The Barron County Sheriff’s Office has released additional information regarding a two-vehicle crash on Monday that left two people dead and twelve others hurt. The collision at an intersection on State Highway 25 involved a van carrying ten people and a car carrying four teenagers. A 54-year-old man died in the crash. He was a passenger in the van and the father to the additional passengers in the van, all from the Spooner area. The 54-year-old driver of the van, a man from the Rice Lake area, was airlifted in critical condition. Other passengers in the van range in age from 8-54. A 13-year-old male passenger in the car died in the crash. The 17-year-old driver of the car was taken to a hospital in serious condition. Two other 17-year-old passengers in the car were airlifted to hospitals in critical condition. All four teens in the car were related family members from the Elmwood area.
Wisconsin's public school managers are reminding people about summer breakfasts and lunches. The Department of Public Instruction is signing people up for its summer meal programs. DPI says it serves about two-and-a-half million meals to kids each summer. Communities qualify if there are enough low-income families, and some adults with disabilities can also qualify for meals. DPI says you can get more information online, or by calling 211. The Mondovi School District is participating in the program and will have a meal site in the Elementary School Cafeteria.
There's a warning about wildfires for most of the week for most of the state of Wisconsin. The Department of Natural Resources yesterday issued a warning about the high and extremely high dangers for fires. The warning covers everyone except for Pepin, Buffalo, Pierce, and Dunn Counties where there is a moderate risk of fire. The extremely high danger is limited to three counties that border the UP. The rest of the state, DNR says, needs to be careful when around a fire, and shouldn't burn any brush piles until Wisconsin sees a good soaking rain.
There are no answers as to why Eau Claire County's Department of Human Services spent 18-hundred dollars on a swimming pool, or 650 dollars on a tricycle, or 800 dollars on mahogany highchairs. Eau Claire County's Sheriff's Office released its investigation into DHS yesterday, and the report is full of unanswered questions. The report says DHS employees either lied to investigators or tried to obstruct their investigation. DHS told investigators it would not provide receipts because accounting for all of the spending would be a HIPPA violation. The sheriff's office looked into DHS after years of over-spending. The Eau Claire County D.A.'s Office said back in March that no one at DHS would be charged with any crimes.
Altoona has new rules for people who want to water their lawns. The city ordered a partial water ban in order to save water for drinking and fighting fires. People are now only allowed to water their lawns before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m.. Odd-numbered houses can only water their lawns on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and even-numbered houses get Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No one is allowed to water their lawns on Sundays. Anyone who breaks the rules could be fined up to 500 dollars.
Emergency crews responded to the scene of a house explosion in Eyota. Crews were called to County Road 142 on Tuesday due to reports of an explosion on the back side of a house. Officials say that nobody was home at the time of the explosion, and nobody was injured. The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated.
Minnesota 2nd District Congresswoman Angie Craig is recovering after an accident at her home on Monday. According to her office, Craig fractured her ankle and will have surgery to repair the ankle on Thursday. Due to the surgery, Craig has been advised not to fly and as a result, she will miss votes in Congres this week related to the Budget Agreement. Her office says she looks forward to getting back into the office as soon as possible.
A Rochester man was arrested Friday after fleeing from deputies into a River in Oronoco. According to the Omstead County Sheriffs Department, deputies went to the Oronoco Self Storage Units and attempted to arrest 47yr old Frankie Hanson on a warrant. Hanson saw the deputies and ran from the property and then jumped into the river in an attempt to get away. He was eventually arrested and is now facing charges of obstruction of justice, fleeing officers, and threats of violence.
Wisconsin's governor is getting ready to send back some of the state's unspent coronavirus stimulus money. Governor Tony Evers told reporters yesterday that his office is preparing for the claw-back included in the new federal debt ceiling deal. The governor isn't saying how much the state will have to return to Washington or where it will come from. As of the last count in March, Wisconsin has just under 450-million dollars in unallocated stimulus money. The governor says his agencies are working to see what will become of that money.
Someone who bought a lotto ticket at a Kwik Trip in Eau Claire is a million dollars richer. The Wisconsin Lottery yesterday said the Kwik Trip on Otter Road in Eau Claire sold a winning Megabucks ticket worth one-point-three million dollars. The ticket was for Saturday's drawing. The winner has not come forward, at least not yet.
Watch for buckling pavement as temperatures rise this week. The state transportation department says drivers need to be careful of pavement buckling over the next several days. Forecasted hot temperatures will increase the chances of damage to the pavement. It's difficult to predict if, or where, pavement buckling may occur, but drivers can check 511 wi dot gov for the latest incidents or delays. You can also get live traffic feeds from cameras posted along major highways.
The Department of Tourism says this should be a good summer for Wisconsin. Tourism secretary Anne Sayers tells WXPR in Rhinelander that a number of major events this year should bring lots of travel to Wisconsin. That includes the US PGA Senior Open in Stevens Point and the 100th anniversary of Harley Davidson. The Senior Open itself is expected to bring in 75-thousand people and over 20 million dollars to Central Wisconsin. However, many businesses and tourism locations are asking people to be patient as short staffing continues to be an issue.
Jail time for a man who helped damage a hero’s statue in Madison. A man who drove the car that helped pull down a statue outside of the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison during riots in June 2020 has been sentenced to six months in jail. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that 33-year-old Kelsey D. Nelson was sentenced for his role in damaging the Hans Christian Heg statue, as well as looting a nearby jewelry store about a month earlier. The statue of the Civil War hero was toppled and beheaded during a protest against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Expect to see more spongy moth caterpillars this year. The Department of Natural Resources says that weather conditions this spring were both favorable for the moths and unfavorable for the DNR's preferred pesticide, a fungus that specifically targets the moths. That could mean a population explosion over the next two years. Forestry experts say people should be aware that many trees and shrubs could be stripped of leaves this year, and that people shouldn't cut down bare trees because the leaves can grow back. Lumber production may also be down because of the stress on trees.
The Packers' CEO is hopeful the state will help pay for the NFL Draft to come to Green Bay. CEO Mark Murphy was on UPFRONT over the weekend. He said hosting the NFL Draft is going to be a boom for the entire state. He expects hundreds of thousands of people to attend, and he expects them to spend millions of dollars while they are here. Two Green Bay lawmakers are asking for two million-dollars to help offset the Packers' costs. Murphy says it will cost seven-and-a-half million-dollars to host the draft in 2025. One million-dollars of that will come from the team, the rest will have to come from either the state or donations.
A group of magnet fishermen spends Memorial Day Weekend cleaning up the Rock River. They took to Beloit to fish and raise money but also spent some time gathering items from the river to be recycled. Over two days the group says it raised over six-thousand dollars through recyclables.
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