Monday, October 16, 2023

Local-Regional News October 16

 There will be more parking available in Downtown Durand next year with the Madison Street project.  Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says there will be a total of 17 additional parking spots in the downtown.  To facilitate the extra parking, First Avenue, Second Avenue West, and 4th Avenue West will become one-way between Madison and Main Streets.  That project is set to begin in the spring of 2024.


As the city of Mondovi searches for a new city administrator, the 2024 budget must still be prepared.  Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the city is getting some help in preparing the budget from an Eau Claire Accounting Firm.  The city hopes to have a new administrator in place before the end of the year.


The Wabasha County Board is meeting tomorrow.  Items on the agenda include approval of the purchase of a replacement Chassis for the Highway Sign Truck and presentations of the Extension Quarterly Report and the 3rd Quarter Financial report.  Tomorrow's meeting begins at 9am at the Government Center in Wabsha.


We now know when to stand by the tracks to get a glimpse of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.   The railroad last week said the train will move through southeast Minnesota on December 8th and December 9th.  The first stop will be in La Crescent on December 8th at 7:15pm, then on December 9th, the train will stop in Winona at 3:30pm, Wabasha at 5:30pm and Hastings at 8pm.    The holiday train has been running through southeast Minnesota since 1999.


Wisconsin congressman Derrick Van Orden is denying reports that he used vulgarity during a briefing by Biden administration officials on the attack on Israel last week.  The 3rd District Republican said that he was frustrated, citing the Americans killed by Hamas terrorists he referred to as savages. Other lawmakers who attended the briefing claimed that Van Orden yelled at officials providing the briefing, and dropped an F-bomb on another House member.


Bob's House For Dogs in Eau Claire may no longer just be for dogs.  Owners Travis and Amy Quella started Bob's House For Dogs 15 years ago. They say they've gotten so successful that they need to expand. The Quellas have bought 40 acres of land just outside of Elva, and plan to build a new facility to house even more dogs. But they're also thinking about adding space for cats. The hope is to raise nearly two million dollars to pay for the expansion. The Quellas say they hope to break ground next spring.


Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services (PPCS) has been celebrating National Co-op Month this October with acts of service.  Employees also participated in service projects coordinated by Dairyland Power Cooperative throughout its service territory. The PPCS team participated in 12 miles of highway clean-up around the John P. Madgett power plant near Alma, Wis.  PPCS will close out National Co-op Month with a member appreciation breakfast on Saturday, October 28, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the cooperative headquarters in Ellsworth. They will be collecting donations for the food shelf and Basics for Local Kids at the event.


The Durand Improvement Group is now accepting nominations for Grand Marshall for the upcoming Holidazzle Parade.    The group is seeking a local individual that embodies the spirit of the community and who has made a positive impact on the community.  Visit the Durand Improvement Group Website or Facebook Page for more information.  This year's Holidazzle Parade will be on November 25th


The rules for delivering food in Wisconsin could soon be changing. The State Assembly is set to vote tomorrow on a plan that would allow restaurants to opt out of third-party delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash. The proposal would also require food delivery drivers to have a modicum of food safety training. Culver's is driving the legislation. The company says it got a number of complaints about the food that was delivered through third-party drivers. Culver's says it wants to be able to opt-out as a way to guarantee its food quality and its service.


School choice supporters in Wisconsin say a lawsuit that looks to overturn the state's voucher programs would hurt the kids that public school supporters claim they want to help. School Choice Wisconsin President Nicholas Kelly said the lawsuit that challenges Wisconsin's school choice programs would kick 50 thousand-plus low-income kids out of the state's parental choice program. Many of those students, Kelly said, are low-income, and Black and Brown students. The lawsuit challenges whether Wisconsin's parental choice programs are constitutional. It was filed just last week.


Any chatter about the plan to spend half-a-billion dollars in taxpayer money on the Brewers' ballpark will soon end. The State Assembly is scheduled to vote on the plan this week. An assembly panel Thursday approved the proposal, which now has a smaller price tag. Under the new agreement, Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will each pay just 67-million dollars over the next 27 years. Democratic leaders of the Capitol say that's a significant improvement over the original plan that wanted 200-million-dollars. Milwaukee leaders said they would not be able to afford that. Under the latest plan taxpayers across the state would kick in about 400-million, the Brewers would kick in 100-million, and Milwaukee and Milwaukee County would make up the rest. The Brewers are promising to stay in Milwaukee 'til 2050 if they get the money.


 Wisconsinites, and Americans in general, are becoming more worried about inflation as student loan repayments resume. There is a little good news in the new consumer price index ... the inflation report. Price increases are slowing for two key consumer sectors, food and gas. Excluding food and gas, inflation is up three-point-seven percent over a year ago. Overall inflation is 4.1 percent, driven by higher inflation rates for housing and transportation services, air, buses, and trains.


Avian influenza has been confirmed for the first time this year in Minnesota. The state Board of Animal Health announced today that a commercial turkey flock in Meeker County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza or HPAI. About 140-thousand birds were euthanized and the site has been put under quarantine. State Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs says HPAI continues to appear during seasonal migration periods. Anyone who keeps poultry should report symptoms of HPAI, including sudden deaths, difficulty breathing, decreased appetite, and egg production. Officials add poultry and eggs should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before consumption.


A 26-year-old Connecticut man is indicted after stealing thousands from elderly Wisconsinites through what’s commonly known as the Grandparent Scam.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin says for a week in late October of 2022c, Matthew Ramos-Soto and his co-conspirators phoned elderly people saying a relative had been arrested following an accident and that money for bail was needed. Ramos-Soto and his co-conspirators allegedly traveled throughout Wisconsin to pick up cash from those targeted by impersonating attorneys or judges, and telling them their relative could face more consequences if the victim told anyone about the situation due to a “gag order”.  The indictment says Ramos-Soto and his co-conspirators garnered around $200,000 from the conspiracy.  If convicted, Ramos-Soto could spend 20 years in federal prison.


Flying out of Madison is more expensive than anywhere else in the U.S.  A new study released Friday shows that Dane County Regional Airport is the nation's most expensive for domestic departures.  The average cost for a domestic flight is 538 dollars.  MSN and an airport in Anchorage, Alaska are the only ones where the average cost to fly out is above 500 dollars.  


 The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says a moose recently spotted in southern Minnesota isn't likely to be relocated.  Pictures of the moose circulated on social media after it was seen along Highway 60 in Lake Crystal on Sunday.  The moose is apparently a wanderer, as it has moved from Nebraska into Minnesota and has been seen near Fairmont and Madelia over the last few weeks.  A D-N-R spokesperson says the agency is aware of and monitoring the moose and won't relocate it unless it poses a direct threat to public safety.

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