5/12/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
12 May 2023 News
FUNERAL FOR KAITIE LEISING TODAY
Funeral services will be held at noon today for a 29-year-old St. Croix County Sheriff’s Deputy who was killed in the line of duty last weekend. Kaitie Leising was responding to a potential impaired driver complaint last Saturday night. When she asked 34-year-old Jeremiah Johnson to perform field sobriety tests he bulked and eventually turned and shot her with a handgun. She died later at a hospital. Johnson ran into the woods and later killed himself. Leising had three years of law enforcement experience, had a wife and 3-month-old baby at home. Her funeral service is in Hudson today, but officials with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office say it will also be carried online on YouTube and Facebook. They’ve posted links to those sites on their Facebook page.
PLYMOUTH MAN SENTENCED ON ARSON CHARGE
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman Thursday sentenced a 32-year-old Plymouth man to 10 years in federal prison for arson to a building. Following his release from Prison Jonathan Lane will spend three years on supervised release. He will also be ordered to pay restitution in an amount yet to be determined, but which could exceed $400,000. According to court documents Lane admitted that on November 9th, 2017 he started a fire in a small, two-story apartment building in Plymouth. A mother of three children died in that fire, and a firefighter was injured attempting to extinguish it. The apartment building was destroyed by the fire and neighboring apartment buildings sustained fire-related damage. Arson investigators determined that the fire was intentionally set and that Lane, who lived in one of the apartments, was the last individual around the fire origin minutes before the discovery of smoke and fire.
WAUPACA POLICE WARN OF FACEBOOK SCAM
Waupaca Police are warning residents about a scam using Facebook. They released the victim’s name because he wanted no one else to become a victim of the scam. Tim Wanty of The Pub has his account taken over. He says he received a message from a friend that they needed a code to get back into their account. The person then asks for your phone number to verify the information. Once you give that person the code, they take over your account and you will not have access to it.
GOVERNOR SIGNS TWO CRIME BILLS INTO LAW
Governor Evers this week signed two bills into law that do something about carjacking and reckless driving in the state. State Representative Jon Plumer says last month the Governor signed a bill that allows local law enforcement to impound vehicles from reckless drivers. The recent bills Governor Evers signed increase the penalties for reckless driving and create a new carjacking section of the criminal code also increasing certain penalties related to carjacking crimes. Representative Plumer says crimes that were mostly perpetrated in southeastern Wisconsin are now finding their way into more rural areas of the state. The state lawmaker from Lodi says that’s something constituents are begging legislators to do something about.
GREEN LAKE HAS A PHOSPHOROUS PROBLEM
When Green Lake Association Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Prellwitz gives her State of the Lake Address next month one of the things she will talk about is phosphorous. She says in order to protect the lake they need to reduce phosphorous emissions into the lake by half. She says they need to reduce those phosphorous levels by 50 to 70 percent. She notes the City of Ripon has done a really great job with its wastewater treatment plant and farmers are also doing their part. But she says some of the effort has to very voluntary. There is a phosphorous ban in the state of Wisconsin so people have to make sure they are checking with their lawn care companies to see what is being used on their lawns. The State of the Lake Address will be on Saturday, June 17th at 8:30 am at the Heidel House.
PARKS SURVEY AND PLANS
Ripon Parks and Recreation Director Ashton Zeien may be working with a brand new department for the City, but she has a lot of input to work with. She tells us a community survey about what people would like to see from the new department had 180 respondents. She says there were some good ideas some of which they will work to implement. The City also has a master plan for its parks and a community outdoor recreation plan. She says the outdoor recreational plan is a little more comprehensive encompassing all the parks and outdoors facilities in the City not just city-owned parks. Zeien says doing the outdoor recreation plan also makes the City eligible for grants through the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
DOUGLAS HAMM NAMED MPTC VP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
Moraine Park Technical College has selected Douglas Hamm to serve as the next Vice President of Teaching and Learning. Effective June 5th, Hamm will assume his role as part of the president’s cabinet and serve as the College’s chief academic officer. Hamm brings a variety of experience in higher education, as an entrepreneur and in corporate settings with a working knowledge of business acumen, including customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, and measuring results. Moraine Park President Bonnie Baerwald says she’s excited about Hamm joining their institution. Hamm served leadership roles at Lakeshore Technical College and Kohler Company. Hamm will assume the responsibilities held Dr. Jim Eden, who will retire June 30th.
Three Ripon Scouts Earn Girl Scout Gold
Three girl scouts from Ripon have earned the Girl Scouts highest honor-the Gold Award. Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts who earn the Gold Award tackle issues dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond. The three Gold Award winners from Ripon are Ariana Arnetveit, Jenna Konrad, and Grace Retzlaff. Altogether 259 Girl Scouts with troops from the Girls Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes earned Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.
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