Two people were hurt in a fire at La Crosse Milling in Cochrane on Wednesday. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, firefighters were called to the plant on Wednesday evening due to a fire inside a piece of machinery at the plant. Firefighters were able to evacuate the building and staff and put the fire out. One employee had minor burns and another was taken to the hospital after being hurt in a fall.
Durand Firefighters were called to a fire at A&J Construction at N6435 Dorwin's Mill Road Thursday morning. When firefighters arrived they found some trees that had caught fire after a fire in a burn pile had spread. Firefighters quickly put the fire out and no buildings were damaged and no one was reported hurt in that blaze.
UW-Eau Claire is getting millions for its new science building in the new state budget. The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee yesterday set-aside 231 million-dollars for the new building. Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt says it's been five years in the making, and said he is grateful for the money. The cash will be used to build a new Science and Health Sciences building. Work could start early next year, and the building could open by 2026.
There's an arrest warrant out for a Chippewa Falls man accused of exposing himself to a 14-year-old girl. The sheriff in Juneau County says 28-year-old Daniel Sykora sent the girl naked pictures online, then threatened to rape her, kill her and her family, and then kill himself. Sykora is from Chippewa Falls and is out on bond for several felony cases there. His pictures are online. Authorities say anyone who knows anything about his whereabouts should reach out.
Police in Western Wisconsin are once again reminding people that marijuana remains illegal in Wisconsin. Local Police say Minnesota's move to legalize marijuana doesn't change anything on this side of the river. Legal pot sales will begin in Minnesota in August, but pot remains illegal in Wisconsin. Eau Claire Police say that means possession and distribution remain against the law.
The lack of rain over the past month has really left fields dry. Over the past week, there has been an expansion of abnormally dry conditions from less than 1% of Wisconsin to now covering two-thirds of the state. Continued dry weather will likely result in the development of drought conditions if it stays fairly dry over the next month or two. According to the latest drought monitor, Dunn County, portions of Northern Pierce County and Chippewa County are in the abnormally dry category. Scattered thunderstorms are expected today in the forecast.
A man pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting Minnesota 2nd District Congresswoman Angie Craig in the elevator of her Washington apartment building in February, according to court records. Kendrid Khalil Hamlin, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a member of Congress and assaulting law enforcement officers, according to the court docket. Hamlin was also accused of assaulting two officers as they attempted to arrest him on the same day of Craig’s attack.
The Justice Department is stepping into the road battle in Lac du Flambeau, on the side of the tribe. The federal government is suing the town of Lac du Flambeau on behalf of the tribe and a handful of homeowners over the town's approach to roads that connect the town and the reservation. The tribe claims it's owed millions of dollars because the town hasn't paid for the roads in years. The dispute came to a head over the winter when the tribe blocked access to the roads, and cut the homeowners off. The tribe and the town are talking right now, but have not come to terms.
Wisconsin's two U.S. Senators split their votes on the debt ceiling deal. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin voted for the agreement with House Republicans, while Republican Senator Ron Johnson voted against it. Johnson called it a 'disastrous deal' and said it has the 'bare minimum' of spending restrictions. Baldwin said she voted for the plan to 'protect' veterans and seniors and to make sure the country doesn't default on its debt.
Wisconsin's Democratic US Senator has a new plan to take the gray wolf off of the federal endangered species list. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced the plan yesterday on Capitol Hill. Baldwin wants an advisory committee made up of farmers and ranchers, Native people, wolf experts, and state agencies from Wisconsin and other states to put together a proposal to delist the wolf across the upper Midwest. Baldwin says wolf populations are large enough to take them off the endangered list across Wisconsin and our neighbors.
A Rochester man has been sentenced for shooting at a stranger at a gas station last year. Lionell Bailey fired a gun at man walking between gas pumps during the incident. Bailey's defense claims that he was motivated by paranoia due to being high on drugs, though the judge did not find the defense viable. Bailey was charged with attempted murder and other charges for the random shooting and has been sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in prison with credit for 350 days already served.
Wisconsin's attorney general wants the federal government to set PFAS standards for drinking water, so the state isn't on its own. A-G Josh Kaul yesterday signed-on to a letter to the EPA, urging a federal set of standards for PFAS contamination. He said people across the country need to feel safe when they turn-on the tap. Currently, there aren't any federal standards. That means each state can set its own, and Wisconsin set its own PFAS standards back in February of last year, and now many communities are finding there are more chemicals than they first thought in their drinking water.
Wisconsin lawmakers are inching closer to new rules for the state's National Guard when it comes to sexual assault and harassment cases. An Assembly panel yesterday approved three pieces of legislation that would make it clear what is, and what is not acceptable from guardsmen. The legislation follows a series of reports about sexual abuse or harassment at Madison's Air Guard unit. Part of the plan would have Wisconsin roll some regular-Army regulations on relationships between officers and enlisted personnel into state law.
Lincoln County deputies say they've recovered over 100 thousand dollars in stolen property. Detectives from Sacramento California traveled to the Town of Bradley this month along with deputies and recovered around 116-thousand dollars worth of equipment. Another 4-thousand dollars of stolen goods was allegedly found. Police have not named any suspects in the case, nor have they announced any arrests. The investigation is ongoing.
The final co-defendant in the shooting death of an 11-year-old girl in Madison has taken a plea deal. Twenty-year-old Jerry Ward was in Dane County Court and pled guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree reckless homicide for the death of Anisa Scott. The young girl was a passenger in a vehicle when she was hit by gunfire on Madison's East Side in August of 2020. Someone else in the car was the intended target. 3 men were arrested. In addition to Ward, the other two have been convicted and given lengthy prison terms, however, both men have started the process of appeal. Ward will be sentenced at a later date.
A new airport reservation system is in operation at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The pilot program is called MSP Reserve. It allows air travelers flying out of Terminal Two to choose the time they wish to pass through security. Passengers also can make a reservation for their entire party as early as a week before their flight by going to the airport's website.
It's another nod for Eau Claire's marathon. RaceWaves, which is a website that finds, ranks, and reviews marathons, this week named the Eau Claire Marathon the top marathon in the state. Voters picked, and RaceWaves helped tally the votes. In addition to the ranking, RaceWaves pointed out that registration is now open for the 2024 Eau Claire Marathon, which is set for next April.
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