We now know who was shot in the officer-involved shooting in Menomonie last month. The state's Department of Justice yesterday identified the man as 45-year-old Nicholas Ciccarelli. Investigators say two Menomonie police officers and a Dunn County deputy shot Ciccarelli after he started to point his gun at them. Ciccarelli is accused of breaking into a home on Bongey Drive back on January 21st, then stealing a car. It was during a traffic stop on that car when he was shot.
Add Dunn County to the list of local governments that want more for the state. The Dunn County Board of Supervisors says it will meet with local lawmakers to talk about how to get more so-called shared revenue. That's the state tax money shared with local governments across the state. Many cities, towns, and counties say they need more to keep up with the costs of basic services. Dunn County Manager Kristin Korpela says the county needs at least five million dollars more for child support services, nurses, and pay raises for assistant prosecutors. There will be a public meeting on Monday.
The person who left their dog at the Eau Claire County Humane Association came back to officially surrender it. The Humane Association found the dog tied to their front door yesterday morning. The person who had the dog simply drove off. Humane Association managers say the person came back after they shared the video yesterday, paid the surrender fee, and turned over the dog's medical records. The Humane Association says people need to call first and let someone know they will be surrendering any animals.
Governor Tim Walz has appointed a new judge for southeast Minnesota. Debra Groehler will be serving Minnesota’s Third Judicial District which includes Wabasha County. Walz says of Groehler, “Her impressive background handling challenging legal matters for the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office, combined with her passion for serving her community, will make her a great addition to the Third Judicial District.” Groehler will be chambered in Mantorville.
The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that there is a scam call going around pretending to be the sheriff’s office. The Sheriff's department says the caller identifies themselves as Captain Wallace with Olmsted County, who is a real Patrol Captain within the sheriff’s office. The scammers are using a real officer’s name and spoofing the number to make the scam seem legit. The caller is telling people that they have a warrant out for their arrest and if they pay by phone, the sheriff’s office would be satisfied. This is a scam as the department would never make that type of phone call to collect money by phone.
Expect a mad dash from schools across Wisconsin to spend the rest of their coronavirus stimulus money. The Institute for Reforming Government says two-thirds of Wisconsin's one-and-a-half billion dollars in ESSER money remains unspent or unallocated. The ESSER money is the money Congress sent the state to help schools recover from the coronavirus. IRG's Quinton Klabon says of the money that's been allocated, just over half has gone into classrooms. Schools have until the fall of 2024 to decide how to spend the money, but schools are making some of those decisions this spring. IRG this week launched a website that helps track where that money will go.
Wisconsin's voting machines worked like they should have in the November election. The state's Elections Commission yesterday said there were no voting machine errors in the vote last fall. Commissioners say an audit found a handful of 'human-forced errors,' but didn't find anything wrong with the machines themselves. Commissioner Bob Spindell says the results of the audit should give voters across the state confidence in Wisconsin's election systems, and in the people who run those elections.
The race for president comes through Wisconsin, twice. Republican National Committee planners yesterday said the city will see a Republican primary debate next year as well as the Republican National Convention. RNC boss Ronna McDaniel yesterday said Milwaukee can expect a debate, but she didn't say where the debate will fall in the campaign schedule. The Republican Convention is set for mid-July.
Wisconsin's new health and well-being plan doesn't talk a lot about health. The state's Department of Health Services instead is focusing on fairness, decision-making, and communities. DHS released the plan yesterday. It focuses on five areas to improve the health of the people in the state. Those include social and community conditions, physical, mental, and systemic safety, person- and community-centered healthcare, social connectedness and belonging, and mental and emotional health and well-being. DHS managers say everyone in Wisconsin deserves to live their best life.
The Minnesota House is advancing a bill aimed at restoring voting rights to formerly imprisoned individuals. The bill would return voting rights to people convicted of a felony once they are released from prison. The current law restores voting rights after felons have completed their sentence, including probation. Opponents say the bill wouldn't stop someone who committed felony voter fraud from voting again.
The shortage of Emergency Medical Service providers is reaching a crisis stage across the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health reports nearly 41% of EMS units in the state have a staff of six or less, and 21% have only two to three on hand. 41% of ambulance services also reported periods where they were unavailable to respond to a 911 call. In addition to staffing, funding is also a challenge, with one-third of EMS services in the state projected to run out of money this year. In addition, 78% of ambulance services were forced to call on neighboring communities’ EMS units for help because their community was understaffed.
The state of Wisconsin is trying to get unclaimed property back to its rightful owners faster. On Wednesday, state officials announced legislative revisions to unclaimed property statutes, allowing the state to not only return property faster but also account for newer varieties of property, like cryptocurrency. Officials estimate 1 in 7 Wisconsinites have unclaimed property, and Wisconsin Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca says his agency pays out between $33 and $37 million to Wisconsinites. There’s no cost to search or file a claim on the Unclaimed Property Database at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two men posing as law enforcement officers that broke into a home over the weekend. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says the agency responded to a report of an armed home invasion in Hustisford Saturday morning. According to the victim, two men came to his home and forced their way in, saying they were law enforcement looking for a homicide suspect. One of the suspects reportedly stayed with the victim while the other searched the house and asked where the victim's valuables were. The two, described as white males, with one possibly having a southern accent, then drove off. Schmidt says his office has increased patrols in the area of the incident with marked and unmarked squad cars.
How would you like to work in the great outdoors this summer? The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now hiring seasonal staff for Wisconsin’s state parks, forests, trails and recreation areas. Every year, the DNR recruits about 400 seasonal employees to work at state properties during the summer season. Positions are available across the state, from the forests of northern Wisconsin to the islands and shores of the Great Lakes. To apply, visit Wisc.Jobs and search "Parks."
House Republicans are booting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from a key committee. The House voted in favor of ousting the Minnesota Democrat from the Foreign Affairs Committee as punishment for controversial comments she made about Israel. Ahead of the vote, Omar said it was no surprise the new GOP majority was targeting her and her voice in Congress won't be diminished. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the move "political revenge."
Parts of Wisconsin received plenty of snow last weekend, but this week in Lake Geneva, snow will become works of art. The city is currently hosting the annual U.S. Snow Sculpting Championship as a part of its Winterfest celebration now through Sunday. Fifteen teams from across the country will do their sculpting at Riviera Plaza in front of Lake Geneva’s Riviera Ballroom, as well as Flat Iron Park in the city.
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