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Culver’s gets lampooned in The Onion

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Wisconsin based Culver’s got caught in the intersection of humor and the political season on Thursday, thanks to The Onion.

A phony editorial was posted to the satirical website on Thursday. In it, Culver’s CEO Craig Culver says he’ll crush the political career of any presidential candidate who doesn’t come to a Culver’s and get their picture taken. “With nearly 700 locations in 24 states, Culver’s makes kings, and it can crush them too.”

In a press release, the company says they’re happy that The Onion wants to share their passion for Butter Burgers and frozen custard.

The Onion was formerly based in Madison, and has a history of continuing to poke fun of Wisconsin tradtions.

State legislator says Powerball taxes should go towards roads

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A state legislator is pushing to put the state’s share of the Powerball winnings to road funding.

That tax windfall is 36 and a half million dollars, and state senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) says cities and counties have projects that are ready to go, if they only had the funding.

“The state should go ahead and send it back to local units of government, because I know there’s a backlog of projects that need to be done.”)

Carpenter says sending lottery funds to the municipalities would mean some relief, even if it can’t fix all the problems.

“I would leave it at their discretion to go ahead and take care of their top projects, the biggest headaches out there.”)

He says that’s money that politicians can use, rather than arguing about where it came from.

Merrill residents file recall petitions against city council members

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Residents in Merrill don’t want to wait for the next spring election to purge their Common Council.

After turmoil in the city’s budget office last year, including an unexpected seven percent hike in property tax values, a citizen’s group in Merrill says they want to oust over half the common council.

Recall petitions have been submitted in 5 of the 8 alder districts, and city clerk Bill Heidemann now has 31 days to verify those signatures. If they’re successful, a recall election for all or some of the districts would be set for later this summer.

The group says they already have candidates lined up to run against those on the council they’re trying to oust.

WSAU

Pentagon staff to investigate Wisconsin National Guard sexual assault reporting policies

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Federal investigators will be reviewing the Wisconsin National Guard’s lack of action on years worth of sexual assault reports.

Governor Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin say the National Guard’s Office of Complex Investigations will be doing an assessment of the state Guard’s policies and reporting procedures.

Numerous soldiers came forward to say sexual assault reports were ignored by command staff and that they were retaliated against for making reports. The A P says that the Guard received 52 complaints of sexual assault dating back to 2013.

Both Baldwin and Evers have called for a complete, independent review.

Kohls to start handling product returns for Amazon

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Kohl’s is expanding its partnership with Amazon by taking returns for the online retailer.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the department store had been trying the plan at locations in Chicago, Milwaukee and Los Angeles. The program will now roll out to all of its stores in July.

Company officials say locations that had been taking returns outperformed locations that didn’t. As part of the program, employees will bundle and package your returns for you, and get them back to Amazon for free.

 

West Allis man claims last month’s Powerball Jackpot

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A West Allis man is the winner of the big Powerball jackpot last month.

24-year-old Manuel Franco appeared in Madison on Tuesday at Wisconsin Lottery headquarters to receive his prize. He says he bought the tickets that day because he was feeling lucky.

“I honestly felt so lucky, that I did look at the camera, and I really wanted to wink at it, because I had that lucky feeling, and I know Cindy has seen it, and she knows that it is true, that I did look up at that camera because I did feel lucky.”

As the conference, he apologized to New Berlin residents for getting their hope up that one of their own was the winner. Franco picked up the tickets at a New Berlin Speedway station March 27th.

Franco says he also took the time to get financial and legal planning in place before coming forward to claim his prize.

Franco will be taking the lump sum payment of $477 million dollars. The gas station in New Berlin will be receiving a payment, and Wisconsin will get its own share of property tax relief.

 

photo courtesy FOX 6 Milwaukee

Green bay police prepare for weekend presidential rally

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A presidential visit this weekend has the Green Bay Police Department busy at work to ensure that everything moves along smoothly.

On Saturday, April 27, the President will be holding a rally at the Resch Center which is set to get underway starting at 7 p.m. Trump was here twice in 2016, once at St. Norbert and another time at the KI Convention Center, but this will be his first visit as a sitting President.

