Here & Now; 614

October 5, 2007

Here and Now, Budget Deadline Enforcement, The lack of state budget progress sparked some legislators to draft proposals aimed at preventing budget stalemates in the future. At least one republican Dean Kaufert floated the idea of a pay freeze for lawmakers who can't pass a budget. Democrat Louis Molepski rolled out what he calls the Budget Accountability Act. His plan would withhold legislators' paychecks after August 1st if no budget is in place. After September 1st, in the absence of a budget, temporary layoffs of government employees kick in. Representative Joe Parisi also has what he calls a Budget Deadline Enforcement Act. (w/ capitol broll), Opinions about budget deadline enforcement. World Dairy Expo, 65, 000 people have flocked to Madison this weekend to attend the annual World Dairy Expo. The event attracts dairy farmers from around the world, scientists, researchers, and of course cows. We told you about some new ideas at the state capitol, ideas that would keep future budget negotiations on time with motivators like withholding lawmakers' pay or even putting them under arrest if the budget stalled out. We asked some of you what you thought. Future of Farming in WI, Wisconsin is losing farmland faster than any other state in the Upper Midwest, a pace of 30, 000 acres per year. That's one of the threats to agriculture in this state that was identified time and again in a two-year long study that this week resulted in a report on the future of farming. The study was commissioned by the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences. In August as part of our coverage of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, we brought you a report about a bridge in Wisconsin with similar defects. That bridge spans the Mississippi River between La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Dresbach, Minnesota. On Tuesday, Minnesota Department of Transportation officials said the bridge passed a safety inspection. The bridge is scheduled to be replaced in 2014. (with bridge broll), Innocence Project, Innocence Project students tracked down a witness and additionally, experts proclaimed an audiotape used at trial was altered. The convict in this case who now gets a new trial, a former Lutheran minister, Reverend Richard Kittilstd, sent to prison on a prostitution conviction involving Panamanian students. Ode to Brett Favre # 2, The week started off with a bang when Green Bay Packer Brett Favre officially became the best quarterback in the galaxy. Packer fans everywhere sent up a cheer Sunday when Brett broke the all-time career touchdown pass record. One of those fans was our commentator Peter Leidy. Pete was so excited that he sat down and wrote this song.