Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Local-Regional News Oct 31

 The City of Mondovi is working with the area school district to establish wild reed beds as part of the new wastewater treatment plant.  Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the goal is to have the beds become established. It is hoped the beds can be established by next year.


With the reconstruction of Madison Street next year, events at Memorial Park like Durand Fun Fest will be affected.  Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city will work with Fun Fest to minimize the impact of the construction. The Fun Fest Committee is holding a meeting on November 6th to discuss the future of Fun Fest.  That meeting will be at 5:45 in the community center at Durand City Hall.


The Dunn County Health Department is running an opioid overdose awareness campaign to share more about the risks of Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a dangerous drug often mixed with other drugs that aren’t prescribed by your doctor, making them cheaper and more addictive. Even a tiny amount of Fentanyl can lead to a deadly overdose.  This opioid overdose awareness campaign was funded using State Opioid Response (SOR) dollars provided by the Northwoods Coalition. The funding is being used to purchase a billboard ad on Highway 25 South and support community Narcan training. 


Motorists are advised to be on the lookout for trick-or-treaters tonight.  Here in the City of Durand, trick or treat is from 5-7pm, and in Mondovi from 5-7.  Parents make sure that the kids are wearing costumes that don't obstruct their view and can be seen by motorists.  Homeowners wanting to participate in trick or treat should leave the porch light on during the trick or treat hours.


A former Osseo-Fairchild teacher has been found guilty of inappropriately touching a student.  Nicholas Bergeron was found guilty of second degree sexual assault of a child on Friday in Trempealeau County Court.   Bergeron was arrested after a 15yr old student reported that Bergeron touched her inappropriately and other students saw the incident.  He will be sentenced in March.


The New Richmond woman accused of stabbing her fiance to death in August of last year will not be going to trial. Marian Kathryn Smith yesterday pleaded guilty to reckless homicide charges. Prosecutors originally charged her with first degree homicide. Smith told police that she and her fiance were arguing over a knife, when he grabbed at her, and the knife plunged into his gut. Her plea will mean less time behind bars. She's to be sentenced in February. 


 One of the two men charged in a triple murder in La Crosse has cut a deal with prosecutors. Khamthaneth Rattanasack pleaded guilty yesterday to being a party to the Crime of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide. The deal means Rattanasack will face a mandatory 20 years in prison, as opposed to a mandatory life sentence. Rattanasack testified against the other suspect in the case, Nya Thao, but his case ended with a hung jury. Rattanasack and Thao are accused of shooting and killing three men at a La Crosse-area rock quarry as part of a drug deal gone bad. 


Wisconsin's governor says cleaning up the state's drinking water is one of his top priorities, but he's not sure about the plan from Republican lawmakers to do that. Governor Evers said in an interview last week that he's not sure he will sign the PFAS plan from the Republican-controlled legislature. The governor says the proposal doesn't 'hold anyone accountable,' and takes 'power away from the DNR.' Republican lawmakers say they want to help homeowners and local communities clean up their water, they are not interested in making it easier to sue big companies or punish anyone. 


The owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company is looking at the largest libel judgment in state history.  A judge last week ruled against Kirk Bangstad, and ordered him to pay a 750 thousand-dollar fine after he called Lakeland Times publisher Gregg Walker a 'crook' and a 'misogynist. Bangstad was angry at the Lakeland Times because of its conservative views. Bangstad says he plans to appeal but also lashed out at the judge in the case. Bangstad is a well known progressive, and has paid for lawsuits to try and get school kids in Wisconsin to wear masks once again, and is currently backing a lawsuit that challenges Wisconsin's school choice programs. 


 It's only Halloween, but we now know the theme for this year's State Capitol Holiday Tree. Governor Tony Evers yesterday announced that the theme will be '175 Years of Wisconsinites.' The governor is also asking school kids across the state to use that theme to create ornaments for the tree. While we have the theme, we're going to have to wait for the tree. The governor says it won't go up until the day before Thanksgiving. 


Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig is pushing for the United States Postal Service to open a new joint post office to serve Lakeville and Farmington residents.  She sent the federal agency a letter in September asking for a new location to address mail service issues.  Craig says this week the Postal Service rejected her request, but she is doubling down on her call for the new post office.


Wisconsin manufacturers have not planned for the impact of artificial intelligence on their industries. The Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity has released a new report, that says that while workforce is still the highest concern, manufacturers may be underestimating the potential A-I has to increase production, with fewer workers. The biggest problem for manufacturers is finding and retaining workers. The report suggests A-I could run production lines. 


Governor Tony Evers is hoping Senate Democrats can back an Assembly bill funding upgrades to American Family Field.   In an interview with Wisconsin Eye, Evers said he’d support a ticket tax on non-Brewers events and auditing the stadium district, which are suggestions made in the state Senate.  The plan passed with bipartisan support in the Assembly. It would use roughly 550 million dollars in tax revenue for work at the Brewers ballpark. Senate President Devin LeMahieu has said the chamber does not have a Republican majority willing to pass the bill. That means some Democrats would need to be on board.    


Humans have made wolves more efficient hunters.  That's according to a new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.  It found that human activity like building roads and logging has actually enabled wolves to hunt fawns more efficiently in northern Minnesota.  Researchers say humans have created an environment that appears to work in the predators' favor. 


 An Olmsted County commissioner has been selected to serve on the state's Cannabis Advisory Council.  Commissioner Laurel Podulke-Smith will attend quarterly meetings of the council, which will serve as an advisory body for the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management.  She'll also present information taken from those meetings back to Olmsted County to discuss with her colleagues on the county commission.  In a statement, Podulke-Smith said she's been following the legalization of cannabis closely and is ready to work on how the drug will affect public safety and public health. 


Marley the dog is finally home. Marley, an 11-year-old poodle, went missing from her Milwaukee home five-years-ago. Her family, Leola and John Voegtline, say she ran out of the house in September of 2018 and vanished. The Voegtline's daughter spotted her at the park back in June, Marley was with another family. There was a bit of a court battle after that, but the Voegtlines now have Marley back for good. 

No comments:

Post a Comment