A
former middle school teacher in the Durand-Arkansaw School District
has been sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with a
student. Twenty-five-year-old Sarah Heskin pleaded guilty to
child sexual assault. She will be on extended supervision for
10 years when she gets out. The former English teacher was
taken into custody last May for having “inappropriate relations”
with an eighth-grade boy.
The
Pepin county Bard in meeting tonight. The board will elect a new
chairman along with vice chairman and other re-organization
activities. The board will also review and approve the emergency
administrative flexibility actions and discuss and possible action on
a uniform addressing system ordinance. Tonights meeting is at 6pm at
the Durand-Arkansaw High School gym and the meeting is open to the
public by watching remotely via zoom.
The
Durand City Council is meeting tonight. The meeting will be an
organizational meeting after the spring election and will include the
election of council president and vice president, along with the
confirmation of appointments to committees boards and commissions.
Tonights meeting will be at 6:30 at City Hall and will be streamed
live on the WRDN Facebook Page.
One
person was injured in vehicle rollover accident Sunday in the town of
Lincoln. According to the Buffalo County Sheriffs Department, 26yr
old Seth Bruce Benrud of Alma was traveling along Hwy E, and side
swiped a guardrail, went into an embankment causing the vehicle to
overturn and slid upside down on Hwy E. Benrud was extricated from
the vehicle and transported to the hospital.
Two
people were injured in an UTV Accident on private property in Clifton
Township. According to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, 33yr
old Andrew Lacy of River Falls was driving the UTV when it overturned
in a field. Lacey was partially ejected from the UTV and it landed
on him, while passenger 27yr old Casey Kusilek of River Falls
received minor injuries. Lacey was taken to River Falls Area
Hospital with undetermined injuries.
The
driver of a vehicle involved in an accident in February near Spring
Valley is facing charges in Pierce County. 22Yr old McKenna Fell of
La Crescent has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a
vehicle, along with other charges in connection with the accident on
February 19th
that killed an 80yr old woman from Ellsworth. Authorities found
several cans of White Claws and prescription pill bottles in Fell's
vehicle after the accident. Fell's next court appearance is June
1st.
An
80yr old male from Ettrick was severely burned in a fire on Monday.
According to the Trempealeau County Sheriffs Department, the 80yr old
tried to put out a grass fire that has started from a burning pile of
garbage. The man was severely burned and was airlifted to a burn
unit. No other information was released.
Olmsted
County Medical Center is cutting salaries and furloughing employees
in response to the financial impact of COVID-19. The
Rochester-based health care provider is projecting a
25-million-dollar loss between April and June. Officials say
patient volume at its hospital and clinics is down 60 to 70 percent
due to patients postponing elective procedures. Staff
salary cuts range from 20 percent to seven-and-a-half percent. No
word on the number of temporary staff reductions.
Private
and public golf courses can re-open this week. The extended safer at
home order in Wisconsin will last through the month of May, but
Governor Tony Evers is allowing golf courses to open April 24th with
some restrictions like prohibiting the use of golf carts, requiring
social distancing, and staggering tee times. Some courses, like Pine
Meadow Golf Club in Eau Claire, are already advertising special deals
for front-line healthcare workers to say thank you. A spokesperson
for the golf club says it will also be opening its kitchen for
take-out orders only.
Two
Wisconsin sheriffs are voicing their opposition to the extension of
Governor Evers’ Safer at Home order. Dodge County Sheriff Dale
Schmidt and Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling released
separate statements over the weekend. Schmaling said he won’t
enforce the order in a Facebook post, calling it an unconstitutional
over-reach. Schmidt called on the governor to relax restrictions
Sunday, using common sense to provide Wisconsin residents with the
hope there is “light at the end of the tunnel.”
The
administrator for the Wisconsin Elections Commission says adding
barcodes to absentee ballots will also add accountability to the
process. During the commission’s weekend meeting it endorsed
the idea of putting barcodes on those ballots so they can be tracked.
Administrator Meagan Wolfe says the change was endorsed after
more than 135 thousand absentee ballots were lost or delayed in the
mail for the April 7th election. That problem is being
investigated.
About
70 protesters marched at the Wisconsin State Capitol Sunday to show
their opposition to the extension the Safer at Home order. They
were calling on the governor to change his mind. The protesters
carried signs rejecting the idea that the coronavirus threat is worth
the damage the order is doing to state businesses. The public
health emergency was first issued March 12th.
Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services
estimate the state could have seen one thousand more deaths if the
order hadn’t been issued. Last Thursday, the governor
announced it would be extended to May 26th.
A
northern Wisconsin tribe has closed its reservation and roads in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bad River Chippewa Tribal
Chairman Mike Wiggins said Thursday in a notice posted on tribal
websites and social media that violators will be cited for
trespassing. Access will be granted only to residents, tribal members
and those delivering essential goods and services. Closed areas
include boat landings and forest croplands. Bad River is the first
tribe in Wisconsin - and the first government in the state of any
type - to order such a closure.
The
Minnesota Senate is considering a proposal on how to handle the
COVID-19 crisis. Republican State Senator Andrew Mathews is pushing
for businesses to reopen and says his plan could accomplish that in a
safe manner. The plan calls for a state agency to be in charge of
reviewing individual business plans for reopening. They would focus
on strategies for social distancing and workplace hygiene.
Agriculture
Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance
Program Friday evening. The $19 billion relief program will provide
support to farmers and ranchers, and the food supply chain. CFAP
will use the funding and authorities provided in the CARES Act, among
other funding streams. The program includes $16 billion in
direct support based on actual losses for farmers and ranchers. The
program will assist producers with additional adjustment and
marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply
for the 2020 marketing year.
One part not announced was a re-opening of the Dairy Margin
Coverage program. Perdue said it didnt make sense to re-open an
insurance program. Of
the $19 billion dollars, $2.9 billion will be distributed in direct
assistance to dairy farmers along with $3 billion being designated
for purchases within dairy, produce and meats for donation programs,
specifically designating at least $100 million per month in dairy
product purchases.
The
Wisconsin Bankers Association says don’t blame bankers if your
federal stimulus check is garnished. The association says it
can’t defy court orders to garnish a person’s paycheck and that
includes the stimulus checks passed out to help people who’ve lost
their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Those bankers say
they understand some people will be unhappy with the decision, but
they say it’s out of their hands and they can’t do anything about
it.
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