A woman banned for life from all Walmart stores because of her penchant for shoplifting was arrested Monday night after she allegedly enlisted the aid of three young girls to steal mostly alcohol from Walmart on Watts Road on Madison's west side, police reported.Shequilla Hollingsworth, 23, Madison, was tentatively charged with three counts of contributing to the deliquency of a child, two counts of resisting, two counts of bail jumping, retail theft and unlawful trespass, according to a Madison Police Department news release.The three girls reportedly enlisted by Hollingsworth are 12, 13 and 14 years old. All were cited for retail theft and released to their parents or guardians."Store employees said the group brought two large bags with them and swiped two other bags while ... Continue reading →

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Authorities have arrested a man for climbing Mount Rushmore National Memorial in western South Dakota. Mount Rushmore spokeswoman Maureen McGee-Ballinger says the climber was arrested about 2:15 p.m. Monday on federal charges that include trespassing and climbing the memorial. She did not identify the man, who has yet to appear in court. McGee-Ballinger says the man was spotted on the loose rock directly below the carvings of four presidents, and park rangers escorted him safely down the mountain. She says visitors and the sculpture were never in any danger. She says similar incidents happen several times a year when people for unknown reasons decide to try to climb the mountain. Mount Rushmore upgraded its security after members of Greenpeace climbed the ... Continue reading →

The Madison... | Facebook Sign UpFacebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life. The Madison Marathon staff and representatives from the police, medical team, and Weather Central are all meeting this afternoon to discuss emergency plans for the weekend, should we need to implement them. We have heard your concerns and will be taking them into consideration, but the final decisions will lie with the leadership team mentioned above. We will be issuing a statement later today. We are doing all we can to make this a safe event for all of you...but please don't forget to prepare yourself as a runner, too! Read up on best strategies for running in warmer temps and try not to push yourselves in conditions ... Continue reading →

Madison officials are vowing more police presence and other safety measures after shots were fired into a crowd outside bars on the 600 block of University Avenue early Saturday morning.Mayor Paul Soglin said Monday that the city is doubling funding to $100,000 for the Downtown Safety Initiative, which puts extra cops on duty on weekend nights. He also said he's exploring changes to the city's loitering, behavior and panhandling laws.Soglin said the city is also acting to help rid neighborhoods of those who choose to plague residents with crime, drugs and violence. The city is employing neighborhood resource teams and law enforcement, he said."We are going to win. You are going to lose," he said. "You might as well get out of town now or ... Continue reading →

Convicted Sterling Hall bomber Karl Armstrong was arrested last week in Chicago after state troopers found more than $800,000 cash in heat-sealed bags stashed inside of a motor home that Armstrong was driving, according to a document filed Monday in court.That arrest Thursday led to a search on Saturday by the state Division of Criminal Investigation of a town of Madison trailer home where Armstrong lives for evidence of marijuana trafficking, according to a search warrant filed in Dane County Circuit Court.Neither Wisconsin nor Illinois authorities found marijuana in Armstrong's trailer or motor home.A spokeswoman from the Illinois State Police office in Chicago did not return phone or email messages asking about Armstrong's current status.During the search of Armstrong's trailer on Honeysuckle Lane in the ... Continue reading →

At age 4, Serra Crawford was doing second-grade multiplication and essentially reading at an adult level.By 6, she advanced to algebra and trigonometry. A year or two later, she was writing books about an osprey that flew around the world, her mom recalled.Serra was doing college-level work at age 10, and Sunday, less than three weeks after her May 1 birthday, the 16-year-old will walk across the stage at the Kohl Center to receive her UW-Madison diploma, possibly the youngest student to ever graduate from the school.She’s low-key about her academic accomplishments, and definitely not boastful.“I enjoy it. I enjoy learning,” she said this week at Steenbock Memorial Library, apologizing that her “brain was fried” from studying for final exams.Asked whether school has always come ... Continue reading →

CAMPBELLSPORT — Authorities say the 7-year-old girl shot in the back with an arrow in Campbellsport is hospitalized in stable condition.Fond du Lac County sheriff�s officials say Aryanna Schneeberg is recovering at Children�s Hospital in suburban Milwaukee where she had surgery to remove the arrow.Sheriff Mylan �Mick� Fink said Monday the girl was on a sidewalk in Campbellsport when she was hit about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Fink says she was walking with two or three other girls.Sheriff�s Capt. Dean Will tells WFDL radio (http://bit.ly/KfCLun ) investigators canvassed the neighborhood and confiscated a bow, arrow and target from a residence about 70 to 80 yards away from where the girl was hit. Continue reading →

More than one shooter is believed to have fired into a crowd of young bar goers early Saturday morning on University Avenue, Madison police say.Spokesman Joel DeSpain told Madison.com the shooting incident in which three people were injured wasn't random."It's an ongoing dispute between many individuals," DeSpain said. "There were multiple guns used and more than one shooter."The shooting happened about 1 a.m. Saturday in front of Segredo and Johnny O's Sports Lounge, two prominent bars in the 600 block of University Avenue. About 100 people were outside at the time.DeSpain said several persons of interest have been identified as being involved in the gun violence but no one has been arrested.Three people were hurt in the shootings, a 26-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and ... Continue reading →

CAMPBELLSPORT — A 7-year-old girl is hospitalized after she was shot in the back with an arrow in Fond du Lac County.Sheriff's officials say the girl was walking down East Main Street in Campbellsport about 5:30 p.m. Sunday when she was hit. She was taken to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, then transferred to Children's Hospital in suburban Milwaukee.WBAY-TV reports investigators don't believe there's a threat to public safety. The girl's identity and condition have not been released. Continue reading →