It's Wayne Mauser, Local News.
Good morning.
I'm Wayne Mauser for Civic Media News.
An undocumented immigrant from Honduras has been charged for hitting a 50-year-old woman with Down syndrome with his vehicle while she was walking in a crosswalk in Fond du Lac.
30-year-old Elmer Jose Cardona Bestillo of Fond du Lac is charged with knowingly operating a motor vehicle while suspended causing great bodily harm.
He made his initial appearance in Fond du Lac County Court Wednesday.
Bond was sent a $25,000 cash and he has a preliminary hearing next
Friday.
U.S.
immigration records show he is illegally in the country and was ordered removed by an immigration judge in November of 2015.
According to the criminal complaint, the accident happened the morning of October 9th at the intersection of West Johnson and North Macy Street.
The victim was taken to St.
Agnes Hospital and later flown to Fratern Hospital in Milwaukee, where she's still fighting for her life.
Cardona Bastille told police he and his parents were going home from work in Oshkosh.
and he did not see the victim in the crosswalk.
He also admitted he knew he was driving illegally because he does not have a driver's license.
A Newton man and his girlfriend have each been charged in Manitowoc County Court with solicitation of first degree intentional homicide.
in what investigators ascribe as a month long murder for higher plot targeting the man soon to be ex-wife.
37 year old Larry Wallin is charged with solicitation of first degree intentional homicide and 49 year old Christina Marie Sagan who shares Wallin's address is charged with the same offense as a party to a crime.
Prosecutors alleged the plot ran from September 1st to October 6th of this year and was driven by Wallin's contentious divorce and child custody dispute.
The State Department of Public Construction on Thursday published state general school aides that school districts will receive during the current school year.
The Rippon area school district will receive about 2.6% less or a decrease of over $362,000.
The Berlin area school district will be getting a cut of over $800,000.
The Watoma area school district is getting an increase of more than $105,000.
The Oshkosh area school district will see an increase of more than 4.3%
The Walpawne School District is getting an increase of over $1 million in state aid.
The Princeton School District's aid is being cut by more than $138,000 and Rosendell Brandon about $27,000 less.
Of the 421 school districts, 151 will get increases in aid.
261 districts will receive less and nine will see no change.
Fond du Lac in Winnebago Counties last year finished among the top 10 counties with the highest number of car versus deer crashes.
According to the state patrol last year, 42% of crashes involving deer in Wisconsin occurred from October through December.
November saw the highest number with 3,389 deer crashes in just one month.
In 2025, there were 17,793 crashes involving deer, resulting in six fatalities and 720 injuries.
Waukesha County had the most last year with 1,010.
They were followed by Washington, Sheboygan, Dane, and
St.
Croix Counties in 2nd through 5th place.
Manitowah County finished 6th with 711, just ahead of Fond du Lac County with 704.
Walworth and Audigamey Counties finished in 8th and 9th place, and Winnebago County with 566.
Carr vs. Neer Crashes was at number 10.
More deer are currently on the move during their annual fall rut or mating season, creating a risk.
for crashes.
Fonda Ly County Executive Sam Kaufman delivered his 2027 county budget to county supervisors Tuesday night.
Bob Nelson has more for Civic Media News.
Kaufman says he had to cut about $4 million out of what will be a $170 million budget.
He notes that no services or personnel will be cut, but they always look for opportunities to consolidate or eliminate positions that are no longer necessary.
I've been trying to downsize county government to make it smaller, more efficient.
And we've done that over a period of time by selling off older assets, eliminating some positions and so forth.
The mill rate for 2027 will be $3.81 per $1,000 of value on a property compared to $5.72 in 2022 and $4.08 last year.
He says what is proposed now is a balanced budget.
Our goal is always to go through and run a very tight budget.
conservatively and be fiscally responsible.
We are going to carry another surplus because of the cuts we've made into 27.
The accounting board will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget on Tuesday, October 27th with approval expected at a November 3rd meeting of the board.
I'm Pop Nelson for Civic Media News.
Fond du Lac County Emergency Management and the Fond du Lac County Health Department announced the completion of a community supported emergency preparedness project made possible through the community safety net.
Through the effort local donors were asked to support the distribution of community
It's an award-winning resource designed to help families prepare for and respond to emergencies.
The books provide families with practical guidance on medical and weather emergencies, how to shut off home utilities, and how to build a 72-hour emergency kit, including consideration for pets.
