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Flood prevention more than just lowering Lake Mendota, says UW expert

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As cleanup continues across Dane County in the wake of this summer’s floods, the discussion now turns on how best to prevent a flood in the future.

Richard Lathrop from the UW-Madison Limnology department says simply lowering the levels on Lake Mendota during the summer months won’t help during the next flood event.

“Mendota can release it really fast, but the lower lakes can’t take it with the way the system is set up now.”

He says treating the Yahara Lakes simply like a reservoir is the wrong approach, and that more needs to be done by opening channels in the lower lakes, as well as improving flood mitigation in general across Dane County. 

“We have to be able to get rid of the water faster out of the lower lakes, because if we don’t, the water just keeps piling up in Mendota.”

Dane County crews were out in force during the flood opening up channels on Lakes Mendota and Monona, working to clear out weed blockages. Water levels are still above where they’d normally be at this time of year. 

Aaron Rodgers donates $1 million to California fire relief

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Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Roders is stepping up, to help with wildfire relief in his native California. Rodgers tweeted a video on Wednesday, in which he requested others to contribute. “Raising money for both immediate needs and the long term recovery is what’s needed now,” Rodgers said.

Dozens of people have died and hundreds remain unaccounted for in the Camp Fire, the most destructive in the state’s history.

“In northern California where I was born and raised, the city of Paradise burned to the ground and many of the residents who got out are now displaced in my hometown of Chico and across the north state,” Rodgers said in the tweet.

Police: driver who struck and killed Girl Scouts was ‘huffing’

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Treu

UPDATE: The driver accused of killing three Girl Scouts and a mother is being held on bond. Twenty-one year-old Colten Treu faces charges of vehicular homicide in the deaths of 9-year-old Jayna Kelley and 10-year-old Autum Helgeson, and 10-year-old Haylee Hickle and her mom, 32-year-old Sara Jo Schneider.

Treu, who allegedly told Lake Hallie police that he and a passenger were “huffing” before he struck the Girl Scouts with his truck, is being held on $250,000 bond. The Girl Scout troop was picking up trash along a road on Saturday. A fourth girl is in stable condition at a Minnesota hospital.

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UPDATE:  Police say driver of a truck which plowed into a Girl Scout troop in Chippewa County over the weekend was “huffing.” Killed on Saturday, 9-year-old Jayna Kelley and 10-year-old Autum Helgeson, and 10-year-old Haylee Hickle and her 32-year-old mother, Sara Jo Schneider. A fourth Girl Scout is in critical condition.

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reports that Lake Hallie police said 21-year-old Colton Treu and a passenger told investigators that they were inhaling chemical vapors before striking the Scout Troop as they picked up trash along a road.

Treu was being held in the Chippewa County Jail on 13 possible charges, including four counts of intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, Chippewa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Robert Jensen said Treu was expected to appear for a bond hearing at 10:00 a.m. Monday.
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A driver who struck a group of Girl Scouts in Chippewa County, killing three of them and an adult woman, will face four homicide charges. He’s identified as 21-year-old Colton Treu of Chippewa Falls.

Lake Hallie Police Sergeant Dan Sokup said the girls were picking up roadside trash, just before noon on Saturday, when they were struck by a pickup truck that crossed the center line.

Treu left the scene but later turned himself in. A fourth girl remained in critical condition as of Sunday. The three girls killed attended elementary school in Chippewa Falls.

Helicopter pilot killed in Ashland County crash

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The pilot of an Enbridge helicopter was killed in a crash on the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. According to the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, the pilot was 64-year-old Dean Bass of Sarnia, Ontario, Canda.

The helicopter was reported overdue around 8:15 p.m. Monday, while on a routine pipeline inspection flight

It was reported to be flying west from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and had been seen flying over the Birch Hill area of the reservation early Monday afternoon, but never arrived at Duluth International Airport, where it was scheduled to make a brief stop before heading to Madison.

Ground teams located the crash site and the pilot’s body shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday. Enbridge Energy is based out of Houston, Texas.

