News 03.14.18
14 March 2018 News
A jury rejects the insanity defense of a Wisconsin man convicted of starting a standoff with police that led to the death of one of his hostages at a motorcycle shop. The Winnebago County jury determined Monday that 48-year-old Brian Flatoff did not suffer from a mental disease or defect during the 2015 standoff at Eagle Nation Cycles in Neenah. The verdict means Flatoff is responsible for 14 felony convictions for his actions that day. The judge scheduled sentencing for May 16. Prosecutors say Flatoff shot at officers and initiated the sequence of events that led to the death of Michael Funk. Police mistakenly shot Funk, one of the hostages, during the standoff. A court-appointed psychologist testified Flatoff could appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
-30-
Fond du lac County Sheriff’s investigators say a Fox Lake man may have tried to elude authorities because a passenger in his car was wanted by police. The man led police on a chase in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties Sunday with speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. Sheriff’s captain Ryan Waldschmidt says the chase was terminated when deputies learned the identity of the driver. Waldschmidt says investigators also learned the driver was on his way to pick up a relative who was being released from the hospital in Fond du Lac. The driver did not have any outstanding warrants.
-30-
Gov. Scott Walker signs a bill that increases state aid for rural schools. The bill increases the maximum that qualifying low-spending districts can spend through a combination of property taxes and state aid per student from $9,100 to $9,400 for the 2018-19 school year. The limit will increase by $100 each year to a maximum of $9,800 in the 2022-2023 school year. The bill also increases the amount of sparsity aid available to 144 qualifying schools with 745 students or fewer and membership density of less than 10 students per square mile. The aid amount would increase from $300 to $400 per student. Walker signed the bill Monday at Riverdale High School in Muscoda.
-30-
State officials are asking the Trump administration to set aside a recent federal finding and conclude that Wisconsin is in compliance with newer and tougher ozone emission standards. The request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would weaken the impact of the standards on factories and other large sources of air pollution, including the Foxconn Technology Group’s plan for a manufacturing complex in Racine County. The Department of Natural Resources argues air emission data shows Illinois and Indiana are primarily responsible to pollution that blows north along Lake Michigan and creates smog. Short of concluding the whole state is in compliance, the DNR recommends federal officials declare narrow strips of land along the lake as violating the standards and declare the rest of the state is in compliance.
-30-
Share |