With
the warmer weather, many people are spending more time outdoors and
ordering food from area restaurants. According to Heidi Stewart,
while its ok to be outside during the safer-at-home order, you are
not allowed to eat food inside or outside of a restaurant on the restaurant's property. Meanwhile, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on the safer-at-home
order.
La
Crosse police are investigating the death of a 79-year-old man who
got in a fight in a Menards parking lot last week. Police say
Russell Paulson died of the injuries he suffered Friday.
Investigators say 50-year-old Matthew Kinstler was mad at the older
man over the way he had parked. The verbal argument escalated
into a physical fight. So far, no charges have been filed.
A
western Wisconsin man who was caught with 10 pounds of marijuana and
a machine gun is avoiding jail time. Benjamin Chouinard was
sentenced to two years of probation during a Monday hearing in Polk
County Court. He was arrested two years ago after buying four
pounds of marijuana from an undercover agent. Police used a
search warrant at his home, finding the drugs and the gun, plus two
illegal silencers. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors
to lower the charges.
The
Mayo Clinic is being awarded a 26-million-dollar contract from the
federal government for using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19.
The funding is from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority at the U-S Department of Health and Human
Services. Mayo Clinic says the funding is needed to
continue expanding access and infrastructure for the Expanded Access
Program for convalescent plasma. Since the launch of the
program in early April, more than two-thousand hospitals and
four-thousand physicians have enrolled 10-thousand patients. So
far, over five-thousand patients have received the potentially
therapeutic plasma from people who have recovered from confirmed
coronavirus infections.
The
Tommy Bartlett Show at Wisconsin Dells is the latest summer tradition
to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The water ski,
sky and stage show on Lake Delton is being scrapped for the first
time in nearly 70 years. Co-owner and president Tom Diehl said
the safer-at-home order will not allow enough time to prepare for
large gatherings and open the show which was scheduled to begin May
22nd. The company has notified its seasonal staff of 115 that
they can no longer provide jobs this summer. The Diehl family
says it is optimistic that show will re-open in 2021.
The
head of the Wisconsin Bankers Association says it makes sense to use
federal stimulus funds to help the state’s farmers. C-E-O
Rose Oswald says those farmers need help during the coronavirus
pandemic. Oswald says Wisconsin banks are ready to help their
local farmers. She thinks the money from Washington can help
"shore-up" the state’s agriculture economy.
Officials
with the University of Wisconsin system say students applying for
admission shouldn’t be penalized because the coronavirus pandemic
kept them from taking the A-C-T or S-A-T. The Board of Regents
is expected to vote Thursday on setting the requirement aside for the
next two academic years. Many testing agencies have canceled
appointments during the pandemic. The change would go into
effect at all campuses except U-W-Madison starting with the 2020-2021
academic year.
The
head of Hospitality Minnesota says if their members don't open up
their businesses within the next two months, more than half will face
permanent closure. President and C-E-O Liz Rammer says they are confident they can re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic
with "effective social distancing, enhanced sanitization
processes, and ways to engage with one another in a meaningful and
safe way." Rammer says just re-opening won't be sufficient
and they will need economic relief from the state. She also
wants the governor to announce a re-opening date with enough notice
to give the businesses adequate time to prepare.
The
Minnesota National Guard is doing statewide flyovers today in
recognition of those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic
response (Wednesday). The flights are part of a national effort to
recognize health care workers, emergency responders, food industry
and other essential workers. Retired National Guard
Lieutenant Colonel Audra Flanagan says flight paths will follow the
Mississippi River through communities including Brainerd, Little
Falls, Monticello, Rochester, Saint Cloud and the Twin Cities.
Wisconsin
lawmakers are pressing the Department of Workforce Development to get
unemployment checks to out of work people faster. State
Representative John Nygren says the agency could pre-approve those
who are likely to qualify for the benefits – much as it does for
residents on Medicaid. Nearly a half-million people have
applied for unemployment since the coronavirus outbreak started in
March.
Wisconsin
health officials report almost half of the patients who tested
positive for coronavirus have recovered. The Department of
Health Services says just under four thousand people have been
cleared so far. Another four thousand are within 30 days of
being diagnosed. Doctors say nine-point-nine percent of the
people who have been tested in the last few days have had a positive
result. With one death Monday, coronavirus has been fatal for
340 patients.
The
state plans to provide 85 thousand tests for COVID-19 to Wisconsin
hospitals, clinics, local public health offices and long-term care
facilities. Governor Tony Evers wants to make Wisconsin one of
the top states when it comes to coronavirus testing per capita.
The official announcement was made Monday, but the idea had already
gone public. Evers hopes the intensive testing effort could
significantly impact the spread of the disease. The governor
says, “Everyone in Wisconsin who needs a test should be tested.”
The
Wisconsin National Guard is heading to the Birds Eye plant in Darien
to set-up another coronavirus testing site. Governor Evers ordered
the Guard to the plant because nearly 100 people who work there have
tested positive for the virus since last Monday. The plant has been
closed since April 17th. Guard members will test employees, their
families, and anyone else who lives with them on Thursday and Friday.
The
family of a six-year-old girl hit and killed while she was getting on
a school bus has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver
and an insurance company. Maryana Kranz was a student in the
Tri-County School District. She and her sister were hit by the
pickup driven by Carl Mullenix on February 10th in
the town of Oasis. The victim’s mother and sister are listed
as the plaintiffs in the case filed in Waushara County Circuit
Court. Attorneys for Mullenix and State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance are asking the court to dismiss the case. It accuses
Mullenix of negligence though no criminal charges were filed.
An
executive order signed by Governor Tim Walz prevents coronavirus
relief funds from being automatically intercepted by debt collectors,
creditors and landlords. Walz said, "this action will
ensure the COVID-19 support that local, state, tribal and federal
governments provide will go where it is needed most and directly
improve Minnesotans' lives." The governor says it will
help people pay their rent and put food on the table. The CARES
Act provided up to 12-hundred dollars per adult and 500 per child in
economic impact payments. The legislation does not
automatically exempt payments from garnishment.
The
return of summer-like temps in Minnesota is awakening black-legged
ticks also known as deer ticks. The Department of Health's Dave
Neitzel says this tick carries Lyme disease and other
illness. He says those ticks are most common in real wooded and
brushy areas and he recommends wearing repellents to keep the ticks
off. Neitzel says to wear a repellent with at least
30-percent DEET or treat your clothing with permethrin
(per-METH-rin). He also recommends treating your pets for
ticks.
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