Severe thunderstorms hit Trempealeau, Pepin counties; Hit by freight train, he feels no pain; more briefs

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TREMPEALEAU COUNTY -- Blair-Taylor High School is closed today so students and teachers can help clean up from severe thunderstorms that hit western Wisconsin late last night.

The school is also providing a shelter for folks who need it. Authorities said about 30 mobile homes at a park in Arcadia suffered hail and wind damage. A barn blew down near Blair.

Officials say roads heading into that community are blocked off so crews can handle numerous power lines and trees that fell.

Wind and hail damage was also reported in surrounding Trempealeau County and in Pepin County.

Just to the south, another band of heavy thunderstorms was going through this morning. The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning until 8 a.m. for La Crosse County, southern Trempealeau and northern Vernon County.

Meanwhile, a flash flood warning was in effect until 9 a.m. in Calumet and Manitowoc counties. That’s after more than four inches of rain fell in that area last night and early today.

The Hwy. 41 expressway was closed in both directions just south of Oshkosh at last word, and Hwy. 21 at Omro was closed.

Over four inches of rain fell in the area last night and early today. Nearby Green Lake recorded the most with 4.37 inches.

And there’s more where that came from. The National Weather Service says more strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for later today. Rain is expected to continue on and off at least into the weekend.

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Hit by freight train, he feels no pain

PEWAUKEE -- Police say a man hit by a freight train last weekend was so drunk he didn’t realize he’d been hit.

Thomas J. Boersma, 31, of the village of Pewaukee passed out last Sunday on Canadian Pacific railroad tracks. He suffered serious injuries when the freight train hit him.

Boersma told investigating officers he had no memory of being hit by a train.

The conductor said he saw a person lying on the gravel, resting his back on the rail. The train had been traveling at 48 mph when it hit him.

When the conductor and engineer got off to look for the man, they couldn’t find him. When police found Boersma, he had suffered severe injuries to his buttocks and left arm, but he refused medical treatment.

Police say he often walks along the railroad tracks and has passed out on the tracks in the past. He was cited this time for trespass on railroad property.

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Third of voters expected at polls May 8

State officials expect about a third of Wisconsin’s eligible voters to cast ballots in next Tuesday’s recall primaries.

Democrats will choose a finalist to try to unseat Gov. Scott Walker in the general election June 5. There will also be primaries for lieutenant governor and four state Senate seats.

Reid Magney of the Government Accountability Board says about 1.5 million eligible voters are expected at the polls for a turnout of 30% 35%.

Today is the deadline for voters to ask for absentee ballots by mail, except for service personnel and those indefinitely confined – their deadline is tomorrow. Also, absentee voters can cast ballots in-person at local clerks’ offices until the close of business tomorrow.

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Barrett wants more details about Walker defense fund

The Democratic front-runner to be Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election opponent says Walker should clarify the reasons he set up a legal defense fund.

Tom Barrett also says Walker should say which campaign donors agreed to let him transfer $60,000 of their gifts to the legal fund.

Walker set up the fund a few weeks ago to pay for two attorneys to handle matters connected with an ongoing John Doe probe into Walker’s former aides when he was the Milwaukee County executive.

Five ex-Walker aides have been charged with offenses that include embezzlement and illegally campaigning on county time, and one has pleaded guilty.

State law allows legal defense funds only for officeholders charged or being investigated for one of two things: election law violations or campaign finance law violations. Barrett said Walker should clarify which situation applies.

Walker’s camp repeated that the governor is not a target of the John Doe probe, and that the legal fund was set up under the guidance of the state Government Accountability Board.

Walker himself said the two attorneys are handling administrative matters that the governor doesn’t have time to deal with. Walker said voters want him to be the governor and not have to spend hours poring through thousands of documents and emails.

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Linked to I-35W bridge collapse, firm now wants to bid on St. Croix project

An engineering firm that was linked to the fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007 wants to design the new St. Croix River bridge near Hudson.

The URS Corporation of San Francisco is among those bidding to design the estimated $620 million four-lane span. If it doesn’t win the contract, URS still wants to be chosen to review the final design.

When Mark Dayton ran for Minnesota governor in 2010, he said the state should end its ties with URS because it did not find the major design flaw in the I-35W bridge that collapsed. URS reviewed the project, and the federal government blamed the collapse on connector plates that were too thin to support the weight of that bridge.

