(STATE CAPITOL) Gov. Jim Doyle is in Italy and Tunisia this week on a trade mission, and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton is at a conference in Washington DC.

It begs the question of who's in charge while they're gone.

The lieutenant governor's duties are limited in Wisconsin, but if you read the constitution to the letter, she's the acting governor when the governor is out of state. The thing is, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton's office says Lawton was not told Gov. Doyle was leaving the country until his office issued a press release on Wednesday. That's the same day Doyle left town and by that time Lawton was already out of state herself.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Political Science professor Mordecai Lee says it used to be very important if the governor was physically in the state. He says whether it matters anymore depends on the circumstances. Lee says with excellent modern-day communication, the governor can be in Tunisia, and it’s easy to pick up the phone and ask, “What do you want us to do?” Still, he says, legally, the governor can authorize calling out the National Guard when the governor is out of state, that proclamation would have to be signed by the acting governor.

If the lieutenant governor were in state, that job would fall to her. The wording of the state constitution gets a little less specific if both executives are out of state, but the Secretary of State is next in the line of succession.

When asked about the situation, the Governor's Office was concise. Spokesman Adam Collins said Gov. Doyle is running the state, and has been every day since he took office in January of 2003.

(STATEWIDE) The number of Wisconsin students qualifying for free or reduced-cost school lunches has shot up this year. And the state’s education chief says it’s among the highest increases he’s seen.

The latest figures from the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) show that 39-percent of public school students are eligible for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. DPI Superintendent Tony Evers says last year’s rate was 35.5 percent. He calls the increase “significant”, and a reflection of the state and national economy.

Ruth Ann Kiley, president of the School Nutrition Association of Wisconsin, and nutrition director for the Menominee Falls School District, agrees. 16-percent of her district’s students qualify for free or reduced price lunches this year, up from roughly 14-percent in 2009. Kiley says that’s an all time high. She says the problem is jobs. Many parents are out of work or are considered working poor. Those at 185-percent of the federal poverty level qualify for the reduced $. 40 lunch, but Kiley believes even that price is a struggle for some.

DPI Superintendent Evers is hopeful the numbers will improve along with the economy. But he doesn’t expect any dramatic reductions over the next couple of years.

The Swallow School District of Waukesha County had the lowest percentage of students needing free or reduced price school meals, at under 1-percent. The Lac du Flambeau district had the highest, at 90-percent.

(WEST ALLIS) Bills that would try to better protect consumers from the payday loan industry in Wisconsin are provoking a wide range of opinions. That makes it unclear what -- if anything -- will become law this spring.

The state Assembly has approved one measure that cracks down on payday loan companies. The Senate is still looking at whether to pass that bill, or a separate one that some people say isn't as tough.

At a public hearing in West Allis Thursday, Amy Johnson of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy said the Assembly bill is better.

But Marvin Walker of the Wisconsin Coalition for Consumer Choice says both bills would go too far and dry up loans from payday lenders.

But the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee says neither payday loan bill goes far enough. Attorney Andrew Gale says one of the biggest changes that's needed is to put an interest rate cap of 36-percent on payday loans.

Given the competing points of view, state legislators will soon have to decide if a compromise is the best route, or to possibly start over on the lawmaking process next year.

(STATE CAPITOL) Democratic lawmakers have introduced a plan that would make it easier to register to vote and vote absentee in Wisconsin.

The proposal would automatically put people on a list with the state's election agency when they get their driver's license. Eau Claire Assembly Democrat Jeff Smith says people could then use the information on file with the Government Accountability Board, (GAB) to register to vote. He says people would automatically be integrated into the GAB system as registered, but someone would not be officially registered until they go online, call the GAB, or verify the information is correct on Election Day.

Smith says it wouldn't be the same as Republican plans to require a photo ID or driver’s license to vote, because you wouldn't have to show those IDs to vote. You'd only have to verify that the driver’s license information on file is correct.

Smith's plan would also let people become permanent absentee voters.

The Democratic plan would also make sure military voters get their ballots mailed to them in time for them to be counted on Election Day.

Republican Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald said he liked that idea, but was troubled by other pieces of this bill. For example, one provision would limit who's allowed to challenge ballots. It would require you to be live in a ward to challenge a voter in that ward. Fitzgerald called it a case of Democrats trying to freeze Republicans out of Milwaukee and Madison, so no challenges will take place on their home turf.

(STATE CAPITOL) County prosecutors want to make it easier to punish people who spit on or throw bodily fluids at medical or law enforcement personnel.

Under current law prosecutors often have a tough time convicting someone of spitting or throwing blood or urine at public safety officers. That's because the current statute requires them to prove that the attacker intended to harm the paramedic or police officer when they threw blood at them or spat at them.

But proving intent wouldn't be necessary under a bill that got a hearing in the Assembly Criminal Justice committee this week. The hearing was broadcast live on the Wisconsin Eye Network. Representative Mark Honadel of Milwaukee is one of the bill's sponsors. He witnessed the behavior when he worked at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections. Honadel says such situations are “stressful,” especially when someone throws fluids with intent, or they have HIV and purposefully splash someone with their blood.

A separate law making it a crime to throw bodily fluids at prison guards already includes the provision that proving intent to harm is not necessary. This bill covers police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and ambulance attendants. The bill will have a hearing in the Senate before it makes its way to floor of the legislature for a vote.

