1-2-12-33-37
(one, two, twelve, thirty-three, thirty-seven)
Big Money Ball:
4
(four) 11w* t "3 C2 R<1 0"0 / More than 1100 people are dead in Taipei, Taiwan after an earthquake hit there before dawn yesterday. Around 3500 more people are injured at last report. An advance team of U.S. rescue specialists are heading to Taiwan to help. A twelve story hotel and more than 1000 homes are destroyed. The quake in Taiwan's capital city hit 7.6 on the Richter Scale. That's about the same strength as the one that struck Turkey last month. A coroner says a one-year-old Madison girl died from injuries she sustained while being shaken. Authorities are investigating the death of the girl, who died at a hospital Sunday night. Deputy Coroner Christi Archer said the child had head injuries and brain swelling consistent with being shaken. Madison police detectives are looking for the baby's mother and a male companion. Both disappeared from their apartment on Madison's southwest side Sunday after police began investigating the child's injuries. The Assembly today approved a bill that would let school boards fire or refuse to hire anyone convicted of a felony. The bill passed by an 85-to-14 vote. It would let school districts fire felons without fear of a discrimination lawsuit. Current law says that a school district can't refuse to hire someone based on their conviction record unless their crime specifically relates to the job. The bill's sponsor is Representative Jerry Petrowski of Marathon. He says school boards should have the tools they need to protect their students. If passed by the state Senate and signed into law, felons would not be barred from working in schools. Instead, school districts would be able to decide whether a job applicant's felony record should prevent them from working there. Representative Antonio Riley of Milwaukee tried to pass an amendment that would exclude some felonies from the bill, but the amendment failed 75-to-24. Dean Taylor says he has plans to create the same winning dynasty in Milwaukee that was started nine years ago in Atlanta when he became the assistant to Braves GM John Schuerholz. Taylor was hired as Brewers GM on Tuesday, succeeding Sal Bando, who was reassigned last month following the firing of manager Phil Garner. Reshaping the Brewers into a winning team is something that drew Taylor to the job. "It's going to take a year to get this organization moving to wherever we want it to be," said Taylor, who signed a four-year contract. Taylor's first duties include hiring a manager, which he hopes to do during the playoffs. He said major league experience isn't the only factor in his choice. "We're looking for someone who has the ability to motivate and create a winning atmosphere," Taylor said. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, whose family controls the Brewers through a trust, instructed owners earlier this year to consider minorities for high-ranking team positions and required teams to give him a list of candidates. Michigan authorities are helping search for a man charged in the death of a 1-year old Madison baby. Officials say Ernesto Benitez Hernandez's car was found in Michigan on Tuesday with the license plates removed. Madison police said yesterday that the car had been abandoned alongside Interstate 94. Hernandez was charged Tuesday with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Maria Hernandez, who died Sunday night. A deputy coroner said the child had head injuries and brain swelling consistent with Shaken Infant Syndrome. The total crime rate in Wisconsin is going down. Governor Tommy Thompson announced Wednesday that the crime rate dropped 3.9% in 1998. That rate is 24% lower than the national average. \@wL = : 9 z78 d7 ?%6 *5 A bill that would prevent police chiefs, sheriffs and state troopers from imposing quotas on how many traffic tickets officers must issue was approved by the Assembly on Wednesday. The bill was approved 96-2, even though Department of Transportation officials and a police chiefs union said there are no quotas requiring officers to write a certain number of tickets, complaints or warnings for traffic violations. The measure now goes to the Senate. Rep. DuWayne Johnsrud said he introduced the bill after the Wisconsin State Troopers Association said some officers had been required to issue a certain number of tickets in a certain amount of time. Wading into a battle among the nation's dairy farmers, the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to scrap the Clinton administration's new milk-pricing plan sought by farmers in Wisconsin. The new program, set to take effect Oct. 1, is supposed to modernize a pricing system that dates back to the Depression. But the House voted 285-140 to replace it with an alternative that is closer to the existing system and favored by farmers outside the upper Midwest. All of Wisconsin's House members voted in the minority in Wednesday's vote, which was largely symbolic. You've probably noticed gas prices are getting up there. The average price for self serve, regular unleaded gas is $1.31 per gallon. Premium gas is going for $1.45 per gallon. That's nearly 5 cents more than last month and almost 26 cents more than this time last year. This is the most we've spent on gas in Wisconsin in the last three years. The U-S Department of Labor says the Kohler Corporation has agreed to pay almost 900-thousand dollars in back pay to more than two thousand women. The Labor Department alleges that the national plumbing hardware manufacturer didn't hire those women at its Kohler plant because of their gender. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman says the national plumbing hardware manufacturer had an informal practice of not considering women for jobs unless they were at least 5-foot-4. The 886-thousand-500 dollar payment covers the more than two thousand women who applied at Kohler in 1994 and 1995. Kohler will also offer jobs to the applicants until 111 have been hired. Kohler has 27 (m) million dollars in contracts with the General Services Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. Federal contractors are prohibited from employment discrimination. A Monroe teen was convicted last night for the murder of a Madison man. 19-year-old Jeffrey Keeran was found guilty of robbing and murdering a Madison man in June of 1998. 20-year-old Jon Barreau and 18-year-old Tiffany Kohl were also charged with the crime. Barreau has already been convicted. Kohl goes on trial next month. The Department of Natural Resources says the state has more whitetail deer than the natural habitat can feed. The animals cause problems when they raid farmers' grain fields and suburban homeowners' gardens, wander into traffic and consume too much of the state's natural plantlife. Dairy farmers also worry about deer transmitting animal tuberculosis to cattle after an outbreak of the disease in Michigan. Officials are expected to make a safety inspection today after a wall collapsed at a construction site in downtown Stoughton. A gust of wind blew down a wall at a future building on Main Street. Witnesses say it sounded like a small explosion. Police say a second wall was also swaying in the wind. Construction crews had to put up support beams. This is the same site where fire destroyed businesses and apartments three years ago. ii' 3A ,@ ? q> C.< .; Sauk County authorities tell 27 News they want to talk to a murder suspect in New Hampshire. There are chilling similarities between the East Coast killing and dismemberment, and the discovery of a woman's body parts in Spring Green. 39 year old Vaclav Plch is accused of stabbing an African American New Hampshire woman to death, dumping her torso in a bag in a river, and dismembering the rest of her body, placing body parts in plastic garbage bags. Officials say if Vaclav Plch consents to an interview, a Sauk County detective would go to New Hampshire. Sauk County investigators tell 27 News, they are also checking out any possible connection between their case, and a 1990 murder in Black River Falls. It's been 6 months since the worst traffic accident in Wisconsin history. Family, friends and rescue workers took time out Saturday to remember the 7 people who died on 1-90 North of Janesville in March. The Milton Fire Department held a private prayer service and planted a memorial tree. Many people who responded that night say this day is another step to moving on past the accident. Lt. Alice Gray of the Milton Fire Department tells 27 News, "I think that this was a good healing point for all of us and as I said I don't like the term closure but I think it does finalize in some way some things...for us all." Family members of the accident victims came from as far away from Louisiana to be part of the event. The gun-deer hunting season is bound to be a telling test of the state's new computerized licensing system. The new program is supposed to speed up the process for hunting, fishing and trapping permits. But it's already being criticized for delays during busy periods, including the day before the bow-deer season opener. Tonight, Madison residents will be able to discuss city issues on the internet with Madison Mayor Sue Bauman. You can chat with the mayor about rapid transit, urban sprawl, city council restructuring, or affordable housing. Listen to 89.9 WORT-FM at 7pm, then log onto www.wkowtv.com, we'll link you up. Then watch 27 News after Monday Night Football and 27 First News to see what the mayor talked about. Landowners can continue normal activities on thousands of acres of their property under an agreement to protect the endangered Karner blue butterfly in Wisconsin that U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt signed Monday. The agreement, which involves 265,000 acres of land owned by the state, eight counties, five paper companies, nine utilities and a nonprofit, protects the butterflies while allowing economic development to continue, authorities said. It also provides a framework for resolving potential environmental disputes over the butterfly should they arise in the future, said Tim Laatsch, a spokesman for Consolidated Papers Inc., one of the paper companies in the agreement. Researchers at a Wisconsin company say that their success in cloning 40 cows proves that it's a commercially viable means for increasing production and fighting human disease. Ten calves cloned by