The resource also includes a section for parents to help prepare children for emergencies in age-appropriate ways.
The books will be distributed
events throughout next year.
An online version is also available on both the Emergency Management and Health Department web pages on the Fond du Lac County website.
I'm Wayne Mauser for Civic Media News.
For Civic Media News, I'm Connie Feldman.
Despite national debates over election rules and security, Wisconsin election officials say voters can't expect the same procedures at the polls this November as in the past.
At a forum hosted Wednesday by Keep Our Republic and UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Megan Wolfe outlined safeguards already in place.
Those included paper ballots, public testing of voting equipment, and post-election audits to verify results.
The discussion also addressed possible federal changes.
Former U.S.
Attorney John Votery pointed to the proposed SAVE Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
The legislation has passed the U.S.
House but has not become law.
With yesterday's rainy, gloomy weather moving in, it can be easy to forget much of our state is in a serious to severe drought right now.
As Civic Media's Maddie Schaefer tells us, the wildfire risk doesn't go away with just a few drops
of
rain.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is warning of increased wildfire danger across northern Wisconsin as drought conditions continue.
The lack of rain has left much of the region an extreme or exceptional drought, making it easier for wildfires to start and spread.
The DNR says nearly 20 wildfires have occurred across the state in the past week, most caused by sparks from equipment and downed power lines.
Warm, dry and windy conditions are expected to keep fire danger elevated.
is reminding residents to check daily burning restrictions before starting outdoor fires and to avoid operating machinery during the hottest part of the day.
Campfires and debris burns should also be completely extinguished as hot embers can start fires hours later.
Elevated fire danger is expected to continue until the state receives significant rain or snow.
For Civic Media News, I'm Maddie Schaefer.
Nearly a
thousand wildfires across Wisconsin this year alone have already burned more than one
thousand acres.
A prominent Wisconsin businessman has been identified as one of the six people killed in Tuesday's plane crash near Wisconsin Dells.
Menominee Airport Commission Chairman Daniel Johnson says Ron Reek, an experienced pilot and local warehouse owner, was killed in the crash after ice built up on the wings during a thunderstorm.
Reek owned the plane that went down, killing five others, ranging in age from 13 to 67.
All six in the plane were from West Central Wisconsin.
The National Transportation Safety Board said
preliminary information indicated the plane was flying at 24,000 feet when the pilot reported icing and requested to descend.
The plane crashed in a densely wooded area in the town of Delona, just southwest of the Dells.
Just weeks before Wisconsin's midterm elections, mail with a white powdery substance is showing up at election offices around our state.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission just reported their office received the suspicious mail on Wednesday afternoon, and a staffer noticed the white powder that appeared to match mailings in other states.
Election officials say staff did not open the mail, and the commission alerted authorities.
The FBI is among the agencies investigating.
Authorities say they believe there are more than 100 letters in circulation that appear to be designed to scare officials.
Game times were just announced for the highly anticipated frozen tundra face-off college hockey doubleheader at Lambeau Field this coming February.
The Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey team will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at 2 p.m.
on Saturday, February 20.
Later that day, it's the men's turn to face the Michigan Wolverines under the lights at 6 p.m.
This marks the first hockey event at Lambeau Field in more than two decades.
Wisconsin defeated Ohio State back in 2006 for the inaugural
and Tundra hockey classic.
And that's your state news update.
I'm Connie Feldman for Civic Media News.
It's on to the World Series.
I am Mike Clemens with Sports Baseball.
It was the top of the fifth at Dodger Stadium.
The score tied four to four when the Brewers Garrett Mitchell went to
bat.
Another home run by David Hamilton in the ninth as the Brewers beat the Dodgers six to four completing a four game sweep winning the National League pennant Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after the loss
Honestly, they just outpitched us.
They out hit us.
They played defense better You know, they didn't make any mistakes and they didn't walk many guys and you know, whether it's Bowers Contreras
We got beer.
Brewers
manager
Pat Murphy.
Right now, they got a bunch of Hall of Famers.
We got a bunch of gamers.
That's Pat Murphy.
The World Series begins a week from tonight in Milwaukee with sports on Mike Clemens.
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and breezy.
Today are high right around 52 this afternoon.
Tonight clear with a low dropping into the low to mid 30s.
There could be some frost, especially further west and north.
Tomorrow sunshine.
with a high of 56.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.
Local interviews, podcasts and more are always fresh and always on file at thebug.fm.