As
more restrictions go into place across the State of Wisconsin in
response to the Covid-19 Virus, Pepin County Health Officer Heidi
Stewart says there are still no reported cases here in Pepin County as of early this morning. Stewart
says she is working with the health officers in Buffalo, Wabasha and
Dunn and none of those officers have reported to her any cases. A
positive case was reported in Pierce County last week.
The
Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office reports four people are
hospitalized with injuries they suffered when their horse-drawn buggy
was hit from behind by a vehicle. The victims are expected to
recover. Deputies say the accident happened Sunday night
shortly before 11:00 p-m and it is being blamed on an inattentive
driver. No names have been released. The accident
happened on U-S Highway 53 near the Township of Pigeon.
Today
is the final day that parents and students at the Durand-Arkansaw
School District can clean out lockers. Parents will be able to come
to the school buildings from 8am-3:30 pm. Starting today, the
district will begin meal delivery of breakfast and lunch. This will
be free and available to any child under 18 that lives in the
student's home. Todays delivery will be from 2-3pm. Parents that
would like to have meals delivered are to contact the school
district. Per Governors Ever's new executive order, schools across
Wisconsin will be closed until further notice or when the public
health emergency ends. Meanwhile, Mondovi schools are closed today.
Parents are encourage to visit the school to pick up their elementary
school students education packets while middle and high school
students should have the academics through their assigned Chromebooks. The Mondovi school district is also providing school
meals starting Monday. District students outside of a two mile
radius may have meals delivered, while those within the two mile
radius may pick up.
Ntec
has announced that their annual meeting scheduled for March 31st
is cancelled. The Co-Op decided to cancel the meeting in following
the CDC Guidelines. The Annual Report will be mailed to members on
request. Ntec is also temporarily closing access to the lobby
effective today. Customers are asked to utilize the outside payment
drop box. Customers with questions can call Ntec.
The
Pepin Farm Management Club's Spring Tour for March 31st
has been cancelled. The Club's Board of Directors made the decision
yesterday in following the CDC's guidelines and the new order from the
State of Wisconsin prohibiting gatherings of 10 people or more.
The
Altoona School Board has voted to terminate the contract of
superintendent Dan Peggs immediately. Peggs was arrested last
month and charged with sex trafficking of a minor and producing child
pornography in federal court. He entered a not guilty plea and
is scheduled to go on trial next October. Interim
superintendent Ron Walsh says the board based its decision on two key
reasons – Peggs is no longer able to perform his duties as
superintendent and an internal investigation found evidence a crime
was likely committed by the former district leader.
As
of this morning, The Pepin County Board is still meeting tonight.
Items on the agenda include a resolution to adopt the Pepin County
Emergency Response Plan, a budget modification to the capital project
fund for the Highway Shop project and a decision on the April Board Reorganization meeting. Tonight's meeting is scheduled to start at
7pm at the Government Center.
A
town in Chippewa County is contesting the placement of a convicted
sex offender. An injunction hearing was held Monday to discuss
the restraining order being sought by Chippewa County and the town of
Sampson. Local officials are suing the Wisconsin Department of
Health Services, arguing convicted sex offender Jeffery Neubecker
should be returned to Kenosha County – the place he had lived when
he was sentenced for the offense. Chippewa County Sheriff Jim
Kowalczyk says that is the way offender placement is traditionally
handled.
Testimony
from a St. Paul police detective has led a Wisconsin appeals court to
award a new trial to a Somali man convicted of firing shots at people
in another car. Ahmed Farah Hirsi was found guilty of attempted
homicide and recklessly endangering safety for his role in the 2014
incident in Hudson. He’s serving a 35-year sentence.
The appeals court based its ruling on the testimony of detective
Tracy Henry who told the court Somalis don’t trust police and they
tend to “fabricate” events. Hirsi’s attorney argued that
labeling a group of people as liars violated legal rules prohibiting
one witness from commenting about the truthfulness of another’s
testimony.
Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz has signed a 200-million-dollar emergency funding
bill to help health care and long-term care facilities during the
coronavirus pandemic. Walz signed the bill Tuesday. The
package places 50 million into the public health response contingency
account and 150 million will be dedicated to creating a health care
response fund. The governor’s office says if any money
remains after February 1st of
next year, it will be returned to the state’s general fund.
Under the provisions of the bill, private health care providers
receiving grants will have to provide Covid-19 screening, testing and
treatment free of charge to uninsured patients.
Wisconsin
voters are being reminded that today (Wednesday) is the mail-in and
online deadline for registering to cast ballots in the April
7th presidential
primary. The Wisconsin Elections Commission and all state
elections officials are urging voters to request absentee ballots for
the primary. You have to be registered to request the absentee
ballot. If you don’t meet the deadline, you can still
register in-person at your local municipal clerk’s office.
The commission reports the number of requests for absentee ballots
has already swept past the numbers from the last three spring
elections – about 64 thousand of them since last Friday.
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At
least two hospitals in western Wisconsin are offering drive-thru
coronavirus testing. Mayo Clinic and Gundersen Health System in La
Crosse are using drive-thru windows to test people at no cost. The
drive-thru method is believed to be the safest way to test for
COVID-19. Gundersen will also test for influenza for a fee. Mayo says
an Eau Claire drive-thru is in the works, but it does not have an
opening date.
The
Wisconsin state Senate will not be on the floor next week. Senate
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he is postponing the March 24
floor period "out of an abundance of caution" for senators
and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. Fitzgerald said
he and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos plan to call an extraordinary
session of the Legislature sometime in spring. Next week was the
final general business day for the legislative session. Fitzgerald
said coronavirus is a public health issue that should be taken
seriously.
Twenty-nine
cruise ship passengers from Wisconsin have returned home after
docking in California last week, following 14 days in quarantine.
Two others remained in quarantine in Texas and Wisconsin state
officials are working with the U-S Department of Health and Human
Services to bring seven other passengers back from California.
More than 35-hundred people were on the Grand Princess which had set
sail for Hawaii February 21st.
The Wisconsinites got a welcome-home packet which included a letter
from Governor Tony Evers, information about their 14 days of
quarantine, and how to contact their local health department if they
have questions.
Troopers
with the Wisconsin State Patrol are helping deliver coronavirus test
kits as well as samples to be tested. Officials today say troopers
across the state are available in case hospital couriers become
overwhelmed with demand. The State Hygiene Lab in Madison is one of a
number of labs now accepting coronavirus samples for testing.
The
former town clerk for Long Lake, in Florence County, has been
sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing more than 210-thousand
dollars. That figure is more than five times the original amount
39-year-old Megan Wilder had been accused of taking. Investigators
say Wilder used town credit cards for her personal use, including two
truck payments, clothes for her kids, craft supplies and other items.
When the criminal complaint was first filed last August it estimated
that she had stolen almost 43 thousand dollars. Wilder was hired in
December 2016 and resigned last August.
The
Mall of America announced today that it is closing temporarily
starting at 5 p-m today. The closure will last until March 31st. Mall
officials say the health, safety and well-being of tenants, guests
and team members is their top priority. Meanwhile Minnesota Parks and
trails across the state are expected to remain open, even as
facilities close and activities are canceled. The Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources canceled some public meetings and
regular naturalist programs yesterday. The agency has also changed
its operations for state parks and recreation areas across Minnesota.
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