Afternoon News Briefs: Driver and student suffer minor injuries in Dodge County accident

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A school bus driver and a passenger suffer only minor injuries in an accident on a rural Dodge County road yesterday.

The two were hurt when the bus went off the road and tumbled down an embankment. Driver Edith Christianson says she only took her eyes off the road for a moment to open a window, saying the bus hit a curb and then some mud before veering off the roadway. The 13 year old student was recovering at home from her minor injuries.

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While other airlines are planning cuts, Delta Air Lines says it wants to expand its services at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport this summer. The Milwaukee Business Journal reports Delta will increase its flights out of Wisconsin’s busiest airport by 20 percent, including one daily non-stop to JFK Airport in New York City and four daily non-stops to LaGuardia Airport. Those services will be offered starting this summer.

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Many of Wisconsin’s public employee unions are not sure about their legal status, in the wake of a judge’s decision last month to throw out parts of the collective bargaining limits. Federal Judge William Conley tossed out the parts of the law which required annual recertification elections for unions and banned payroll deductions for union dues. The Oshkosh Northwestern says several public unions in that city chose not to hold recertification votes. And city official Sue Brinkman took that to mean that the unions no longer represent their memberships. But in the wake of Conley’s ruling, Brinkman says it’s hard to understand whether the unions are in business or not. Peter Davis of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission said his office has not given a formal opinion on what the judge’s ruling means. But he says a general understanding is that the unions which did not reject recertification are still in existence whether they held a vote or not. The State Justice Department has asked Judge Conley to delay implementing his ruling, to sort out the full effects. That decision could come as early as next month.

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A Manitowoc man who claimed he was insane when he beat another man to death has been convicted of a lesser charge. 30 year old Robert Saurbeir pleaded no contest in Calumet County to first degree reckless homicide. He struck a plea deal which spared him the possibility of either life in prison or years in a mental health institution. Saurbeir and 35 year old James Loewe of Hilbert were accused of beating Joseph Baer to death on a farm 13 months ago. Authorities said they attacked Baer with a hammer, pipe, chain, and stick. Saurbeir’s girlfriend found the body after the four partied that night. Prosecutors arranged to have Loewe testify against Saurbier had a trial been held. Loewe is expected to settle his case next month.

Tags: wisconsin news, news, accidents, crime