Durand Public Works crews are starting to prep the Tarrant Park Pool for the upcoming season. Public Works Superintendent Matt Gillis told council members that the pool didn't winter very well and this could very well be the last year the pool can be used. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city will make every effort to have a pool season. Crews hope to do a test fill of the pool coming up in the next few weeks.
With prom just around the corner, the Durand Police Department with help from the Wisconsin State Patrol, Durand Fire and Ambulance, and Rhiel Funeral Home is conducting a mock drunk driving crash for Durand-Arkansaw Students. Durand Police Chief Stan Ridgeway says the demonstration is as realistic as possible. After the crash demonstration, students meet in the gym with everyone involved in the demonstration for presentations to discuss what had happened.
The Mondovi City Council is looking at reviewing Chapter 9 of the city ordinances in regard to excessive noise. Over the last few years, residents have complained about people playing loud music, shooting off fireworks, and having loud outdoor parties well into the night. Last fall the council did raise the fines for violation of the ordinance and is wanting to see if the extra enforcement of the noise ordinance will help reduce the complaints.
The Pierce County Sheriffs' Department has announced the release of a sex offender back into the county. 61yr old Michael Condon Sr will be released on May 2nd back into the county and will be under electronic monitoring. Condon will also be required to continue to have contact with law enforcement, no unsupervised contact with minors, and comply with all sex offender rules. At this time Condon's address is homeless.
One woman is dead after a two-vehicle accident in the town of Washington on Wednesday. According to the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department, 44yr old Jacqueline Matz of Eau Claire was killed when her vehicle was struck head-on while traveling on Hwy 53 near North Road.
There is now more help for police officers and deputies in Eau Claire County. The Eau Claire Community Foundation yesterday said it has created a mental health fund for law enforcers. The idea, Sheriff Dave Riewestahl says, is to make sure police officers and deputies can speak to someone about mental health struggles without having to pay for anything out of pocket. There's no word on how much money is available, though the Community Foundation says the fund will be paid for with donations.
The driver who hit and killed a woman earlier this month in the town of Lafayette won't face any charges. Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes says the deadly wreck happened April 14th. No one is saying just what happened, or why prosecutors are deciding against charges in the case.
Minnesota 2nd District Congresswoman Angie Craig is no longer requiring her staffers to have a bachelor's degree. Craig announced the new policy yesterday. The move is designed to expand the pool of candidates as enrollment at colleges declines and higher education costs continue to skyrocket. Craig told KARE11 News that she is the first member of Congress, to her knowledge, to take this step.
The Winona Police Department and Winona Emergency Manager are making new requests to property owners in Winona and Filmore Counties in the search for Madeline Kingsbury, who has been missing for nearly a month. Investigators are asking property owners in these counties to report old wells from before 1925, old homesteads, windmills or windmill bases. Investigators are also asking people to report any sinkholes that are accessible by car. Authorities said this information is not available in records and could lead to new searches.
A former northwestern Wisconsin prosecutor is looking at a decade behind bars for making sex tapes with women without their knowledge. A jury yesterday found former Burnett County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Steffen guilty on all three charges of capturing an intimate representation. Investigators say Steffen used his iPad to secretly make the sex tapes. One of those tapes was with a woman who Steffen was prosecuting at the time. She said they had sex so she could get a break on her case. Steffen is facing ten years in prison when he is sentenced.
Wisconsin's governor says he's been briefed on the train derailment in the southwestern corner of the state that injured four people. As many as 20 cars from a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train left the trucks near De Soto, Wisconsin yesterday afternoon. Two cars carrying paint went into the Mississippi River, but they were later secured to the bank. Other cars carrying lithium-ion batteries and oxygen containers didn't make it into the river. BNSF is not saying what caused the derailment.
The plan from Assembly Republicans to send more money to local governments in Wisconsin comes with a lot of strings. Local Republican lawmakers, including Warren Petryk, yesterday unveiled a plan to send as much as a half-billion dollars to local governments. About half would come from an increase in shared revenue, the rest would come from an innovation fund designed to get local governments to share things like police and fire services. The proposal dedicates almost all of the new money to public safety, like police, fire, and EMS. But the proposal has a ways to go. Republicans in the State Senate yesterday said the shared revenue plan is still a work in progress. Democrats at the Capitol say the plan needs some changes.
Chippewa County's largest bridge has been downgraded again. The county's highway commissioner this month cut the weight limit on the County Highway M bridge in Holcombe. It's the second time the county has limited the weight on the bridge, highway managers issued a similar order back in February. The new weight limit is just 20 tons. That means most semi-trucks and some fire trucks can no longer use the bridge. School buses and most cars are fine. Chippewa County says crews found distortions in the bridge's trusses.
Some of the worst flooding in decades in many Wisconsin communities along the Mississippi River. Those along the Upper Mississippi scrambled Wednesday to stack sandbag walls, close off flood-prone areas, and evacuate some from their homes. The melting of a huge snowpack in northern Minnesota along with heavy spring rains has led to the swelling of the river from St. Paul to Davenport, Iowa to near-record levels. The river stage at LaCrosse is forecast to crest Thursday near 16.1 feet. That’s the third-highest in the city’s history and its highest since 2001. Downstream from LaCrosse, the river is expected to crest on Saturday
Wisconsin’s only oil refinery is resuming operations in Superior. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that it took $1.2 billion to rebuild the facility following an April 26, 2018 explosion and subsequent fires. Three dozen workers were injured and thousands of residents were forced to temporarily evacuate. WPR reports that the refinery — now owned by Calgary-based Cenovus Energy — began introducing crude oil last month and is on track to resume full operations by the end of June. The cost to rebuild the refinery tripled from initial projections, and it took years longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minnesota House and Senate are taking different approaches to their public safety and tax bills. The Senate tax bill proposes slightly larger tax rebates than the House bill. The House public safety bill includes controversial gun control measures, including expanding background checks. The bills in both DFL-led chambers have had very little Republican influence.
Minnesota's Democracy for the People Act is headed to Governor Walz's desk. The state Senate passed the bill last night that is designed to make it easier for Minnesotans to vote. The act allows pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, criminalizes voter intimidation and interference, and creates automatic voter registration for all Minnesotans who interact with government agencies. Republicans attempted to amend the bill's ban on "dark money" without success.
Madison’s baseball team offers a toast to a Wisconsin tradition this summer. For their July 1st game only, the Northwoods League Madison Mallards will rebrand itself as The Old Fashioneds. The team will don special uniforms with the Old Fashioneds name, and they’ll also try to break the record for the world’s largest brandy old fashioned, which will be split up and served to those attending the game at Warner Park, also known as the Duck Pond. By the way, the alternate nickname for the alternate nickname of the Mallards will be the Brandy O’s.
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