending in Green Lake County was up 7.46 percent in 2015. That amounts to $37.9 million spent in the county in that year. President of the Green Lake Country Visitors Bureau, Jason Mansmith says a destination marketing campaign was vital to providing visitors a chance to “Relax, Retreat, and Repeat” in an area where the attractions and sites are no more than 25 minutes apart from each other. Mansmith says the collaboration between all five communities in the GLCVB was very successful and he hopes the momentum continues to bring people to the area. Tourism continues to be one of Wisconsin’s most important economic resources. Statewide, traveler spending generated $1.5 billion in state and local revenue and $1.1 billion in federal taxes.


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An inmate is charged with attempted homicide for allegedly attacking a correctional officer at a Waupun prison last fall. Forty-six year old Bobby Kimble made his initial Dodge County Circuit Court appearance Wednesday. He’s charged with attempted first degree intentional homicide, false imprisonment, and battery by prisoner – all as a repeat offender. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for June 23rd. Kimble is accused of attacking the 26 year old female officer at Waupun Correctional Institution on October 30th. She was transported to the hospital where she was treated and released. In 1998, Kimble was convicted on charges that included multiple counts of sexual assault with a dangerous weapon, burglary armed with a dangerous weapon, and substantial battery.

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A prominent sportsmen’s group wants Gov. Scott Walker to crack down on deer farms as he revises the state’s chronic wasting disease tactics. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation announced Thursday that it sent the governor a letter asking him to require farms to double-fence, install devices to detect open gates and kill their herds within a month if CWD is detected on their farm and it’s not double-fenced. The federation recommended more testing of wild deer for CWD and suggests returning to in-person carcass registration in disease zones. The group also demanded more transparency from the state on the disease’s spread. A Walker spokesman has not yet commented. Whitetails of Wisconsin Association President Rick Vojtik saying the captive herd isn’t spreading the disease and double-fencing won’t stop its spread.

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State officials say 11 of 30 wells tested in northeastern Wisconsin are contaminated with salmonella or rotavirus. The Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Service released the results. There have been no reported illnesses linked to the wells tested in Kewaunee County. The DNR is funding research to examine the extent and source of groundwater contamination in the county, which has a large cattle population. U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist Mark Borchardt says he contacted property owners with water problems to let them know about the test results. They were advised to stop using the water for drinking and bathing, and to have their wells treated with chlorine.

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Wisconsin prosecutors have charged a man accused of killing an Illinois woman in a random drive-by shooting along an interstate. Twenty-year-old Zachary Hays was charged Wednesday with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. Authorities say he shot 44-year-old Tracy Czaczkowski while she was driving with her husband and two children Sunday along Interstate 90/94. Hays allegedly opened fire on the family’s vehicle, hitting Czaczkowski in the neck. She later died. Police say officers shot Hays after he emerged from his vehicle with a gun. Police also believe Hays fatally shot a man just hours earlier in suburban Milwaukee. Hays remained hospitalized Wednesday. His condition hasn’t been released. No attorney is listed for Hays in court documents.

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