2/16/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
16 February 2023 News
Winter Weather Advisory
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Dodge and Fond du Lac counties from 9 am to 6 pm today. Snow accumulations could be from 1 to 4 inches with the lowest amounts in the northwest portion of the county and the highest amounts in the southeast portion of the county. Motorists should plan on encountering slippery road conditions.
FDL Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody
Fond du Lac Police took a man suspected of being party to a murder into custody, but not without a battle Wednesday afternoon. The 40-year-old suspect was seen riding a bicycle in the 100 block of 6th Street. When officers confronted him he armed himself with two chunks of concrete throwing one at a squad car and the other at an officer hitting the officer in the leg. He then threw his bike at officers and armed himself with another chunk of concrete making threats of violence. An officer fired a 40 millimeter sponge grenade at the man striking him in the leg. A sponge grenade has a foam nose but a dense core and deforms when it strikes its target. It is less lethal projectile. The officer hit in the leg suffered minor injuries and another officer suffered a minor hand injury taking the suspect into custody. The suspect was taken to St. Agnes Hospital for medical clearance then the Fond du Lac County Jail. The suspect is facing several criminal charges and was wanted on a felony probation warrant.
Oshkosh Sex Offender Moving
Oshkosh Police tell us a 57-year-old sex offender who was released from prison on Tuesday will have a new address next week. When he was released from Racine Correctional Institution Christopher J. Sullivan moved into 215 Division Street. As of next Monday he will be living at 1733 Ashland Street. Sullivan will be on probation and parole until March 20th, of 2027 and will be on electric monitoring. Sullivan was convicted of burglary in 2009 in Winnebago County. He broke into the apartment of adult female neighbors and stole undergarments and photographs. He also looked into a neighbor’s home a number of times while she was undressing or was nude.
Ripon Street Vacation and Land Annexation
Ripon’s Common Council this week approved the vacation of a portion of Tygert Street. One person spoke during a public hearing about vacating that portion of street and asked if the City was considering improving the park area around it. City Administrator Adam Sonntag says the bridge will be taken out and the road will never be used for traffic again because there will be no right-of-way. He says the area could be made into part of a park property depending on how the city’s park plan evolves. The Council also approved an ordinance annexing 47.2 acres of land in the Town of Ripon into the city. Sonntag says the state’s Department of Administration reviewed the request and found the proposed annexation to be in the public’s interest. Ten acres of that land will be sold to Wisconsin Power and Light to build a new operations center on.
Rolling Meadows Golf Course on The Right Path
Fond du Lac County Executive Sam Kaufman says Rolling Meadows Golf Course was able to turn their financial troubles around last year. In the past the county-owned golf course had to use $50,000 to $250,000 a year from its sales tax to subsidize the losses the course suffered. But last year Kaufman called for the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee that looked into the course’s finances. He says the committee came up with recommendations for making the golf course more viable. Those recommendations included keeping the golf course, looking at the way concessions are set up, and they want the county to look at making renovations to the clubhouse so it could be used for year-round events. Kaufman says they also looked at the accounting practices for the golf course and discovered that the golf course finished in the black last year by about $50,000.
Ice Safety Reminder
With ice on Lake Winnebago becoming more unstable through the course of the sturgeon spearing season, Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt recommends playing it safe. He says if you are going to go out have a plan. Let someone knows where you are going, travel in pairs if you can, have a cell phone and floatation device. It’s also recommended you take a length of rope and ice picks so you can hoist yourself out of the water if you go through the ice. Fresh snow cover will also make it more difficult to see ice cracks and open water.
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Annual Report
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office had another busy year last year handling more than 44,600 calls for service. According to the Sheriff’s annual report deputies issued 3,374 traffic citations and arrested 216 people for operating while intoxicated. They handled a total of 1,708 traffic crashes including 6 traffic fatalities. The Sheriff’s dispatchers received 51,077 911 calls, up 368 calls from 2021. That is up significantly from 2017 when dispatchers took 40,688 911 calls. Each of the Department’s Divisions, specialized units and staff are highlighted in the 44-page annual report which is available online.
2022 Annual Report.pdf (winnebagocountywi.gov)
WinterFest on The Way
Preparations are underway for Green Lake’s 2nd Annual WinterFest and Trout Derby on Saturday, February 25th. The Derby will be held on Big Green Lake while a number of other activities are planned for Deacon Mills Park running from Sunrise until at least 8 pm. There will be kids’ pond hockey, you can learn how to skate, and there will be a cornhole tournament. At noon people are invited to ride their vintage snowmobile to the park. From noon to 4 pm sled dogs will give demos and provide rides. Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Meier says that was on her bucket list so she went for a ride at last year’s event. There will also be horse drawn wagon rides. Meier says they will have plenty of food and beverages. Musically, Bradley Spurger and Vitamin R are slated to perform. In addition to prizes for the Derby there will be raffles anyone can win. Tickets to participate in the Derby are $20 each. Meier says they will have a heated tent up no matter what the weather brings, but everyone is invited to enjoy WinterFest. For a more complete list of activities go to Visit Green Lake.com.
WinterFest Trout Derby | Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce (visitgreenlake.com)
Alliant Energy Makes Forbes Best Employers List
Alliant Energy has been named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Midsize Employers for the fifth consecutive year. Presented by Forbes and market research company Statista Inc., the list spans 25 industries and honors the top 500 large and midsize employers in the U.S. The evaluations were based on direct and indirect recommendations from employees, who were asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend their employers. Statista also asked employees to rate their employers based on factors like working conditions, compensation, and development opportunities.
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