Today is the day those 65 and older can start receiving the covid-19 vaccine. Angela Jacobson, Director of Emergency Preparedness at Advent Health of Durand says the hospital, the Pepin County Health Department, and Heike Pharmacy have established waitlists for the vaccine. If you qualify for this next phase of the vaccinations, you are encouraged to contact your health care provider or your local county Health Department.
An Eau Claire County man is being accused of stealing and killing a dog. Charges have been filed against Joshua Erickson for allegedly stealing the dog from his neighbor, then killing it later. Authorities aren’t saying why Erickson might have done that and no other information about the case has been released. The suspect initially told investigators he had no idea what happened to the dog, but text messages were found where Erickson admitted he had killed the pet.
The man who crashed into a Red Wing restaurant last fall will spend about a year-and-a-half in jail. Twenty-eight-year-old Donovan Plank pleaded guilty to one count of D-W-I and four other charges were dropped as part of a deal with prosecutors. Police said Plank was driving his S-U-V 60 to 70 miles per hour when he crashed into Liberty's Restaurant on September 2nd, partially collapsing the building. No one was inside at the time.
Authorities in southeastern Minnesota are identifying the body found inside a burned-up vehicle near Kenyon on New Year's Eve. The Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office says the medical examiner identified the remains as 36-year-old Corey Cassidy of Dodge Center. The sheriff said in a news release, "Our investigation indicates that accidental carbon monoxide asphyxiation may have been the result. During this investigation, there has never been any indication of foul play." It is believed the fire started by the vehicle and spread to the nearby home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation
A West Salem woman is charged with seven felonies after allegedly holding a man against his will for two-and-a-half months. Fifty-six-year-old Lori Anne Holton is being held in the La Crosse County Jail on a 25-thousand-dollar cash bond. Prosecutors say she physically assaulted the victim while recording several of the attacks. The man told West Salem police Holton held him captive from June 22nd to September 7th of last year. The victim’s name hasn’t been released. She was arrested last Tuesday and is scheduled to return to court on February 2nd.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office reports an early Saturday morning house fire has left two people dead and four others injured. Firefighters were called to the location in the Village of Blue River at about 3:30 a-m. Investigators say a 33-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy died in the fire. A 15-year-old boy was flown to U-W Health in Madison for treatment and a 14-year-old girl was flown to a Milwaukee hospital. Two others who were in the house at the time of the fire were treated at a local hospital and released.
The Evers administration is getting ready to sue companies responsible for PFAS contamination in Wisconsin. The governor's office announced Friday that it is working with Attorney General Josh Kaul and the Department of Administration to select an outside law firm to help the state pursue potential lawsuits against companies responsible for producing the chemical. Also last week the DNR announced it found elevated levels of the chemical in several lakes and waterways in the Madison area. PFAS have also been detected in wells on Paris Island in the La Crosse area.
Despite the benefits that many workers have found working from home during the pandemic, don't count out the idea of going to the office just yet. UW-Madison business professor Hart Posen says both employees and businesses will have to contend with figuring out why a physical space to get together and work is needed. Posen says that for many businesses, the idea is to have employees be together to innovate and come up with ideas, and for some, there is a need for a physical space due to research and other hands-on work.
The State Senate is set to hold a floor session on Tuesday that could challenge Governor Evers public health emergency and mask order. That session and resolution is backed by Senator Steve Nass, who says the Governor has acted illegally in repeatedly issuing health emergencies as the pandemic continues. Previous attempts to stop the Governor through the courts have had mixed results. Experts say that masking and social distancing remain the most effective methods of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
A 4-3 vote by the state Natural Resources Board means there will not be a February wolf hunt in Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers were pushing for an immediate hunt and the D-N-R heard from supporters and opponents Friday. Proponents say they fear the Biden Administration will put the gray wolf back on the federal Endangered Species List. Officials say Wisconsin has never held a wolf harvest in January or February and there are a lot of unknowns related to the breeding season. A wolf hunt is planned for November.
The Dairy Business Association says it wants a truth-in-labeling law passed. The Green Bay-based organization released its priorities for the 2021 legislative session Tuesday. D-B-A President Amy Penterman says environmental regulations are at the top of that annual list, but there needs to be a balance. Association members want labeling to be clear between milk, ice cream, and cheese that actually comes from plants. Wisconsin dairymen say they want lawmakers to declare that milk is milk and products not from a cow need to be labeled differently.
Senator Ron Johnson is seeking more information about the security planning done before Trump supporters stormed the U-S Capitol on January 6th. The Wisconsin Republican sent a letter to current and former sergeants of arms of the U-S House and Senate asking for details about the plans for the day of the Electoral College certification. Johnson wrote, "the American public has the right to know exactly what happened, what actions were and were not taken, and what planning and discussions occurred prior to the breach." He says he's asking for full and prompt cooperation "so we can learn what went wrong and how to prevent a similar tragedy in the future." Johnson said he was planning to object to the presidential election results until the anarchists breached the Capitol building.
State Senator Van Wanggaard says it’s "unconscionable" to let a 33-year-old convicted murderer be vaccinated for COVID-19 before someone who is at risk from the virus. A Wisconsin Senate panel has heard from lawmakers who want to prioritize people who are at risk – and not in prison or in jail. Senate Republicans are pushing Wisconsin prison toward the back of the line when it comes to who gets the coronavirus vaccine first. The head of the state’s Department of Corrections says inmates have a right to receive medical care, just like everyone else in Wisconsin.
Around 750 Minnesota National Guard members return home this weekend after supporting the presidential inauguration in Washington, DC. The 133rd Airlift Wing is transporting members of the 148th Fighter Wing and soldiers from the 1-94th Cavalry Squadron and the 682nd Engineer Battalion. Around 400 will arrive in St. Paul Saturday and the other 350 come home Sunday. U-S Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a Tweet that the Minnesota troops and airmen were not sent to rest in any parking garage. Klobuchar said what happened was appalling - and can never happen again.
Two men from Saint Paul are pleading guilty to federal arson charges in connection with a fire that destroyed the Third Precinct Minneapolis police station during riots after the death of George Floyd. Prosecutors say 25-year-old Davon De-Andre Turner and another person lit an incendiary device and took it into the building. They say 23-year-old Branden Wolfe admitted he pushed a barrel into a fire that had already been set in the entrance, with the intent of accelerating the blaze. Wolfe and Turner will be sentenced this spring. Two others, Bryce Williams and Dylan Robinson, have also pleaded guilty to federal arson charges.
Wisconsin election officials are starting the preparation of absentee ballots to be used in the February primary and April elections. Those absentee ballots are scheduled to be mailed out starting next week. The coronavirus pandemic has created record-setting demand for ballots by people who don’t want to come to polling locations. Local election officials are getting ready for a higher voter turnout now that those voters are more familiar with the process of voting absentee. The typical voter turnout for the spring election season is about 25-percent. In-person absentee voting begins February 2nd.
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