Wisconsin News and Sports
There’s a proposal to designate the Harley as the state motorcycle.
Under legislation at the state capitol, the Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson would become the official state motorcycle. Assembly Democrat Leon Young of Milwaukee is cosponsoring a bill to move ahead on the idea. [Read more...]
Federal statistics report Thanksgiving is the most dangerous holiday period for deaths occurring on the roads. Ed Greene, CEO of the Vision Council, says his group found a direct correlation between the number of states’ annual road fatalities and their frequency of drivers’ eye exams.
Wisconsin ranks 25th nationwide in fatal crashes, likewise it falls middle-of-the-road compared to other states, with a maximum eight years between vision screenings.
Greene says despite state mandates its vital that drivers get their own eye exams as most people make the mistake of self diagnosing.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, an average 570 fatalities occur each year during the holiday period, from 6:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through 5:59 a.m. on the following Monday.
Brian Moon reports (:63)
There’s little to impede Thanksgiving weekend travel in Wisconsin. With gas prices hovering around $2.70 a gallon, AAA spokesperson Beth Mosher expects about 778,000 people will be traveling in Wisconsin. “Give yourself enough time to get to where you need to go, and get to where you need to go safely,” Mosher advises.
Orange barrels will be off to the side most everywhere in the state. WIDOT‘s Don Greuel says the lone exception is northbound I-94 in Kenosha County, down to two lanes near Kenosha. And yes, there’s a chance of snow across much of the state, and Mosher with triple a says we all need to keep that in mind – and slow down accordingly. Bottom line, be careful out there.
Bob Hague (:60) AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:60 MP3)
More troops are headed to Afghanistan as the President battles waning public opinion. President Obama ran on a campaign calling Afghanistan the “right war” to fight. Shortly after taking office he bumped troop levels by 20-thousand, an action UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin says had strong public backing, noting 60-percent support last spring for Obama’s handling of the war.
In August the top US commander in the region, General Stanley McChrystal, said 40-thousand more boots are ground are needed to complete the mission. Critics have railed Obama for sitting on the recommendation for several months. Franklin says falling presidential approval ratings on the war preceded this period of decision making. The co-founder of pollster.com says rather it is the dilemma of sending more troops to a war with no end sight or withdrawing military which will lead to a safe haven for terrorism. [Read more...]
An autopsy is planned for today for the victim of a Tuesday afternoon shooting in Beloit.
Police Captain Bill Tyler (:22) belshoot2
Twenty-two-year-old Derick Kimber crashed a vehicle into the parking lot of Merrill Elementary School after being shot. He was pronounced dead at Beloit Memorial Hospital. A 24-year-old pedestrian suffered a non-life threatening gun shot wound.
Tyler says police locked down the school after Kimber’s car crashed in the parking lot and that police requested the Beloit Memorial be locked down after the shooting. He says that’s standard procedure in a shooting since the hospital has security guards and not police officers present. Police later had to intervene in an altercation between the victim’s family members and others outside the hospital emergency department.
This is the fifth homicide of the year in Beloit.
Contributed by Beth Wheelock-WCLO
WRN Blog