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Sandhill crane study committee scheduled to vote on draft bills, including crane hunting

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Sandhill crane study committee scheduled to vote on draft bills, including crane hunting



Committee to meet Tuesday in Madison

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The Legislative Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes is scheduled to vote Tuesday on three draft bills, including two that would allow crane hunting in Wisconsin, as the body wraps up its work on management of the species.

The committee may also make a special appeal to federal wildlife officials to allow the utilization of cranes killed on depredation permits.

The action items are the result of four previous meetings. The committee is charged with examining sandhill population trends and to “determine whether any changes to state law would effectively address the incidence and consequences of crop damage caused by sandhill cranes in this state,” according to its description.

As part of its “comprehensive review of policy options, the committee may consider whether the Department of Natural Resources should seek federal approval to establish a hunting season for sandhill cranes.”

After being threatened through the mid-1900s, sandhills have recovered in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. Wisconsin hosted an average of 51,000 cranes from 2018-22, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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The large, native birds are welcome sights to most but have a negative effect on many farms. Agricultural producers in Wisconsin sustained an estimated $1.97 million in crane-caused crop damage in 2023, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services. Slightly more than half was to corn in spring, the balance to potatoes and other crops later in the year.

No program exists to compensate Wisconsin farmers for crane-caused crop losses.

One of the draft bills (LRB-0604/P3) would establish a cost-share program to provide funding for a seed treatment to corn farmers. The treatment, commonly known by the product name Avipel, has been shown to be effective at preventing cranes from eating corn seedlings in spring. The non-toxic chemical is distasteful to cranes, according to the manufacturer.

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The bill draft appropriates $1.875 million of general purpose revenue in fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. This amount, combined with a 50% cost share, would reimburse producers for seed treatment covering 300,000 acres of corn, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council estimate.

The seed treatment bill, however, would only address crop damage to corn in spring. Nearly half of the crop losses occur to potatoes and other crops later in the year.

The two proposals that would allow crane hunting include a stand-alone draft bill (LRB-0815/P1) and one (LRB-0591/P4) that would bundle the seed treatment bill with a sandhill crane hunting bill.

The population of sandhill cranes is large enough in Wisconsin to sustain a limited crane hunting season, according to testimony at the committee’s Aug. 1 meeting by retired DNR waterfowl ecologist Kent Van Horn. It would also provide a new hunting opportunity for the state’s hunters, some of whom now travel to western or southern states to pursue the species.

However a potential crane hunt in Wisconsin would likely be structured to have minimal to no impact on the sandhill population, Van Horn said.

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Furthermore no study exists that shows sandhill crane hunting has resulted in reduced crop damage anywhere in North America.

As such, crane hunting in Wisconsin would not likely achieve the committee’s objective of reducing the incidence of crane-caused crop damage.

A sandhill hunt in Wisconsin would produce one change, however: it would allow farmers to receive compensation for crane damage through the state’s wildlife damage abatement fund.

That has its own issues since the number of crane licenses would be too low to generate anywhere near the revenue needed to cover the estimated $1.9 million in annual agricultural damage claims from crane-caused crop damage, according to a DNR assessment.

In recognition of this, the two crane hunting bills (LRB-0815/P1 and LRB-0591/P4) would apply an increase of at least $1 in the wildlife damage surcharge on all hunting licenses sold in the state. Most of the licenses are resident deer hunting licenses; they would see the fee increased to $3 from $2.

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The increase on all Wisconsin hunting licenses would raise about $1 million more per year for the wildlife damage abatement fund.

Even the infusion of new revenue from the fee increase is associated with risks if a sandhill hunt is approved, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council.

In its assessment of the draft crane hunting bills, council staff said “if new spending on sandhill crane-related damage exceeds new revenue generated under the bill draft, the program balance may be depleted. This would impact (wildlife damage claim) assistance for other species.”

