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News 02.27.18

27 February 2018 News


The Fond du lac and Dodge County District Attorneys are praising a legislative proposal that would add more than 50 prosecutor positions in 40 counties across Wisconsin. Dodge County DA Kurt Klomberg says his office would get one additional assistant district attorney. The Fond du Lac County DA’s Office would get two additional prosecutors. Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney says the turnaround on cases would be quicker. Klomberg says the additional position would allow the assistant district attorneys to be more specialized in what types of cases they handle.

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Students in an agriculture class in Wisconsin are getting hands-on experience in caring for farm animals with the birth of six piglets in the school’s large animal classroom. Petunia the pig had her piglets at Beaver Dam High School earlier this month. Petunia had three males and three females. Students will help take care of the animals, including giving them shots and tracking their growth. Many of the students enrolled in the agriculture class don’t have a farming background, but may be considering having careers that involve animals. The high school recently completed a renovation that gave additional space for animals and aquaponics. Animals such as fish, calves, pigs and rabbits are available to be studied. Petunia and her piglets will return to the farm once the piglets are weaning. Students will have the opportunity to name the piglets before they leave.

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Two Wisconsin labor union locals are suing to overturn Gov. Scott Walker’s signature collective bargaining law. Locals 139 and 420 of the Operating Engineers of Wisconsin say Act 10 violates their rights to free speech and free association under the First Amendment. They filed their lawsuit last week in federal court in Milwaukee. The law curtailed collective bargaining rights for most public employees in Wisconsin, including teachers. Walker spokesman Tom Evenson says the law is constitutional and will be upheld as it has been before, regardless of the outcome of a case that came before the U.S. Supreme Court Monday over whether unions representing government employees can collect fees from workers who choose not to join. The two locals represent more than 10,000 workers in Wisconsin.

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Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says a tax cut and juvenile justice overhaul that Gov. Scott Walker has made top priorities are in serious jeopardy of not passing the Senate. Fitzgerald says there’s “not close to enough support” to pass the per-child tax credit and sales tax holiday bill the Assembly approved on Thursday. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says if the Senate wants to kill the tax cut they can “take the blame.” Fitzgerald says there’s also confusion about the plan to close the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison as part of a larger juvenile justice overhaul. He says the plan passed by the Assembly is convoluted and could face legal challenges.

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