Local-Regional News July 9

The Pepin County Health Department reports three more positive covid-19 cases in the county. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the three new cases are unrelated to the positive case from earlier this week.  Stewart says they are working with all of the individuals to contact trace anyone they may have been with over the last week.

The hot dry weather is causing an increase in water usage in the city of Durand. Public Works Superintendent Matt Gillis says city crews will continue to monitor the usage.  Gillis expects the leak detection unit to be in town all next week with results sent to the city a week after that.

A federal grand jury has indicted two Wisconsin men – including a former school superintendent – on child sex charges.  Thirty-three-year-old Daniel Peggs is charged with sex trafficking a minor, producing child porn, receiving child porn and possessing it – six federal felonies.  Peggs is the former superintendent of the Altoona School District.  Also indicted Wednesday was 36-year-old Alan Liphart of Darlington, a previously-convicted sex offender, on child porn charges.

The Hastings man who held authorities off in a 15-hour standoff last week has been charged with multiple felonies.  Thirty-six-year-old Gerald Edward Bolster could get a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.  Bolster is charged with three counts of threats of violence, two counts of child endangerment and one count of violating a restraining order.  The incident started last Thursday morning when officers responded to a domestic disturbance report.  For much of the time Bolster was blockaded inside, he had 13-year-old and four-year-old children with him.

Republicans are calling on Governor Tony Evers to approve a proposal for bridge loans to Wisconsin residents waiting for a decision on their unemployment applications.  93^rd Assemblyman Warren Petryk says his office is receiving calls from many unemployed workers still waiting for benefits.  The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development confirms more than 141 thousand people are still awaiting judgment on their applications. 

 Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Josh Harder (D-CA), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) and 46 of their colleagues sent a bipartisan letter to United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urging their offices to work swiftly on a comprehensive Phase Two trade agreement with Japan. While the recent Phase One agreement with Japan made progress on several issues of importance, our farmers and processors still remain at a disadvantage to our competitors due to the preferential access granted by the Japan-European Union and Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership agreements. That’s why Rep. Kind and his colleagues are urging USTR Lighthizer and USDA Secretary Perdue to maximize opportunities for dairy farmers by addressing these remaining gaps and inequalities in market access in a Phase Two agreement.

 The Minnesota Vikings' home field is getting some national praise.  A poll conducted by The Athletic finds that U-S Bank Stadium is the best venue in the N-F-L.  Twenty-three of the 32 beat writers cast first-place votes for the glass-covered stadium in downtown Minneapolis.  U-S Bank Stadium beat out Lambeau Field, Century Link Field in Seattle, A-T-and-T Stadium in Dallas, and Arrowhead in Kansas City.

Wisconsin is among five states and the District of Columbia suing U-S Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.  The group of attorneys general is challenging the guidelines from DeVos on the way CARES Act funds would be distributed.  They are trying to keep a significant portion of that federal funding from going to private schools.  They argue that the money is supposed to only benefit low-income students, but that’s not the way DeVos sees it.  Joining Wisconsin and the District of Columbia as plaintiffs are California, Maine and New Mexico.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says the state Supreme Court ruling that ended his Safer at Home order “cost lives.”  The order forced some businesses to close and many people to stay at home.  The justices overturned it in May.  Evers maintains that decision cost some Wisconsin residents their lives.  While the number of COVID-19 cases has risen sharply in the state, the governor says he doesn’t have the authority to issue any statewide orders aimed at slowing the spread.  If he mandated the use of face masks, Evers says there is a 100-percent chance it would be tossed out by the high court.

A Waseca County sheriff's deputy critically injured responding to crash last fall is back on the job.  Deputy Josh Langr returned to service on modified duty until he is fully recovered.  Langr was at the scene of a fatal accident in October when he made contact with downed powerline and suffered electric shock.  His family says doctors concluded "miraculously" there was no significant lasting internal damage.  The Waseca County Sheriff’s Office says Langr has remained positive throughout the whole process and is excited to return to patrol duty.

Governor Tony Evers says the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will seek federal approval to resume the I-94 East-West corridor project in Milwaukee County. Evers said moving forward with the project will help create between six- and ten-thousand jobs, save lives, reduce travel times and help businesses across the state. The current East-West corridor was designed and built more 60 years ago, intended for significantly less traffic than its current use. WisDOT Secretary-designee Craig Thompson says the economic benefit of improving the East-West corridor would be felt statewide by impacting daily commuters, recreational travel and tourism, agricultural products, and other freight.

Staying six feet apart would be less of a challenge if Milwaukee voters were casting their ballots at Miller Park.  Milwaukee Election Commissioner Claire Woodall-Vogg says she is working with the Brewers baseball team to turn the stadium parking lots into a drive-thru polling location.  She hasn’t offered any specifics on how that might work.  Woodall-Vogg does hope to have all 160 of the city’s polling places open this fall – eliminating the long lines seen during the April election.

It doesn't make a lot of sense. That's what Education Minnesota President Denise Specht (speck) says in response to President Donald Trump's tweet today that he "may cut funding" if schools don't re-open in the fall. Specht said, "we know that in order to re-open our schools safely and thinking about the health of our students and staff, we know that actually takes funding to make that happen." Trump repeated his claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not because of any risks associated with the coronavirus. State officials are expected to announce their plan for the new school year later this month.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says people will be able to maintain social distancing while looking for a job next week. The state agency has set up 16 drive-thru job fairs around Wisconsin a week from today (Wednesday). Each vehicle will get a list of the jobs that are available in that particular region. The locations are posted on the agency’s website. The job fairs July 15 will start at noon and run until 4:00 p-m.