For Commander Kevin Warych with the Green Bay Police Department, he thinks that distinction will bring with it some added security measures, but overall, not much should change.

“We have the luxury of leaning on what we did in the past,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of elected officials come thru, when this occurs we kind of go back and reevaluate what we did in the past.”

Perhaps one distinction that is unique to this situation is just how quick the turnaround will have to be from the news breaking, to preparing safety protocol, to executing those plans. The announcement from the Trump Re-election Campaign came on April 16, giving the department roughly a week and a half to establish a game plan.

Thankfully, they aren’t solely tasked with providing security. Rather they work in conjunction with other local law enforcement agencies to pool together resources and share the collective burden.

“We work very closely with all the law enforcement agencies in Brown County,” explains Commander Warych. “It’s not just one single agency that provides this protection, but it’s a collaboration of law enforcement agencies coming together.”

Additionally, the collective ground of local law enforcement is teaming up with the Secret Service to work alongside them in the effort. Commander Warych says planning with the Secret Service began immediately after news of the rally broke.

“When they contact us and advise us of potential travel plans we work with them and we have pre-meetings, and meetings, and meetings, to determine what is needed,” he says.

One reason for their confidence is that they have great practice in handling large groups of people in that area every year throughout the fall and winter.

“It’s just going to be a large number of people in a designated area,” says Commander Warych. “We deal with that every Sunday during the Packers season and we have protocols and emergency operation plans.”

While the nature of the event is different than a football game, he still expects protocol and procedure to hold firm.

“We don’t anticipate any problems,” says Commander Warych. “But we also want to prepare for any potential scenario.”

Lastly, the department is asking for the communities patience this weekend. He says some roads may be closed that typically aren’t in that area, which can result in slower traffic and potential detours. His advice is to prepare for increased foot traffic in the area and stay aware of your surroundings to remain safe on the roads.

WTAQ

Wisconsin DMV recommends getting REAL ID soon before federal enforcement starts

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Federal officials are finally putting the REAL ID standard into use for airline travel, so now’s the time to get your license upgraded.

The change will come in October of 2020. Wisconsin DMV deputy administrator Patrick Fernan says the state has been issuing the upgraded licenses since 2013.

“So everyone in Wisconsin will have had the opportunity, when 2020 rolls around, to provide the documentation necessary to get a REAL ID during their normal renewal time.”

He says the process to get an upgraded REAL ID requires a few more documents than the usual license or ID. 

“A birth certificate or passport is required in order to prove date of birth and citizenship. Then, proof of address and some other things that are on the website.”

 You can find a complete list of valid document and schedule a time to come out and get the new ID online at http://wisconsindmv.gov.

 

Man, two young children found dead in home in Seymour

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Seymour police are investigating after the bodies of a man, and two children were discovered in a home on North Main Street, between Pearl Street and Bronson Road, on the north side of town.

Seymour Police PIO Brett Stauber says they were called to the home last night around 11:30 for a report of a domestic disturbance.

“The initial responding officers attempted to make contact at the residence and were unable to make contact with anyone inside.”

At that point, Stauber says assistance was requested of the Outagamie County Emergency Response Team.

“The Emergency Response Team took over operations and made entry into the residence around 8 a.m.”

He says officers went in this morning and found the bodies.

“Upon entry, 3 deceased subjects were located.  The deceased was a 35-year-old male subject, a 3-year-old female, and a 3-month-old female.”

Seymour Police say there is no longer an active threat and residents who were evacuated may return to their homes.

 

WTAQ

Former RNC chair and Wisconsin native Reince Priebus appears in Mueller Report

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Former White House chief of staff and Wisconsin native Reince Priebus is part of the Mueller report. 

Priebus talked with the investigation team several times after he was fired by President Trump.

The report says that Priebus confirms former FBI director James Comey’s story about a one on one dinner where the President asked him if he wanted to remain in his position with the FBI.

Priebus was also there for the firing of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and a failed attempt to get former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step down after he recused himself from the Mueller investigation.