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• 'Road kill equity bill' goes to lawmakers; more state briefs
• North Hudson to Bayport ice road cuts commute time, annoys neighbors

Wisconsin legislators are about to decide whether to let motorists keep the animals they kill on the road.

They can already keep deer under certain conditions. Now Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, wants to let drivers keep the bears, wild turkeys and other animals they hit. The "road kill equity bill" had a public hearing last week and did not get any opposition.

The Department of Natural Resources reports that about 150 bears are killed by cars each year.

Warden Tom Van Haren said it would save time and money to let the drivers keep those animals. Right now, the state decides whether to keep them or sell them.

Hraychuck claims her bill would reduce waste by letting drivers keep the animals as meat or trophies. If the drivers don't want them, others could have them with authorities' permission.

Motorists could also keep smaller animals if they're struck in an open session, and the drivers have hunting or trapping licenses.

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Man walks away from crash, dies in field

Authorities in northwest Wisconsin say a man found dead in a snowy field Monday had apparently walked away from a traffic accident.

Rusk County sheriff's deputies are still investigating the death of Ronald Frohn, 57, Ingram. Foul play is not suspected.

Officers said the vehicle Frohn was driving went into a ditch Sunday night between Ladysmith and Hawkins on Hwy. 8. He apparently walked through a field after that. His body was found lying in the snow about 10:15 a.m. Monday on farmland close to the crash scene. Damage from the accident was minor.

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Commercial traffic up on Mississippi

More boats on the Mississippi River are another sign that the economy's turning around.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said commercial shipping traffic went up last year at 10 of the 13 upper-most locks and dams on the Mississippi, including those that border Wisconsin.

The corps said recreational boating also went up at most of those sites, and officials expect strong traffic once the next shipping season begins in March.

Terry Jessessky, the corps lockmaster from Alma to Trempealeau, said farmers will be busy shipping corn they left standing in the fields due to last year's late harvest. He predicts steady business all year, but he said last year's numbers were still well short of a few years ago.

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More drinkers turn to personal breathalyzers

As Wisconsin and other states crack down on drunk driving, more drinkers are buying personal breathalyzers to see if it's safe for them to hit the road.

A Madison Police Department spokesman said those units are not always accurate. Howard Payne says drinkers should not put all their faith in the store-bought breathalyzers since they have to be calibrated every 60 days. If they're not, they become less accurate.

But the head of a company that makes the units says they're extremely valuable.

Deb Blair of JDD Ventures said the machines let people realize they can reach the legal intoxication limit with as little as three drinks, and it warns them to find a sober driver to take them home. Also, said Blair, bartenders use the machines when they're not sure whether to serve somebody who appears drunk.

Annual sales of personal breathalyzers have skyrocketed nationally from $28 million five years ago to $215 million now.

Federal officials said Wisconsin had the nation's highest rate of those driving under the influence in 2008. Their surveys showed that 26% admitted driving drunk, even if they were not caught.

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Home sales up; sale prices drop

The federal tax credit for first-time home buyers drove up home sales in Metro Milwaukee by 6% last year. But it also drove down the average sale price by 10% because most sales were for low-priced starter homes.

The Multiple Listing Service said over 14,000 homes were sold by Realtors last year in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. That's about 800 more than the previous year.

In Milwaukee, the large number of forecloses resulted in a huge decrease in overall selling prices. The average home went for $99,000 last year in Wisconsin's largest city, down from 135,000 in 2008.

Realtors say they don't expect prices to rise a lot in the New Year.

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers was extended until June 30, and a new $6,500 credit for all other buyers will also be in place until then. Both are part of the federal economic stimulus package.

Commuters are saving time by driving on the frozen St. Croix River from North Hudson Wisconsin to Bayport, Minn.

But folks who live on the Bayport end are not happy with the early morning traffic.

Dave Swanson has plowed a three-lane "ice road" for over 20 years. It allows workers at Bayport's Andersen window factory to get there from North Hudson in seven minutes, instead of the 25 minutes it normally takes using bridges at Hudson or Stillwater.

Ginger Mondry called the ice road a freeway, and other residents don't like the headlights beaming into their bedrooms at five in the morning.

Bayport Mayor Jon Nowaczek said an easement was created in the 1960s to let vehicles drive through private property to reach the river for ice fishing. But he said it was never intended for commuters, even though he's happy they're saving time.

The mayor said he'll have the city council review the easement in the spring and come up with a solution to make both the commuters and the neighbors happy.

Swanson said the river is safe to drive across from about January through mid-March. He started plowing it last week.

St. Croix Sheriff Dennis Hillstead said he'd never use it because he's recovered far too many people from the river to drive across it in a vehicle.