Firefighters from Mondovi, Durand, Alma, Eleva, Nelson, and Strum responded to a structure fire at Five Sar Boat Hull and Auto Body Friday morning. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, when firefighters arrived they found the building fully engulfed with heavy black smoke. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no one was hurt in the blaze. Hwy 37 was closed for nearly 3hrs as crews battled that fire. The blaze remains under investigation.
One person was injured in a vehicle accident in Alma on Wednesday. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, County Highway crews were working on Hwy 37 and had one lane closed, when an 89yr old from Alma failed to stay in the open lane and crashed into the rear end of a portable seal coat machine. Highway workers were warned by a nearby flagger and were able to get out of the way prior to the accident. The driver was taken to the hospital. That accident remains under investigation, and drivers are reminded to slow down and move over for workers in construction zones.
Wisconsin gas prices are dropping back closer to where they were a month ago. Triple-A says the statewide average is three dollars and 17 cents a gallon, down nine cents from last Friday. That's also just 17 cents more expensive than this time last month. Here in Western Wisconsin, Gas is $3.23 a gallon, which is 26 cents a gallon cheaper than just a few weeks ago.
Pierce Pepin Cares, the charitable foundation of Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services (PPCS), recently awarded first-quarter grants to four local non-profits. The Pierce Pepin Cares board approved $1,500 grants to the Ellsworth Gift Box Program, Basics for Local Kids, the Assistance and Resource Center (ARC), and the Free Clinic of Pierce and St. Croix Counties. Basics for Local Kids requested a grant to support two of its programs: purchasing winter wear for children in sizes that aren’t donated and the kids in crisis emergency transition program. ARC’s grant will be used for direct client housing support. The Gift Box Program grant will be used to bridge the shortfall between the number of families who apply and the number of sponsors. The Free Clinic of Pierce and St. Croix Counties will use the grant money to purchase equipment needed for physicians to dictate exam notes. Pierce Pepin Cares is funded by PPCS members who generously round up their monthly energy bills to the nearest dollar through Operation Round Up®, as well as direct donations.
It was a series of crashes that closed Highway 53 near Altoona Friday night. Altoona Police say they first responded to a report of a truck on fire near the River Prairie exit. As they were clearing that, there were a couple of rear-end crashes in the backed-up traffic. As crews were finishing with those crashes, police say a drunk driver caused another crash. There were injuries in the crashes, but no reports of any serious injuries. In all, the highway was closed for about two hours.
The city of Eau Claire is looking to add a wheel tax of its own. The city council is set to talk about creating a new wheel tax tomorrow night. No one is saying just how much the new tax would be. Eau Claire County started its 30-dollar wheel tax back in 2019. The city of Eau Claire says it wants to use the money to pay for more road construction. Most wheel taxes in Wisconsin are between 10 and 30 dollars.
The sheriff in La Crosse County is not saying why a child's death over the weekend is considered suspicious. Deputies found the child dead at a home in the Town of Medary Saturday morning. Detectives say their investigation is ongoing. There is an autopsy scheduled this week.
The jets that shot down the unidentified object over Lake Huron came from Madison. The Pentagon yesterday said F-16s out of Truax Field found and destroyed the object. It was the fourth flying object shot down by American fighter pilots in the past week or so. The mission temporarily closed the airspace over part of Lake Michigan. The Pentagon says the F-16s found the flying object over the UP, and blew it up when it was about 15 miles offshore over Lake Huron.
Governor Evers' tax cut plan focuses on families who get the earned income child tax credit. The governor on Friday released another preview of his budget, this time talking about tax cuts. The governor has said he will not sign the Republican tax cut plan that would move Wisconsin to a three-and-a-quarter percent flat tax, instead, he wants to create or increase some tax credits. Evers' plan includes a new caregiver tax credit and would expand both the Earned Income Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. For businesses, the governor says he wants to end the personal property tax that many business groups in Wisconsin have wanted dead for years. The governor will deliver his full budget presentation on Wednesday.
There is growing support at the Wisconsin Capitol to send more state money to cities for their public safety needs. Milwaukee Democrat Lena Taylor and Racine Republican Van Wanggaard were on UPFRONT over the weekend, and both said they could see an agreement on shared revenue this spring. Shared revenue is the money that the state shares with local governments. Taylor and Wanggaard said the sticking point is going to be how that money can be spent, and how much must go towards police, fire, and EMS.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is expanding its tuition promise program for low-income students. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin outlined the new Bucky's Pell Pathway in her first address to the UW Board of Regents on Thursday. The program covers full tuition for Wisconsin students whose families earn below a certain income threshold. The university guarantees it will provide enough money in grants, scholarships, and work-study money to cover all of the qualifying students' financial needs. Mnookin estimates the program will benefit about 800 students when it launches in the fall.
Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature propose a bill that requires state residents convicted of felony crimes to pay restitution costs before they can vote. Current Wisconsin statutes have a person convicted of a felony denied the right to vote unless it's restored through a pardon or through the completion of a prison sentence, parole, extended supervision or probation. Republicans in the legislature say the measure will put victims’ rights before the rights of criminals. Democrats call it another form of disenfranchisement, pointing out its effect on low-income individuals and people of color. There’s been no hearing yet on the bill, and one of its sponsors, Two Rivers Republican Representative Shae Sortwell, says if Governor Tony Evers vetoes the bill, he’ll consider moving it into law through a constitutional amendment.
Dane County deputies say a Bristol woman is out 35 hundred dollars after she sent money to someone posing as a Sun Prairie police officer. Sheriff's spokesperson Elise Schaffer (shay-fir) says deputies helped prevent another 35 hundred dollars from making it to the scammer. Schaffer says your local police department or any police department is not going to call you over the phone and demand money right away. If you get one of these calls, simply hang up.
Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving is being remembered in the city he served and across the state of Wisconsin. Jerving’s funeral will be held today and will have a police procession carrying Jerving's casket to Brookfield’s Elmbrook Church, and another procession carrying the casket from the church to the cemetery. Thousands of people, including police departments from across the state and country, are expected to attend. The 37-year-old officer died after a shootout with a 19-year-old robbery suspect who also died.
A free school meal program is one step closer to becoming a reality in Minnesota. The state House passed the bill last night despite opposition from Republicans who argue wealthy families don't need free meals. DFL leaders say the measure will ensure students are set up for success and never go hungry. It heads to the state Senate next. Last night, Governor Tim Walz [[ walls ]] tweeted he's ready to sign the bill into law.
More than 30 south central Wisconsin cheese and dairy manufacturers are competing in this year's U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. Contest organizers announced this week that products from 31 regional companies and their cooperatives are among more than two-thousand entries across 113 classes of products from dairy processors in 35 states. Entries will be judged February 21st through the 23rd at Resch Expo in Green Bay. The champion will be announced on February 23rd.
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