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Hit-and-run victim had survived 1999 crash that killed seven

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A woman killed in a hit and run in Madison last weekend had been a victim of a high profile crash more than 20 years ago.

Forty-year-old Nicole McDougal died from the injuries she sustained in the hit-and-run crash last Saturday night. The driver has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

McDougal had survived a crash in Janesville in the spring of 1999. McDougal was one of 14 young people who were members of a traveling magazine sales crew. The van they were riding in crashed on Interstate 90/39 near Janesville. Seven were killed. McDougal suffered a traumatic brain injury in that crash, 24 years ago.

WIBA

‘Tragic, terrible’ – Sheriff on Barron County police officers deaths

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The police officers slain in Saturday’s shootout in Barron County are 32-year-old Chetek Officer Emily Breidenbach and 23-year-old Cameron Officer Hunter Scheel.

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Monday that the county has seen tragic events before, but “nothing like this.”

Breidenbach and Scheel exchanged shots with a man identified as 50-year-old Glenn Douglas Perry, who died later at a hospital. According to the state Division of Criminal Investigation, they were conducting a traffic stop based on a warrant and to check Perry’s welfare following notification of concerning behavior.

Breidenbach was an officer with the Stoughton Police Department in Dane County for about 9 months before she joined Chetek Police Department, where she had served for approximately 4 years.

Scheel graduated from the Law Enforcement Academy last December and had been with Cameron Police for approximately one year.

Funeral services for the officers are pending. DCI is leading the investigation.

Constitutional amendment would change cash bail in Wisconsin

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A proposed constitutional amendment making changes to cash bail is moving briskly through the Wisconsin legislature. Following a joint public hearing by the Assembly and Senate judiciary committees on Tuesday, the amendment passed the Assembly Judiciary committee, where Representative Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) was the only no vote.

“There’s going to be chances where we have individuals who can afford to get themselves out of prison who could then continue to commit heinous acts that we’re failing to take account of,” Anderson said.     

Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) was a yes despite concerns. “I would prefer a system that would keep the public safe from people who do pose a public threat but at the same time ensuring we don’t have people in custody who are nonviolent offenders.” Ortiz-Velez said keeping communities safe is a primary consideration for her.  

The amendment would expand what factors judges can consider when setting cash bail for violent offenders. Under current law, courts can impose release conditions to protect the community from “serious bodily harm,” and judges can only take into account the likelihood the defendant will appear in court when setting bail.

Judiciary Committee chair, Representative Ron Tussler (R-Harrison) said the change will empower judges. “We try to simplify systems too much, instead of relying on our individual judges and trusting those judges to do what they’ve been elected to do and what’s in their community’s best interest.”

Representative Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) said the amendment will restore discretion to judges which was taken away by lawmakers decades ago. “I believe we need to go back to what we had in 1980 before we screwed up in 1981 to give the judges this flexibility so that we can have real consideration of issues that directly affect our communities.”

The amendment passed both chambers of the legislature with bipartisan support last session. Proponents hope to have it before voters for consideration on the statewide ballot in April.

House passed gun safety package going nowhere in Senate

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A gun safety package passed in the House on Wednesday appears doomed in the U.S. Senate. The bills collectively called the “Protecting Our Kids Act” passed with only five Republican votes, none from Wisconsin.

It would raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines and establish storage requirements for gun owners.

The legislation would also list bump stocks under the National Firearms Act, ban bump stocks for civilian use and ensure ghost guns are subject to existing federal firearm protections.

On Thursday, the House voted to pass a federal “red flag” bill intended to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. That legislation also received just five Republican votes.

Ten Senate Republicans are needed to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold, and that’s unlikely. “You ask yourself, how many children how many Americans have their lives taken away by gun violence until the Congress acts,” Wisconsin Democrat, Senator Tammy Baldwin told WRN.

“I feel like these MAGA Republicans are more beholden to the NRA and the gun manufacturers than they are to the children and families and individuals they represent in their states.”

Asked what he’d support, Republican Senator Ron Johnson deflected, telling reporters “let’s enforce the laws we already have. Let’s start with Hunter Biden.”

Senate negotiators are discussing less bold measures, including encouraging states to create red-flag systems,  expanding background checks to incorporate juvenile records, along with funding for mental health programs and school security improvements.

The Republican controlled Wisconsin legislature has previously rejected red flag legislation and expanded background checks.

Evers vetoes Republican drawn redistricting maps

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Governor Tony Evers has vetoed Republican-drawn maps for Wisconsin’s new legislative and congressional districts.

