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On August 8, 2009 a person named Ryan working at "Fromaginations on the Square" called the Madison police to ask if there was a "law in the state of Wisconsin that allows you to carry a gun," reporting that "a gentleman walked past me with a rather large rather large gun attached to his hip . . . he was walking north toward State Street." Replied the police dispatcher, "[n]o there is not . . . let me get someone to check that area to see if we can find 'em because there is no such law here." . ....

Freedom. Independence. Opportunity. These are a few of the descriptive words defining America. A place to carve out a new life, to farm a piece of land you could call your own, to raise a family and make a living, all free from government intervention, oppression and thousands of pages of rules and laws- this was America of two and three centuries ago. People governed their own affairs in small communities. They elected needed government officials they knew. The local and the state governments were accessible and existed as servants of the people. The framers of our national government limited...

House lawmakers are poised to introduce legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The law, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and prevents same-sex married couples from receiving the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples. Reps. Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) -- who is the first openly gay member elected to the House -- plan to introduce a bill this week that would scrap DOMA. Baldwin is also gay. In the 13 years since the bill was signed into...

RACINE - Normally inside Mechanix Auto Shop, repair is done on cars. Saturday, it was done on a man's reputation. Hubert Hoffman, a member of www.opencarry.org, organized a gathering to support Frank Hannan-Rock. Most everyone there was openly carrying a firearm, which is legal in Wisconsin. "You stand by your friends," Hoffman said. "Frank was, in my opinion harassed and detained unlawfully." It all started Wednesday night when Racine Police were investigating a raccoon shooting in Hannan-Rock's neighborhood. They noticed he was wearing a gun on his hip and asked him questions. "I did nothing to provoke them," said Hannan-Rock....

By ED TRELEVEN Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009 The state will pay $50,000 to a woman who was shocked with a Taser by UW Police at a Badgers football game last year under a settlement reached on Tuesday, the woman's attorney said. Robert Gingras, the attorney for Margaret Hiebing, said the settlement was reached during a mediation session with retired Circuit Judge Angela Bartell, who brokered the deal between Gingras and state Department of Justice attorneys who represented UW Police Sgt. Tamara Kowalski and Detective Peter Grimyser. Hiebing, 54, sued the officers on Feb. 20, alleging that her civil rights...

But can law enforcement themselves be entrapped? That seems to be the extraordinary claim of the Racine, Wisconsin police department in the case of an open carrier who was arrested for obstructing justice after he apparently refused to identify himself when officers began questioning him for open carrying on the porch of his own home. The facts are still emerging, but reports seem to agree that officers were in the neighborhood where Frank Rock lives on Wednesday night investigating the shooting of one or more raccoons. While in the neighborhood, officers noticed that Rock, sitting peacefully on his front porch,...

MADISON, Wis. -- The older brother of comedian Chris Farley says he's contemplating a run for lieutenant governor in Wisconsin as a Republican.

This multi-year near-comedic chain of communication, from AAG Kassel’s “honest your honors, you can open carry on State Street,” to the current game of “memo, memo, who’s got the memo” down at Madtown PD got me thinking . . . so I made ANOTHER open records request under Wisconsin law, this time for any video discussions of these internal police discussions about “the memo,” and low and behold, they sent me this, a videotaped “counseling session” between Madison’s own Captain Victor Wahl and the officer who arrested Travis Yates in Madison recently . . .

KENOSHA -- A jewelry store owner who was faced with a man trying to rob him at gunpoint reached for his own gun and shot the suspect Wednesday. The suspect is believed to be from Zion. Kenosha Police Department officials said that two men with partially concealed faces entered the Jewelry Exchange at 2400 52nd St. around 12:30 p.m. and confronted the 55-year-old owner. Police said one suspect pointed a handgun at the owner, but the owner drew his own handgun from under the desk where he was sitting and shot the suspect once in the chest. The two men...

A 49-year-old man suspected in the killings of at least eight women over 21 years in Milwaukee has been charged in connection with two of the homicides, authorities announced Monday. Walter E. Ellis of Milwaukee faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the killings of Joyce Mims, 41, and Ouithreaun Stokes, 28, who were strangled a decade apart. Ellis was arrested around noon Saturday at a motel in Franklin, one day after authorities linked DNA from his toothbrush with samples found on Mims' and Stokes' bodies, according to a criminal complaint. Ellis could be charged this week in connection...

