Governor
Evers is expected to give more information today on the stay at home
order. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says there is still guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Health that encourages
people to go outside for walks and exercise, but keep 6ft away from
other people..
Other
types of private events like bonfires or backyard parties with
neighbors are being strongly discouraged.
The
Durand-Arkansaw School Board has approved a co-operative agreement
with Plum City Schools for middle school wrestling. Durand Arkansaw
School Superintendent Greg Doverspike says starting with the Middle
School Wrestling was the best way to start out. Doverspike
says that the youth wrestling program, which is not affiliated with
the district will also begin to have youth wrestlers from Plum City.
Health
care workers at Advent Health in Durand have received some hand made
donated masks. Angela Jacobson, Director of Nursing and Emergency Preparedness at Advent Health says workers can wear the handmade masks
over the N95 masks. Jacobson
says those making the masks are using templates found on Pinterest.
Dunn
County Authorities have released the name of the man killed in a
house fire on Sunday. 53Yr old Vue Lor was killed when he was unable to get out of the house. Five other occupants of the house,
one female adult and four children are being treated at different
hospitals for thermal injuries and lacerations. The cause of that
fire remains under investigation.
Mayo
Health System in Eau Claire is no longer allowing visitors of any
kind. The hospital says patients will not be allowed visitors unless
granted a compassionate exception including birth and end-of-life
care. Patients are also prohibited from using the Family Health
Clinic entrance. Effective today, patients are being asked to enter
through the Main, East Doors. Daily drive-thru testing also continues
from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.
Prosecutors
say the threats that sent police rushing to Stanley-Boyd schools last
month were a hoax. The D.A. filed charges last week against Brittany
Frane. Investigators say she sent threats to herself and tried to
blame an ex. Those threats put Stanley-Boyd schools on a soft
lockdown last month. Frane is out on bond and due back in court in
June.
Authorities
in the Eau Claire area are searching for two suspects in a
double-shooting which happened last Friday night. Dispatchers
say they got several 9-1-1 calls from neighbors reporting they heard
a woman screaming for help. Officers arrived at the address to
find a 30-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman suffering gunshot
wounds. The man was dead and the woman is being treated at a
hospital for injuries she is expected to survive. Police were
told the suspects broke into the home and there was a confrontation
leading to shots being fired. Investigators haven’t released
the names of the victims or the suspects.
If
you're considering withdrawing lots of cash from your bank or credit
union account, don't do it.
All
Wisconsin banks and credit unions remain open for business and are
considered an essential service under Governor Tony Evers' order
closing non-essential businesses.
The
Mayo Clinic plans to continue paying its employees during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota's largest private employer
announced a staffing and pay protection program for its allied health
staff. The program guarantees that staff members will continue
to be paid at their current rate for normally scheduled hours through
April 28th. Mayo says some staff will be redeployed
to assist with critically needed work in other areas while some may
be asked to stay home depending on current needs in response to the
coronavirus.
Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz is holding back on a shelter-in-place order,
despite action by a number of other states including Wisconsin that
are trying to control COVID-19. Walz said, "40 to 80
percent of us will eventually get this, even if we shut it down
now." Minnesota's governor says he wants more information
on how effective a stay-at-home order would be.
Walz says to slow progress of COVID-19 a shelter-in-place order
will probably have to be "multiple weeks to months."
He adds at this time he's not ready to issue a shelter-in-place
order, "but we very soon could be."
The
Stevens Point police chief has been suspended 15 days without pay for
allegedly drinking while he was on the job. Chief Marty
Skibba’s suspension is effective immediately. An
investigative report finds the veteran law enforcement officer had
open liquor bottles in his police car. The chief indicated the
death of his parents had influenced his behavior. Skibba will
be required to accept counseling services and provide a medical
report indicating he is ready to return to the job.
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The
commander of the Wisconsin National Guard is pushing back against
rumors his troops will be enforcing the governor’s orders for
people to stay at home. Major General Paul Knapp says the Guard
is being deployed to help doctors and other public health managers
during the coronavirus pandemic. Troops won’t be taking the
place of local police. Knapp says the rumors are being spread
to cause “a sense of hysteria across the United States.”
Small
business owners affected by COVID-19 in Wisconsin are going to get
some help from the Small Business Administration. Governor Tony Evers says the low-interest federal disaster loans will provide
certainty for Wisconsin's small businesses. The administration says
non-profits and small businesses could qualify for up to
2-million-dollars to cover losses from the coronavirus pandemic.
Wisconsin's Small Business Administration Director Eric Ness says
business owners should now reach out to the S-B-A office to help the
loan approval process along.
The
Wisconsin Department of Revenue is giving taxpayers an additional 90
days to file their income tax return. The move matches one
announced by the I-R-S to help people during the coronavirus
outbreak. The declaration of a national emergency cleared the
way for the filing deadline to be extended to July 15th.
Interest and penalties for taxpayers will be waived and you don’t
have to file for an extension to wait until the later to pay up.
About half of all Wisconsin taxpayers won’t be affected because
they have already filed their tax returns. Minnesota also extended
the tax deadline to July 15th.
The
likelihood that Wisconsin schools will re-open this spring is
diminishing. Governor Tony Evers issued another order last
weekend giving the Department of Public Instruction leeway to forgive
schools that are not in session. The order suspends the rules
for the number of hours students have to spend in class, gives the
D-P-I more flexibility with other deadlines, and gives student
teachers credit for weeks not spent in classrooms. Wisconsin
schools have been ordered to remain closes until they different
information.
Researchers
at the University of Minnesota-Duluth are working with the state to
come up with an alternative to road salt. Scientists say road
salt is the main source of chloride which is showing up in state
waters. In recent testing, 50 Minnesota bodies of water failed
to meet the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s water-quality
standards because they’re contaminated by chloride. Potassium
acetate is being tested, but it costs seven times as much and it
isn’t known yet how its runoff would affect groundwater.
A
small business owner in Duluth wants to switch from making handbags
and backpacks to making medical masks. Frost River Trading Company is
a handbag, duffel bag, and backpack manufacturing company. Owner
Christian Benson's wife is an anesthesiologist who is frustrated by
the lack of surgical masks to protect her and other employees from
COVID-19. Benson is trying to contact lawmakers and 3-M in hopes of
finding help with the new project.
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