While
the Durand-Arkansaw School District has some teacher retirements this
year, Superintendent Greg Doverspike says its been easier to find
replacements. This
year both kindergarten teachers retired along with middle school
social studies and science teachers.
The
Durand Public Works Department is reminding residents that the
citywide spring clean up will begin this Saturday. Branches must be
stacked parallel to the curb, piles cannot exceed 10 feet in length,
leaves must be piled separately and cannot be in boxes or bags and
branches cannot exceed 2 inches in diameter. The spring clean up
will continue until May 11th.
If you have any questions you are to call city hall.
Mondovi
residents will be noticing some road re-construction around the city.
Road crews are preparing to work on West Mill, North State and
Vernon Streets by the end of the month. Residents that live along
those streets and would like to replace their sewer and water
laterals during those construction projects should contact city hall.
Authorities
in Trempealeau County report the 80-year-old man burned in a grass
fire Monday morning has died Louis Salzwedel suffered severe
burns. Investigators with the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s
Office think a burning pile of garbage started the grass fire in
Ettrick. Salzwedel was trying to put it out when he was hurt.
A
western Wisconsin sheriff says he will not enforce Governor Evers'
extended "safer at home" order. Polk County Sheriff
Brent Waak said he thinks the business community can re-open
by using common sense social distancing procedures. Waak says
he wanted to assure citizens his office would not be "heavy-handed"
when it came to the order. So far there have been only four
confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Polk County. Wisconsin's "safer
at home" order was set to expire this Friday, but was extended
until May 26th.
A
coalition of Wisconsin agriculture groups have asked Governor Tony
Evers to direct 50-million federal dollars to direct
farmer payments. Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Joe Bragger says
they’ve provided the Governor with numbers from each ag sector to
show the need. The
federal coronavirus relief package known as the CARES Act designated
1.9 billion dollars to help Wisconsin’s economy.
Researchers
warn 35 percent of Wisconsin businesses may be forced to close if the
situation with the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t improve in three
months. More than 25 hundred businesses were surveyed by the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh this month. Nearly nine
thousand jobs were lost in the first few days of Governor Tony Evers’
Safer at Home order – and the real number is much larger because 40
percent of the responding businesses couldn’t provide specific
numbers. The companies contacted say they need access to
low-interest loans, grants and customers.
The
head of Minnesota's health care exchange encourages any Minnesotan
who does not currently have health insurance to apply. MNSure
C-E-O Nate Clark says many people will qualify for federal tax
credits depending on their income, which will offset the monthly
premium. Thousands of people in the state lost
employer-sponsored health coverage due to COVID-19 layoffs and the
economic slowdown. You can apply online at
MNSure-dot-org.
Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz along with Mayo Clinic and the University of
Minnesota today announced a breakthrough for rapid, widespread
testing of COVID-19 in Minnesota. The statewide testing strategy aims
to test all symptomatic people, isolate confirmed cases, and expand
public health surveillance tools. Walz says as many as 20-thousand
Minnesotans could be tested per day in an effort to help improve
control of the pandemic and support the safe re-opening of society.
The testing will be funded in part by 36-million dollars from the
COVID-19 Minnesota Fund. Walz says the partnership will establish
capacity to deliver 20-thousand molecular and 15-thousand serology
tests per day.
Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers claims people will die if Republican legislative
leaders win their court challenge to his Safer at Home order.
The state Supreme Court has given the Evers administration until
April 28th to
respond to motions filed Tuesday. The governor’s order keeps
people at home and businesses closed until May 26th.
Republicans say Evers and D-H-S Secretary Andrea Palm overstepped
when they extended the order by a month. Lawmakers say they
should have a say in the decision about the order when it goes past
May 11th.
Republican
legislators are questioning the goals of the Badger Bounce Back.
That’s the governor’s plans for re-opening Wisconsin for
business. One of the key parts is more testing for the
coronavirus, but one lawmaker says Wisconsin isn’t testing to its
capacity right now. State Representative John Nygren says the
state is nowhere near the governor’s goal of testing 85 thousand
people-a-week. Not because it can’t. Nygren says
Wisconsin could test more than seven thousand-a-day, but it’s only
testing about 14 hundred. He also wants to know why the goal is
being set so high – and if there really is a need for that much
testing.
The
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is monitoring state parks
and urging people to use them. The D-N-R says park users seem
to be doing well following social distancing guidelines and
practicing trail etiquette. Entry to all Wisconsin state parks
is free – as long as users follow the rules. D-N-R staff
members and conservation wardens are monitoring park use each day,
enforcing overcrowding and potential property damage. The department
has closed some parks due to overcrowding, so you should check ahead
to see if a park is open before heading out.
Recent
rains and snowmelt are limiting fieldwork for Minnesota farmers.
The U-S-D-A says only two days were suitable for fieldwork last week
and most of that was applying manure and fertilizer and rock
picking. Some oats and vegetables were planted.
U-S-D-A says only scattered corn and spring wheat planting took place
week because of wet weather and saturated soils. Two-percent of
Minnesota's barely is planted, ten percent of the oats, three percent
of potatoes and two percent of sugar beets are in the ground.
Coronavirus
is driving a drop in traffic on Wisconsin roads. A new report from
the Wisconsin Policy Forum says traffic across the state has fallen
nearly 40 percent during the outbreak. The biggest drops are in
Madison and Milwaukee. The report says the steep drop in driving will
hurt Wisconsin, because the state uses gas tax revenues to pay for
road projects and with fewer people driving fewer miles, there will
be less gas tax money.
U-S
News and World Report ranks Whitefish Bay High School the top high
school in Wisconsin. The publication ranks the best high
schools in the country every year. Cedarburg High School has a
graduation rate of 99 percent and it is ranked second in the state.
Reagan College Preparatory High School in Milwaukee is third,
followed by Kohler High School and Eisenhower Middle and High Schools
in New Berlin.
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