Wisconsin News and Sports
Kwik Trip is selling products containing CBD. The La Crosse-based chain of convenience stores announced last week that it will sell lotions, creams, balms, and even vape pens which contain CBD.
Proponents of CBD say it can treat anxiety, relieve pain, and even clear up acne. It purportedly provides all the health benefits of cannabis, but not THC, the chemical in marijuana that gets you high.-
Foxconn has won court ruling over its water supply. The City of Racine wants to divert millions of gallons of water from Lake Michigan to serve Foxconn’s future factory complex in Mount Pleasant. State administrative law judge Brian Hayes ruled Monday that Racine’s plans to sell water to the village is within the requirements of the Great Lakes Compact.
Environmental groups argued the diversion wasn’t for “public water supply purposes,” but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Hayes ruled that the compact also allows for diversions for industrial and commercial users.
“While this ruling is disappointing, we stand by our interpretation of the “public water supply purposes” requirement which prohibits the diversion of Great Lakes water for the benefit of a singular industrial user,” said Tressie Kamp, Staff Attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, “We will be working with our clients to explore further legal options in this matter.”
The man charged with killing Milwaukee Police Officer Matthew Rittner is headed for trial in July. Twenty-six year-old Jordan Fricke appeared in a wheelchair for his pretrial hearing Tuesday morning.
Fricke is accused of killing Rittner in February when he fired an AK-47 semiautomatic pistol through a door as officers attempted to execute a search warrant. Rittner served 17 years in the Milwaukee Police Department and two tours in Iraq. Fricke is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and other charges.
The man charged in the horrific death of nurse practitioner Carlie Beaudin will remain committed at Mendota Mental Health Center, at least for now. The 33-year-old victim was found brutally beaten and frozen to the ground in a parking structure at Milwaukee’s Froedert Hospital in January.
A doctor’s report presented in court Tuesday said that 27-year-old Kenneth Freeman is not competent to stand trial. Another doctor’s report is due August 5th. Prosecutors allege Freemen kicked and stomped Beaudin’s head and neck more than 40 times before ditching her body.
–
Members of the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee have approved an additional $58 million in funding for the UW-System.
Of that amount, $45 million would be available only if lawmakers approve what it’s being spent on. The amount is less than half the $127 million requested by the governor.
After the vote, UW-System president Ray Cross spoke to reporters and called the vote “a kick in the shins.” He says Republicans didn’t indicate to him last week that they’d be making these sorts of cuts and caveats to the funding. “We didn’t even get inflation in this request.”
Lawmakers also voted to continue the University of Wisconsin tuition freeze for the next two years.
“Today has been a difficult day. There will be many more difficult days to come,” Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas said during a Thursday afternoon press conference where he identified the fallen Appleton firefighter as Mitch Lundgaard.
Lundgaard, a fourteen year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department was struck by gunfire along with a female bystander and an Appleton Police officer during a medical assistance call Wednesday at the downtown Valley Transit Center.
Appleton Fire Chief Jeremy Hansen said Lundgaard had a wife and three young children. “This has been a trying 24-hours for our department and our community.” Wednesday evening, Appleton police and fire personnel were initially called to assist a 47-year-old man who was having a medical emergency, which Thomas described as a seizure.
Thomas said the man arrived on a bus and they believe that he is from the Wausau area. After receiving medical attention, Thomas said the man pulled a small handgun and began to open fire.
Lundgaard was struck and had to be transported to an Appleton hospital where he later died from his injuries. The 47-year-old shooter also died from his injuries. The Appleton police officer was released from the hospital on Thursday and the woman is in stable condition.
The investigation is being led by the Green Bay Police Department.
WTAQ
A leadership change is in the works for Wisconsin’s second largest school district. Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham will be stepping down at the end of August. In an email to district parents, Cheatham says she’ll be joining the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the fall. Cheatham has been superintendent in Madison since 2013. Before that , she worked in the Chicago Public School District.
It’s been a tough year for Cheatham as the district has dealt with high profile cases, sparking racial tensions and recently, concerns over student safety with several reported sexual assaults at the high schools.
The Madison Metropolitan School District includes four high schools, one alternative high school, 11 middle schools, and 31 elementary schools. There were just over 27,000 students enrolled in MMSD for the 2013-14 school year.
WIBA
Two of Wisconsin’s largest health care providers are discussing a possible merger. Gunderson Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System will spend the coming months working out details of a possible merger that could create a health system led by more than 2,000 clinicians and with more than 18,000 total employees.
“Over the last few years, we have worked relentlessly to position ourselves for the future and create a better framework for serving our patients and communities,” said Susan Turney, MD, chief executive officer, Marshfield Clinic Health System. “While at the same time, the disruption in the industry and competitive nature of healthcare has made it vital we construct a dynamic and strong integrated health system. This merger would give us an opportunity to combine the unique strengths of our systems to become the preeminent rural healthcare organization in the country.”
If they were to merge, Marshsfield Health System and Gunderson would have 13 hospitals, and more than 100 medical clinics, eye centers, dental centers, urgent care clinics, and pharmacies.
WDLB
President Donald Trump will be making a stop in Green Bay at the end of the month. The rally will be held at the Resch Center on April 27. It’s the same day as the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which President Trump has missed each year, and will miss again.
I will be in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Saturday, April 27th at the Resch Center — 7:00pm (CDT). Big crowd expected! #MAGA https://t.co/BPYK8PF0O8
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2019
The President says he would rather hold a “positive rally.” Wisconsin is expected to once again be a battleground state in the upcoming election. Tickets are being given on a first come, first serve basis at the Trump campaign website, two tickets per mobile number.
WTAQ
Grand Chute police arrested a teenage suspect in a double homicide investigation on Sunday. Officers responding to a 911 call at around 11:30 a.m. found the two victims and the suspect, 17-year-old Alexander Kraus of Neenah, at a residence on the city’s northwest side, Officer Travis Waas said the suspect and the victims knew each othe.
Waas said Kraus is a junior at Neenah High School. Grand Chute police are telling officials with the Neenah school district that Kraus also had a plan to cause harm at Neena High School. School officials say classes will go on as scheduled and extra police will be on hand as an additional precaution. Counselors will be available to staff and students.
Police are recommending Kraus be charged with two counts of first degree intentional homicide.
WHBY
