The
Pepin County Health Department is recommending that residents
continue to follow the safer at home and the turn the dial
recommendations. Even
though the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the safer at home
orders from Madison, many county health departments are now issuing
their own local orders.
The
Dunn County Health Department has issued an administrative order in
regards to the covid-19 pandemic. The order advises residents to
avoid gatherings of 10 or more people in their place of work, play or
worship, maintain 6 foot distancing and businesses that open have
safe business practices and follow the guidelines set by the WEDC.
All non-essential travel and travel outside of a resident's community
is also strongly discouraged and schools will also remain closed in
Dunn County. The order is in effect until May 26.
Due
to the Covid-19 pandemic, more local events have been canceled. The
Miss Mondovi Pageant has been canceled for the first time in 58yrs.
The girls that wanted to run will be included in representing Mondovi
at any events that do occur over the next year. The Pepin County On
the Farm Dairy Breakfast was also canceled, but organizers are
planning a drive through type of breakfast and will have more details
in the next week. Meanwhile, organizers of the Buffalo County Fair
are expected to have a final decision on the fair by June 5th.
As
school districts across Wisconsin determine how to proceed with
graduation, the discussion of the status of fall sports is cropping
up. Durand-Arkansaw School District Superintendent Greg Doverspike
says the district will need some type of guidance by the middle of
July on the season, and if there is fall sports, coaches, and players will have to find
ways to be ready to play with the possibility of weight rooms not
open for the summer.
The
City of Durand is still exploring opening the pool at Tarrant Park
for the Summer. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the pool will
still have to follow guidelines from the health department. The
Public Works Committee will be meeting next Wednesday night to
discuss the pool season and forward a recommendation to the full
council for the May 27th
meeting.
The
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has decided there was insufficient
evidence to show its former vice-chancellor had caused gender-based
negative work environments. Director of Affirmative Actions
Teresa O’Halloran dismissed the case. Albert Colom’s last
day on the Eau Claire campus was February 21st and he officially
leaves the job September 2nd. Angela Swenson-Holzinger had
submitted the complaint against Colom, claiming he disparaged other
female leaders and never once critiqued a male leader. The
school determined there wasn’t enough evidence to conclude Colom
bullied employees.
An
executive order signed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz directs the
Department of Education to provide a safe and effective summer
learning environment for Minnesota's students. Public school
districts and charter schools will have the option to offer summer
learning through a hybrid model of distance learning and in-school
learning or to continue distance learning. Walz says "slowly
turning the dial for school settings provides more opportunities for
the in-person learning and social interactions that are critical for
learning." In-person instruction will require
compliance with state health guidelines on masking, social
distancing, personal hygiene, screening and cleaning.
The
Mall of America plans to re-open retail stores beginning June 1st.
The news comes a day after Governor Tim Walz announced that
businesses could re-open May 18th with some restrictions. The
mega mall in Bloomington says waiting until June will allow for the
safest environment for workers and guests and will give retail
tenants time to train staff and prepare their stores. The M-O-A
closed its doors due to the pandemic on March 17th.
Republican
legislative leaders say they are “confident Wisconsin citizens are
up to the task of fighting the virus.” Assembly Speaker Robin
Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald were reacting to
Wednesday’s decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block the
extension of the Safer at Home order. Vos and Fitzgerald were
at the forefront of the April 21st lawsuit
filed to block the order. The high court decided in their
favor, ruling the Evers administration had overstepped its
authority. Vos and Fitzgerald are urging the governor to work
with them to set new rules in case COVID-19 cases do spike in
Wisconsin. They say they believe the state can re-open safely
by using the guidelines from the Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation.
Bars,
restaurants and small shops in the Green Bay area are still closed,
despite the ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Brown County
officials approved their own, local Safer at Home order at a
Wednesday night meeting. It will be in effect for a week.
Brown County Public Health Officer Anna Destree says there are too
many coronavirus cases in the county and the best way to fight the
virus is to keep people at home and keep businesses closed.
The
Minnesota Nurses Association says it has reservations about Governor
Tim Walz lifting his stay-at-home order. The M-N-A is urging
state officials and hospitals to protect health care workers by
increasing the supply of personal protective equipment and
dramatically expanding testing capacity for COVID-19. Governor
Walz said in response, "I can assure them and assure Minnesotans
that, if we hit some of those gates that show that we're turning from
green and yellow to getting to orange to red, we're gonna turn it
(the re-opening) down." Nurses say re-opening businesses
jeopardizes the safety of health care workers and all Minnesotans.
Senator
Tammy Baldwin wants to let people on food stamps use their benefits
for delivery or take-out. Wisconsin's junior senator is signing-on to
a letter to the U-S Department of Agriculture that asks to let people
in the SNAP program use their benefits for food delivery or curb-side
pick-up. The letter says people should not be disadvantaged simply
because they rely on government benefits.
A
new study says cats can get coronavirus and they could also infect
other cats. The University of Wisconsin-Madison study published
in the New England Journal of Medicine said scientists in the U-S and
Japan ran tests that showed cats can contract the virus that causes
COVID-19 from an infected human patient. Researchers said
people with COVID-19 symptoms worried about spreading it to their
friends and family members should also worry about spreading it to
their pet cats. They should also avoid letting their cat
outside to limit contact it has with other cats or people.
A
bill raising the state tobacco sales age to 21 is heading to Governor
Walz after the Senate passed it late Wednesday. Republican
Senator Jerry Relph of St. Cloud supported the bill with some
reservations. Relph called it "illogical" when you
can buy a house, a car, and carry a weapon in defense of our country
at age 18, but you can't smoke a cigarette." The bill
updates state tobacco definitions to include all the latest tobacco
products, compliance checks and penalties to follow the federal
Tobacco 21 law.
A
Rochester-based biotech company has completed development of a new
test to measure a person's protective immunity against the new
coronavirus. Vyriad's Immune-COV antibody test detects
neutralizing antibodies that are known to protect against COVID-19
infections. The company says the new test was developed jointly
through an existing collaboration with Regeneron and is expected to
be available through major testing labs by the end of this month.
C-E-O Stephen Russell said, "we believe the ability of our test
to accurately identify virus-neutralizing antibodies provides a
higher degree of certainty about whether individuals have acquired
protective immunity from COVID-19, including in those people who have
never had symptoms of COVID-19."
Gummy
Bears will be coming off the production line at a new manufacturing
facility in Pleasant Prairie The factory is coming to the Prairie
Highlands Corporate Park Candy-maker HARIBO has been conditionally
approved to build its first U-S plant next September. The company
anticipates hiring up to 385 full-time employees, with production
going on 24 hours-a-day, Monday-through-Friday.
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