Western Wisconsin News Briefs: Motorcyclist killed in Trempealueau County

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GALE - A motorcyclist killed in a western Wisconsin crash was identified today as 67-year-old Daniel Frenzel of Marshfield. Trempealeau County sheriff’s deputies are still investigating the crash, which occurred yesterday afternoon on Highway 54 in the town of Gale.

Sheriff’s deputies said Frenzel crashed his bike and died where a semi-truck lost control of his rig, and flipped over. The truck driver had minor injuries.

Wisconsin had a large increase in motorcycle deaths this year, due partially to a warmer-than-normal spring and dry mild weather since Labor Day. The DOT said 85 motorcyclists were killed in the Badger State from January through the end of September.

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A grass fire in western Wisconsin is still burning, six days after it started – but officials say the blaze has been contained. It started last Thursday in Monroe County. Authorities said a hawk struck an electric line – and the line was on fire when it fell to the ground near Mather. The blaze created heavy smoke which closed the nearby Highway 173 at least three times in the past few days. 34-year-old Melissa Mundo was killed after a truck hit a car that was stopped – and the car rammed into the woman, was standing outside her vehicle at the time. The smoke from the grass fire caused low visibility at the time. The state DNR said the marshy area surrounding the highway is normally covered with water – but the drought has made it extremely dry.

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La Crosse police are investigating a shooting which sent a bullet through an apartment wall last weekend. The projectile barely missed Robert Long and his young children. Long says he was sitting on his bed watching a football game and bouncing his four month old son on his knee when he heard a loud noise. A bullet had passed through the wall above his head, showing him, his baby and his one year old son with drywall. Police recovered a .22-caliber bullet. Investigators have interviewed two suspects, but had made no arrests as of last Monday. Long says he feels like La Crosse police didn’t do anything about the shooting, saying they treat people who live in that part of town poorly.

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