(UNDATED) A long awaited change in the disparity between criminal penalties for crack and powder cocaine may soon become federal law. But a UW law school assistant dean says the change doesn't go far enough.

Since the 1990's people caught possessing or selling crack cocaine were given sentences 100 times more severe than people caught with the same amount of powder cocaine. A law passed in the U.S. Senate this week would reduce that ratio to 18-1. Former Wisconsin Corrections Secretary Walter Dickey teaches criminal law in Madison. He says the disparity in cocaine sentencing never made any sense and ought to be eliminated completely. Dickey questions why lawmakers would reduce the disparity when they should be eliminating it. He says it’s a question of “equal treatment of people, for similar behavior.”

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that does eliminate the disparity altogether, but it's uncertain that the two houses will agree to support that big a change. Dickey says in Wisconsin, the impact of whatever change is finally passed will be felt mainly in Milwaukee where most of the federal drug prosecutions take place.

(UNDATED) UW officials say applications to their public two-year colleges have spiked significantly -- up nearly 9-percent from last year.

The UW-system’s 13 two-year campuses collectively received more than 4,300 applications – which is about 400 more than last year. UW-Colleges Chancellor David Wilson says it's not because more people are trying to avoid the economic effects of the recession but because the UW-colleges have achieved wider recognition. He says the word is out that the faculty care “a great deal” about teaching and are working with students very closely to make sure they are in a position to succeed when they transfer.

But Wilson admits more families may in fact seek higher-education during an economic crisis. He says such families are looking for places with the UW-System where they can start on a BA degree and “not necessarily have to take out $50,000 in loans along the way.”

Wilson's adds two-year students don't pay residence fees, which makes the colleges more affordable. He's hoping the Board of Regents will approve a plan to create several four year degree programs at roughly half of the UW-colleges. The idea is to help working students who want a Bachelors degree but can't relocate to a four year university

Photo by Kirk Carapezza, WPR

(LA CROSSE) Western Wisconsin leaders are hoping to be part of a future high speed rail line through Wisconsin and Minnesota. They met this week with transportation officials from both states.

Leaders say the daily Empire Builder route, which connects Chicago and Seattle and cuts through Wisconsin and Minnesota is an ideal path for a future high speed rail service because it already exists.

Tomah City Manager Jim Bialecki says high speed rail could help draw future business to the city.

La Crosse County Administrator Steve O’Malley says high speed rail will encourage people to see an alternative to using their car each day. He says with potentially up to six trains a day through the region, it could help western and central Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi says using the Empire Builder for a future high speed route is at best in the proposal stage right now, with the priority to establish high speed rail service between Chicago and Madison. He says the state will likely hire an engineering firm to decide the best route through western Wisconsin, as Eau Claire is also interested in the service.

Busalacchi says an engineering student could cost more than $40 million.

(UNDATED) The Swiss have taken the gold medal in what's called the "Olympics of Cheese.”

Jim Umhoefer [UHM-hay-fur] of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association, made the announcement Thursday (3/18) at the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison. A gruyere (GROO-yair) made by Cedric Vuille, for Emmi Kase of Kirchberg, Switzerland won top honors.

Judges gave the gruyere high marks for its creaminess and touch of herbs. They considered more than 2,300 entries from 20 countries.

Photo by Jules Miller, WPR

(STATE CAPITOL) The head of Wisconsin's ethics office says he's urging state agencies to follow a law that requires them to post their biggest private contracts on a public website. But he says there's only so much he can do.

Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy says his office established the Contract Sunshine website in January 2008. The site was required as a part of a law signed by Gov. Jim Doyle a few years ago. It was supposed to publicize contracts worth more than $10,000.

But information on the site remains sparse and most agencies haven't published any contracts at all.

Kennedy told a legislative panel yesterday that his office estimates it takes about a minute to enter information for each contract on the website. He says agencies are telling him they have thousands of contract transactions, and don’t have the ability to enter the material repeatedly.

Because it's up to those agencies to enter the information themselves, the website remains largely empty. Kennedy says his agency -- one of state government's smallest -- doesn't have the money or staff to take on the project all itself.

(UNDATED) A Wisconsin Native American tribe is enacting its own smoking ban, to coincide with the statewide ban that goes into effect July 1st.

The Oneida Nation has officially set a smoke-free policy for some of its roadside convenience stores and gaming facilities. While not a reservation-wide ban, it’s significant because tribes’ sovereign status means they’re not obligated to abide by state law.

Oneida tribal spokeswoman Bobbi Webster says the decision’s sparked debate over whether the designated smoke-free sites will mean lost revenues or customers. But overall, she says, health is the main concern for customers, and primarily for employees. Webster says smoking is what contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic health problems among Indian people.

Among those cheering on the Oneida is Mark Caskey, wellness director for the neighboring Menominee Tribe. He says while many native people regard smoking as a traditional practice, it’s become more a recreational habit over time, which had lead to major consequences for tribal members.

Caskey says the smoking lung cancer rate went up 194-percent in a period of 15 years for the Menominee tribe. He says the best thing all tribes could do now would be to go smoke-free all at the same time, so it’s becomes more an issue about health, not revenues.

