News 12.19.17
19 December 2017 News
The retrial for an over the road trucker charged in the murder of a Sturdevant teenager in Fond du Lac County is scheduled to start in February. Dennis Brantner is charged in the 1990 murder of Berit Beck. A mistrial was declared in June of 2016 after the jury told the judge it was deadlocked. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for January 19 and a motion hearing is scheduled for February 2. The four week trial is scheduled to begin February 12. Brantner was arrested after the state crime lab matched his fingerprints to prints found in Beck’s van.
-30-
A plane that led the invasion of Normandy during World War II is saved from a junkyard and carefully restored in Wisconsin. The C-47, called “That’s All, Brother,” carried the first paratroopers who stormed the beaches of Normandy. The aircraft led the more than 800 other C-47s also carrying paratroopers. The plane was lost for 70 years and was accidentally discovered by an Air Force historian at the Basler Turbo Conversions junkyard in Oshkosh in 2015. The group, Commemorative Air Force, started a campaign to restore the aircraft. Employees at Basler have spent more than 22,000 hours restoring “That’s All, Brother” to former glory. Their hope is to fly the aircraft over Normandy in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
-30-
The spotlight is back on the closed John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign. The probe closed in 2015 and no charges were ever brought against Walker after the Wisconsin Supreme Court said no illegal campaign coordination happened. But after Attorney General Brad Schimel issued a report into a leak of secret documents, Republican legislative leaders have called for the resignation of the Ethics and Election commission administrators. They have refused, setting up a potential dramatic Senate vote next month to reject their confirmation. Meanwhile, a judge is reviewing Schimel’s recommendation that nine others involved with the investigation be found in contempt for not following court secrecy orders. The drama is playing out as Walker runs for a third term.
-30-
Wisconsin wildlife officials hope the hunting tradition can get new life from the local food movement. The Learn to Hunt for Food program aims to capitalize on the increasing demand for local, sustainable food. The program hopes to educate people who are interested in hunting as a food source. Keith Warnke is a hunting and shooting sports coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Warnke got the idea for the program in 2012. He said the Madison classes typically fill up within 24 hours. Students include environmental studies students, Department of Natural Resources employees, former vegetarians and others interested in hunting for food. The classes focus on deer or turkey. Classes include mentored hunts and teach firearm safety and hands-on butchering.
-30-
Share |