2/24/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
24 February 2022 News
Oshkosh Man Part Of Plot Against US Power Grids
An Oshkosh man and two others have pled guilty to planning attacks on power grids around the United States. Twenty-two-year-old Jackson Sawall pled guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. He could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. According to the federal charges he was part of a plot to attack regional substations with rifles in an effort to create civil unrest. Federal prosecutors say Sawall, Christopher Cook of Ohio and Jonathan Frost of Texas, had white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs. They allegedly wanted to start a race war and an economic depression. A virtual hearing was held in Columbus, Ohio Wednesday.
Theresa Man Arrested For Fourth OWI
A 43-year-old Dodge County man was arrested late Tuesday night in Dodge County for allegedly driving drunk. A state trooper pulled Jeremy Garbisch of Theresa over after observing Garbisch’s northbound SUV enter the I-41 southbound off-ramp to State Highway 67. Before Garbisch reached the through lanes of I-41 he managed to turn his vehicle around and park on the shoulder of the road. The trooper noticed an odor of intoxicants and signs of impairment when Garbisch was approached. After completing field sobriety tests Garbisch was arrested for his 4th OWI offense and was taken to the Dodge County Jail.
State Senate Passes Farm Implement Transfer Bill
The State Senate has passed a bill that State Senator Joan Ballweg authored making the process of transferring farm implements after death more efficient. Currently, beneficiaries who are receiving farm implements are required to go through probate, an often lengthy formal legal process. All equipment used to continue production is held until that process is completed. The bill allows farm implements to be transferred through a process called Transfer on Death or TOD. Through written designation of a beneficiary and witnesses, TOD can bypass the need for the court to get involved. The legislation is supported by 17 agriculture related associations across Wisconsin. It now heads to the State Assembly.
Dallman Votes For Education Reform Package
Wisconsin’s State Assembly took up a number of education reform bills this week and State Representative Alex Dallman voted in favor of all of them. The state lawmaker from Green Lake says the package of education reform bills will expand clarity, accountability, and most importantly, will put children and their parents first. The package included the “Parental Bill of Rights”, which prohibits the state from infringing on the right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their children. The package also establishes uniform standards for school accountability reports, a parental opt-out from mask mandates in school buildings, and a requirement for school boards to offer children a full-time, in-person learning option. The education reform bills will now head to the senate for a vote.
New 911 Center For Waupaca County
The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office opened their new 911 Communication Center Tuesday. Sheriff Timothy Wilz says throughout the last several years, the Waupaca County Communications Center started dispatching and answering telephone calls for more police departments throughout the county. During that same time period, technology related to public safety continued to grow. Wilz points out the new facility offers more room for state-of-the-art technology, enhanced security systems, ergonomic dispatch councils, a system to provide clean, fresh air, and an internal employee break room and restrooms. Pictures of the new center are posted on the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Facebook page.
Boston COVID Contrast
Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says it is interesting to see how different parts of the country handle masking and vaccine requirements. He recently returned from a trip to Boston where he says it seems that everyone wears a mask. He says he even had to provide his vaccination card to show he had been fully immunized before he could eat at a restaurant there. He says that contrasts to being back here where he went into a convenience store after his return and felt that he was the only one wearing a mask. Puhlmann-Becker believes because Boston is a large city and people live closer together they have a more serious approach to the pandemic.
Gig Economy
The president and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac says the pandemic took workers away from their places of employment and some employers are still trying to rebound from that. Sadie Parafiniuk says employers believed when things eased with COVID-19 workers would return to the workplace, but that hasn’t happened at the levels that were expected. She says unfortunately the labor participation rate remains at about 60 percent across Fond du Lac County. Parafiniuk says the pandemic changed the way people look at jobs and has created what is referred to as the “Gig Economy” where workers take jobs that pay cash off the books and move from one gig to the next.
Top Consumer Complaints
For a third year in a row the Top consumer complaint made to the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection had to do with telemarketing. In fact in 2021 the Bureau of Consumer Protection received 2,765 complaints about telemarketing. Bureau Director Michael Domke says telemarketing complaints ranged from robocalls to unsolicited telemarketers calling you. Domke says the best protection against telemarketers is to get on the DATCP Do Not Call list. He says overall they handled 11,750 complaints from consumers last year and were able to return over $11 million to them. At number 2 on the list were landlord tenant complaints, followed by identity theft, home improvement, telecommunications, medical services, motor vehicle repairs, sales, accessories and parts, and entertainment and recreation.
Sturgeon Spearing Season Day 12
There are four days remaining in the 2022 Sturgeon Spearing season on Lake Winnebago. On Day 12 Wednesday spearers took 21 fish bringing the season total on the big lake to 934 fish. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials say 60 percent of the allotted adult female sturgeon have been harvested for the entire Winnebago system while only 50 percent of males have been harvested. Aaron Muche (pictured) speared the only fish over 100 pounds Wednesday. It was a female sturgeon that weighed 100.8 pounds and was 72.8 inches in length. Aaron registered it at the Blackwolf registration station. Blackwolf has now registered 21 fish over 100 pounds for the season.
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