The amendments to the vacant building ordinance in Durand were passed last week by the Durand City Council. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren Says there were two changes to the original ordinance. That accelerated fee schedule would charge $1000 per year and increase $1000 each year until reaching a maximum of $5000 by year 6.
Representative Ron Kind recently introduced the bipartisan Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act. The legislation will help address veterinarian shortages by lifting overly burdensome taxes on programs that encourage veterinarians to practice in rural communities. The Wisconsin Democrat says access to veterinarians in rural areas is critical. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program is subject to a burdensome 37 percent federal withholding tax, which Kind says limits the number of awards for qualifying veterinarians.
If you have any expired or unwanted medications in your home, you can safely get rid of them on Saturday with Drug Take-Back Day. That's the statewide program to get unused and unwanted medications out of people's homes and safely disposed of. Do not dispose of unwanted drugs in the trash or down the drain as that will allow those chemicals to pollute the groundwater, where traces of medications are already being found. There will be drop-off locations at the Buffalo, Dunn, Pepin, and Pierce County Sheriff's Departments, the Mondovi Police Department, the Village of Pepin Hall, and at Heike Pharmacy in Durand.
The sentence is five-and-a-half years in prison for a Chippewa Falls woman who hired someone to kill the father of her child. Melanie Schrader pleaded guilty to solicitation of first-degree intentional homicide last month. Authorities say Schrader met with an undercover officer and paid a 200-dollar down payment and agreed to give the alleged hitman ten-thousand dollars to kill her daughter's father. She was given credit for 587 days already served.
An Eau Claire County judge has found probable cause to move forward with a human trafficking case. A total of 34 charges have been filed against 57-year-old Mark Scoville Senior from Humbird and 45-year-old Catherine Ottinger from Eau Claire. Investigators say Ottinger tried to sell a child under the age of 13 for sexual activity. The two were arrested earlier this month. Scoville was taken into custody at the tent where the two were living. He’s being held in the Eau Claire County Jail on a 25-thousand-dollar cash bond. Ottinger was released on a smaller bond.
The Mayo Clinic is part of a nationwide campaign encouraging Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Sixty hospitals and health care providers are involved in the effort to reassure the public that vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary to achieve herd immunity and return to normal activities. Mayo Clinic president and C-E-O Gianrico Farrugia said, "the vaccine is our strongest asset to end the pandemic." The campaign will target adults who are hesitant to get vaccinated.
The Evers' administration had announced details, of the state's renegotiated contract with Foxconn. Foxconn could qualify for 80 million dollars in state assistance if it creates 1,454 jobs and invests 672 million dollars in its Mount Pleasant facility by 2026. The original deal, negotiated by the Walker administration, called for Foxconn to get up to three billion from the state in return for creating 13,000 jobs and investing 10 billion. Governor Tony Evers' office also said the new contract will not include specific requirements as to what Foxconn produces. The company's frequently revised that, with critics noting its thus far manufactured nothing.
Wisconsin officials are saying they hope some good can come out of the guilty verdict for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. He was convicted Tuesday of one manslaughter and two murder charges. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes says he hopes the verdict means the community can heal and grow together. Other state officials say the decision can become the first step toward the dismantling of systemic racism. Chief Barnes says, “Justice has prevailed,” – adding, “This moment matters.” The death of George Floyd last May started a nationwide examination of racism and policing in America.
The two-year Wisconsin budget proposed by Governor Tony Evers would reportedly increase property taxes at a slower rate than current law would. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its report Monday. Under the governor’s plan, the owner of a median-valued home would see his property taxes go up 22 dollars the first year and 63 dollars the second year. Under the current law, those taxes would rise by an additional 12 dollars. The effect of the budget was included in a report issued as the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee considers the governor’s proposed spending plan.
Wisconsin is getting more than 175-million dollars from the U-S Department of Health and Human Services to develop a COVID testing program for schools. Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake said "this funding will allow D-H-S to implement a COVID testing program for schools that support the safety and well-being of teachers, staff members and students throughout the state." Timberlake says testing has been and will continue to be a critical part of Wisconsin's COVID response.
A worker at ConAgra Foods in Walworth County says his employer didn’t enforce its own COVID-19 policy. Rigoberto Ruiz is suing, saying he contracted the virus at work and infected his wife – who died. Ruiz says supervisors at the Darien food plant didn’t take corrective action when employees failed to wear masks on the job. Martha Amador De Ruiz died of COVID-19 complications last May. ConAgra says it has taken many preventive measures to keep its workers safe at the plant.
Fewer people in Wisconsin got vaccinated against the coronavirus last week. The Department of Health Services reports a little more than 325-thousand doses were administered last week. That’s more than 93-thousand fewer than the week before. State health officials say demand for vaccines has plateaued. About 40-percent of Wisconsinites 16 and older have had one dose of the vaccine; A little more than 27-percent have had both doses.
A warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has entered a not guilty plea to charges he obstructed an investigation into illegal sturgeon caviar bartering. Thirty-six-year-old Ryan Koenigs made Monday’s court appearance virtually because the charge is a misdemeanor. He returns to court next month. Koenigs has entered another not guilty plea to a more serious theft charge in Winnebago County. He’s accused of taking eggs from storage and giving them to a processor. He’s scheduled to go on trial in that case in mid-June. Koenigs was accused of being one of several D-N-R employees who collected eggs from sturgeon spearers, saying they were for research projects, then having them processed for sale. He is accused of accepting about 20-thousand dollars’ worth of caviar by illegal bartering.
Republican Tyler Kistner plans to challenge 2nd District Congresswoman Angie Craig again in 2022. Kistner lost the November election by two percentage points to D-F-L incumbent Craig. The Marine veteran from Burnsville called the 2020 race one of the closest in the country. Kistner accused Craig and President Biden of increased government spending and proposing massive tax increases on the middle class and American families.
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