Sean Duffy gets approval from Senate panel (WASHINGTON DC)
The panel unanimously voted to advance the former Wisconsin 7th Congressional District representative to run the Department of Transportation. Panel Chair Texas Senator Ted Cruz says Duffy will work with both sides of the aisle to improve the country’s infrastructure and address the challenges that arise in the years ahead. During his confirmation hearing last week, Duffy said he will focus on aviation and highway safety, and working on gaining back public trust in Boeing. The procedural vote passed by a count of 28-0, and the full body of the U.S. Senate still needs to vote on Duffy’s confirmation.
Tiffany: end birthright citizenship (WASHINGTON DC)
In Washington, House Republicans want to end birthright citizenship through legislation. Seventh District Wisconsin congressman Tom Tiffany joined colleagues at a Thursday press conference and thanked President Trump, for setting the table to be able to deal with issues like birthright citizenship, which Tiffany maintained is perhaps not following the original intent of the Constitution. President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship is already facing legal challenges. A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked the action and said he will grant the request for a temporary restraining order sought by four Democrat-led states that challenged it.
DNR study finds CWD reduces deer survival and population growth (UNDATED)
A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources study finds that chronic wasting disease reduces deer survival and population growth in the state. Deer Research Specialist Daniel Storm says an adult female that has CWD has an annual survival rate of approximately 41%, while an adult doe without CWD has an annual survival rate of 83%. With bucks, the infected bucks had a 17% annual survival rate, while uninfected bucks had a survival rate of about 69%. Storm said prevalence rates as high as 30 percent are confined to southwestern Wisconsin counties, but he cautioned that CWD will eventually lead to declines in deer populations if the disease continues to spread state wide. The DNR sampled more than 1,000 deer in southwestern Wisconsin for the study.
Study finds Madison leads Midwest cities in housing growth (UNDATED)
A new report shows Madison is doing a good job in addressing the housing shortage. Storage facilities management company Storag Cafe analyzed hundreds of US cities with populations over 55,000 between 2005 to 2023, ranking each based on housing inventory growth across various residence types. It found Madison with a Midwest leading increase of 37 percent over the period, with a total of 138,228 housing units as of last year. Much of the growth was large apartment buildings or multi-family developments. Milwaukee, Green Bay and Racine ranked near the bottom of the report, which also found nearly half the top 50 cities for housing inventory growth are in Texas.
Child sex trial scheduled for Marathon County (WAUSAU)
A former Wausau resident will be tried for child sex charges in Marathon County Court. 48-year-old Chue Yang is accused of forcing a child to have sex with him on multiple occasions- dating back as far as 2008 when he was dating the child’s mother. On Wednesday a judge scheduled a three-day trial between October 27th and 29th, with a pretrial conference in April. He’s pled not guilty to the charges, but if found guilty at trial he faces decades in prison. The 48-year-old is free on bond with several conditions including a no-contact order against the victim and their family. He’s also surrendered his passport. Yang currently lists a Minneapolis address.
Master Lock to move corporate headquarters (OAK CREEK)
The end of an era for Master Lock. Less than a year after parent company Fortune Brands closed its manufacturing facility in Milwaukee comes word that the company will relocate Master Lock corporate headquarters from Oak Creek to the Chicago suburb of Deerfield. More than 100 employees will be impacted. A spokesperson said those who choose not to move will be given at least a 90-day notice of their last day of work. About 325 people lost their jobs when the Milwaukee plant closed last March. Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz said the city hopes to attract future businesses to the vacant headquarters. Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley said he’s deeply disappointed by the decision to end Master Lock’s century old presence in the community.