KDAL

Two killed in Rock County weekend crash

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Two people were killed on a rural Rock County road Saturday when the car they were traveling in struck a bus carrying a college volleyball team from Minnesota. The crash involving the bus carrying the Bethel University volleyball team occurred just after 8:00 p.m. The bus driver and 19 passengers on were not injured.

The victims are identified as 20-year-old Savannah M. Sloniker of Waterford, and 22 year-old Anthony Payton of Whitewater. The Rock County Sheriff’s Office says the vehicle being driven by Sloniker crossed the centerline in the 9200 block of County Highway N about 8:00 p.m. and hit a bus head-on.  Sloniker and Payton were pronounced dead at the scene.  No one on the bus was injured.  The cause is still under investigation.

 

Test your livestock feed and silage for flood damage

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Floods across Wisconsin have damaged homes and roads, but they can also damage crops and animal feed.

DATCP Spokeswoman Donna Gilson says the same sorts of dangers that people face when it comes to flood waters will affect your livestock as well.

“Flood waters can have a lot of stuff in them like sewage, bacteria, pathogens, pesticides, all kinds of stuff that could damage crops that are intended for animal feed.”

Gilson says if you think your crops have been damaged in the field or in a silo, talk with your local extension office.

“Have them come out and look at it and just get some good expert advice whether it’s salvageable, and whether it’s worth getting it tested.”

If you are going to lose your crop, make sure you contact your insurance or extension office to find out how best to proceed.

Wisconsin Red Cross volunteers will help hurricane Florence victims

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More than 30 American Red Cross volunteers from Wisconsin are on their way to Virginia and the Carolinas, to assist people in the path of Hurricane Florence.

Hillary Wanecke of Milwaukee also volunteered to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. “It’s a good experience every time, you know you’re helping people,” Wanecke. “I’m going because I’m trained, and I like helping people.”

Two emergency vehicles from the Wisconsin Red Cross have also been sent to the Carolinas.

 

Hurricane Florence may start impacting the east coast as soon as Thursday morning. There is a threat of tornadoes Thursday with the storm expected to make landfall Friday or Saturday. Upwards of 40 inches of rain is expected in North Carolina alone.

Four members of Wisconsin family drown in Lake Superior

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Four members of a central Wisconsin family died, when their kayak overturned as they were touring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Thursday.

The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office was alerted around 8:30 p.m. when a woman called to report a text message from her sister that said “911” and “Michigan Island.”

The mother, 29 year old Cari Mews, was found alive in the water just after 10 p.m. The bodies of 39 year old Erik Fryman and two children were found  after midnight. With strong storms hampering search efforts, the body of the third child was found about 10 a.m. Friday.

A preliminary statement from Mews indicated the family kayak had capsized off the shore of Michigan Island and she became separated from her husband and children while attempting to swim to the island.

The children were three, six and nine years old. The family is from Loyal, Wisconsin and all were wearing life jackets. However, the National Park Service recommends use of wet suits or dry suits when paddling in the Apostles. Cari Mews was rescued from 60 degree water.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Wisconsin DNR, National Park Service and Bayfleld Fire and Rescue conducted a water and air search of the area off Michigan Island.

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Governor Walker declares statewide emergency

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An emergency due to heavy rains, flooding and tornadoes in Wisconsin is now statewide. Governor Scott Walker issued the declaration on Wednesday afternoon.

“After the latest round of continuing storms and their tremendous impact in Wisconsin, we have declared a statewide State of Emergency,” Walker said in a statement. “We are ready to provide any tools and resources necessary to impacted communities. I thank all of those who continue to work diligently to help those in need.”

Also on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Representative Ron Kind requested federal agency assistance for flooded communities in Southwest Wisconsin.

 

Driver drowns at Merrimac Ferry landing

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A man died Tuesday night after driving a car into the Wisconsin River at the Merrimac Ferry landing. Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister said 57-year-old Scott L. Kirkpatrick, from Middleton, was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Trax southbound on State Highway 113 when he approached the ferry landing.

Sheriff Meister says it appears Kirkpatrick did not realize the road lead into the lake as the vehicle plunged into the lake.

Kirkpatrick and a woman passenger were able to get out of the vehicle.  She swam to shore but Fitzpatrick was unable to make it to shore, according to Sheriff Meister.

WIBA