Overnight State News Briefs: Only nine wolves left on hunting quota

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As of Thursday morning, only nine grey wolves could still be taken in Wisconsin’s inaugural hunting season. The DNR said 107 of the 116 available animals have been either shot-or-trapped. And a zone which covers the lower three-fourths of Wisconsin will be closed to wolf hunting starting at 5 this evening.

Zone-Six will shut down. And that leaves Zone-Three as the only one of the original six still open. That covers a relatively small territory in northwest Wisconsin – in parts of Burnett, Washburn, Rusk, Chippewa, Taylor, Sawyer, and Price counties. Hunters have been much more successful than anyone expected in Wisconsin’s first wolf season. Some experts did not think the quota would be reached by the time the season was originally scheduled to end on February 28th. Instead, the season will be history once the final nine animals in the state’s quota are taken.

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Lawrence University of Appleton is getting its next president from the Ivy League. The school has named 51-year-old Mark Burstein to replace Jill Beck. She retires on June 30th after nine years as Lawrence’s president. Burstein will start his new post on July first. He’s currently an executive vice president at Princeton University – a post he’s held since 2004. Lawrence officials said they were impressed with Burstein’s development of an almost two-billion-dollar fund-raising campaign – and his ability to secure gifts for various academic, athletic, and campus life projects at Princeton. Burstein said he was impressed with what he called Lawrence’s “rigorous academic environment,” its commitment to provide an individualized learning experience, and the school’s nationally-known conservatory of music. Burstein was among more than 100 candidates to become the next Lawrence president. He’ll be introduced to the community at an event on Jan. 3rd.

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A thief in Madison stole a wallet from a woman’s purse on Monday afternoon – and by Tuesday morning, the thief racked up $1,800 in purchases on the woman’s credit cards. Police said the wallet was lifted while the purse was in a shopping cart. And the woman didn’t know it was gone until she received a “fraud alert” e-mail from her credit card company the next morning. The 27-year-old woman said the thief apparently stole the wallet while she wasn’t looking – and once she knew what happened, she canceled the cards.

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“Forbes” magazine reports Wisconsin is among the worst states for doing business. The Badger State is ranked 42nd on the website’s list of Best States For Business. The outlook for job growth through 2016 is second-worst among all 50 states. Utah was ranked number-one, followed by Virginia and North Dakota. Wisconsin was ranked 35th for the cost of running a business, 39th in labor supply and 43rd in growth prospects. This state did rank 10th in quality of life. Dead last on the list was Maine.

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When the faulty façade on Milwaukee City Hall is completely repaired, the price tag is expected to top two million dollars. Milwaukee has already spent more than $1.7 million on inspection, investigative and repair work. The city is currently involved in mediation with the companies which have worked on the project so far. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting the focus has been on the grout used to fill the hollow terra cotta components during the $76 million dollar renovation ending four years ago. Three years after the job was done, a piece of the terra cotta fell off. The last phase of repairs should start next spring, take up to two years and cost at least nine million dollars.

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A woman living in a Madison hotel is charged with neglect and has been tossed in jail. Police say 36-year old Jennifer Shaw was arrested after it was found her 14 month old son had been exposed to a liquid chemical in their room at the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham on the east side. Shaw had been living in that hotel with the boy. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police say the liquid he was exposed to is being tested so it can be identified. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Shaw is being held in the Dane County Jail.

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Two days of testimony ended this afternoon in a lawsuit by the state DNR to stop six Chippewa Indian tribes from hunting deer at night. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb of Madison told attorneys on both sides to submit their final legal briefs by Monday. The judge will issue her ruling after that, although it’s not clear as to when. Six Chippewa tribes want to shine deer at night in much of northern Wisconsin under their long-time treaty rights. The state has been able to ban practice since the late 1980’s in the name of safety. But the tribes now say it’s a moot point – because the DNR allowed wolf hunters to shoot at night for the first time this fall. Today, the tribes attempted to show that it’s safer to hunt deer after dark than it is to hunt wolves. DNR safety specialist Tim Lawhern testified that shining deer makes the animals freeze – while wolves run away when they’re exposed to light.

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Wisconsin’s health secretary told a U.S. House subcommittee today that state taxpayers will shell out more to treat the poor-and-the-elderly under the Obama health reform law. But supporters of the health law say Dennis Smith is not telling the whole story. Smith told the House panel that the federal government will not be able to reimburse enough money to the state to cover the expected increases in things like Badger-Care enrollments. And therefore, Smith says Wisconsin will spend more than the savings it’s expected to get under the Obama package. Smith also the national law will raise administrative costs for running Medicaid, while determining who’s eligible for those benefits. Supporters of the health package say Smith is ignoring the total cost savings included in the law – plus the value of the extra benefits to Wisconsin’s uninsured residents and health care providers.

