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A sixteen day deer season?

September 23, 2009 By

The state Natural Resources Board has approved hearing dates and locations for proposed changes to Wisconsin’s deer hunting season. “The traditional November firearms season would be expanded from nine to sixteen days,” says Department of Natural Resources spokesman Greg Matthews.

Matthews says that’s in response to the demise of the unpopular Earn-a-Buck program. “If we have a longer sixteen day season, we’ll be able to have the same results, as far as reducing the herd or keeping it in line, as we had when we used Earn-a-Buck,” says Maththews.

The public hearings have been scheduled for ten locations around Wisconsin, between October 14 and November 3. One additional hearing may be scheduled for southeastern Wisconsin. Matthews says, if the public response is positive, the Natural Resources Board could vote for the sixteen day season to take effect in 2010.

WIBA’s Chandra Lynn contributed to this report

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation

911 technology helps save woman’s life

September 23, 2009 By

Some sophisticated 911 mapping technology helped save a woman’s life near Neillsville this week. Clark County dispatchers were unable to understand the woman who turned out to have hearing difficulties.

“Basically, all our dispatcher could hear was that it was female on the other end of the phone,” says Chief Deputy Jim Backus. “She appeared very upset, crying, and just making noises.”

Backus says the mapping technology led them to find the woman, trapped in a car that had rolled over outside of Neillsville early Monday. Backus says there’s little traffic in the area, so it’s impossible to say when someone might have discovered the woman. Firefighters were able to extract the hard of hearing woman from her car and get her to a hospital where she was treated and released.

Backus says the technology has been used before to help find lost hunters, but this is the most successful story of how it’s been used.

WSAU’s Matt Lehman submitted this report

AUDIO: Matt Lehman reports (:35 MP3)

Filed Under: Human Interest

Rouse goes from starter to unemployed

September 23, 2009 By

Aaron RouseThe Green Bay Packers have signed S Matt Giordano to their active roster today, releasing S Aaron Rouse.  They also signed T Dane Randolph to the practice squad. 

Rouse (pictured), a third-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, appeared in 27 career games with the Packers.  An injury to Atari Bigby in week one gave Rouse a start last week against Cincinnati.  But Rouse had to leave the game after receiving a neck stinger.

Giordano is a 5th year pro.  He spent the past four seasons with Indianapolis, playing in 55 games and starting six.  The fourth-round selection from California in 2005, will wear No. 47 with the Packers.

Randolph spent training camp with the Packers as a non-drafted free agent from Maryland.  He replaces Jamon Meredith, who was signed off the Packers practice squad by the Buffalo Bills.

Filed Under: Sports, Titletown Report Tagged With:

Packers fans have all the answers!

September 23, 2009 By

A 1-1 start to the 2009 NFL season has armchair general managers coming out of the woodwork.

The Green Bay Packers have struggled offensively, the offensive line hasn’t been able to protect the quarterback, the running game has yet to get off the ground, receivers are dropping  passes and the general timing is clearly off.  That just the offense.

On defense, after a good start in week one, the Packers lost the physical battle and the Cincinnati Bengals ran the ball right down their throats. 

Special teams won the week one battle, but that also ended in week 2. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sports, Titletown Report Tagged With: ,

Lobbyist predicts beer tax hike will go flat

September 23, 2009 By

Don’t look for the Legislature to increase the beer tax to pay for the cost of stricter drunk driving laws. That prediction from Wisconsin Grocers Association President Brandon Scholz.

“This is not a time to increase taxes,” says Scholz. “You’ve got a lot of people in this state that are involved in the retail and the manufacturing side, the brewery side, that contribute to the state already. And now going to the consumers and asking them for more money out of their pocket (is) the wrong thing to do.”

There’s renewed talk at the Capitol of increasing the beer tax to pay for the cost of stricter OWI laws, but Scholz doesn’t think it’ll happen. “There are those that continue to think that, well, ‘how can we take more money from people to pay for some programs that, you know, we think are important?’ We’ve always said, if the programs are important, find a way to pay for it out of general purpose revenue, the taxes that you already have in Wisconsin,” says Scholz. “Let’s not go back to the people of Wisconsin, to ask them for more money.”

Wisconsin’s beer tax hasn’t been raised since 1969, and Scholz is betting the latest proposal to do so will fall flat. “The buzz on beer tax may not be a very wide circle. It may be the same small group of people who want to advocate for more taxes in Wisconsin,” says Scholz. “There is no support for raising the beer tax.”

AUDIO: John Colbert reports (:40 MP3)

WIBA’s John Colbert contributed this report

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government
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