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He might've been in Green Bay, but Bishop David Ricken's western roots were on display this afternoon as the Colorado-born, Wyoming-seasoned prelate took the reins of the northeast Wisconsin diocese: As part of his sermon Thursday, at his installation ceremony, Ricken burst into a classic truck-driving song, followed by a verse of “Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goal posts of life.” The congregation roared with laughter and applause. It was the one light moment in an otherwise solemn but glorious affair, attended by bishops from all over the country — and one from Italy — about 400 priests...

Washington - If Republican John McCain needs someone to vouch for his independence, he could easily do worse than Senate colleague Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a liberal Democrat from a key battleground state. "He's a great guy to fight an uphill battle with legislatively. He keeps his word. . . . I probably shouldn't be saying this stuff, but to be honest about it, it was one of the better professional experiences I've ever had in my life," Feingold said. "It's unfair, because McCain's a blast. He's fun to be around. He's certainly young in spirit. He's actually very young...

Why do you live in Milwaukee? Posted: July 7, 2008 Whatever the reason, clinging to hometown roots, taking up a new job, or shedding a house in the suburb for a condo in the city, Milwaukee continues to sustain its population numbers early in the 21st century. What's your reason for living here? Submit Your Comment

APPLETON (WFRV) - A 'sticky' situation was averted when police arrested an Appleton man early Wednesday morning for burglary. Shortly after 4:30am, Appleton police were dispatched to a home in the 1600 block of N. Wilmer Avenue for a report of a burglary in progress. The homeowners told officers they were awakened after hearing a person whistling in their basement. The homeowner, armed with a shotgun, held 37-year-old Aaron Maurice at bay until authorities arrived. Maurice was taken into custody without incident. Asked why he was in the house, Maurice said he was on the run from the government. When...

Father Terry Rassmussen, pastor of St. Joseph in New Hope, finished reading, closed the Book of the Gospels, and stepped away from the ambo. From the congregation, Ginny Untiedt stepped forward. Clad in a white robe, Untiedt bowed as Father Rassmussen laid his hands on her head and blessed her. She looked up, walked to the ambo and began preaching for the last time.As many as 29 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have used lay preachers at Mass during the past 25 years. In January, however, Archbishop Harry Flynn instructed pastors to discontinue the practice. He...

The Milwaukee Police Department has issued an investigative report on a host of election irregularities surrounding the 2004 presidential election in Milwaukee. The report, which covers many issues first reported by the Journal Sentinel in early 2005, provides a look at the level to which police investigated the problems, which included a gap of several thousand more votes counted than people recorded as having voted.

MADISON, Wis. -- The U.S. presidential election is one year away, and the Wisconsin primary is set for Feb. 19, but a new statewide poll indicates roughly 50 percent of Wisconsin voters will choose a Democrat, and 40 percent report that they want a Republican in office. Political experts said the poll might be indicative of where things stand right now in the minds of the state's voters, but is likely to change, WISC-TV reported. Experts said a different primary schedule nationwide and some fluid numbers tied to early primary states mean the latest poll is more of a suggestion,...

A man convicted of voting twice in the November 2006 election has been sentenced to a year in the Milwaukee County House of Correction. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge William W. Brash III sentenced Michael Zore, 45, of Wauwatosa, on charges that he voted in Wauwatosa and another Milwaukee suburb, West Allis, under an old address a few hours later. After a computer caught the double vote, Zore was charged with voting twice and providing false information to poll workers. Zore had contended that the double voting was the result of a stress-induced memory lapse. He told Brash in court Friday...

A metrowide trend to return to the good old days of civic Christmas celebrations downtown is delighting kids but tiptoeing near the boundaries for church and state. "Santa saw me!" 7-year-old Joseph Grant told his mom after the jolly old elf made his way down the chilly main street of Savage to take his seat in a store and hoist children onto his lap. Kids circled a giant Christmas tree as their parents shivered around a pair of fires, producing s'mores. Motorists pulling off the nearby highway paused, confused by the blocked-off street where teams of horses raced up and...