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A 31-year-old Milwaukee man was ordered today to spend the rest of his life in prison, for robbing-and-killing another man because he assumed the victim was seeing his girlfriend. Tommie Hollis was not given a chance for a supervised release on his homicide conviction in the death of 39-year-old Marlon Booker. Hollis was also given a 10-year concurrent term for armed robbery. Hollis and three others were charged with plotting and carrying out various parts of the crime – which they reportedly planned while watching the Super Bowl in February. According to prosecutors, Hollis suspected Booker of getting romantically involved with his girlfriend while Hollis was in jail for another crime – and while she was renting a house from Booker. Prosecutors said the four planned to rob Booker of 10-thousand-dollars, cocaine, jewelry, an upscale car, and a pick-up truck. One of the men reportedly lured Booker into a house the man was thinking about buying -- and Hollis got him into the basement and shot him 11 times. One of the other defendants got seven years in prison – another will be sentenced February 15th – and a third was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial.

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U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Milwaukee) delivered a farewell speech to his colleagues this morning. Kohl is returning to Wisconsin after 24 years in the Senate. His address ran for less than five minutes – and Kohl thanked his fellow senators, staff members, and constituents in the Badger State. The Democrat said he wished he could say “thank you” with the eloquence of Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy, and Dale Bumpers. He called it a privilege to serve with those leaders, along with many other men and women in the Senate over the last two dozen years. The 77-year-old Kohl said he would miss going to work each day and quote, “You cannot be a cynic about the future of this country when you work in an office like mine, and have the privilege to interact with generations of intelligent, civic-minded, and loyal staffers.” He said they served people “exceedingly well,” and it made his job easy and enjoyable. Kohl thanked Wisconsinites for quote, “taking a chance on me in that first election 24 years ago, and renewing my contract three more times.” Kohl is tied with Alexander Wiley as Wisconsin’s second-longest serving U.S. Senator. Kohl announced almost two years ago that he would step down at the end of this year. Democrat Tammy Baldwin will take his spot on Jan. 3rd.

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The State Justice Department is seeking forfeitures from a Baraboo company and its owner in an alleged scam involving computer donations. Prosecutors said Computers for Kids and owner Robert Szweda asked people to donate used computers, promising they’d be refurbished and given to needy kids. But the Justice Department said Szweda sold parts from the computers online, and kept the money for his business and himself. Both defendants are charged with two counts involving deceptive charitable solicitations, with fines being sought. Computers for Kids received up to 400 desktop units and 10 laptops, as donors assumed they’d be cleaned up and given to needy youngsters. Additional units were given by the Baraboo public school system, and the local Saint Vincent De Paul organization.

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A federal grand jury in Milwaukee has indicted a man for violating the U.S. embargo against Iran, by shipping parts for commercial pumps to that country. Mostafa Tehrani faces two fraud charges, plus a count of not obeying the embargo. The indictment said Tehrani is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran – and he used to own a company there which sells commercial pumps. He started the Petro Saber Industrial-and-Trade firm in 2010 in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer. Prosecutors said Tehrani shipped parts from two U.S. firms, including one in Germantown, to his old business that’s now run by his sons. Officials said Tehrani never obtained the proper federal shipping authorizations.

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A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison for robbing a drug store in Marshfield, pointing a gun at a police officer, and staging a one-hour standoff in June. Dustin Fritz said he was so depressed from his methadone withdrawal symptoms, that he wanted to rob the Marshfield Walgreens of enough oxycodone to kill himself with an overdose. After fleeing the drug store, Fritz ran into Marshfield officer Jason Punke, and pointed his handgun at him before going into a nearby auto repair shop where he surrendered. He was then treated at a Marshfield hospital for the oxycodone overdose he had during the incident. Fritz got hooked on the oxycodone he was prescribed after he broke a wrist in a snowmobile accident in 1998. He later received substance abuse treatment and was given methadone – and the withdrawal symptoms from that drug were too much for him. Fritz told Federal Judge Barbara Crabb that he never meant to hurt anyone but himself – and he said the robbery was a “huge mistake” that he wanted to take back. Crabb said he was lucky not to be shot by officer Punke following the hold-up. Fritz pleaded guilty in October. Besides the prison time, he must spend three years under a supervised release, and pay almost five-thousand-dollars to the drug store for restitution.

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An 80-year-old man who died in a garage fire near Mauston has been identified as Carl Stromley. Juneau County authorities said smoke inhalation was the preliminary cause of death. Fire-fighters found Stromley dead in his home late Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Adams County authorities are still investigating a one-car crash that killed a 27-year-old man. Officials said Jeffrey Hatcher of Wisconsin Dells was driving north on County Trunk “Z” near Springville when his car veered into a ditch, hit a tree, and flipped over. He died at the scene. Investigators say alcohol and high speed appear to be factors.

