The Durand-American Legion Post 181 will be holding Memorial Day Services to honor members of the US Military who died while serving their country. Services begin Monday morning at 8am at the Lima Cemetery, 8:40 at the St. Josephs-Arkansaw Cemetery, 9am at Arkansaw Cemetery, 9:15 at French Cemetery, 9:45 at the Pepin County Veteran Memorial, 10:30 at Memorial Park in Durand, 11:10am at Forest Hill Cemetery and the St. Mary’s Memorial Day Service is at 11:30.
Investigators say they believe a fire that tore through Menomonie's downtown area this week was electrical in nature. No final determination has been made on the cause of the Tuesday night blaze that left many properties in ruins. Clean-up in the area continues. No injuries have been reported.
Rural Dunn County residents will soon be able to take advantage of rides to Menomonie. Dunn County Transit will be offering scheduled pickups on Tuesdays from each of four rider zones. The Tuesday pickups will rotate between the four zones. Normal fares will be fifteen dollars per ride but will be free this summer as Dunn County ADRC is covering the cost. Those needing a rid will have to call Dunn County Transit 24hr in advance. Dunncountywi.gov has more info.
The City of Durand has written off noncollectible ambulance service bills from prior to 2018. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the write-offs were requested by the city auditors since the debt is over six years old and can’t be collected. Milliren says the city is now working on getting unpaid bills collected after 2018.
There has been no word yet on the cause of a Thursday afternoon fire in Chippewa County. Crews dispatched to a barn fire in Edson say they arrived to find a number of large hay bales on fire. Firefighters put the fire out and used skid steers to pull the hay bales out of the barn. All animals were able to escape the flames and the barn remains standing.
Two defendant charged in connection with a shooting in Fairchild are entering pleas. Mark Dickinsen and Aaron Walker were charged following a shooting in September of last year at a location on Park Street. Dickinsen has pleaded no contest to charges including intimidation of a victim and OWI. Walker has pleaded not guilty to similar charges and his case remains pending.
Eighteen Wisconsin school districts are getting almost one-million-dollars to pay for new advanced manufacturing and technical education equipment. The Department of Workforce Development says the funding will benefit more than 42-hundred students across the state. The department says the money will go toward addressing the state's skilled labor shortage through programs that help prepare students for those careers. Here in Western Wisconsin, Eleva Strum, Ellsworth and Osseo-Fairchild School Districts all received grants. Supported projects include new welding labs, dental and biomedical lab equipment, and materials needed to start new programs like industrial robotics.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is urging state residents to stay safe this Memorial Day weekend. DNR officials say anyone planning to hit the state's UTV and ATV trails should wear a helmet, and riders under 18 are required to use one by law. The department adds that those going out on the water should wear a life jacket and avoid using alcohol while operating a boat.
A
fundraiser has been established to help the family of one of the
victims in a deadly shooting at UW-Platteville. A GoFundMe has been
set up in the memory of 22-year-old Kelsie Martin of Beloit who was
shot and killed on Monday. Martin just graduated with a psychology
degree a few days before the shooting. Police say she was shot in a
campus residence hall by 22-year old Hallie Helms who then fatally
shot herself. The motive for the shooting is still under
investigation.
The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office is emphasizing boating safety as the Memorial Day weekend nears. Sergeant Jordan Winberg says checking the weather conditions is critical. He adds that a life jacket is the most important piece of equipment. Winberg says children under ten years old should wear one at all times. He also mentioned that most boat crashes are related to alcohol use. Violators could face a fine, jail time, or even a loss of license.
At the Capitol, legislation requiring child sexual abuse prevention programming in Wisconsin K-12 schools advances. The bill was approved Wednesday by the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, where Appleton Democrat Lee Snodgrass noted it would not apply to private schools. She said it should include all children in the state of Wisconsin. Oconomowoc Republican Barb Dittrich didn’t disagree while citing the recent case of a school bus driver accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl on his bus. Dittrich said it's critical to teach kids safety at an appropriate age and called the bill the start of something very positive. The bill requires school boards to provide at least one instructional session to pupils in 4K through grade 12, specifies what that program must cover, and requires that parents be notified and given the option to exempt their students.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court won't hear another appeal from Steven Avery. Avery is serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County and has submitted numerous appeals throughout his time in prison. The latest attempt from Avery's attorneys said there was evidence an alternate suspect committed the murder, but that was rejected by both the circuit and appeals courts. The Supreme Court's denial is just one sentence long and unsigned. Avery, now 62 years old, is incarcerated at Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Dodge County.
At
the Capitol, a Republican bill to increase penalties for rioting in
Wisconsin is paused for now. The legislation received significant
opposition earlier this month in the state Assembly's Judiciary
Committee and was not given a committee vote on Wednesday. Democrats
Ryan Clancy of Milwaukee and Andrew Hysell of Sun Prairie were
pleased, calling the bill legal overreach that could be used against
legitimate protests. The bill's author, Two Rivers Republican Shae
Sortwell, accused them of falsely claiming the bill was “pulled”
from Wednesday’s agenda when a vote hadn’t officially been
scheduled. Committee chair Representative Ron Tusler told WisPolitics
in a statement that the bill in its current form has “constitutional,
common-sense, and enforcement issues” and will not receive a vote
until those are addressed.
A Minneapolis woman who pleaded guilty in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme is going to prison. Sahra Nur has been sentenced to four years behind bars and has been ordered to pay millions in restitution. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in 2023. Nur confessed in court that her business, S&S Catering, claimed to have provided over one million meals to children from September 2020 through April 2021. Prosecutors say she served only a fraction of that number despite receiving federal reimbursement.
The Chippewa Area History Center will play host this weekend to a group of World War II reenactors. The group will stage an interactive wartime encampment complete with authentic uniforms, vehicles and more. Folks can check out the encampment reenactment Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.