Menomonie police have arrested a man in connection with the death of an infant. Police arrested 28yr old Jonathan Lucas and charged him with first-degree reckless homicide. Police were called to a home for a report of a disorderly male at 4th Avenue North in Menomonie on February 19th. When officers arrived they found the baby boy not breathing and unresponsive. Live saving efforts were not successful. An autopsy indicated the cause of the boy's death was a homicide. Lucas is being held in the Dunn County Jail.
The Merger between Countryside Coop and Landmark Cooperative Services became official yesterday. Jim Tiedke with Countryside Coop says the new company is working on a new name, logo, and website. Tiedke says the company hopes to have all the new branding in place by this summer.
Despite the fact that an increase in the federal minimum wage is out of the COVID-19 relief package, Congressman Ron Kind is still in favor of getting that passed this session. Kind says higher minimum wages are already the norm in the Midwest. Kind says that GOP leadership in Wisconsin has failed to raise that wage, leaving people in jobs that pay below the poverty level. The Senate Parliamentarian pulled the minimum wage increase from the COVID-19 package last week because it fell outside of what's allowable for a budget bill.
Gas prices continue to rise in Western Wisconsin. According to GasBuddy, gas prices rose an average of 6 cents in the past week and are now more than 36 cents higher than last month and 43 cents higher than this time last year. GasBuddy spokesperson Patrick De Hann says that gasoline demand continues to increase and has sored to the highest level since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, on the supply side, oil rig activity in the U.S. is nearly 50% lower than a year ago.
It could be a bad year for tornadoes, according to Eau Claire County Emergency Management. They say they're starting to see several tornado forecasts being predicted and shared across the country. The National Weather Service doesn't yet have a prediction for tornado season. Historically, there have been a moderate to high number of tornadoes reported in Western Wisconsin, compared to the rest of the state.
Members of the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee want the governor to divert more of the federal COVID-19 relief funding to Wisconsin schools offering in-person instruction. The discretionary money from the CARES Act would help cover the costs for things like substitute teachers, personal protective equipment, and transportation. State Representative Mark Born and a group of Republican lawmakers urged Governor Evers to take that approach at a Monday news conference. Republican lawmakers want a return to in-person classes. The budget committee moved more than 65-million dollars in federal aid for schools to the ones offering in-person classes last month.
Minnesota Republicans want to make sure that businesses don't have to pay state taxes on federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. Senate Majority Paul Gazelka said, "If Minnesota does nothing, we will be taxing that, and that creates a real burden on some of these small businesses that had to struggle through the shutdowns." House Tax Committee Chair Paul Marquart of Dilworth agrees but says the legislature also must help employees. He argued, "workers who lost their jobs need to pay taxes on their unemployment insurance benefits, and we need to look at a way to also forgive those taxes on those U-I benefits." Marquart says it will cost nearly a billion dollars to assist employees as well as businesses.
Two people have been arrested in Wood County for allegedly exposing children to illegal drugs. Nekoosa police followed up on a tip a week ago. When they arrived at the home they say 41-year-old Noah L. Campbell jumped out of a second-story window and took off running, but he was captured quickly. Inside the home, officers found 37-year-old Bobbi Jo Setser and two juveniles. Investigators say they found Fentanyl, crack cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and 910-dollars in cash when they searched the home. Campbell was already on parole for selling drugs and several more drug charges will be filed. Setser will be charged with child neglect, as well as drug charges.
Wisconsin educators become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine today (Monday), but they won’t be getting the shots yet. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirmed last week that people 65 and older, teachers, and childcare workers will be prioritized among the new eligible groups. The problem is, the supply of shots won’t meet the demand. Public health officials have said they want to make more progress with people 65 and older before moving on to teachers. State officials say their goal is to have all educators fully vaccinated by the end of April, but some doctors say that depends on the supply – and it could take months.
The number of people who’ve gotten both doses of the coronavirus vaccine in Wisconsin is growing. The Department of Health Services says about a half-million people in Wisconsin have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Another 900-thousand people have gotten one dose. While the numbers are increasing, more people are waiting for the vaccine. Hundreds of thousands of people become eligible for the shot Monday as part of the new Phase 1b.
Minneapolis city leaders say they will partner with six local social influencers to combat misinformation during Derek Chauvin’s trial. Each will be paid two-thousand dollars to use their platforms during the former officer’s trial for killing George Floyd. City leaders say their purpose is to share timely and relevant information geared toward communities of color – and others who don’t rely on traditional media for information. Some activists already say they won’t believe those social influencers either. Jury selection for Chauvin’s trial begins next Monday.
U-S Senator Amy Klobuchar says Congress will have to tackle the 15-dollar minimum wage another time. U-S House members passed a version of President Joe Biden’s one-point-nine-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief package of bills, but the minimum wage hike won’t be considered by the Senate. Klobuchar appeared on the “W-C-C-O Sunday Morning” program. The Minnesota Democrat said her party will address the question in other ways. Klobuchar points out that the federal minimum wage hasn’t been increased in more than a decade. The relief package is expected to pass the Senate.
U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin says her Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act will help ensure the market has enough drivers while helping women at the same time. The Wisconsin Democrat joins other members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation who are behind the legislation that is being reintroduced. Baldwin points out that women make up less than 10-percent of the truck driving workforce. She says she hopes the bill helps remove the barriers that get in their way. It comes at a time that the trucking industry is struggling with a shortage of drivers.
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