Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Enrollment Drops 2.6%

In Contrast, UW Superior Enrollment Was Up

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Enrollment at the University of Wisconsin dropped 2.6% percent compared to last year. Preliminary enrollment for the 2019 academic year announced by the university Thursday was just over 167,000 students. That is down from nearly 4,500 students from last year. Enrollment on the flagship Madison campus was up 2% or 879 students. UW-Green Bay, La Crosse,…

Evers Creates Climate Change Task Force for Wisconsin

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes Will Serve as Chairman of the Task Force

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has created a task force to develop strategies to deal with climate change in the state. Evers announced formation of the new group Thursday at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee. Evers tasked the group to come up with recommendations to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change by August….

Wisconsin Unemployment Up For Fourth Straight Month

Tied a Record Low for the State

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin’s unemployment rate ticked up for the fourth straight month and is up nearly half a point since May. The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that unemployment in September was 3.2%. That is up from 3.1% the month before and 2.8% in April and May. That tied a record low for the state. The…

Ashland Burger King Franchisee to Pay $400K for Sexual Harassment

Two Former Employees Allege They Were Sexually Harassed by the Store's General Manager

ASHLAND, Wis. – A District Judge has ordered the owners of the Burger King in Ashland to pay two former employees over $400,000 in damages and fines for alleged ongoing sexual harassment by the store’s general manager. According to court documents, the two female employees were hired in 2017 and say the general manager began making “regular sexual advances and…

Wisconsin Waitress Refuses to Serve Couple Over Transgender Comments

Spencer Says she was Told to do her Job or go Home

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – A Fond du Lac woman says she was fired from a restaurant for refusing to serve a couple who were making disparaging comments about a transgender woman sitting at the bar. Brittany Spencer worked as a server at Fat Joe’s Bar & Grill in Fond du Lac. Spencer says she went to her manager…

Sheriff: Courage of Jayme Closs is Focus of Anniversary

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald to Hold a News Conference Monday

BARRON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin sheriff who led the investigation into the kidnapping of Jayme Closs and the slaying of her parents hopes the courage and resilience of the 13-year-old girl is the focus on the one-year anniversary of the crimes. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald will hold a news conference Monday, talk briefly about Jayme and honor his…

Wisconsin DNR: New Lead Contamination Rules not Good Enough

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials say the Trump administration’s proposed rewrite of lead contamination rules isn’t good enough. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced in Green Bay on Thursday that the chances will require water systems to test lead levels at schools and child care facilities, require officials to identify areas with the…

UW Regents OK Staff to Write Free Speech Policy

The Regents Voted During a Meeting Friday

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The University of Wisconsin System regents have authorized staff to begin drafting formal language implementing a Republican-backed plan to punish students who disrupt others’ free speech rights. The regents in 2017 adopted a Republican-backed policy declaring students who twice disrupt others’ free speech would be suspended for at least a semester. The policy hasn’t taken effect…

Superior Police Say Tube Found Last Week Was Not An Explosive

SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Superior Police has confirmed that a PVC pipe found outside of the Superior fire hall last week was not an explosive. Superior Police Assistant Chief Matt Markon said the pipe appeared to look like a bomb because of the electrical tape wrapped around it, and the cap on the end of the tube. The FBI was…

Former Rep. Sean Duffy and Wife Welcome Ninth Baby

Wis. – Former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy announced the birth of his ninth child in a Facebook post last week. Duffy says in the video post that baby #9 arrived on September 30 at 11:59 p.m. and both baby and mom are doing well. Duffy resigned last month stating that he needed to spend more time with his family after…

Wisconsin Governor Issues State’s First Pardons Since 2010

The Pardons Were Made During Private Meetings on Monday

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers has pardoned four convicted felons, marking the first time a governor has granted a pardon in Wisconsin since 2010. Evers signed the pardons during private meetings Monday with the recipients. Evers campaigned on the promise to reform the pardons board after his predecessor Scott Walker disbanded it and never issued a pardon over…

Wisconsin Woman Gets 10 Years for Sex Trafficking 16-Year-Old

The 37-Year-Old was Sentenced Friday

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A Wisconsin woman has been imprisoned for sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl in Iowa and Nebraska. Federal prosecutors say 37-year-old Brooklyn Pohl was given 10 years at her sentencing Friday in Omaha. The prosecutors say officers made contact in November 2016 with the girl at a truck stop in the Omaha suburb of Gretna. Investigators learned…

16 Charged in Meth Distribution Operation

A Federal Grand Jury Indicted 12 of the 16 Last Month

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say 16 people have been charged in a methamphetamine distribution operation in central Wisconsin. The charges were announced Friday by U.S. Attorney Scott Blader in the Western District, the FBI, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and local officials. A federal grand jury indicted 12 of the 16 people last month, including three individuals from St….

Fourth Person Arrested in Illegal Wisconsin THC Vaping Business

The 19-Year-Old Woman is Being Held in Kenosha County Jail

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Authorities have made a fourth arrest in connection with a black market THC vape manufacturing business in Wisconsin. A 19-year-old woman is being held in the Kenosha County Jail on possible charges of manufacturing or delivering marijuana. But officials haven’t said yet what role the woman may have had in the business. Forty-three-year-old Courtney Huffhines and…

Wisconsin Lawmakers to Vote on Suicide Prevention Funding

Funding had Been Approved as Part of the State Budget

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A suicide prevention hotline could receive a boost in funding from the Legislature’s budget committee under a vote scheduled to take place after a bitter partisan fight. The Republican-controlled budget panel was expected to approve the $110,000 annual grant on Wednesday. The vote was scheduled a week after a Republican-led suicide prevention task force recommended releasing…

Update: Suspicious Device Removed From Tower Avenue, Roads Reopened

UPDATE: According to the Superior Police Department, its has been determined the possible explosive device found near the new Fire Department Headquarters was inactive. The device was described as having no wires or firing mechanism inside. Authorities did say that there was some unknown grainy residue inside the device which will be sent out for further testing. SUPERIOR, Wis. –…

LIVE: Mayor Paine: Credible Bomb Threat at New Superior Fire Hall

UPDATE: According to the Superior Police Department, a possible homemade explosive device was found on the sidewalk in the 3000 Block of Tower Avenue just north of the Superior Fire Department Headquarters around 9:13 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Superior Police Department’s Tactical Technology Team responded to the area with a remote controlled robot that could safely approach the device to…

Wisconsin Weighs Felony for Actions Against Pipelines

Opponents Say the Bill Violates Free Speech Rights

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A bipartisan proposal making it a felony to trespass or damage oil or gas pipelines Wisconsin is moving through the state Legislature. Opponents testified at an Assembly hearing Thursday that the bill is a violation of free speech rights. The measure builds upon a 2015 state law that made it a felony to intentionally trespass or…

Suicide Prevention Task Force Seeks Quicker Release of Money

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A final report from the Wisconsin Legislature’s bipartisan suicide prevention task force calls for quicker release of $110,000 a year to fund a suicide prevention hotline, unlike an earlier draft that proposed passing a bill to make the money available. The money was included in the state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by…

Wisconsin’s Ruffed Grouse Season Shortened

The Reason for the Decline is Unknown

MISHICOT, Wis. (AP) – The season for hunting ruffed grouse in the northwestern two-thirds of Wisconsin has been shortened by more than three weeks. The state Department of Natural Resources board voted Wednesday to make the change over concerns about a dwindling population. The ruffed grouse season currently runs from mid-September through Jan. 31 in that part of the state….