Similar bans are being discussed among the Menominee, and members of the Wisconsin Native American Tobacco Network. The group helps tribes with problem smokers and promotes more ceremonial uses of tobacco.

Oneida spokeswoman Webster says her tribe’s smoking ban is currently on a pilot basis, but may be expanded to more places on the reservation later.

(STATE CAPITOL) Some farmers and small business owners are lobbying lawmakers in Madison to support Gov. Doyle’s Clean Energy Jobs Act. They made their case at an event called "Homegrown Energy Day” this week.

The bill would require 25-percent of Wisconsin’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2025. Supporters say it would create thousands of jobs, protect the environment, and foster economic growth.

Keith Reopelle of Clean Wisconsin helped organize Homegrown Energy Day. Just outside the Capitol, farmers and small business owners showed off new clean energy technologies like manure digesters and industrial wind turbines that they say effectively produce energy from natural resources. Reopelle says the bill would keep such innovations -- and jobs -- in Wisconsin. He adds that instead of sending money out of state for foreign oil -- which creates jobs in the Middle East, Texas and Oklahoma – Clean Wisconsin wants to invest in local farmers and businesses.

Chilton resident Melissa Van Ornum came to the event with a model of her Anaerobic Digester System. The actual system turns unprocessed cow manure into energy. Currently there are 19 across the state. If the plan passes, she hopes there'll soon be many more, and jobs to go with them.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and the business group Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce have criticized the Clean Energy Jobs Act. They say its plan to tighten emissions regulations would drive up costs and shed jobs.

Above: Jerry Noel of Krantz Electric shows a model of his company's latest solar panels to Department of Natural Resources representative Paul Heinen at the Home Energy Day event in Madison.

(UNDATED) The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is getting behind a bill that would ban feeding of deer in the fall.

In many parts of the state there are limits on how much food hunters can put out for deer. In areas where deer have or at risk of having Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), there's a ban on baiting and feeding of the animals.

The DNR has been urging a statewide baiting and feeding ban. A bill from state Sen. James Holperin (D-Conover) doesn't go that far. But it does ban feeding of deer for viewing purposes from Labor Day through the end of the gun deer season.

DNR Secretary Matt Frank says the measure would be a step in the right direction. He says in the last few years, the DNR hasn't been able to find a lawmaker who would sponsor any sort of deer feeding ban.

But Holperin's bill faces at least one key hurdle: the legislative session ends in about a month.

(MILWAUKEE). Republican candidate Scott Walker charges that Democratic Candidate Tom Barrett favored a Spanish rail car firm over a local manufacturer when completing a recent deal. But the City of Milwaukee denies the allegation.

When Gov. Jim Doyle cut a deal with the Spanish company Talgo to build rail cars for Wisconsin, Talgo promised to open a manufacturing site here. A City of Milwaukee property formerly owned by Tower Automotive won out over a site owned by Milwaukee rail car manufacturer Super Steel, as well as sites in other Wisconsin cities.

The city and state financial help for the Tower site upsets Super Steel owner Fred Luber. His concern has caught the ear of GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker, who charges that Milwaukee mayor and Democratic rival Tom Barrett, as well as Gov. Doyle are “stabbing Wisconsin companies in the back.”

That's not how City of Milwaukee consultant Jeff Fleming sees it.

Super Steel is still trying to be a Talgo subcontractor, so could still win some jobs. Super Steel also says landing the main Talgo work would only partly have reversed the economic slide the company has been in for a few years.

(UNDATED) The director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) says he's not worried about a lawsuit filed against his group for allegedly infringing on the trademark of a conservative political group.

At issue is an online petition and Facebook page the Democracy Campaign launched following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January known as the Citizens United case.

WDC director Mike McCabe says the campaign, called "Citizens United against Citizens United" is not an effort to steal the name of the victors in the case. He says his group made it clear it was a protest organized by WDC, and also made it clear the protest involved the Supreme Court decision.

Opponents of the Supreme Court ruling say it has effectively granted corporations the same free speech rights as individual citizens, clearing the way for elections to be bought and sold to the highest bidder.

McCabe say his group won't dare Citizens United to sue them and will likely tweak the name of the campaign. But he says the lawsuit has led to a sudden increase in the number signatories to the petition. It calls for a constitutional amendment to overturn the court's ruling.

The Citizens United lawsuit gives the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign until this Friday to stop using its name in the petition campaign.

Editor's note: As of today (3/18), the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has officially changed the name of its movement from "Citizens United Against Citizens United" to "United Citizens Against Citizens United".

(DANE COUNTY) Dane County could be the first to follow the state's lead in giving organ donors paid time off from their county jobs.

If a pending proposal passes the Dane County board, county workers donating organs would get 30 paid days off; those giving bone marrow would get five days.

UW Health is drafting a similar leave policy for its 9,000 workers. Dr. Tony D'Allesandro directs the UW Organ Procurement program. He says live donations have dropped 15-percent over the last two years, and this removes one barrier. D’Allesandro says while medical bills are paid, expenses like travel, lodging and food are not. Paid leave is the least that can be done for people who are donors, he says.

One of those donors is Luanne Kostelic. Four years ago she gave a childhood friend a kidney. Because of the state's donation policy, she was able to take paid days off for her surgery.

