The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include a public hearing on rezoning two lots on 2nd Ave East from Commercial to one and two-family residential along with reports from the Mayor, City Administrator, and Department heads. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall.
The Northern Wisconsin State Fair begins today in Chippewa Falls. The fair is debuting its new agricultural campus featuring new barns, an exhibition arena and an education center. Northern Wisconsin State Fair Executive Director Rusty Volk says the goal of the new campus is to keep agriculture revalent. The Northern Wisconsin State Fair continues through Sunday in Chippewa Falls.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) issued a Final Decision approving new water rates for the City of Menomonie on July 3, 2023. The new rates will go into effect on September 1, 2023. The average single-family residential customer’s bill will increase by $8.51 per quarter, from $55.65 to $64.16, or 15.29%. The City’s most recent conventional rate case was in 2015. Since then, the City has incurred a 22.04% increase in gross plant investment (including the upcoming Well #9 project) and a 14.73% increase in operating expenses.
The head of the Eau Claire County Board wants to put an investigation into the county's Department of Human Services in the past, but he may not be able to. The county board is having a special meeting tonight to both talk about the report and possibly fire County Board Chairman Nick Smiar. Smiar yesterday said he didn't think anyone needed to be fired, including himself and County Administrator Kathryn Schauf . There are still a number of people who are angry that no one has been held accountable for the millions of dollars that were spent at DHS without any approval, or in some cases any real documentation. Tonight's meeting starts at 6 p.m.
It's six years in prison and a lifetime on the sex offender registry for a Barron County man. A judge yesterday sentenced Jacob Nordeng for both sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, and for sexually assaulting a drunk woman who fell asleep at his house. Nordeng originally told police the woman was fine, but his friends say she couldn't stand up or speak at the time. After Nordeng's time in prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The Rochester International Airport (RST) announced Monday the Delta Air Lines’ restoration of a third daily flight to and from Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport (MSP). According to RST, this daily air service will offer passengers additional options and ease of travel, resulting in decreased layover times and increased connecting flight options at convenient times when coupled with the two existing Delta flights to MSP.“Our demand has been picking up since the pandemic,” RST Executive Director John Reed. “And Delta was kind enough to add this third flight and so hopefully we can get the message out to our local fliers to fly RST.”
Wisconsin businesses say they continue to need workers, but some businesses say they're going to need less of them. The latest survey from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce says just under half of business owners in the state expect to add workers in the next six months. That's down from 68-percent of businesses last year, and 79-percent two years ago. WMC's Kurt Bauer said the hiring slowdown is a predictor of a larger economic slowdown in the state. As far as Wisconsin's economy, the survey says just 39-percent of business owners think the state's economy is strong. Less than half that number, 16-percent, say the same thing about the national economy.
The DNR says fireworks started Monday's small fire at Devil's Lake State Park. Firefighters say the fire burned about three-quarters of an acre before they were able to put it out. No one is saying who set off the fireworks that started the fire. There are no reports of any injuries. Firefighters are reminding everyone of fire danger this month. Sauk County was under a fire risk warning at the time of Monday's fire.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that an Amish group is not required to use septic tanks. The Swartzentruber Amish live in southeastern Minnesota and filed a lawsuit in 2017 seeking a religious exemption that would make the use of septic tanks not mandatory for the group. The Swartzentruber Amish instead uses basins filled with mulch to filter "gray water, which comes from bathing, laundry, and dishwater, but not from toilets. However, government officials raised concerns that these basins would not be effective enough. Despite this, the appeals court ruled that the government "failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest" to force the group to use septic tanks for gray water.
Crews are cleaning up on the scene of a Waushara County wildfire. In a Tuesday afternoon update, the Department of Natural Resources reported that all road closures have been lifted, and power has been restored to the area. Crews will likely be on the scene for the next several days. Dubbed the Pallet Fire by the agency, it blackened roughly 830 acres of pine and mixed hardwoods southeast of Coloma. Twenty structures were destroyed and eight firefighters were treated for injuries. The cause of the fire: debris burning amid extremely dry conditions.
An update is provided on the search for a 13-year-old boy missing since mid-June. The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office says the case concerning James Yoblonski is still an active investigation, and ‘all avenues’ are being looked into, with multiple investigators assigned to the case. A release from the department says law enforcement and Yoblonksi’s family have reportedly done more searches of the area of U.S. Highway 12 near Devil’s Lake State Park where a family vehicle that the boy drove was found. Law enforcement has also searched several other locations believed to be areas of interest.
A homicide trial is set for April of next year for a Wausau man. Michael Turner is charged in connection to a May 15th Wausau shooting that led to the death of a 45-year-old man. Investigators said the victim was parked in his car when Turner drove up to the vehicle and shot him. Police said Turner knew the victim, who died on June 2nd. Turner was arrested in Marquette County a day after the shooting.
The prices for nonresident hunting and fishing licenses have increased. The change was effective with the new state budget signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers last week. The DNR says fee increases range from 5 to 40 dollars, and apply only to nonresident hunting and fishing licenses. Most fishing licenses increased 5 dollars. A one-day fishing license is 15 dollars and an annual is now 55. A gun deer hunting license increased from 160 to 200 dollars. Nonresident hunting and fishing licenses already issued remain valid through March 31, 2024.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that Governor Walz was authorized to issue a peacetime emergency declaration during the COVID pandemic. The announcement was made in response to a lawsuit that was filed, claiming the governor's declaration and mask mandate was a violation of constitutional rights. The court ruled that the Minnesota Emergency Management Act of 1996 authorizes such actions. Despite this, the plaintiff argued that the COVID was a public health emergency, rather than an "act of nature" under the 1996 legislation. However, the appeals court disagreed, and the actions were deemed to be authorized.
Madison is in the top-20 least stressed cities in America. The American Psychological Association is out with a new survey of the most- and least-stressed places in the country. Madison is the 12th least stressed place. South Burlington, Vermont, followed by Freemont, California, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota are the top-three least stressed cities. Cleveland, Ohio is the most stressed-out metro, followed by Detroit, Baltimore, Birmingham, and Philadelphia.
No comments:
Post a Comment