The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action regarding bids for the Tarran Park Swiming Pool and reports from the mayor, city administrator, and department heads. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall and will be livestreamed on our Livestreaming Video Page of our website at reelcountry 1430 dot com.
Western Wisconsin has received more rain in the last 5 days than in the previous two months. According to the National Weather Services, anywhere from 3-6 inches of rain has fallen here in Western Wisconsin and Southeastern Minnesota. That compares to less than three inches since the middle of June. Warmer weather is expected for the weekend and there could be some additional chances for rain. The weather service will update the drought monitor later this week, but the rain should help see an easing of drought conditions.
A baiting and feeding ban is posted in some Western Wisconsin counties after a deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ban goes into effect on October 5 for Washburn, Barron, Rusk, and Sawyer Counties. There is also a baiting and feeding ban in place for Pepin, Buffalo, Dunn, Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Trempealeau Counties.
Eau Claire County's sheriff is going to spend their latest opioid money on medication drop boxes and education for jail guards. The sheriff's office yesterday said it got a 350-thousand-dollar grant from the state's Department of Health Services. The sheriff says the money will help the county with a peer-to-peer support network that will help get people help, instead of sending them to jail.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is using $2.5 million in federal funding to build a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 58 and County Road 9 in Goodhue County between Zumbrota and Red Wing. According to MNDOT, a roundabout would decrease the likelihood of accidents taking place at this intersection. Records show 18 accidents occurred at this intersection from 2017-2021, one of which was fatal. MNDOT says mid-April 2024 is when the project should start, and the roundabout should be up and running in early July.
A Black River Falls woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death two years ago is headed to prison for 10 years. A judge yesterday sentenced Kelly Schmidt to a decade in prison, followed by a decade of parole. She pleaded no contest to reckless homicide charges earlier this year. Jackson County deputies say she stabbed her boyfriend in the arm with a filet knife, and he died hours later.
An investigation into last spring’s wildfire near Fort McCoy is inconclusive. The April 12 fire consumed 3,000 acres of woodland in Jackson and Monroe Counties. A release from the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer says Department of Defense investigators concluded that an April 12 prescribed burn did not cause the fire, and investigators could not determine if a prescribed burn the previous day played a role. According to the investigation, the April 12 prescribed burn was over a mile and half away from the wildfire’s origin. The wildfire’s cause remains undetermined due to evidence possibly being washed away by heavy rain and snowfall in the following days.
Election managers in the state like the idea of being able to count absentee ballots before the polls close on Election Day. Lawmakers are considering a plan that would allow Wisconsin's election clerks to count absentee ballots early. Milwaukee Election Commission director Claire Woodall-Vogg said allowing clerks more time to count absentee ballots will avoid the middle-of-the-night 'ballot dumps.' Some Republican lawmakers say being more open about absentee ballot numbers will help Inspire more faith in the state's electoral process.
The Mayo Clinic has removed a page from its website after a former Trump Administration official spotlighted it in a social media post. The website contained a page in its prescription medication section that discussed hydroxychloroquine, which is commonly used to treat malaria. The page also said the drug could be used to treat COVID-19 in "certain hospitalized patients." Former Trump official Peter Navarro called the clinic's description of the drug "a grudging admission" that hydroxychloroquine could be used for COVID treatment in a social media post last weekend. The clinic removed the page on Monday, saying the drug's description would be updated to say that it should not be used to treat COVID-19 and that the Mayo Clinic does not endorse using it for such treatment.
An Eau Claire man is asking the city to help keep cats inside to protect birds. Steve Betchkal is an ornithologist. He spoke at Monday night's city council meeting about his petition to keep cats indoors. Betchkal wants some of the money that the city spends with the Eau Claire County Humane Association to go towards educating people about the effects that outdoor cats have on wildlife. He also wants a ban on barn cat adoption in Eau Claire County. Managers at the Humane Association, however, say there's already plenty of information about the effects that wild cats have on birds. They say a ban on barn cat adoption would force them to put cats down. They consider themselves a no-kill shelter. Betchkal's petition has just a few signatures.
Wisconsin has received money to update the state’s unemployment insurance system. The federal government has awarded the state’s Department of Workforce Development more than $11 million in funds for the upgrade. Wisconsin is one of 18 states to obtain grants for modernizing and redesigning UI programs, improving fraud prevention in them, and enhancing the systems’ reliability and accessibility for users. The agency says it looks forward to using the funds to update its decades-old unemployment insurance infrastructure and benefits delivery system.
The Chief Clerk of the Wisconsin Senate resigns. Michael Queensland, who was placed on leave last month amid an investigation, resigned effective Friday. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (LEMA-hue) did not provide details. In a short statement, LeMahieu said that Queensland has denied all allegations. The Department of Administration cut off Queensland's access to state buildings a month ago at the request of the Senate sergeant at arms. Sources told WisPolitics that during a Senate Republican caucus earlier this month, members were told not to talk about the situation or ask questions.
IndyCar racing will return to the historic Milwaukee Mile next Labor Day Weekend. A release from IndyCar says the legendary track at Wisconsin State Fair Park will host the inaugural Milwaukee NTT IndyCar Series Doubleheader Weekend August 30th through September 1st 2024. The one-mile oval had previously hosted a total of 114 IndyCar races over nine decades and has hosted various types of auto racing since 1903. The last time the track hosted an IndyCar race was in 2015.
A Janesville man has been found guilty of a homicide at a Wisconsin Dells hotel. Jeremy Mondy was convicted in the February 2021 death of Kally Elliot. A criminal complaint states a housekeeper at the Vue hotel found the 34-year-old Mondy passed out on a bed and the victim in the bathroom. Mondy told investigators he and Elliot were fighting over a gun in the bathroom when it went off, but a complaint says Mondy later changed his statement and stated that he had purposefully pulled the trigger to defend himself. In addition to the first-degree homicide conviction, Mondy was also found guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and felony and misdemeanor bail jumping charges.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says more deer hunters are using crossbows in Minnesota. Deer archery season opened on September 16th and the agency is polling hunters about their choice of weapon when they bring in their kills. About 40-percent of the deer brought in so far have been taken with crossbows. This is the first year the state has allowed all hunters a chance to use crossbows, and D-N-R officials say the new rules could lead to a higher deer harvest during archery season.
Culver's yesterday said it is bringing back its Curder Burger. That's the burger with a giant cheese curd on top. The Curder Burger started out as an April Fool's joke, but became so popular the Culver's actually made one and put it on the menu. This year the Curder Burger will be available for a limited time starting October 2nd, which means it will be available on National Cheese Curd Day, which is October 15th.
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