the Deforest-based Infigen will be on display Friday at the World Dairy Expo. Infigen executive Michael Bishop says the calves are genetically identical because they all came from one fetal cell. Infigen is breeding calves from seven different cell lines and expects to have more than 100 cow clones in the next six to 12 months. Infigen is collaborating with Pharming, a Dutch biopharmaceutical company, to produce human medicines from cow's milk. Company officials clones the company is working with now could be the source of products for commercial sale within the next couple years. g9 H (G F |E aD @!C +B A two-car collision in heavy rain yesterday afternoon killed a Janesville teenager. Authorities say 16-year-old John Ditmer died from injuries suffered in the accident that happened at the intersection of Rock County Highway A and Roherty Road in Center Township. Ditmer was a passenvger in one of the vehicles. A preliminary investigation by the Rock County Sheriff's Department indicates that a van was westbound, and a northbound car failed to yield the right of way, pulling into the vans path. Alcohol or speed aren't thought to be contributing factors. It was raining heavily and reduced visibility may have been the cause. Four others were treated for injuries and released. Owners of a 567-foot crane that collapsed over the Milwaukee Brewers' new ballpark, killing three ironworkers, deny any negligence and contend the victims voluntarily put themselves in harm's way at the time of the crash. Neil F. Lampson Inc. filed a 17-page response to a civil lawsuit filed in August by the widows of Jeffrey Wischer, William DeGrave and Jerome Starr. The workers were killed when the crane known as Big Blue fell while attempting to lift a 400-ton section of Miller Park's retractable roof July 14. The state unemployment rate has dropped below three percent. The two-point-nine percent rate in August ties the lowest rate in Wisconsin history -- also set in June, in April of 1998, January of 1969 and October of 1966. Department of Workforce Development says job growth comes in a variety of sectors. Nonfarm and salary jobs increased by seven-thousand. The service industry gained nearly three-thousand jobs. State budget negotiations continue this afternoon. Last night Governor Thompson said he's putting the pressure on for legislators to end an impasse on the state budget bill. The two-year budget was supposed to take effect July first but has yet to be passed by the Legislature. Thompson says if it isn't passed by Friday, $47 million in federal welfare funding could be jeopardized. Fewer riders, a shortage of drivers, and a system-wide overhaul have all contributed to a big debt at Madison Metro. The debt equals more than $2 million. Metro's General Manager says higher fares are one solution to the financial problem. Mayor Sue Bauman says Metro isn't getting any more city tax dollars, so higher fares may be the only way out of debt. Federal money will soak up some of Metro's deficit this year. But, Metro's boss says that can't happen again. A legislative committee will meet Thursday to consider approving money for public schools and to ensure Wisconsin does not lose $48 million in federal welfare money as a result of the state budget delay, lawmakers said today. Gov. Tommy Thompson said Tuesday that Wisconsin will lose the money from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program if the budget is not passed by Friday because of federal regulations about the way the money may be spent. The 1999-2001 budget was supposed to take effect July 1 but has yet to be passed by the Legislature. Negotiations among lawmakers continued this afternoon. The World Dairy Expo is more than cows. It's 9000 grilled cheese sandwiches and 20,000 ice cream cones, 1800 head of cattle, 275,000 pounds of manure and a crafts show. The Expo also adds more than $9 million to Wisconsin's economy. If you need more information on daily events you can visit the world dairy expo on line at www.world-dairy-expo.com. The Expo runs through sunday. DIRECTIONS ========= Mix cubed turkey with celery, onions, mayonnaise, curry powder and any nuts in the kitchen. Serve with split croissants or whatever bread you want to use. X V m Y P N u-L aK HJ 3I A state trooper was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after he was hurt during a high speed chase. State Patrol officials say a car troopers had been chasing crashed into Sgt. Pete Hill's car. Hill was taken to U-W Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Officials say the chase started on I-39-90-94 in Columbia County when a trooper saw two cars with drivers that looked like they had been drinking. They took off when a troooper tried to stop them, and the plates on one of the cars came back as stolen. Speeds were between 70 and 100 MPH. One speeding vehicle pulled off the interstate and police arrested the teens inside. Then, the other car rammed into Hill's patrol car. The car spinned, rolled into the median, and rolled three times. Police arrested five teens in all. Local school districts around Wisconsin have a better idea today on how much state aid to include in their budgets. The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee set state aid to school districts at nearly $3.8 billion for this year. The committee met and voted today because the Legislature hasn't passed a new budget and the districts need to know by mid-October how much money they'll receive. Alliant Energy Corp. has pushed back the completion date of a planned $140 million power plant in eastern Dane County. It now looks like the facility will be operational in the summer of 2001, rather than next summer. Alliant says customers "may face a greater risk of electric interruptions" because of the delay. A suspect in a New Hampshire murder says he did not kill a woman whose body parts were found in the Wisconsin River. 39-year old Vaclav Plch is accused of dismembering a New Hampshire woman. Pick says he didn't do it, and he says he did not kill the woman found in Sauk County either. Investigators released 3-D reconstructions of her last week. Her body parts were found in the Wisconsin River near Spring Green. Authorities tell 27 News they would like to talk to Plch about the murder here, but they say at this point, they have no information that places him in our state at the time. Police say he had been to Maine, Florida and Texas after the New Hampshire murder. Authorities have extensively searched the Rock River in Beloit for a man who jumped from a bridge. But, police today say they have new information that the man may be alive. Divers over the weekend didn't turn up any sign of Jesus Aguilar. Beloit's police captain says an informant told them Aguilar was spotted at a tavern Saturday night. A fire in a Madison apartment complex put more than 30 people out in the cold yesterday. Fire crews were called to the Buena Vista Apartments just after seven o'clock last night. Officials say smoke and flames were spotted in a basement storage area. The Red Cross was on the scene to help seven families affected by the fire. Fire officials say some residents were allowed back in the complex overnight. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. An Indian tribe hoping to build a casino in southern Wisconsin will get the chance to present its plan to Columbus officials. On a voice vote Tuesday night, the city council agreed to invite the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa band to make a presentation on the proposal to develop a multimillion-dollar project, including casino gambling. State and Center leaders broke ground on the new, $41 million project on West Main Street Tuesday. The L-shaped building will house the Department of Justice, the State Law Library, and the State Legislative Reference Bureau. Construction is expected to last more than two years. O A $900 million tax relief package that is the centerpiece of a tentative state budget agreement would give the typical Wisconsin taxpayer $670 in property and income tax breaks. The proposed two-year spending plan includes $343 in income tax cuts for the average taxpayer and $327 in property tax cuts for average homeowner, legislative leaders said. The agreement on the 1999-2001 budget also calls for a tuition freeze for University of Wisconsin System students, money to help reduce class sizes and an extension of the state's recycling program. "This budget provides both substantial and dramatic tax relief while making important investments," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Chvala, D-Madison. Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, said the $41 billion budget was "worth waiting for. This was a tax cut worth fighting for." Lawmakers reached a tentative agreement on the budget Saturday. A conference committee of Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans is expected to meet Monday to consider the deal. It would then go to the Senate and then the Assembly for consideration. Gov. Tommy Thompson would still have to sign the budget for it to take effect. The $900 million tax package would be paid for by using the state's $1 billion surplus. It does not include a sales tax rebate or a suspension of the state's sales tax, as had been suggested by Thompson. Income tax cuts included in the agreement total $339 million over two years. The average taxpayer would receive a $182 break the first year and a $161 break the next, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Property tax relief totals $410 million, which would be paid through the lottery tax credit. A homeowner with a median-valued home would receive $91 in relief the first year and $236 in relief the second. Another $151 million would be used for a property tax rent credit for people who rent housing. The budget proposal also includes a tuition freeze for the 2000-01 school year for all University of Wisconsin System students. The freeze comes after the Board of Regents voted in July to raise tuition at UW-Madison this year by 9.6 percent and other four year campuses by 6.9 percent. Tuition for the 1999-2000 school year is $3,290 at UW-Madison. The budget would extend the life of the state's recycling program, which was to expire after 2001. Local government would have had to come up with money for their recycling programs after that date. Under the recycling proposal, a $2 per ton tipping