Severe flash floods hit Milwaukee metro Saturday night (MILWAUKEE)
Flash flooding struck parts of Southeast Wisconsin Saturday evening causing damage and cancelling events. Fast moving storms dumped more than a foot of water in some places in the Milwaukee metro area, knocking out power, flooding homes, and forcing the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis to end early. The Milwaukee Sewerage District has fully opened its stormwater tunnels to try and move water out of the city. The National Weather Service has flood and flash flood watches and warnings in place for the region into Monday.
Evers signs handful of bills into law (MADISON)
Governor Tony Evers signs bills into law, vetoes others. 17 bills were signed into law Friday by the Democratic governor, including one that would allow specially qualified nurses to establish private practices. Advocates say that will improve healthcare access in rural Wisconsin. Other bills signed into law include expansion of eligibility for caregivers supporting family members with Alzheimer’s disease and harsher penalties for harming police dogs. Evers vetoed five bills, including one that would have created a portable benefits program for many gig workers and another that could have sent thousands of formerly incarcerated people back to prison for violating release conditions.
Slenderman attacker won’t be housed in Madison suburb (SUN PRAIRIE)
A Sun Prairie group home is now refusing to house a woman on release in the infamous Slenderman stabbing. Morgan Geyser was set to be released from Winnebago County Mental Health Institute and moved to a group home in the Madison suburb. But W M T V 15 in Madison reports the facility is refusing that placement, citing publicity concerns. Geyser was convicted in 2018 of attacking a classmate to please the internet urban legend Slenderman when she was 12-years-old. A previous attempt to release Geyser was stopped because she would have lived too close to the victim.
Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, who grew up in Milwaukee, dies age 97 (UNDATED)
Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell has died. James Arthur Lovell, who commanded the 1970 Apollo 13 mission and brought it safely back to Earth following an onboard explosion, was born in Cleveland in 1928. He and his mother moved to Milwaukee in 1935 following the death of his father in a car accident. Lovell graduated Juneau High School and attended UW Madison for two years before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952. Following service as a naval aviator, Lovell was selected as one of NASA’s second group of astronauts. In addition to commanding Apollo 13, he also flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8. He was the first astronaut to fly on two lunar missions but never stepped foot on the Moon. Jim Lovell was 97 years old. A street in downtown Milwaukee is named in his honor.
Keep young wildlife wild (UNDATED)
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reminds you to keep young wildlife wild this time of year. Captive Wildlife Health Specialist Jenna Fastner says don’t assume young wildlife is orphaned just because you don’t see a parent around. Fastner says wild animals need to learn normal social behaviors from their own species and you can enjoy them from a distance. Tips on enjoying wildlife in the wild can be found on the DNR’s website.
Back to school shopping tips (UNDATED)
Back to school shopping can be daunting task for parents and students alike. Marquette University marketing professor Alex Milovic says it’s important for families to keep cost in mind and spread out your shopping instead of doing it all at once. Milovic says don’t be afraid to check and see if there are any leftover school supplies from last year you can re-use. The National Retail Federation estimates families will spend an average of $858 for the upcoming school supplies year.