1410 WIZM

The first democrat in the race for Wisconsin's US senate seat says she has thick skin. Tammy Baldwin may need it. Republicans are calling the Madison rep, the most liberal member of congress.  Baldwin says she's been called worse.  But she really sees herself as a fighter and a defender of the middle class.

Next year's US senate election will replace the retiring Herb Kohl.

Paid in full. Developer Gorman and company has agreed to pay all the back rent the company owes to the city of La Crosse for the commercial lease on Grand River Station downtown. Gorman had withheld rent payments because of what they thought was an unforeseen lack of parking around the Grand River Station that kept retail space in the building unrentable

Ted Matkom from Gorman, says, they never had meant not to pay rent, they just thought a break in the rent amount was fair.   In the end, he says, the company wasn't ready to sacrifice a good working relationship with the city over a few thousand dollars.

Police are looking for a couple of thugs they think did over a thousand dollars of damage at the Catholic cemetary in La Crosse. Cops have video of the two young guys who they say broke a big marble plate covering a vault containing the cremated remains of three people. The video shows the guys showing up on their bikes last Thursday afternoon, leaving, then returning with a couple of cans of Keystone Ice. To replace the marble plate will cost about 12 hundred dollars.

Shut down the lobby at the police department half the time, have some crimes only reportable online, get rid of half the crossing guards, but La Crosse police chief Ed Kondracki has limits to service cuts he's willing to make.  School liaison cops, for example.   Kondracki says they're very valuable at the schools in which they serve.  La Crosse has five school cops that serve in the middle and high schools. Kondracki says if his staffing situation got really dire, he'd have to put those cops back out on the street. The city council will likely vote this week to authorize another round of hiring in the police department.