Daily Citizen from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin • A1

00 1 SCOTT BAUER Associated Press Wisconsin Re- publicans plan to vote next week to kill key parts of Democratic Gov. Tony state budget proposal, including legalizing medical and recreational mar- ijuana, expanding Medicaid to capture $1.6 billion in federal funding and granting collec- tive bargaining rights to public workers. The move, announced Friday, is no surprise and follows what the GOP-controlled Legislature did two years ago to rst budget. Evers and Democrats have lobbied for his proposal to be taken up as written, saying it ects what the people of the state want. Republicans decried it as a liberal wish list.

The bud- get-writing Joint Finance Com- mittee will vote Thursday on re- moving a 15-page list of nearly 300 items from the $91 billion spending plan before they then work on rebuilding a two-year spending plan from scratch. Some of the items targeted for removal could return in an al- tered form more palatable to conservatives, while others will not be resurrected. Other items Republicans in- tend to remove include freezing enrollment in the private school voucher program and allowing the University of Wisconsin System to borrow for operational expenses. That is a top priority of university cials, who said it was needed to deal with short- term losses caused by the coro- navirus pandemic. Also on the chopping block: Making Juneteenth, the day marking the emancipation of people who had been enslaved in the United States, a state holiday; increasing taxes on capital gains and manufacturers; cutting taxes for poor people; re-instating collective bargaining rights lost under the Act 10 law passed a decade ago; and automatic voter registration.

Republicans will also vote to remove a package of criminal justice reforms introduced af- ter George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police of- cer Derek Chauvin, who was GOP rejects plans Scores of measures to be removed from budget WINDS GRADUALLY SUBSIDING 81 60 FORECAST, A10 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 wiscnews.com/bdc OBITUARIES A2 LOCAL A3 NATION WORLD A4 OPINION A9 SPORTS B1 CURRENT B7 Volume 110, Issue 52 A Capital Newspapers publication Copyright 2021 Follow us online: facebook.com/beaverdamdailycitizen twitter.com/bdcitizen I I WEEKEND ers exclusive digital content for our members. Discover local history at your ngertips with our new digital archives. WISCNEWS.COM/ARCHIVES Unrest in Titletown Packers navigate day two of draft, Rodgers drama SPORTS, B1 TERRI PEDERSON COLUMBUS Columbus Fire Chief Randy Koehn announced he will retired July 30. Koehn, a Columbus native, has served as the re chief in Columbus for 12 years and spent over 46 years working at both the Columbus and Beaver Dam re departments. been thinking about it for several Koehn said.

gave it a lot of thought and de- cided it was Koehn said the Columbus Po- lice and Fire Commission will start searching for his replace- ment, and he asked for the new start date to overlap with his time as chief for a smooth transition. Koehn will be sorely missed by the city of Columbus, however, his retirement is great news for him and his family, and is very well Columbus City Administrator Kyle Ellefson said. brought many years of experience to the department, but more importantly he helped develop a great sense of respect and pride throughout the de- partment and the community. calm presence and abil- ity to work easily with everyone was invaluable. We wish him all the best in his Koehn lived on River Road in Columbus growing up and had four ghters living on his road as a child.

the re sirens would sound, which are similar to the tornado siren Koehn said. see my neighbors take and head to the re As a child, also go to the Columbus Fire Station to see Santa Claus, and Koehn said his Columbus chief to retire TERRI PEDERSON, DAILY CITIZEN Randy Koehn, a Columbus native who served as re chief in Columbus for 12 years, will retire July 30. His ghting career spanned 46 years with the Columbus and Beaver Dam re departments. ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS Disneyland re- opened on Friday and cruise lines welcomed the news that they could be sailing again in the U.S. by midsummer, as the number of Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reached an- other milestone: 100 million.

Visitors cheered and screamed with delight as the Southern Cal- ifornia theme park swung open its gates for the rst time in 13 months in a powerful symbol of the U.S. rebound, even though the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth is allowing only in-state guests for now and operating at just capacity. The reopening and similar steps elsewhere around the country ect increasing optimism as COVID-19 deaths tumble and the ranks of the vaccinated grow a stark contrast to the worsening disaster in India and Brazil and the scant availability of vaccines in many poor parts of the world. In fact, the U.S. announced Fri- day it will restrict travel from India starting Tuesday, citing the dev- astating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe administration made the deter- mination on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden signed a proclamation barring entry to most foreigners who have been in India in the past 14 days, with exceptions for legal permanent residents, spouses and close family members of U.S. cit- izens, and some others. He cited the spread of the virus and its variants. While the overall number of lives lost to COVID-19 in the U.S.

has eclipsed 575,000, deaths have plummeted to an average of about 670 per day from a peak of around 3,400 in mid-January. Thirty-nine percent of the na- adult population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over of adults have received at least one dose, up from a month ago. However, about of those who have gotten one dose of either the zer or Moderna vaccine have not returned for their second shot, cials said. Dr.

Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert, said it is important to com- plete the course to gain maximum protection against the virus. 100M fully vaccinated KEN THOMAS JUNEAU Scenic rural beauty and from the pres- sures of daily life have long been touted as two of the tour- ist appeals. Unfortunately, the ability to unplug is a major challenge for those who need to stay con- nected especially rural school districts in the time of COVID 19. Dodgeland School District educators recently spoke of the challenges of poor broadband access, and the obstacles it has posed for both students and sta The district has 750 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, most of whom are equipped with their own iPads. became evident last spring when we closed down in-person instruction that we had families that were struggling to connect with us virtually because of a lack of Internet said Superintendent Annette Thompson.

about the topography of the land. about cell phone reception. Broadband access poses challenges Ocials urge more to get shots as US continues to reopen Internet connection a barrier for some Dodgeland students KEN THOMAS, CITIZEN STAFF Broadband access, especially in rural areas, poses a challenge for many school districts. Dodgeland School District is one such place. From left, Tech Director Brad Moda Superintendent Annette Thompson and School Principal Jessica Johnson confer on the challenges of connectivity.

Randy Koehn spent 46 years as Please see VACCINE, Page A2 Please see CHIEF, Page A2 Please see BUDGET, Page A2Please see BROADBAND, Page A2.