The case against a former group home owner accused of having repeated sexual contact with a disabled resident is expected to go to the jury Wednesday. Jurors will have a lot to think about: Two nurses testified that 74 year-old Clarence Mielke appeared to be zipping up his pants after being spotted in the resident's room. The woman herself testified that she was assaulted on more than one occasion. A D-N-A expert linked Mielke to the woman's breasts and to one of her bras. On the other side of the ledger, Milkie's wife testified that the woman had a habit of engaging in attention-getting promiscuous behavior. Testimony that there'd been prior friction between the Milkie's and the nurses could raise additional questions. And the D-N-A expert admitted that D-N-A can be passed by touch. Mr. Mielke--a former Kenosha County Sheriff's Dept. Capt.---did laundry on a regular basis at the facility.
-0-
The owner of a gym in Wind Lake has been arrested after a camera was found hidden in a bathroom. According to a news release from the Racine County Sheriff's Dept., 49 year-old James Kivisto purportedly admitted to recording juveniles while they changed on multiple occasions. A search uncovered multiple pornographic images. Kivisto has worked as a gymnastics coach in both Racine and Milwaukee counties for over 30 years. He's currently being held in jail pending the filing of formal charges. Authorities are urging anyone who's had a child at Wind Lake Gymnastics to call 262-636-3990 and speak to an investigator.
-0-
Racine Mayor Cory Mason wants to spend nearly $1 million dollars on workforce development projects and related work. Mason told the city council's finance committee that he wants to make sure that Foxconn employment opportunities don't slip by. "I think it's time for us to lean in a bit," he said. While the jobs are coming, he said, they require a greater level of overall skill than in the past, hence the need for a concerted effort on workforce training. If approved by the council, the money would come from the Intergovernmental Revenue Sharing Fund, a revenue account that was created a number of years ago when the city expanded utility service to outlying areas.
-0-
The second of three forums on Foxconn-related impacts will be held Wednesday evening at Carthage. The first session drew such a large crowd that organizers moved the second one to a larger room. Wednesday's meeting will be held in the Todd Wehr Center, beginning at the same time, 4 p.m. The panel, which is expected to include Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, will focus on Foxconn's potential to serve as a catalyst for further growth in skilled manufacturing, as well as the stress it'll exert on local infrastructure and government budgets.
-0-
The first of three sessions designed to familiarize parents with the strategies that are in place to protect Kenosha Unified schools from mass shooters will be held Wednesday night. It'll be held at the Educational Support Center beginning at six. It's a response to the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
-0-
Three Racine teenagers are charged with attempted murder and armed robbery for shooting a drug dealer and stealing some of his marijuana. According to the criminal complaint, the suspects jumped the victim and began a tug of war with the bag. When the victim said 'you'll have to shoot me first,' they did---hitting him in the leg and running off with the pot. The suspects--ages 17, 16 and 15--were eventually tracked down.
-0-
