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TSA finds loaded handguns in luggage at 2 different Wisconsin airports

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TSA finds loaded handguns in luggage at 2 different Wisconsin airports


MADISON, Wis. (WEAU) – The Transportation Safety Administration says it discovered a loaded handgun in carry-on baggage at two completely different Wisconsin airports this week.

TSA officers discovered the primary gun Monday morning round 6:30 a.m. on the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, or close to Wausau. An officer noticed the gun throughout the X-ray display screen and contacted the Mosinee Police Division. The proprietor of the baggage, who’s from Stratford, had a hid carry allow.

The second gun was discovered Tuesday morning round 4:20 a.m. on the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison. An officer observed the gun on the X-ray screening and contacted the Dane County Sheriff’s Workplace. The proprietor of the baggage, who’s from La Crosse, had a hid carry allow.

For the Central Wisconsin Airport, it was the primary firearm stopped earlier than reaching a airplane this 12 months after none had been present in 2021. For the Dane County Regional Airport, it’s the second gun stopped this 12 months after seven had been discovered final 12 months.

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“This was an excellent catch on the a part of our officers at a time once we are seeing a rise in journey quantity,” Mark Lendvay, Wisconsin TSA Federal Safety Director, mentioned.

Lendvay mentioned the vacationers made “careless and dear” errors. The TSA is permitted to high quality people as much as $13,910 per violation, with a typical first violation high quality of $4,100.

The TSA mentioned passengers can journey with firearms in checked baggage if they’re unloaded and packed individually in a locked onerous case separate from ammunition and declared on the airline check-in counter. Possession legal guidelines for firearms differ by municipality and state, so vacationers are suggested to evaluation the legal guidelines within the locations they’re visiting. Airways may have their very own guidelines for touring with firearms. Extra details about touring with firearms is posted by the TSA on its web site.

Copyright 2022 WEAU. All rights reserved.



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Wisconsin lawmakers renew effort to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms at risk of postpartum complications

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Wisconsin lawmakers renew effort to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms at risk of postpartum complications


Wisconsin is one of only two states that does not offer a full year of Medicaid coverage to certain low-income mothers after they give birth, a distinction that a group of GOP state lawmakers again is seeking to change, despite opposition from a key Republican leader.

Most of the state’s lawmakers have again signed on to a bill authored by Republicans that would allow low-income mothers who make more than the poverty level to stay on BadgerCare Plus, the state’s largest Medicaid program, for a full year after giving birth, instead of only two months.

The only other state that does not offer a full year of coverage is Arkansas, according to the KFF, a health policy research group.

For months after giving birth, women are still at risk for a range of life-threatening, post-pregnancy complications, including heart conditions, clotting disorders, postpartum depression and more. Statewide, a third of the 63 pregnancy-related deaths in the three years from 2020 to 2022 occurred more than two months after giving birth, said Arielle Exner, legislative director at the state’s Department of Health Services.

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In addition, women with high blood pressure or other conditions who lose health coverage midway through the postpartum period could see their conditions worsen to the point they become chronic or threaten their long-term health, supporters said during a Wednesday hearing on the bill before the state Senate Committee on Health.

In the last few years, most states without a year-long coverage period for postpartum women have approved it, making it part of their Medicaid programs. In red-leaning states, Republicans promoted the extension of coverage as a central part of their pro-life agenda, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

“We as a state are unfortunately behind on this issue,” said state Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, an author of the Wisconsin bill, at Wednesday’s hearing. “We have a chance to do better for our moms, our kiddos and our families as a whole.”

In Wisconsin, similar bills have been introduced in the last two legislative sessions, only to stall in one or both chambers.

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Last session, a state Senate bill to extend coverage passed by a 32-1 vote, but the bill never made it to a floor vote in the Assembly, even though a majority of the Assembly had signed onto the bill as co-sponsors.

At the time, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, opposed the bill, saying during a Q&A in 2023 “we give away too much free stuff” and that after pregnancy, women could sign up for a private health plan on the marketplaces set up through the Affordable Care Act.

“We want to encourage people to leave the public sector and enter the private marketplace as quickly as we can, not keep them on Medicaid even longer than they already are,” he said at the time.

Pregnant women whose household income is three times the poverty level or less qualify for BadgerCare Plus during pregnancy and for about two months after. Currently, only mothers who make as much as the poverty level or less qualify to stay on BadgerCare Plus beyond that second month.

Donna Rozar, a former state representative and an author of last session’s legislation to extend coverage, said new mothers shouldn’t have to worry about health coverage.

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“If you have a two-month-old baby, the last thing you want to do is change insurance programs,” she said at Wednesday’s hearing on this session’s bill.

Supporters of the bill stressed that having to switch health insurance soon after birth could lead to a break in coverage when patients are between plans or to disruptions in care if patients have to switch doctors.

For women going through mental health challenges, such as postpartum depression, on top of it all, it can be even tougher.

“It is hard to access health care. It’s even harder to access mental health care,” said Kathleen Hipke, a licensed clinical psychologist who spoke at Wednesday’s hearing. “Trying to find new health care providers, navigate wait times – by the time these things happen, we’ve already exceeded the 60-day period.”

Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, has included an extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage in previous biennial budget proposals, only for Republican lawmakers writing the state budget to remove the year-long extension from consideration.

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Asked at a news conference last month whether a bill to extend postpartum coverage would get a vote in the Assembly this year, Vos said he thought it “unlikely.”