Asked about security at his nightclub, Craig Berry says, "It's easier to get into most airports than Club Escape." Berry, a co-owner of the club at 6263 N. Teutonia Ave., said security at his place included ID checks and regular body searches for weapons and contraband. There are 32 security guards on duty at peak hours, including eight with handguns. Even all that wasn't enough to avoid disaster. Last weekend, a shooting battle outside the club between misbehaving customers and security guards was like a scene out of the Wild West, with more than 20 rounds of ammunition fired. When...

UW men's hockey: Sioux skater must apologize for slashing Bucky Badger Todd Milewski — 11/13/2007 Bucky Badger took a tap on the shins from a North Dakota hockey player on Saturday — and now the University of Wisconsin mascot will receive an apology. WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said Sioux defenseman Joe Finley was captured on videotape slashing Bucky Badger — played by UW student David Blanchard — before Saturday's game, which North Dakota won 3-1. Finley must write a letter of apology to Blanchard, McLeod said. The commissioner made no ruling on a separate incident in which Blanchard and Sioux...

I watched HBO's Inside The NFL this week and they aired a piece about a group of Packer fans that have been making trips to Brett Favre's hometown of Kiln, MS to help rebuild houses destroyed by Katrina. It was mostly a feel-good piece, but I really enjoyed it. This group has made about twenty trips to Kiln to help rebuild houses. I can't remember the exact number, but I think they said they've helped about 44 families rebuild. While I was watching this story, I couldn't help but think this is what's right with America. People helping other people....

As angst mounts and debates rage over the causes behind the distressingly low water levels on the Great Lakes, some influential regional leaders are tired of waiting for answers. The Great Lakes Commission is urging the U.S. and Canadian governments to immediately start working on a plan to plug the "drain hole" on the St. Clair River, which is the major outflow for Lakes Michigan and Huron. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants similar action. It isn't necessarily a radical request. The St. Clair River was dredged three times during the last century in the name of commercial navigation. Each time...

WAUSAU, Wis. - Call it the road-kill scam. Some deer hunters have tried to register an antlerless deer killed by a vehicle, to qualify to shoot a buck in this fall's hunt in hunting zones designated as earn-a-buck, state wildlife experts said Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT "It is certainly a ploy that has been tried before," said Bob Manwell, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources. "I don't suspect it is successful all that often. Anybody who has driven by road kill, there are probably some that don't show much damage but most of them look pretty beat up." In...

Town of Farmington - Ed Long has a new, but strange for these parts, hunting trophy. "When they came up they said to me, 'Well guess what we shot?' And I'm thinking duck. And he goes, 'No, think bigger,' " Herb Sagan said. "And I'm thinking you idiots didn't shoot a deer. ... And he goes, 'No, no, think teeth.' I'm like OK, you shot a coyote. 'No.' A wolf? And he goes, 'Think Louisiana,' and I'm like, snake? He goes 'No, we shot a gator.' " What Long thought was a snapping turtle slithering through the upper reaches of...

The intersection of West Washington Avenue and South Park Street in front of University Audio was the noisiest corner on the isthmus Tuesday afternoon. Half of the cars that went through the intersection, it seemed, made the effort to honk at a small band of anti-war protesters holding signs urging them to do so. Fred Reames, 67, a retired UW-Madison professor of mechanical engineering, held two signs: "Support our troops!" and "Bring them home! Now!" "It's an immoral war which is accomplishing nothing," Reames said. "We are killing a lot of people we shouldn't be killing." The protest was one...

ANGELO — Tomatoes crowded a table in a garage at Old Webster Farm. In striped, mottled and solid shades of red, orange, yellow, green, purple and brown, the fruit looks like a dish of candy, said farmer Pat Yourell. Hundreds of pounds of more than 80 varieties of tomatoes are ripening at Mr. Yourell's farm near Sparta. It's his third season as a vegetable farmer. 'It gets better every year,' he said. Mr. Yourell raises 1 ½ acres of vegetables. With tomatoes his signature crop, he also grows onions, garlic, basil, lettuce, rhubarb, baby fennel and baby leeks. The farm...

