The Wisconsin D-N-R says a deer sample collected in Buffalo County tested positive for a virus that causes epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Wildlife officials say E-H-D was identified after several landowners reported 30 to 35 dead deer near Fountain City. The disease was also detected earlier this month in Oconto County. The virus is transmitted by midges that bit deer but does not infect humans. The D-N-R says E-H-D is usually short-lived because flies that transmit it die with the first hard frost.
As the covid-19 pandemic continues there have been multiple reports of people delaying or not receiving medical care for non covid issues. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says if you are having some type of medical issue that would have sent you to the doctor before covid, you should still see your doctor now. Stewart also reminds residents that now is the best time to get your flu shot.
A teen charged in a deadly shooting near Rochester Community and Technical College will stand trial next spring. Jury selection is scheduled to begin for 19-year-old Robert Salley on March 15th. Salley faces one count of second-degree murder and two weapons charges in the January 2019 shooting of Trevor Boysen. Security camera video showed Salley firing a gun at a car Boysen was in and the victim climb out and collapse in the parking lot. Investigators believe it was a drug deal gone bad.
A judge in Balsam Lake will hear arguments Monday in a lawsuit that seeks to undo Wisconsin’s statewide mask order. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty says the mask mandate amounts to unconstitutional overreach. Despite President Donald Trump's positive diagnosis for COVID-19, Republicans in Wisconsin are continuing their attempts to undo Governor Evers’ order.
Minnesota transportation officials are reminding Minnesota drivers to keep an eye out for farm machinery out on the roads this fall. Harvest season is in full swing and farmers in every corner of the state are out using the highways. MnDOT says motorists need to be prepared to encounter slow-moving farm vehicles, especially on rural, two-lane roads through November. In the last five years, 14 people died on Minnesota roads in a crash involving farm equipment.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to issue its ruling on the deadline for counting absentee ballots no later than next week. A federal court extended the period to November 9th, but Republicans are challenging that. The state Supreme Court told both sides they needed to submit legal responses by today (Monday). Wisconsin is considered to be a critical “battleground” state that could go to either party after Donald Trump prevailed in 2016 by less than 23 thousand votes. Republicans are also asking a federal appeals court to rehear the case on that level. That court says it will decide no later than Wednesday.
The IRS is sending out a letter to around 111-thousand Wisconsinites who still haven't gotten their COVID-19 relief payments. Spokesman Christopher Miller says the agency has been diligently trying to find and deliver the payments to everyone who qualifies. People who don't file taxes regularly should head to IRS dot Gov to fill out a Non-Filers form to get their payment. The deadline to get the 12-hundred dollars this year is October 15th.
The health officer for Sauk County says he is stepping down because he is frustrated by the lack of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tim Lawther said in his resignation letter that the virus is being turned into a “political tool.” Lawther says some county supervisors have demanded the retraction of evidence-based public health guidance because they are empowered by the current political gamesmanship. His last day on the job will be October 14th. The chairman of the Sauk County Board of Supervisors, Tim McCumber, says the way Lawther handled the pandemic response was likely part of the problem due to his personality. McCumber says the board was trying to find a balance between letting businesses operate and keeping the public safe.
The state's largest business lobby is telling Wisconsin companies to mask up. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce spokesman Nick Novak says that businesses should stress the importance of wearing a mask to their workers, both on the job and off the clock. He wants the business community to be a leader in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and hopes that people will help stop the spread of the virus. W-M-C previously advocated against Governor Evers' mask orders and health emergency declarations while proposing their own back to business model.
An emergency order issued by Governor Tony Evers will allow out-of-state health care workers to provide care in Wisconsin during the pandemic. The governor says it also makes some adjustments to licensing procedures and extends work licenses set to expire. Evers said, "our hospitals are being stretched to the limit, and we need to take action to assist our frontline medical professionals with their life-saving work." State health officials reported more than 28-hundred positive COVID-19 tests Thursday and 27 more deaths.
Bail is set at one-million dollars for a Superior man accused of killing his mother Tuesday morning. Douglas County prosecutors say 39-year-old Robert Lee Bennett III is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the stabbing of Cindy Bennett. The criminal complaint says Bennett expressed concerns about her adult son's behavior before the stabbing and a police officer had responded to a separate call from the defendant less than two hours earlier. She had been trying to get Robert to go to the hospital. His sister received a call from their mother that morning and later found Bennett lying in the blood on the living room floor without a pulse. Robert Bennett's preliminary hearing is next Wednesday.
The U-S House passed a two-point-two-trillion dollar coronavirus relief package Thursday mostly along party lines. Democratic Congressman Ron Kind voted for the updated HEROES Act while G-O-P Representative Mike Gallagher was a "no" vote. Kind says it would provide relief to Wisconsinites as the COVID-19 crisis continues and includes support for small businesses. The package includes a 12-hundred-dollar stimulus check for taxpayers and 500 dollars for dependents and weekly unemployment payments. Gallagher said House Democrats "wasted time on a two-trillion dollar liberal wish that has no chance of becoming law." He's calling for House leaders to cancel the October recess until members deliver "real bipartisan relief.“
Winter is right around the corner and Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule goes into effect this month (10/15). Ross Corson of Center Point Energy says the goal is to keep people safe and warm in their homes during the winter months. Corson says customers who may have trouble paying their natural gas bill should contact their utility right away to set up a payment plan. The Cold Weather Rule goes into effect during an ongoing COVID-related moratorium on utility service disconnections for non-payment this year. Corson says no one knows how long that moratorium is going to last.
The Dane County Board of Supervisors wants University of Wisconsin-Madison to move all classes online. The county board voted Thursday night to urge the U-W to end in-person classes, and force students to move out of dorms. Supervisors also increased spending for a food insecurity program, and increased staffing at Dane County’s COVID-19 testing site at the Alliant Energy Center.
The nomination period is now open for the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Minnesotans can nominate their favorite educator online through November 15th. Nominees must teach in a pre-K through 12th grade school and work at least 50 percent of the time with students, have a bachelor’s degree and a Minnesota teaching license, completed five years of teaching by the nomination deadline, and intend to teach during the 2021-22 school year. The 2021 winner will be named at a ceremony in May.
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