fee is imposed on trash put into landfills to pay for the program _ up from the current fee of 75 cents a ton. A corporate surcharge on medium and large business also would be used to pay for the program. "Reliability 2000," a plan to create a private, nonprofit company to own and operate the state's power lines, is included in the budget proposal. In exchange, utility companies would be allowed to invest unlimited money in industries they typically invest in, such as telecommunications and other energy-related companies. The state has the country's only utility asset cap, which limits a utility's investments to 25 percent of its assets. The utility agreement includes $41.5 million in rate increases to pay for conservation efforts and energy assistance to low-income families. The budget also would allocate $16.4 million to a program that gives school districts across the state money to reduce class sizes by hiring more teachers. The Legislature was to pass the budget by July 1, but negotiations broke off July 15 and did not begin again for another two months. Unlike the federal government, Wisconsin government does not shut down if a budget cannot be agreed to. Instead, the state has been operating at 1997-99 budget levels. ju1 X (V U T b!S HR 3Q Jury selection is getting under way this afternoon for an inquest into death of Paul Schilling, a former president of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. He died last July after he was found on the floor of his Milwaukee County Jail cell with his head draped over the edge of a toilet. Schilling had been jailed the previous evening after being arrested in Madison on a Milwaukee drunken-driving warrant. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the death to be accidental. Medical Examiner Jeffrey Jentzen said the death resulted from a seizure that caused Schilling to fall into the position that suffocated him. Jentzen's ruling is a medical finding. The purpose of the inquest is to determine whether a crime, including criminal negligence, played a role in the death. University faculty pay may not increase as much as requested because of a proposed tuition freeze for the 2000-2001 school year. U-W System faculty want a five-point-two percent raise each of the next two years. But, Representative Rob Kreibich said today U-W raises will most likely be lower -- maybe four and a-half to four-point-eight percent. The state will pay $32 million for a proposed tuition freeze. A drug conspiracy brings down 2 members of the Madison Fire Department. This morning, Terry Rice and Michael Merkle pled guilty to charges of drug possession. Authorities tell 27 News the two fire fighters were involved in a drug ring in which cocaine was brought from California to Madison in plastic toys. Rice and Merkle reportedly bought the drugs from two Madison men, who were connected to dealers in California. The case is still under investigation. Both Rice and Merkle have been suspended with pay. Voters in the Middleton Cross Plains School District go to the polls today. They're voting on expanding Middleton High School to Firemens Park, creating a new alternative high school and making athletic improvements. The total cost for the project equals about $36 million plus operating costs. There are two questions on the ballot, one for the construction and the other for the operating costs. The polls are open from 7 A-M until 8 P-M tonight. The long stalled state budget is now on the fast-track to completion. It's a package that includes millions of dollars in tax cuts. The proposal goes to lawmakers tomorrow. It includes income tax cuts that will give residents $343 over the next two years, and similar property tax cuts. The budget compromise also includes money to offset a UW tuition freeze. A modified version of the Governor's proposed graduation test for Wisconsin high school students has resurfaced. It's also part of the state budget bill approved yesterday. Governor Tommy Thompson wanted to make the test mandatory for students to graduate, but it was removed from the budget this spring by the joint finance committee. Some lawmakers objected to requiring students to take such a pressure-packed test. The new version would require students to take the test, but they wouldn't have to pass it to graduate. It would be just one of the factors in deciding whether they deserve a diploma. The domestic partners of Madison city workers are now covered under the city's health plan. Last night, the common council heard close to two hours of public input. It then voted 14 to 5 to allow the partners of municipal workers the same benefits as married couples. The resolution would require domestic partners to be committed in a long-term relationship. They cannot have been married or legally separated in the last six months. They must also prove there is a financial committment. s~(8 ] )\ |:[ E7Z 0W UW football coach Barry Alvarez's planned knee replacement surgey did not happen Tuesday, as planned. U-W officials say an infection in the Coach's right knee was discovered as doctors at the Mayo Clinic began Coach Alvarez's knee replacement surgery. So the surgery turned into a procedure to deal with the infection. Officials tell 27 News Alvarez is recovering from surgery, and is doing well. However, the future treatment of his painful knee is unknown tonight. At first, Alvarez dealt with the pain by using crutches on his team's sidelines, but the pain forced him to a seat in the coaches section of the press box for recent games. His planned knee replacement surgery is a procedure usually performed on older patients, Barry Alvarez is 52. An outbreak of salmonella has sickened at least 19 people in six Wisconsin counties including Dane, Rock and Sauk counties. State officials tell 27 News that the outbreak is believed to be linked to contaminated alfalfa sprouts. Anyone who bought alfalfa, alfalfa mixes or alfalfa-like sprouts since mid-August in Wisconsin was advised to dispose of them. Cleaning would not be sufficient to kill the bacteria. "It's too early in the investigation to know how many brands or companies are involved," Sandy Chalmers, a spokeswoman for the state agriculture department tells 27 News. "Until we know for sure, people in Wisconsin should not eat sprouts at all." The state Division of Public Health said it was working with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to identify the brands of alfalfa sprouts and where they may have been distributed. A day of reckoning for the man who started Madison's terrible bus fire. The man responsible for starting the 1998 bus blaze, 22 year old Salim Amara, could spend the rest of his life in a mental institution. Late Wednesday afternoon a Dane County judge sentenced Amara to the maximum commitment - 140 years. And that gives his victims, some comfort. Amara was found innocent by reason of mental disease or defect in the bus fire on April 19th of 1998 that injured six people, including Amara. Authorities say Amara carried a bucket of gasoline onto the bus and at some point spilled it and set it afire. Amara later pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree reckless injury and one count of criminal damage to property. Psychiatrists testified that Amara suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and could not have understood the effect of what he was doing. After a long-lasting stalemate, Wisconsin lawmakers finally passed a budget last night. The Senate passed it 18 to 5; the Assembly passed it 82 to 17. The budget is now on the way to Governor Tommy Thompson for final approval. Here are the highlights: $900 million in property tax, income tax, and tax rent credit cuts; a high school graduation test that will be used as one of the criteria in determining whether a student may graduate; a later start date mandated for Wisconsin's public schools; $16.4 million to hire more teachers to reduce class sizes; and a tuition freeze for U-W schools during the 1999-2000 academic year. Missouri officials said today a Madison man who failed to pay for 25 dollars worth of gas fatally shot the patrol trooper who pursued him and then took his own life. Captain Jim Watson of the Missouri Highway Patrol says 24-year-old Jason Friske likely shot at the trooper in the face and neck. Friske's motive was unknown. Autopsy results were expected to be released today. J xa "b (a ` r$_ ]^ On an interstate highway near St. Joseph, Missouri, Sargeant Robert Kimberling's stop of Madison's Jason Friske, for stiffing a gas station out of 25 bucks, turned deadly. Authorities say the 14 year veteran was shot and killed. Investigators say Friske also turned his gun on himself. Just last month, Jason Friske worked in sporting goods, at a Madison hardware store. But Friske was fired, thrown in jail for drunk driving, and suspected of stealing sports equipment, and a shotgun, from his old store. Jason Friske had just finished a probation sentence for carrying a concealed weapon. Monday of this week, Friske appeared in Dane County Court on the theft accusations, and Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey asked for no cash bail, saying, a signature bond is appropriate. Officer Dave Gouran,Madison Police Expediter tells 27 News, ' It was actually the next day, the fifth, his father reported to our police department that his vehicle, which was a Chevy Blazer, had been stolen...and he also expressed to officers at that time, concern that his son may be suicidal, over the legal matter, issues at work, and being off medication.' Gouran says Jason Friske had also apparently stolen his father's handgun. Gouran says a bulletin was sent out to several states, including Missouri, but some confusion between a Missouri gas station attendant, a dispatcher, and Sargent Kimberly, left Kimberly unaware of the possible danger as he met up with Friske. Movie theater owners could request a tax exemption for projectors, sound systems, and screens. The budget also includes property tax relief for t-v stations that must convert to digital broadcasting by 2006 under federal regulations. People who own charter tour boats and commercial fishermen also would be able to deduct the value of the tour boats and commercial fishing equipment from their property taxes. The two year state budget was passed by the legislature Wednesday. It still must be signed by Governor Tommy Thompson for the tax breaks to take