There's a catch Hot weather, polluted water taking toll on Green Bay's fishing industry Every morning at 3:30, Mark Maricque of Green Bay gets out of bed, brews a pot of coffee and casts off on his morning commute to work. By 5 o'clock, his diesel boat has cleared the Suamico River and he's arrived at his blue-skied office, still dark in the pre-dawn hours of August. Within an hour, the sun's rust-gold rays begin to unravel, stretching out over the glassy waters of Green Bay, announcing the start of a new workday. Spending the better part of his life...

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Identical twins are among the newest priests in the Green Bay Catholic Diocese.Ben and Joel Sember were ordained yesterday along with Andrew Kyserly.James Sember, the twins' father, said he couldn't get them to apply any place else or do anything else.The twins will both serve in the Green Bay diocese, but say their ministries will be different.Joel Sember says that, although they have the same background and the same genes, they have different approach to things in general.His brother, Ben, says he hopes they don't ever get assigned to the same parish. He says it...

Among gritty industrial cities along the Great Lakes, Milwaukee has always been something of an oddity. European immigrants who came to work in its brewing, printing, and metal-bending industries elected three Socialist mayors who served for 44 of the 50 years from 1910 to 1960. Despite the party label, city government was like people who lived in Milwaukee: honest and hard-working. Like many industrial cities, sections of Milwaukee are now plagued by crime and drugs. People in those areas elected Mike McGee to the city council in 2004. Honest and hard-working have never been used to describe him. McGee was...

Bill Wallace, 47, and his son Shawn, 25, could be the answers to finding a lost item — particularly if it fell from a deer or moose. The men have found more than 750 shed antlers, some in the snow, some partly covered with leaves and some in soybean or corn fields. The Wallaces say searching for shed antlers is enjoyable exercise and a different way of hunting white-tailed deer. 'I was 12 or 13 when I found my first antler,' Shawn said. 'It was a nice one and I got bit by the bug. It's like anything else someone...

Costly consequences loom behind Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to impose a special tax on oil companies. Unless lawmakers want to hit consumers in the pocketbook and identify Wisconsin as an anti-business state, they should remove the governor's oil tax from the state budget. Last week the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee made the mistake of letting Doyle's oil tax remain in the budget proposal to be considered by the Assembly and Senate. The governor's plan calls for a 2.5 percent

A secret John Doe investigation into irregularities during the recall campaign of Ald. Michael McGee yielded its first criminal charges Thursday, against a McGee campaign worker accused of paying people to vote. The charges come just days after McGee's Memorial Day arrest on state and federal criminal counts. Federal authorities say he took bribes and extorted money from people who wanted favorable treatment for liquor licenses and other matters. State prosecutors charge that McGee conspired to "beat down" a teenager suspected of burglarizing McGee's godfather's

Wisconsin has an opportunity to become a national leader -- economically and environmentally -- by passing the Safe Climate Act, SB 81/AB 157. There is worldwide scientific consensus that human activity has been a primary cause of global warming. There is also general agreement that it is not too late to act and that there is much we can do to mitigate many of the devastating consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. We simply need the political consensus necessary to find and implement solutions. Because our federal government has failed to take action, states must take the lead, and they must...

ARG is out with new '08 polling in three states: California Democrats Clinton 37 Obama 28 Edwards 15 Undecided 11 Republicans Giuliani 27 McCain 24 F. Thompson 12 Romney 11 Gingrich 5 Undecided 13 Florida Democrats Clinton 45 Obama 17 Edwards 15 Undecided 14 Republicans Giuliani 31 McCain 18 F. Thompson 13 Romney 11 Gingrich 8 Undecided 13 Michigan Democrats Clinton 38 Obama 25 Edwards 14 Undecided 14 Republicans Romney 24 McCain 22 Giuliani 19 F. Thompson 8 Gingrich 7 Undecided 15 Also, Strategic Vision has released a new poll on Wisconsin: Democrats Clinton 38 Obama 25 Edwards 17 Undecided...

