State Senator Kathleen Bernier has introduced a bill that would help local hospitals expand their mental health care. Senate Bill 86 would provide $15 million in funding and allow Sacred Heart Hospital to renovate to add four beds for adults in need of mental health care and St Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls would create space for 18 beds to serve patients aged 12-17. Currently, local law enforcement has to transport anyone that is being held on emergency detention to travel across the state to Oshkosh as there are less than 30 beds available here in Western Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin State Patrol has arrested an Eau Claire Man after a vehicle chase in Dunn County on Thursday. According to the State Patrol, a trooper pulled over 35yr old Tyler Smith on I-94 for speeding. The trooper noticed signs of impairment and during the traffic stop, the trooper learned Smith had a revoked license and was wanted in Eau Claire County. Smith drove off and led authorities on a chase but was eventually pulled over. He is facing possible charges for OWI 5th offense, fleeing officers, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A 31-year-old Chetek man has been charged with terrorist threats and disorderly conduct when he got mad after not being allowed to visit his wife in the Marshfield Clinic. Prosecutors say Chad K. Boese called the hospital in Eau Claire, saying he didn’t care about COVID-19 protocols and he was going to see his wife who was a patient there. A clinic worker says she hung when Boese continued to curse and he called back saying he was going to kill her. Another threat led the hospital to go on full lockdown and security escorted staff members to their cars. If he’s convicted, Boese would spend almost four years in prison. He reportedly told investigators he didn’t remember making any calls to Marshfield – or making threats to kill anyone.
The General Manager of World Dairy Expo says plans for an in-person event are continuing. The expo brings in 62,000 people from 100 countries for a week each fall to Madison's Alliant Energy Center. Scott Bentley says the next few weeks will be important, including the possibility of moving to another venue if Madison and Dane County COVID-19 restrictions are not relaxed. The 2021 show is scheduled for September 28 through October 2.
A voluntary separation agreement reached with its former police chief has been approved by the Marshfield Common Council. The deal with Rick Gramza avoids the need for a trial in front of the Police and Fire Commission. Gramza receives 72-thousand dollars and his resignation is effective immediately. Part of the agreement is the dropping of three felony counts of misconduct in office, acting with excessive authority, plus misdemeanor sexual assault and disorderly conduct charges. A judge had ruled last month that prosecutors hadn’t reached the burden of proof to go forward with the felony charges.
Authorities in Clear Creek County, Colorado have arrested a suspect in the 1982 cold-case murder of a Racine woman. Twenty-nine-year-old Barbara “Bobbie Jo” Oberholtzer’s body was found in the Rocky Mountains almost four decades ago. Investigators say D-N-A evidence finally led them to take 70-year-old Alan Lee Phillips into custody this week. He is charged with two counts each of first-degree kidnapping, assault, and homicide. He is also accused of killing a second woman, 21-year-old Annette Schnee, in that same part of the state. Oberholtzer and Schnee had been shot to death.
The Milwaukee Brewers will have fans in the stands on Opening Day. According to a new release from the club, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson has approved a plan to begin the regular season with 25 percent of total capacity at American Family Field. Opening Day is set for Thursday, April 1 at 1:10 p.m. against the Minnesota Twins. The last time the team had a home crowd - at what was then Miller Park - was September 22, 2019.
Prosecutors in Missouri say the man accused of killing two Wisconsin brothers convinced someone outside the jail where he is being held to retrieve a trailer for him. Garland Nelson said he had paid 500-dollars for the trailer, but police say he didn’t own it. Nelson is facing capital murder charges for the July 2019 deaths of Nicholas and Justin Diemel of Shawano County. He will face theft charges when he goes on trial next month. That case is legally separate from his murder trial scheduled for March of next year.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a legal challenge by the Brown County Taxpayers Association over the way the county is spending a half-cent sales tax. That tax was implemented three years ago to pay for the new Resch Expo Center, road and infrastructure improvements, the county jail, museum, libraries, and parks. The Association argues the tax is illegal because state statutes only allow counties to impose sales taxes to reduce property taxes – not to pay for new spending. A circuit court ruled in the county’s favor. When the B-C-T-A appealed, the state appeals court passed the issue on to the state Supreme Court.
The Democratic leader in the Wisconsin Senate is apologizing for her sarcastic remark that county voters who reject raising local sales taxes “aren’t smart.” Senator Janet Bewley of Mason made the comment during a taped round table discussion that was broadcast Wednesday during a Wisconsin Counties Association meeting. Some lawmakers were discussing the governor’s proposal to let voters in the counties decide the approval of a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for services. Republican leaders of the Senate and Assembly have flatly rejected the idea. Bewley later called her comment a “failed attempt at sarcasm and a poor choice of words.” She says the question of paying for essential services like ambulances shouldn’t always have to go to referendum.
A Minnesota man is going to federal prison for seven years for a drug conviction. Fifty-two-year-old Chong Chueneng Moua was found guilty of supplying large quantities of meth to a distribution operation in central Wisconsin. He was sentenced Tuesday. Federal prosecutors say Lisa Xiong, the leader of the conspiracy, drove to St. Paul to pick up meth from Moua several times. Xiong has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison. The two were arrested in June 2019. Nine of the 11 people indicted in the case have entered guilty pleas to their roles in the distribution conspiracy.
Governor Tony Evers' proposal to allow local sales tax increases is going nowhere. Republicans in the state legislature say they won’t agree to Governor Evers’ plan to allow cities and counties with more than 30-thousand people to raise their local sales tax. The governor is proposing allowing local governments to increase sales taxes by one-percent. Republican leaders also say they’re going to significantly cut Evers’ proposed two-and-a-half billion-dollar state-building budget.
Crowds for winter state sports tournaments in Minnesota will be capped at 250 people. The Minnesota State High School League says that will likely mean one or two family members of each athlete can attend games. Teams will receive a limited number of tickets, but they will not go on sale to the public. The M-S-H-S-L says around 45 schools will hold state tournament quarterfinals in basketball and wrestling. Those rounds used to be held at Target Center, the Xcel Energy Center and the U of M.
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