effect. Harnischfeger Industries Incorporated is considering selling Beloit Corporation. Harnischfeger officials said today that the move would maximize the value of the papermaking equipment manufacturing unit to its creditors. Harnischfeger, of suburban St. Francis, has received some interest in all or part of Beloit Corporation. Harnischfeger, the world's largest producer of mining equipment, owns 80 percent of the Beloit Corporation. General Motors unveils its newest sports utility vehicles in Janesville-- and some potential new problems for workers. The 800 Series of GMC Yukons and Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes go into full production in about five weeks. GM $600 million in the new SUV's. That includes about 300 new robots for the Janesville plant. Gary Giles, Janesville Plant Manager, tells 27 News,'There's not as much work content on this new program. So we'll work with attention to attrition and make sure that our work force is taken care of.' Giles says the amount of work that needs to be done by humans will drop off about 10% to 15%. That's according to U-W officials who are saying that three years of painstaking work have all but eliminated potential Y-2-K bugs at the U-W Madison. The director of the University's Division of Information Technology didn't give a guarantee that January 1st will be trouble-free, but he predicted there would be nothing serious. He said U-W Madison's computers that are used for payroll and student registration have been checked. Also, the University's 70,000 desktop computers have either been upgraded or verified as Y-2-K compliant. 5JC 8h g |$f ce 03d c A Richland Center man has escaped injury after his ultra-light airplane crashed in a rural Iowa County cornfield. James Oman's plane crashed just after 1 p-m Sunday in a field along State Highway 133 between Avoca and Muscoda in Pulaski Township. Iowa County Sheriff's deputies were joined at the scene by Muscoda's police and fire departments. Officials say the accident was caused by strong winds forcing the plane down. Going to the gym these days can mean pumping iron, hitting the track -- and checking out the trapeze act. A Madison gym now offers a variety of ways to be entertained as well as get fit. Robert Christian West owns Gold's Gym in Madison. West tells 27 News, at night his gym is a cross between Planet Hollywood, Disney Word and the Hard Rock Cafe. Members of the $5 million club can listen to live bands or disc jockeys on a 23-thousand-watt sound system, watch a trapeze act, relax by the 600-gallon shark and exotic fish tank or sip something from the 40-foot-long juice bar. Gold's also has a 10-foot waterfall just inside the entrance, an elaborate lighting system that is synchronized to music and several 10-foot movie screens. West says he plans to build another facility in the Milwaukee area. A former UW Madison student won the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday. He's Doctor Guenter Blobel. Now Blobel is with Rockefeller University of New York. Back in 1967, he received his doctoral degree in oncology in Madison where he did cancer research. Blobel's Nobel Prize is for protein research that sheds new light on diseases like cystic fibrosis and early development of kidney stones. Big business is moving into Sun Prairie because of a grant from the state. The Department of Transportation awarded Sun Prairie more than a half million dollars to improve roads around the business park. That makes it possible for Pan O Gold Bakery to move in and makes city officials happy. Jo Ann Orfan, Mayor of Sun Prairie tells 27 News,'There's a lot of competition out there for this type of entity and we feel very fortunate to have this grant. It was an additional enticement for Pan-o-Gold Corporation.' The baker hopes to be up and running by next summer. Members of a special task force met with the mayor to push the idea. They recommended putting it before voters, in hopes of building community consensus. Nina Amato of the Race Relations Task Force says it would send a positive message. He also says that the Warner Park neighborhood community on the northeast side is willing to do this. But Mayor Bauman says citizen groups on race, and more support for Madison's Southeast Asian people, make more sense right now. The U-S Senate will take up a scaled-back version of the bill he has pushed for four years to reduce spending on federal elections. Feingold's aides anticipate that he and Arizona Senator John McCain will present their new bill to a new Senate tomorrow. The new bill would ban so-called soft money -- unlimited donations that corporations, labor unions and some individuals give to political parties. It also would limit the ability of unions to use compulsory dues taken from nonunion members to further political efforts. But it contains no provision to regulate the attack ads that have become prevalent in campaigns. It also omits other provisions that McCain and Feingold included in past versions of the bill brought to the floor. Supporters need 60 Senate votes to overcome a filibuster by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the bill's most vocal opponent. | z |ok F6j 1i Awake and alert is not something Elizabeth Kalbus thought she'd ever be again after she was clipped by a freight train and lay terrified on her back between the rails as 90 cars roared over her. The 36-year-old Kalbus says she thought she "was a goner." She says she knew the train was over her and she was afraid to move at all. Four days after she was hit by a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train in Oconomowoc Lake, Kalbus spoke from her hospital bed at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison. She aches from the deep bruises and the pain of a fractured cheekbone, a severed toe and a severed bone in an other toe. But Kalbus, a single mother of two, says she's amazed to be alive to talk about her potentially fatal experience. Consumers of cranberries have reason to smile. As growers harvest a record crop in Wisconsin, it just adds to the glut of the fruit and is leading to lower prices. There are so many cranberries to process that the industry is urging consumers to help. The executive director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, Tom Lochner, says help can be as simple as people drinking one extra glass of cranberry juice a week. The glut of cranberries has driven prices for growers to the lowest levels in years, from 55 dollars a barrel two years ago to 35 dollars a barrel for this year's crop. The U-S-D-A projects Wisconsin's 225 growers will harvest two-point-six (m) million barrels of cranberries this fall, up two percent from 1998. Wisconsin is ranked Number One in cranberry production, ahead of Massachusetts. This is a story we're working on for 27 News at Six. The proposal, opposed by many police agencies, is designed to help the state monitor any patterns of so-called "racial profiling," or discriminatory use of police powers against blacks and other minorities. Sens. Gary George and Gwen Moore, both D-Milwaukee, were among those urging approval of the proposal in a letter sent Monday to Gov. Tommy Thompson. The state's police and sheriff's offices and the Wisconsin State Patrol would be required to provide the added information starting in 2001. The state Justice Department then would use the information to compile a statewide report, for release in March 2002. For any traffic stop, the officer would have to list the reason, number of passengers in the vehicle, all warnings or citations that resulted, whether any search was done, justification for any search, what was seized, if anything, and, if any passengers were searched, their age, gender and race. Law enforcement officials said the result would be a cumbersome, time-consuming addition to the procedures that officers follow. Whitefish Bay Police Chief Gary Mikulec, legislative coordinator for the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, estimated the requirement, if it becomes law, could make a traffic stop that now takes 10-12 minutes take twice that long, resulting in citizen complaints. "Clearly, it's going to have a chilling effect on traffic stops," he said. Thompson spokesman Kevin Keane said the governor had not yet decided whether to veto the provision. The police chiefs group is among organizations urging a veto. "Certainly, the strong voice that is coming from the law enforcement associations is going to be a factor," Keane said. The department also spent $3 million on travel expenses and $75,000 on golf course memberships for 14 coaches. The department is shelling out more money that it is taking in. Auditors say the slack could be made up by increasing ticket prices, if spending doesn't slow down. aHf w r 4q ~p eo Kn 6l One state lawmaker is trying to keep criminals like Salim Amara away from society, forever. Amara was found not guilty by reason of insanity for setting a Madison Metro bus on fire, burning five victims in April 1998. Last week Amara was sentenced to 104 years in a mental institution, but he can petition for release every six months of his sentence. Representative Scott Suder of Abbotsford wants a new 'guilty but mentally ill' legal standard. After rehabilitation, a mentally ill criminal, like Amara, would go to prison to finish the rest of his sentence. Rep. Suder tells 27 News, 'I think it's time Wisconsin stepped up to the plate for victims' rights and I want to make certain that this legal loophole is closed for good.' Thirteen other states, including Illinois and Michigan have already adopted the "guilty but mentally ill" standard. The U.S. Senate today is expected to approve a $60 billion agriculture appropriations bill. If passed, it would give state dairy farmers $125 million in emergency assistance. An additional $8.7 billion in emergency assistance funds were also incorporated into the bill. Senator Herb Kohl is the ranking member of the Seante Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, which helped get the bill moving. the corn harvest is progressing ahead of schedule throughout much of the state. some farmers are just beginning to harvest crops, but others are just finishing up. The Wisconsin Ag Statistics Service says the harvest is nearly 10 days ahead of the 5 year average. Ag experts say some farmers are getting 150 to 160 bushels per acre, and that's one of the best