A
Durand area church is assembling weekend food packages for families
in the Durand-Arkansaw School District. Faith Lutheran and Rock
Creek Lutheran Churches were forced to cancel their monthly community
dinners due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Church members decided to use
the money normally used for those dinners to assemble weekend food
packages for familes. Chruch member Linda Talford says the packages
will have a variety of food items. The
packages will be handed out today and next Friday from 4:30-5:30pm at
the Faith Lutheran Church Parking lot in Durand.
Families
in the Mondovi School District are taking advantage of the school
breakfast and lunch meals during the school shutdown. Mondovi School
Superintendent Greg Corning says the district has a pick up for city
families and has been delivering meals to families in the rural
areas using the bus routes. Corning says the program has grown substantially over the last few days. The
meals are free and for those in the Mondovi School District wanting to
participate in the program, you are to call the district office to
sign up.
The
Dunn County Health Department (DHCD) was notified by a Health System
Partner that there is a second confirmed case of COVID-19 in a Dunn
County resident. The case is currently isolated at a hospital in the
region. “We are working quickly to get all of the facts about this
case including any close contacts and a possible route of exposure.”
said KT Gallagher, Dunn County Health Department Director.
Because
of the Covid-19 outbreak, most doctors visits at Advent Health Durand
have been canceled. But there will be a new way to see your doctor
soon. According to Angela Jacobson, Director of Nursing and
Emergency Prepardness says the hospital is setting up a tele-medicine system so paitents will be able to conduct a doctors visit through
their home computers. Jacobson
says the new tele-medicine system should be up and running sometime
next week.
There
are reports of people claiming to have Covid-19 when in fact they do
not. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says when people do
that it can cause distraction and disruption for healthcare
providers and health authorities. If
you falsly claim you have covid-19 you could be arrested and charged
with disorderly conduct, filing a false report are more.
The
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is suspending all DNR
burning permits until further notice. All burning of debris in
barrels, burning of debris piles on the ground, grass or wooded areas
is prohibited at this time. DNR
burning permits do not apply within incorporated cities and villages.
These municipalities oftentimes can and do create their own burning
permit requirements. In addition, some townships may choose to be
much more restrictive than state law and may not allow burning at any
time.
Regardless
of where you burn, it is up to you to check with your local
municipality for their regulations, even if you have obtained a DNR
burning permit.
The
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reports more than 69
thousand people filed for unemployment benefits last week. To
put the rough week for workers in perspective – 17 thousand filed
last Friday. On the same date in 2019 fewer than 800 filed for
unemployment. State officials report this week’s total will
add another 70 thousand applications for unemployment. That’s
50 times the number who filed last year during the same five-day
period. The state’s “Safer at Home” knocked them off
the job.
A
330-million-dollar coronavirus response package is on its way to
Governor Tim Walz after passing the Minnesota House and Senate.
The measure includes 200-million dollars to establish a COVID-19
Minnesota Fund. There's also funding for child care providers,
homeless services, small businesses, veterans, college students and
food shelves. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said, "there
are many ways that state government can act to protect Minnesotans’
lives and their livelihood, and this is just the first step to taking
care of the most important needs.” Senate Minority Leader
Susan Kent says they will continue to advocate for hourly school
workers and first responders. House leaders praised the
bi-partisan cooperation on the package.
The
Wisconsin Elections Commission is putting out an urgent call for poll
workers, for the state's April 7 election, which looks as if it's
going forward with in-person voting. Reid
Magney with the Elections Commission says the National Guard is in
the process of distributing hand sanitizer and other supplies to
polling places. There is an urgent need for poll workers. You can
contact your local clerk to volunteer.
One
person is dead after an accident at Carr's Tree Service
in Byron. The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office says it
received a 9-11 call around 7 a-m Thursday about a fire.
The caller reported that it involved an elevated boom on a piece of
equipment at the business. Deputies learned the person died
after the boom apparently made contact with an overhead power line.
The victim hasn't been identified.
The
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
says it has sent letters to retailers telling them to stop
price-gouging during the coronavirus pandemic. Among the big
names contacted were Menards, Walgreens and Walmart. The
consumer protection agency says it has received dozens of complaints
about 16 Wisconsin companies. Items where the state feels
prizes have been increased unfairly include toilet paper, cookies,
bleach, surgical masks and even pinto beans. N95Sales-dot-com
was accused of price gouging on N95 masks.
The
head of Wisconsin’s Board of Nursing is suggesting some nursing
students could soon find themselves working on the frontline during
the coronavirus pandemic. Board Director Peter Kallio calls
this an “all hands on deck” situation and he says Governor Evers
should waive some training requirements to get more help into the
field. Kallio’s proposal would waive the final 25 percent of
training hours. It’s also possible rules could be changed to
allow retired nurses to come back to work during the pandemic.
A
Brown County judge has ruled against a group challenging the
half-cent sales tax which went into effect a little over two years
ago. The Brown County Taxpayers Association argued the tax is illegal
due to the way the funds are being spent. Judge John Zakowski issued
a 32-page decision Tuesday saying the county is following state
statutes. Only four of Wisconsin’s 72 counties don’t have a
countywide sales tax in effect.
The
owner of a bar in Ogdensburg faces up to 30 days in jail and a
500-dollar fine for violating a state order closing bars and
restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. Shaun Boutwell
owns Shaunie B’s Bar. Police say they have issued several
warnings demanding the bar be closed following the governor’s order
earlier this month. Boutwell is charged with a misdemeanor for
violating health rules.
Minnesota's
unemployment rate dropped a tenth in February to three-point-one
percent. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development says the state lost 49-hundred private sector jobs last
month and gained 400 government positions. DEED Commissioner
Steve Grove said, "It’s important to note that February
employment numbers don’t reflect the significant impact on
Minnesota employment we’ve seen in the past 10 days due to
COVID-19." He says the pandemic's impact on monthly job
numbers won't be clear until the release of the April data. He
expects 28 percent of Minnesotans to be unemployment due to the
coronavirus outbreak
The
Wisconsin Election Commission has extended the deadline for online
voter registration. Those who want to cast ballots in next
month’s presidential primary now have until Monday to sign up.
Commission members are encouraging people to vote early or vote
absentee due to the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline to
obtain an absentee ballot is a week from today (Thursday), but the
commission says you shouldn’t wait until the last minute.
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