There are few places in Wisconsin more beautiful than this one. If you love hiking and lakes, you’ll want to spend time there at some point in your life. However, it’s also important to know that the most venomous snake in the state also calls it home.

Have you ever been to Devil’s Lake State Park? It’s gorgeous there. It’s situated in Baraboo Range in eastern Sauk County near Baraboo, Wisconsin south of the Wisconsin Dells.

What you need to be aware of is timber rattlesnakes are present in Devil’s Lake State Park, too. There’s even an official page dedicated to the snakes on the Devil’s Lake State Park website. World Atlas agrees that you’ll find timber rattlesnakes in this part of Wisconsin.

Hiking in Devil’s State Park is epic, but if you adventure away from designated trails, that’s when you can approach danger. These venomous rattlers like to hide next to tree stumps and under rocks. As the park mentions, encounters with hikers on the normal hiking trails is not common, but does happen. The snakes are not normally aggressive and will flee human contact. Where you run into dangerous trouble is when you reach or step somewhere you can’t see in the park. You could be bitten without the warning rattle most associate with these snakes.

Does that mean you should avoid visiting Devil’s Lake State Park? No way. It’s one of the best destinations in Wisconsin and a must-visit next time you make a trip to the Dells. Just be careful where you walk and listen for the rattle of danger that could be nearby.

STURGEON BAY, Wis. (AP) — A man convicted of reckless homicide for starting a 2022 fire that killed two people when it destroyed a Wisconsin building housing a bar and rented rooms has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

A judge also sentenced Anthony Gonzalez, 60, on Friday to 15 years of extended supervision for the fire at Butch’s Bar and the building’s upstairs apartments, the Appleton Post-Crescent reported.

The February 2022 fire killed two tenants who lived above the Sturgeon Bay bar, Victor Jurss and Gary Heise, and seriously injured a third tenant. Gonzalez told investigators he accidentally started the fire in his room above the bar when he was trying to refill a cigarette lighter.

His attorney argued that the building lacked fire safety equipment and said Gonzalez wasn’t reckless because he tried to extinguish the fire and knocked other tenants’ doors to alert them to the fire.

A jury convicted Gonzalez in January of two counts of second-degree reckless homicide and five counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety. His attorney has said she plans to appeal the verdict.

Door County Judge D. Todd Ehlers said during Friday’s sentencing that Gonzalez has blamed others both for the fire and his convictions and that he has shown a lack of remorse.

Sturgeon Bay is located along Lake Michigan about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Green Bay.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The 2020 election, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, introduced unique challenges that affected nursing home voting, indefinitely confined voter lists, and third-party funding for election administration. Despite these obstacles, meticulous independent audits by both the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau confirmed there was no widespread fraud. Furthermore, it is notable that former President Trump received 51,000 fewer votes in Wisconsin than Republican congressional candidates in the same election. 

The persistent claims that the 2020 election was stolen not only lacks a basis in fact but also erodes the foundational trust in our democratic process. Such allegations threaten the unity and confidence that are vital as we approach the 2024 election. 

As a former chair of the Wisconsin State Senate’s Committee on Elections and advocate for electoral integrity, I am confident that our state officials, both Republicans and Democrats, are dedicated to ensuring that every vote is counted fairly and transparently.

Popular letters to the editor

Poor choices: Why are taxpayers restoring an elk herd only to have hunters kill them off?

Campus protests: Don’t compare today’s Gaza protests with Vietnam-era

Looking ahead to 2024, it is crucial that all leaders, regardless of party affiliation, respect the outcomes of our elections. The people of Wisconsin deserve a secure and fair voting process, and I am committed, alongside my fellow Wisconsinites, to guarantee just that. 

Kathy Bernier, state director, Keep Our Republic Wisconsin. Bernier, a Republican, served in the Wisconsin state legislature from 2011 to 2023 and earlier was the elected Chippewa County Clerk.

Tips for getting your letter to the editor published

 Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:

• Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.
• Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. 
• Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter.
• Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. 
• Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person.
• We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions.
• We don’t publish poetry, anonymous or open letters.
• Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.
• All letters are subject to editing.

Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the bottom of this page.