One person was injured in a three vehicle accident in the Town of Buffalo on Monday. According to the Buffalo County Sheriffs Department, 61yr old Mary Jo Wicka of Fountain City was traveling on Hwy 35 at the intersection of Hwy M waiting to turn northbound when she was struck in the rear by a vehicle driven by 53yr old Scott Larsen of Winona. The impact caused Wicka's vehicle to cross the centerline and a head on collision with a westbound semil occurred. Wicka was transported to Winona Community Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries.
A Dunn County man has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a child. 55Yr old Franklin Bignell of Boyceville has been charged in Dunn County court after the victim told police Bignell assaulted her nearly every week between the ages of 8 and 13. Bignell faces 120yrs in prison if convicted and his next court appearance is October 6th.
The Durand Swim Club has begun their capital fundraising campaign to refurbish the pool at Tarrant Park. So far the City of Durand has committed $500,000 and the Durand-Arkansaw School District $275,000 to the project. Durand Swim Club Board Member Jan Kartman says the swim club has been charged with raising the rest of the money. Kartman says any donations large or small will be accepted, and if the fundraising goal is not met by March of 2024, any donations will be refundable. For more information on the fundraising campaign, visit the Durand Swim Club Facebook page.
The Chippewa County Sheriffs Department is reporting an increase in mail theft. The department has seen an increase in calls from residents reporting their outgoing mail being stolen and any checks inside being washed and then the person stealing the checks re-writes them to themselves. If you have any information on the person or persons stealing mail, you are to call the Chippewa County Sheriffs Department.
A Hastings restaurant is facing a 76-hundred-dollar fine for an alleged face mask infraction after a recent OSHA inspection. That's in the wake of Governor Walz's order for stepped-up compliance checks on Minnesota's hospitality industry amid COVID-19. Republican state Representative Tony Jurgens of Cottage Grove called it "too much." Jurgens said,"I think the failure by the governor to reverse this policy and reverse the excessive fines is accepting the fact that a business owner that is trying to survive, trying to comply with the executive orders, trying to do the right thing, doesn't matter, because the state might force you out of business anyway." The restaurant's owner is contesting the fine. The governor's office has not commented on this specific case.
Governor Tony Evers says his office is committed to leave the decision on whether or not to open up schools to local school districts and health offices. Evers says sending out a blanket order at this point would be confusing. The state has been providing guidelines to districts since before the start of the school year.
If Wisconsin’s number of positive test results for COVID-19 continues at the current pace, the state will likely be placed on Chicago’s no-visit list next week. The Windy City usually places a state on that list if it tops 15 new cases per day per 100-thousand residents over a week. Wisconsin is actually in the area of 20-to-30 daily infections per 100 thousand – well above the limit. If the Badger State is placed on the list for the second time, anyone traveling to Chicago would be required to self-quarantine for two weeks. Wisconsin was put on the list the first time in July.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office says crews have recovered the bodies of two occupants of a plane that crashed Sunday evening near Grey Cloud Island. The search continues for a third person onboard the aircraft. Sheriff's deputies say search conditions continue to be difficult due to the depth and debris from the wreckage. The plane was reported overdue for arrival at the South St. Paul Municipal Airport Sunday night. Teams located the plane Monday in a water-filled quarry on Grey Cloud Island, north of the Mississippi River. Names of the victims have not been released.
A Southwest Airlines flight to Florida was racing down the runway Tuesday when the takeoff at Mitchell International Airport was aborted. The pilot slammed on the brakes when the plane hit a group of birds, knocking one of its engines offline. Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was on board. The plane sat on the runway and was checked out, then returned to the gate and 76 passengers got off safely. They were put on other flights to continue the trip.
The deadline is Thursday for local election officials to mail absentee ballots to voters who have asked for one. Almost two thousand election clerks were waiting for the Monday decision made by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to exclude Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins. The court had told those clerks not to mail any ballots until the decision was made. State law requires them to be on the way by Thursday.
The Minnesota Department of Health is conducting a voluntary statewide survey to better understand the prevalence of COVID-19. Spokeswoman Stephanie Yendell says there are a total of 180 areas throughout the state that teams will be visiting door-to-door through September 30th. Those who agree to participate will complete a questionnaire and everyone in the household who consents can receive a free COVID-19 test. Antibody tests will also be offered to determine if someone has previously been infected.
Burlington Schools Superintendent Steve Plank says he is asking all teachers to teach only age-appropriate lessons and stay away from politics or religion. A group of parents complained about a fourth-grade teacher who was giving lessons on the Black Lives Matter movement. The parents filled Monday night’s school board meeting. They were taking issue with the packet handed out by the teacher that asked questions about why people were protesting and what is systemic racism. Plank didn’t say anything about possible discipline for the teacher.
The enrollment period has been extended for Wisconsin residents who have lost health insurance coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. The governor’s office says when FEMA declared the pandemic to be a national emergency it opened the door for those people to get a new health care plan. Most lost their coverage because it had been accessed through an employer. Anyone who lost coverage can see what their options are online at HealthCare-dot-gov. Some people could be eligible for free or low-cost coverage through BadgerCare.
Students living in Schroeder Hall at Marquette University are going to spend the next two weeks in their dorm rooms. The university has imposed a quarantine that started Monday night. As many as a dozen students who live in the residence hall have tested positive for COVID-19. Schroeder is one of Marquette’s largest dorms with 373 students living there. The school is asking the students not to leave or go home while the quarantine is in effect.
No rowdy Florida beach parties this spring for students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Spring break has been eliminated as part of the effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. The Faculty Senate voted 140-to-seven to set aside the nine-day break on the 2021 spring calendar. Officials say the intention is to discourage students and staff from traveling long distances, then bringing COVID-19 back to the campus. One professor suggests it may not work like that if classes are online then. He says students could just log-on from Florida for a week, hitting the beaches after class is over.
The folks who sell homes in Minnesota are reporting a busy month of August. Chris Galler of the Minnesota Realtors Association says pending sales were up more than 16 percent last month, and the median sales price was up nine-point-three percent. That brings the statewide median price to 283-thousand dollars. Galler says inventory continues to be an issue as the number of homes for sale in August dropped 36-point-two percent compared to last year. There was only a two-month supply of housing available at the end of August, which is an historic low.
Most Minnesota state parks have seen increased attendance this summer and officials are giving some of the credit to the coronavirus pandemic. After being cooped up inside for weeks, state residents have been taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue outdoor recreation. With 100 thousand visitors, Afton State Park in Washington County set an all-time record and the increasing number of visitors is expected to continue through the fall. Afton is a park where people come to see the fall colors. Just about every Minnesota state park has experienced an uptick in the number of summer visitors.
No comments:
Post a Comment