“Our caucus has taken a position that expanding welfare is not a wise idea for anyone involved,” Vos said.

But many Republicans in the state Assembly and the Senate, in fact, are co-sponsors of the bill. Like in previous legislative sessions, the bill was authored by Republicans, among them Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, who was standing behind Vos when he made those comments last month.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Snyder said he hoped Wisconsin passed the legislation before Arkansas, the only other state without the extension.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Snyder said. “The bill is not partisan in my mind. … I’m into helping people, my constituents, and if we can’t get something like this done, then I don’t know what I’m doing in the Legislature.”

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If the bill passes, it would mean about 5,000 more women per month would be covered by BadgerCare Plus, Exner, the DHS legislative director, said. The annual cost of implementing the extension would be about $18.5 million in state and federal funds. Of that total, about $7.3 million would come from the state, she said.

About one in three births in Wisconsin were covered by BadgerCare Plus or another Medicaid program in 2023, Exner said.

On Wednesday, longtime supporters of the legislation, including medical professionals with the Wisconsin chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reiterated that the bill would likely save lives.

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, an OB-GYN in Madison who spoke on behalf of ACOG, recounted a patient who suffered worsening high blood pressure and a life-threatening blood clot after delivery and who required blood thinners and frequent adjustments to her medication that were necessary beyond two months postpartum.

“When we see women who lose their coverage who are newly requiring these medications, we worry as physicians about what will happen to them, their risk for things like heart disease, stroke and death in the upcoming year and beyond,” she said. “We are failing to cover mothers like this across Wisconsin.”

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Joann plans to close 16 Wisconsin stores, a change from what the retailer said in January

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Joann plans to close 16 Wisconsin stores, a change from what the retailer said in January


Almost 70% of the Joann fabrics and craft stores in Wisconsin are now set to close, a stark change to a month ago, when the company, which recently filed for bankruptcy, made no mention of store closings in the state.

After filing for bankruptcy in January, the national retail chain has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to authorize the closure of about 500 stores across the U.S., including 16 in Wisconsin, according to a statement from Joann on Wednesday.

The company first filed for bankruptcy in March 2024 but was able to keep its stores open by going private, despite owing $1 billion in debt at the time. However, the 82-year-old company still owes more than $600 million in debt and has faced lagging sales and inventory issues, according to CNN.

The January announcement from the company had initially excluded any mention of closing Joann stores in Wisconsin, but Wednesday’s announcement changes that.

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Which Joann stores in Wisconsin are closing?

A total of 16 Joann stores are closing in Wisconsin, including four in the Milwaukee area, according to the announcement.

  • Fond du Lac: 806 W. Johnson St.
  • Janesville: 2700 N. Pontiac Drive
  • Madison: 2021 Zeier Road
  • Pewaukee: 2020 Silvernail Road
  • Cudahy: 5656 S. Packard Ave.
  • Brookfield: 16800 W. Bluemound Road
  • Menomonee Falls: N78 W14531 Appleton Ave.
  • Watertown: 401 Bernard St.
  • Plover: 1150 Meridian Drive
  • Lake Geneva: 600 N. Edwards Blvd.
  • Beaver Dam: 1645 N. Spring St.
  • Marshfield: 1919 N. Central Ave.
  • Marinette: 2400 Roosevelt Road
  • Oshkosh: 1226 S. Koeller St.
  • Racine: 2629 S. Green Bay Road
  • Sheboygan Falls: 4079 Highway 28

Which Joann stores in Wisconsin will remain open?

The company has a total of 23 locations in Wisconsin. The following will remain open:

  • Greenfield: 4950 S. 74th St.
  • Appleton: 720 N. Casaloma Drive
  • Green Bay: 2777 S. Oneida St.
  • Onalaska: 1220 Crossing Meadows Drive
  • Wausau: 226830 Rib Mountain Drive
  • Eau Claire: 4045 Commonwealth Ave.
  • Wisconsin Dells: 121 Commerce St.

A full list of Wisconsin locations can be found on the company’s website.

How many Joann stores are closing? How many are staying open?

The closure of 500 stores will represent an almost 60% reduction in the craft retailer’s brick and mortar spaces, of which there are currently 850, according to its website.

In its Feb. 12 statement, the chain wrote that the closures would contribute to “right-sizing our store footprint” and ensuring the best path forward for the company.

“This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our Team Members, our customers and all of the communities we serve,” Joann said in the statement. “A careful analysis of store performance and future strategic fit for the Company determined which stores should remain operating as usual at this time.”

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When will my Joann store close?

Information on when the Joann stores will close was not included in the announcement.

Maia Pandey contributed to this report.

Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.





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Marquette-Wisconsin volleyball match is coming back to Fiserv Forum on Sept. 17

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Marquette-Wisconsin volleyball match is coming back to Fiserv Forum on Sept. 17


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Big-time college volleyball is coming back to Fiserv Forum.

Marquette will play host to Wisconsin in the arena on Sept. 17, the schools announced on Tuesday.

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The teams faced each other at Fiserv in Sept. 2023 in front of 17,037 fans, the largest crowd to see an in indoor NCAA volleyball match.

UW was the nation’s No. 1 team at the time and earned a 28-26, 20-25, 26-24, 25-18 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Fiserv Forum also played host to the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase, which included UW and several other highly ranked teams.

UW has dominated the series with MU, winning 24 of 25 matches. The Golden Eagles’ lone victory came in 2019.



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