You're not just seeing more wolves, there are more wolves Winter wolf count tops 590, lawsuit filed to return animal to endangered status A Deparment of Natural Resources preliminary count showing the gray wolf population rose to as many as 590 over the winter is not news to property owners and animal lovers in Northern Wisconsin. It’s a terrible reality for a Tomahawk family, which lost their 11-year-old female German shorthair to a wolf April 7. According to DNR reports, Scott Daenicke took his four bird dogs out for training on a trail east of Otter Lake in Harrison Township....

City of Pewaukee - The NAACP on Tuesday demanded that Police Chief Gary Bach be removed from the post for using unacceptable and derogatory terms when referring to minorities. "The conduct of Chief Bach was egregious, hateful and has no place in the great community of Waukesha County. A 10-day suspension is a slap on the hand when the conduct warrants his resignation," Lillie Wilson, president of the Waukesha County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a statement released Tuesday. "The NAACP strongly objects to the mayor's proposition to knowingly harbor an individual...

City of Pewaukee - Police Chief Gary Bach will serve a 10-day suspension without pay for using inappropriate language after an investigation determined he unacceptable and derogatory terms when referring to females and minorities, documents released today show. The suspension was issued by Mayor Scott Klein and begins on Monday, according to a letter dated today that Klein had delivered to Bach. The investigation into Bach, whose salary is $82,951 for 2007, was launched after City Administrator Tammy LaBorde received a letter from a female officer complaining of language she said Bach used in referring to her in conversations with...

Madison, WI, Mar 16, 2007 / 10:41 am (CNA).- Cathedrals should be a "catechism in stone that represents the whole diocese," said architect Duncan Stroik at a recent lecture on church architecture. The associate professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame spoke at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison March 8th, as part of the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Lecture Series. His talk addressed an imminent concern for the diocese. St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison was destroyed by fire in March 2005 and the diocese is currently discussing plans for a new cathedral. According to the...

Recently, gun-ban advocate group “Mothers Against Gun Violence,” falsely asserted that selling a firearm to a felon is somehow not a crime in Wisconsin. In reality, committing such an act is a federal felony, as well as a crime as defined in Wisconsin code sections 941.29(4) and 939.05(2)(b). The group made this false claim to generate support for an anti-freedom bill, LRB 0861/2 introduced by State Senator Spencer Coggs (D-6), which would require all private transfers of firearms in Milwaukee County to be conducted through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). Of course, the FFL would charge an unknown fee for...

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- A former inmate told police that he was a werewolf and could change shapes after he was arrested for breaking into a woman's apartment. Robert Marsh, 39, appeared Friday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court on charges of criminal trespassing, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.

LAKE DELTON, Wis. — Good-quality snow makes some people want to make a snowman. Others play snow sports. But for one 33-year-old man, the fine powder seemed like a reasonable excuse to run naked through it. The man was cited for disorderly conduct Sunday after a neighbor at the Woodland Park Apartment complex reported him cavorting nude. He was "running back and forth jumping up and down wearing no clothes," the police report quoted the witness as saying. The neighbor was with her two children and a friend's child, all of whom saw the bare display. "It was disgusting," the...

Pallottine priest Fr. Greg Serwa is Stripes the Clown. And Stripes the Clown provides the cover-story for the Milwaukee Catholic Herald's special Vocations Supplement. "It's interesting being a clown because people don't know who you are necessarily," said Fr. Serwa, who continues to clown at parish festivals. "The same can be said in some ways for priests. You wear a uniform and people identify with that uniform. It can keep people away or invite people in. As a priest, you're always dealing with things that are important to people's lives. You have to be real gentle with people. The...

