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WPS clears utility crews to head south to work on hurricane relief efforts

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Wisconsin Public Service is gearing up to help those affected by Hurricane Ian in Florida and the southeast.

WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen says contracted crews that usually help WPS are instead being sent south. 

“Instead of having them remain with us and continue to perform work on our behalf, we again have released them so that they can assist with this restoration effort and be part of it.”

Millions of people are without power across Florida, and that number will likely increase as Ian travels across the east coast.

“It’s something that we’re continuing to closely monitor because there could be an additional request that would go out for additional crews, perhaps even our own to be able to assist with this effort,” says Cullen.

Forecasters say Ian is likely to make landfall once again near Charleston, South Carolina on Friday.

Waukesha County Judge stays order that would prevent DNR from regulating PFAS cleanups

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A Waukesha County Judge has issued a stay on a ruling that could prevent the D N R from regulating PFAS contamination.

Judge Michael Bohren says the state and business groups need to come to a solution pending appeal. 

“It puts the plaintiffs and the business people and the people who supported the plaintiffs somewhat at risk for a period of time. But the stay also protects the overall state policy that the DNR is working on in the event this court is incorrect.”

The judge is expecting action to happen quickly in the judiciary. “I’m assuming that an appeal would be expeditious. I’m assuming that it may actually be an appeal that the supreme court accepts as a bypass based upon the based on the seriousness of the issues involved and the broad impact.”

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce argues that the state can’t regulate PFAS because they are not directly mentioned in either state law or DNR rules. The DNR says this ruling could upend the department’s ability to remediate any spills or brownfields. 

Madison police have no suspects in arson at Wisconsin Family Action, warn against future violence

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Madison Police chief Shon Barnes couldn’t share much information about the arson at Wisconsin Family Action over the weekend. 

“I have no indication that this was an inside job, the person who owns the building wasn’t there at the time. And so I don’t know, there’s always going to be conspiracy theories.”

Barnes did confirm that an incendiary device was used to start a fire Sunday morning.

Barnes says violence over free speech is not the answer, despite the increased tension over abortion rights. 

“I can tell you that there’s no there’s no place in Madison or anywhere else for this because it could have gone differently, I think if someone had been there. And if you’re thinking about doing something like that, I would recommend that you not, it doesn’t look good for your cause. It doesn’t look good for our community. And that’s not what we expect.”

There was some fire damage to the inside of one office and some graffiti on the outside of the building.

If you have a tip, call Madison PD Crimestoppers at 608-266-6014.

DNR holds public hearing on new PFAS regulations

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The Department of Natural Resources is now taking public comment on a proposed rule to regulate PFAS and other forever chemicals.

That includes what has to be done to dispose of the chemicals, and how people who use fire-fighting foam have to respond to spills. At a public hearing on Thursday, Erik Cantor from Clean Wisconsin says the new rules don’t go far enough. 

“Clean Wisconsin remains extremely disappointed the legislature, that originally directed the department to develop containment disposal measures, intervened to water down the measures and benchmarks proposed by DNR in the emergency rule, which were also left out of this rule.”

Peter Burress with Wisconsin Conservation Voters asked for the D-N-R and the Natural Resources Board to pass the rules. 

“Wisconsin Department of Health Services has advised that exposure to certain PFAS may contribute to a number of negative effects including increased cholesterol levels, increase risk of thyroid disease, high blood pressure in women, lower infant birth weights, and decreased fertility in women.”

The rule is open for public comment for another week before heading to the Natural Resources Board for a vote. 

September is National Preparedness Month

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September is National Preparedness Month. Andrew Beckett with Wisconsin Emergency Management explains the goal:

“To get people to think about the ways that they can ‘prepare to protect.’ Prepare to protect themselves, the ones they love, their property. Basically all the steps they can take in order to make sure that they are protected in the event an emergency takes place.”

Beckett says you can find preparedness resources can be found online at Ready Wisconsin, and   through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Ready.Gov” campaign.

This year’s theme for National Preparedness Month is “prepare to protect.”

More wells in La Crosse area test positive for PFAS contamination

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Wells downstream from the La Crosse airport are now showing PFAS contamination.

Those wells are on Paris Island, which sits downstream from La Crosse Regional.

All but one out of 100 wells tested showed some levels of contamination, while 40 wells have levels above DNR safety standards. One well was over 160 times higher.

The DNR is continuing to test to see how far the contamination has spread since it was first detected in 2016.

Evers activates Wisconsin National Guard for Kenosha duty

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The Wisconsin National Guard may once again be called on in Kenosha. The Guard was last deployed to the city following protests and looting after the August 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by a white Kenosha police officer, leaving Blake paralyzed.

Governor Tony Evers has authorized the Guard to support local law enforcement at the request of local officials there, to help ensure public safety. The request comes as the city awaits a charging decision in the case, which the Kenosha County D.A. is expected to announce sometime in the next two weeks.

Gov. Evers wants Wisconsin to get its fair share of COVID-19 vaccines

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Governor Tony Evers wants the state to get its fair share of shipments of COVID-19 vaccines.

Governor Evers says Wisconsin has only received around 35,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, much less than the nearly 50,000 doses it was supposed to be getting.

Evers says Wisconsin needs those vaccines because the state is seeing so many cases of COVID. He also stresses that the vaccines need to make up for the lack of response he’s able to make because his office is hampered thanks to ongoing litigation.

Air National Guard pilot confirmed killed in U.P. crash

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A Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot has been confirmed killed in a crash this week.

The Madison-based 115th Fighter Wing has announced the death of the F-16 pilot who crashed Wednesday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In accordance with Department of Defense policy, the pilot will not be identified until 24 hours after notifying next of kin.

The crash occurred within the Hiawatha National Forest during a training mission Tuesday night. A multi-state, interagency search for the pilot and aircraft immediately followed the crash, the cause of which is under investigation.

Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 down in U.P.

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Emergency crews overnight were searching for the pilot of an F-16 fighter jet that crashed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula while on a military training mission.

The Wisconsin Air National Guard says an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to its 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison crashed about 8 p.m. Tuesday night.

The Wisconsin Air National Guard said in a statement released on its Facebook page: “Emergency responders are on scene. The cause of the crash, as well as the status of the pilot, are unknown at this time, and the incident is under investigation.”

The crash occurred north of the Garden Peninsula, near the border of Delta and Schoolcraft counties in the Hiawatha National Forest. The 115th Fighter Wing participated in a coordinated search effort with local emergency responders, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Forest Service and other government agencies overnight.