The Democratic governor’s action moves redistricting to the Wisconsin Supreme Court – where lawsuits are already filed.

“I told the legislature early on to go back to the drawing board when these were first introduced,” Evers said Thursday. “I’ve said all along, I’d veto these maps if they came to my desk.”

Justices could select new maps by early next year. A federal court has signaled it will wait to see what the Wisconsin high court decides before acting on lawsuits filed there.

Milwaukee Dem is vocal supporter as Assembly sends GOP literacy screening bill to Evers

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Students would be screened for literacy skills at least three times each school year in kindergarten through second-grade, under a bill headed to the governor’s desk.

On the Assembly floor Tuesday, Racine Republican Robert Wittke explained the stark realities the bill hopes to address.

“Six-hundred thousand children in this state cannot read to grade level. We have the worst racial achievement gaps in the country,” Wittke said

Representative Don Vruwink of Milton, a retired educator, was critical. “It seems to me here in the Assembly we have continually slapped a band-aid and said ‘this is going to fix the problem.’”

Democrat and educator LaKeshia Myers of Milwaukee supports the Republican authored measure. “I’m tired of the same data, reporting the same thing year after year. It’s time for us to stop making excuses and actually do something,” Myers said. “I don’t care who introduced this bill, whether it was a Republican, whether it was a Democrat, whether it was Jesus himself, I will still go along with this bill.”

Democrats also said it doesn’t make sense to screen every student, and that the bill lacks a long term funding source. The bill is opposed by several groups representing school districts, and it’s not clear whether Governor Tony Evers will sign it.

Dane County extends indoor mask mandate

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Dane County is extending its COVID-19 emergency order. Public Health Madison and Dane County cites a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, and high community transmission.

Instead of expiring on Friday, the Dane County health orders are now good through November 5th. The mandate requires everyone age two and older wear a face covering or mask in public indoor places where there are other people.

 

Republican state Senator wants to block UW System COVID-19 protocols

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Senator Steve Nass

A Republican state legislator is seeking to block the University of Wisconsin System’s COVID-19 plans for the fall.

State Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) wants the UW System to get legislative approval for any virus-related regulations. Nass co-chairs the legislature’s administrative rules committee. Nass explained his decision in media release on Wednesday.   

Unfortunately, some chancellors in the UW System consider themselves mini-Andrea Palms not beholden to following state law and moving quickly to take advantage of the Delta-variant hysteria to enact excessive Covid-19 mandates.  The legislature should not drag its feet in utilizing the powers we have to prevent state agencies from abusing the statutory and constitutional rights of citizens as was done in 2020.

 

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson

Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) serves on the rules committee, and her district includes the Madison campus. “It’s just hard to see how any rational person could think that prohibiting any COVID precautions is a good idea. I mean unless you really think that unmitigated spread of COVID is a good thing,” said Roys.

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson did not directly address Nass’ proposal, but expressed his concerns in a statement released on Thursday.

Given my experience as a former United States Health and Human Services Secretary, I know the biggest threat to in-person classes this fall would be actions that strip the UW System of the tools it has so successfully used to date to address outbreaks and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Nass plans to hold a paper ballot vote Tuesday in the committee, in which Republicans hold a 6-to-4 majority. His effort to restrict the UW System’s efforts come with Wisconsin the midst of an increase in new COVID-19 infections.

Record 120 COVID-19 deaths reported in Wisconsin on Tuesday

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A record more deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded in a single day in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Although the deaths were reported Tuesday, they may have occurred earlier. Still, it’s the highest single day number reported by the state Department of Health Services since the beginning of the pandemic. That brings the total in Wisconsin to 4,545, and the average over the past week to 60 per day.

There were 2,403 new confirmed cases Tuesday on just over 6800 tests as both new cases and new tests continue to decline.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Wisconsin Hospitals Association reported 1,274 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with 281 in ICUs. Those figures are both down from highs set in mid-November.

Statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed 2,000 for the first time

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For the first time since the start of the global pandemic, there are more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients in Wisconsin hospitals.

The Wisconsin Hospitals Association updates its dashboard of COVID-19 data daily, and as of Monday afternoon it showed 2,003 patients being treated for the virus, with 396 in ICUs.

The state Department of Health Services reported 4,360 new cases on Monday, and a 7-day average of well over 5,000 cases. DHS also reported 17 additional deaths for a total of 2,329 lives lost in the state.

State and local public health agencies and hospital groups continue to plead with the public to follow recommended guidelines to help “flatten the curve,” and slow transmission of the virus in Wisconsin communities.