Monday 

      Sly In The Morning    

John Peterson in for Sly 

Updated: February 3, 2012 5:00 p.m.

Governor Walker to meet with district attorney

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he is voluntarily meeting with a district attorney leading a secret investigation into former close aides that has already led to indictments against five people. Walker issued a statement Friday saying he will be meeting with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. He did not say when the meeting would take place. The indictments so far have come against people who worked or were associated with Walker's county executive office in Milwaukee before he was elected governor. Two people were charged with embezzling $60,000 from veterans and their families. Two others last week were charged with illegal campaign activity on public time. Walker says he has hired two attorneys but no public money will be used to pay for their services.

State Appeals Court vacates ruling on recall signatures

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has vacated an order that would require state election officials to be more aggressive in ferreting out fake or duplicate signatures on recall petitions. The decision released Friday reverses a Waukesha County judge's decision and hands a victory to Democrats who wanted to intervene in a lawsuit related to recall signatures. Gov. Scott Walker's campaign had sued the state Government Accountability Board, saying the GAB wasn't planning to be aggressive enough in tossing fraudulent signatures. Democratic recall committees wanted to intervene in the suit but were denied. The appeals court says the recall committees should have been allowed to participate. The ruling sends the case back to Judge Mac Davis, who will have to issue a new order on how the GAB must handle signatures.

Assembly leader packing on floor

The Republican lawmaker who presides over the state Assembly says he's been carrying a concealed weapon during floor sessions. Bill Kramer of Waukesha is speaker pro tem of the Assembly. He controls debate and can order spectators out of the chamber. He says he obtained a permit to carry a concealed weapon in November and has at times carried a Glock 26 on the Assembly floor. He says he feels he needs the weapon given the toxic atmosphere at the state Capitol. Bands of protesters still angry over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's contentious collective bargaining law have spent the past year harassing GOP legislators. Last week they heckled Walker from the Assembly's overhead galleries as the governor gave his state of the state speech in the chamber.

Madison sweetens offer to keep WIAA tournaments

Madison is stepping up efforts to keep the state boys and girls basketball tournaments. The WIAA is considering moving the tournament as early as 2013 because of scheduling conflicts at the Kohl Center. The WIAA's agreement with the Kohl Center expires in 2013. The tournaments generate an estimated $9 million in spending. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the University of Wisconsin-Madison is pursing options to make the Kohl Center available on the WIAA's preferred dates and hoteliers are preparing a proposal to make the event more affordable to visitors. The WIAA will choose between Madison or moving to the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon. Madison has hosted the boys tournament for 90 of the last 91 years and the girls since its debut in 1976.

Wisconsin Indie Folk band to appear on SNL this weekend

A Wisconsin Indie Folk band will be performing on Saturday night live this weekend. This will be Bon Iver's first appearance on SNL. Bon Iver is lead by Justin Vernon of Eau Claire. The band also has four Grammy nominations including best record, best song, best new artist and best alternative music album.

Federal judge sentences 3 in Wisconsin pot farm bust

A federal judge has sentenced three Mexican nationals to prison for conspiring to grow marijuana in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest in northwestern Wisconsin. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb sentenced 21-year-old Cesar Tinoco to 10 years on Tuesday. She handed down the same sentence to 29-year-old Abraham Ramirez on Wednesday and 25-year-old Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros on Thursday. The men pleaded guilty in November. Three more men, two from Mexico and one from Minnesota, are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court within the next two weeks. They all were captured after dozens of police officers raided the farm just south of Clam Lake in August. Authorities seized nearly 9,500 plants.