2/17/25 Hometown Broadcasting News Monday
17 February 2025 News
COLD WEATHER ADVISORIES
The National Weather Service has issued a pair of Cold Weather Advisories for the next two days. For Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Marquette counties the first runs until 11 o’clock this morning. For Calumet, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago counties the first runs until Noon today. Expect wind chills of 25 to 30 below zero. A second Cold Weather Advisory goes into effect at 9 pm tonight and runs until Noon tomorrow for Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Marquette counties. Wind chills could reach 30 below zero. During the advisories frost bite could occur on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
FDL COUNTY JAIL STUDY REFERRED TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
The Fond du Lac County Board this past week sat through a nearly three-hour presentation on the need for a new jail, juvenile detention housing, and new or renovated court facilities. The presentation was on behalf of the Jail Ad Hoc Committee and was presented by Kurt Berner of the Samuels Group, and Cory Beyer and Kyle Knop of Venture Architects. Berner handled most of the presentation. Five options were presented to the board ranging from a new jail in downtown Fond du Lac and renovations to a brand new justice center on property out by the Highway Department site and costs ranged from $262 million to $392 million. The words “sticker shock” was uttered several times. Berner said costs were calculated at $1,000 per square foot. He said construction costs could stabilize in the future, but they will never be going down. Supervisor Mary Hayes said, “We’re caught in a really bad place but we have to have a serious discussion about what we can afford.” Supervisor Gary Will who chairs the Public Safety Committee says the state has been very patient with the county. The county has had to house some of its inmates at the Green Lake County Jail and send juveniles to other detention centers. By a 23 to nothing vote the Board sent the jail study to the Public Safety Committee for the next step.
DOJ BUDGET NEEDS
State Attorney General Josh Kaul says he has several priorities for Department of Justice requests for the biennial state budget. He says the priority is on keeping the public safe. He says one priority is on keeping the Office of School Safety funded. Kaul stresses it is also important to continue to fund victim services, which is facing a major cut. He says crime victims need that support which helps them and empowers them to work with law enforcement. Kaul notes they regularly advocate for funding for the crime labs which are consistently underfunded. He says they need sufficient funding to efficiently get the results of evidence testing to prosecutors and law enforcement as they are working to hold people who commit crimes accountable. Governor Tony Evers will deliver his State Budget Address tomorrow night.
TAX RETURN IDENTITY THEFT
The Administrator for the State’s Division of Trade and Consumer Protection is urging taxpayers to take an extra step as they prepare their income taxes. Michelle Reinen says one of the cruelest forms of identity theft is using someone’s personal information to steal their tax return. There is a way to add an extra layer of protection by setting up Identity Protection PINs. That can be done by going to the IRS or Wisconsin Department of Revenue websites. She also suggests filing early and securely, never storing sensitive data on devices, shredding unneeded documents, protecting your mail, and placing a security freeze on your credit reports. If you become a victim of tax return identity theft report it to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at 608-266-2772.
CONGRESSMAN GROTHMAN TOWN HALL MEETINGS THIS WEEK
Congressman Glenn Grothman will be holding four town hall meetings in Waushara and Winnebago counties this week. The first two are today at 10 am at the Anna Follett Memorial Center in Coloma and at 1 pm at the Redgranite Municipal Building. Two more are scheduled for Friday at 9 am at Village of Fox Crossing offices in Neenah and at 11:30 am at the Town of Algoma Town Hall in Oshkosh. All four meetings will run about an hour. Congressman Grothman serves the people of Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives.
OSHKOSH DEFENSE CONTRACT
Oshkosh Defense recently received multiple orders for additional Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle A2 trucks and trailers from the U.S. Army. The orders are worth $214.8 million. The vehicles have 19 variants tailored to meet the continuous transformation of the battlefield. Oshkosh anticipates a three-year contract extension this spring. Since its initial contract award in 2018, Oshkosh Defense has received orders for over 3,000 FMTV A2s. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company.
RCH DONATION TO THE UNITED WAY
The SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital Medical Staff has donated $2,500 to the Fond du Lac County United Way to support the Ripon Area School District’s weekend backpack food program for kids on free and reduced lunch. Every Friday, food insecure children from the Ripon Area School District take home a backpack filled with child-friendly, easy to prepare food items. The backpack is returned to school at the beginning of the following week to be filled for the next weekend. According to Wisconsin Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed report data, 42 percent of individuals and families throughout the City of Ripon live in poverty or do not make enough to afford their basic needs. The donation was presented to Fond du Lac County United Way Executive Director Amber Kilawee by Dr. Molly Meier, as well as DeAnn Thurmer, Ripon Community Hospital president, and Nicole Gill, Ripon Community Hospital vice president and clinical administrator.
WAUTOMA BLOOD DRIVE
The Community Blood Center will be hosting a blood drive next Monday from 10 am to 5 pm with the Wautoma Community-Kiwanis at the World War II Memorial Building in Wautoma. Every two seconds someone in the U.S needs blood. To meet that need about 35,000 blood donations are needed across the country every single day. The Blood Center provides blood, platelets and plasma to more than 40 hospitals. The blood drive is open to the public. Healthy and eligible donors are encouraged to schedule a donation by contacting the Community Blood Center at Community Blood.org or by calling 800-280-4102.
The Community Blood Center | Connecting Lives | Sharing Life
DOCK SPIDERS RELEASE FULL PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE
The Fond du Lac Doc Spiders recently released their 2025 Promotional Schedule. The home slate for the Northwoods League baseball team features 15 giveaway items, Daily Specials each day and night of the week, special appearances, live music, and gameday themes. Docks Spiders General Manager Jim Misudek says a feature of their Super 7 ticket package is giveaways. The package includes a bucket hat, a card set, and three different bobbleheads. In addition the Super 7 package includes hat and pint glass giveaways. There will even be a Star Wars night and there’s Bark in the Park night featuring free admission for dogs and 10-cent hot dogs. Misudek says the fun starts opening night at Herr Baker Field on Tuesday, May 27th which is also Bang for your Buck night. The full promotional schedule can be viewed at the Dock Spiders website.
Dock Spiders Announce Full Promotional Calendar – Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
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