Following California's lead, Rep. Spencer Black wants Wisconsin to do its part to address global warming by setting standards to reduce the state's greenhouse emissions by roughly 25 percent. Black, D-Madison, announced this morning he plans to introduce legislation that would require that greenhouse emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2029. He said the main sources of greenhouse gases in Wisconsin are power plants, especially coal-powered plants. But whatever plan is developed to reduce emissions could also include such measures as stricter emission standards for cars and incentives to purchase vehicles that run on bio-based fuels, which don't contribute...

At MLB Auctions, you can purchase a visit from the Milwaukee Brewers' Racing Sausages for your significant other. The sausages will visit the intended between 1-2 p.m. on Valentine's Day at their home or work. Bids are limited to a 45-mile radius of Milwaukee, which includes Racine County (and given that sales tax we continue to pay, it'd better). The starting bid is $650, and no bids have been placed. The package includes four club level tickets to the game of your choice during the April 18-22 homestand at Miller Park.

MADISON, Wis. (The Catholic Herald) -"I think that billboard probably saved her life." In October of 2003, at the call of Bishop Robert C. Morlino, the Knights of Columbus spearheaded the diocesan "billboard project." The billboard campaign was started in conjunction with the pernicious opening of the Madison Planned Parenthood abortion center located on Madison's east side. Unfortunately this scourge on Madison and on our diocese remains in business, destroying lives, both physically and emotionally. Yet, as the scourge remains, so does the billboard, standing as a sentinel overlooking the abortion center. Has the presence of this billboard saved lives...

In checking Gov. Jim Doyle's "One Wisconsin. One Future" Web site at www.inauguration2007.com for inaugural events, I discovered a page for kids with a 15-question, multiple-choice trivia quiz on inaugurations and Wisconsin. Considering myself fairly savvy on matters governmental, I took the challenge. Seven incorrect answers later, I have to confess: I failed the inauguration test. The kids' test. Badly. In an attempt to soothe my bruised ego, I set out for Monona Terrace for Doyle's inauguration breakfast Wednesday to put others through the same ordeal. Let's just say I left feeling better, especially after handing a copy to the...

Diversa Corporation, a developer of high-performance specialty enzymes, announced that its Purifine enzyme has obtained GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for edible oil applications. This food-application approval follows the September 28th approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for non-food applications, including the use of Purifine enzyme for increasing the efficiency of oilseed processing for the production of biodiesel fuel. (Earlier post.) Purifine enzyme facilitates a novel degumming process designed to increase the oil yield and reduce low-value byproducts by removing oil phospholipids in the oil refining process. The total yield...

New Tax Plans Would Be Costly For Everyone Only one month has passed since the election and proposals for tax increases are already flooding in. A few weeks ago, the Governor’s administration proposed a 44% increase in auto registration fees. Now, new State Senate majority members are proposing new sales taxes and an increase to Wisconsin’s gas tax. Wisconsin taxes are already too high. The root cause of high taxes is high spending and bad budgeting. Yet key Democratic state leaders are proposing adding billions in new revenue to allow government to spend even more. One proposal would expand the...

Bizarre local sightings evoked a nationwide fascination with Big Foot. In Washington County there have been several reports of a 7-foot hairy creature with pointy ears. Steve Krueger was doing his job on Nov. 9 -- removing road-side deer carcasses overnight for the Department of Natural Resources. Krueger said he had just made a pick-up along a remote road near Holy Hill about 1:30 a.m., and he was in the cab doing some paperwork. When his parked truck started shaking, he looked in the rear view mirror and got the scare of his life. He said his flashing lights illuminated...

MADISON, WI (AP) -- Bag a doe before a buck? Heaven forbid. Stop feeding deer in the backyard? No way. Delay a construction project because an endangered snake might slink by? Ridiculous. Over the last four years, the Republican-controlled Legislature has butted heads with the state Department of Natural Resources on everything from deer hunting to snakes - scaling back the agency's regulations and lambasting its officials as heavy-handed. That all could change come January. Democrats wrestled back control of the state Senate in this month's election. The GOP still controls the state Assembly, but the DNR, controlled by Democratic...

