The commander of the Wisconsin National Guard agreed to resign at Gov. Tony Evers' request Monday, following the release of a scathing federal report that found the Guard defied federal law, regulations and policies for years over the handling of soldiers' sexual assault and harassment complaints. The report from the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., found the Guard allowed internal investigations in defiance of federal law as well as Department of Defense and bureau policy; investigators falsely presented themselves as working for the federal bureau; case records were mismanaged; and Guard sexual assault response policies were not in compliance with federal regulations for more than five years.

The man suspected of kidnapping a Wisconsin teenager and killing her parents with a shotgun nearly three months ago appears to have led an unremarkable existence until that fateful night, blending into the state's vast northwestern forests. The few neighbors who know Jake Patterson's family say he grew up in a cabin in a remote development that's a mix of seasonal and year-round homes. Patterson's high school teachers barely remember the now 21-year-old man who graduated only three years ago, and say they didn't realize he still lived in the area.

A man convicted of kidnapping a Wisconsin girl and killing her parents told police after his arrest that he never thought Jayme Closs would escape because she was petrified, and that after holding her captive for two weeks, he believed he'd get away with his crimes, according to a transcript of a police interview.

A third woman in two weeks has publicly come forward with sexual harassment allegations against a Michigan state legislator, according to a published report Sunday. Melissa Osborn, who works as a regulatory affairs specialist for a trade group, told Crain's Detroit Business that Republican state Sen. Peter Lucido commented on her appearance and clothes while visually scanning her body and touching the region she described as “my lower back/upper butt.”

Democrats in Wisconsin girded for a fight and encouraged voters to speak out as Republicans prepared to move ahead quickly this week with a highly unusual and sweeping lame-duck session to pass a series of proposals that would weaken both Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul.

A Chicago animal control official says DNA tests to determine if the coyote captured on the city's North Side is the animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy will take weeks to complete. Jenny Schlueter of the Chicago Animal Care and Control says the coyote that was captured Thursday night will be held at an animal rehabilitation center until the tests are completed.

Scientists warn that if the voracious Asian carp become established in the Great Lakes, they could out-compete native species and harm the region's $7 billion fishing industry. "Given the costs of Asian carp invading our Great Lakes, inaction is not an option," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat and co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force.

A 102-year-old man who is Indiana's oldest state employee is retiring after nearly six decades on the job, saying that “your body tells you when it's time to go.” Bob Vollmer plans to report to work for the last time Feb. 6 as a surveyor for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The Wisconsin Legislature passed a sweeping measure Wednesday that shifts power to the Republican-controlled body and weakens the Democrat replacing Republican Gov. Scott Walker.Republicans pushed on through protests, internal disagreement and Democratic opposition during a lame-duck legislative session to reduce the powers of Gov.-elect Tony Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul, also a Democrat.

Scott Walker didn't want to go out like this. The once-rising Republican star with presidential hopes who made his name kneecapping public sector unions as governor of Wisconsin leaves office in defeat Monday, after having fundamentally changed it.