1,500 people in Wisconsin are on the organ transplant waiting list.

(STATE CAPITOL) The state Senate's agriculture committee has advanced a bill that would allow dairy producers to sell unpasteurized milk. Farmers who register with the state would be able to sell raw milk until the end of 2011. During that time, the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) would have a special panel review the issue and make longer-term recommendations.

Lawmaker Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) co-sponsors the Senate bill. He says producers would also have to post a warning sign on their farm, and labels on raw milk containers explaining the potential dangers. Kreitlow says labeling will lead to a better informed consumer deciding whether to purchase and consume raw milk, and a sunset date allows time to work out a permanent solution.

Kreitlow says producers would also have to have their unpasteurized milk tested, and would have to give the state the names of their customers, so they could be more easily found in the event of an outbreak of food-borne illness.

(UNDATED) Wisconsin’s astronaut has touched down at 6:24 a.m. (CST) today, and is back on Earth after 169 days in orbit.

Col. Jeffrey Williams of Winter and Russian Cosmonaut Maxime Suraev landed safely in the Kazakhstan desert, the same country from where they blasted off on September 30, 2009.

This is the end of Williams’ third trip into space and he says it will probably be his last. He was the Commander of Mission 22 onboard the International Space Station, a mission in which the last major piece of the International Space Station was attached, all but completing the decade-long process to finish the Space Station.

Williams and Suraev are now being examined by a medical team to determine the effects of nearly six months of weightlessness. They’ll be flown to Star City outside of Moscow later today.

Photos provided by Bill Ingalls, NASA.

(UNDATED) The number of state prisoners in the United States has dropped for the first time in nearly four decades, according to the Pew Center on the States Prison Population Count released this week.

Wisconsin’s drop in its prison population exceeds the national average.

In 2009, the number of Wisconsin inmates fell by 1.2-percent to 23,112. The nationwide decline was 0.4-percent.

Pew Center researchers say states that take on alternatives to hard time could see less crime at far less cost.

Rick Raemisch, Secretary of Wisconsin's Department of Corrections, agrees. He says the “get tough on crime philosophy” which basically locks “everybody up for as long possible” has been proven ineffective. Sentencing reforms, better education services for inmates and improved re-entry programs are credited for Wisconsin’s drop in prison populations, and Raemisch says more are needed to keep the trend dropping.

This is the second straight year that Wisconsin's prison population has declined. Federal statistics show it dropped 5-percent between 2007 and 2008. Raemisch says the downward trend is a positive one -- and one that should be continued. He says reducing the prison population should not be done because of the budget crisis, but because it makes Wisconsin a better place.

Corrections officials say it's less expensive to fund supervised release programs for ex-cons instead of keeping them behind bars. Yesterday, the legislature's budget panel set aside $10-million in funds aimed to help former inmates reenter society.

(STATE CAPITOL) The legislature’s budget panel has approved $10-million for a project that aims to keep inmates from being sent back to prison after they’re released. The money will provide services to felons who are on—or about to go on probation or parole.

Services could include alcohol and drug treatment, as well as help finding jobs, education, housing and transportation.

Democratic Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Mark Pocan said the aim is to reduce Wisconsin’s high recidivism rates and ultimately slow the growth of the state's billion dollar prisons budget.

Only GOP lawmakers voted against the plan. Representative Robin Vos (R-Racine) said the $10-million would have been better off spent elsewhere, and talked of Democrats funding welcome home parties for prisoners.

But this was not a straight party-line vote. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) said it was a case where the state needed to spend some money if it wanted to save money. He said for lawmakers to turn their backs and say they’ve spent $20,000-30,000 a year locking up people and then not spending the money to ensure they don’t get locked up again “is relatively foolish” for a conservative.

The plan was developed in conjunction with the Council on State Governments based partly on what has worked in other states. This $10-million dollars was actually set aside in the last budget, meaning now that it's had the Joint Finance Committee's OK, the project can move forward.

(STATEWIDE) Critics and supporters of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are debating whether stimulus money is creating jobs or long-term growth.

Some community action agencies in Wisconsin say recovery funds are doing just that.

Couleecap provides social services and economic support in southwestern Wisconsin. Its executive director, Grace Jones, says they’ve been awarded $4-million in stimulus dollars, allowing them to create 20 new jobs. She adds they’ve served 2,900 people since last August who would’ve otherwise been turned away.

Tom Mayne of Boscobel worked in construction for 30 years, until the recession caused job offers to dry up. He's one of Couleecap's recent hires, due to recovery funds. He recalls President Obama’s call to put out-of-work carpenters to work weatherizing homes.

“When I heard it, it never really sunk in that I might be the one he’s doing it to,” Mayne says. “But, here I am.”

Dave Celata, a policy manager with the Social Development Commission in Milwaukee, says 67 jobs have been created through the nearly $9-million they received in recovery funds. He says programs that received money have also helped to make long-term investment in the community, through job training and transitional employment, helping to fund the planning and implementation of economic development projects, and providing training and start-up funds for businesses.

However, Celata says stimulus funds aren't a cure all. Some community action agencies may have to scale back positions and resources once the recovery money is spent.

(ROTHSCHILD) WE Energies has filed for regulatory permission to build a $255-million dollar biomass power plant attached to the Domtar paper mill near Wausau. The project is expected to create 150 jobs, and produce green energy for both companies.

