Local-Regional News April 30

The City of Mondovi is exploring ways to help small businesses affected by the safer-at-home order. During this weeks council meeting, council members and Mayor Weiss suggested lowering or eliminating the liquor license fees for bars and restaurants. The council decided to put the issue on the agenda for the first council meeting in May.

Coaches of spring sports in the Durand-Arkansaw School District will be paid 100% of their salary. During last nights school board meeting board members debated weather to pay the coaches 100% or something less. Some board members felt it wouldnt be right to pay the coaches at 100% because the seasons were canceled. However, school board President Bill Yingst said other districts are paying their coaches at 100% because its hard to find staff to coach.   The board did agree to pay 100% of the salary, but coaches will be expected to still stay in contact and work with their teams over the summer during a 30 day contact window that has been allowed by the WIAA.

As the safer-at-home order continues, you may be suffering extra stress or anxiety, especially if your a farmer or small business owner. Advent Health of Durand has a spiritual care hotline. Angela Jacobson, Director of Nursing and Emergency Preparedness at Advent Health says the hotline is open to everyone.   Jacobson says hotline staff is also there to listen and to also give direction to mental health resources.

For hours, Chippewa Falls police say 32-year-old Joseph Teske refused to give up.  Officers were responding to a domestic disturbance call.  Teske was accused of pulling a woman to the ground and kicking her while stealing her cell phone and a laptop computer.  He initially threatened to shoot at squad cars and fight the officers, then later threatened to mix household chemicals to create chlorine gas if they came in.  Eau Claire County Regional SWAT responded to a request and Teske eventually agreed to surrender.

Wisconsin Republicans are applauding Governor Tony Evers' administration for ordering five-percent cuts in state agency spending.  Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan notified state employees Tuesday night about the reductions.  He also says the state hiring freeze will continue with exceptions for positions related to Wisconsin's pandemic response.  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said, "this is a smart, proactive move by the administration. Vos also believes another "prudent move might be to freeze the second year of the budget so that Wisconsin can plan accordingly."  Representative John Nygren called this is a great step, but says much more will need to be done.

Three weeks after Wisconsin residents cast in-person ballots, there's been no spike in COVID-19 cases directly attributable to Election Day. DHS Secretary Andrea Palm says 52 people tested positive.  In a statement, Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Mark Jefferson accused state Democrats and numerous media outlets of "eagerly" predicting "a massive spike, with gruesome hopes on capitalizing politically."

 The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reports it has distributed more than 290 million dollars in unemployment benefits since March 15th.  The agency says it has received almost a half-million applications over the seven-and-a-half-week time period.  These are very busy days at the unemployment office.  D-W-D says is has paid almost 750 thousand of the one-point-two million claims received since the coronavirus public health emergency was first declared.  It’s currently implementing a new federal program for benefits that was created under the CARES Act.

The latest sales report from Milwaukee-based Harley Davidson shows a continuation of the year-to-year slide.  The company says U-S sales are down 15 percent compared to last year and international sales are even more disappointing, showing a 21-percent drop.  Executives are promising swift action in response to the quarterly report.  Earnings for the just-completed quarter were a little less than 70 million dollars – compared to 128 million in the same quarter last year.

Congressman Collin Peterson and Governor Walz were greeted by a chorus of car horns as they discussed COVID-19 at the J-B-S pork plant in Worthington and how to help producers.   The U-S House Ag Committee chair wants assistance for farmers who are having to euthanize their hogs.   Peterson said, "I'm gonna give the authority to the Ag secretary to retroactively pay farmers for euthanizing, for hauling 'em and burying 'em and all that.  It's gonna be in there, I'll guarantee you."   Peterson says he'll make sure a plan remains in place so plants aren't shut down again.   He's calling for testing on everyone at the J-B-S plant and new protective measures for employees.

A report from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows nearly half of the patients who tested positive for coronavirus have completed their recovery.  The state agency officially reported for the first time Tuesday how many people have beaten the virus.  So far, more than six-thousand have tested positive and more than three-thousand have officially recovered.  Doctors say it’s too soon to tell about the other cases, but 48 percent are virus-free.  A total of 300 people have died.

White House infectious disease specialist Doctor Anthony Fauci says there’ still a chance Milwaukee could host the Democratic National Convention this summer.  Fauci calls it a possibility, but he also says a lot of things need to happen between now and August.  Organizers of the convention have already move it from mid-July due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Talk of moving it online is growing louder and the time needed to prepare for such a large event is growing shorter.

A Republican state senator questioning the governor’s Safer at Home order says he has more questions to ask.  Republican Van Wanggaard said Governor Evers answered his first set of questions about the order that keeps people at home and businesses closed.  Now, he has new questions.  Wanggaard wants to know whether Evers will extend the order into the summertime and what he will tell people who have lost their jobs.  He says Wisconsinites deserve to hear those questions answered.

Nearly three dozen Wisconsin state parks and forests will be reopened Friday, but the rules are different.  Governor Tony Evers directed the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to open them Tuesday.  The number of people allowed in will be restricted.  Anyone who wants to go to a state park, forest, or recreational area will need an annual park sticker or trail pass – and D-N-R wardens will enforce social distancing.  Those parks were shut down earlier this month when huge crowds flooded them and social distancing guidelines were ignored.

Good news for folks who like to buy locally-produced fruits and vegetables.  Minnesota Farmers' Market Association Executive Director Kathy Zeman  says they're expecting about 90-percent of them to open this spring.  The markets are allowed under Governor Tim Walz's executive orders as long as social distancing and sanitizing best practices are in place.  Zeman says one person will go to the farmers market and buy all the food and there won't be any hugs or handshakes.  Zeman says they've been able to get a jump start on what works thanks to about ten winter farmers markets who've had to practice social distancing since mid-March.

 One-hundred-50 Wisconsin National Guard troops have returned to the U-S from deployment in Afghanistan.  Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry will spend some time in Minnesota before reuniting with their families.  The Red Arrow troops spent about 10 months providing security for Army and Afghan units.  About another 250 troops from this state are still in Afghanistan carrying on with the mission.