Latest Wisconsin Headlines
All the headlines from our Wisconsin Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Upholds Legality of Transfer from Wisconsin Malpractice Insurance Fund
Dec 22 2008 // Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature legally used $200 million from Wisconsin’s medical malpractice fund to help balance the state budget, a judge has ruled. The decision, if it stands, spares the state from...
Wisconsin Agents Name New Director of Education and Membership
Dec 3 2008 // Martha Lester-Mittenzwei recently joined the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin (IIAW) as its new director of Education and Membership. Mittenzwei began her insurance career in the agency ranks, working her way from...
Wisconsin Emergency Plan Calls for Secret Succession List
Nov 19 2008 // Wisconsin lawmakers would submit secret lists of emergency successors under a bill a state disaster committee adopted Wednesday. The Legislative Council Special Committee on Emergency Management and Continuity of...
Wis. Northwestern Mutual Agrees to Settle Lawsuit up to $92 Million
Nov 17 2008 // Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for up to $92 million. The lawsuit accused Northwestern Mutual of failing to pay dividends on certain term life policies and using improper...
Voters Shuffle Deck of State Legislatures; Both Parties Claim Gains
Nov 5 2008 // Voters on Tuesday left their mark on the state political landscape, shifting the partisan control of state government in a dozen states. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Democrats gained control...
Wisconsin Dilweg: State Regulation Best for Agents, Consumers
Oct 30 2008 // From flooding and tornado catastrophes to the impact of the AIG bailout or the federal versus state regulation debate, Sean Dilweg has a lot on his plate as Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner. Appointed by Wisconsin...
Wisconsin Parents Win $11.4 Million in Malpractice Suit
Oct 27 2008 // A Wisconsin jury has awarded the parents of a brain-damaged boy $11.4 million in a medical malpractice case. Chad and Amy Jelinek of Eastman claimed in a 2006 lawsuit that negligent care by a nurse and nurse midwife at...
Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg
Oct 20 2008 // From tornadoes, hail and flooding to the impact of the AIG bailout and the federal versus state regulation debate, Sean Dilweg has a lot on his plate as Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner. Appointed by Wisconsin...
Wisconsin Appeals Court Overturns Ruling Now in State Farm’s Favor
Oct 17 2008 // A Wisconsin appeals court says the estate of a police officer killed in a car crash six years ago cannot collect on his insurance policy. The ruling overturns a judge’s decision awarding Robert Etter’s estate...
Wisconsin’s Wausau Signature Agency Appoints Two Zone Vice Presidents
Oct 13 2008 // Wausau, Wis.-based Wausau Signature Agency (WSA) has appointed two vice presidents to lead sales, service and marketing in the southern and northern regions of the U.S. Mark Miller has been promoted to vice president-South...
Jury: Fatal Wisconsin Blast Killing 3 Ruled Manufacturer’s Fault
Oct 6 2008 // A civil jury on Friday, October 3 ruled against a manufacturer that claimed a contractor was to blame for a plant explosion that killed three workers and injured 48. The jury said Falk Corp. bears nearly all responsibility...
U.S. Court Sides with Bank to Stop Mortgage Loan Class Action
Sep 26 2008 // A lawsuit brought by a Wisconsin couple who accused a bank of deceptive lending practices and wanted to cancel their home loan has been stripped of class-action status in a victory for U.S. banks. In a 2-to-1 decision, a...
Wis. Officials: Snow Storm Communications Helped in Flood Response
Sep 23 2008 // Wisconsin emergency management officials say a lack of communication during the 2008, February snow storm backup taught them how to better respond to this spring’s floods. The state Homeland Security Council issued a...
Wisconsin Sleep-Related Truck Crash Prompts Federal Call for Research
Sep 18 2008 // Trucking companies should work harder to enforce that their drivers get rest, and the government should move toward mandating the use of alarm systems to alert exhausted truckers, a federal board recommended. While drivers...
Wisconsin Utility Workers Diverted from Texas to Ohio
Sep 17 2008 // Utility crews from Wisconsin Public Service prepared to go to Texas on Septembr 15 to help restore power to victims of Hurricane Ike have been redirected to Ohio. Ten crews are responding to a request from American...
Wisconsin Commissioner Says Humana Paid $750,000 to Resolve Complaints
Sep 11 2008 // Humana Insurance Co. has agreed to pay the state of Wisconsin $750,000 to settle complaints about its marketing and other practices. Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg says the settlement will protect seniors from problems...
Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Centers Closing in Wisconsin
Aug 15 2008 // The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says it will close disaster loan centers in Lancaster, Portage and Janesville, Wis. on Friday, Aug. 15. The SBA is urging homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit...
Wisconsin Insurance Company President Dies in 2 Car Collision
Aug 13 2008 // The president of Mt. Morris Mutual Insurance Co. in Coloma and his 8-year-old grandson have died in a two-vehicle crash in Jackson County, Wis. Seventy-two-year-old Howard Fenske and Blake Fenske died about 5 a.m. Monday...
Wisconsin’s Traffic Deaths Fewest Since 1946
Aug 8 2008 // The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recently released a statement saying that traffic deaths were down last month, making the month of July in Wisconsin the lowest in fatalities since World War II. Sixty-three...
OSHA Had Cited Wisconsin Mill 3 Times Before Fatal Explosion
Aug 1 2008 // The Wisconsin paper mill where an explosion killed three workers earlier this week received three citations for safety violations in the past 10 years, including one that was serious, according to a federal Web site. The...