In other action, the committee will consider submitting a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking permission to allow the utilization of cranes killed on depredation permits in Wisconsin. Rules now require the bodies of cranes killed under the permits to be left in the field or buried. As such they can’t be used by the farmers or others as food.

The Legislature has twice failed to advance bills on sandhill crane hunting, in 2011 and 2021. The Legislative Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes is chaired by Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), author of the 2021 crane hunting bill.

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The committee will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Room 417 North (GAR Hall) at the State Capitol.



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Wisconsin

Balanced scoring key for Badgers heading into matchup with Minnesota

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Balanced scoring key for Badgers heading into matchup with Minnesota


MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin men’s basketball is set to take on Minnesota at the Kohl Center for another rendition of the border battle on Thursday night. The Badgers have owned the series recently– 8-2 over the last 10 game against the Gophers.

Wisconsin is coming off their first true road win of the year. This was actually their first win on the road since late January of last season. The 75-63 win over Rutgers was their fourth straights.

The Badgers are sixth in the conference in scoring, averaging 83.3 points per game. The Gophers are dead last in scoring, averaging only 68.8 per contest.

The Badgers scoring is quite balanced this year. In their 15 games so far, four different players have lead in scoring and it is come from both guards and big men. The players said the balance makes the Badgers a difficult matchup.

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“Yeah, it’s fun cause that gives other team’s like it’s hard to scout us when you know who don’t know when can go off on any given night,” said senior guard Kamari McGee. “That’s a nice threat to have to have as a team you know not being able to have that many guys that can go off like that, cause some night It might be all of them going off and that’s when we really be clicking. But you know it’s really good to have guys that you can fall back on like that.”

Wisconsin looks to go over .500 in conference play, while Minnesota looks for their first conference win of the season. Tipoff is at 6:00.

Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.



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John Blackwell Hitting His Stride as Wisconsin's Starting Point Guard

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John Blackwell Hitting His Stride as Wisconsin's Starting Point Guard


MADISON, Wis. – Kamari McGee is as close to being an expert at point guard as the University of Wisconsin has on its roster.

The fourth-year senior excelled at the position at Racine (Wis.) St Catherine’s High School and won a state championship in 2020, thrived as a true freshman when he earned freshman all-conference honors at Green Bay, and been a steady contributor as the reserve at Wisconsin. He knows what works at the position.

That’s why McGee continues to be in awe of sophomore John Blackwell’s impact as the Badgers’ primary facilitator, ball handler, and igniter in his first season at the position.

“I’ve been seeing it game by game,” said McGee, answering the question sitting next to Blackwell after the sophomore scored a career-high 32 points in a win over Iowa. “He wasn’t used to playing the point guard for us specifically. He was coming off the bench (last year), getting into that role of just being a scorer, but each game he’s gotten better each time.

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“People may say he’s not a point guard. Honestly, in today’s game, there aren’t really any point guards. He’s just a good playmaker and a great scorer for us.”

Fresh off back-to-back 20+ point games to get Wisconsin (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) back to even in the Big Ten conference, Blackwell is starting to emerge as one of the Big Ten’s most complete guards. His 15.8 points per game is 13th in the league. He’s averaging 6.5 rebounds in conference play and has

“He’s just really complete,” head coach Greg Gard said of Blackwell. “He has a nose for the ball and got some toughness to him. He is a complete player. He does everything and he understands that. He understood that day one as a freshman last year. That’s what allowed him to get on the court so early. He understood the importance of little things.”

Blackwell put on a master class on Friday, scoring from all three levels against Iowa’s leaky defense. He was 5-for-6 from two-point range by either showing touch with mid-range pull-up jumpers or putting his shoulder down to get at and finish at the rim.

He was 3-for-21 from the perimeter over his previous seven games but confidently hit 6 of 10 from behind the arc. He made all four free attempts and tied his career-high with five assists against two turnovers, having no problem against a man-to-man or zone defense.

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It was more workmanlike Monday at Rutgers but still efficient with an 8-for-15 night (7-for-11 on twos) and 4-for-4 from the line. Entering Friday’s game against Minnesota (8-7, 0-4), Blackwell is shooting 50 percent from the floor.