At a news conference across from the Domtar mill in Rothschild last September, Gov. Jim Doyle praised the power plant proposal for using Wisconsin's own natural resources.

But six months later, not everyone is happy.

Rothschild resident Todd Babl stands in front of his home just west of the paper mill, and says the forests should be protected instead of being used for energy. He says the forests and lakes are Wisconsin, and “when all the industry is gone, the lakes will still be here.”

Babl and a number of other homeowners don't like the idea of the biomass plant in their backyards. He says the grade school where his children go to school is directly across from the plant.

Rothschild Village President Neal Torney says he's listening to the homeowners' concerns, and will demand guarantees from WE Energies. He says village officials will take a hard look at what WE Energy is proposing, but so far, the company has been responsive.

Torney says if the plant is built, it will mean up to 150 short term construction jobs. Long term, he says it will help keep one of Rothschild's biggest employers in business.

The biomass plant would not only generate electricity, but steam to run the Domtar mill.

(STATEWIDE) A group which supports public transportation is out with a comparison of how much it costs to get around in the four Wisconsin cities of Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Appleton.

The Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) used Census data to make its calculations on how much motorists spend on gas, maintenance, and parking. They show transportation costs in Green Bay top $10,000 a year, the most expensive in their study.

In Madison, the median transportation cost is $1,000 lower. Still, WISPIRG director Bruce Speight notes the typical household in Madison spends nearly 19-percent of its income on transportation. He says people take for granted how much is spent on transportation. The average American home spends more than $8,000, but for Madison, the average home spends more than $9,000.

There is the Madison Metro bus system, although it has limited service to outlying areas. The lowest transportation costs of the four cities WISPIRG reviewed was Milwaukee, just under $9,000 annually. The cities reviewed were Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay and Appleton.

(STATE CAPITOL) The chair of the committee considering expelling State Rep. Jeff Wood (I-Chippewa Falls) from the Assembly says she doesn't think the votes are there for Wood's ouster.

Two-thirds of the legislators in the State Assembly have to agree before they can expel one of their members. If that vote ever happens, Mary Hubler (D-Rice Lake) says it will fall short. And she'll be among those voting no.

Hubler says she remains unconvinced of the case to expel Independent lawmaker Jeff Wood, who has been arrested five times for driving under the influence. Wood is fighting the last two charges and contends blood tests will exonerate him. Hubler says those criminal proceedings should be allowed to play out in court without the legislature getting involved. She says it would be an embarrassment to the Assembly if members voted to expel Wood, then have those remaining two charges dismissed.

Hubler says based on her experience with Wood's case, she wants to change the Assembly's rules to make it harder to try and expel someone in the future. Whitewater Republican Steve Nass is the only lawmaker sponsoring the resolution to oust Wood. Hubler says proposals as serious as these should require at least 15 co-sponsors.

Nass has said the decision to sponsor this plan by himself was a conscious one. He told Hubler's committee yesterday that Wood had failed to honor a moral code and should be punished for his actions.

Wood says he thinks blood tests will show he was clean when he was arrested the last two times, a point his attorney, John Hyland, drove home as he questioned Representative Nass. Hyland said it’s unknown what was in his client’s blood stream and whether he was on prescribed medications or not.

Nass responded by saying video of Wood’s most recent arrest shows that “somebody could have been killed." The footage taken from the police car’s in-dash cam shows Wood stumbling to the ground during the incident.

Nass and Hyland also clashed on the question of whether it was proper for the legislature to remove Wood. Hyland pointed out to Nass that Wood's own constitutents had decided not to initiate their own recall election.

It would ultimately take a two-thirds vote of the Assembly to expel Wood. He has announced he'll step down after this term.

(UNDATED) A proposed state crackdown on phosphorus pollution from cities and industries is headed to public hearings this spring.

Yesterday, the DNR board approved hearings on proposed standards for rivers and lakes, aiming to control the amount of phosphorus coming from point sources. DNR Watershed Management director Russ Rasmussen says the current amount of phosphorus in Wisconsin waters contributes to problems with algae growth.

Rasmussen says it could cost more than $1-billion dollars to update sewage treatment plants in some municipalities and at companies that use phosphorus in production. But he says the DNR is trying to spread out costs by putting the controls on gradually.

Rasmussen stresses that the DNR already has another set of proposed rules aimed at cracking down on phosphorus runoff from farms. He says the rule packages will be brought together before the DNR board this summer. Environmental groups have threatened to sue over phosphorus and nitrogen controls if the DNR doesn't act.

(STATE CAPITOL) The legislature's budget panel has approved funding to help prosecutors handle the extra caseload that's expected with Wisconsin's new drunk driving laws. But the $700,000-thousand a year still falls short of what District Attorneys say they need, especially when they're already short-staffed.

Sen. Judy Robson (D-Beloit) was among those who supported the extra funding and said it should have been even more. She says “people are really mad,” and want to know why the legislature doesn’t do anything. Now the law is in place, and lawmakers need to “put some teeth into the law,” to get repeat drunk drivers off the road.

The committee also approved nearly $2-million to help the Department of Corrections handle the extra DUI caseload.

