The City of Durand is moving forward with its ash tree removal program. At last night's city council meeting the council approved moving forward with offering residents that have ash trees in the boulevard a program where the homeowner would cover 50% of the cost of the tree removal, with 25% covered by the city and 25% covered by a DNR forestry grant. The $5000 DNR grant matches whatever the city pays for tree removal. The cost to a homeowner will be approximately $290 per tree.
The Mondovi City Council has ended Tax Increment District 1 and created a new district for the industrial park. The council approved to end District 1, which had been created in 1989, as it has met its goals and the city is looking to develop the new industrial park on the west side of the city. The new district's goal is to foster economic development and new residential development and will include the construction of new streets, water and sewer service, and fiber optic internet service. District 1 will continue to send money to help with District two until the end of the year.
The Durand-Arkansaw FFA held the first annual ag day for middle school students yesterday. FFA members had different stations set up for middle school students to learn about different facets of agriculture. Durand-Arkansaw Middle School Principle Sara Sabelko says it was a great chance for middle school students to see their classes working in real life. The FFA is hoping to make ag day an annual event and expand it to the entire student body of the Durand-Arkansaw School District.
The Elmwood School District has received a nearly $25000 fab lab grant to train students in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. A fab lab, short for fabrication laboratory, is a high-technology workshop equipped with computer-controlled manufacturing components such as 3D printers, laser engravers, computer numerical control (CNC) routers, and plasma cutters. Through its Fab Lab Grant Program, WEDC is supporting the purchase of fab lab equipment for instructional and educational purposes for K-12 students across the state. A total of 25 districts received the grants.
There are formal charges, but not a lot of details about a weekend shooting death in River Falls. Prosecutors in St. Croix County yesterday filed charges against Michael Price for Sunday's shooting of his neighbor. Police say Price was drunk, and asking for a lawyer when they arrested him. No one is saying what led up to the shooting, or what Price's relationship was with the victim beyond being neighbors. Price is being held in the St. Croix County Jail on a 750 thousand-dollars bond.
While gas prices continue to fall in Wisconsin, prices in Durand seem to be on an island. According to Gas Buddy dot Com, as of early this morning, gas was still at $3.59 in the city, while in Mondovi gas was at $3.34. Alma had gas at $3.28, Plum City 3.25, Menomonie 3.26, and Colfax at 3.19. The average price of gas is Wisconsin this week was $3.41 a gallon.
Eau Claire's marathon will kick-off this weekend, even if the Chippewa River doesn't cooperate. Race director Emi Uelmen says they've been watching the flood for some time, and are ready to move the race's path if need be. Uelmen says the goal is always to make the marathon a Boston Marathon-qualifier. Runners can start with a 5k and 10k on Saturday, then the full marathon kicks off at 7 a.m. Sunday morning.
The state of Wisconsin is finally ending its coronavirus emergency. The state's Department of Health Services yesterday said it will 'transition' away from emergency footing as the Biden Administration prepares to end the national emergency declaration in about two weeks. DHS boss Kirsten Johnson says just because Wisconsin is ending its coronavirus emergency, that doesn't mean the coronavirus is going away.
A teen suspect in a deadly shooting at the Mall of America will stand trial as an adult. Lavon Longstreet is accused of shooting 19-year-old Johntae Hudson inside the Nordstrom department store at the mall the day before Christmas Eve last year. Hudson later died. Longstreet is charged with second-degree murder and assault. An accomplice faces the same charges, while two other teens face riot charges for their role in the fight that led to the gunfire.
The plan to change Wisconsin's unemployment system is moving at the Wisconsin Capitol, but it isn't going far. Republicans in the State Assembly Tuesday approved plans to tie unemployment benefits to the state's jobless rate, require people on unemployment to actually look for work and take jobs if they are offered, as well as a plan to have people prove they are eligible for BadgerCare. Not a single Democrat voted for any of the plans. The reforms now head to the Wisconsin Senate, where they're expected to pass, before going to Governor Evers who will almost certainly veto them.
A member of the state's legislative joint finance committee wants to see more funding in the budget for rural roads and bridges. State Senator Joan Ballweg says lack of maintenance has led to stricter and stricter weight limits on rural roads. The Markesan Republican says those roads are vital for farmers and the ag industry to get their equipment and harvests where they need to go. She's hoping to get 150 million dollars in the budget for road repairs.
A judge in Racine has dismissed the felony corruption charges against Wisconsin's former parole chief. The judge yesterday tossed the case against John Tate the Second. Prosecutors initially filed felony charges alleging Tate used his position as Racine Common Council president to create a new job as a violence interruption coordinator and then negotiated his way into that job. The charges say that violated Wisconsin's law about getting a personal benefit from a public contract. Tate was at the center of last year's scandal at the Wisconsin Parole Commission after questions surfaced about just who was being let out of prison early. Tate resigned as Racine council president last week, he's now free to start his new job.
Minnesota lawmakers are considering a proposal that would empower the state attorney general to serve as a gatekeeper for Minnesota healthcare mergers. The bill would prohibit hospital and clinic mergers that "substantially lessen competition" and would allow the attorney general to go to court to block transactions that don't benefit Minnesota. The bill was amended Monday to focus on larger mergers and exempt smaller, rural hospitals and clinics from reporting requirements.
The collapse of a parking structure at a Milwaukee-area mall is leaving those affected by it caught in the middle. The insurance company for Bayshore Mall has denied claims of those whose vehicles were damaged or stranded following the February incident. The insurer says the liability lies with the company contracted to plow snow for the mall due to their piling up of snow on the upper floors of the garage. The collapse crushed two cars and trapped 56 cars inside the structure for a week.
Wisconsin is one of the least gambling-addicted states in America. WalletHub's latest study ranks Wisconsin sixth-to-last for gambling addiction, saying it's not a gambling-friendly state. Wisconsin is the least-gambling addicted state in the Midwest, one spot ahead of Kansas and two spots ahead of Nebraska. WalletHub says the most gambling-addicted state is Nevada and the least is Utah.
NASCAR racing will return to the Milwaukee Mile this summer. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will hold the Clean Harbors 175 race at the historic oval at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis on August 27th. It’s the first time since 2009 that a NASCAR event will happen at the track. Outside of the years during World War II, the state fairgrounds has hosted at least one auto race every year since 1903.
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