Election round-up: Refendums voted up at Menomonie, Cashton; down in Beloit, Columbus; judge who signed recall is bounced; more state news

Wisconsin News
Read about school referendum outcomes and analysis on several ballot initiatives. Also, state Republican leaders have proposed a package of unemployment reforms aimed at easing a $1 billion debt to federal coffers, and stories about a big dairy expansion and an alleged burglar who says she was sleep-walking if she committed the crime.

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• Link to Wisconsin Unclaimed Property listings

Two council incumbents defeated; Martell write-in wins for chairman

Randy Kusilek and David Reese were knocked off the River Falls City Council in Tuesday’s spring election. Katie Chaffee, former mayor of River Falls, edged Reese for the District 3 council spot, with 232 votes to Reese’s 186. Kusilek was beaten by Diane Odeen for council at-large, 688-532.

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Somerset OKs school referendum

Somerset School District voters approved a $7.95 million referendum to help expand and upgrade its schools. There were 675 "yes" votes vs. 512 "no" votes.

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Supreme Court primary is Tuesday

A three-way primary for the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be held statewide Tuesday, Feb. 19. Incumbent Justice Pat Roggensack is being challenged by Ed Fallone and Vince Megna for one of seven seats on the state’s highest court. Supreme Court justices are elected to 10-year terms.

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Woman accused of killing ex-husband in Minnesota, boyfriend in Wisconsin; He’s through with politics, says Thompson; more briefs

Wisconsin News
A trial is underway in Minnesota for a woman accused of killing her ex-husband in the Minnesota and her boyfriend in Wisconsin.

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Walker up against deadlines on health-care reform; GOP now controls both house of state Legislature; more briefs

Wisconsin Election News
Gov. Scott Walker may be in a pickle over health care this morning. The Republican governor has done very little to tailor the federal health care law to Wisconsin, saying the law could be thrown out if voters choose Mitt Romney as president. Well, that didn’t happen.

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GOP incumbents winners in local Assembly races

Early Wednesday morning, with nearly all voting units reporting, the Republican incumbents were the winners in four local Wisconsin Assembly Districts.

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Baldwin elected state's first woman Senator; Kind easily fends off Boland while Duffy defeats Kreitlow

Western Wisconsin voters helped elect the state's first woman and the first openly gay U.S. Senator in history, while returning incumbent U.S. Representatives Ron Kind and Sean Duffy to Washington.

• Baldwin victory party

UPDATE: Harsdorf wins Wisconsin Senate race

With 86% of voting units in the district reporting, at 11:30 p.m. Sheila Harsdorf, who has represented the 10th District in the Wisconsin Senate since 2001 and survived a recall attempt last year, had won re-election. At that point, Harsdorf had 45,328 votes to 29,436 for her challenger, Daniel C. Olson.

Republicans faring better in St. Croix County

Republicans are faring well in St. Croix County in early returns.

Observers say it could come down to Wisconsin; Polls will be heavily monitored today; Stillwater bridge to reopen in early December; more briefs

Wisconsin News
The polls are open as the eyes of the nation watch Wisconsin and a handful of other presidential battlegrounds. Federal and state authorities – along with political parties, partisan groups and private watchdogs -- will monitor today’s activity at the polls.

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Tammy or Tommy: We’ll make history either way; Haven’t voted since June? Maybe your polling place has changed; more briefs

Wisconsin News
Wisconsin voters will make history tomorrow when they elect a new U.S. senator to replace the retiring Democrat Herb Kohl.

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Three polls: Senate race still dead heat; Western Wisconsin: New gas pipeline considered to serve frac sand mines; more briefs

Wisconsin News
Three new polls released Thursday show that Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race has returned to being a dead heat.

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7th District congressional race sets record for spending; Don’t-call-and-drive law in effect for young drivers; more briefs

Wisconsin News
The Seventh District race in northern Wisconsin has become the most expensive U.S. Congress contest in state history. Federal reports show that more than $8 million have been raised by the two candidates and outside groups.

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28th District Assembly: Seversen feels district is now more conservative

When District 28 Assemblyman Erik Severson goes campaigning door-to-door, he expects one of three reactions. “It’s either ‘I love you,’ ‘I hate you,’ or ‘I never vote,’” he said.

• Erik Severson
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