Local-Regional News December 4

 Dreams of a week in Palm Springs, South Padre Island or Daytona Beach have been frozen for students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.  An email from Provost Patricia Kleine this week informed them classes will be held the week of March 22dnd.  Kleine says “sending thousands of Blugolds off for a full week of travel is simply not wise given the widespread outbreak of the virus.”  The change means the spring semester will end a week earlier than scheduled, with all classes wrapped up by May 14th.  Study abroad and immersion programs for the semester are also on hold.

A Dunn County judge ruled there is enough evidence for a homicide case to move forward. The case involves 37-year-old Ryan Steinhoff, 37-year-old Chad Turgeson and 24-year-old Ashley Gunder. Each is charged in connection to a death last month in the Town of Dunn. Authorities allege they found a victim, later identified as 37-year-old Bruce McGuigan, lying dead on the floor with visible lacerations on his head. The three's next court appearance is December 11.

The UW-River Falls Chancellor Search and Screen Committee will take community feedback during listening sessions Monday, Dec. 7. The one-hour sessions will be held virtually starting 8:30 a.m. Chancellor Dean Van Galen resigned from the position earlier this year to take a new job as president of Missouri Southern State University. He was UWRF's chancellor for 11 years. For more information on the meeting schedule, visit the UW River Falls Website.

The former republican candidate for the 3^rd Congressional seat in Wisconsin has been dropped from a lawsuit challenging the election results in Wisconsin. The Associated Press is reporting that Derrick Van Orden's name as a plaintiff has been removed from the lawsuit after Van Orden said his name was included in the suit without his permission.

Toby Keith is coming to Arcadia next year. Ashly for the Arts has announced that Keith will perform on Friday August 13^th as part of the Ashley for the Arts which will be August 12-14^th at Memorial Park in Arcadia. Additional headliners are to be announced in the coming weeks, and for more information visit the Ashley for the Arts website or Facebook page.

 Governor Tony Evers says the state is providing 45-million dollars in assistance to Wisconsin restaurants and small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The funding will come from the "We're All In For Restaurants" program.  The Department of Revenue will identify and directly contact the grant recipients.  Businesses will not have to apply.  Evers says restaurants and other venues have been among the businesses hit hardest.  The governor said. "we greatly appreciate the changes they've made to prioritize the health and safety of our communities, but now with winter coming, we are glad to provide this support at a critical time."  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos thanked Evers for focusing on the hospitality industry.

The tough part of Wisconsin’s coronavirus vaccine plan will be to decide who gets one first.  The Department of Health Services says the Badger State is in-line to receive just under 50-thousand doses of the vaccine this month.  More doses will be received each week.  D-H-S says frontline health care workers and the people most at-risk will get the vaccine first.  Officials hope to start distributing the vaccine by the middle of this month.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered that two suits by the Trump campaign should be combined, then heard by a judge in Racine County.  Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack told circuit courts in Dane and Milwaukee counties to consolidate the suits challenging election results.  Reserve Judge Stephen A. Simanek of Racine County would preside over the appeals.  The order was issued after the state’s high court declined to hear Trump’s lawsuit challenging the results.  The justices decided on a four-to-three vote that cases like that one must be filed in circuit court.

The Minnesota Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a barn fire near Blooming Prairie that killed around two-thousand pigs.   A worker noticed smoke coming from the building on Highway 30 Thursday morning and  35 to 40 firefighters arrived to battle the flames.   The Blooming Prairie fire chief said the owner of the barn was in the south end of the barn doing maintenance work and the pigs were in the north half.   He got out unharmed.

Authorities in Clark County are searching for the shooters who have been indiscriminately shooting deer.  They think the poaching is being done by groups of juveniles.  Conservation wardens started their investigation several weeks ago after getting reports about people finding dead deer who had been shot and left in fields to rot.  Between six-and-eight juveniles are blamed for killing about 40 deer and a horse in Clark County.  Case reports are being completed and then the information will be passed on to the Clark County district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.

 Students are taking a more active role in the development of new COVID-19 safety measures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Twelve students are part of a Coronavirus Student Task Force formed last month.  The step was taken after students challenged the way the university had handled the pandemic during the fall semester.  The task force exists to serve as a direct line of communication between students and university leaders.  The group is meeting and providing weekly feedback on the university’s plans.  Its efforts so far have been focused on developing new testing methods for students.

A coronavirus relief package from the Wisconsin Legislature will have to wait until next year. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu says he doesn’t plan to bring the Senate back for an special session in December. Lawmakers are set to return to Madison in January. LeMahieu says he’s not yet reviewed the entire package of relief legislation from Assembly Republicans. Governor Evers says the next round of coronavirus aid needs to come from Congress.

Foxconn appears unlikely to earn state tax credits in the next three years. That projection came in the state Department of Administration's budget request for the fiscal years 2022 and 2023. DOA said the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation does not expect Foxconn to be in compliance with the state agreement, which could provide the company with up to 2 billion, 850 million dollars in tax credits. Foxconn also failed to earn tax credits in October, after WEDC determined Foxconn was out of compliance with its agreement.

The Minnesota State Patrol reports there were no injuries when a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Interstate 35-W Wednesday night.  The plane crashed into another vehicle as it was setting down at about 9:30 p-m.  The pilot was identified as 52-year-old Craig Gifford of Minneapolis.  Investigators are still trying to determine why the plane crash-landed.  Northbound traffic lanes on I-35-W were shut down for about six hours.

 Wausau is planning to hold a “reverse” Christmas parade Friday.  As part of an effort aimed at greater safety, the floats will line up and vehicles carrying parade watchers will drive down the street.  Antigo held its Christmas parade that way Wednesday.  Antigo and Langlade County Chamber of Commerce director Deena Grabowski tells W-A-O-W Television they thought it was a great way to kick off the holiday season.  The Wausau parade will take place at Marathon Park from 6:00 to 8:00 p-m.