MADISON, Wis. (CNS) -- As the Nov. 7 election approached, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison warned his priests that he would consider "any verbal or nonverbal expression of disagreement" with church teaching on same-sex marriage "as an act of disobedience, which could have serious consequences." The bishop directed that each Mass during the Nov. 4-5 weekend include a 14-minute tape-recorded message from him in place of the homily. The message urged Catholics to support traditional marriage and to oppose the death penalty and embryonic stem-cell research. A constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and an advisory measure asking...

SUAMICO, Wis. A Pulaski man is hospitalized at a burn center in Milwaukee after his home-made sheep costume caught fire at a bar in Suamico. Twenty-one-year-old Justin DeStarkey suffered burns over 80 percent of his body when the cotton balls and glue ignited at Chambers Hill Bar early Sunday. Sheriff's investigators say DeStarkey was dancing near the bar when he may have brushed against a cigarette.

TUESDAY, Oct. 24, 2006, 3:36 p.m. By John Diedrich Jude reacts to new charges, civil suit On the two-year anniversary of his beating, Frank Jude Jr. said today he is glad federal charges have been filed, but that more needs to be done. Jude filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city and former and current officers on Monday. "Police brutality has to stop. I understand there are good cops and bad cops. There are more good cops in Milwaukee than bad cops, but I swear it cannot happen to anyone else," said Jude in a telephone interview from the...

BREAKING NEWS: School Shooting West of Madison Newsradio 620 WTMJ has learned that the principal of a high school in Cazenovia, WI has been shot at the school. The Weston Schools in Cazenovia are on lockdown right now. Stay with Newsradio 620 WTMJ for the latest.

A judge has placed a 12-year-old Milwaukee girl in secure detention after the family of a boy she is accused of accidentally killing saw her in a pizza parlor. The girl was supposed to be at an aunt's house under 24-hour curfew. Children's Court Judge Dennis Cimpl told the girl he was ordering secure detention because he could not be assured of her safety at home, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

MILWAUKEE - Police have arrested one more suspect in the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl on Milwaukee's north side. A 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy have already been charged with assisting in the crime and a 40-year-old man is in custody, accused of raping the young victim in a home near n. 6th and Vienna. According to the criminal complaint, the girl says she performed oral sex on as many as 15 boys and had sex with several of them, including the 40-year-old. The 11-year-old girl has HIV. Her mother died of AIDS. The incident sparked community outrage....

Around here, Democrats will make a statement about their attitudes on ethics and law and order. Local activist liberals recruited Donovan Riley to run against incumbent Democrat State Senator Jeff Plale because Plale is insufficiently red-meat: he supports school choice, is pro-life, and supports allowing law-abiding citizens to apply for conceal carry permits. For these outrageous positions, the left has targeted Plale for defeat. Two problems: Riley didn’t live in the district (which includes the East Side and South Side suburbs); and apparently engaged in voter fraud. He is running on the slogan “A Democrat who will vote like one,”...

Algoma Chooses Patz Conveyors to Handle Fish Waste (Pound, WI) Patz Sales, Inc., Pound, WI, teamed up with the city of Algoma, WI, to resolve a big problem for the city's wastewater treatment facility, creating more convenience for sport and charter fishermen. Patz designed and installed a Patz conveyor system, including customized fish cleaning tables for the Dettman Fish Cleaning Facility, the first facility of its kind open to the public. This has created a win-win-win situation for the city, fishermen and the environment. Algoma residents and visitors catch over 150,000 fish each year on Lake Michigan. Fishermen cleaning their...

Waukesha resident Kathy Sullivan Vandenberg faces excommunication for seeking the priesthood in an unsanctioned ordination ceremony, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan said in a statement handed out at weekend Masses at Vandenberg's home parish. Dolan wrote to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Waukesha that it was his duty to notify the Vatican of Vandenberg's action. Dolan said her excommunication could come soon. The Roman Catholic Church prohibits women from becoming priests. Vandenberg, 64, said Monday that she was "startled" by the letter and surprised that Dolan had "spent so much time and energy" on it when "other important...