Judge retires after son accused of murder; Tomorrow’s lottery will pick wolf hunters; more briefs

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A Milwaukee judge has announced his retirement after his son was charged with killing a woman during the Labor Day weekend.

James Donegan, 32, is accused of stabbing and strangling Teresa Boone, 45, in Milwaukee’s Kilbourn Reservoir Park on Sept. 2.

Two days later, Circuit Judge Thomas Donegan wrote Gov. Scott Walker to say he’ll retire effective Nov. 30. The letter was made public Monday after the governor sought candidates for Donegan’s replacement.

Donegan – a circuit judge in Milwaukee for 20 years – did not mention his son’s criminal charges in his letter. He did say he wants to devote more time to making contributions for the community.

Donegan said he spent about half his time in Milwaukee Children’s Court, and it gave him the best opportunity to help people make changes for the better.

Donegan’s son James is jailed under a $250,000 bond, and he’s undergoing a mental evaluation. The judge has said that James has suffered from a mental illness, and he had not been taking his medications recently.

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Tomorrow’s lottery will pick wolf hunters

A computerized lottery will be held Wednesday to decide who gets to take part in Wisconsin’s first wolf hunt.

Just over 20,000 hunters have applied for 1,160. Most applicants are from the Wisconsin, but almost a dozen are from California. Others from as far away as Texas and Florida have applied.

Those selected in tomorrow’s lottery will be notified next week. Those not chosen will get the first chance at permits next year.

Hunters can trap and shoot 116 wolves from mid-October through the end of February.

As of right now, wolf hunters cannot use dogs to lure the grey wolves. Environmentalists and animal rights’ groups say it would lead to violence between the dogs and wolves, and a Dane County judge agreed to ban the use of hunting dogs until the groups’ lawsuit can be fully considered.

The state Department of Natural Resources wants the lawsuit to be dropped completely. A court hearing on that is set for Friday in Madison.

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Lights will shine on Duluth bridge again

Folks in Duluth and Superior have had their say on what the Blatnik Bridge should look like at night between the two cities.

Transportation officials say they’ll go with what the public chose – a system that lights up the bridge from the inside instead of exterior lights which get more easily damaged and worn out.

A large number of damaged lights caused the bridge to go dark earlier this year. The lighting scheme is being replaced as part of a larger construction project on the Blatnik Bridge that won’t end until about a year from now.

Minnesota and Wisconsin will share the $1.2 million cost of the lighting. Wisconsin balked at the project at first, saying the state could not afford the decorative lights unless they improve safety.

But local residents and officials said a lit-up Blatnik Bridge is an icon that’s a sign of unity between the two cities. They convinced Wisconsin officials to change their minds. The lights will be turned on once the construction project finishes next fall.

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Adult cranes will lead young birds south

A dozen Wisconsin baby whopping cranes are flying south this fall, and for the first time, some will fly with older cranes that have made the migrating trip in previous years.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, six baby cranes have been reared at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, and they’ve flown to the Horicon refuge in Dodge County where they’ll take off with older cranes in mid-to-late October.

Meanwhile, the other six baby whooping cranes are training to fly with an ultra-light aircraft. They’ll take off from the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area in Marquette and Green Lake counties.

They’ll all spend the winter with other cranes at two locations in Florida with the goal of expanding the endangered whooping crane population in the eastern U.S.

The project has been taking place for over a decade. There are now 104 birds that are part of the eastern migrating population.

Officials say two dozen birds have hatched since 2006, and five fledged into the wild.

All the babies used to fly with an ultra-light pilot. But the federal government grounded last year’s trip after a former pilot complained that it’s against the rules for groups to pay ultra-light pilots.

The FAA granted a two-year exemption for the crane project, but it ordered some licensing changes and forced this year’s planes to be upgraded.

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State senator hopes to block wind-energy farms

A Republican state senator wants to stop the construction of new wind energy farms by freezing the renewable energy requirements for Wisconsin utilities.

Glenn Grothman of West Bend is going to bat for residents in the Sheboygan County town of Sherman, who are trying to stop a four-turbine wind farm from being built.

The project is in Grothman’s district. He’s encouraging town officials to delay the approval process as long as possible in the hopes that lawmakers could reconsider limits on wind farms next year.

Grothman said it was a mistake to force Wisconsin utilities to get 10% of their power from renewable sources by 2015.

He said the utilities are mostly using wind turbines to meet the standard. Grothman claims those wind farms have raised electric costs and lowered nearby property values, and they might be causing health problems for residents.

Grothman said windmills are divisive. He said his bill to freeze the renewable energy standard would put an end to the market for wind power in Wisconsin.

An effort to further restrict the locating of wind turbines was killed in the most recent state Legislative session. Back then, industry officials said it would reduce jobs in Wisconsin not only by stopping turbine construction, but by forcing Wisconsin firms that make wind power equipment to move elsewhere.

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$5 million bond set for man accused of killing ex-fiancée

A $5 million bond was set Monday for a man accused of murdering his ex-fiancée in Marshfield.

Gabriel Campos, 20, turned himself into police last Saturday, a day after he allegedly slashed the throat of Maisie McCullough, 18, and stabbed her once in the back.

Prosecutors have not filed charges yet, but Circuit Judge Nicholas Brazeau said Campos is suspected of first-degree intentional homicide.

Wood County prosecutor Craig Lambert said the multi-million-dollar bond was justified because Campos has no job and no ties to the community and that makes him a serious risk to flee if he doesn’t stay in jail.

Marshfield Police Chief Gary Jepsen said four investigators from his department and the State Crime Lab are working fulltime on the case. The chief said Campos, who’s also known as Derek Olson, is the only suspect.

Officers found McCullough’s body late Friday night at the home she shared with Campos and their two-year-old son on Marshfield’s east side.

Officials said the boy was with Campos when he called police from a motel room in Wisconsin Rapids. Reports said he and McCullough recently agreed to end their relationship. The woman was reported planning to move into her own home and study to become a nurse.

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Man dies in factory accident

A worker killed in a Sheboygan County industrial accident has been identified as Lemuel Aguirre, 38, of Sheboygan.

Officials said he suffered a head injury after he got caught in a shell-core machine at Willman Industries in Cedar Grove. The mishap occurred just after 7 a.m. Monday.

The Willman plant makes iron castings used in industrial equipment, including agricultural and construction machinery.

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Three debates set for U.S. Senate candidates

The two candidates for Wisconsin’s open U.S. Senate seat have agreed to debate each other three times before their November election.

Republican Tommy Thompson and Democrat Tammy Baldwin will hold their first debate Sept. 28. The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association will televise that forum from Milwaukee.

The second debate will be Oct. 18 in Wausau, sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WTMJ TV in Milwaukee.

The Marquette Law School and Milwaukee’s WISN TV will host the final debate Oct. 26 from Milwaukee.

Tags: state news, wisconsin, crime