MADISON, Wis. - Assembly Democrats want to pay for additional worker training and financial aid through a 1 percent income tax increase on those making more than $1 million. State Rep. Cory Mason, a Democrat from Racine, announced the plan on Tuesday. The $145 million raised through the income tax would be used to get about $135 million in federal matching money. Mason says the plan would provide additional financial aid and training to 40,000 Wisconsin residents. Under the plan, grants would also be available to help small businesses retool to attract jobs. Additional money would also go toward tax...

A 49-year-old man suspected in the killings of at least eight women over 21 years in Milwaukee has been charged in connection with two of the homicides, authorities announced Monday. Walter E. Ellis of Milwaukee faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the killings of Joyce Mims, 41, and Ouithreaun Stokes, 28, who were strangled a decade apart. Ellis was arrested around noon Saturday at a motel in Franklin, one day after authorities linked DNA from his toothbrush with samples found on Mims' and Stokes' bodies, according to a criminal complaint. Ellis could be charged this week in connection...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments from campaign finance reform advocates and opponents in a case many insiders say will be the most significant decision in more than 35 years. The case the court will hear, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has the potential to overturn key elements of campaign finance law that prevent corporate spending on elections, a move that would open the door to millions of dollars that could not be spent previously. “This is the biggest case in campaign finance law, really, since Buckley v. Valeo in 1976,” said Rob Kelner, a partner at...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appears poised to wipe away limits on campaign spending by corporations and labor unions in time for next year's congressional elections in a case that began as a dispute over a movie about Hillary Rodham Clinton. The justices return to the bench Wednesday — nearly a month early — to consider whether to overrule two earlier decisions that restrict how and when corporations and unions can take part in federal campaigns. Laws that impose similar limits in 24 states also are threatened. The court first heard arguments in March in the case of whether...

Why a flexible timetable to withdraw U.S. troops will best advance our national security interests. After nearly eight long years, we seem to be no closer to the end of the war in Afghanistan. In fact, given the current buildup of U.S. troops and the possibility that even more may be deploying soon, many Americans, and many Afghans, wonder what we hope to achieve—and when our service members will start to come home. We went into Afghanistan with a clear mission: to destroy those who helped to perpetrate the horrific 9/11 attacks. I voted to authorize sending our forces there...

Jeff Niles asked his local police chief about his ability to openly carry a gun a few months ago. The response from the Police Chief to Jeff was essentially no you can’t carry a gun because Milton has a local ordinance that prohibits open carry. However Jeff knew the ordinance was unenforceable and he was just trying to determine if the Police Chief knew the ordinance was unenforceable as well. It turns out the Chief apparently did not know that Wisconsin Stat. § 66.0409 (local regulation of firearms) effectively repealed the local ordinance which prohibited citizens from carrying a gun,...

School districts across Wisconsin are deciding whether students will watch a nationwide address directed at them from President Barack Obama. The speech on the importance of education has raised concerns among some parents who view it as nothing more than political advertising within public schools. Officials with both the Green Bay and Madison school districts say they've heard from a handful of parents with questions about whether the video will be shown next week. A spokesman for Republican state Rep. Steve Nass from Whitewater says their office has also fielded calls from concerned parents. Madison schools is working on guidelines...

Video taken from inside a city bus shows a Wisconsin state lawmaker running a red light and smashing into a bicyclist. Rep. Fred Clark, a Democrat, was ticketed by Madison police for running a red light on Aug. 18. The video was released this week by Madison Metro.

A man accused of launching a military flare that sparked a $50 million blaze and forced the temporary evacuation of thousands of residents pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of endangering public safety.

A Jaguar convertible sits in the driveway of Latasha Jackson's million-dollar mansion in Menomonee Falls. Built on a hill with a sprawling back deck overlooking a pond, the 7,600-square-foot home features an indoor swimming pool and indoor basketball court. Jackson is not an Olympic swimmer, a professional basketball player or a celebrity of any sort. She is a day care provider in the city of Milwaukee. She built her fortune with taxpayer funding from the Wisconsin Shares program. Despite recent records that indicate Jackson was running what police and regulators refer to as a "child-care ring" - adding mothers with...