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A state Assembly Republican is not giving up his effort to end Election Day voter registration in Wisconsin – even though the governor said the move is too expensive. Oconomowoc Representative Joel Kleefisch and Senate Republican Alberta Darling of River Hills have been working on a bill to eliminate the 36-year-old same-day registrations. Kleefisch said today that his staff is looking into the various components of the current law. He says he still believes that eliminating the system is a good idea but quote, “We will strongly consider the governor’s viewpoint.” The Republican Walker told reporters in Pewaukee this morning that he would not sign a bill with the kind of costs mentioned by the Government Accountability Board. The elections’ agency said it would cost them five-point-two million dollars now, and two-million every two years after, to comply with federal election rules that would kick in if the same-day registration system is scrapped. Because of the same-day system, Wisconsin is exempt from a number of federal voting regulations.

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Funeral services will be held Saturday for a Marine from Manitowoc who spent three-and-a-half years as one of Japan’s prisoners-of-war during World War Two. 91-year-old Lester Ruzek died in the past week. He enlisted in the Marines in 1940, hoping to make enough money to share with his family after his father died in a traffic crash. Ruzek was in the Philippines when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941 – and most of his remaining time there was spent in Japanese prisons and work camps. He was freed by his fellow Americans who took back the Philippines in 1945. Ruzek returned to his home town of Manitowoc to work in the construction industry and raise a family.

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The Blood Center of Wisconsin has announced a new alliance with a similar facility in Illinois. The Milwaukee-based Blood Center and Heartland Blood Centers of suburban Chicago plan to work more closely together to reduce costs, and offer better care to their patients. They’ll create a group called the “Centers for Transfusion and Transplant Medicine.” A 23-member board will oversee the operations of the two centers. They’ve been working together since the 1980’s on various efficiencies. The Blood Center serves 56 Wisconsin hospitals, providing over 230-thousand units of blood each year. Heartland serves 47 hospitals in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana. Blood Center CEO Jacquelyn Fredrick says the new alliance will let both groups combine their buying power, and obtain equipment and supplies at lower costs. She said it would most likely reduce costs for hospitals and patients. The two facilities also plan to share their expertise – to create the most life-saving treatments possible.

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The Racine County Sheriff’s Department is revisiting a cold case, releasing a new facial reconstruction picture of an unidentified woman whose body was found in 1999. The updated description includes the fact she had brown eyes and reddish-brown, collar-length curly hair with highlights. An artist from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created the update. The body was found in July 13 years ago. The victim was white, between the ages of 18 and 30, about five feet, eight inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds. Both ears were pierced and her teeth were in poor condition. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Racine County Sheriff’s Department.

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Wisconsin deer hunters registered more than 243,000 during this year’s nine-day gun season. That represents a 7.7 percent increase over the year before. The Department of Natural Resources report for the 2012 deer season shows nearly 115 thousand bucks were harvested, a 12 percent increase. The final results are expected to go higher as all the tags are counted. More than 633,000 hunters from all 50 states and several foreign countries bought licenses this season, including 29,000 first-time hunters. Seven people were shot and there was one fatality.

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Elk will be re-introduced in west-central Wisconsin as soon as 2014. The state Natural Resources Board has approved a plan developed earlier this year. It would bring about 75 elk to the Black River Falls area – and it would add at least 200 elk to the state’s only existing herd in the Clam Lake region, where 180 animals are located now. The state has spoken with officials in Kentucky about supplying the additional elk. The Jackson County herd would be based in the Black River State Forest, where a long-term goal of 400 elk has been established. Officials say the expansion of the Clam Lake herd would result in a long-range goal of 1,400 elk. The effort to re-introduce the elk started in Ashland County in the mid-1990’s, when 25 animals were brought in. The Black River Falls expansion has been held due to previous concerns about chronic wasting disease in the state’s deer herd.

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Governor Scott Walker says Wisconsin will not follow Michigan’s lead in pursuing a right-to-work law that would weaken private sector unions. Walker told reporters in Pewaukee today that a tense debate over the right-to-work issue would be a distraction, as he seeks to create jobs and improve the state’s business climate over the next two years. Yesterday, incoming GOP state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Burlington said he would not press for a right-to-work law that prohibits workers from having to belong to unions or pay union dues as conditions of their employment. The Republican Walker supported such a concept when he was in the State Assembly in the 1990’s. But today, the governor said he’s not flip-flopping. He said a right-to-work debate would create more protests – and it would cause uncertainty among employers about adding jobs, the same as in 2011 during the massive protests over the near-elimination of public union bargaining. Walker ran for governor on a promise that he would create a quarter-million private sector jobs by the start of 2015. Only 28,000 jobs were added in his first year – but he said the numbers have grown sharply this year, and he still believes he can achieve his goal over the next two years.

