Rain last week is easing drought conditions this week, especially in Southern Wisconsin. The new National Drought Monitor map shows a significant reduction in extreme drought in Southwest Wisconsin, while in Western Wisconsin the area of moderate drought conditions dropped and now includes southern Pierce, Pepin, and Buffalo Counties. All of Dunn County and the northern half of Pierce County are abnormally dry. 68 percent of the state is in drought this week--down from 74 percent last week.
The Pepin County Board has approved an increase in per diem rates. At this week's board meeting, the per diem rate will rise to $75 per meeting and $25 per hour after 2hrs, the county board chairman will receive $150 a month and committee chairs $30 per month. The new rates will go into effect after the April 2024 election.
The future of Durand Fun Fest will be discussed at a November meeting. In a social media post, Fun Fest organizers listed the lack of volunteers, the construction of Madison Street next year and the loss of a vacant lot for the carnival as reasons the event may come to an end. The Fun Fest Committee is asking residents to attend a meeting on November 6 at 5:45 at Durand City Hall to talk about the other locations to hold Fun Fest instead of Downtown, and the need for additional volunteers.
There's growing opposition to the idea of resettling immigrants in the Chippewa Valley. More than 100 people turned out in Eau Claire last night to oppose the plans from World Relief to bring at least 75 immigrants to the area by the end of the year. The Republican Party of Eau Claire County hosted the meeting. World Relief is not saying where the immigrants are from, or just where they will stay in Eau Claire. Supporters say the idea is to help refugees find new homes. Many in the crowd last night worried about just what the immigrants will do, and who will support them once they arrive.
Kwik Trip is now saying it was a hack that disrupted its computer system for the past week. The company yesterday said a 'cybersecurity incident' on Monday, October 9th knocked computers offline. Kwik Trip says they are looking for the source of the hack, but have not yet found it. The hack disabled Kwik Trip's rewards program. The company yesterday said the rewards program is finally back on-line, but the Kwik Trip app and the company's website remain down.
Over $3 million from the U.S. Department of Justice is being used to strengthen crime prevention efforts and improve public safety across western Wisconsin. Dunn and Barron Counties are receiving $890,000 for the Family Treatment Court Program, and the City of Eau Claire received nearly $19,000 for technology upgrades, uniforms, and officer equipment. The federal dollars are part of the 2023 government funding bill.
The City of Menomonie Urban Forestry Board is seeking individuals, families, community groups or organizations that would be willing to adopt one or more of the ash tree benches in the City. The benches were created through a collaboration between the Urban Forestry Board, the City Community Services Department, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
The War in the Middle East is causing gas prices to rise. Overnight, the price for regular unleaded gas in Durand rose 20 cents to $3.49 a gallon. The increasing tensions between Israel and Hamas have led to a sharp increase in Oil Prices which is causing the higher prices at the pump. The increase is widespread yet as of this morning gas was still at $3.29 in Mondovi, $3.19 in Pepin and Nelson, and $3.09 in Eleva.
Wisconsin's largest pumpkin is now in Eau Claire. Master Gardener Brian Mathiowetz says his pumpkin, Macie, weighed in at just over 24 hundred pounds last weekend. That makes his pumpkin the largest in Wisconsin history. Mathiowetz says he started growing giant pumpkins about five years ago, and has no plans to stop. The old record for the largest pumpkin in Wisconsin was two-thousand-283 pounds, much smaller than Macie.
The Racine soldier who bolted into North Korea has been charged with desertion. The Pentagon announced the charges against Travis King yesterday. King spent about two months in North Korea after he fled into the country back in July. No one is saying why King ran, but he;d just been released from a South Korean jail and was facing additional punishments from the Army back here in the US. King is also being charged with possessing sexual images of a child. King could be sent to prison for three years on the desertion charges.
The Minnesota legislature is getting more money than predicted for the next session. The 2022-23 fiscal year profited about 820 million more than expected. This came from taxes, accounting adjustments, and other revenues. The money will be transferred to Minnesota's projected surplus for next year. Lawmakers plan on spending the money on government programs, tax cuts, or keeping the money in the bank. Republican legislators say the excess money means taxes are too high and think the money should be put in for tax relief.
University of Wisconsin employees are speaking out after a joint legislative committee this week voted to leave them out of pay increases approved for all other state workers. U-W Green Bay political science professor Jon Shelton is also president of the campus union and he says unions are getting ready to do what they can to fight for the cost-of-living increases, but can't share specifics right now.
Wisconsin's Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force will keep working for three more years. The group got a two million dollar grant from the U-S Department of Justice for Victims of Crime to fund additional victim service providers. The task force plans on adding social workers, law enforcement officers, and victim service providers in 2024. They say they will continue to work with communities to keep track of areas more prone to sex trafficking and train its partners throughout the state.
The number of cases of syphilis is increasing in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says though the overall number of sexually transmitted infections has decreased by 9% statewide, the number of syphilis cases rose by 19% from 2021 to 2022 and has gone up by 230% in teenagers and young adults since 2019. The state health agency adds that STI cases in newborns have increased by a staggering 1350%. If a woman is infected during or just before pregnancy and the infection goes untreated, it can be transmitted to the child.
Everyone is okay after a seagull hit a Chicago TV station’s helicopter near Kenosha Wednesday. WBBM-TV says the pilot of their copter was flying the craft back to Chicago after it received routine maintenance in Kenosha. During the flight, the gull hit the helicopter, shattered the windscreen and hit the pilot in the face. The pilot, who was able to safely land the chopper in a field in Pleasant Prairie, received some minor abrasions from the incident, and a photographer on the copter was uninjured.
State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu is now calling a vote to oust current Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe "Symbolic". WisPolitics reports that Republican leadership included that wording in their response to Attorney General Josh Kaul's attempt to keep Wolfe in office. The Senate voted last month to remove Wolfe from her role, despite the fact that her nomination wasn't before the Senate. Kaul, along with Democrat members of the Elections Commission, cites a recent State Supreme Court ruling that allows people appointed to positions to stay on after their original term has expired. LeMahieu says his strategy to remove Wolfe will now focus on the Elections Commission failing to appoint someone after Wolfe's term in office was over.
Police are putting out a warning after a Stoughton resident was scammed out of 8 thousand dollars. Scammers claiming to be with US Customs told the victim that they had intercepted a package full of drugs that was addressed to the victim. The crooks spent several hours with the victim, telling them they needed to wire money right away or else they would be arrested and then walking the victim through the process of buying cryptocurrency. Scammers have been turning to using Bitcoin as payments because it is effectively untraceable, and unlike wire transfers, gift cards or prepaid credit cards there are no retail clerks or staff involved who might talk victims out of the scam
The Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony is looking to grow. The Symphony will hold an audition this Sunday at Crestview Academy in Eau Claire. Organizers say kids from six-years-old to 12 can audition and join. You can find out more about the Symphony, and the auditions, online.
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