harvests farmers have ever seen. Researchers at the UW Medical School are testing a nasal spray that's crippled the common cold in test tubes. The professor leading the study says the spray was developed by researchers who were initially looking for a treat for HIV. It's being tested on about 900 people at 55 sites around the country. The UW is studying the spray under contract with its developer, Agouron Pharmaceuticals of California. Settlement discussions are underway in a lawsuit by three American Indian tribes against Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The civil lawsuit was filed in federal court in Madison by the tribes who were rejected by the Interior Department for a casino permit. The casino was proposed for Hudson. The Chippewa tribes claim in the lawsuit that they were denied because of pressure from the White House after rival Indian tribes offered campaign contributions to the Democratic Party. The rival tribes eventually gave more than 300-thousand dollars to the party. Mark Goff is a spokesman for the proposed casino. He says settlement discussions have been going on for the last three months. Goff declined to characterize the nature of the discussions, other than to say the tribes still want to open a casino. Not everyone in Stoughton has embraced the Kosovar refugees. A Stoughton High School student has caused quite a stir with his opinion piece in the school paper, "The Norse Star." He says the Kosovar refugees are too imposing on the city, saying "Haven't the Kosovars overstayed their welcome?" Two-thirds of the Kosovar refugees in Dane County are staying in Stoughton. The piece has hurt some feelings, the paper says it has no plans to issue an apology. A frequent critic of gambling in Wisconsin, says 'enough is enough.' Madison Democrat Fred Risser says he'll introduce a constitutional amendment to repeal gambling in our state. Any move to do that would eventually have to be approved in a statewide referendum. Risser also plans to introduce a bill to repeal laws that keep the state lottery running. 6[Yx 9y x wv S$u >s Organizers tell 27 News that Madison would be a perfect fit for a presidential debate. The city is up against about a dozen other places to host one of three presidental debates or the vice presidential debate, but 27 News has learned the presidential debate commission selecting the sites tend to like state capitals and university communities. In the next few weeks, members of the non-partisan organization will tour possible debate sites like the Monona Terrace Convention Center and the Kohl Center. Then the commission will announce the final sites in January. UW political scientists think Madison has a good chance. David Canon, UW Political Science Professor tells 27 News, 'I think they tend to like an informed electorate who is from a state capitol community and a university community so their audience will ask better questions, so they'll look like an informed electorate." Spearheading this campaign is attorney Brady Williamson and former Congressman Scott Klug. In order to get a hunting or fishing license, you have to provide your Social Security number. That information is used to help track down deadbeat parents who don't pay child support. Now Governor Thompson says hunters and fishers shouldn't have to provide that information. He's asking the federal government to change the rule. Thompson says the state already has a great record in tracking down deadbeat parents, and thinks giving over a s.s. number is a serious invasion of privacy. We'll take a look at both sides of this issue tonight in 27 News at Five. Three kids total have now been expelled from Oregon High School for making a "hit list". The students had been suspended during October for compiling the list, which had the names of 95 students and teachers. The three will be able to apply for early readmission next January, if they meet certain conditions set by parents. The Oregon School District has offered home-schooling for the rest of this semester. Governor Thompson's Wisconsin Works program was honored today as an example of American innovation. W-2, our state's welfare reform program, received "The Innovations in American Government" award. W-2 was one of 1600applicants for the award. There are ten winners. Wisconsin's prize is $100,000 to promote and expand W-2. Harvard University and the Ford Foundation sponsor the awards. Congressman Paul Ryan says Medicare needs to be fixed. Here's what he wants to do. The issue can be pretty complex, so we've broken it down for you into three main parts. Part 1: make home health care more affordable after you check out of the hospital by delaying 15% of the cost for a year. Part 2: give incentives to care providers so they can offer medicare users more health care choices. Part 3: give rural hospitals more money for computers and staff training. Ryan spoke with 27 News Thursday afternoon about the program's funding and said, 'The money will come from non-social security surplus to make these changes. This is a $15 billion package spent in addition to what we're already spending on medicare in the next 5 years to try and fix the problems we have in medicare today.' He says he hopes the legislation makes it onto the house floor sometime this fall. Beloit Memorial High School recieved a special honor today. It has been picked as one of 15 schools in the U.S. to participate in a school-improvement plan called "BEST", or Building Excellent Schools Together. Kids from Beloit will go to a conference in Vermont this November to trade ideas on how to make their school better. The program stresses the important connection between a school and it's surrounding community. Zm.PX C~ 1} r| 7;{ "z What do you think of when you see pheasant, grouse, rabbit and quail? Hunting season of course. As an added bonus, there should be a few more birds than usual because last winter's mild conditions helped more bird's survive. The pheasant hunting season opens at noon saturday. Other hunting seasons which open saturday include bobwhite quail and raccoon both statewide. Sharp-tailed grouse for those hunters who received permits, hungarian partridge and cottontail rabbit in the south zone and ruffed grouse in the east. A new bill is introduced to state legislators that allow women to find out whether their companies are paying them less than men with the same jobs. If this new bill is passed, Wisconsin corporations and state agencies would have to open up certain information to the public, howing how salaries for men and women match up. This comes largely in reaction to numbers that shows that women are making considerably less money than their male counterparts. A recent study shows that nationally -- women make 72 cents to the dollar of what men make. Here in Wisconsin, the numbers are even more grim for women -- at just 68 cents per dollar. Here's a look at what the new bill would do: it would require all employers with at least 100 employees to annually disclose the race and gender of their senior level management positions and the corresponding pay. Employers would be able to "opt out" of making their identities known. That's because the city may receive $400,000 for affordable housing programs. The money will be used to update a database that can link people to affordable housing options. Senator Herb Kohl and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin fought for the bill. The House passed it yesterday. The Senate is expected to pass the bill shortly. Then it will go to President Clinton. The Dane County Executive introduces a new proposal that would keep offenders out of jail-- in the hopes of cutting down crime. Dane County jails are filled beyond capacity, and a new jail could cost taxpayers as much as $30 million. So now County Executive Kathleen Falk says she wants to put $400,000 into some new programs. They would treat offenders while they remain in the community rather than behind bars. Falk told 27 News Friday morning,' Because these programs Dane County has developed in the past for diversion work, we have hope that we can not only increase the number of people in those programs, but in addition, be creative and think of some new programs.' Offenders would be screened, and only those judged at little risk to the public could participate. Knives. Homemade ladders for escape attempts. Crude tattoo guns. Hammers made out of toilet paper and toothpaste. Those are just a few of the things guards have taken from industrious inmates in Wisconsin prisons. State Department of Corrections Security Director Sam Schneiter says some of the most colorful contraband has been used to help inmates escape their prison walls. Some of the more creative escape attempts include an inmate at the Columbia prison hoarding newspapers to make a mannequin and coloring his pants with dark ink to prepare for a nighttime escape attempt. But prison guards discovered his plot before he got a chance to complete it. Schneiter says finding contraband is crucial to keeping order and safety in Wisconsin's 13 adult prisons. Inmates find creative places to hide the contraband _ in their cells, televisions, work areas or even their hair. Prison guards can conduct four kinds of searches -- frisking, strip searches, body cavity searches, and tests of prisoners' blood, breath or urine for drug use. M͈ Y L ^* 4* Amtrak could decide by the end of the year on whether to run passenger and express frieght trains through Madison and Janesville. Amtrak officials tell 27 News the fate a proposed Madison-Janesville-Chicago route will depend on the money that can be made on the route. A Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Official says the plan would need about $75 million in tax money to renovate tracks on the route. If the plan is approved service could start as early as next summer. Parents in Orfordville are organizing a recall of three school board members who voted to fire a girls basketball coach. Chuck Kohlhepp has coached varsity girls for 16 years at Parkview. He also coached girls softball for 12 years. Board members decided not to renew Kohlhepp's coaching contract despite positive recommendations from high school principal, former district administrator and athletic director. That decision has some parents upset. They and others have shown up at board meetings demanding an explanation. A group is circulating a petition for recall of board members Cathy Kleinschmidt, Kae Phalin and Ken Bell. This next story directly affects a quarter of all adults in the US. The UW Medical School has received a $10 million federal grant to study smoking relapse, that's when smokers try to quit, and fail. For the next five years, the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the UW Medical School will conduct studies on getting smokers to kick the habit for good. Timothy Baker, Ph.D.,Professor of Psychology at the UW told 27 News Monday afternoon, 'Among people trying to quit on their own only about 7 percent of them are able to maintain an abstenance over the long term.' This the largest tobacco prevention grant the University has ever received. INGREDIENTS ========== 2 cups of cooked rice 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 red pepper, finely chopped 1 bunch of scallions, chopped 1 mango, chopped 1/2 cup of orange juice 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons of honey 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 8 shrimp, peeled and deveined DIRECTIONS ========= 1. Combine orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey. Whisk together to create vinaigrette. 