A substitute teacher who was banned from teaching in Washington County after reportedly using a student to reenact the police killing of George Floyd has lost his job as a police officer in western Wisconsin.

Steven Williams, an officer with the Prescott Police Department, had been on administrative leave since last month when the allegations about his conduct at Woodbury High School came to light last month.

In a separation agreement between Williams, police union and the city set to go into effect Friday, Nov. 15, Williams will resign from the department rather than face termination. He’ll get a payout of his vacation time and can keep his health insurance through the end of the month.

Williams’ reenactment of Floyd’s 2020 murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was just one of several “inappropriate and racially harmful” actions he took in the classroom on Oct. 14, according to officials with South Washington County Schools.

He reportedly mimicked pointing a gun at a student, told sexist jokes, spoke in detail about bodies he had seen, shared explicit details about two sexual assault cases he had investigated and said “police brutality isn’t real,” according to the district.

Students had shared audio and video recordings of Williams with school administrators, who then removed Williams from the classroom and escorted him off the premises, Superintendent Julie Nielsen said.

Williams, who had served for two years with the Prescott Police Department, had subbed for teachers in South Washington County seven times since he started the job in March 2024, according to the district.

Williams was hired by Teachers On Call, a third-party vendor that provides the district’s substitute teachers.

— Alex Derosier

DNR keeps Mille Lacs winter walleye limit

State-licensed ice anglers on Mille Lacs Lake will be able to keep two walleye 18-20 inches long, or one walleye 18-20 inches long and one walleye longer than 28 inches, from Dec. 1 to Feb. 23, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday.

“Mille Lacs’ walleye population is trending in a good direction for both adult and juvenile fish,” Brad Parsons, the DNR’s fisheries section manager, said in a news release. “Juvenile perch and tullibee, important forage species for walleye, also are abundant.”

The winter season regulation marks a continuation of the more liberal limit the DNR implemented this fall.

The DNR based its decision on this fall’s Mille Lacs netting assessment, which showed higher walleye abundance than in 2023, along with strong numbers of juvenile fish that are expected to contribute to the fishery in the future.

State-licensed anglers share the harvest on Mille Lacs with Ojibwe tribes that retain treaty fishing rights. The total harvest for the fishing year is set through discussion and agreements between the state and the tribes, with each party setting regulations to stay within their share of the harvest.

As of Sept. 30, state-licensed anglers had harvested 29,891 of the 91,550 pounds of walleye they were allocated for the 2024 fishing season.

Complete winter fishing regulations for Mille Lacs Lake are available at mndnr.gov/millelacslake.

— Forum News Service

Voters approved record number of school levies

Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referenda on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of the funding requests, according to a report released Thursday.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum study found that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referenda, eclipsing the old record of 240 set in 1998. The referenda sought a total of $5.9 billion, a new record ask. The old records was $3.3 billion set in 2022.

Voters approved 169 referenda, breaking the old record of 140 set in 2018. They authorized a record total of $4.4 billion in new funding for school districts, including $3.3 billion in debt. The old record, unadjusted for inflation, was $2.7 billion set in 2020.

A total of 145 districts — more than a third of the state’s 421 public school districts — passed a referendum in 2024. Voters in the Madison Metropolitan School District approved the largest referenda in the state, signing off on a record $507 million debt referendum and as well as a $100 million operating referendum.

The report attributed the rising number of referenda to increases in inflation outpacing increases in the state’s per pupil revenue limits, which restrict how much money districts can raise through property taxes and state aid.

Increasing pressure to raise wages and the loss of federal COVID-19 pandemic relief aid also have played a role, according to the report.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization.

— Associated Press

Oil well gas flares sparked 2 wildfires

Natural gas flares at oil wells sparked two North Dakota wildfires earlier this fall, according to reports from the North Dakota Fire Marshal’s Office.

Investigators concluded that flares combined with high winds and extremely dry weather and started a wildfire near the town of Keene and another near New Town, the Bismarck Tribune reported Thursday. Officials with ConocoPhillips and Hess Corp., which operate the oil wells, say they are still reviewing the reports.

No one was killed or injured in the two fires that both began Oct. 5, but a combined 14 square miles (36.3 square kilometers) were burned, damaging land and livestock.

The fires were among several in northwestern North Dakota in October that burned up to 118,000 square miles.

Two people died and six were injured in other North Dakota wildfires. Agencies are still investigating what caused the other wildfires.

Flaring is the act of burning off excess natural gas that comes up along with oil. Oil and gas companies are required to flare natural gas from oil wells that cannot be captured or moved — venting natural gas is illegal and creates more pollution than flaring it.

ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Lexey Long said the company is still reviewing the fire investigation report. The company is committed to providing information to the state fire marshal’s office and is working directly with landowners and tenants, Long said in a statement.

“Our focus remains on the safety of our workers, the community and on the protection of the environment,” Long said.

Hess spokeswoman Alison Ritter said the company “is in the process of reviewing the report” and declined further comment.

The fire marshal’s office does not issue penalties or have the power to prosecute.

It is unclear if either company will face consequences.

— Associated Press