Former state Senator Tim Cullen dies (JANESVILLE)
Former Wisconsin state Senator Tim Cullen has died. According to family members, Cullen died Monday afternoon at Oak Park Place in Janesville after being hospitalized for a heart attack. He was 80. Cullen served in the Senate in two separate eras. In an interview this past September on WCLO in Janesville, Cullen talked about how things changed at the Capitol. He said lawmakers reached bipartisan agreements in the 1970s and early 80s, but the legislature had become “a very, very severe partisan place,” when he was again elected in 2010. Cullen was among the Democratic state Senators who drew national attention during the 2011 Act 10 protests. They left the Capitol and travelled to Illinois, remaining there for nearly a month in an effort to prevent passage of the controversial measure from Republican Governor Scott Walker. After serving one term Cullen did not run for reelection, citing increased partisanship as a reason for his retirement.
Former state Senator George Petak dies (COLORADO)
Former state Senator George Petak has died. The Racine Republican lost a recall election after he switched his vote on a five-county sales tax to fund a Milwaukee Brewers stadium. First elected to the Senate in 1990, he won reelection four years later. But in 1995, Petak twice voted against a proposed sales tax for the stadium that would become Miller Park. The bill passed after he switched his vote the third time it was brought to the floor. Constituents were not happy, and his loss to Democrat Kimberly Plache flipped control of the state Senate. After losing, Petak was appointed deputy director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, later serving as a consultant and lobbyist Petak died on Christmas Eve day aged 75.
AAA using GPS to increase roadside assistance safety (UNDATED)
AAA is using GPS to keep roadside technicians a little safer in Wisconsin. Spokesperson Brynna Knapp says AAA is integrating its roadside assistance calls with a pair of GPS providers. Drivers who use Waze or Google Maps for navigation will receive an alert when they approach a triple-A member or AAA technician on the roadside. Knapp says nationally, every other week a roadside technician dies on the road as a first responder. Knapp says users will have the feature automatically integrated, and no registration is required. Knapp says AAA hopes the new feature will reduce unnecessary roadside deaths in Wisconsin.
DNR reports successful Wisconsin elk hunt (UNDATED)
The Department of Natural Resources is calling the 2024 elk hunting season a success. The DNR says the 2024 hunt represented a milestone in Wisconsin’s elk management because for the first time, hunters had the opportunity to hunt in both the Northern and Central Elk zones. Previous hunts only occurred within the Northern Elk Zone. The DNR received more than 17,700 applicants to hunt in the Northern zone and more than 7,700 to hunt in the Central zone. Eight hunters were then selected at random to participate in this year’s hunt. In total, six bull elk’s were harvested, with four coming from the Central zone and two from the Northern zone. The application period for the 2025 elk hunting season opens in early Spring.