Thursday, 1.27
Dane County Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara sentences Donte D. Beasley, 39, to 25 years for shooting his girlfriend, Zenolia Rice, and their two children, 8-year-old Destiny and 7-year-old Donte Jr., in November 2009, before cutting his own throat. Rice asks the judge to have mercy, saying of Beasley, "We love him. We forgive him. His kids miss him."
The State Journal reports that New Holstein school superintendent Chris Nelson, charged with soliciting sex online from a minor, resigned as athletics coordinator from the Madison school district in 2005 after being caught viewing pornography on his work computer. (One clue to this back story, unmentioned by the media: Isthmus' 5/27/05 story on how Nelson resigned from the school district over viewing porn at work.)
Police charge Anthony Steele, 51, with several felonies for allegedly strangling his ex-girlfriend and running over her son with his car several times on Packers Avenue Jan. 17. Both victims survived.
Friday, 1.28
State regulators close Evergreen State Bank, and the McFarland State Bank agrees to take over its assets. Customers won't lose any money, and employees are expected to keep their jobs. Evergreen is the fourth Wisconsin bank ordered closed since 2009.
Prosecutors charge Deleon D. Harland, 23, and Berry A. Carr, 22, with allegedly killing Lofton Sprouls, 28, last March during a robbery on the city's south side.
Monday, 1.31
Campaign filings show that, as of Dec. 31, Scott McDonell had a significant advantage over his opponents for Dane County executive, having raised more than $52,000, including $20,000 he transferred from his county supervisor war chest. His closest rival in the money race, state Rep. Joe Parisi, has raised $22,000.
Tuesday, 2.1
The state Capitol is lit up in green and gold in honor of some football team that's playing a big game somewhere. Details are sketchy.
Gov. Scott Walker gives his first State of the State address. See Bill Lueders' report.
Dr. Vincent Tranchida starts work as Dane County's first medical examiner, an appointed position replacing that of an elected coroner. Tranchida, who worked in New York City's medical examiner office, tells the State Journal, "I expect I will have a lot fewer subway deaths."
Wednesday, 2.2
Madison shovels out from a blizzard that dropped a foot of snow in just 24 hours, closing schools and government offices and suspending bus service. Gov. Walker declares a state of emergency in 29 counties, including Dane.
The annual ritual over whether Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie - along with cohort Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania - will see his shadow, predicting a late spring, is canceled due to heavy snow.
Compiled (in part) from local media
