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The easy part of getting a new state budget in Wisconsin is over.  The Republican-controlled Assembly yesterday voted to approve a new, two-year 81-billion-dollar state budget.  It was expected to pass.  The plan now heads to the state Senate, where some Republicans are promising to vote against it because it spends too much.  The budget would then head to Governor Evers, who could change it.  

It may soon be easier to buy a Tesla in Wisconsin.  The new state budget includes a provision that would allow the electric car company to sell directly to customers, rather than go through a dealer.  The idea is a pet project of state Senator Chris Kapenga, who is seen as a crucial Republican vote in the state Senate.  But there are some who question Kapenga’s motives.  He owns a business that repairs Teslas.  Kapenga says it’s a hobby, and he

Senator Tammy Baldwin says President Trump’s trade wars are not helping the state’s farmers.  The Wisconsin Democrat said today since Trump took office, more than 15-hundred Wisconsin dairy farms have gone out of business.  About 640 dairy farms were lost last year alone.  According to the state Department of Agriculture, there are about 84-hundred dairy farms currently licensed in Wisconsin. 

Some of the safest drivers in the country reside in Madison.  The state’s capital is considered the eleventh safest driving city as ranked by Allstate and their 2019 America’s Best Drivers’ Report.  Despite the high-ranking, that’s a drop of six spots since last year.  The average time between crashes for Madison drivers is just over 12 years.  Milwaukee ranks as the 61st overall safest driving city. 

A man is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl multiple times in Eau Claire County.  A criminal complaint claims Jason Weber inappropriately touched the girl six different times in 2018.  The victim reportedly told police it made her feel uncomfortable.  Weber has previously been charged with sexually assaulting an eight-year-old.  He’s facing two charges in this case but is out on bond. 

A Mondovi man has serious injuries after crashing his truck into a tractor in Buffalo County.  The sheriff’s department says Richard Fedie was westbound on Highway D in Gilmanton early Sunday morning when he crossed the center line and hit a tractor hauling hay.  Fedie was pinned under his truck and had to be rescued.  He was flown to a hospital in Rochester with serious injuries. 

A group of people in Milwaukee is standing up against the planned immigration raids across the country.  Yesterday there were protests outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office where organizers caused the office to be shut down for a brief time.  A decision was made to postpone the raids for two weeks before the protest took place.  Milwaukee is not on the list of targeted cities. 

Chippewa Valley inmates are helping build a third track for the Carson Park train ride.  The Eau Claire Community Fund recently donated about six-thousand dollars to the Chippewa Valley Railroad Association to make the project happen.  After it’s done it will give different views and a different crossing point on the rail.  The project could be finished by the fall. 

A historic train is coming to Altoona next month.  Union Pacific Railroad’s only operating Big Boy engine will stop in the city on July 23rd as part of the Great Race Across the Midwest.  The train is designed to handle steep terrain along the Transcontinental Railroad.  It’ll make stops in other nearby cities such as Saint Paul, Chicago, and Des Moines. 

Police in Grand Chute are having a bit of fun with their latest animal report.  Officers took to Twitter yesterday to explain their search for a kangaroo after someone said they spotted the roo on the foot bridge at I-41.  Officers said they looked for the animal, but said it ‘hopped away.’  Some jokes then followed as to whether Grand Chute looked at the local Outback Steakhouse, officers said they also checked iHop.  The zoo in Greenville says all their