Staff Members of the Durand-Arkansaw School District will be vaccinated in groups. During last night's board meeting superintendent, Doverspike told board members that the staff will be vaccinated in waves so the district is not short-handed in case there is some type of reaction. Doverspike says 130 staff members are interested in receiving the vaccine. The state is currently in group 1A and is working on moving to group 1B which would include educators. Also last night Durand Middle-High School Principal Bill Clouse has announced his retirement at the end of the year.
The man accused of hiding the corpse of a missing Gilmanton man made a court appearance yesterday in Eau Claire. Roger Minck is charged with hiding a corpse, selling drugs, and burglary in relation to the death of Toby Cleasby of Gilmanton. In November of 2018, Cleasby went missing and was found a month later inside a duple in Eau Claire. DNA evidence indicated Minck was involved and he was arrested. A $10,000 cash bond was issued and if Minck posts bond, he must maintain sobriety and not contact Cleasby's family. His next court date is February 10th.
Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind says Donald Trump's refusal to take responsibility for last week's U.S. Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters helps make the case for impeachment. Kind spoke to reporters on a ZOOM call just prior to voting on the article of impeachment.
Wells downstream from the La Crosse airport are now showing PFAS contamination. Those wells are on Paris Island, which sits downstream from La Crosse Regional. All but one out of 100 wells tested showed some levels of contamination, while 40 wells have levels above DNR safety standards. One well was over 160 times higher. The DNR is continuing to test to see how far the contamination has spread since it was first detected in 2016.
Governor Tony Evers says around 500 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers are headed to Washington, D-C to assist with the presidential inauguration. The troops and airmen are from several Wisconsin Army National Guard and Air Guard units. They will support security efforts next week alongside National Guard soldiers from other states. Evers said, "I'm confident these members of the Guard will assist in any way they can to help maintain peace and security in our nation's capital in the days ahead.” Wisconsin soldiers were also mobilized for safety and security efforts this week at the State Capitol building in Madison.
Legislative Republicans are rejecting Governor Evers' call for a January 19th special session to address Wisconsin's trouble unemployment program. Evers said that he understands revamping the outdated and aging system will take years, and that's why it's got to be done as soon as possible. G-O-P leaders claim legislative audits have shown the major issues with the backlog at the Department of Workforce Development during the pandemic were not due to an old computer system "but rather mismanagement of the agency itself." Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in a statement, "we are always open to passing necessary legislation, but unfortunately, this Special Session call is about politics; not about policy.”
Minnesota officials have approved permits for two events at the Minnesota Capitol this weekend: a Saturday "Freedom Fest" and a smaller Sunday gathering billed as a "Church Service." The Star Tribune reports the applicant for both events is the leader of a group that attracted 500 people to the "Storm the Capitol" rally in Saint Paul last Wednesday, the same day rioters broke into the U-S Capitol. But the paper also reports a Facebook post from the organizing group, Hold the Line MN, warns supporters not to go the Capitol Sunday because "this is an infiltration and set up tactic used to incite violence and blame us."
Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are calling for an independent commission to investigate the attack on the U-S Capitol. The two Republicans write "Congress should not be allowed to investigate itself when it comes to the massive security failure of January 6th." Johnson and Graham say "the commission must be comprised of nationally recognized non-partisan security experts." The U-S House impeached President Trump Wednesday on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" in connection with his supporters storming the Capitol building.
State health officials are confirming the presence of the new variant strain of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. The Department of Health Services say someone in Eau Claire County tested positive for the virus first detected in the U-K in. Doctor Ryan Westergaard says the infected person traveled internationally two weeks prior to testing positive. D-H-S says while the new strain is more easily transmissible, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness or increased risk of death. Secretary-designee Andrea Palm says taking preventative measures like wearing a mask and physically distancing are even more important.
A resolution by Wisconsin Democrats condemning last week’s attack on the U-S Capitol never made it to the state Senate floor. Republican Senate President Chris Kapenga said it wasn’t relevant. Democratic State Senator Jeff Smith was the sponsor of the resolution that acknowledged that Joe Biden won the November 3rd presidential election, condemned the deadly riot and the president’s claims the election was stolen – and offered condolences to the family of U-S Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick who was killed. Smith argued his resolution was relevant due to recent F-B-I warnings that armed protests were being planned at all 50 state Capitols.
U-S Senator Ron Johnson tweets that anyone protesting should do so “PEACEFULLY,” the message in all-caps. The Wisconsin Republican says he hopes anyone engaging in violence while exercising their First Amendment rights will be “arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Before protesters stormed the U-S Capitol last week the Associated Press reported Johnson had planned to object to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. He didn’t follow through on that, but he has released a statement saying he would have objected based on claims of voter fraud.
A report released Tuesday shows Wisconsin’s state and local tax burden has fallen below the national average. The Wisconsin Policy Forum report finds taxes as a share of income last year reached the lowest level in at least 50 years. People living in Wisconsin paid a little over 10-percent of their income for state and local taxes. The percentage hasn’t been that low since 1970. Overall, taxes increased by two-point-three-percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30th, but total personal income rose by three-point-four-percent at the same time.
Florida-based veterans non-profit is being forced to pay the State of Minnesota 95-thousand dollars in a settlement. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office says Healing Heroes Network solicited tens of thousands of dollars from Minnesotans from 2015 to 2017. The A-G's office says only a small amount of that money actually went to veterans. In addition to the fine, the charity is prohibited from asking for donations in Minnesota for the next five years.
How would you like to order an Old Fashioned to-go the next time you’re at a bar, restaurant, or supper club? Two Republican lawmakers are moving forward with a bill that would allow the sale of cocktails to-go. State Representative David Steffen and state Senator Mary Felzkowski say local bars and restaurants are suffered in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and all the restrictions placed on them. The two lawmakers say allowing for bar sales on drinks to-go would help bring some sales in. The Wisconsin Tavern League is on board with the plan, but the Wisconsin Grocers Association isn’t – because the legislation would allow for the delivery of six-packs or 12-packs.
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