2. In a hot sauce pan, saute shrimp until just firm and add to vinaigrette. Marinate up to one hour in the refrigerator. 3. Combine rice, beans, red pepper, scallions and mango. Remove shrimp from vinaigrette with a slotted spoon. Add the vinaigrette to the rice mixture, use just enough to moisten. 4. Toss the rice mixture with a fork and taste for seasonings. 5. Place shrimp on top of salad and garnish with fresh oregano leaves and a sprig of oregano. Nutritional Information: 4 Servings, 244 Calories, 11 Fat grams/serving CHEF'S RECOMMENDATIONS ===================== Wine: Guenoc Chardonnay (California), Freixnet Cardon Brut, Vinho Verde or white wine Sangria Dessert: Fresh seasonal fruit with mango or lemon sorbet Bread: Peasant style U-W officials say volunteer concession workers must stay out of the arena, and not sneak any peaks at games or concerts. Officials say volunteers have caused problems, getting in the way of paying customers. But volunteer workers say that's not true. Concessions at the Kohl Center are run by not-for-profit church groups and organizations. 27 News has learned that U-W Athletic Director Pat Richter may soon announce some sort of compromise, for volunteer workers at the arena. The Welcome home included a reception tonight at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee. The 88 member orchestra was the first major orchestra to visit the communist Cuba in 37 years. : # K< 6 General Electric is recalling 3.1 million dishwashers that might catch fire because of a faulty switch. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday the recall includes GE and Hotpoint brand dishwashers with the model numbers GSD500D, GSD500G, GSD540, HDA467, HDA477 or HDA487. The recalled models also have a serial number that has a second letter of A, M, R, S, T, V or Z. The model and serial numbers can be found on a rectangular label on either the right or left of the inner tub's front edge, the CPSC said. The dishwashers were made between April 1983 and January 1989. GE and the CPSC are aware of 50 incidents in which the slide switch, which selects the heat drying and energy save functions, melted and ignited fires. Seven of the fires spread beyond the dishwashers and three caused damage to homes. No injuries have been reportedSome Southern Wisconsin high school students took their anti-violence message straight to the President today. Hundreds of teenagers from across the country are in Washington as part of a conference called Voices Against Violence. It's a way to get young people involved in the debate on how to prevent it. The students say they got a lot out of the meeting. Kasi Koshollek, a Stoughton High School senior, told 27 News Tuesday, that there are 'A lot of new ideas - a lot of people here - to bring back to the community.' A West High School junior says that much of the blame for teen violence rests on the media and a lot of responsibility to prevent it rests on parents. Rodney Lucas says that after hearing the President today, he knows teenagers need to take responsibility, too. Lucas told 27 News, "It was great. He was letting us know how much power we actually have.' The Voices Against Violence conference continues Wednesday. Taking antibotics for that nasty cough or cold? There is a new statewide campaign to let you know when to take perscription drugs. Studies by the Wisconsin Antibiotic Resistance Network find residents don't know the difference between bacterial and viral infections. Often doctors perscribe antibotics for viral infections, such as the common cold, when they're not needed. For more information on antibotic use, you can link up to WARN's website at the bottom of our web page. Flu season is here, and health officials tell 27 News not enough people are getting their shots. The Dane County Public Health Department says about one-third of residents over 65 never get vacinnated. One-half of people under 65 who need the vaccination, due to existing health problems, don't get it. Hundreds of Wisconsin residents got the flu last year, about 20 died from it. Gov. Tommy Thompson will serve as the state chairman for George W. Bush's presidential campaign in Wisconsin, the Texas governor announced Thursday. "Governor Thompson and I share a commitment to education and welfare reform," Bush said in a statement. Thompson had considered running for president before deciding in June to endorse Bush for the Republican presidential nomination. He has since campaigned for Bush in Wisconsin and Iowa. A former director of the University of Wisconsin Office of Clinical Trials accused of embezzling more than $600,000 was released today on a signature bond. Rhonda Lagoni, 49, was charged today in Dane County Court. The charges carry a possible maximum prison sentence of 100 years. She was released on a $1,000 signature bond. Documents filed with the criminal complaint indicated Lagoni is accused of embezzling a total of $602,000. The eight counts allege thefts in eight different time periods beginning in 1992 and ending at the end of last year. n> 0 . e P It started as a missing person investigation, but now it's a case of murder. The crime happened in Bagley, in southwestern Wisconsin. Twelve days ago, 34 year-old Patty Schreiner was reported missing. A tip led police to search the farm of Robert and Judy Meng. Police discovered Schreiner's missing car completely buried under ground. They also found her charred remains. Meng reportedly confessed to police that he and Schreiner had been having an affair for four years. He said they would meet at a trailer on his farm once a week. Their rendezvous the morning of October 8th was to be their last. Bob Meng's wife, Judy had filed for divorce. That morning in the trailer, Meng reportedly told Patty Schreiner he wanted to stay with his wife and two children. He says Schreiner got upset. According to the criminal complaint, Meng says: "He told her he wanted his freedom. He had the gun (a 22-caliber) in his hand and she was arguing. He said he couldn't take it anymore. He fired one shot (in the middle of her chest) and Patricia collapsed. He then burned the trailer with Patricia in it." After he burned the trailer, Meng reportedly burned and buried her car. Now he is charged with murder and concealing evidence. Meng faces life in prison. The inspiration for the movie, "Stand and Deliver"visited Madison Friday. Jaime Escalante motivated students at Madison Memorial High School. Edward James Olmos played him in the movie. Escalante talked about how important it is to stay in school. He signed a lot of autographs after his speech. Escalante gained fame while teaching math in east Los Angeles in the seventies. His work with minority students is the basis for "Stand and Deliver". The Department of Motor Vehicles in Beloit may be issuing hundreds of fake IDs and employees say there's not much they can do about it. That's because the state softened its requirements to get a Wisconsin ID card. Social security cards and proof of residence are no longer required for everyone. Glenn Johnson, DMV District Manager in Beloit tells 27 News, 'We believe that if they get these documents it allows them to go and cash checks and open false bank accounts and cash their personal checks and anything else they might need an ID for.' Employees believe many of the i-d applicants may be illegal aliens driving into the state from Illinois. ID applications have tripled since the requirements dropped. Group members, who call themselves Citizens for Better Representation, collected more than two thousand signatures asking for a special election to recall the school board members. They delivered the petition to the school district's office about an hour before yesterday's deadline. The petition asserts that the board members committed a "breach of public trust" when they voted over the summer to get rid of the nickname "Redmen." The nickname had drawn criticism as being derogatory toward American Indians and exclusionary of women. Students chose the replacement nickname "Red Hawks" from a list of choices that did not include the old name -- a vote that recall advocate Mike Martin likened to an election in Communist China. Dane County authorities say Jennifer Williams was northbound on Highway 51 when she lost control of her car. It rolled over. Williams was taken to the U-W Hospital by Med-Flight. Dane County authorities say alcohol was a factor in the accident. The U-W Hospital says Williams is in serious to critical condition as of Monday morning. University of Wisconsin football season ticket holders who want to keep prime seats would have to pay up to $300 a year under a preferential seating plan expected to generate about $3 million in its first year. The plan, expected to be finalized in January, is part of the UW Athletic Department's five-year financial plan, released two days after a Legislative audit that said the department needs to control its spending to protect its financial health. Beginning with the 2001 football season, fans would pay an annual fee, as high as $300 for some seats, which would vary depending on the locations of the seat, associate athletic director Vince Sweeney said. Current season ticket holders would have the