State News

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin’s maple syrup producers are having a great year.  A report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s statistical arm says the state’s farmers produced five times as much maple syrup this year as last year and the most since it began keeping track in 1992.  The USDA says Wisconsin produced 265,000 More >

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Cities and counties in Wisconsin are looking for ways to pay for water testing that could lead to beach closures after the federal government proposed cutting its funding for the program.   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been spending about $10 million per year on the program that requires local officials to More >

MEDFORD, Wis. (AP) – A woman accused of trying to kill four of her six children is scheduled for a bond hearing in Taylor County.   The 37-year-old mother is to appear in court Monday morning. Sheriff’s authorities say the woman attempted to kill the four children by carbon monoxide asphyxiation.   The children are ages 3, 5, 8 More >

ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) – The Ashland County sheriff says the two men killed in a single-engine plane crash on Madeline Island are related and from the La Crosse area.  Sheriff Mick Brennan says autopsies are being done Monday after the victims’ bodies were recovered from the crash wreckage on Sunday.  The Piper Comanche went down south of More >

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Hundreds of Wisconsin National Guard members are facing furloughs as the result of the automatic federal budget cuts that took effect earlier this year.  Most of Wisconsin’s 10,000 guard members won’t be affected by the budget cuts because they are state employees or considered active-duty military personnel.  But about 700 guard members who are More >

SPRING GREEN, Wis. (AP) – The Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center in Spring Green is featuring work by a photographer whose 20-year association with the architect launched his long fine-arts career.  Pedro Guerrero is mostly known for his images of Wright and the architect’s work but he also photographed the lives and works of sculptors Alexander More >

BAYFIELD, Wis. (AP) – An elderly dog depicted in a photo that gained widespread acclaim online has quietly turned 20.  The Duluth News Tribune reports the shepherd mix named Schoep spent a quiet birthday Saturday. He received more than 1,000 cards wishing him well.   Schoep and owner John Unger of Bayfield, Wisconsin became Internet celebrities last summer More >

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – There was a toast and an apology as the Leinenkugel brewery’s fan base grew to include a Minnesota politician who once insulted the Wisconsin beer.   What started out as a slur during a legislative debate ended Saturday with laughs, hugs, photos and cups of Leinie’s at the 10th annual Leinie More >

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay says its investigation has cleared a retired priest of sexual abuse allegations.    The diocese issued a statement Saturday saying an investigator it hired concluded the allegations were unsubstantiated. So Bishop David Ricken has lifted all restrictions on public ministry against the Reverend Justin Werner.   Werner More >

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – Authorities are holding an Oshkosh man after he allegedly fled a state trooper with a baby in his car.  The Wisconsin State Patrol says Winnebago County authorities were trying to find a 10-month-old who’d been taken by a non-custodial parent. The trooper spotted the suspect’s car shortly before 8 More >