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A Republican state lawmaker who’s become a vocal critic of the top Republican in the State Assembly has been disinvited from future Republican meetings. State Rep. Janel Brandtjen from Menomonee Falls says she was notified this week that she is no longer welcome at Republican caucus meetings at the Capitol. Those are the private meetings that lawmakers have to plan and share concerns. Brandtjen has spent much of the past year criticizing Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, she even backed his

It will be a few weeks before we get the latest on Dane County’s new jail. County Executive Joe Parisi yesterday said they are waiting on the final designs before moving ahead. A new jail has been in the works, and been on-again off-again, for years. The sheriff says he needs more beds and more resources, but many county supervisors don’t want to see more people locked-up. Parisi says he’s waiting to see if the new designs meet his compromise

Darrell Brooks Jr. will never step foot out of prison again.  The judge in the Waukesha Christmas Parade trial yesterday sentenced Brooks to six life sentences without parole for killing six people when he sped through the parade last year.  The judge also sentenced Brooks to the maximum 762 years for the 61 counts first-degree recklessly endangering safety he was facing.  In all, Brooks’ sentence is over 12 hundred years long.  The judge told Brooks he chose a path of

Regis High School’s athletic director is due in court today after being arrested on sexual assault charges.  Eau Claire Police yesterday said they arrested 56-year-old Jonathon Jarocki on Tuesday.  Police haven’t said if the victim in the case is a student.  Jarocki has been suspended by Regis schools, and the diocese sent a letter home to parents yesterday saying they are also waiting for more information.

It’s all about the conversation.  Dunn County board member John Calabrese says the plan is to continue to talk about a single payer health insurance system after voters in Dunn County narrowly approved an advisory referendum on the question last week.  Calabrese says he added a question about the federal government creating a single payer system to the ballot to gauge public opinion.  The question passed, 51-49.  Nothing changes, the vote was advisory only, but Calabrese says it is worth

 Some of the dogs involved in this week’s plane crash in Pewaukee are ready for adoption.  Rescuers at the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County yesterday said seven of the 53 dogs on board the plane that crash-landed in the Western Lakes Golf Club on Tuesday are ready for a new home.  The dogs were all checked-out by vets after the crash.  Three people on board the plane were treated for injuries as well.  HAWS managers say they got

There is a health alert in Wisconsin about RSV cases.   Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services yesterday issued the alert that asks people to protect themselves this holiday season.  Public health managers say the best strategy is to stay home if you are sick, especially if that means avoiding people most at risk for RSV and the flu.  DHS is also pushing for standard germ-conscious moves like hand washing, and they are also asking people to get tested for COVID.  Wisconsin hospitals have seen a

Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. Senator is defending his ‘No’ vote on the Senate’s same sex marriage plan.  Senator Ron Johnson voted ‘No’ yesterday on the Respect for Marriage Act.  He says there is no need to vote on the idea of same sex marriage, he says the Supreme Court already settled the issue.  Johnson says Democrats have used the idea that same sex marriage is in trouble ‘to create a state of fear’ over what he calls a settled issue, in

Packer fans in Milwaukee and Green Bay don’t need an Amazon account to watch tonight’s game.  The Packers will play the Tennessee Titans tonight on Thursday Night Football. Usually those games are streamed on Amazon, but fans in Milwaukee and Green Bay will be able to catch them on local channels. In Milwaukee it will be the local Fox station, while in Green Bay fans can watch the game on the local NBC. The rest of Packer Nation will have

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants people to report black bear dens.  The DNR says its conducting another Black Bear Litter and Diet Survey.  The goal is to get more information on bear reproduction rates in bear management zones.  You can report black bear dens on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.