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Those real comfortable jeans will be a thing of the past next year for public school teachers in Janesville. The School Board has voted 5-2 to adopt a new dress code for instructors, beginning next July. Under the new rules, teachers can no longer wear shorts, jeans, jogging suits, or flip-flops to class. Provocative and ragged clothes are also out – as well as anything in which undergarments can be seen. The new policy calls for business-casual clothing such as collared shirts, sweaters, and casual slacks. Women can wear dresses, skirts, blouses, and dress sandals. There are exceptions on casual Fridays, school-spirit days, and hot weather. Maintenance workers and physical education teachers are among those exempt. This kind of thing used to be negotiated between unions and school boards, but that went out the window with last year’s limits on collective bargaining. A judge threw the limits out in September for schools and local governments. But most Wisconsin schools and their unions are waiting to see what an appeals court does, after the state asked that the law be restored.

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Low water levels on Lake Michigan are still causing messy shorelines and boats that run aground. But they’re also exposing at least some history – including a large shipwreck that happened 80 years ago. The 290-foot steamship Aurora burned in 1932, close to Grand Haven in Michigan – and its remains were recently exposed by receding water lines. The Muskegon Chronicle said parts of at least four other shipwrecks were also exposed by the falling waters at Grand Haven, near the edges of Harbor Island. The 125-year-old Aurora was found in the Grand River, which flows into Lake Michigan. Maritime historian Valerie Van Heest says it gives people a rare opportunity to study ancient shipwrecks, without having to scuba dive to find the wreckages. The Great Lakes have been falling in recent years due to warmer temperatures, and this year’s drought.

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Accused killer Jason Anderson didn’t take the witness stand, but the Fond du Lac County jury got to hear his voice yesterday. A tape of an interview the 36 year old Fond du Lac man did with police in Birmingham, Alabama, was played in court. It was conducted just days after 33 year old Nicole Anderson had died. The defendant was emotional during the interview, saying he didn’t shoot his wife intentionally. He had driven to Birmingham to see his mother, but couldn’t work up the nerve to visit her. In the interview, Anderson said the gun fired twice, he ran over to his wife and he knew she was dead. He admitted being drunk, saying they both had been drinking and he had smoked some marijuana and had done some cocaine. Several times he said he had planned to take his own life, but just couldn’t go through with it.

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Wisconsin taxpayers may not have to spend almost a half-million dollars to renovate kitchen facilities at the Governor’s Mansion. The Walker administration said today that the non-profit Executive Residence Foundation will try to raise donations for the project. And if they don’t get enough, Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said tax dollars would again be sought. The project includes an upgrading of the main kitchen on the first floor, plus a kitchenette in the private living quarters on the second floor. It’s been 26 years since the main kitchen was renovated – and the residential kitchen has not been improved since the late 1960’s.

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Wisconsin farmers can soon be certified to move farmed-or-captive deer across state lines. The Agriculture Department has received the approval to adopt a federal herd certification program for chronic wasting disease. Wisconsin is the second state to implement federal rules for owners of farm-raised deer who choose to take part in the program, and move their animals into other states. State veterinarian Bob Ehlenfeldt says Wisconsin has had its own herd status program for several years, and about 400 of the state’s 600 managed deer herds are in it. He says the transition to a federal program should be relatively smooth. South Dakota is the only other states where the certification program is implemented. Wisconsin farmers who want to participate must test all of their enrolled deer of one-year or older – complete a herd inventory – and attach two forms of ID’s that are unique to the animal. Those last two requirements must be completed by the end of 2015. For more information, contact the state ag department.

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Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to give themselves higher reimbursements for the costs of staying in Madison while on government business. Leaders in the Assembly were considering higher per-diem payments to cover the costs of food-and-lodging while in the Capital City. But today, incoming Speaker Robin Vos said the reimbursements will remain what they’ve been for a number of years. He did not say why an increase was scrapped. Senate leaders decided to keep their per-diems the same, saying now is not a good time to claim more money from taxpayers. Lawmakers get $88 a day for hotels and meals when they’re in Madison. Legislators from Dane County – where Madison is located – get half that much. That’s in addition to the legislators’ salaries of almost 50-thousand dollars a year.

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The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reports two-thirds of the more than 100 million dollars spent in the series of recall elections over the last two years went to vendors in other states. An estimated $32 million for campaign services were spent with Wisconsin businesses and groups, but 69 million were for consulting, printing, mailing and other media services from outside the state. More than half of the total money spent went for radio and television ads. The details released today were based on spending reports connected to the recall elections of Governor Scott Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and 13 state senators.

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