option of retaining their seats or, if they choose not to pay the fee, buying season tickets for another part of the stadium. The plan affects about 40 percent of the best seats in the 78,000-seat Camp Randall Stadium. Projected revenue for the first year of the seating plan is $2.9 million and is expected to generate $21 million over the first five years, Sweeney said. The money would fund the athletic department's scholarship costs and improvements to facilities, including Camp Randall renovations. The plan to generate more revenue came on the heels of last week's report from the Legislative Audit Bureau. The audit found, among other things, that the athletic department spent $2.1 million on a money-losing Rose Bowl trip, $2.9 million on travel expenses and $75,000 on memberships at private golf courses for 14 coaches. The department lost $1.1 million in the last fiscal year and is expected to lose $89,000 more this year, the audit bureau said. The Badgers' Rose Bowl appearance last January was twice as expensive as the football team's previous trip to the game in California five years ago, the audit said. The money-losing Rose Bowl trip included all-expense paid trips for baby sitters for coaches' children, three Bucky Badger mascots, and spouses and guests of dozens of school officials, including the state's schools superintendent, an Associated Press review of state records found. Auditors said $103,400 could have been saved if the university had limited the number of people on the trip to the 1994 levels. Seating plans similar to the football proposal already are in place for hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball games at the Kohl Center, athletic director Pat Richter said. "Sure it is going to be a hard sell," Richter said. "We have to make sure (fans) understand this is not unique to Wisconsin." "This is something that is prevalent all across the country." Wisconsin lags way behind other Big Ten schools in money raised from preferential seating plans, said finance director Jamie Pollard. Penn State generates $8 million more each year than Wisconsin from its seating charges, he said. However, Fred Goodsir, a Badgers fan from Janesville, said Saturday that the department should make sure it is controlling spending before raising fees for season ticket holders. "They better look very carefully at how the money is spent before they start tacout the weekly farmers' market. < 3 n< Y Wisconsin's overpowering tailback gave another stellar performance, rushing for 214 yards and two touchdowns as No. 17 Wisconsin shredded the nation's best run defense and routed the No. 11 Spartans 40-10 on Saturday. Michigan State allowed 279 rushing yards, the fewest in the country, in its first seven games. The Badgers racked up 301, including touchdowns runs of 51 and 15 yards by Dayne, who had just one of his 34 carries in the fourth quarter. "We knew that they were No. 1, and that was one of our main goals, to go out and run on them," Dayne said. "My offensive line, the fullbacks and tight ends all had great games." After a string of mediocre performances that put his season goals in jeopardy, Dayne was in top form during Wisconsin's last two home victories, during which the Badgers outscored their opponents 99-10. The Spartans' front seven was thought to be one of the best in the country, but Michigan State had almost no success in containing Dayne, who bulled his way to 152 first-half yards, closed in on the Big Ten's career touchdowns record and even extracted a little vindication. "Every week, somebody finds a reason to criticize Ron Dayne," said Barry Alvarez, who became Wisconsin's winningest coach with the victory. "This guy has proven himself to me and everyone in this state the last four years. So if someone finds criticism, that's up to them." The two were abducted from their Madison home by three men from Gary, Ind., who had come to test drive a car they were selling, police said. The couple knew at least one of the men, police said. The suspects, who were armed with handguns, forced the man into the trunk of his black Crown Victoria while the men took the woman into the car, said Lt. Bob Morgan. After the man called 911, the State Patrol located the car on Interstate 90 near Edgerton, said Sgt. Marlene Auerbach. With a Dane County sheriff's deputy on the scene for assistance, the trooper pulled over the Crown Victoria and arrested its driver, she said. One of the victims, who were unhurt, alerted the State Patrol that the other two suspects were driving past the scene. The trooper stopped the car and took the two men into custody as well, Auerbach said. Police have tentatively charged the men with armed robbery and kidnapping, Morgan said. Feingold was in Madison today supporting a campaign finance reform plan for the high court. That measure would provide full public funding for Wisconsin Supreme Court races. Spending in last spring's Supreme Court race between Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and challenger Sharren Rose reached a record of more than a (M) million dollars. State Senate Majority Leader Charles Chvala (KWAH'-lah) said last week he would introduce an amendment giving the governor the power to appoint justices to one 15-year term, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Justices are currently elected to ten-year terms and may seek re-election. The state Constitution allows the governor to appoint justices to a vacant seat on the bench. Both Feingold and Chvala are Democrats. A body was found in a car parked behind an east-side auto dealership Monday night. Police identified the victim as a 70-year-old Illinois man, but aren't releasing his name. Police are still investigating what happened, and what killed him. Madison police say an autopsy will probably be performed Tuesday or Wednesday. A recent poll shows that it's a tight race for Democrats Bill Bradley and Al Gore. But, more Wisconsinites are supporting the candidacy of Republican George W. Bush than either or the Democrats at this point. During a special session this coming week, legislators will be given until Nov. 11 to complete the assignment, Thompson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He noted the Assembly and Senate spent three months debating tax relief before approving budget legislation Oct. 6. Regardless of which tax-relief plan is used, "people are going to get their money," Thompson told the Wisconsin State Journal. An alternative to a tax rebate would be a two-year package of property-tax cuts for homeowners and renters, he said. Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen predicted his Republican-controlled house would accept the rebate option. Sen. Charles Chvala, majority leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said the Republican govenor "has made this a very difficult thing for the Legislature to accomplish." Even if legislators reject a tax-rebate idea for distributing $700 million in surplus money, the governor said Saturday, his vetoes of budget provisions will provide property-tax reductions for homes averaging $76. Thompson said the rebate alternative is a response to lawyers' opinions against the Legislature's budget provision that would increase tax relief from lottery income by having the state pay more of the lottery's administrative expenses. During this summer's tax-relief debate, Sens. Michael Ellis of Neenah and Robert Jauch of Poplar proposed unsuccessfully that the state provide sales-tax rebates. "It's almost an ultimatum from the govenor," Jauch said of Thompson's comments. "I can't imagine the Legislature turning their backs on a $700 million rebate." Thompson plans to sign the partially-vetoed budget bill Wednesday for the two-year fiscal period that began July 1. His offer to the Legislature for approval by Nov. 11 of a one-time rebate check is similar to a refund approved recently by the Minnesota Legislature. The average check would be $286, he said. The checks could be mailed in December or January to 2.5 million taxpayers with amounts based on 1998 taxable income, the state Department of Administration said. Amounts could range from $337 to $500 for people who file joint returns and $190 to $354 for those filing separately, it said. No check would exceed $500. Besides vetoing the $410 million plan for using lottery income, Thompson said he will veto various budget language to preserve existing tax benefits, like school-tax credits on property-tax bills and the property tax-rent credit on income tax forms. The governor said he will call the state Legislature into a special session this week and give lawmakers until Nov. 11 to pass a tax-relief plan that would give taxpayers rebate checks averaging $286. If lawmakers do not support the rebate plan, Gov. Tommy Thompson promised Saturday that he would use his veto power in the proposed state budget to craft a comparable two-year package of tax cuts for homeowners and renters that would become law. Thompson, who has the power to veto individual budget items, is expected to announce his vetoes and sign the $41 billion budget Wednesday. The governor said the either/or package was a way to prevent partisan deadlock in the state Legislature, which was caught up in debate for three months on the state budget. The budget, which covers the two-year fiscal period that began July 1, was approved earlier this month and now is being considered by Thompson. Under the rebate plan, $700 million of a $1 billion state surplus would be returned to taxpayers through rebate checks. The checks, sent to 2.5 million taxpayers, would range from $337 to $500 for married taxpayers who file a joint income tax return, and from $190 to $354 for single taxpayers. The size of the sales tax rebate check would be determined by the taxpayer's 1998 taxable income. It would be considered a refund of state sales taxes, so it would not be taxed by the federal government. The Legislature must pass the rebate plan by Nov. 11 for the state Revenue Department to administer it in late December or early January, the governor said. However, Thompson added that even if legislators reject the tax-rebate idea, his proposed vetoes of budget provisions would guarantee that property tax bills on an average home will drop by $76 in December. It is not immediately clear whether the Legislature would be able to act quickly enough to meet Thompson's deadline. Thompson