News 04.18.17
18 April 2017 News
Officials and residents in Wisconsin say they’re concerned about the consequences of an unauthorized dredging project that destroyed a karst feature on farmland just outside of Appleton. The excavation caused a navigable stream to disappear into the karst feature, an opening in the ground caused by the dissolution of bedrock. Greenville resident John Julius says this has the potential to affect the well water of nearby residents. Officials from Outagamie County and the state Department of Natural Resources say the damage to the karst feature is severe and perhaps irreparable. DNR water management specialist Scott Koehnke says the responsible parties were ordered to stabilize the site with erosion controls and to prepare a restoration plan for the steam, the adjacent wetlands and the karst feature.
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Fond du lac County has a new board supervisor. The County committee on committees has recommended the appointment of Tom Kitchen to the District 18 seat. County executive Al Buechel says Kitchen will replace Paul Levandowski who died unexpectedly last month from a stroke. The term expires in April 2018. Kitchen is a retired teacher from Saint Mary’s Springs Academy and has been active in the county Democratic party over the last several years. He has also previously served on the Fond du Lac city council. Kitchen will be sworn into office at next week’s county board meeting.
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A driver dies after being pursued by police in Green Bay. Officers were called to investigate a person trying to break into some vehicles in a west side neighborhood Sunday shortly before 10 p.m. Authorities say the person appeared to be intoxicated. A short time later, officers tried to stop a vehicle that was operating erratically in the area. The driver started to pull over, but then took off and eventually jumped a curb and struck a tree. The vehicle split apart. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Appleton police are investigating because the case is classified as an “officer-involved death.” The State Patrol is also investigating.
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Gov. Scott Walker is forging ahead with plans to move more people off Medicaid by capping benefits for childless adults who aren’t working and subjecting some to drug tests. Details of his proposals, which require sign-off from the federal government, were posted Monday for public comment. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services plans to submit an application to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the end of May. Walker’s most talked about proposal would screen applicants for drug use. Applicants who refuse a drug test would go several months without coverage. Individuals who test positive would get treatment. Walker, a Republican, says his proposals would send more people to work. Democrats argue Wisconsin should instead take federal money to expand Medicaid, as some Republican-controlled states have done.
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Gov. Scott Walker signs a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring contractors working on public projects to use collective bargaining agreements. The governor signed the bill into law Monday at AmeriLux International, a De Pere manufacturer of building materials. Republican supporters of the measure argue it gives non-union firms more opportunities to win public work. Democratic opponents say it is another attempt to limit the influence of unions in the state and diminish local control. Few places in the state require the agreements. More than 20 other states have passed similar legislation.
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Tool manufacturer Snap-on says President Donald Trump’s visit to the company’s headquarters in Wisconsin will highlight “the essential nature of American manufacturing to our nation’s future.” Trump plans to visit Snap-on’s Kenosha headquarters today. The company posted a comment about his visit on its website Monday. Snap-on is based in the congressional district of House Speaker Paul Ryan, but he will not be there for Trump’s visit. He is overseas with a congressional delegation visiting several NATO countries. Trump carried Wisconsin by less than a percentage point and a poll in March showed his approval rating to be just 41 percent. Snap-on says it sees Trump’s visit as an “encouraging development” to help highlight the importance of manufacturing.
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