Wisconsin
Proposed grant could make Driver’s Ed. more affordable in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin lawmakers want to improve driving safety with a proposal to make driver’s education more affordable and accessible for future drivers.
A new bill to create a grant program for future drivers is up for debate at the Assembly.
The proposal puts $6 million into the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s pocket to make the class free for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Before students can get their license when they turn 16, they have to pay $400 to $600 for in-class and/or behind the wheel lessons.
The money is a barrier for some students like 15-year-old Annie Dong of Madison.
”I don’t have that kind of money,” Dong said.
She is one of the few students who applied and qualified for a free driver’s education course through Madison School and Community Recreation.
”It’s going great,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve never hit a curb yet.”
She said her parents didn’t want to pay the fees and didn’t love driving with her so she was motivated to apply for the course.
”My dad would scold me when he would try to teach me,” she said. “He would be like, ‘Okay well if you don’t want to learn you could pay someone to do it.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to prove you wrong.’……. And I got in the program and I proved him wrong.”
According to MSCR’s Director of Driver Education Christine Bergan, some students who cannot afford the class wait until they’re 18-years-old, skip driver’s ed., and take the test before hitting the road.
Wisconsin Assembly Representative Bob Donovan is co-sponsoring the bill proposal along with Democratic lawmakers.
”A lot of people will say that they’re concerned really across the state of Wisconsin, with the level of driving, they see a lot of individuals driving inappropriately,” (R) Rep. Donovan said. ”There are a lot of shortcuts occurring and lack of respect for other drivers on the road, so it’s our hope that this will help make a difference.”
He said it’s the first step to making Wisconsin roads safer.
Dong’s Driver Education Instructor Andrew Graham said making the course more affordable for more students could be helpful.
”We’re all on the roadway,” he said. “I think there are a lot of students that maybe don’t have the opportunity to have that knowledge base to be drivers, and this maybe allows them to have that chance and the opportunity.”
Bergan said the cost of running the program also increased with insurance and gas prices since state funding was pulled in 2003, so any more funding could help.
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Wisconsin
Motorcyclist dead after Friday crash in Wisconsin Rapids
The crash happened about 7:10 p.m. Friday at the intersection of State 54 and Washington Street.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – One person is dead following a motorcycle versus vehicle crash Friday evening in Wisconsin Rapids.
The crash happened about 7:10 p.m. Friday at the intersection of State 54 and Washington Street. According to the initial investigation, a vehicle was traveling north on State 54 at Washington Street and was attempting to turn left onto Baker Drive, according to a news release from the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department. The motorcycle was traveling south on State 54 and hit the passenger side of the vehicle, which turned in front of the motorcycle, the release said.
The driver of the motorcycle suffered serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to Marshfield Medical Center where he later died from his injuries, the release said.
The occupants of the vehicle were treated by Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department EMS and released at the scene.
The police department said it is not releasing the names of those involved at this time.
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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
Wisconsin
What should passengers off a jet in Wisconsin be handed, like the lei in Hawaii?
Our political blowhard, Adam Murphy, joins to answer the toughest question: What should we hand to people landing in Wisconsin, like getting a lei off the jet in Hawaii? We also discussed the less-than-half effort from Republicans in the state Legislature to overturn vetoes, plus WIZM on Reddit.
La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.
Got some great answers from Murphy and callers to that question and spent a good part of the show discussing it.
We also hit on Republicans in the state Legislature (17:30) calling themselves back into session — the Legislature has been off since mid-March and wasn’t coming back into session until next year, after the elections — to try and override 36 of Gov. Tony Evers’ vetoes. You’ll be surprised at how big a failure that was.
Ended the show (33:00) talking about a post on Reddit about WIZM comments and whether or not they should be “moderated” or deleted. We did not have time to get to the part where someone said I was middle-left in political leaning.
Murphy has degrees in economics and political science from UW-Milwaukee. He’s also owns a small business, called Big Bang LLC in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Superior honors its graduates
SUPERIOR — The University of Wisconsin-Superior class of 2024 was recognized Saturday, May 18 at Siinto S. Wessman Arena.
According to UWS, more than 650 students from 33 different countries were eligible to receive diplomas for Saturday’s commencement ceremony — including 437 bachelor’s degrees and 198 master’s degrees. There also were 46 undergraduate students with double majors.
Graduating students included 218 first-generation students. The oldest graduate is 72 years old and the youngest is 20.
Chancellor Renée Wachter presided over the ceremony and presented diplomas to students who earned associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
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