Leader-Telegram from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • A7

Mallard Fillmore BY BRUCE TINSLEY Doonesbury BY GARRY TRUDEAU VACUUMS NEW USED REPAIRS ALL BRANDS 835-8663 Melby Exit 92 off Bypass BADGER STATE ENTERPRISES, INC. 587865 4-15-10 Visit our showroom 1720 North Clairemont Ave. 715-552-1890 WindowWorld.com In Brief Ex-lieutenant governor dies MADISON The last lieutenant governor in Wisconsin to preside over the state Senate has died. Russell Olson died Wednesday. He was 86.

Olson was elected as lieutenant governor in 1978 along with Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus. In April 1979, voters approved a constitutional amendment removing the lieutenant governor as the presiding officer. Olson also previously was in the state Assembly between 1961 and 1964 and 1967 until 1978, representing the Kenosha area where he lived and farmed. Olson retired from state politics in 1982 and went on to work for the U.S.

Department of Transportation. Olson moved from Wisconsin to Florida upon retirement. He is survived by his wife, Fran, and three daughters. He was preceded in death by one daughter. Feds cite plant after explosion MADISON Federal investigators have cited a Columbus packing plant with nearly 30 health and safety violations following a fatal explosion.

Fire officials have said sparks from a grinder ignited vapors set at the American Packaging Corp. in October. The operator, Jeffrey Doxtator, 47, was killed in the ensuing explosion. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection after the explosion. The agency announced Monday it had cited the company with 26 serious health violations and three serious safety violations, including failure to provide safe work procedures in a confined space and failure to take proper precautions against igniting vapors.

The company faces $127,350 in proposed penalties. Dennis Couture, vice president of operations, said the company will contest the citations. Meteor chunks set for display MADISON At least five fragments of a meteorite that fell in southwestern Wisconsin last week will be displayed for several days at UW- Geology Museum. The meteor lit up the skies last week in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and as far south as Missouri. The pieces to go on display today; they are about the size of an unshelled peanut and are partially covered with what scientists call a of dark materials, which forms when a meteor heats up as it passes through the atmosphere.

The museum will have extended hours today through Sunday. After that, the pieces then will be returned to the people who found them. to be considered MADISON Wisconsin would become the 39th state to enact a law protecting journalists and their confidential sources if a bill before the state Senate today passes and is signed by the governor. The proposal creates a so-called protecting journalists from having to testify or reveal their confidential sources. It is backed by the newspapers, broadcasters and other media outlets.

Wisconsin already has court rulings, but no state law, offering some protections for reporters. Most states already have shield laws, but there is no federal protection. Last week, Kansas became the 38th to enact one. Mechanic to do free work for mom WAUSAU One lucky Wausau-area mom will get some free work done on her car. Jon Griesbach owns Griesbach Auto Service Sales.

He says it bothers him when customers have to skimp on car maintenance to afford other necessities. decided to give away $500 in auto repairs to a local mother for Day. He said the money could be used to buy a new set of tires or brakes or for other repairs. Residents have until April 28 to nominate someone to win the prize. Griesbach will make the award in early May.

The application asks why the mother should be chosen and what problems she has with her vehicle. Weston resident John Thies said not surprised by the contest. He said Griesbach is well- known for his generosity. Mother of bride helps deliver baby MILWAUKEE A Wisconsin woman who went into labor on the way to a hospital got an assist from a mother at a nearby wedding party. Ben Sherwood of New Berlin was driving his wife, Kimberly, to the hospital Saturday when she told him they make it.

They saw a police officer by the Milwaukee Art Museum and flagged him down. Ben Sherwood said the officer had the same frightened look that he had. So Ben turned to a wedding party nearby and starting yelling for a doctor. A woman in a peach dress and high heels ran over. It was Annette Soborowicz, an emergency room nurse.

A few pushes later and Soborowicz was holding little Lincoln Sherwood. Soborowicz said it was an amazing day the Sherwoods had a son and she gained a wonderful son-in-law. From news services By Wisconsin State Journal MADISON A new tax on rural hospitals will offset a state Medicaid cut and increase incentives for doctors and other health care providers to work in rural areas. would have been a world of hurt if this go said Jeremy Normington, chief executive officer of Moundview Memorial Hospital in Friendship, which lost $2.3 million in 2008 and $400,000 last year. A bill signed Monday by Gov.

Jim Doyle authorizes the tax on Moundview and the 58 other hospitals, all in rural areas. The new measure is similar to a tax adopted last year on the 72 nonrural hospitals. The rural hospital tax, of about 1.6 percent of patient revenues, will bring in about $10.6 million a year in additional federal matching funds from Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for the poor. The extra money will offset a state Medicaid cut of about $7.5 million a year to the rural hospitals, part of $625 million in planned reductions over two years to the recession-strained program. The money also will expand school loan forgive- ness programs for doctors, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physician assistants and dental hygienists who work in rural areas.

For doctors who commit to rural settings for three years, the maximum amount will increase from $50,000 to $100,000. In addition, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health will get money to set up more rural residencies, which are programs that provide additional training for doctors after medical school. In the past two years, Moundview, the hospital in Friendship, has closed its nursing home, dropped its home health care program and stopped paying for ambulances, shifting that expense to local governments. Tim Size, executive director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, a Sauk City- based group of 35 rural hospitals, said the bill the important role of critical access hospitals as safety net Without the tax, the state cut in Medicaid, which covers 17 percent of patients at the hospital, would force more reductions, Normington said. McClatchy-Tribune Rural hospitals to benefit from new tax TATE 7A Tuesday April 20 2010 EADER -T ELEGRAM.