Pepin, Dunn, and Buffalo Counties are now part of the Northwestern Wisconsin Community Rural Partners Network. The expansion of the Rural Partners Network was announced yesterday by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak during a visit to Crescent Meats in Cadott. The Network will receive on-the-ground support from full-time federal staff members assigned to provide technical assistance tailored to the community’s unique needs and objectives. These federal staff members will help rural communities navigate federal programs, build relationships and identify community-driven solutions, and develop successful applications for funding. The Rural Partners Network launched in April 2022 in several communities in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico as well as Native American communities in Arizona. Wisconsin is part of the second cohort of states selected for RPN.
A Trempealeau County man has been found guilty of multiple charges including operating after revocation causing death in connection of a July 2020 accident that killed 57yr old Monica Knepper of Trempealeau. Micha Harris was found guilty after a four-day trial. Harris will be sentenced next week.
One person is dead after a house fire in Zumbrota, Minnesota. The blaze broke out yesterday afternoon at a home in the 600 block of West Fifth Street. An elderly person was pulled from the home unconscious and was declared dead at the scene. Two dogs inside survived. The cause remains under investigation.
Law enforcement officials in one western Wisconsin county are speaking out about drug deaths, and speaking to people with drug problems. A half-dozen police chiefs along with the sheriff in Barron County yesterday wrote an open letter about the recent spike in drug deaths. Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says there have been 17 drug-related deaths in his small county in the past two years. He said drugs like meth and fentanyl are becoming a problem for many small communities. The sheriff added that there is help available for people struggling with drug problems, and encouraged anyone who needs help to get help.
A Jackson County man committed to Mendota Mental Health Institute after fatally shooting his father and burning his corpse wants to be released. WKBT-TV reports that a judge has yet to rule on the request from 29-year-old Lars Helgeson who pled not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to 2013 death of 57-year-old Brian Helgeson. A doctor who examined Helgeson’s medical record and interviewed him via Zoom told the court he believes it is safe to release Helgeson. The prosecutor wants a police investigator and witness to take the stand. A court date hasn’t been set for their testimony.
We have some more answers about last winter's drowning death of a UW-La Crosse student who was missing for weeks. The medical examiner in La Crosse yesterday said 25-year-old Hamud Faal had a very high level of alcohol in his system when he drowned in the Mississippi River back in February. Fall, who graduated from Sun Prairie High School, was missing until firefighters found his body in the Mississippi River in March.
The Wisconsin DNR is reminding hunters about safety ahead of this month's deer season. Gun season opens in Wisconsin on November 19th. The DNR yesterday said hunters need to check their gear and make sure everything is working and safe. There is a focus again this year on harness safety. The state is also reminding hunters about new baiting regulations.
Milwaukee's deputy elections director is out of a job and under investigation in a ballot fraud case. Milwaukee's mayor yesterday said he fired Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director Kimberly Zapata after she admitted that she sent three fake military ballots to a Republican state representative. The mayor says charges are likely coming in the case. Milwaukee's elections boss said Zapata was forthcoming about what she did and hinted that she was making a point about a vulnerability in Wisconsin's MyVote system. Military voters in Wisconsin don't have to register or send in a photo ID, which means there is an opportunity for voter fraud. This is the second time this year that someone is being accused of committing voter fraud to prove a point about voter fraud.
A law professor at UW-Madison says Dane County's ballot question about abortion is misleading. The question asks voters if they think the state's 1849 abortion ban should stand. But professor Howard Schweber says the question makes it seem as if the current law doesn't allow for any exceptions when there is a carve-out for the health of a mother. County Supervisor Cecely Castillo wrote the question and said because it's an advisory referendum, voters are simply letting their feelings be known. The question is on the ballot next week.
The deadline to register to vote in Wisconsin is today. You can register at absentee voting places before the end of the day tomorrow, or else you'll have to register at your polling place on Election Day. More information on voting is available online at my-vote-dot-Wisconsin-dot-gov. Election Day is next Tuesday.
There isn't a good excuse to miss voting in Minnesota's midterm elections next week. Employers are required by state law to give employees paid time off to go vote if polling hours interfere with scheduled work time. The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office says employers can ask workers to coordinate their absences, but they can't refuse or limit workers' right to vote.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation says a Lafayette County sheriff's deputy is not responsible for the death of a suspect last month. Investigators say the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of a car chase in Green County back on October 22nd. Investigators say the deputy did fire their weapon but it wasn't the suspect's cause of death.
An elderly couple from Madison loses thousands of dollars in a scam, but this time the scammers showed up in person. Police say the scammers got the couple to pay them bail money after convincing them their daughter was in jail. A picture of one of the suspects is posted on the Madison Police Department's Facebook page.
Wisconsin drivers will be more likely to hit a deer starting next week. That's according to a Current Biology report that says deer crashes increase by 16 percent after daylight saving time ends in the Midwest. The report says drivers are more likely to hit a deer during the last week of October through the first couple weeks of November than any other time of the year.
A northern Wisconsin high school has been chosen as having the best mascot in the country. S-B-Live Sports says the Rhinelander Hodags recently got over 183-thousand votes in its best sports mascot in America competition. The next closest mascot got just 72-thousand-500 votes. The Hodag has been the Rhinelander High School mascot since 1893.
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