Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Rally tractor driver had no license MADISON, Wis., March 17 (UPI) – A man who drove a tractor pulling a manure spreader at a Wisconsin rally had lost his license after his fourth drunken driving conviction, court records indicate. Advertisement The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said a check of online court records revealed Tod Pulvermacher -- who was featured in Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal articles about the Saturday rally in Madison protesting Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill -- had his driver's license revoked for four years following his July 2 conviction for fourth offense operating while intoxicated. Pulvermacher, of Plain, was also convicted of marijuana possession in 2007 and 2008, and the court records said his second OWI offense involved a conviction for causing injury by drunken driving. The Journal Sentinel said calls to Pulvermacher and his attorney were not immediately returned. Bible the prize in NCAA bracket contest Advertisement COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 17 (UPI) -- An Ohio church is running a March Madness basketball bracket contest with a waterproof Bible ready for "manly adventures" as the prize. Grace Brethren Church in Columbus said players can enter NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket contest at www.thefrontieratgrace.com. Winners will receive copies of "The New Living Translation Waterproof Bible," which the church describes as "handy for camping trips or other manly adventures," The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday. Pastor Beau Stanley said one of the church's goals is "to try to be engaged with the things that are important to men, that are of interest to men, (and) sports is a big one." Stanley, who calls himself a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan, said his goal is to bring glory to God. "If God found it more glorifying to him that Michigan win a football game against the Buckeyes, I would be OK with that," he said, admitting "it almost makes me choke as I say that. "The truth is, I want God to be glorified regardless of who wins the game." Dog sells to Chinese for almost $1.5M QINGDAO, China, March 17 (UPI) -- At $1.5 million, a 180-pound Tibetan mastiff named Big Splash has become the most expensive dog ever sold, experts say. Advertisement Its Chinese breeder, Lu Liang, sold the 11-month-old puppy to a Chinese multimillionaire coal baron, Britain's Daily Mail reported Wednesday. Lu said the dog is a "perfect specimen" of the breed, worthy of the extravagant price tag. "The price is justified," said Lu, who runs the Tibetan Mastiff Garden in Laoshan, near the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. "We have spent a lot of money raising this dog, and we have the salaries of plenty of staff to pay," Lu said. Big Splash, or Hong Dong in Chinese, was raised on chicken, beef, sea cucumber and abalone. The previous record price for a dog was $1,465,000 paid last year for a Tibetan mastiff called Red Lion. The Tibetan mastiff has become a status symbol for the super-rich, supposedly egalitarian, Communists in China, the newspaper said. Tibetans believe the dogs have the souls of some monks and nuns. Minnesota double-issues tax refunds ST. PAUL, Minn., March 17 (UPI) -- The Minnesota Revenue Department said it is correcting the mistaken double-issuing 14,000 electronic tax refunds, using a third transaction to rescind payments. A department release, without mentioning any further details, said "human error" led to the mistake, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. Advertisement The refunds were deposited in taxpayers' bank accounts Friday and inadvertently re-issued Monday, the release said. After the department discovered the error it reversed the second payments. Affected taxpayers will see two identical refund deposits, with one of them reversed Tuesday, the newspaper said. "The department is investigating the cause of the error and has taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again," the release said.
