KFIZ News Monday 8/29/16

23 And K Modifications Begin Soon

State DOT and Fond du Lac County Highway officials will be closing the intersection of State Highway 23 and County Highway K in Fond du Lac on Tuesday. The intersection will be modified beginning early next month. The project will finish in November. Motorists will not be able to cross the median of State Highway 23. Slotted left turn lanes will be installed in the median of State Highway 23 at the intersection. Right turn islands will be installed on County Highway K.  The median crossover west of the intersection will be removed. The improvements will prohibit left turns and through movements from County K until an overpass can be constructed.

Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement agencies across the County and state are participating in the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. The campaign is underway now and runs through Labor Day. Sheriff’s Captain Ryan Waldschmidt says drunken driving is 100 percent preventable. He says there is the conscious decision to drink and then the conscious decision after drinking to get behind the wheel and drive drunk. Last year in Wisconsin 190 people were killed and nearly 2,900 injured in alcohol-related crashes.

Pilot Program Allows FDL Wastewater Treatment Facility To Reduce Phosphorous Levels

The Fond du Lac Wastewater Facility is working on a way to reduce the level of phosphorous it puts back into Lake Winnebago. Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says Clearas Water Recovery is working with the facility on a pilot project. He says they actually grow algae at the facility before the treated wastewater is released into the lake. He says the algae feeds and grows in tubes on the nutrients in the treated water before it can grow in the lake itself. He says in theory that will reduce phosphorous levels and the amount of algae growing in the lake. He says the algae can also be harvested at the plant to make bio-plastics and fertilizers. Clearas Water Recovery put on tours and demonstrations at the plant last week.

County Executive Says Facility Like Retlaw Hotel Is Needed

Fond du Lac County Supervisors were recently introduced to the new owners of the Retlaw Hotel during a closed session. County Executive Al Buechel says some of the financial information discussed during the session wasn’t something they wanted made public. He says they are looking for help from the City and possibly from the County. Buechel says the City of Fond du Lac needs a hotel like the Retlaw because that is the type of facility major employers will encourage their customers to stay in while they are visiting. He says local officials would like to see those customers stay in Fond du Lac, but they need a facility like the Retlaw for them to stay in. The new owners of the Retlaw are planning $23 million in renovations to it. They also own the Northland Hotel in Green Bay.

New Logo And Brand For MPTC

Moraine Park Technical College is slowly releasing a new logo, catch phrase and brand. Patty Lehn  is Moraine Park’s Director of Marketing and Communications. She says a De Pere agency researched how the community feels about the college. She says the outcome was positive. She says the community really has an appreciation for the college and students feel really supported when they get to campus. Gone from the logo is the tree. Colors in it are more vibrant. The catch phrase or tagline is, “Imagine what’s next.” She says that captures the imagination of incoming students whether they are recent high school grads or someone looking for a career change. You can see the new logo, read blogs and more at Moraine Park’s new website. Lehn says changes will be more noticeable when they begin advertising for the spring semester in November.

Ripon Common Council Discussing Use Of Tablets

The Ripon Common Council may be using tablets some day, but they will be starting out on a smaller scale. City Administrator Lori Rich says for now Council members would just like to have City hosted email addresses. She says a lot of Council members use their email addresses for Common Council business. She says eventually they may have tablets they can use at the meetings, but nothing has been decided about that yet.

FDL City Labor Day Closings

City offices in the Fond du Lac City-County Government Center will be closed next Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday. The Municipal Service Center will also be closed for all services. There will be no refuse and recycling collection on Labor Day. Refuse and recycling normally collected on Monday will be collected on Tuesday, September 6th with the normal Tuesday collection. The Senior Center and Public Library will both be closed and City Transit Buses will not operate.

County Announces Office Closings On Labor Day

All Fond du Lac County offices in the City-County Government Center will be closed on Labor Day. The Sheriff’s Office Lobby Window, the Portland Street Annex including the Veterans Service Office, the Department of Social Services and the Highway Department will also be closed.