“I have confidence in my coaches and my teammates,” Blackwell said. “They trust me. They know how good I am, and I know how good I’ve worked.”

The implantation of Name, Image, and Likeness deals and the freedom of movement with the transfer porter have removed most of the guarantees in roster building. So, Gard didn’t have much time to wallow when Chucky Hepburn, his three-year starter at point guard, left for a reported $750,000 deal with Louisville.

The Badgers added Camren Hunter from the portal, but the Central Arkansas transfer didn’t play last season and was slowed by picking up the system and battled illness throughout November. UW inked highly ranked point guard Daniel Freitag but showed in the preseason he wasn’t ready for the role.

The staff also considered starting McGee, but Gard wanted to keep the senior as an energy boost off the bench (it’s worked with McGee shooting 55.2 percent from three with a 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio).

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Wanting a point guard who could push the ball in transition while still having an eye for scoring, Gard and his staff looked toward Blackwell, whose 45.5 3-point percentage was the best of any freshman in program history with at least 60 attempts. Despite playing just 18.5 minutes per game, Blackwell led the team in scoring four times.

While showing flashes in intrasquad scrimmages, Blackwell reportedly took over with the ball in his hands in the second half of UW’s closed scrimmage with Northern Iowa. He pushed tempo, created opportunities for himself and others, and the offense hummed.

“It was a tell-tell sign for us,” Gard said. “We had thought about it as a staff, talked about it, experimented a little bit. We had to stop dipping our toe in the water and really jump in with that and making a full commitment to him having the ball as much as we could.”

One of Blackwell’s first conversations after being informed of his role was with McGee, who has mentored him at every step.

“Killer was just in my ear,” Blackwell said. “Showing me all the support, telling me all the plays from the point guard spot, the ways I can score and still facilitate, and these guys trusting me with the ball in my hands, so credit to them.”

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Of course, there have been bumps in the road. Blackwell had five assists to nine turnovers in losses to Michigan and Marquette. In the road loss at Illinois, Blackwell was limited to 22 minutes and fouled out. More frustrating for Gard was Blackwell had zero assists and felt that offense was stagnating for long stretches.

The film review was blunt and straightforward: be aggressive, make things happen with the ball in his hands, and be a confident facilitator.

Over the last four games, Blackwell has responded with 18 assists and only seven turnovers. In his words, he’s helped Wisconsin play “the right basketball” by moving the ball, having high assist numbers, and playing collectively as a unit.

“He’s got a lot on his plate,” Gard said. “It’s easy to try to take a break at times because maybe he needs one. I need to do a better job of getting him in and getting him out. His numbers of assists, even in practice, have jumped. That tells me he’s more comfortable.”



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Norovirus cases on the rise in Wisconsin; what you need to know

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Norovirus cases on the rise in Wisconsin; what you need to know


Health experts say a new strain of the norovirus has cases surging across Wisconsin. Norovirus is very contagious and presents symptoms you often associate with the stomach bug. 

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Common symptoms of norovirus include vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. 

Over the last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded ten outbreaks in Wisconsin. Symptoms usually start one or two days after exposure.

How it spreads

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According to the CDC, you can get norovirus by: 

  • Having direct contact with someone with norovirus, like caring for them, sharing food or eating utensils with them, or eating food handled by them.
  • Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus.
  • Touching contaminated objects or surfaces and then putting your unwashed fingers in your mouth.

Additionally, you can still spread norovirus for two weeks or more after you feel better, the CDC says. 

How can I protect myself?

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Frequent handwashing, handling and preparing food safely, and scrubbing surfaces with household disinfectants can help. The CDC says hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus.

Additionally, health experts advise that you wash laundry in hot water. 

Norovirus information

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How it spreads

Signs and Symptoms

How to Prevent Norovirus

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When and how outbreaks happen

HealthWisconsinNews



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