Local-Regional News April 13

One person is dead and two others injured after a two vehicle accident south of Arcadia on Friday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, 18yr old Amya Meyer of Altoona was traveling southbound on Hwy 93, crossed the centerline and stuck a Right-Way Shuttle Bus traveling northbound on Hwy 93 head on. The driver of the bus 43yr old Jason Galewaski along with a passenger were taken to the hospital while Meyer was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Wabash County Sheriffs Department is investigating the shooting of a horse in Mazeppa. Deputies were called to a rural address on Thursday afternoon and found the horse had been killed by a single gunshot to the head. The horse had been checked on at 7:30pm on April 8^th and was alive. The reporting party discovered the horse lying in the field. The Sheriff's Department is asking the public to come forward with any and all information about the case. Anyone with information is to call the sheriff's department at 651-565-3361.

Due to the Covid-19 Safer-at-home order from Governor Evers, Tarrant park will be closed until further notice. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says that the park, swimming pool and the playgrounds at Tarrant and Memorial Parks are also closed until further notice.

A Third positive case of Covid-19 has been reported in Buffalo County. According to the Buffalo County Health Department, an individual in their 40's was exposed to a known Covid-19 case and contracted the disease. The individual is currently recovering at home. The Health department is following up with individuals know to have had close contact with the person and providing guidance for symptom monitoring and quarantine.

An Iowa man will be on probation for two years for stabbing a Chippewa County co-worker with a utility knife.  Thirty-two-year-old Anthony Avila was sentenced this week after entering a guilty plea.  Avila admitted he stabbed the victim at a hotel last October.  He pleaded guilty to a charge of substantial battery in January.  Authorities say they were able to track him down and take him into custody with the help of a Chippewa Falls police dog.

State Senator Carla Nelson of Rochester says negotiations are under way on state financial relief for Mayo Clinic.  The Minnesota-based health care system announced pay cuts for 20-thousand workers and an expected three-billion-dollar loss by year's end due to COVID-19.  Nelson says Mayo is not only the state's largest employer, "it is the employer that is on the front lines of tackling this coronavirus, so it's absolutely essential that they be able to continue with that mission."  Nelson says there are "very feasible things that the state can do immediately" when lawmakers return to the State Capitol on Tuesday.

 Nearly 20 business associations in Wisconsin are calling on the governor to start creating a transition plan for businesses once his Safer at Home order is lifted April 24th.  Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce President and C-E-O Kurt Bauer says he understands the economy won’t go back to normal at first, but he believes there should be a strategic and planned approach in place.  W-M-C is monitoring nations like Taiwan and South Korea to see how they do it.  Apparently, right now, no states have any plans in place to transition businesses once the coronavirus pandemic slows down.

More than 95-percent of the people in Wisconsin infected with the coronavirus are expected to get better on their own in a matter of weeks. The Department of Health Services says COVID-19 is a serious threat to only a very small percentage of the people who get it. More than 31-thousand Wisconsinites have been tested, and given a clean bill of health.

 A vote could come from the Minnesota Legislature as early as Tuesday on a deal to create an emergency assistance program for Minnesotans who can't afford insulin. Drug manufacturers would provide the insulin through the program, but would not be charged a fee, a key component Democrats were pushing for. There is no sunset date built into the emergency program. Lawmakers announced an agreement on the program late last week.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says the state’s unemployment rate could reach 27 percent.  The report released Thursday blames the coronavirus pandemic for the startling projection.  The state agency says more than 48-thousand private businesses in Wisconsin are closed – or could be soon.  That could drive up the unemployment rate to record levels.  Just before the outbreak Wisconsin’s jobless rate was at three-and-a-half percent.

Republican leaders plan to hold a special session of the Wisconsin Legislature this week to pass a coronarivus relief bill.  The special session would begin Tuesday as a virtual meeting.  Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said, "this legislation will allow Wisconsin to capture millions of federal dollars in addition to the two-billion dollars in coronavirus funding that will aid Wisconsin’s response to the COVID-19 crisis."  Vos and Fitzgerald say they continue to work Democrats on the bill.  It is still being determined which day each chamber will hold a session.  Governor Tony Evers threatened to veto a package that had been negotiated because it gave the Joint Finance Committee the ability to make cuts to the state budget.

The United States Postal Service says it is now investigating potential issues with absentee ballots in Wisconsin's spring primary.  The action comes after U-S Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson demanded answers from the Inspector General about reports of absentee ballots that were not delivered to voters in late March and the discovery of ballots from Appleton and Oshkosh at a U-S-P-S processing center.  Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer said that they "have been made aware of potential issues with absentee ballots in Wisconsin and are currently conducting an investigation into the claims."  The results from Tuesday's election during the statewide safer-at-home order are scheduled to be released Monday at 4 p-m.

While some Wisconsin Dairy farmers have to dispose of excess milk, some grocery stores have been limiting the purchase of dairy products. Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Designee Randy Romanski says while there was some limiting, that is coming to an end.  Romanski encourages consumers to let the department of agriculture know if a store is limiting purchase of dairy products.

 Wisconsin’s contentious presidential primary election is far from finished.  Almost two thousand local clerks still have to guard the ballots until Monday afternoon – when the counting process can start.  Normally, the count starts when the polls close, but a judge ordered absentee ballots will be given the extra time to arrive in the mail.  Those clerks have placed the ballots they have in sealed bags, located them in safes, closets and offices, and have done the same thing with voting machines that have the electronic records inside.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says 371 road construction projects across the state will go during the COVID-19 pandemic.  WisDOT Secretary-designee Craig Thompson said, "our well-being and our economy depend on a safe highway system, and this work will be vital to our recovery efforts now and in the future.”  Work is already underway on more than 65 projects.  WisDOT says it is working with staff and contractors to follow the latest guidance from public health officials to prevent the spread of coronavirus.  The decreased traffic in Wisconsin allows more flexibility for some projects, lane restrictions cause less impact to the public and safety zones can be expanded.