Sen. Russ Feingold D-WI says bring'em home regarding the troops in Afghanistan, cites a lack of strategy and believes that increase in troops is not a wise idea. Today, in a meeting with the editorial board of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., Sen. Feingold called for a flexible timetable to bring our troops out of Afghanistan. Per an e-mail announcement, Feingold said: "After eight years, I am not convinced that simply pouring more and more troops into Afghanistan is a well thought out strategy. And I have raised this issue with the President, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

"There will be death panels if we do nothing," Stossel said of Medicare, using the phrase that former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made famous in relation to the health-reform bill, which does not directly affect Medicare.

About one of every five Wisconsin banks was unprofitable in the second quarter as loans continued to deteriorate in the struggling economy, a report Thursday shows. Fifty of Wisconsin's 282 banks posted net losses, and two others broke even, in the second quarter, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Altogether, Wisconsin banks lost about $161 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $207 million in the same period in 2008. The number of non-current loans worsened, with 4.17% of total loans in arrears. That's up from 1.99% in the second quarter last year and an increase from...

Madison, WI — Many of the state Department of Corrections operations will be shut down Friday for its first agency-wide furlough day, but some correctional officers are concerned the furlough plan could increase costs. Critics argue overtime costs could rise with the need to cover the shifts of those taking unpaid days off, but department officials said the plan is designed to minimize overtime and significant increases aren't anticipated. "We're anticipating because we're going to be running on a much leaner staff, we would have less overtime," said Deputy Secretary Ismael Ozanne. While there could be some overtime costs, "we...

CAMP BUCCA, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2009 – Moving several hundred detainees across Iraq is a daunting task, but for two Wisconsin Army National Guard companies, it's just another day on the job. Army Sgt. Joseph Vanbuskirk, with Company A, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion, and a native of Glenbeulah, Wis., keeps an eye on detainees while they are prepared for transfer. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Tyler Lasure  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The two companies -- Company A, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion, from Janesville, and Company C, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, from Fond du Lac, -- are responsible for...

CAMP BUCCA, Iraq - Moving several hundred detainees across Iraq is a daunting task, but for two Wisconsin Army National Guard companies it's just another day. The two companies, Janesville's Company A, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion, and Fond du Lac's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, stationed at Camp Bucca, in southern Iraq, are responsible for transferring detainees from Bucca to theater internment facilities further north. These movements are part of the consolidation of TIFs and the eventual turnover of operations to the government of Iraq. Once detainees are transferred they either continue serving their sentences or are released. "It's...

Madison — A meeting billed as a two-sided discussion on national health care turned into a giant pep rally Wednesday night for those against the current House legislation. More than 1,700 people packed a hotel ballroom at an event sponsored by a conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which opposes the pending bill.They left fired up. "We need to continue to fight the good fight," said Debbie Hansen, a Madison resident and self-described conservative who has voted for Republicans and Democrats in the past. She fears the health care bill would lead to socialized medicine. Americans for Prosperity state director Mark...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Just when public support for the Afghan war seems to be at its lowest for the Obama administration, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) has called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.In an interview with the Appleton Post-Crescent, Feingold said, "After eight years, I am not convinced that simply pouring more and more troops into Afghanistan is a well thought out strategy. I have raised this issue with the President, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen... aren't we sort of helping drive more extremists into Pakistan, by continuing...

He said he will uphold the will of the people in defining marriage. A decision not to defend a bad law is good news for marriage supporters in Wisconsin. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen — who ordinarily would defend a duly-enacted law — announced Friday he will not defend the state's domestic-partner law from a legal challenge brought by a pro-family group. Under that law, which passed the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle earlier this year, same-sex couples began applying for domestic-partnership recognition this month. Wisconsin Family Action has asked that the registry be declared unconstitutional under...

Looks like the Democrats are getting downright depressed: U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold told a large crowd gathered for a listening session in Iron County last week there would likely be no health care bill before the end of the year - and perhaps not at all. It was an assessment Feingold said he didn't like, but the prospect of no health care legislation brought a burst of applause from a packed house of nearly 150 citizens at the Mercer Community Center."Nobody is going to bring a bill before Christmas, and maybe not even then, if this ever happens," Feingold said....

Feingold: No health care bill before Christmas Large Mercer crowd opposes reform plans Richard Moore Investigative Reporter Tuesday, August 25, 2009 U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold told a large crowd gathered for a listening session in Iron County last week there would likely be no health care bill before the end of the year - and perhaps not at all. It was an assessment Feingold said he didn't like, but the prospect of no health care legislation brought a burst of applause from a packed house of nearly 150 citizens at the Mercer Community Center. "Nobody is going to bring a...

