News 08.03.16
3 August 2016 News
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff says its time for other counties to stop sending their convicted sex offenders to Fond du Lac County. Sheriff Mick Fink says convicted child sex offender Terry Olson should be placed in Washington County where he committed the crime when he is released from the Sand Ridge Treatment Center. Fink has written a letter to the Sand Ridge supervised release specialist stating his opposition to the proposed placement of Olson at a town of Eldorado residence. Fink says violent sex offenders need to be placed in the county where they were convicted. Fink says ultimately the decision will be made by a Washington County judge. Last fall a Milwaukee judge nixed plans to place a violent sex offender from Milwaukee in the town of Eldorado.
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A Milwaukee man convicted in the heroin overdose death of a Fond du lac County man four years ago is going to prison. Fond du Lac judge Robert Wirtz sentenced Alonzo Cornelius to 12 years in prison and three years of extended supervision. Cornelius pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit manufacture and delivery of heroin. A charge of first degree reckless homicide-delivery of drugs was dismissed and read into the record. Cornelius was the third person convicted in the heroin overdose death of town of Springvale resident Devin Perry in October of 2012. Fond du Lac resident, Jason Van Norman and Waupun resident Joshua Mulder were earlier convicted for their roles. Van Norman was sentenced earlier to 10 years in prison and 10 years extended supervision. Cornelius is the person investigators believe sold the heroin that eventually ended up in the hands of the victim.
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Wisconsin and Minnesota farmers could struggle again this year with a return on their crop investment, despite above average corn and soybean yields. Agriculture experts are predicting a bumper crop of corn with more than 94 million acres of the grain planted across the country, an increase of 6 million acres from last year. But the Department of Agriculture says crop prices haven’t recovered much after dipping to $3.40 per corn bushel and $8.50 per soybean bushel in 2015, which resulted in losses for many farmers. Trempealeau County Extension Ag Agent Steve Okonek says many farmers will struggle to see a return on their investments for the second year in a row because the cost of fertilizer, fuel and labor is $4 or more per acre.
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Wisconsin’s public school system is one of the best in the country, according to an analysis by the personal-finance website WalletHub. Wisconsin is ranked fifth on WalletHub’s list of “Best School Systems in America.” The report examined each state across 17 metrics, ranging from student-teacher ratio to average SAT and ACT scores to dropout rate. According to the report, Wisconsin has the lowest percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. The report places Massachusetts at the top of the list of states with the best school systems — with New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont ahead of Wisconsin.
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/
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Gov. Scott Walker is telling state agencies he plans to extend the University of Wisconsin tuition freeze in the next two-year state budget he will introduce in early 2017. Walker says in a letter to state agencies last week that most should submit budgets for the next two years that don’t spend any more money than they were allotted this year. He says there will be exceptions, including for aid to K-12 public schools, cost increases for Medicaid, the state prison system and institutions run by the state Department of Health Services. Walker also issued similar “no-increase” budget instructions in 2014 and 2012. The UW tuition freeze is in its fourth year and Walker had previously indicated he wanted to see it continue. State agency budget requests are due Sept. 15.
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State attorneys have asked a federal appeals court to temporarily block a ruling allowing Wisconsin residents to vote without photo identification. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman issued an injunction last month allowing people struggling to obtain IDs to vote in the Nov. 8 election if they sign an affidavit. State Justice Department attorneys filed notice of appeal July 22 with the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. They asked Adelman to stay his ruling pending the appeal’s outcome but Adelman refused. The DOJ asked the 7th Circuit to stay the ruling Monday, arguing it’s necessary to avoid voter confusion and the state would expend resources preparing an affidavit process. Adelman’s ruling is separate from a decision a federal judge in Madison issued last week loosening voter ID requirements.
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