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Microplastics are latest threat to health of Great Lakes

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There’s a new threat to the health of the Great Lakes. Microplastics – tiny snarls, tangles and shreds of plastic – are appearing by the hundreds of thousands in western Lake Superior.

The Star Tribune reports that researchers with the Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota-Duluth said that amounts don’t approach what’s found near Hawaii in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but are more than what’s been found in the North Atlantic. Researchers still are not sure where the tiny particles are coming from, but believe one source is household laundry.

Synthetic fabrics break down in the wash but washing machines, unlike clothes dryers, don’t have lint filters. And unlike natural fabrics, these fibers don’t break down in the water.

Georgia Pacific puts Green Bay expansion plans on hold

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Georgia Pacific Corporation has put plans for a 458,000 square foot expansion at its Green Bay plant on hold. The Green Bay Planning Commission was scheduled to discuss the plans Monday night. The company sent a letter saying it decided to indefinitely postpone the project.

Georgia-Pacific wants the request held on file for possible future action, indicating the idea isn’t dead. The company was going to streamline its paper production process by adding equipment and buildings to the location on the banks of the Fox River.

Supervisor objects to Milwaukee County bus art ads

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County Board Supervisor Dan Sebring says student artwork on Milwaukee County Transit System busses sends an anti law-enforcement message. He wants images depicting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting children removed immediately.

“The racist, anti-law enforcement messages contained in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s paid ad on a county bus is an offensive abomination and a slap in the face to law enforcement officers and officials at every level. We cannot allow a county bus to be decorated with advertising that includes a “how-to” guide for illegal immigrants to evade law enforcement. MCTS should remove this so-called “art” immediately,”

But transit system spokeswoman Kristina Hoffman says the artwork will stay up for six weeks. “Art is about freedom of expression, and clearly this is a topic that’s on the mind of these youth who developed this artwork.”

The ad was designed by young people from Milwaukee, and chosen by the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Protests at dog-breeding facility

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More than 100 people protested in front of a controversial dog breeding facility in Spring Green over the weekend. That’s where husband-and-wife veterinarians Jill and Clinton Kane are breeding dogs that they intend to sell to medical researchers.

The Sauk County sheriff’s office says the demonstration was entirely peaceful, although the Kanes have been the targets of some violent threats.

Protest organizer Gracie Marchese says they want the threats to stop. “We’re here for just spreading the love, and the well-being of these dogs. We don’t want anyone to get hurt in the process.”

Despite widespread opposition, the kennel is up-and-running. A Sauk County committee approved a conditional use permit in July.

Study finds F-35 noise will impact homes in Madison

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If the Wisconsin Air National Guard gets a deployment of the military’s new F-35 fighter jets, it could make living near Truax Field in Madison very difficult.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that a new study by the Pentagon shows that over 200 acres of property near the airport could be “incompatible for residential use”. That’s because the noise from jets at the field would raise the average noise level around the facility past a 65 decibel level that’s deemed safe to live. It could get as loud as 115 decibels when plans take off and land, as loud as a rock concert.

More than 1,000 homes could be affected.

Wisconsin Air National Guard holding Northern Lightning Joint Training Exercise

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The Wisconsin Air National Guard is conducting its Northern Lightning Joint Training Exercise for the next 12 days. The skies over almost two dozen Wisconsin counties will be filled with the world’s most advanced military aircraft. Pilots will be testing the F-35 Lightning, the F-22 Raptor, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the E-A-18 Growler and others. The exercise will continue until August 23rd.

One person killed in Waupaca County house explosion

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Emergency personnel in Waupaca County dealt with two deaths Sunday, including one in a house explosion. The man killed in the house explosion around 8:45 Sunday morning is believed to be the owner of the home. It happened near a rural intersection about five miles northeast of Manawa. The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office reported that some debris from the explosion landed 500 feet from the residence. The state fire marshal’s office is aiding in the investigation into the cause. The identity of the man has not been released.

The second death came in a drowning Sunday afternoon in the Town of Caledonia. A 37-year-old rural Fremont man drowned in a pond behind a residence there just before 4:00 pm. The man was pulled from the water before emergency personnel arrived, and CPR was started, but the man was pronounced dead at a Neenah hospital. His name also has not been released.

WDUX

Homeowners file lawsuit over Sun Prairie explosion

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A group of people who lost their homes in downtown Sun Prairie in a natural gas explosion last year is suing the companies they say are responsible. Nine former downtown residents sued last Friday.

The litigants allege VC Tech, Bear Communications, Verizon, We Energies, and USIC Locating Services all played a role in failing to locate a gas line that was ruptured, leading to the devastating explosion on July 10th of last year. A Sun Prairie firefighter died, and another was injured

There are four other lawsuits in Dane County court related to the explosion.

WIBA

‘Cold blooded killer’ sentenced to 15 years in drunk driving death

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Leopold PHOTO WI DOC

A man convicted in a fatal crash in Green County has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison. Nathan Leopold of Janesville killed David Leck of Juda on Highway 11 two years ago. Leck’s granddaughter tearfully testified at Leopold’s sentencing hearing Wednesday.

“I stared at him and he stared back. I saw nothing. No remorse, nothing. I saw a cold blooded killer.”

Leopold had marijuana and alcohol in his system after the crash. He’s already done time for running over jogger Aimee Kubler in Dane County in 2002.

in court on Wednesday, he apologized for “causing so much pain” to Leck’s family. “I accept responsibility for what I’ve done.”

WIBA

Bodies of missing Wisconsin brothers sought in Missouri

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Investigators in Clinton County, Missouri are still trying to figure out what happened to two Shawano brothers who went missing following a business trip. The investigation into the deaths of Nick and Justin Diemel has yet to yield answers or the discovery of the brothers bodies after one week.

“We do know that they arrived in the rental truck and they were there for a business deal with cattle. We do not know what exactly occurred yet,” Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish said. That deal reportedly  took place on the farm of 25-year-old Garland “Joey” Nelson.

Nelson is charged with felony tampering of a motor vehicle after admitting to moving the Diemel’s rental truck from his farm property to a commuter lot more than 30 miles away, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Fish said they are investigating multiple locations, but there is a lot of room to cover at the Nelson farm.”It is about 74 acres. We are just trying to come up with evidence.” He said daily rain has made it difficult to locate and preserve any evidence.

WTAQ