Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday 6/3/20
3 June 2020 News
County Office Seekers
All four Fond du Lac County office holders seeking election this fall are running unopposed. District Attorney Eric Toney, County Clerk Lisa Freiberg, County Treasurer Brenda Schneider, and Register of Deeds Jim Krebs face no opposition as they seek reelection to four year terms.
In Green Lake County Elizabeth Otto is running unopposed for reelection as County Clerk and Amanda Toney as County Treasurer. Register of Deeds candidate Renee Theim-Korth is also unopposed.
In Dodge County all three incumbents are running unopposed; County Clerk Karen Gibson, County Treasurer Patti Hilker, and Register of Deeds Chris Planasch.
Among those running for District Attorneys’ offices in the area; Andrew Christenson is running unopposed for reelection as Green Lake County District Attorney, Veronica Isherwood is unopposed for reelection in Waupaca County, and Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett is also unopposed. Waushara County District Attorney Laura Waite, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Matthew Leusink of Delavan.
State Office Seekers
The 14th State Senate District will have at least three candidates this August. Republicans Joan Ballweg and Ken Van Dyke Sr. will face other in the primary. Joni Anderson of Adams is running as a Democrat and paperwork was still pending for several others. Ballweg currently is the State Representative for the 41st State Assembly District.
Speaking of that, at least three Republicans are running for that State Assembly seat in the 41st Gary Will, Alex Dallman and Luke Dretske. Will is a former Ripon Mayor, Dallman former chairman of the Green Lake County Republican Party, and Dretske a Ripon College student. They would face each other in the August primary. Jean Bartz of Wisconsin Dells is running as an independent.
In the 18th State Senate District incumbent Republican Senator Dan Feyen faces Democrat Aaron Wojciechowski of Oshkosh.
Republican State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt of Fond du Lac faces opposition in the 52nd State Assembly District from Democratic challenger Julie Schroeder of Fond du Lac. In the 53rd incumbent Republican Michael Schraa of Oshkosh is being challenged by Democrat Joseph Connelly also of Oshkosh.
Democratic incumbent Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh will be challenged in the 54th by Republican Peter Kohloff also of Oshkosh.
Congressional Office Seekers
Sixth District Congressman Glenn Grothman will be challenged this fall by former State Senator Jessica King. Grothman, a Republican, is seeking his fourth term representing the district. King, a Democrat, at one time represented the 18th State Senate seat. She unseated State Senator Randy Hopper in a recall election.
In the 7th Congressional District it’s a rematch of the recent special election with former State Senator Tom Tiffany who won that election facing Wausau School Board President Tricia Zunker. Tiffany is a Republican and Zunker a Democrat.
In the 5th Congressional District State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau will face Tom Palzewicz a Democrat from Brookefield. The winner will be the first person to represent the district since Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner first won election to the seat in 1978. He decided not to seek reelection.
Historic Building Gutted By Fire In FDL
(Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue photo)
Fire gutted the former National Casket Company at 16 North Brooke Street in Fond du Lac early Tuesday morning. Fire Chief Peter O’Leary says a police officer on patrol noticed smoke in the area about 2:45 am and discovered a fire at the rear of the building. The building was abandoned. Brooke Street between Division and Western was closed while crews fought the blaze. The cause of the fire is being investigated. The building dates back to 1919 and is listed as a historic property on the Wisconsin Historical Society website.
Outdoor Warning Siren Policy
Fond du Lac County Communications and Emergency Management Director Bobbi Hicken is reminding residents that outdoor warning sirens in the county will no longer simultaneously sound when there is a tornado warning anywhere in the county. Instead they will sound individually if the tornado warning is in the direct area of the siren. The sirens will only be activated for tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service and will only activate if within the area identified in the warning. Hicken says when someone hears an outdoor warning siren they should seek shelter and seek information from a reputable source such as phone apps, tv or radio.
Vaccine Importance
A member of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says when a vaccine becomes available that is effective against the virus it will be important that as many people as possible get vaccinated. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says people certainly have the freedom to treat their body the way they want to, but even if you’re opposed to getting vaccinated this would be a good time to make an exception for the benefit of everyone. “We need to vaccinate people we can’t have the anti-vaxers go crazy and say we shouldn’t do this. Right now it is still to live and will spread around a small part of the community that refuses to get vaccinated.” He says unfortunately some people believe the pandemic is a hoax and therefore a vaccine isn’t necessary and will do no real good.
Iola Car Show Replaced By Rally For Iola This Summer
It was a difficult decision but organizers of the Iola Car Show and Swap Meet had to cancel this year’s event because of the pandemic, but they will be staging another event in its place. Car Show Executive Director Joe Opperman says unfortunately much of the help they get for the show is older residents who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. “There is such a variety of challenges that come with the present times not the least of which is the way our organization operates. We’ve got nearly 3,000 volunteers that help us many of them are older or in the more susceptible category.” He says in place of the Car Show they will stage the first ever Rally for Iola on Saturday, July 11th. Staging will be on the grounds at 8 that morning with the rally starting at 10 am. It will involve a 75 mile cruise through Waupaca County. Admission for each car is $15. To pre-register and secure a limited edition Rally for Iola t-shirt go to the Iola Car Show website.
Deep Cleaning
The superintendent of the Ripon Area School District says while students stayed at home and learned virtually, it was an opportunity for their maintenance crews to do some deep-cleaning. Mary Whitrock says much of the maintenance work they do over the summer comes when students aren’t around so even though dealing with COVID-19 was unpleasant it gave their buildings and grounds crews an opportunity. “But we’ve really had a rare opportunity to be in our buildings for an extended period of time and to do some of the painting and the deep cleanings of carpets and polishing floors and those kinds of things much like we do in the summer.” She says they also had a little extra money because of things they didn’t have to spend money on like sports busses so they channeled that into their maintenance programs.
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