The Durand City Council is considering changing the fee structure of the vacant building ordinance. During last night's council meeting, an update on the possible changes was briefly discussed. The plan would be to change the fee structure to have it increase $1000 a year up to a maximum of $5000 per year if a building has been vacant for 6yrs or longer. The council also approved a land purchase to for the Drier Street/Lanville Project to help extend the right of way of the street.
The Mondovi City Council is looking at some options to help control the geese population. One idea is to ask the WI Department of Natural Resources if a hunting zone inside the city would be feasible. The council is will also look for volunteers to help with oiling any eggs that are found to prevent the eggs from hatching. Last year the city had members of the public works department oiling eggs.
The vaccination of residents in Pepin County Continues. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says those public-facing essential works or others in the 1a or 1b group that still want to be vaccinated are to call the health department. The state announced that the next group 1c will be eligible for the vaccine starting in about a week or so.
Wisconsin 3rd District Congressman Ron Kind voted to pass the American Rescue Plan. Kind says the plan will provide long-awaited relief to Wisconsinites. Local counties will be receiving money to help fight covid 19. Buffalo County will receive $3.92 million, Dunn County $8.8 million, Pepin County $1.41 million, Pierce County $8.29 million, and Trempealeau County $5.75 million. The package now heads to the President’s desk for his signature.
Four years after she was committed to 25 years in the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Anissa Weier wants out. Weier and Morgan Geyser were each 12 years old when they set out to kill a classmate almost seven years ago. Would-be victim Payton Leutner survived. Weier told a Waukesha County judge Wednesday she deserves to be released because she has reached the limits of her treatment. A hearing on the request is scheduled for June 11th. Her attorney says all of the doctors who filed reports about her progress say Weier qualifies for conditional release.
Minnesota Senate Republicans say passage of the one-point-nine-trillion-dollar relief package is another reason not to raise state taxes. G-O-P Majority Leader Paul Gazelka notes the bill provides around four-point-eight-billion dollars to state and local governments in Minnesota. Gazelka says Minnesota already has a one-point-six-billion-dollar state budget surplus. Governor Walz proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans and most-profitable companies. Gazelka is calling on the governor to drop the proposed increases. The Senate is set to vote today on eliminating state taxes for businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans.
A bill moving forward in the Minnesota House would increase the state's tax on cigarettes by a dollar-50 per pack. It would also end the tax break on premium cigars and e-cigarettes would be taxed as tobacco products. Glencoe Republican Glenn Gruenhagen says he understands the goal of discouraging smoking, particularly by youth, but wonders about unintended consequences. He fears it will lead to underground sales or pushing smokers to other states. Backers of the bill say there's no evidence that will happen.
Attorney General Josh Kaul is asking members of the state budget committee for 925-thousand dollars for upgrades to the crime lab. The new technology would be used to identify synthetic drugs and hire four more analysts. Kaul says the eight toxicologists currently working in the state crime lab are overwhelmed by the volume of drug cases involving highly-toxic fentanyl. The Democrat says the new technology would speed those cases through the court system. Kaul told reporters about the need during a video conference Wednesday from the Capitol.
Bail is set at two-million dollars for a Rochester man accused in a deadly apartment shooting last October. Ty'Jhuan Anderson was arraigned Tuesday on second-degree murder and attempted murder charges, plus a weapons violation. Anderson is accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Mikayal Gordon and wounding a 20-year-old man in an apartment hallway. Court documents say a witness identified Anderson as the shooter and he was seen on video waving a handgun that matched the one found outside the apartment complex. A warrant was issued in November and Anderson was arrested last Friday in the Twin Cities.
Wisconsin’s vaccination effort is picking up speed. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says it administered nearly 270-thousand coronavirus vaccine doses last week. That’s the most since Wisconsin began offering the shots in January. In fact, since the end of January, Wisconsin has been steadily increasing its vaccination rate. Wisconsin has given out more than 200- thousand doses every week since the final week of January.
Proposed legislation would limit how Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Health Services can use emergency powers. The bill from Republicans Joe Sanfelippo and Eric Wimberger would limit emergency orders to just 30 days, and impose a wave of other restrictions. The bill addresses Republican complaints about Governor Evers’ use of his emergency powers during the coronavirus outbreak. The legislation may pass the legislature, but the governor appears unlikely to sign it into law.
Management at Wisconsin-based Kohl’s department stores is telling its investors of a new plan to increase operating margins by seven-percent. Kohl’s is trying to head-off a bid to take over the company’s board of directors. An investor presentation issued Tuesday tries to make the case that the current board is the best to direct the company to a solid future. Sales were down by 20-percent last year, but that drop is being blamed on the coronavirus pandemic. The investors' group trying to take over complains Kohl’s isn’t doing as well as it could.
Some of the more than 70 animals relocated from Texas to Wisconsin have already found new homes. The Wisconsin Humane Society says 21 cats and 16 dogs arrived last week after the recent severe winter weather event that devastated much of the Lone Star State. Another 35 cats are expected to arrive this week. The animals sent to Wisconsin were chosen because they don’t have owners who are looking for them. Most had been in a shelter before the winter storm. Transporting the animals to Wisconsin allowed the Texas shelters to work with pets displaced by the storm and complete repairs to their facilities. The cats and dogs are currently at the Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Ozaukee campuses of the Wisconsin Humane Society.
The people doing the cleanup say a big group of partiers left a mess on the ice covering Lake Wausau last month. Ice fisherman Jerry Tlusty told W-S-A-W Television a pile of smoldering ashes left behind stacked up to four free high about three weeks ago. Tlusty says he’s seen trash left behind before, but this was a bigger deal. The Lake Wausau Association stepped in to help because things get really messy when the ice melts. Having fires on the lake isn’t illegal, but it causes problems when people leave wooden pallets filled with nails behind to wash up on somebody’s property later.
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