RACIAL INJUSTICE-WISCONSIN-STATUES

Wisconsin abolitionist’s descendants want statue restored

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin abolitionist’s descendants are asking state officials to reinstall the man’s statue outside the state Capitol after protesters ripped it down last month. Col. Hans Christian Heg’s statue has stood outside the Capitol since 1926. Demonstrators tore it down during a June 23 protest against police brutality and racism. They said the statue sent a false message of equality that doesn’t exist in the state. Heg’s great-great-grandson, James Heg, said he is an inspiration to the entire family and tearing the statute down was a “gut punch.” Another great-great grandson, Christopher Heg, called it a “dumb thing to do.”

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WISCONSIN

Milwaukee council approves mandatory masks in public

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wearing a face covering to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will be mandatory in Milwaukee under an ordinance approved Monday by the city council. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the council also unanimously adopted a separate proposal to provide free masks to city residents. Anyone age 3 and older would have to wear a face-covering in buildings open to the public, as well as any outdoor public space when it’s not possible to stay six feet away from people. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has said he would sign the ordinance. An order requiring masks indoors in Dane County took effect on Monday.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MILWAUKEE SCHOOLS

Milwaukee schools reopening plan calls for virtual start

Milwaukee Public Schools would start the school year online under a $90 million plan proposed Monday by school administrators. Once the threat of the coronavirus has subsided, students would gradually return to the classroom. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the plan calls for students to return online on Aug. 17 or Sept. 1, depending on their school calendar. The online phase would last a projected 30 to 45 days, after which students would alternate two days in school and three online at home. Students would then fully return to classes once that was deemed safe. School board members are expected to take up the proposal at a special board meeting Thursday.

ENBRIDGE-LINE 5-BAD RIVER

Environmental groups question Enbridge pipeline hearing

A coalition of environmental groups are complaining that the state Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing on Enbridge Inc.’s plans to reroute a northern Wisconsin pipeline prematurely. Enbridge’s Line 5 runs from Superior to Ontario, crossing about 12 miles of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation. The tribe sued last year to force Enbridge to reroute the line south of the reservation. Enbridge is trying to obtain permits to comply. The DNR held a hearing on the project on July 1. The environmental groups argue the new route isn’t finalized and the permit application isn’t complete.

FATAL BEACH ATTACK

Sheriff: Fatal beach attack on Milwaukee beach likely random

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee County sheriff says a fatal assault on a Milwaukee beach was likely random. A 46-year-old man died after he was assaulted in a parking lot at Bradford Beach on Sunday night. The man did not have a pulse and was not breathing when deputies arrived. Paramedics were unable to safe the man’s life, and he was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m. The suspect fled but later returned on a bicycle and was arrested. Sheriff Earnell Lucas told reporters the attack was likely random. The suspect and the victim were not related.

DOUBLE HOMICIDE-REWARD

ATF offers $10K reward in Wisconsin double slaying, arson

SUMNER, Wis. (AP) — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward of up to $10,000 to find a Fort Atkinson man charged with killing his sister and her husband, shooting at a deputy and burning down a house in southeast Wisconsin last month. The agency announced the reward Monday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of 62-year-old Kevin P. Anderson. Anderson is sought in the fatal shootings of his sister, Nedra Lemke, and her husband, James Lemke. The couple’s bodies were found June 16 in the driveway of a house in the Town of Sumner. A deputy who arrived to check a possible break-in was shot at and returned fire, and the house burned down. Anderson and his sister were in a dispute over their father’s will.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS-WISCONSIN

UW supports federal lawsuit over international student rule

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Interim University of Wisconsin President Tommy Thompson says UW supports a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new restrictions on international students. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is one of 18 attorneys general that joined the lawsuit filed Monday and led by Massachusetts. More than 200 universities back the legal challenge to a new directive saying international students cannot stay in the U.S. if they take all their classes online this fall. Thompson says UW “fully” supports the lawsuit, but also believes the university’s planned hybrid approach ensures compliance with the rules if they are upheld.

AP-US-COUGHING-CONGRESSMAN

Wisconsin congressman blames coughing fit on dry throat

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The campaign manager for a Wisconsin congressman whose coughing fit at the state Republican Party convention drew widespread attention says he was suffering from nothing more than a dry throat. U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman began coughing uncontrollably Saturday when he began his speech at the convention before about 300 attendees at a Green Bay conference center. One clip of him coughing that circulated on Twitter had been viewed more than 4.3 million times as of Monday. Grothman’s campaign manager Alec Hanna said Monday that he had a dry throat that has not persisted and “he is exhibiting no other symptoms associated with COVID-19.”