said the options he gave lawmakers are a response to the Legislature's plan to pump $253.9 million through the Wisconsin lottery for property tax cuts by buying out administrative costs of the lottery dating back to 1995. Attorney General James Doyle Jr. and a private attorney hired by the state said the Legislature's plan was unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, a Madison Democrat, said he had yet to see Thompson's proposal, but he added that it will be very difficult to get legislative agreement on a proposal when it was hard enough to get the Legislature to agree on the whole budget. "It's very hard to do something controversial in a short period of time," Chvala said Sunday. However, Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, a Town of Brookfield Republican, endorsed the rebate checks and said he thought the Assembly would approve the idea. Sens. Michael Ellis, a Neenah Republican, and Robert Jauch, a Poplar Democrat, earlier had proposed sales-tax rebates. "It's almost an ultimatum from the governor," Jauch said of Thompson's proposal. "I can't imagine the Legislature turning their backs on a $700 million rebate." Thompson's rebate plan pleased Frank Bennett, president of the Brown County Taxpayers Association. "The only way to give that back is to give people checks," he said. "It's the fairest way to give the overpayment back to people." Chvala applauded Thompson vetoes that would lower _ by about 3 percent _ the December property tax bill on the average Wisconsin home, but he added that the plan would raise by $160 the December 2000 property tax bill on the same home. "If you're a Wisconsin homeowner, you're a loser on your property taxes in 2000," Chvala said. In addition to Thompson's either/or tax cut choice, the budget also cuts income tax rates and creates a new, fourth tax bracket, beginning on Jan. 1. j : t( =7 ( Authorities say 19-year-old Aaron McCarroll and his 22-year-old girlfriend Kristina Ally were taken from their Madison home Saturday and robbed at gunpoint. Police spokesman David Gouran says Ally knew at least one of the men. He says the two victims were probably taken so they could not call police and report the robbery. The men ordered McCarroll into the car's trunk where he was able to use his cell phone to call 9-1-1. The State Patrol stopped the car. The driver was arrested. The other two suspects in another car were stopped as they drove by the arrest scene on Interstate 90. The fire and explosion happened near a propane corn dryer at Reedsville Cenex Cooperative, but authorities did not know if the dryer is what caused the explosion, said Sheriff's inspector Ken Petersen. The corn dryer is used to remove moisture from corn that farmers bring in. Six employees and a customer were injured, Petersen said. A storage building near the corn dryer was destroyed and several silos were damaged, said Dan Fisher, a spokesman for the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department. The injured were taken to hospitals. At least six of the victims suffered burns, officials said. The seventh victim was being treated at St. Vincent's in Green Bay. Their conditions were not immediately available. A message left by The Associated Press at the co-op's headquarters in Valders was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon. But the court added a caveat. It says there is a possibility that bans on what critics call "partial-birth abortions" could be applied unfairly to prohibit other types of abortions. The court says lower courts should act to prevent that. A lobbyist for Wisconsin Right to Life Incorporated says the decision discredits arguments that the law is vague and would apply to other types of abortion. Susan Armacost describes this as an "historic moment in the annals of pro-life history." Abortion rights attorneys say they are deeply disappointed and indicated they probably would appeal to the U-S Supreme Court. The bill is scheduled for a vote on Thursday. Current law prevents job discrimination based on someone's conviction record unless the crime is substantially related to the job. This bill would expand the exception to include anyone who was convicted of a felony and not pardoned. Supporters of the bill say it would prevent people like convicted killer Gerald Turner from working in jobs that involve children. Turner is a parolee who was convicted of raping and killing a girl who disappeared while trick-or-treating in 1973. He was known as the "Halloween Killer." Turner filed a complaint with state labor officials against Waste Management of Madison after it turned him down for a job because of his criminal record. Turner and the company settled out of court. Opponents of the bill say it will violate the basic employment rights of Wisconsin workers. An armed robbery around 10:30 last night is leaving Madison police searching for two suspects. A Rocky Rococo Pizza delivery driver went to the 5800 block of Raymond Road to deliver a pizza. The delivery person was confronted by two men. One of the men had a gun. The suspects demanded money and fled with an undetermined amount of cash. Investigators still have lots of questions about the Payne Stewart plane crash, two days after the runaway jet went down in a South Dakota field. Officials have returned to the crash site. They're searching for pieces of the plane inside a ten-foot-deep crater. The twin-engine plane, which took off from Orlando, Fla., may have suffered a pressurization failure during its scheduled flight to Dallas, government officials said. Stewart, who lived in Orlando, had been expected in Houston on Tuesday for practice rounds in advance of the Tour Championship, the PGA Tour's final tournament of the year for the top 30 players on its money list. Stewart, known for his trademark knickers and tam-o'-shanter hat, went to Southern Methodist University in Dallas and still had friends in the area. "It is difficult to express our sense of shock and sadness over the death of Payne Stewart," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement from PGA headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "This is a tremendous loss for the entire golfing community and all of sports. He will always be remembered as a very special competitor and one who contributed enormously to the positive image of professional golf." Also killed were Stewart agents Robert Fraley and Van Ardan and the two pilots, said Bill Curry, a spokesman for Stewart's family. Fraley was CEO of Leader Enterprises Inc. and Ardan was president of the sports management company. The plane, a Lear 35 built in 1976, took off from Orlando, Fla., at about 9:20 a.m. EDT, and the last communication came was it was over Gainesville, Fla., said Tony Molinaro, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Chicago. The jet had flown as high as 45,000 feet and the crew did not respond to repeated inquiries from air traffic controllers, said Paul Turk, an FAA spokesman. An Air Force fighter jet from Tyndall, Fla., was diverted from a routine training flight to check out the jet, Air Force officials said. Two fighters from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., then took over to follow it and they later handed off the monitoring to two Air National Guard F-16s from Tulsa, Okla. About four hours after takeoff, the plane crashed in a grassy field two miles west of Mina, S.D., in the north-central part of the state, said Gene Abdallah, superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. There were no survivors, South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow said. "The plane had' said Lesley Braun, who lives about two miles from the site. "There's not a lot of debris spread out a long ways." She said her husband was among those who saw the plane coming down. "They saw it nose down so they hopped in the vehicle and raced towards where it was going down and were the first ones on the scene," she said. No one on the ground was hurt, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. Stewart, 42, was one of the most recognizable players in golf because of his trademark clothing. He won 18 tournaments around the world, including three major championships. In June, he won his second U.S. Open, prevailing over Phil Mickelson with a 15-foot putt, the longest putt to ever decide that championship on the final hole. "I'm proud of the fact that my faith in God is so much stronger and I'm so much more at peace with myself than I've ever been in my life," Stewart said after the win. "Where I was with my faith last year and where I am now is leaps and bounds." Today, visitors, including fellow golfer Mark O'Meara, began arriving at Stewart's home in an exclusive Orlando community. A neighbor, visibly upset, jumped into a car next door. The Rev. Jim Henry, retired pastor for First Baptist Church of Orlando who used to minister to the Stewart family, was one of those outside the home. "He was a wonderful Christian who had Christ in his life and somehow in his death," Henry said. "That brought a great sense of peace to his family in a difficult and tragic time." Stewart and his wife, Tracey, had two children, Chelsea, 13, and Aaron, 10. In Texas, fellow golfer Duffy Waldorf, preparing to practice today, told KTRH-AM in Houston that he considered turning around and going home when he heard the news. "He's an irreplaceable guy, not just for his playing record," Waldorf said, citing Stewart's unmistakable presence on the course and the consistency of his play. Lockhart said two FAA officials had been dispatched to the scene of the crash, as had a National Transportation Safety Board representative. Planes that fly above 12,000 feet are normally pressurized, because passengers would have difficulty breathing the thin air above that altitude. If there is a pressurization problem, those aboard the aircraft could slowly lose consciousness or, if an aircraft broke a door or window seal, perish in seconds from hypoxia, or oxygen deficiency. Once reaching a cruise altitude, pilots often switch on the autopilot. If they passed out, the plane would cruise until it ran out of fuel. John Nance, a commercial airline pilot and aviation author, said he can't recall an incident in which a civilian jet depressurized in flight. "Certainly we have had some incidents in military aviation that make this all too sadly familiar, but not in civil aviation," he said.