The speed limit has been in place off and on since 2006 but will expire July 1 if lawmakers don’t act.

The state Senate is set to approve the limit on Thursday. The Assembly has already approved it, so if the Senate agrees it will then go to Gov. Jim Doyle for his consideration.

Supporters say the limit helps reduce the number of crashes and fatalities. Previously, Wisconsin had no speed limit on snowmobiles. As many as three dozen or more people have died in one year in Wisconsin snowmobile crashes.

Tim Hatlevig was fined $1,000 recently for drunken snowmobiling and illegally operating a snowmobile on a highway.

Police say Hatlevig ended up crashing into a telephone pole with such force that it broke in half. he was hospitalized after the crash.

Neenah Menasha Fire Rescue personnel using an ice rescue boat pulled Jeremy Remter, 24, of Appleton, from the water about 20 minutes after he went in.

Remter was taken by ambulance to Appleton’s St. Elizabeth Hospital for treatment of injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening.

Christina Turner, who was visiting relatives on Lake Road in Menasha at the time, said the snowmobilers had been riding near open water when she saw one man go into the water.

“They were going back and forth right at the end of the ice and water. There was water spraying up from behind their snowmobiles,” Turner said.

Turner and numerous other witnesses along the northwest corner of the lake notified authorities with concerns, even before Remter’s snowmobile crashed through the ice, said Winnebago County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Gruss.

“We received calls that earlier in the evening two snowmobile operators were trying to skim their snowmobiles across open water. We were headed up that way to check on their welfare when dispatch said one was submerged under the ice,” Gruss said.

Remter and the other snowmobile operator, Luke Van Zeeland, 22, of Kimberly, had been riding their snowmobiles about a quarter-mile off shore near Buoy 100.

Two Appleton men died in January when their snowmobile entered open water near Buoy 100, which is south of Jefferson Park.

Turner said the second snowmobiler circled around Remter briefly as he hung onto the ice before heading about a mile back to Waverly Beach, where they had started their ride, according to the sheriff’s department.

Gruss said the lake ice has deteriorated because of recent warm weather and is no longer safe for travel.

Authorities say since November, they stole from storage facilities in Janesville, Beloit and other townships.

During Tuesday’s search, detectives recovered a snowmobile, motorcycle, go-kart, a flat screen TV and other items.

All four are charged with burglary and theft. They’ll appear in court April 12th.

Holperin said the snowmobile trail groomer tax exemption is a “big win” for the dozens of nonprofit trail clubs and thousands of volunteers around the state who keep Wisconsin’s premier motorized trail system a top recreation asset and tourism attraction.

“Years ago, when grooming equipment was pretty simple and often homemade it had little value and local assessors pretty much ignored it for tax purposes,” he explained.

“A rough estimate is that perhaps a dozen pieces of equipment around the state are currently taxed.  But recently, as sophisticated custom-made trail drags and expensive tractors to pull them became commonplace, the state Department of Revenue started to take an interest in taxing the equipment.

The 12^th District State Senator said that last year, the department organized a concerted effort to inform assessors statewide that grooming equipment could and should be taxed.   He predicted that, without the exemption, snowmobile clubs could be liable for property tax bills of from $2,000 to $6,000 per year or higher, depending on the kinds of equipment they own.

“Clearly, this kind of added financial burden for nonprofit clubs which are working hard to keep the state’s trail system in tip top shape is simply unwarranted,” Holperin added.  “The groomer tax exemption bill signed by Governor Doyle this week is a huge relief for snowmobile clubs everywhere in the state.”

The utility terrain vehicle pilot program will allow counties and towns around the state to authorize the use of UTVs, also known as “side-by-sides” on ATV trails within their jurisdiction.

“There’s been a limited UTV pilot program operating over the past couple of years, but only in five Wisconsin counties,” Holperin said.  The pilot program ended in September, 2009.

“The bill signed by the governor renews the pilot program for another two years and expands the program by allowing any county or town anywhere in the state to participate,” Holperin explained.  He emphasized that participation is completely voluntary and is strictly a local decision.

“As the population ages, more and more trail riders really like the comfort of a side-by-side UTV,” Holperin concluded.  “I think allowing localities to authorize trail access by UTVs will be a tremendous new tourism draw for many of our rural Northwoods communities.”

The two bills won near unanimous approval in both the State Senate and State Assembly.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that on Saturday afternoon the woman was driving her snowmobile across a field when she claims she found it wouldn’t stop.

The snowmobile struck a parked truck, spun around and hit a 9-year-old boy. Authorities say the snowmobile kept going until it hit a fence, ejecting the driver.

It happened near Highway 11 in Spring Grove. The woman and the boy were taken to a Monroe hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Tentative charges against the woman include operating a snowmobile while intoxicated and causing injury by intoxicated use of a snowmobile.

Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

The speed limit has been in place off and on since 2006 but will expire July 1 if lawmakers don’t act.

Supporters say the limit helps reduce the number of crashes and fatalities. Previously, Wisconsin had no speed limit on snowmobilers. As many as three dozen or more people have died in one year in Wisconsin snowmobile crashes.

The plan, which is supported by a key snowmobile group, is expected to pass the Assembly with bipartisan support.

The Senate would also need to act on the measure before Gov. Jim Doyle, who has supported the limit in the past, could sign it into law.

Early Monday the Green Lake County Sheriff’s office received a missing person report concerning a snowmobiler.

Later that morning the snowmobiler was located and pronounced dead at the scene on Little Green Lake.

Authorities believe that the man struck an icy shanty while operating the sled.

The man has been identified as 31 year old Brian Strauss, of Markesan.

Brian was last sceen leaving Big Green Lake at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, and had not been heard from since that time.

The Markesan Fire Department, Markesan Ambulance and Police Department, DNR, Green Lake County Sheriff and Coroners Office all responded to the incident.

The incident remains under investigation.

Channel 5 will bring you any new details on this story as they become available.