WBA Award Winning Investigations
2016: Best Series or Documentary: First Place: Opiate Oppression
This three-part series airing in May 2016 was part of our year-long commitment to showing how the opiate crisis was impacting large segments of our viewing area. NewsChannel 7 Investigates exclusively obtained a Marathon County Health Department report showing even though most of the community now knows prescription drop boxes exist, they are still keeping old prescription drugs in their homes. We looked at the everyday story of Michael Dixon, whose opiate addiction began after having his wisdom teeth removed as a teen. This eventually led to his heroin addiction, which caused him to crash his car, killing him and leaving his young son with a lifelong traumatic brain injury. The series also focused on Wausau being named a top 25 city for prescription abuse, the lack of treatment options, how addiction changes brain chemistry, the scope of the problem for law enforcement and how hospital funding can sometimes depend on how addicts answer surveys.
2016 Best Series or Documentary: Second Place: Veterans Emergency Care
Since beginning this on-going series in 2016, it initially revealed how the Dept. of Veterans Affairs was denying nearly one out of every three veterans payment for their emergency medical billing claims. Our continuing reporting has since showed how many veterans are not being refunded billions in improper billing, including more than 5,400 Wisconsin veterans' claims. And how a recent VA rule change still leaves a lingering loophole. That means many veterans are still liable to pay their own emergency bills, if they go to their closet ER during an emergency. The stories have used Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain answers and provided lawmaker accountability checks. Because of our reporting, veterans recently filed a class action lawsuit.
2015: 1st Place: Best Hard News/Investigative: 911 DaneCom System Overhaul
For more than a year, Matthew Simon’s on-going News 3 reports into continuous first responder emergency radio failures has been part of the station’s "911 Dane Com system" series, awarded first place by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for best hard news/investigative report. More importantly, Simon’s reporting produced change. Causing Dane Co. to accept responsibility and work toward fixing a problem that put first responders lives in jeopardy.
For the past year, Matthew Simon’s News 3 series into continuous first responder emergency radio failures was part of the station’s "911 Dane Com system," coverage awarded first place by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, for best hard news/investigative report. More importantly, Simon’s reporting produced change. Causing Dane Co. to accept responsibility and work toward fixing problems putting first responder's lives in jeopardy. Highlights are included in this reel. The complete series can be seen below.
A growing number of Dane County first responders say the radios they use to call for help are not working. (9/18/14)
A radio frequency of the state’s WISCOM emergency communication system, combined with a new state radio procedure put in place this summer, appears to have caused the radio failures some first responders across Dane County have been reporting, according to a memo by Dane County 911 Director John Dejung. (9/19/14)
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi will propose spending $4.5 million toward building four emergency radio towers in Mt. Horeb, Stoughton, Deerfield and Deforest when he rolls out his 2015 budget on Wednesday.
Some first responders say they are still concerned about public safety even though Dane County Executive Joe Parisi says he plans to spend $4 million to fix the county’s delayed new emergency radio system DaneCom.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi plans to ask the County Board to approve a change in how the 911 Center is governed; shifting its authority from what he calls a cumbersome bureaucracy to his office. (10/1/14)
As Dane Co. Executive Joe Parisi pushes to gut the Public Safety Communication Center Board of its decision-making power, a report compiled by the county’s 911 call-taking software company says the board lacks data required to make well-informed decisions. (10/16/14)
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney told a county committee Tuesday he supports Executive Joe Parisi's proposal to gut the first responder center board of its ability to make public safety communication decisions, including overseeing the county’s 911 system. (10/15/14)
The first responders who used to decide how 911 gets to Dane County homes are no longer in charge after a dramatic turn of events during a county vote Thursday night. (11/7/14)
The Dane County Police Chiefs Association unanimously moved Thursday to demand the county board, executive and 911 director fix radio problems that have plagued the county’s emergency communication system for the past five months. (11/14/14)
Stoughton’s fire chief said repeated radio & pager failures are putting his 39 volunteer firefighters’ lives in danger.
Parts of DaneCom will be taken offline at the beginning of the year to determine if the county’s new emergency communication system is causing emergency radio problems. (12/18/14)
While Dane County police and fire leaders are cautiously optimistic about county leaders' plans to enhance their new emergency communication radio system, known as DaneCom, the police chief association president says there is also hesitation. (7/30/15)