Walworth County court commissioner says he was pushed out of office for questioning immigration arrests (ELKHORN)
A Walworth County court commissioner says he was forced out of his position for challenging an immigration arrest in his courtroom. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Peter Navis was processing cases in court on July 15th when deputies and customs agents came to arrest a pair of men. Navis requested warrants for both, claiming county judges had told him to ask for them. His request was refused. Navis says he was pulled into a meeting the following week and told to resign or be fired. Court commissioners are hired to perform court proceedings, and Navis was not an elected official. His case is a second incident of a court officer in Wisconsin coming into conflict with federal agents. Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan is charged for allegedly helping a man evade detention by ICE earlier this year.
Southwest adds more direct flights from Mitchell International (MILWAUKEE)
There are more non-stop flights coming to Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Southwest Airlines says it will be adding daily flights from Milwaukee to San Diego starting October 2nd. The company is also increasing the number of flights to Austin, Texas and Miami, and will be adding more short-distance flights from Mitchell to Chicago Midway next year.
Kwik Trip reaches $35k settlement with former worker over disability complaint (UNDATED)
Kwik Trip has settled a worker’s disability complaint for $35,000. A former employee filed the complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2022. According to the EEOC’s investigation, the employee was hired full-time in 2021, and in 2022 submitted a “reasonable accommodation request” to modify her work schedule and duties. EEOC concluded that Kwik Trip intended to accommodate the employee’s medical restrictions but misinterpreted the request and reduced her full-time schedule to nine hours a week, forcing her to resign. Under the agreement, the employee will receive $35,000 in back pay and compensatory damages.
Man accused of Juneau County triple homicide ordered to stand trial (NEW LISBON)
A man accused in the murders of a woman and two young girls is ordered to stand trial. According to online court records, Virgil Thew waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday and will stand trial in Juneau County on multiple charges including three of first-degree intentional homicide. New Lisbon police reported that a 33-year-old woman and girls ages 12 and 13 were found dead in a home in December of last year. A two-week statewide manhunt eventually had Thew taken into custody in Elroy, about 12 miles south of the crime scene. He’s currently being held on a $5 million cash bond with an arraignment hearing scheduled for October 29th.
Bill could change statute of limitations on hiding a corpse (MADISON)
A corpse found at High Cliff State Park in Calumet County in 2021 may lead to a change in Wisconsin law. The body of Starkie Swenson was found 38 years after he was murdered by John Andrews in 1983. Andrews was charged with hiding a corpse but charges were dropped due to the statute of limitations, which requires felony charges to be filed within six years of the crime. Republican Representative Ron Tusler and Republican Senator André Jacque have introduced legislation where the statute of limitations would start when the body is found.
Division Chief accused of drug thefts from fire department (WAUSAU)
A leader on the Wausau Fire Department is accused of stealing large amounts of pain medications. Jared Thompson, the division Chief in charge of the emergency medical program, is accused of misconduct in office for allegedly diverting approximately 11 hundred vials of pain medications fentanyl and hydromorphone- which went unaccounted for in the first half of 20-25. Both Mayor Doug Diny and Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp released statements following Thompson’s arrest on Thursday, acknowledging the seriousness of the accusations and adding that the city is cooperating in the investigation. The 46-year-old will appear in court Friday afternoon, facing 10 and a half years in prison on three felony charges for misconduct in office.
Animal shelter caring for dozens of abandoned cats (MADISON)
A Madison animal shelter is overflowing with cats after more than 40 felines were found abandoned at a rental property in Rock County. Shelter from the Storm Chief Operating Officer Payton Pritzl says a landlord in the Village of Orfordville released the cats after the tenants left. Pritzl says she was contacted by a woman who submitted a bid to clean the home and found dozens of cats roaming the property. She says many of the cats are underweight, suffering from upper respiratory infections, and are not spayed or neutered. The Rock County Sheriff’s Office has cited the evicted tenants for abandoning animals.