The new drunk driving law makes some fourth offenses felonies and makes all repeat offenders install breathalyzers in their vehicles. First offenders would also be tried as criminals if they have kids under 16 in the car.

(STATE CAPITOL) Rural hospitals would make up for some of the funding cuts they've seen this year under a plan the legislature's budget panel will consider today.

The plan would expand the state's new hospital tax so that it benefits "critical access" hospitals. The tax is basically an accounting trick that lets hospitals qualify for extra federal Medicaid funding.

The state's roughly 60 critical access hospitals were purposely left out of the original hospital assessment because the way the funding formula works, they would have ended up losers. A plan before the legislature's Joint Finance Committee is written specifically so these small rural hospitals will come out ahead. It will also generate extra federal funds to train doctors for rural, underserved areas.

Unlike the debate over the original hospital tax that was sharply partisan, this proposal has support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Jeremy Levin with the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative says that’s because rural areas of Wisconsin are not partisan.

Levin says critical access hospitals need this plan now because they were just recently hit with a 10-percent cut in state funding by the Department of Health Services. That cut amounted to roughly $10-million.

(MADISON) The head of the Wisconsin Nurses Association calls it the report her group has been waiting for ---a detailed analysis of procedures used at a Madison hospital where a patient died nearly four years ago.

The nurse who cared for the 16-year-old patient undergoing childbirth initially faced criminal charges, which were eventually reduced to misdemeanors. Now the report also points to failures of St. Mary's Hospital.

Gina Dennik-Champion, executive director of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, says the report outlines institutional problems, instead of focusing on one individual. Dennik-Champion says work happens in systems, “and when systems fail, people fail.”

The report -- published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety -- is an insider's look: St. Mary's administrators helped write it.

Nevertheless, it contains frank criticisms in accompanying editorials. Dr. Lucian Leape of Harvard says “accountability rests with the hospital" and calls the nurse a 'scapegoat'. He says the nurse “made a fatal error, but it was clearly the result of a number of systems failures, yet she was the one who was punished for it.”

In assessing the fatal hospital death, the report says medication was in the patient's room before it needed to be, and was not scanned for its contents; there had been intermittent scanning difficulties with the system and inconsistent use by nurses; and matching the epidural medication to the patient required an ID bracelet, which wasn't on.

The report also says nurse's long work hours may also have contributed to the patient's death.

St. Mary's says it is taking steps to address safety issues, and is sharing the report so others can learn from it.

(STATEWIDE) Wisconsin has spent most of the federal stimulus money it got for road construction, but transportation officials say it’ll still be a busy summer for work crews.

Wisconsin scored about $460-million in stimulus cash last year, to build or improve roads, highways, and bridges. Very little of that remains, but Michael Goetzman [getz-mun] of the state Department of Transportation says they’ll still have about $930-million in state and federal money to spend this year, gleaned from gas taxes and registration fees. He says that’s all money going into hundreds of projects across the state this summer.

Goetzman says the last two fiscal years have set records for construction funding. Adding in the stimulus money, 2009 and 2010 each topped more than $1-billion. But he says even without it, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has received a substantial amount of funds to work with.

Goetzman says what little construction money remains from the stimulus award will be bid on by local contractors later this month.

(UNDATED) College applications for the fall are up dramatically nationwide, especially at public universities. But a drop in applications at the University of Wisconsin system has some admissions staff scratching their heads.

This year more than 82,000 students have applied to UW-System schools. That's down 2-percent from last year, which saw nearly 84,000 applicants system-wide.

UW-Eau Claire admissions director Chris Anderson says the economy has been an unpredictable factor in the number of applications they've received. Anderson says they’ve heard from a number of families who want their child starting at a two-year campus and then transfer. That allows the student to live at home and not have the room and board cost.

Anderson says applications are down 4-percent for the UW-Eau Claire. She says one more factor could be Wisconsin’s dwindling number of high school graduates. It's expected there'll be 1,300 fewer this year than in 2009.

UW-Green Bay has the biggest drop in applications, down 11-percent from this time last year. Admissions director Pam Harvey-Jacobs says that’s because prospective students who might have splurged and applied to five or six schools are now narrowing their choices to save on fees. She says reduced applications won’t mean a drop in enrollment or revenue. Harvey-Jacobs says what influences tuition income is how many students are actually enrolled.

While applications to four year schools have dropped, UW’s two-year campuses and tech colleges are seeing a 9-percent spike since last year.

(UNDATED) Humane society shelters in parts of central Wisconsin are being overrun with animals from so-called puppy mills in advance of a new state law that cracks down on large scale breeders.

The new law mandates licensing inspections for dog breeders who sell more than 25 animals a year, and takes effect in June of 2011. Chuck Wegner, executive director of the Clark County Humane Society says that date can't come soon enough. He says Clark County has a higher concentration of puppy mills than any other county in Wisconsin.

Wegner says the county's large size, abundant farmland, and small population have attracted puppy mill breeders from around Wisconsin, and from other states that have already cracked down on the mills. He says up to 75-percent of the animals at the shelter are puppy mill dogs, many with severe behavioral and health problems. Wegner says the dogs have dental problems that make it difficult for them to chew and are expensive to treat.

The Clark County Humane Society does not euthanize animals as a rule, and Wegner says the medical and behavioral treatment is taxing the shelter's budget. But he says he's encouraged by the number of people who adopt the puppies despite their condition, because they need homes.

