News 03.24.17
24 March 2017 News
Fond du Lac County residents will soon be able to text to 911 in an emergency. Fond du Lac County executive Al Buechel says Fond du Lac County will be among the first counties in the state with the capability when it makes the $350,000 upgrade this spring. Buechel says the county’s current system is a decade old and in need of replacement. Buechel says younger people prefer texting instead of calling and others may not be in a position to talk depending on the emergency.
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Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue is teaming up with the Fond du lac County Public Health Department and Agnesian Healthcare to launch a new pilot mobile services program. The program is designed to help at-risk residents to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks when it comes to their overall health and well being. Fire chief Pete O’Leary says under the program off-duty paramedics will visit residents who have requested or been referred for service but likely don’t need emergency care. O’Leary says paramedics will perform an assessment and then help connect the patient with the appropriate care referrals in the community. O’Leary says using a Mobile Integrated Healthcare model emphasizes the importance of providing the right care at the right time in the right place at the right cost. The program is made possible thanks to a contribution from the Agnesian Healthcare Foundation.
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Wisconsin lawmakers could soon make cheese the state’s official dairy product. Milk has enjoyed a designation as the state’s official beverage since 1987 and the dairy cow became the state’s domestic animal in 1971. Even though Wisconsin produces the most cheese in the country, the state filled with self-proclaimed “cheeseheads” hasn’t honored the food with an official designation. State Senate and Assembly committees unanimously voted Thursday to move forward a bill from Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Todd Novak to change that. They got the idea from fourth-graders at Mineral Point Elementary School. The state produces around a quarter of the country’s 11 billion pounds of cheese per year. Wisconsin cheeses earned top marks at recent World and U.S. Cheese Championships.
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Gov. Scott Walker says international candy maker Haribo will build its first North American plant employing 400 people in southeast Wisconsin. Walker announced the $242 million planned facility on Thursday surrounded by state and local economic development officials. The company is expected to be operational in Pleasant Prairie, near Kenosha, by 2020. The German-based Haribo is known for its gummy candy. Walker held up two bags of Haribo candy when he made the announcement, but says he won’t be eating any because he gave up sweets for Lent. Walker made the announcement after the state Department of Workforce Development said state unemployment was 3.7 percent, the lowest since November 2010.
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Gov. Scott Walker’s approval rating is at 45 percent as he prepares for a likely run for a third term. The Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday showed that 45 percent of respondents approve of the job Walker is doing while 48 percent disapprove. It was 42 percent in late October. His rating is below the 50 percent approval he had at this point before he ran for a second term in 2014. The poll finds that 39 percent approve of the job performance of Republican Sen. Ron Johnson while 40 percent approve of Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan’s approval rating sits at 45 percent. The poll surveyed 800 registered voters between March 13 and March 16 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
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A woman is convicted of kidnapping a Detroit-area college student in 2000 after years of living under a different name in Wisconsin. Kim Johns was found guilty Wednesday of kidnapping and other crimes in Detroit federal court. She was captured a year ago living under an alias in Marathon County, Wisconsin. Johns was accused of kidnapping a 19-year-old student at gunpoint and taking her on an eight-day journey to Illinois and Iowa. The government alleged that Johns was upset because the woman was ending their relationship. But Johns’ lawyers said the victim never called 911. They stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants before the Michigan woman decided to drive off while Johns was in a hotel. Johns escaped a halfway house in 2000 while facing charges.
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