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• Realtors group sees hope for home sales; other state briefs

New figures show Wisconsin's real estate market may be evening out. Sales and prices fell in the second quarter of this year, but not as drastically as they did last year.

Sales of existing homes dropped by 10.5 percent in the second quarter of this year as compared to the same time frame last year.

But Wisconsin Realtors Association president Bill Malkasian sees a silver lining.

He says the news isn't so bad when compared to first quarter figures when the industry was down almost 20 percent.

So the plummet of sales is lessening, and the median price is holding reasonably well when compared to national standards.

Malkasian adds the first time home buyers credit is working. That's the $8,000 federal tax credit first time buyers may be eligible for.

Malkasian says buyers are taking advantage of it and that may indirectly be dragging down median home prices. That's because first time buyers tend to opt for smaller, less expensive houses.

The credit expires at the end of November. Malkasian says that deadline may bump up third and fourth quarter sales.

WRA predicts that third and fourth quarter sales will be better than 2008. Malkasian says they've seen some preliminary June and July figures from around Wisconsin and they're better than they were a year ago.

Overall Wisconsin's median price dropped 10 percent with the steepest decline in southeastern Wisconsin.

-- Patty Murray, WPR

Tree killing bug surfaces in sixth Wisconsin county

KENOSHA -- A pest and disease expert confirms that the Emerald Ash Borer has been found in Kenosha County.

Mick Skwarok of Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says the destructive beetle was found in a survey trap, on Kenosha's west side.

He says it's unknown just how the pest got there, but notes that a few miles to the south is Illinois' Lake County, which borders Kenosha through Zion Beach State Park.

The area has had several ravaging infestations in multiple locations, and Skwarok says it's possible the emerald ash borer could've flown to Kenosha County, rather than stowed away in firewood.

But more importantly he says, its there and local and state officials need to work together to gauge the infestation.

The emerald ash borer is blamed for killing millions of ash trees in the Midwest and parts of Canada. Kenosha County is the sixth county in Wisconsin where the pest has been found.

-- Brian Bull, WPR

DNR board to try fast-tracking dam repair money

HAYWARD -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is promising faster action on requests for state aid to repair dams.

After a decade of little state money for dam safety grants, the legislature put $4 million for dam repairs into the new state budget.

Lawmakers noted several dam failures during floods the last two summers. About $500,000 of the new money is already set aside, but the remainder is up for grabs under a competitive bid process.

The DNR board has passed emergency rules aimed at awarding those grants by this fall, with the hope that dam repairs can start next spring.

Meg Galloway supervises dams for the DNR. She says the speed up is needed and hopes about 15 communities will win the dam safety grants.

But she says in Vernon County alone, $11 million in dam repairs are needed. So, she says some communities around the state will have to come up with their own money, or wait for possible help in the next state budget.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WPR

Steps taken to recoup reservoir from major fish deaths

MOSINEE -- There may be hope for central Wisconsin's Big Eau Pleine Reservoir, which suffered a massive fish kill this past spring. Financing has been approved to fix a broken aerator that contributed to the die off.

Tim Garrigan is cautiously optimistic about the news. Earlier this spring, he and other homeowners watched in horror as thousands of dead game fish washed up on the shores of the reservoir near Mosinee.

Thanks to a commitment by Marathon County's finance committee, the Eau Pleine's broken aerator will be retrieved by divers, and fixed with a bigger motor and bigger pipes.

That will mean more oxygen in the water - 40 percent more by Garrigan's estimate - which he says is a first step toward replenishing a devastated fish population.

He'd also like to see the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir restocked with fish, but without assurances that they'd live, they're holding off on that idea.

County Planner Ed Hammer also considers the new aerator as a first step to address chronic water quality problems caused by low water and farm runoff, spurred by recent drought conditions.

Agricultural runoff contains a heavy amount of phosphorous, which takes up oxygen fish need to live, he explains.

But Hammer says as a first step, the new aerator may save what's left of the fish population this winter.

An estimated 80 percent of the fish in the Eau Pleine died in the spring.

The county is working with homeowners and several state agencies to come up with a long term solution.

Glen Moberg, Wisconsin Public Radio

DNR weighs options on controlling deer herds

HAYWARD -- A state committee is recommending a longer gun deer hunting season, as a possible alternative to the Earn-A-Buck hunting program.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is phasing out Earn-A-Buck, which has required hunters to kill an antlerless deer in order to be able to shoot an older male deer.

So, the department asked an advisory committee to suggest other ways to try to hold down the size of Wisconsin's deer population.

Ralph Fritsch chaired the committee. He says a top proposal is to expand the gun deer season from 9 to 16 days and start it two Saturdays before Thanksgiving, instead of one week before. Fritsch realizes the idea is controversial.

The study committee is also recommending new incentives for hunters to encourage killing male or female deer -- or just antlerless ones.

Fritsch says landowners would be given incentives to increase hunter access to private lands, and there could be a push to hunt on more public land.

The DNR will follow up with random surveys of hunters and hold public hearings on the recommendations later this year.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WPR

Higher voltage debated in controlling problem fish

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is turning up the juice on an electric fish barrier in the Chicago Ship Canal. They hope to stop the silver carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

Two weeks ago the Army Corps got evidence that silver carp have leaped another barrier and are now within 10 miles of the Chicago Canal electric barrier. That leap puts the fish within one lock and the barrier from Lake Michigan.

So U.S. Army Corps Maj. Gen. John Peabody says they're powering up the short electrical bursts from one to two volts.

The electric fish barrier is designed to stun or paralyze the carp, which can weigh up to 50 pounds each.

But Coast Guard Great Lakes Cmdr. Rear Adm. Peter Neffenger is concerned about recreational boaters in the Chicago Canal.

He says at a one volt level, theoretical modeling showed people in the water could suffer muscle paralysis and possible death and heart stoppage.

Neffenger says it's assumed to only get progressively worse with higher voltage.

The testing is considered what the Corps is calling a crisis operational mode.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources' John Rogner says the carp have been relentless coming up the Mississippi River from Arkansas over the past 20 years, transgressing every lock and dam in their way.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Mike Weimer doesn't believe it is inevitable that the silver and big head carp will get into the Great Lakes and devastate the fish populations.

He says they'll see in the near future what shakes out, but he remains positive about efforts to pre-empt the fishes' introduction into the lakes.

-- Mike Simonson, WPR

Partners in green home project hope to motivate others

STOUGHTON -- A Stoughton couple is hoping their decision to build a house that produces more energy than it consumes will inspire others to do the same.

John and Rebecca Scheller broke ground on their 4,000-square-foot house this week. The house's design combines super efficient insulation with geo thermal and solar panel energy generation.

John Scheller says he and his wife are trying to set an example by building a truly green house, which will have a huge impact on the environment.

The Scheller's partnered with Wisconsin Public Power Inc., a utility that sells power to Stoughton, Wauankee and Sun Prairie as well as several other communities in the Midwest.

WPPI spokesman Tom Paque says the goal is to use solar and geothermal systems to create a net zero utility bill for the homeowner.

He adds WPPI and other utility companies are expanding financial incentives for home owners to invest in renewable energy plans partly due to an increase in federal and state tax rebates and grants for building green homes.

-- Gil Halsted, WPR