Wegner says when the new state law takes effect, the inspections and licensing requirements should drive all of the puppy mill operations out of business.

(UNDATED) Researchers are trying to address water bird die-offs on the Upper Mississippi River, which they say are caused by invasive snails. And the problem has been steadily spreading for nearly a decade.

The invasive snails are hosts to trematodes -- parasites that inhabit the snails, which birds feast on. The trematodes eventually weaken the birds, by causing them to lose blood. Jennifer Sauer, a biologist with the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, says area researchers first noticed die-offs of waterfowl in Lake Onalaska eight years ago. Since then about 65,000 birds have died near La Crosse and the problem is spreading between La Crosse and Dubuque, Iowa.

Sauer says several agencies--including the U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota and Wisconsin DNRs, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—are participating in a workshop this week to address the problem. She says they want to develop a prioritized list of research needs that will help offer management options in the refuge, which is in the Mississippi Flyway where more than 40-percent of the waterfowl population migrates.

That amounts to nearly 17-million water birds flying along the entire Mississippi River and Mackenzie River in Canada. Sauer says they’ve been removing dead birds and are considering modifying islands on the river to reduce build-ups of the invasive snail, which are also competing with native snails.

(UNDATED) As U.S. census questionnaires go out in the mail today, Wisconsin census officials and labor economists are stressing the importance of providing good, accurate data that might benefit the state.

For all the usual questions about age, sex, date of birth, race, and the number of people living in the home, census officials say there’s a very pressing reasons why it's important to fill out your form: the results will be used to help each community get its fair share of more then $4 trillion dollars in federal funds over the next decade, to go towards highways, schools, health facilities and many other programs.

One concern this round is the number of people displaced by the economic crisis. Labor economist Laura Dresser of the Center of Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), is eager to study that data to better understand exactly what's going on with the state's job market. Dresser says Wisconsin is one of several states that has seen a so-called "lost decade" in terms of jobs, meaning the state doesn’t have more jobs today than in 2000. She says to see the effects of the very weak job market will provide a clearer picture of just what it means to get by “in these hard times”.

People who don't submit their census forms by mid-April may soon have a census taker knocking on their door. Census officials figure that every home visit costs tax payers about $25 dollars each. So they say, fill them out -- and send them back.

(STATE CAPITOL) Inmates would have to get tested for HIV before they're released from prison under a plan introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly.

Right now inmates have the option of getting tested for HIV when they come to prison. This plan would make it mandatory before they leave. Some inmates would also have to be tested again six or seven months later if they're on extended release or parole.

Patricia McManus heads the Milwaukee-based Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin. She says it's one way to address what she calls an epidemic of HIV among African Americans because released or paroled inmates don’t convey what’s happened to them while in prison, and continue to have relationships.

“Our heterosexual female rate has gone up," adds McManus.

But the Department of Corrections' William Grosshans told lawmakers that the state should stick with voluntary testing, because it works. Roughly 9 out of 10 inmates decide to get tested for HIV when they're admitted to prison. Grosshan says mandatory testing has its issues, especially if inmates who leave prison don't get their required follow-up testing. He says the DOC may be forced to make a tough decision as to whether the offender's parole, mandatory release or extended supervision should be revoked if the offender refuses to comply with mandatory retesting six to seven months after release.

If that happens, Grosshans says that could get expensive. Corrections officials estimate it would cost roughly $1.7-million a year to enforce.

(STATEWIDE) Some counties and municipalities across Wisconsin have used hiring freezes to cut down on costs during the economic downturn. However, they're finding they can't afford to leave some positions unfilled.

Ed Henschel, executive director of the Wisconsin City/County Management Association (WCMA) says a fair amount of their 250 members have resorted to hiring freezes to balance budgets. However, he says a hiring freeze is a quick fix and municipalities should examine all opportunities in order to eliminate duplicate positions, inefficient services, outsourcing to the private sector, or consolidating offices. Henschel adds municipalities need good strategic plans that fit into their budgets to get the “biggest bang for their buck.”

City officials in La Crosse are examining outsourcing work to a Twin Cities company in light of their city’s hiring freeze. City planning director Larry Kirch says filling certain positions may be more efficient and cost-effective than outsourcing. He cites two positions related to economic development, and others tied to trying to increase the tax base, increase jobs, promote La Crosse, fill in vacancies downtown, among others.

La Crosse Mayor Matt Harter says they’re examining all options, evaluating every position on a case-by-case basis.

Harter says 40 or so city positions remain unfilled.

(WHITEWATER) Wisconsin companies have a new resource for marketing their services and products overseas, through a partnership announced between the state Department of Commerce and UW-Whitewater.

The agreement lets the UW-Whitewater’s Global Business Resource Center refer companies to the Commerce department for export development training and support. Commerce officials in turn, will help the Center develop grants and projects for students, faculty, and local businesses.

Mary Regel of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Development says this is the first formalized agreement her agency has ever done with a university or college. She says it all began when the GM-Janesville plant closed. Companies that had been supplying GM with products now needed help finding new customers, and increasingly turned to the Global Business Resource Center for help marketing their products overseas.

