A winter weather advisory is in effect for Western Wisconsin, including Eau Claire. The National Weather Service says western Wisconsin and some parts of central and southern Minnesota will see three to five inches of snow by Tuesday night. They say light snow and flurries are possible today in the area north of Interstate 94.
One person was injured in a single-vehicle accident in Isabelle Township last Thursday. According to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, 34yr old Jacklyn Smith of Elmwood was traveling northbound on Hwy 35 when she failed to negotiate a corner, drove left of center striking a guardrail on the south side of the highway. Smith was taken to Red Wing Hospital with undetermined injuries.
A homicide case in Dunn County will move forward. A hearing was held in Dunn County Court yesterday for 37yr old Chad Turgeson, who is charged with two others with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 37yr old Bruce McGuigan of Hayward in the town of Dunn in November. Authorities allege the suspects broke into a home and beat McGuigan over the course of several hours. Judge James Peterson found probable cause and bound Turgeson over for trial. His next court appearance is January 13. 37yr old Ryan Steinhoff and 24yr old Ashley Gunder are also charged in the case.
Nearly a month after the incident, murder charges were filed in Eau Claire County last week. Kelly Weiberg was charged with first-degree reckless homicide Wednesday. He was originally charged with aggravated battery, but the charge was upgraded when the victim, Travis Lee Smith, died two weeks later. Investigators say Smith punched Weiberg in the face and Weiberg responded by stabbing the victim. They say Weiberg was intoxicated at the time. He has a court hearing set for January 4th.
It's possible to get more money in your tax return this year because of the CARES Act. It says people who donate up to 300-dollars before December 31st will be able to deduct that money from charitable giving on the first page of the 10-40 form. The Internal Revenue Service says 87-percent of people don't itemize charitable deductions year-to-year, even if they have donated to a non-profit. W-Q-O-W T-V reports the donation must be cash to a registered non-profit, not clothing donations nor online through a Go-Fund-Me.
Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind voted to override President Trumps Veto of the National Defense Authorization Act yesterday. Kind said, "it was unacceptable that the President put our national security and servicemembers at risk by choosing to veto the NDAA". The 322-87 vote is the first time the House has agreed to override one of the President's vetoes.
Wisconsin's Democrats all voted in favor of the CASH Act, which would boost the amount of stimulus money people would receive to two thousand dollars. The move comes as Democrats back President Trump's strident calls for more money in the bill, despite his fellow Republicans urging for keeping payments low. In the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders says he will filibuster a vote to override the President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, to force a vote on the CASH Act, to keep Senators in DC for the New Year's holiday if he has too.
The University of Wisconsin System will continue to offer its surge COVID-19 testing until mid-January, the institution announced in a press release Monday. Testing sites will continue at UW-Stout, River Falls and Eau Claire. The sites administer rapid tests which can give results in about 15 minutes. Registrations to get a rapid test at one of the sites can be made online at www.doineedacovid19test.com or by calling (800) 653-8611. Original estimates, according to the release, indicated the sites would close up in mid-December.
Kenosha’s mayor and police chief say they are getting ready for the reaction when a charging decision is released in the Jacob Blake case. Blake was shot in the back seven times last August by a Kenosha police officer. Mayor John Antaramian and Police Chief Daniel Miskinis jointly wrote an op-ed piece in the Kenosha News Sunday. In it, they acknowledged that people will have different opinions and strong emotions when the decision is announced. The mayor and chief say the violence seen on the city’s streets last summer won’t be tolerated. Reverend Jonathan Baker of Grace Lutheran Church says he’s been working with the two city officials on police reform. Baker says if justice isn’t given to Jacob Blake there will be a tremendous loss of trust by the citizens for the city of Kenosha.
With Christmas in the rear-view mirror, gas prices are still on the rise in Minnesota. According to Triple-A, the average price for regular unleaded in Minnesota is two dollars and 15 cents per gallon. That's up five cents from this time last week and up 20 cents from a month ago. One of the only counties in the state where the average is under two dollars is Pope County at one-dollar and 94-cents.
--
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he’s “too busy” and hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he will run for a second term. Evers says he doesn’t have any regrets about his second year in office, but it has been difficult not being able to enact mitigation orders during the pandemic. He was talking about the state Supreme Court’s decision ending his “Safer at Home” order. The governor was harshly criticized when his health secretary enacted the order in March, ordering bars, restaurants, and schools to close while urging state residents to stay home. A statewide order now in effect requiring people to wear face coverings in public is set to expire January 19th – but the governor plans to extend it when it does
President Donald Trump’s signature on a two-point-three-trillion-dollar COVID relief package serves to extend the federal moratorium on evictions. That doesn’t mean help for those who can’t pay their rent will arrive any time soon. The Tenant Relief Center says it has handed out about 11-million dollars in rental assistance as it works with Dane County officials. Some people still won’t get the help they need. One way landlords are getting around the moratorium is to refuse to sign a non-paying tenant to a new lease when the current one runs out. Many of those property owners are caught in the middle, owing to the bank but not able to pay when tenants can’t pay the rent.
Officials in the Muskego area say what people were hearing Sunday afternoon may have been “frost quakes.” Dozens went to social media and dozens more called 9-1-1 about the explosions they were hearing early Sunday afternoon. Muskego police checked everything they could and determined the loud noises weren’t man-made. The so-called “booming noises” were heard as far as 50 miles away in West Bend. Social media reports described something similar from Waterford to New Berlin to Wind Lake. Residents say their windows rattled and, in some cases, their whole houses shook. Frost quakes are caused when the ground can pop with a sudden temperature change like Sunday’s
Minnesota state officials say they expect to begin vaccinating nursing home residents this week. That’s the prediction despite a notification that some shipments of the Moderna vaccine would be delayed. State Health Department spokesperson Kris Ehresmann (AIRZ-man) says the vaccine doses don’t just sit around waiting to be used. When they arrive, they are used. Minnesota already received some of its allotment of the Pfizer vaccine. It went to health care workers first because it is more difficult to ship and store.
Tickets for the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s newest attraction – the Drive-Thru Ice & Snow Sculpture Park – will go on sale Tuesday morning. Tickets start at 20-dollars-a-vehicle and will benefit the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation. Two signature carnival events are being combined – the Snow Sculpture Contest and the Ice Carving Competition. The carnival is scheduled to run from January 28th through February 7th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment