FIRST LADY-VISIT
Jill Biden, Douglas Emhoff set to visit Milwaukee, Waukesha
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff are set to visit Wisconsin next week. The White House says Biden and Emhoff will travel to New York City on Wednesday morning followed by stops in Milwaukee and Waukesha in the afternoon. The White House didn’t release any additional details.
FIRE CHIEF-DRUNKEN DRIVING
Fire chief accused of drunken driving following crash
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Prosecutors have accused Mapleton’s fire chief of drunken driving after she was involved in a crash. KFGO-AM reports Kayla Cross has been charged with misdemeanor DUI refusal. She has pleaded not guilty. According to court documents, she was cited by a West Fargo police officer just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 13 after she was involved in a crash. Details of the crash weren’t included in the documents. Mapleton Mayor Andrew Draeger says city officials haven’t decided whether to take any disciplinary action against the chief. Cross, who also serves as assistant fire chief in Moorhead, Minnesota, declined to comment.
CONDOS-EVACUATED-WISCONSIN
Residents rush to move belongings out of dangerous condo
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Residents of a Waukesha condominium that could collapse are rushing to move their belongings out. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that residents of the six-story, 48-unit Horizon West Condominiums were being allowed inside in four-hour shifts to move their belongings out. Only seven people can help per unit. The Salvation Army has been providing some rooms but residents say they’re unsure where they’ll go next or whether insurance will cover their living expenses. Police and firefighters cleared the building on Dec. 2 after an engineering report found its structural columns were compromised, echoing the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, in June. Nearly 100 people died when that condo collapsed.
CAPITOL BREACH-PROBATION
Wisconsin men get probation in U.S. Capitol breach
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced two Wisconsin men to probation for joining in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that 29-year-old Brandon Nelson of Madison and 24-year-old Abram Markofski of La Crosse pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Both appeared by video in federal court in Washington, D.C., and said they were sorry. Their attorneys have argued there’s no evidence either of them committed any acts of violence or destruction. U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced each of them to two years on probation and ordered each of them to pay $500 in restitution. He fined Nelson $2,500 and Markofski $1,000.
REDISTRICTING-WISCONSIN
US Supreme Court won’t end Wisconsin redistricting lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit from Wisconsin Republicans seeking to kill a redistricting case brought by Democrats, keeping hope alive for liberals that they can seek to block GOP-drawn maps through the federal courts. The nation’s highest court on Monday denied hearing the lawsuit filed by Republican state lawmakers. They wanted the Supreme Court to dismiss the Democrats’ case, which attempts to have federal courts draw the state’s political boundary lines. The decision means that liberals will still have a chance to fight for the maps they want in federal court after the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court issues its ruling, likely early next year.
ELECTION 2020-AUDITS-WISCONSIN
Election lawsuit targeting Wisconsin mayors delayed
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge has delayed until at least next month any action in a lawsuit that seeks to force the mayors of Madison and Green Bay to face jail or sit for depositions with the attorney hired by Republicans to investigate the 2020 election. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez on Friday set the next hearing in the case after a Dane County judge hears arguments in a separate case filed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. A ruling in that case would likely affect the lawsuit targeting the mayors. The mayors were subpoenaed by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who is leading the GOP-ordered investigation.
SEVERE WEATHER-UPPER MIDWEST
Heavy snow, winter storm warning hits Great Plains states
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Heavy snow is hitting the Great Plains, prompting school closures and warnings to avoid travel. The National Weather Service forecasted that parts of South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin could see nearly 1 foot of snow, with the most coming later in the day. A winter storm warning was issued for an area stretching across southern South Dakota and upwards into Wisconsin. Many schools did not wait to see how much snow would pile up and announced that Friday classes would be canceled. The South Dakota Highway Patrol reported that several vehicles had slid off the road along Interstate 90.
AP-US-ARSENIC-EXPOSURE-SENTENCING
Company fined after exposing Montana workers to arsenic
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — A company that turned mining waste into roofing materials in Montana was fined and ordered to conduct medical monitoring after pleading guilty to exposing its employees to arsenic. Tinley Park, Illinois-based U.S. Minerals was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $393,200 fine during a Friday hearing before U.S. Judge Dana Christensen in Butte. The company pleaded guilty to negligent endangerment, a misdemeanor violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Prosecutors say U.S. Minerals poisoned its workers by exposing them to arsenic despite repeated warnings from regulators. Plants in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana will be under increased federal oversight under a plea deal.
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