With the beginning of September, City of Durand Department heads and City Council committee members will begin meeting to form the 2023 budget. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says city staff has already been working on preliminary numbers in preparation for the budget.
As many school districts start classes today or have started many, including the Durand-Arkansaw School District announced back-to-school safety plans. Durand-Arkansaw School Superintendent Greg Doverspike says the plan has pretty much returned to normal. The plan was a requirement for the district as part of the Esser funds received during the covid pandemic.
A hearing will be held in Chippewa County Court later today (Thursday) for the 14-year-old accused of killing Lily Peters. The boy hasn’t been named because of his age. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of the 10-year-old girl last April. Police say he told them he hit the victim in the head several times with a large stick, then strangled her. W-Q-O-W/T-V reports today’s hearing is scheduled for 1:00 p-m. A judge will decide if there is enough evidence that it is probable the boy only identified as C. P-B. committed a crime. The defense is reportedly willing to concede on the issue.
Two people from Augusta are charged with financial fraud in Eau Claire County Court. Investigators say they were contacted by another person from Augusta last March who said they were the victim of identity theft. W-E-A-U/T-V reports 64-year-old Robert Potts and 48-year-old Carrolee Moore are accused of using the victims’ identities to apply for multiple credit cards. Those cars were used to buy more than 10-thousand dollars worth of items. Moore has been charged with nine felonies. Potts faces four charges.
Authorities in Scott County say the young child who was reported missing in Shakopee Tuesday has been located and is safe. Deputies say nine-month-old Jahki Forester was abducted by his non-custodial mother, 26-year-old Zenitra Lee, at the Scott County Government Center in Shakopee. The Scott County sheriff says Jahki and Zenitra were found early Wednesday in Hager City, Wisconsin. Lee is awaiting extradition back to Minnesota from Pierce County. Investigators are still looking into the alleged parental abduction.
An Eau Claire man was arrested yesterday after a standoff with police on the Chippewa River. According to the Eau Claire Police Department, officers responded to a call of a man throwing rocks at the Beacon House Tuesday night. When officers responded, 21yr old Curtis Daniels, Jr., fled the scene. He was later found wading into the Chippewa river and claimed he had a gun. After a two-hour standoff, he finally surrendered. and was taken into custody.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is confirming the state’s first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza since May in a commercial turkey operation in Meeker County. The flock of 130-thousand birds was euthanized to help prevent the spread of the virus. Officials say this detection is a bit sooner than expected. State veterinarians were preparing for a resurgence of avian influenza with fall migration. They’re urging flock owners to review biosecurity measures.
Prior to 2020, the Wisconsin Elections Committee dealt with about 15 complaints per year. This year, that number has topped 50. That’s one of the reasons the commission is asking for one-point-three-million dollars to create a new Inspector General program. W-E-C Administrator Meagan Wolfe says data requests that averaged two per month in 2016 have skyrocketed to 16 per month this year. Getting the money won’t be easy. Republican candidates for governor and secretary of state have said – if elected – they would support dismantling the commission.
Pedestrian deaths are reported to be way up this year in Wisconsin. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports an increase of 10 percent in the Badger State. W-D-J-T/T-V reports while Milwaukee is dealing with a reckless driving issue it has been a dangerous place for people to cross streets at the same time. Data shows pedestrian fatalities are approaching their highest number in the last 40 years. Milwaukee officials are looking at all strategies as they try to slow drivers down.
Survivors of child sex abuse were asking people to stay away from the Tuesday funeral for a Catholic Church leader. Rembert Weakland was archbishop of Milwaukee for 25 years – but he retired in 2002 when documents were discovered showing he knew about dozens of priests sexually assaulting children and he helped cover it up. The sex abuse survivors said Weakland shouldn’t be honored with a public memorial. In response, the archdiocese released a statement saying, “A funeral Mass is not a glorification of a person’s life, but rather an act of mercy for the dead.”
An injunction from a federal judge provides disabled voters in Wisconsin the option of getting help from another person to mail or deliver their absentee ballots. US District Court Judge James Peterson on Wednesday gave the Wisconsin Elections Commission until September 9 to issue guidance to clerks reflecting his order. Peterson's ruling followed a lawsuit, filed after the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a Waukesha County ruling that drop boxes were prohibited under Wisconsin law. However, the justices did not address the question of whether voters had to put ballots in the mail themselves. Peterson wrote “voters shouldn't have to choose between exercising their federal rights and complying with state law.”
Two attorneys from Wisconsin are among 15 lawyers named in ethics complaints, in connection with challenges to the 2020 presidential election. The 65 Project – named after the number of lawsuits filed by supporters of former President Donald Trump - filed the complaints Wednesday with the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation against Michael Dean of Brookfield and Daniel Eastman of Mequon. The group’s managing director told the Journal Sentinel the intent is to show there are “professional consequences” for bringing litigation based on unfounded claims. The Office of Lawyer Regulation does not confirm receipt of complaints, or its investigations unless and until it files an action.
Back to school means a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper could be riding on your students’ bus. The State Patrol is required by law to conduct comprehensive annual school bus safety inspections. Ideally, inspections will occur when school is in session and buses are running and in operation, for a true reflection of how they are maintained. Across the state, about 12,000 inspections are conducted by State troopers each year.
Motorists going into the Labor Day weekend are seeing gasoline prices about a dollar-a-gallon lower than the all-time peak in mid-June. Triple-A’s Meredith Mitts says the global energy situation has stabilized somewhat despite the war in Ukraine, plus fear of global recession put the brakes on demand, resulting in lower oil prices. As for gas prices going into the fall and winter, Mitts says the biggest concern is hurricane season because storms can hit the Gulf and affect oil production in some of the refineries. That in turn could cause gas prices to go back up.
No comments:
Post a Comment