News 09.27.16
27 September 2016 News
The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol continues to investigate the death of a man following an accident on a bicycle. Chief Deputy Mark Putzke says investigation shows 65-year-old Kenneth Prol of Randolph was riding a bicycle on Valley Road at County Highway X in the Town of Manchester Friday morning. At some point, Prol entered a ditch, was separated from the bike and came to rest in a cornfield. When rescue personnel arrived, life saving efforts were started, but Prol was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. Foul play is not suspected, however, an autopsy is being performed and the crash is being reconstructed by the Wisconsin State Patrol.
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The Washington County Sheriff’s Office determines an 18-year-old Campbellsport man committed suicide and that his death was not caused by the actions of a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputy. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney says after reviewing reports from the investigation, Deputy James Pfeiffer’s actions were justified under self-defense and defense of others and that no charges would be filed against the deputy. According to a Washington County Sheriff press release, the 18-year-old had posted suicidal statements on social media and was texting acquaintances for several hours prior to the incident. On March 24th, deputies attempted to stop the man who was driving on Town Hall Road in the town of Auburn. At one point the man turned his vehicle around and drove toward the deputies at a slow speed, striking one of the squad cars. The 18-year-old drove off road, struck a tree and shot himself with a handgun. The report says deputies did not fire their weapons. Deputies extricated the man from the car and provided life-saving measures until paramedics arrived. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
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The U.S. Army is using its option to buy $42 million worth of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) from Oshkosh Defense, the defense arm of Oshkosh Corporation.
The order is part of a larger $6.7 billion contract awarded to Oshkosh Defense in August, 2015, to build about 17,000 JLTV’s for the Army and Marine Corps over eight years. The JLTV is replacing the Army and Marines’ fleet of Humvees. Oshkosh doesn’t say how many vehicles are in the latest order. It’s the third since the contract was awarded. The vehicles are expected to be completed in November, 2017.
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With just weeks before the November election, the push is on to help register voters in Wisconsin. That means people like Molly McGrath are out in force helping people navigate complex and seemingly ever-changing election laws in the state. This will be the first presidential election where voters are required to show photo ID. McGrath works with the VoteRiders group. She says there’s a lot of confusion over the law. Majority Republicans who swept into power in 2011 passed it, arguing it was needed to combat fraud. Liberals have successfully challenged other voting changes in court but photo ID still stands.
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Floods and mudslides are washing away promising-looking corn and soybean crops in western Wisconsin. Before the flood, farmers in the western part of Wisconsin were looking at a potentially record-setting harvest after a near-perfect growing season. But farmers hit by mudslides in the valleys are now suffering tremendously says Vance Haugen, the agriculture agent for the UW-Extension in Crawford County. Haugen says farmers whose fields are covered in water or mud may have to wait until the ground freezes before they can harvest whatever is left. Adam Hady, the ag agent for the UW Extension in Richland County, says corn stalks are weakening in some areas. Hady says that will lead to machinery breakdowns during harvest. Forecasts call for a dry week ahead.
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Fatalities, injuries and accidents are up in Wisconsin in the year since the state raised the speed limit to 70 mph on most interstate highways. The higher speed limits aren’t the only thing that might be contributing to those increases, but they haven’t been seen on state highways that mostly stayed at 65. In the year since the speed limit increase in June 2015, interstate fatalities rose 37 percent, injuries increased by 11 percent and the total number of accidents rose 12 percent. Census statistics show the number of miles driven has increased as the economy rebounds, gas prices remain low, and the number of 16-year-olds eligible for driver’s licenses rises as older drivers are staying on the road longer.
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