A Durand man was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday. 34-year-old Jesse Turnmire is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The indictment alleges that on July 7, 2023, Turnmire possessed a .22 caliber revolver and ammunition. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. If convicted, Turnmire faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
The City of Mondovi is having an independent engineering firm do an audit of the North Eau Claire Street Project. The audit is a result of a dispute between the city, residents along North Eau Claire Street, and the project engineering firm CBS Squared. If the audit shows problems with the engineering and design of the project, Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss expects some type of legal process for liquidated damages. The city and residents were concerned about how the new design of the project lowered the street level and the grade of the street to the extent that some residents now have no access to the street from the front of their homes.
As Congress heads toward a Sept 30th deadline to continue to fund the government, Wisconsin 3rd District Congressman Derrick Van Orden says he is opposed to shutting down the government. The continuing resolution in the house appears to be dead as some members of the Freedom Caucus have come out in opposition to it.
The City of Wabasha Public Works Department has just finished planting 200 trees of 6 different varieties, with over 500 more trees to go. The City of Wabasha received a $33,343 grant from the DNR to plant trees in order to replace the 950 ash trees that had to be removed due to the Emerald Ash Borer Disease. The Public Works Department is on pace to plant 50 to 100 trees per week later this fall and next year depending on the weather conditions.
Police in Eau Claire are warning that someone is calling and pretending to be them. Eau Claire's Police Department took to social media yesterday to warn that someone is calling around and faking the number from Eau Claire's Communication Center. They are telling people that they owe a fine, or else they'll be going to jail. The scammers demand to be paid, oftentimes with gift cards. The real police say they never do that, and say if you get a call you should just hang up.
Chippewa County's sheriff says he didn't do anything wrong, and says he's shocked to learn that someone in his office thinks he did. Sheriff Travis Hakes yesterday said county supervisors have created a false narrative against him, and he thinks they're trying to push him out of office. Supervisors met earlier this week, behind closed doors, to talk about the allegations from someone in the sheriff's department of a hostile workplace. Supervisors have another meeting scheduled for next month as well. Hakes ran for election by promising to be more open as sheriff, and yesterday said he stands by what he said. Hakes was elected as sheriff back in November.
Gov. Tony Evers announced on May 31, 2023, that he is seeking applicants for the Barron County Circuit Court – Branch 2 and subsequently extended the application deadline. The governor announced today he is accepting applications on a rolling basis until the vacancy is filled. The appointment will fill the vacancy created by Judge J. M. Bitney’s retirement, effective Sept. 15, 2023. The new judge will complete a term ending July 31, 2024.
An expected outcome at the Capitol, Republican legislative leaders in the state Senate and Assembly gaveled in and out of session on Wednesday, after signaling they’d take no action on a special session from Democratic Governor Tony Evers almost as soon as he called it more than a month ago. Evers wanted lawmakers to take up a $1 billion workforce development package, including $365 million to support hard-pressed childcare providers. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu faulted Evers for twice vetoing a bill that would have imposed work-search requirements on welfare recipients.
A new study from a non-partisan research group details childcare costs for Wisconsin families. The report from Forward Analytics titled (“Priced Out: The Steep Cost of Childcare in Wisconsin”) found the average annual cost of infant childcare in Wisconsin in 2021 was $13,572. That’s more than the $10,766 annual tuition at UW-Madison.
A Northwoods developer building affordable housing for workers says the economy will break without a place for employees to live. Bob Odhe is working on his fifth affordable housing development, this time in St. Germain. He tells WJFW-TV that even building these properties is getting extremely expensive. Over the last five years, he says costs have risen from 9 million to 15 million dollars to build the same set of apartments. The Northwoods has seen a housing crisis as available houses are snapped up by private owners to be used as short-term rentals, forcing local workers to drive long distances to get to and from their jobs.
State Senate Republicans are responding to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin scheduling abortion services by introducing bills aimed at regulating abortion care. Those bills got a public hearing in the Senate's Licensing and Federalism Committee on Tuesday. The bills clarify that lifesaving procedures on the behalf of a mother are not considered abortions under state law, but also prohibit state employees from promoting or making referrals for abortions. Other bills would allow expectant parents to make tax deductions, and require the state to provide 1 million dollars a year to Choose Life Wisconsin, a pro-life advocacy group.
The top Democrat in the Wisconsin Senate says Republicans are holding UW employees hostage for political games. Senator Melissa Agard yesterday said Republicans should not threaten to withhold pay raises from University of Wisconsin employees in the battle over diversity, equity, and inclusion. The top Republican in Wisconsin assembly, Speaker Robin Vos, last week said he would not approve pay raises unless and until the University of Wisconsin cut 32-million dollars in DEI programs. Vos wants the UW to spend that money instead on in-demand jobs and other academic programs. Agard says Vos and other Republicans would rather score political points than do what's right for the university and the state.
Several environmental groups in Minnesota are taking legal action against the EPA. They are suing the federal agency to reform national water pollution permits for large livestock operations. The plaintiffs claim the waste from the mega-farms is contributing to a national clean-water crisis. The groups that are suing include Dodge County Concerned Citizens, Land Stewardship Project, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
The Packers are reminding fans that the new season means a new update for their Packers app. The team yesterday told ticket holders to make sure to be up to date before they show up at Lambeau Field on Sunday. The latest version of the Packers mobile app has a critical update that helps with the tickets. Because of that update, fans are going to have to update their app before they arrive at Lambeau Field in order to get into the stadium. The Packers play their home opener against the Saints this Sunday.
You can now have a pig as a pet in the city of Madison. The Common Council last night approved a plan that will allow people to have one pig per home so long as it's under 24 inches tall at the shoulder and doesn't weigh any more than 300 pounds. Madison's old rules banned pigs in the city, but the new rules were adopted after a number of people were told that they had to get rid of their pigs. Not everyone is happy. Some folks turned out at last night's meeting to complain saying Madison first allowed chickens, now the city is allowing pigs, and they wondered if goats or other barnyard animals are next.
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