Kenosha County Republicans appear to favor Scott Walker for governor next year, and they like Sarah Palin for president in 2012. That’s the word, anyway, from an unscientific straw poll that the county GOP organization took over the course of five days last week at the Kenosha County Fair.

Glenwood City (WQOW) - More than 200 residents showed up for the open carry picnic in Glenwood City on Sunday afternoon. The picnic was held at the Saint Croix County Fairgrounds, in Glenwood City. The picnic was open to the public and was free to attend. Most of the 200 residents who were at Sunday's picnic were carrying guns. Organizers say they held the picnic to celebrate a recent memo from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen regarding the legality of open carry. "My wife and I and our grown daughters organized this as an informational session more than anything else...

The question is being asked at dinner tables and water coolers throughout Wisconsin: Why would those union workers at Mercury Marine's Fond du Lac plant vote against the company's last contract proposal? Why, indeed. At first glance, the consensus rejection by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local 1947 on Sunday makes no sense. The company had flat-out threatened to leave Wisconsin for Stillwater, Okla., unless the Fond du Lac workers bent over and took substantial cuts in pay and benefits. So, why would the Fondy workers cut their own throats? Isn't a job with...

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Union workers at Mercury Marine put their jobs at risk Sunday when they rejected a package of wage and benefit concessions the boat engine maker said it needed or it would move their work to a nonunion plant in Oklahoma. Union leaders did not immediately release Sunday's tally but said the vote was "overwhelming" to reject what the company called its final offer. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1947, represents 850 workers at Mercury Marine, the largest employer in the eastern Wisconsin city of Fond du Lac and the world's largest...

Madison, Wis., Aug 23, 2009 / 02:13 am (CNA).- The bishops of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) have issued a statement to the state’s Catholic faithful expressing their “deep concern” about a state provision that requires providers of health insurance include contraceptive services. The rule will force Catholic dioceses and other agencies to pay for a “gravely immoral” service, the conference says.A provision in the new state budget mandates the coverage as a “benefit.”Signatories of the August 20 WCC letter were Bishop of Green Bay David L. Ricken, Bishop of Madison Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of La Crosse Jerome...

The Republican National Committee is asking a federal court to restore the ability of national parties to raise unlimited amounts of money and to spend it to help elect state-level candidates. The case focuses on hotly contested governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. The 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign financing law (PL 107-155) does not allow national parties to give money directly to state candidates. The RNC wants to change that so it can expressly back the party nominee for governor, advertise and send out mailings on behalf of state or local Republican candidates and make get-out-the-vote calls. The law also...

So this is what living in a "Clint Eastwood world" would look like. Two masked men enter a convenience store brandishing weapons. They announce a holdup and begin to demand money from the storeowner. A customer has a surprise of his own. He opens fire with his own weapon in a hail of bullets. One robber is killed in the store; the other flees but later drops dead in an alley nearby. The reluctant hero is hailed by the media and the neighborhood. He even gets a citation from the Police Department and is presented an award from the mayor...

When my local newspaper published the an article related to the latest folly of the Madison Wisconsin based Freedom From Religion Foundation, under the heading "Anti-Religious group...," somebody finally got the characterization correct. For the FFRF to bill themselves as "defenders of religious liberty," is comparable to John Dillinger calling himself a bank examiner. Read FFRF literature and you will discover their avid hatred of religion, particularly Christianity. Their latest lawsuit is aimed at scrubbing the national motto "In God We Trust" off a federal government building. The very name of the organization itself presumes an objective that is antithetical...

If Rep. Ron Kind (D) runs for governor, his western Wisconsin swing district could be a competitive battleground in 2010. Kind made his interest in running for governor known as soon as Gov. Jim Doyle (D) announced Monday that he will not run for re-election next year. “Since Governor Doyle’s decision has become public, people from around the state have contacted me and urged me to run for governor,” the seven-term Congressman said in a statement from his office. “I thank them for their support and I am considering it. In the weeks to come I will make my decision.”...

