The City of Durand is getting closer to finalizing the budget for next year. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says wages and health insurance will be two big factors in the budget. Most city departments have already submitted their budget request for next year.
There is a child abuse investigation into a daycare in Altoona, and charges for one of the workers. Police arrested 30-year-old Mercedes Bergeron on two counts of abuse for an incident back in August. Other workers at the Hand in Hand Daycare in Banbury Place say she threw a child about two feet across the room. The child's parents went to the police after finding bumps, bruises, scratches, and cuts on at least ten different occasions. Bergeron is due back in court next month.
The days of Girl Scouts roughing it at Camp Nawakwa are coming to an end. The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes yesterday said they are going to sell the camp in Lac De Flambeau. The Scouts' Patty Shafto-Carlson says they want to find something new and closer to Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. Next summer will be the last summer at the camp. Some Girl Scout parents in the Chippewa Valley are not happy about the change.
Two Rice Lake families are dealing with scammers setting up fake Instagram accounts soliciting donations for the families. The families of 14yr old Evah Garcia and 15yr old Winter Brouillard set up a Go Fund Me page after the two teens were killed in a car crash recently. Soon after, scammers started setting up fake accounts on Instagram. Both families had to set up new accounts after the scammers struck. The FBI warns that if a charity or organization asks you to donate through cash, gift card, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it’s probably a scam.
The Northwoods' congressman says Wisconsin is moving too fast to get to a carbon-free energy grid in the next 28 years. Congressman Tom Tiffany says getting rid of all coal fired or natural gas fired power plants by 2050 will cost too much, and likely leave Wisconsin without enough power. Governor Evers announced the carbon free goal back in 2019. Tiffany says rushing to make the switch will only drive-up energy prices, which will then make inflation worse.
This may be the best weekend to do a little leaf-looking in western Wisconsin. Forecasters say the fall colors are peaking this week. Further north the colors have already hit their peak. Travel Wisconsin says the trees from Eau Claire all the way down to Prairie du Chein are at their most beautiful.
Wisconsin's challenge to President Biden's student loan cancellation program could be going to the Supreme Court. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty yesterday asked the high court to take up the case. WILL says President Biden overstepped his power when he announced plans to cancel up to 20 thousand-dollars in student loan debt for some people. WILL also said the president went too far by injecting a racial motive into the program, WILL says that breaks federal laws on discrimination. A federal judge already rejected WILL's lawsuit saying the group doesn't have the standing to sue over the loan forgiveness program.
More than 200 jobs will be lost next year when Eastbay closes a Wausau distribution center. Parent company Foot Locker says they're cutting the Wausau center in the name of streamlining their distribution process for customers nationwide. 160 jobs will be lost by the end of the year, the remaining 48 jobs will go away when the building goes dark for good by May of 20-23. Eastbay has been a staple in Central Wisconsin since 1980, though the company has gone through several changes including a sale to Foot Locker in 19-97, and just last summer the Team Sales Division was purchased by Dallas-based BSN Sports.
We have a winner in the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest. The winner of this year's Coolest Thing competition announced Wednesday by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and Johnson Financial Group is the Volterra electric fire truck made by Appleton based Pierce manufacturing. Their Voltera pumper is the first zero emission electric fire truck and service in North America. Nearly 150 products were nominated for this year's contest. October is celebrated as Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin, where manufacturing employs nearly one in six workers.
Wisconsin is getting 140-million dollars from the federal government to improve its water and wastewater infrastructure. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the money will go toward the State Revolving Loan Fund, replacing lead service lines, and addressing PFAS chemical contamination.
A Minneapolis family is dealing with scammers trying to profit off their loved one's death. Gabriel "Dino" Mendoza was shot to death while working as a security guard at a restaurant in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood. The 23-year-old's family set up a GoFundMe page to cover funeral arrangements and help them seek legal justice. However, Mendoza's sister told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that someone created a spoof Facebook account to solicit donations shortly after they published their page. She said this adds to her family's trauma.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is trying to get library card holders interested in visiting the state's parks. The DNR says next month it will give one-thousand Wisconsin library card holders a free day pass to any park, forest, or recreation area in the state that requires admission. The DNR says the passes will be given to 20 libraries across Wisconsin to give to library card holders. The list of libraries is available on the DNR's website.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is preparing for an extremely busy weekend. Minnesotans are expected to flock to the Twin Cities airfield during the annual fall break for teacher conferences. The Minnesota Educator Academy break means school kids across the state have Thursday and Friday off. It also allows several families to take a mini vacation before the holidays.
It's been 20 years of planning, but a new Wood County jail is now under construction. WAOW in Wausau reports that the plan has been in the works since 2001. Sheriff Shawn Becker says the 90 million dollar project will improve inmate safety and increase capacity at the facility. Right now, Wood County has to transfer residents to other facilities at a cost of about 1.4 million dollars a year. The new facility will increase the county's jail capacity to 225 people. They're hoping to be complete with the jail by 2025.
Sun Prairie has officially ended the law against snowball fights. The city council last night voted to roll-back its decades-old ordinance that included snowballs in the list of things that you cannot throw. Alderman Brent Eisberner discovered the snowball ban last year while re-reading the city's ordinances. He said there are a number of old laws that Sun Prairie needs to revisit. To date, it doesn't appear that anyone was ever arrested or ticketed for throwing snowballs in Sun Prairie.
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