Wisconsin
Add Ozaukee to the list of Wisconsin counties with deer baiting and feeding bans. Now there are 59.
The finding of chronic wasting disease in a buck at a Sheboygan County shooting preserve has caused a deer baiting and feeding ban in Ozaukee County. The ban is required by state rule.
A deer baiting and feeding ban kicked in Thursday in Ozaukee County due to the recent detection of chronic wasting disease at a Sheboygan County captive deer facility, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
The ban is linked to a CWD-positive 5-year-old white-tailed buck at Heavy Horn Whitetails LLC, a shooting preserve in Cascade, according to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Because the CWD finding was within 10 miles of the Fond du Lac, Ozaukee and Washington county borders, it affected deer baiting and feeding rules in each county.
State law requires the DNR enact a three-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where CWD has been detected and a two-year ban in adjoining counties within 10 miles of a CWD detection. If additional CWD cases are found during the lifetime of a baiting and feeding ban, the ban renews for an additional two or three years.
In this case, the CWD finding initiated a new two-year baiting and feeding ban in Ozaukee County. And it renewed existing bans in Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Washington counties. Baiting and feeding is now banned in 59 of the state’s 72 counties, according to the DNR.
More: Outdoors calendar
Prior to the change, Ozaukee County was the only county in southern Wisconsin in which deer baiting and feeding was allowed.
Baiting or feeding deer encourages the animals to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source where infected deer can spread CWD through direct contact with healthy deer or by leaving behind infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces and urine, according to the DNR.
The state agriculture department announced the Sheboygan County CWD finding on Jan. 25.
As a result of the disease detection, Heavy Horn Whitetails LLC has been placed under quarantine and will remain so while DATCP and U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarians and staff conduct an epidemiological investigation, DATCP said in a press release. The business has 92 deer on 90 acres, according to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease of deer, elk and moose. It is caused by a infectious, malformed prion, or protein, that affects the animal’s brain.
The disease is not known to affect livestock nor has it been shown to sicken humans. However the Centers for Disease Control and Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommend humans not consume meat from an animal that tests positive for CWD.
The disease was first identified in the 1960s at a research facility in Colorado. As of this month, CWD has been detected in 32 states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids or commercial captive cervid facilities, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The first detections of CWD in Wisconsin in both wild and captive deer were announced in 2002.
In Wisconsin DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, disease testing, movement and permit requirements while the DNR manages wild deer and deer hunting in the state.
The intended goals of the baiting and feeding ban include protecting the local wild deer herd and reducing the spread of disease, according to the DNR.
Bait and feed placed on the landscape, even in limited quantities, often attracts unnatural numbers of deer, according to DNR information. Deer are often concentrated at one bait or feed site, or between several sites in close proximity, allowing for increased contact that would otherwise not occur in natural feeding environments, the agency states.
Unnatural concentrations of deer and contact rates caused by baiting and feeding increase the risk of disease infection and transmission, according to the DNR.
For additional information on CWD in Wisconsin, visit dnr.wi.gov.
Sturgeon season update
Spearers registered 264 lake sturgeon through the first seven days of the 2024 sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago System, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
Poor ice conditions have reduced participation and harvest this year. Last year at the same point in the season 1,073 sturgeon had been registered.
On opening day (Feb. 10) the DNR reported reported about 450 shanties on Lake Winnebago, down from 3,000 in 2023 and 6,000 in 2022.
None of the protective harvest caps is close to being hit and fisheries staff with the DNR expect the season to run the full 16 days.
Wisconsin
US animal rights activists clash with police over Wisconsin dog breeder
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
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The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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