News 06.30.16
30 June 2016 News
A Fond du Lac judge declares a mistrial in the Dennis Brantner murder trial. Judge Gary Sharpe issued his ruling after the jury came back late Wednesday morning indicating they were deadlocked. Brantner was on trial for first degree murder in the 1990 death of Berit Beck in Fond du lac County. Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink says he hopes the District Attorney retries the case. Brantner was arrested last year in the cold case murder after the state crime lab matched his fingerprints to prints found in Beck’s van. Fink says there is absolutely no doubt in his mind that Brantner killed Beck. Brantner was returned to the Fond du Lac County Jail and is still being held on a million dollars cash bond. A scheduling conference will be held in the future. Brantner also faces charges for allegedly bringing drugs into the Fond du Lac County Jail when he was being booked into the jail last year following his arrest.
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It’s a readiness exercise that local public health and first responders hope they never have to implement. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and its partners including Fond du lac County Public Health recently conducted a large-scale anthrax readiness drill. Fond du Lac County Public Health officer Kim Mueller says the exercise involved the simulated delivery and distribution of antibiotics who may have been exposed to anthrax. Mueller says the drill helps to ensure the county is ready to react immediately and efficiently and is prepared.
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Thirty-one trade and business associations are banding together to do away with Wisconsin’s personal property tax. Many states have long chipped away at what some call an “antiquated” tax on personal property, such as furniture, equipment and machinery. In Wisconsin, that process of exempting property from the tax has left a piecemeal structure in place that businesses say is unfair and hits small businesses disproportionately. While many legislators agree the tax should go, there is disagreement about how to fill the $250 million hole it would leave annually for local governments. The new Coalition to Repeal Wisconsin’s Personal Property Tax, which includes major players from across the business industry, hopes to increase pressure to find a solution and repeal the tax entirely.
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Democratic legislative leaders are promising to do away with new partisan commissions overseeing Wisconsin elections and ethics laws if they gain majority control of the Legislature. Democratic lawmakers held a news conference Wednesday to mark the final day of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board. The Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker are replacing the board with two new commissions compromised of an equal number of Democratic and Republican appointees. Those new commissions officially begin operating today. Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach says he would “absolutely” propose re-instating the GAB if Democrats get control of the Senate. And Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca says he would support reinstating nonpartisan judges on the panels. Even if Democrats get majority control, Walker would still have the power to veto any proposal.
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A Milwaukee woman accused of killing a pregnant woman is now on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted Fugitives” list. The bureau on Tuesday announced the addition of 24-year-old Shanika Minor. Minor is wanted in the March shooting death of 23-year-old Tamecca Perry. Perry’s unborn child also died in the shooting. Authorities say Minor shot Perry, who was within a week of giving birth, after a confrontation over loud music at the duplex where Minor’s mother also lived. Minor fled after the shooting and has not been found. She is described as African-American, 5-foot-6 inches tall, weighing 165 pounds, of medium build with black hair and brown eyes. She has a display of roses tattooed on her lower abdomen. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered.
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