Now, a spokeswoman says the governor still has concerns about the company, but he cannot stop URS from bidding because it was never put on a list of vendors barred from doing state business.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are splitting the costs of the new bridge.

URS said it did not design or build the Minneapolis bridge, and the firm is willing to meet with Dayton discuss his concerns.

Kevin Gutknecht of Minnesota’s Department of Transportation said bidders will be evaluated on their skills, knowledge and technical factors.

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State has lowest levels of air pollution in over a decade

Wisconsin has its smallest levels of ozone air pollution since at least 1990, according to a Department of Natural Resources announcement made Wednesday.

The DNR said all counties except Sheboygan and Kenosha are meeting the new, tighter federal ozone standard of 75 parts per billion.

Sheboygan just barely exceeded the new limits that were set in 2008. The Environmental Protection Agency said it was still evaluating Kenosha’s situation. The DNR says both counties are affected by pollution that moves up the Lake Michigan shoreline from Chicago.

All counties are meeting the old standard of 84 parts per billion, which has since been reduced.

Ozone levels have dropped in recent years due to cleaner burning vehicles and gasoline and air pollution limits on factories and power plants.

Metro Milwaukee has had to use reformulated gasoline in recent years, and that’s expected to continue.

As for Sheboygan County, DNR Air Management Director Bart Sponseller says his agency will work with local officials and businesses to help them comply with the standard. He said Sheboygan’s status carries the fewest regulatory requirements of all non-complying areas.

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Scams go on; people keep biting

Phony jackpot scams are nothing new, but people keep falling for them, and Dane County authorities say they appear to be getting more common.

A 59-year-old Arlington man became the latest victim this week. He received a $1.25 million check for a sweepstakes he didn’t enter. To cash the check, he did what he was told and sent in $8,400 in certified checks to cover processing and insurance fees and taxes.

The big prize check was a fake. It said it was from “Publishing Clearinghouse” – not to be confused with the famous Publishers’ Clearinghouse sweepstakes.

Elise Schaffer of the Dane County sheriff’s office said the fine print with the check had numerous misspellings. And unlike a real contest, it told the person to keep his winnings confidential. In other words, Schaffer said the scammer didn’t want the so-called winner to get advice that would expose the swindle.

Authorities warn people to be extra careful in responding to solicitations for money. State consumer officials have constantly said that a real contest requires you to enter, and you never have to pay anything to claim a prize.

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18 arrested in alleged Platteville drug sales ring

Eighteen people were arrested in Platteville Wednesday in connection with a marijuana and cocaine sales ring in the area.

Police chief Doug McKinley said the arrests were carried out by a regional drug task force in Grant, Richland and Iowa counties. Suspects were picked up on the UW-Platteville campus and in the surrounding community.

Charges are pending. The suspects are from 19 to 23 years old.

McKinley said he hoped the arrests would send a message that drug dealing would not be tolerated in Platteville, which is located in far southwest Wisconsin about 20 miles northeast of Dubuque, Iowa.

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After 10 years, hunt still goes on for missing child

Milwaukee Police say they’ve done 5,000 interviews, and reviewed 10,000 pages of records, and still there’s no known trace of Alexis Patterson.

She disappeared 10 years ago today, soon after her stepfather walked her to Milwaukee’s Hi-Mount Elementary School. Alexis was seven at the time.

Her disappearance made national news for several months, but police said tips have never stopped coming in. Lt. Keith Balash said police still get leads each week. He said there have been other cases around the country in which heavy publicity and community involvement have turned up people missing for long periods of time.

Police say they’ve thoroughly searched the area where Alexis Patterson vanished. They’ve checked parole files and sex offender registries to see if someone could have taken her. And they’ve traveled across Wisconsin and out of state to check leads.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke says the community has not forgotten, and the search must continue for new information that could satisfy the questions over what happened to Alexis and why.

The sheriff’s office is still offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return.

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Aquaculture workshop is May 31

Fish farmers can learn more about their craft at a workshop near Bayfield this month.

A day-long program called “Aquaculture Unplugged” is set for May 31 at the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility in Red Cliff.

UW-Stevens Point runs the facility, and it’s co-sponsoring the workshop along with the Wisconsin Aquaculture Association and the UW-Extension service.

Fish farmers can share their best practices with others. International pond culture expert Charles Mischke is scheduled to speak along with walleye researcher Robert Summerfelt.

More information is available online at WisconsinAquaculture.com

Tags: state news, wisconsin