The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on the vacant building appeals, approval of a $52,000 contract for design and engineering for the Drier Street Reconstruction project, and approval of a $220,000 contract for design and engineering for the Lanville Reconstruction project. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall.
UW-Stout has received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Defence. The 149,000 grant will be used to develop a smart and secure manufacturing pilot project. The goal is to use computer technology including cloud computing, industrial robots, and artificial intelligence in the production of processes and products. In addition to the grant, the University received a $55,000 federal grant for a student scholarship in the program.
Coronavirus surge testing will continue at University of Wisconsin campuses including UW-River Falls and UW-Stout for the rest of the month. The system says it will continue to offer testing at its campuses through the Christmas holiday. System campuses had originally planned to end their surge testing in the middle of the month, but officials say there’s a demand for tests. The tests at U-W campuses are the rapid tests which show results in as little as 15 minutes.
Eau Clarie Authorities are reporting that since September there have been 25 incidents where thieves have stolen catalytic converters off of vehicles. Catalytic converters contain precious metals including platinum and palladium, which can bring in more than $500 each at a scrap yard. Another round of thefts occurred Monday and the suspect's vehicle is believed to be a silver 2006 Volvo S-40 with Minnesota License plates.
Two people have been arrested in the Twin Cities for a weekend stabbing in Hudson, Wisconsin that left a man dead and two others injured. A minivan seen nearby was traced to Blaine, Minnesota, a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. A search warrant was executed Sunday afternoon and two people were taken into custody. The stabbing happened in Hudson’s downtown area shortly after 1:00 a-m – just across the St. Croix River from the eastern edge of the Twin Cities metro. Twenty-six-year-old Cain Solheim of New Brighton died. Investigators say they think the stabbing victims were targeted.
Governor Tony Evers is blasting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for his last-minute legal challenge of Wisconsin's and three other state's election results. Evers says it's ironic because Paxton is the subject of an F-B-I investigation. The governor added, "and he teams up with President Trump to try to take away the votes of the people of Wisconsin. It's irony, but it's not funny irony, it's extraordinarily sad." Paxton is asking the U-S Supreme Court to block Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia from voting in the Electoral College, which meets next Monday to formalize Democrat Joe Biden’s 306-232 electoral win.
A group of Minnesota state Republican lawmakers is pushing to move teachers toward the front of the line for the COVID-19 vaccine. Representative Peggy Scott of Andover said, "I hear daily from our parents about the impact that the lack of in-person learning is having on their children and these stories are sad, and they are very real." Scott says teachers and school personnel should be considered "essential" after health care workers and those in long-term care facilities. State health officials expect to receive more than 180-thousand doses of the COVID vaccine this month and each patient will require two shots.
The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado says the northern lights could be visible in Wisconsin beginning tonight and continuing through Friday. A powerful solar flare is causing the celestial show. Scientists say the aurora borealis should be visible across the northern United States, from Washington to Maine, dipping as far south as Iowa. The geomagnetic storm will peak late tonight into early Thursday. The solar flare was recorded Monday. Viewers should get away from city light pollution and weather could impact what you see.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is reporting 67 stream segments and 24 lakes in the Des Moines River basin in southwest Minnesota are impaired for swimming and aquatic life. Among problems found: phosphorus levels, E-coli and fecal coliform bacteria, and suspended solids. The agency recommends possible remedies including planting cover crops, changing tillage practices, using less fertilizer, diversifying crops, and better practices for applying manure to cropland. The M-P-C-A is taking public comment on the reports through January 6th.
Authorities in Adams County accuse an Arkdale man of supplying the drugs that caused two fatal overdoses. Thirty-eight-year-old Michael Subera is facing homicide charges. Investigators say he delivered heroin to two people who died. They also think he was part of the drug delivery change that contributed to three more deaths. The charges are based on the 2019 deaths of Hans Pietrzak of Adams and Brett Severin of Hancock. A second man also faces charges in the case. Fifty-two-year-old Ronald Serles of Adams is accused of taking fentanyl from Subera and delivering it to two women who overdosed.
The Department of Administration said no, but Republican lawmakers went ahead and erected a Christmas tree in the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda. The state normally has a tall evergreen there to celebrate the winter holidays, but Governor Tony Evers decided not to do it this year because the coronavirus pandemic has the building closed to the public. Two Republican Assembly members asked the Department of Administration for a permit for a “historical display,” but were turned away. Representatives Paul Tittl and Shae Sortwell put up a tree anyway. There’s a sign on the tree saying it is theirs and no one should remove it.
U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin is proposing an expansion of unemployment benefits that would guarantee people an extra 600-dollars-a-week until next October. The Wisconsin Democrat says her Worker Holiday Relief Act would also cover gig workers and freelance workers. Some of those receiving the benefits would continue to get the checks as long as the national unemployment rate averages five-and-a-half percent. The current round of federal unemployment help is set to end the day after Christmas.
The University of Wisconsin System is asking for nearly 100 million-dollars more for pay raises in the next state budget. The system is asking for two-percent pay increases next year, and two-and-a-half percent the year after that. U-W employees got a two-percent raise this year, and a four-percent raise last year. U-W Madison leaders, in particular, say they need to increase pay to keep-up with other Big Ten schools.
Target Corporation is joining a growing list of retailers suing the country's largest chicken suppliers over accusations of inflating poultry prices. The Minnesota-based retailer runs close to 19-hundred stores and is a direct buyer of broiler chickens. A federal lawsuit filed in Illinois court has named companies such as Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, and Perdue Farms as defendants. The suit accuses them of price-fixing their chicken.
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