The Durand City Council is meeting tonight in a special session. Items on the agenda include reports from the Mayor, City Administrator and Public Works Department. The council will go into special session to discuss the possible purchase of land on the 3rd avenue curve. Tonight's meeting begins at 5pm at Durand City Hall.
Residents and staff at Dove Healthcare West in Eau Claire are scheduled to receive Moderna's vaccine Wednesday, administered by Walgreens pharmacists. Both Walgreens and CVS began distributing vaccines Monday throughout Wisconsin, and they will eventually reach 360 nursing homes and thousands of assisted living facilities across the state multiple times to make sure everyone gets the proper dosage.
One person is dead after a one-vehicle accident near Osseo Tuesday. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, a 28yr old female was traveling westbound on I-94, when she lost control, went into the eastbound lanes and ditch and the vehicle rolled. A 41yr old male passenger was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was taken to Mayo Health System in Osseo. Names have not been released pending notification of family members.
One person is dead after a shooting in Barron on Monday. According to the Barron County Sheriffs Department, deputies responded to a call of a shooting on North Mill Street Monday afternoon. An investigation shows a possible road rage incident took place and authorities believe 20yr old Clayton Lauritsen of Cumberland shot and killed 45yr old Lauritz Robertson of Barron. Lauritsen is being held in the Barron County Jail on recommend charges of 2nd-degree intentional homicide.
The Evers administration will clarify unemployment application questions this spring to simplify the process. The revisions were announced Monday. The Department of Workforce Development says future claim applications will feature “plain language,” as much as possible, to be clear to everyone. The state is still dealing with a huge backlog of unprocessed claims caused by the coronavirus pandemic. When applicants make mistakes on the forms they turn in, that often brings on investigations and delays. The state is taking public comments on the new form through January 8th.
Members of the Wisconsin Assembly appear to be prepared to do their work in-person during the legislative session starting next week. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said the body can convene safely by following C-D-C guidelines on social distancing, mask-wearing, and frequent hand washing. Minority Leader Gordon Hintz sent a letter to Vos Tuesday asking that lawmakers and their support staff be allowed to attend committee hearings and floor periods virtually. It’s not clear whether the Wisconsin Senate will offer the virtual option. The Legislature hasn’t met since last April
The Trump campaign continues its challenge of the presidential election results by asking the U-S Supreme Court to take its lawsuit seeking the disqualification of 221-thousand Wisconsin ballots. The campaign was turned away by the State Supreme Court previously. Trump is focusing on Dane and Milwaukee counties because they are the most heavily Democratic counties in the state. The Trump campaign is asking the high court to declare the election failed in Wisconsin and to allow the Republican-controlled Legislature to appoint the 10 electors. It tried the same thing earlier this month in Pennsylvania.
Wisconsin travelers seem to be heeding the warnings from various government leaders to avoid travel during the Christmas and New Year's holiday period. The number of people passing through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport are off by about half when compared to this time period last year. From Christmas Eve through Monday a little over 23-thousand passengers caught flights according to the T-S-A. During the same five-day period in 2019, more than 50-thousand passengers were screened at the state’s busiest airport.
An event in 2021 in Wisconsin will highlight the future of farming. Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, planned for July 20-22, 2021, in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, is billed as the largest agricultural show in the state showcasing the latest improvements in production agriculture. Mike Gitner, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days chair, says the event was originally planned for 2020, but the pandemic forced the cancellation of the show. Detalils on the show can be found at wifarmtechdays.org
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U-S Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson are divided over the two-thousand-dollar stimulus checks Congress will vote on. President Trump has approved 600-dollar payments, but he wants people suffering through the coronavirus pandemic to get the extra money. In an unusual alliance, Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin says she has long supported the bigger payments. The House of Representatives has approved the idea and it moves on to the Senate where the Republican Ron Johnson – long a Trump ally – says he blocked the bigger checks earlier because of concerns about the U-S debt.
The process of vaccinating the residents in Wisconsin’s long-term care facilities started Monday at the New Glarus Home retirement community. The COVID-19 vaccine was administered to both residents and staff members. The facility partnered with Walgreens to vaccinate 70 of its 74 residents and more than half of its staff members. Those who got the first shot will get the second one in January. There are an estimated 200-thousand people living at long-term care facilities in Wisconsin who will need to be vaccinated.
Four Minnesota veterans' homes are starting to vaccinate their residents against COVID-19 with the Moderna vaccine. The Minneapolis Veterans Home is receiving doses today (Tuesday), residents at Fergus Falls and Silver Bay are getting vaccinations Wednesday, and Luverne on January 4th. Veterans Affairs Deputy Commissioner Douglas Hughes said, "I know a lot of veterans, I am a veteran, and to have these men and women who served our country be some of the first to receive the vaccination is really gratifying." Hughes says they hope close to 90 percent of veterans home residents will receive voluntary vaccinations. They're also voluntary for staff.
Fifty vials of Moderna coronavirus vaccine had to be discarded at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton over the weekend. An internal investigation determined the vials were inadvertently removed from a pharmacy refrigerator overnight Saturday. It’s being called an “unintended human error” that happened when the vials weren’t replaced in the refrigerator after being removed so other items could be accessed. Some of the vaccine was administered to team members the same day, but most had to be discarded because it wasn’t kept at a proper temperature to maintain its effectiveness.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is starting a three-year testing program on new technology for its snowplows. Among the five new or upgraded pieces of equipment are two slurry spreaders that will spread the road salt more evenly and effectively. Also being tested is an underbody scraper that will clear compacted snow and ice. The information gathered will examine the cost, the impact on the environment, the effectiveness, and the safety on the roads of the new equipment. At the end of three years, the results will guide future purchases.
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