The Durand Swim Club gave an update on their fundraising for the Tarrant Park Pool to the city council during last night's meeting. The club has been working through the pandemic with different fundraising ideas and has raised just under $60,000. The City has committed $500,000 and the Durand-Arkansaw School District $275,000 to the project. The club is also looking at possible grant programs to help with the pool. It is estimated that the pool project would cost approximately $2.6 million.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association is crediting low mortgage rates for a hot housing market statewide. Sales were up by five-and-a-half percent in February to almost 44-hundred existing homes. Here in Western Wisconsin, Pepin County reported 7 homes sold in February, Buffalo County 9, Pierce County 22 and Dunn County had 31 homes sold in February. High demand and a limited supply of homes for sale moved the needle on the median price for a home in Western Wisconsin to $225,000 a jump of 26 percent. The state’s median home price was 215-thousand dollars – a jump of about 13-percent. Experts are saying the winter market may be benefiting from spillover from last year’s peak months of May through August. February was a record-setting month for Wisconsin sales.
Another area school district will return to in-person learning in April. The Chippewa Falls School District sent a letter out to parents notifying them of the return to in-person learning 5 days a week starting on April 5th. The letter stated that over 87% of the staff will be fully vaccinated within the next two weeks. Parents were reminded that if their child experiences covid symptoms to have them tested and not send them to school.
A Chippewa Falls Man, arrested in November after the Dunn County Sheriffs Department was tracking a shipment of methamphetamine from Menomonie to Boyceville is facing drug charges. Justin Barnard is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. When Barnard was arrested, authorities seized 74 grams of meth, cocaine, and other drug paraphernalia. His next court appearance will be May 14th.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he wants to see Wisconsin workers back in their offices by the Fourth of July to avoid a “pandemic hangover.” Vos and Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu spoke during a virtual event Wednesday. Both had words of praise for Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ administration for its efforts to get everyone vaccinated. Though the leaders of the two political parties have had a rocky relationship, Vos and LeMahieu gave the Evers administration credit for increasing vaccinations in Wisconsin. They also pushed for a return to work routines as they were before the pandemic.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says "free money" is discouraging some Wisconsinites from going back to work. The Republican leader's comments were made in a question-and-answer session with business owners during a webinar hosted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce on Wednesday. Vos said unemployment benefits and stimulus checks are responsible for issues some companies have reported in trying to hire. Vos said (quote) "I know we have a great work ethic but people are people. If you give them free money, they certainly don't have the same incentive to work as if they have to put food on the table through their own labor."
A 32-year-old Onalaska man has entered a not guilty plea to charges he fired a handgun several times in a bar parking lot 10 days ago. Taylor Johnson waived his right to a preliminary hearing during a Tuesday court appearance. He’s accused of firing multiple shots outside the Arterial Bar and Grill in La Crosse. Police officers say they found shell casings there. Johnson was arrested a few blocks away after jumping into a car that sped away from the scene. He faces charges of operating a firearm while intoxicated and first-degree reckless endangerment. He’s free on bond with a court appearance scheduled for next month.
A bill to legalize recreational marijuana continues to move forward in the Minnesota House. It cleared another committee Wednesday after a discussion about agriculture-related issues. Representative Paul Anderson from Starbuck wanted to know how the state would discourage large corporate greenhouse-type operations from getting involved in production. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler says there are multiple approaches to help small operators develop this new business and there will be a limit on licenses for large operators. The measure is expected to pass the House, but Senate Republican leaders oppose recreational cannabis.
A Rochester man is pleading not guilty to causing a crash that left an 18-year-old woman dead last month. Thirty-four-year-old Sterling Haukom is charged with criminal vehicular homicide and driving drunk in the February 23rd death of Erica Cruz. Officers say a pickup driven by Haukom collided with Cruz's car, sending both vehicles into a power pole and a fence around Lincoln Elementary School. Witnesses said the truck appeared to be speeding. Court records show Haukom's blood was more than three times the legal limit after he had 15 drinks in a bar. He requested a jury trial in Olmsted County.
A traffic stop in northwest Wisconsin leads to a large meth seizure. It happened last Sunday in Sawyer County, during an investigation of illegal drug activity. Deputies making a traffic stop arrested 40-year-old Kena Baird of Birchwood after a search of her vehicle located 394 grams, or 14 ounces, of methamphetamine along with other illegal drugs. Street value of the methamphetamine: approximately 39-thousand dollars. Baird faces several drug-related charges and is being held in the Sawyer County Jail on a 50-thousand dollar cash bond.
The entire shoreline of Green Bay and the Lake Michigan coastline from Door County down to Two Rivers will be part of a regional effort to restore thousands of acres of wetlands. The National Audubon Society says steps have to be taken to respond to declining populations of birds. Several studies have found up to 80-percent of native bird populations around the Great Lakes are gone. Audubon Great Lakes Executive Director Michelle Park says human activity has harmed their habitats and water quality. A dozen high-priority coastal regions have been identified for the effort to restore the health of the eco-system.
Assembly Republicans have given approval to a resolution calling for a second investigation of the presidential election. A state committee doing the work would have subpoena power over records and individuals. Elections Committee Vice-Chair Representative Joe Sanfelippo says he hopes that wouldn’t be necessary. An audit of the November election has already been ordered. Although state and federal courts have found no legal basis for claims of fraud in Wisconsin, Republicans have recently raised new concerns about the way the election was administered in Green Bay.
Weston School District officials say a referendum question on the April 6th election ballot could determine the district’s future. Two questions request nearly three-million dollars from taxpayers for renovations to the high school and additional funding for operations for operating over the next four years. If the referendum fails, the school board could decide to dissolve the district serving students in Sauk and Richland counties. School officials say the renovations at the high school probably should have been done 10-to-15 years ago, citing loose tiles containing asbestos and a need for a new heating system.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is giving the green light to a proposed Ho-Chunk Nation casino in Beloit. Evers said Wednesday that he concurs with the U-S Department of Interior's decision that 32 acres of land should be taken into trust by the federal government for the project. The Beloit Gaming and Entertainment Center is expected to create more than 15-hundred jobs in the casino-resort and two-thousand construction jobs. Evers and the Ho-Chunk Nation need to complete an amendment to the gaming compact and the Department of Interior must issue its final determination on whether to take the land into trust.
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