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will make his first public appearance Wednesday since being severely injured in an attack in West Allis. Barrett will make several brief remarks and take a limited number of questions at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at his home in Washington Heights, according to a statement from his chief of staff, Patrick Curley. Barrett was attacked Saturday night after leaving the Wisconsin State Fair with two of his daughters, sister and niece and answering a woman's call for help in the 8800 block of W. Orchard St. Police have identified the alleged attacker as Anthony J....

Aug. 14, 2009 A 17-year-old killed Thursday by a man he was trying to rob had been ordered to stay out of trouble in March after he pleaded guilty to taking a woman’s car on a joy ride. Devin Ollie was supposed to participate in a substance abuse treatment program, stay in school or hold down a job and perform 20 hours of community service, according to a deferred prosecution agreement he signed March 23. Less than a month later, Ollie tested positive for THC, according to a July 11 letter from a juvenile justice program that was monitoring him....

enlarge photo Kenneth J. Whitaker more photos Kenneth J. Whitaker Close Two men died Tuesday after they were shot while trying to rob a convenience store on Milwaukee's north side, police said. Both men were armed and wearing masks and gloves when they entered the store at N. 12th and W. Chambers streets about 10:45 a.m., Milwaukee police Capt. Edith Hudson said. The men announced the robbery but were then shot by a customer or customers, who ran from the store, Hudson said. No arrests have been made in connection with the case, she said. A man identified by family...

A 19-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged in the death of his 17-year-old partner in an armed robbery. Police say his partner was fatally shot by one of the pair's intended victims last week. Damien A. Cole faces charges of felony murder, as well as being party to the crimes of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. If convicted of felony murder, he faces up to 55 years in prison. According to the criminal complaint, a 23-year-old man had met his girlfriend at a bus stop to walk her home after she finished her job early Thursday at a Water...

Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold reminded President Barack Obama via a statement this afternoon that the public option in health care reform is "real change." From the Feingold statement: "Opposing the public plan is an endorsement of the status quo in this country that has left tens of millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured and put massive burdens on employers. I have heard too many horror stories from my constituents about how the so-called competitive marketplace has denied them coverage from the outset, offered a benefit plan that covers everything but what they need or failed them some other way. A...

A community picnic - could anything be more American? "They're very proud citizens around here," says Annette Olson of her neighbors in Glenwood City, Wisconsin as she hangs picnic posters around town. But this isn't the church or 4-H gathering some might expect in a small rural Western Wisconsin community. This is a picnic of a different caliber. "The poster talks about our 'open carry' picnic which is on Sunday August 23rd," Annette explains.

A 20-year-old Wisconsin man accused of attacking the mayor of Milwaukee with a metal pipe has been arrested, police said Sunday. Mayor Tom Barrett was in stable condition Sunday at a Milwaukee-area hospital after he was attacked the night before at the Wisconsin State Fair in nearby West Allis, police said. Barrett was leaving the event with his family when he heard a woman crying for help, police said. When Barrett began calling 911, the man who had been attacking the woman charged at him and began battering him with a metal pipe, police said. "He not only risked serious...

Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday will announce that he won't seek re-election to a third term in 2010, prompting the state's first wide-open gubernatorial race since 1982. A spokeswoman for Doyle said Saturday the governor will announce his future political plans on Monday, although she declined to provide details. Carol Andrews, the governor's communications director, disclosed that Doyle would be making the announcement after Politico reported Doyle has told associates he won't seek re-election. Politico, a Washington, D.C.-based Web site, cited anonymous sources. The Journal Sentinel independently confirmed that report Saturday night.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was recovering Sunday morning after he was beaten with a pipe after leaving the Wisconsin State Fair with his family Saturday night. The mayor is said to be in good condition this morning. Patrick Curley, Barrett's chief of staff said the mayor was resting at the hospital Sunday morning. Although he could not give details on the injuries, Curley said there were "no signs of major trauma." "He's exhausted obviously, but he's resting," Curley said. "All his vitals are good - he can carry on brief conversations." The incident occurred about 10:45 p.m. in the 8800...

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, whose approval ratings have plunged as he struggled with a weak economy and a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, will not seek a third term in 2010, a person informed of the decision told The Associated Press. The person, who was not authorized to announce the decision, told The AP on Saturday that Doyle, a Democrat, would make the announcement public in a Monday news conference. The person also said Doyle would serve the rest of his second four-year term. [Snip] Meanwhile, it's been a rough year for Doyle. Faced with a record high $6.6 billion budget shortfall,...