Fingerprints found in Berit Beck’s van is one of the main reasons Dennis Brantner is standing trial in Fond du Lac County court of the 18-year-old Sturtevant woman’s murder. Monday’s testimony included that of Steven Harrington who worked as a fingerprint analyst for the State Crime Lab when prints from the van were sent there in August of 1990. Harrington said he submitted unidentified fingerprints and palm prints to a database in 2003 hoping for a hit, but it would be 11 years later that prints were identified by the lab itself as belonging to Brantner.
Fond du Lac Police blocked off a two-block area around fire station #1 Monday morning after a Fond du Lac man brought in what looked like the makings of fireworks or explosives. He was helping cleaning a home in Port Washington and wanted to safely dispose of what he had in the trunk of his car. Fire department officials say it looked like fireworks, accelerant, and a detonator. They called the Brown-Outagamie County Bomb Squad, which picked up the materials and disposed of them.
Washington County Sheriff’s officials says the driver and a passenger on a motorcycle were seriously injured Sunday afternoon when they slowed to make a turn and were hit by a trailing car. The male driver and female passenger were ejected from the bike. The man was flown to Froedtert Hospital and the woman was taken to Summit Hospital . The accident at County Highway K and Shamrock Lane was reported just before 4 p.m. Investigators say speed and driver impairment do not appear to be factors in the accident.
The Fond du Lac County Board tonight will be asked to approve a lease agreement for a 122-bed student housing facility on the UW-Fond du Lac campus. The agreement is for an initial 40 years, with two-optional 15-year extensions. The lease rate is $1,000 a year. The board will also be asked to approve two resolutions asking the State of Wisconsin to fund studies on the impact of wind turbines and industrial wind turbines on human health. The board meets at 6 p.m. at the City-County Government Center in Fond du Lac .
Existing home sales in Fond du Lac County increased by 22.5 percent last month compared to May of 2015. Meanwhile according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association the median price of those homes in the county decreased by 4.6 percent in May. Statewide home sales were up 2.9 percent last month and the median price of those homes also increased by 3.1 percent. Year-to-date homes sales in the county are up by 8.7 percent compared to last year and the price of those homes rose by 1.6 percent.
Fond du Lac Police will be using a federal justice assistance grant to purchase an automated license plate reader. Captain Aaron Goldstein says the system involves mounting four cameras on the light bar of a squad car that capture license plates of vehicles as they go by. He says the system sets off an alarm in the squad car if a plate comes up on a hot list as a stolen vehicle or one possibly involved in criminal activity. The grant will pay the majority of the $20,000 plus cost for the system.
In 2013 Jim Krebs went from work as a real estate property searcher and title examiner to being named Deputy Register of Deeds for Fond du Lac County . He was named to the position by then Register of Deeds Patricia Kraus. Krebs, a Rosendale native, is now running for the position. He says the office deals in important documents including real estate documents and vital records like birth, death, and marriage certificates. He will oppose current Register of Deeds Shawn Kelly.
The president of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation says they have updated their suppliers’ directory. Steve Jenkins says they encourage businesses in Fond du Lac County to purchase and use products manufactured here in the county. He says you can find that list of products in their suppliers’ directory. He says it makes sense to keep that money circulating in the local economy. The suppliers’ directory can be found at the FCEDC website under the expand tab.
City of Ripon officials would like to see more residents getting their cats and dogs licensed. By city ordinance that should be done by April 1st of each year. City Administrator Lori Rich says unfortunately not enough people are complying with the ordinance. The City Clerk estimates that 60 percent of dogs and 30 percent of cats are currently licensed. Not having them licensed is a city ordinance violation.
