Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Local-Regional News March 10


The Buffalo County Sheriffs Department is searching for a Mondovi man after a domestic abuse incident in the town of Lincoln. The initial report indicated that a gunshots were fired during the incident and deputies attempted to make contact with the suspect, 41yr old Brock Schultz, whom fled into a wooded area. After a search was conducted with the Eau Claire Regional SWAT, Trempealeau County Sheriff's deputies and Wisconsin State Patrol Troopers, Schultz was not located. If anyone has information on Schultz' whereabouts you are to contact the Buffalo County Sheriffs Department. At this time the Sheriff's office does not believe there is any threat to the public.


The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Pierce County Public Health Department announced today that a second person has tested positive for COVID-19. The person was exposed while traveling within the U.S. and is currently isolated at home. County health officials are working to determine people who have been in contact with the patient to isolate or quarantine people and test those who are exhibiting symptoms


The Mondovi City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include an update on the Mirror Lake project, a proposal on installation of video cameras at area parks, and discussion on lane and parking changes for Hwy 37. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Mondovi City Hall.


Calumet, Dunn, Jackson, and Marathon counties have been selected for new circuit court branches. Governor Tony Evers last week signed legislation to create a total of 12 new circuit courts over the next three years Director of State Courts Randy Koschnick announced the first four on Monday. Koshnick said the decision was based on thorough caseload analysis, demonstrated judicial need, county board support, and the ability to have the necessary facilities and support in place by the effective date -- August 1, 2021. The counties selected for new judgeships are also among counties that received funding in the 2019-21 state budget for additional assistant district attorney positions.


A Wisconsin man who pleaded no contest to four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison this morning.  Colten Treu will learn his fate in a 9:00 A-M hearing in a Chippewa County Courtroom.  Prosecutors say Treu had been huffing chemical vapors before he crashed his vehicle into Girl Scout Troop 3055, killing three girls, a mother, and injuring a fifth person in November 2018.


The person responsible for the school lockdown at the Durand-Arkansaw School District has been identified. Pepin Police arrested 21yr old Michael Hurlburt of Colfax Wednesday afternoon after law enforcement tracked his cell phone. When Hurlburt was arrested, no weapons were found on him and he was held on a probation violation from the Department of Corrections. Hurlburt had been sought after he made a threat against a non-specific school.


There is plenty of hand sanitizer available at the Marshfield Clinic and the H-S-H-S Sacred Heart Hospital – just no masks. Managers at Eau Claire’s two hospitals pulled the masks from their waiting rooms last week. They say the masks were there to keep hospital workers safe, but visitors were taking them. The two hospitals are saying they will do all they can to protect the health of visitors and workers.


Jury selection continues today for a Rochester man accused in a March 2018 double homicide.  Fifty-five-year-old Glenn Johnson is facing first-degree charges for the stabbing deaths of  57-year-old Philip Hicks and 45-year-old Eric Flemmings.  The three men were neighbors at the Salvation Army Castleview Apartments.  Johnson's defense attorney plans to ask the jury to find him not guilty by reason of mental illness.   They started picking jurors Monday.


The University of Wisconsin System says five of its campuses are phasing out coal as a heat source.  The statewide contract to provide coal for the campuses will be allowed to expire in June.  Campuses in Oshkosh, Platteville, Stevens Point, Stout and Superior have upgraded their boilers to run mainly on natural gas – with fuel oil as a backup.  A spokesperson for U-W-Platteville says the switchover will reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to heat generation by 20 percent.


Most scientists expect an even worse-than-normal flooding season along the Mississippi River this spring.  That’s why a meeting is being held in St. Louis March 20th for local government leaders looking for ways to mitigate the growing threat.  Flood-related disasters have accounted for more than 845 billion dollars in losses over the last 20 years.  The Pew Charitable Trust is sponsoring the meeting to highlight ways cities and states can use policies to create funding sources and regulations to help reduce the risk of flooding.


A court-ordered monitor’s report finds many staff members and inmates at the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons still fear for their safety.  That facility was supposed to close in 2021, but that doesn’t appear likely to happen.  In an October survey, more than 80 percent of staff members said they believe the facility is unsafe or very dangerous.  Forty-four percent of inmates said they feared for their safety.  Efforts have been made to improve the conditions, but the survey suggests the progress has been slow.


A northern Wisconsin woman is suing a Minnesota health car system for allegedly overcharging for medical record retrieval. Mary Hills, of Spooner, was charged 22 dollars, 8 cents for retrieval of five pages of patient paperwork in 2014 - an amount her attorneys allege is higher than allowed in Wisconsin. Health care system Essentia, which is based in Duluth, says it’s not defined as a Wisconsin health care provider, meaning it's not bound by Wisconsin laws that set medical-record prices. Essentia Health declined to comment on the ongoing class-action lawsuit, being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.


 The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Marshfield is one step closer to implementing an upgraded security plan. Officials today say the main campus will pick up nearly 43-thousand-dollars to buy and install 32 new security cameras around the Marshfield campus. An incident in December when a visitor with a pair of gloves was mistaken for a man with a handgun prompted the decision to upgrade the quality and the quantity of the cameras. The school is awaiting approval of 67-hundred-dollar in annual operating costs being sought from Wood County and the City of Marshfield.


Oneida County deputies have arrested Rhinelander city administrator Daniel Guild on suspicion of misconduct in office. The arrest stems from an investigation last year when search warrants were executed at city hall. Deputies say Guild altered official city emails released in an open records request, and that he lost personnel documents. The documents in question were for former Public Works Director Tim Kingman. Those records are supposed to be on file for seven years. The case was initially handled by Forest County prosecutors, who said they weren't going to file charges. Oneida County DA Michael Schiek disagreed, and filed the charges. Guild will be arraigned on Tuesday.


The U-S Coast Guard is expanding its spring ice-breaking operations into the bay of Green Bay today (Monday).  Officials say the work may take several days to complete and then commercial carriers will be able to begin traveling in the bay.  The Coast Guard is advising anyone planning to be out on the ice to stay away from shipping channels.  The experts say ice-breaking activity can weaken ice quite some distance away from the tracks that the icebreakers create.  The work is being done to create access to the port of Green Bay.


A former Wisconsin firefighter says he was drunk and bored when he started a fire, then drove a fire truck to help put it out. Shawano County prosecutors are charging Corey Welch and his friend Bryan Wendler for starting the fire last month at a family farm. Investigators say Welch was drunk to the point of falling down at the fire. Investigators say both men eventually admitted to starting the fire. They say they thought they'd find some gold nuggets and truck hood ornaments that they planned to sell.

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