Regel says this new deal could help more local businesses thrive, as those that export are generally more profitable, pay higher salaries, and are generally more stable because they can shift into different markets “where there’s actually opportunities to sell.”

One person who plans to take advantage of the new agreement is Becky Feffer, vice-president of Continental Plastic. The Delavan-based company makes veterinary supplies. She says if a business can’t tap into the resources exporting provides, one winds up in a very stagnant market. She cites the swine market, which boomed for 10-15 years in the U.S., but has since slowed down and is switching over to other countries like Russia and Brazil.

“So those are markets that we really want to get into,” says Feffer.

Feffer says the agreement coincides well with President Obama’s push to double U.S. exports in the next five years.

(STATEWIDE) General Motors is offering to renew contracts with 600 of the 1100 dealerships it had originally slated to close this fall.

Last year, the automaker sent letters to an undisclosed number of Wisconsin dealers, telling them that they should prepare to wrap up their operations. Shocked and frustrated, at least 52 dealers have filed lawsuits to stay open or reach a settlement.

Bill Sepic of the Wisconsin Auto and Truck Dealers Association has no exact data, but figures there'll be a fair number of GM dealerships here that'll be reinstated.

“I think we’ll probably track pretty close to what’s the national percentages," he says.

GM officials say they'll be evaluating dealerships on customer satisfaction, profitability and sales, the same criteria used to initially decide which dealerships should close by October. Many local dealers -- including Leonard Ironside-- are still fuming over that announcement. He says he and his family worked for 26 years to build their business in Wisconsin Rapids.

“And to have that pulled out from under you and then have the uncertainty of the past 8 months is maddening.”

Ironside filed for arbitration after he got his letter last year. And just last Friday he got another letter from GM -- offering to renew his contract. He thinks he'll take it.

Meanwhile, other dealerships have already shuttered their doors or switched to used car sales.

Those who choose to renew with GM must comply with specific sales requirements.

Photo by Kirk Carapezza, WPR.

(STATEWIDE) Eight of Wisconsin's 72 counties lack a veterinarian to treat farm animals. It’s indicative of a national shortage of veterinarians for “food animals” like cattle, sheep, and poultry.

The American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) says 90-percent of graduates choose to work with companion animals, like cats and dogs. So the pool of large animal vets is small, and financial hardship can cause it to shrink even more: the average vet student at UW-Madison has $107,000 of debt.

AVMA’s CEO, Dr. Ron DeHaven says while in Madison he announced public and private loan forgiveness programs for students who promise to work four years with food animals. DeHaven says getting more large animal vets is an issue for everyone, not just farmers. He says veterinarians are key to food safety, which begins with healthy animals on the farm.

Where large animal vets are most needed --the countryside-- isn't appealing to everyone. Because of that, other professions – including doctors and dentists -- are also seeing their ranks dwindle says Nigel Cook, an associate professor at the UW Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. Cook says it may be a function of modern times where young graduates are drawn to urban areas.

Cook says his school is trying to recruit high school students and also trying to persuade college Dairy Science students to consider large animal vet practice.

The shortage of food animal vets doesn't mean an automatic job, though. Cook says the vet school currently has over a dozen students trying to find jobs in a tough economy.

(UNDATED) The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents is on the cusp of having its first Native American board member. Governor Jim Doyle has appointed Eau Claire attorney Ed Manydeeds as its newest regent, pending confirmation by the state Senate.

Manydeeds is an enrolled member of South Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and a 1973 graduate of UW-Superior. He’s also an alum of the UW Law School. He says his perspective as a tribal member makes accessibility to higher education a priority, and he’s interested in making sure that all different minorities have that access.

Manydeeds says this is his opportunity to give back to the UW System and to serve as a role model for Native American students.

Manydeed’s appointment comes less than a month after St. Croix Tribal Chairman Lewis Taylor gave the annual State of the Tribes Address, where Taylor asked the governor and legislature for a Native American voice on the Board of Regents, as a way to develop curriculum and recognize the sovereignty of Wisconsin’s Indian nations.

Taylor says Manydeed’s appointment is “pretty fast work”, on that request. He says it’s a sign that the atmosphere in Wisconsin is a recognition of what Indian people have contributed to society.

(GREEN BAY) A Green Bay High School is expanding its effort to help students meet basic needs. The "Caring Closet" at East High has a new home thanks to student volunteers.

Every day social workers at East High School take kids to the caring closet...which up until now consisted of two cabinets. Members of the student group "Red Alert" have been cleaning out what was a storage room filled with old sheet music and other junk. Now the space will be home to the Caring Closet, a place students can come to get school supplies, personal hygiene items, and clothes.

Senior Brehanna Skaletski spearheaded the expansion. She wrote and received a grant from Proctor and Gamble which will help stock the room, along with other donations. Skaletski explains that students in need will first be recommended by the teachers to social workers, who will secretly bring them to the Caring Closet to protect their identity. The reason, she explains, is so such students won’t be regarded any differently.

The need at East High School is significant. Social Worker Sandra Waubanascum says roughly half of the school's students come from families at or beneath the poverty line. She says high school is tough enough without the stigma of not being able to make ends meet. She supports the expansion, saying it’ll allow more kids to come into a more confidential setting.

The Caring Closet does more than just provide necessities. East High also collects formal dresses so girls who could otherwise not afford it can go to prom.