The spike in covid-19 cases and close contacts is starting to have impacts here in Western Wisconsin. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says teachers and emt personnel are having to quarantine. Stewart is asking members of the public to continue to social distance, wear masks while in public and wash your hands frequently to help slow the spread of covid-19.
An Altoona man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for child sex crimes. Bryan Broughton pleaded guilty to six charges, including the repeated sexual assault of a child, attempted child sexual exploitation, and two counts of possession of child porn. More than 40 other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Broughton had been a church camp counselor for two congregations over the last 19 years. If and when he gets out of prison, he will have 25 years of extended supervision and will have to register as a sex offender.
Authorities in Chippewa County are reporting the human remains found last week were female. An unidentified persons case report lists “Rosaly” as a possible first name. The report didn’t list any estimated age, height, weight, or race. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults website does list Rosaly “Cindy” Chavarria Rodriguez as missing from Wisconsin Dells since July. Investigators report the remains were found in a suitcase near a barn on an abandoned farm along County Highway “T.” Chippewa County authorities say they have a person of interest in the disappearance of Rodriguez, but he hasn’t been arrested.
A federal grand jury has indicted a 26-year-old Madison man for allegedly setting a fire in the City-County Building last June. Marquon Clark has had federal charges added to two felony charges he faces in Dane County. If he is found guilty on the federal charges, Clark would face a prison term of five-to-20 years. He was arrested June 30th and is currently being held in the Dane County Jail. The criminal complaint was filed in U-S District Court in Madison earlier this month.
Officials at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee say no passengers were injured when a commercial skidded off the runway Tuesday night. The American Eagle flight from Chicago got stuck in the snow while it was trying to land. Passengers were held on the plane for about 90 minutes before they were shuttled to the terminal. One passenger says the landing wasn’t rough and he didn’t realize what had happened until he looked out the window.
More Minnesotans are getting their flu shot this year. Department of Health infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann says the latest figures show a 42-percent increase in the number of people getting vaccinated compared to this time last season. Ehresmann said, "the fewer cases of flu we have, the less pressure there will be on our health care system and hospital beds as we head into a winter spike in COVID cases." The C-D-C reports the flu vaccine last season was only a combined 45 percent effective against influenza A and B.
Thousands of jobs are expected to be created in Minnesota after Governor Tim Walz signed the one-point-nine-billion-dollar bonding bill into law. Walz said the bipartisan plan invests in the projects that local communities told us matter most to them. Six-hundred-27 million dollars will go to local road and bridge projects, 269 million will fund water quality infrastructure, 166 million will be used by the U of M and Minnesota State, and 116 million dollars will help fund safe and affordable housing. The measure also includes tax cuts for farmers and small businesses.
The chairman of the Wisconsin Assembly Health Committee says there is no “magic wand” to make the coronavirus disappear. Republican State Representative Joe Sanfelippo says state government can’t stop the virus. While speaking with WisEye Tuesday he did say the best thing for the state government to do is to make sure that Wisconsin doctors and hospitals have everything they need to fight the virus. It has taken 16-hundred-33 lives in the state through Tuesday. Sanfelippo’s opponent in next month’s election, Jessica Katzenmeyer, says his comments are “tone-deaf.”
Acting on a tip, Michigan State Police say troopers found a missing four-year-old boy from Pleasant Prairie Monday. The 9-1-1 caller reported seeing a missing child on Facebook, saying he and his father were staying in a motor home in the Village of Kingsley in Grand Traverse County. Troopers detained the father while confirming the boy was Azariah Petrick. They say the father, Mark Petrick, was uncooperative and gave a false name. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant and the boy was returned to his mother.
An investigative report suggests the 13 thousand Foxconn jobs promised from a project at Mount Pleasant aren’t likely to happen. The Verge points out that Foxconn received a permit last month to change the status of its large factory from manufacturing to storage. Wisconsin state officials informed the Taiwan-based company last month it wasn’t getting taxpayer incentives because it hadn’t made enough hires. The latest version of the plan includes a six-billion-dollar investment and a workforce of 52 hundred.
Minneapolis-based Target is saying thanks to its frontline employees once again by handing out 200-dollar holiday bonuses. The money will go to hourly staff members in stores and distribution centers. Target officials say the company plans to spend nearly a billion dollars on the wellbeing, health, and safety of its team members. They say they are awarding the bonuses to continue showing their thanks for the “extraordinary performance during unprecedented times” by those employees.
The
Minnseota Department of Education is getting a 300-thousand-dollar
grant to develop school meals made from Minnesota agriculture
products. The federal funding will be used to test and prepare
meals for school nutrition programs that feature local beets, greens,
squash and carrots. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith said
it's important that students have access to nutritious meals
especially during the pandemic. The Minnesota senators say they
pushed to ensure that school meal programs remain available to
millions of students .
The state of Minnesota is launching an urgent hiring initiative to help nursing homes, group homes, and other care facilities deal with what is being called a critical shortage of workers. Surging cases of COVID-19 are being blamed. Several state agencies are working together in an effort to create a pool of 500 available workers who can be deployed for at least 14 days at a time. Entry-level workers can earn 25 dollars-an-hour, with licensed practical nurses getting 35 dollars-an-hour and registered nurses 50 dollars-an-hour. The new program could also offer travel, lodging, and per diem reimbursement depending on the worker’s situation.
Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson received a hero's welcome home Monday and the community is now trying to get his family a new vehicle. A GoFundMe page has raised more than 52-thousand dollars in less than four days. The goal is 80-thousand dollars for a specialty vehicle to help transport Arik and his family. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officer's Association says the remainder of the cost will be covered by an anonymous donor. Matson was shot in the head in January and had been in rehabilitation in Nebraska before returning to Minnesota this week to continue his recovery.
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