News 10.25.17
25 October 2017 News
A Fond du Lac judge denies a defense attorney’s request to postpone a jury trial for an over the road trucker charged in the cold case murder of a teenager in Fond du Lac County. Sixty four year old Dennis Brantner is scheduled to go on trial starting February 12. At a motion hearing, Fond du lac judge Robert Wirtz denied a request from Brantner’s attorney for a delay because of the voluminous amount of evidence and files in the case. Brantner is charged with first degree murder in the July 1990 death of 18 year old Berit Beck. The Sturdevant woman disappeared after stopping at the Forest Mall. Her van was found a couple days later across the street in the K-Mart parking lot and her body was found about a month later in a ditch along a county road near Waupun. Brantner was charged years later after his fingerprints were found in Beck’s van. Brantner is being retried after a mistrial was declared last year when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Brantner is currently serving a six and a half year prison sentence for trying to smuggle drugs into the Fond du Lac County Jail.
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A lawsuit filed by Agnesian HealthCare claims a faulty software system caused delays in patient billing resulting in millions of dollars in losses for the hospital. The lawsuit was filed last month in federal court against Kansas City-based Cerner, a health care technology company. According to the lawsuit, Cerner’s handling of software that managed billing, scheduling and claims caused massive delays that resulted in up to $16 million in losses. The lawsuit claims the errors created a stressful situation for patients and damaged Agnesian’s reputation in the community. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages .
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The Menominee tribe has bought the naming rights for the Wisconsin Herd’s new arena in Oshkosh. The Herd is the minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. Menominee tribal chairman Gary Besaw says the purchase will help the tribe promote its casino in Keshena and its lumber mill in nearby Neopit. The reports terms of the five-year sponsorship were not released. The new arena will be called the Menominee Nation Arena and feature the thunderbird, an important part of the tribe’s history. The building will be available for concerts and conventions as well as for basketball. The $21 million, 3,600-seat arena is being built on the south side of Oshkosh and is set to be opened in time for the Herd’s first home game Nov. 17.
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Authorities say two white-tailed deer from a hunting ranch in Waupaca County have tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Wisconsin State Veterinarian Dr. Paul McGraw says the bucks were among 40 deer reported to be on the 84-acre ranch. One buck was killed by a hunter and the other was euthanized due to an injury. Both were sampled in accordance with state rules that require testing of farm-raised deer and elk when they die or are killed. McGraw quarantined three properties under the same ownership, which only allows movement of deer between ranches and to slaughter. The business will be allowed to conduct hunts on the quarantined ranches because properly handled dead animals leaving the premises do not pose a disease risk.
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Attorneys for a Wisconsin man convicted of homicide in a case featured on the Netflix series “Making A Murderer” are asking a circuit court to reconsider a prior ruling rejecting a request for a new trial. The motion for reconsideration filed on behalf of Steven Avery in Manitowoc County Monday says the latest request is based on new evidence and legal errors. A judge earlier this month rejected Avery’s request for a new trial, saying his attorneys failed to establish any grounds to warrant a new trial. Avery was sentenced to life in prison for the 2005 slaying of Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer. Avery maintains police framed him. Some evidence cited in the latest motion includes claims that witnesses gave false testimony at the original trial.
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