The City of Durand's citywide clean-up is underway. Residents are encouraged to pile leaves, and branches 2 inches in diameter or smaller next to the curb, and city crews will be picking them up over the next few weeks. The clean-up continues through May 9th and any resident that has questions is encouraged to call city hall.
The Mondovi City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include a presentation from the Mondovi Business Association on a Summer Circus Event at the fairgrounds in July, along with public comments and the mayor's report. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at the Marten Center.
Durand City Council meetings will be open to the public starting in May. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the council chambers will be set up to allow the public to attend the meetings but if people have concerns to discuss they can still contact the council in advance. The Council meeting will continue to be live-streamed on the WRDN YouTube Channel at Durand Broadcasting WRDN.
The Catholic Diocese of La Crosse says it is working privately on issues with one of its priests. The Reverend James Altman has apparently been telling his parishioners the COVID-19 vaccines are useless and he has been ignoring safety guidelines. A photo of the priest presiding overcrowded Easter services at St. James the Lesser Catholic Church shows many in the congregation not wearing masks and about 170 walking up to receive communion. The La Crosse Tribune says it obtained part of a church bulletin calling the vaccines experimental and “damnable.”
Gas prices in Wisconsin stayed stagnant last week. According to GasBuddy, the average price in Wisconsin was $2.74 a gallon. Here in Western Wisconsin gas prices ranged from 2.60 to 2.79 a gallon. Patrick De Hann from GasBuddy says there may be a trend of small prices as the summer months close in as the nation has finished the transition to EPA-mandated summer blends. DeHann also says while prices are up over $1 compared to last year, they are about the same as they were in 2019.
The first numbers released by the U-S Census Bureau reveal Wisconsin will retain all eight seats in its congressional delegation. Monday’s announcement shows the Badger State has an official population of five million, 893-thousand, 718 residents – ranking 20th in the country. The total population for the U-S has topped 331-million, with states in the south and west growing over the last 10 years and states in the northeast stagnant or losing population. Wisconsin gained almost 207-thousand people since the 2010 census.
Minnesota by an extremely narrow margin is hanging onto all eight seats in the U-S House of Representatives. That's based on new U-S Census population numbers. Acting Director Ron Jarmin said if New York's population count had been only 89 higher, that state would have kept one additional House seat and Minnesota would have lost one. Hamline University analyst David Schultz predicts a court challenge, even though it's very difficult for a state to win a lawsuit against the U-S Census Bureau. Schultz says "losing a seat means losing representation in Congress...and it impacts billions of dollars in terms of federal aid." Minnesota's population grew at a seven-point-four percent rate - just above the national average of seven-point-one percent.
Minnesota and U-S flags are flying at half-staff across the state today (Tuesday) in honor and remembrance of Olmsted County Deputy Mark Anderson. Fifty-two-year-old Anderson was found unresponsive in the Adult Detention Center in Rochester on April 15th. Governor Tim Walz's proclamation says, "Detention Deputy Anderson was a gentle giant of a man who was respected greatly by his colleagues and by detainees." Anderson had served as Olmsted County detention deputy since 2010. Minnesota homes, businesses, and organizations are invited to lower their flags to honor him.
An Elroy woman is suing Kraft Foods because she says the cheese in her Bagel Bites isn't real cheese. Kailyn Huber says that Kraft Heinz is committing fraud by using the Real Cheese logo on packages of cheese Bagel Bites, calling the practice "false, deceptive, and misleading." She wants a court to grant her case class-action so other like-minded cheese lovers can pursue damages against the food conglomerate for allegedly not using top-quality mozzarella cheese.
Saturday is the opening of the general fishing season in Wisconsin, and the Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers to keep things safe for everyone. Fisheries supervisor David Rowe reminds anglers that they need to keep their gear clean to prevent spreading invasive species. You can get your current fishing license and find out this year's changes to the regulation from the DNR's GoWild app, or pick up a copy and a license from your local bait or sports shop.
After a missed season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Experimental Aircraft Association is anticipating big crowds for its AirVenture this summer. E-A-A officials say they had been planning to host 30 percent fewer visitors than they saw in 2019, but that’s going to be low. Now, they think the crowds will be even bigger than two years ago. The AirVenture runs July 26th through August 1st in Oshkosh. It’s not clear how many international visitors will show up, but usually, those numbers are in the thousands. One difference – indoor gatherings like the Monday night concert won’t be offered this time.
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The Federal Communications Commission wants callers to start dialing all 10 numbers – even when making local calls. The federal officials are wanting Wisconsin callers to get used to the change before it becomes official on October 24th. After that date, seven-digit calls may not go through and callers will hear a recording. The change is being made as part of the effort to establish 9-8-8 as a new, nationwide crisis hotline number. It would be used to connect people to suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. Right now, that hotline is slated for launch on July 16th, 2022.
Wisconsin drivers over the age of 60 will have to renew their expired licenses next month. The state’s extension for older drivers during the coronavirus pandemic is coming to an end. The Department of Motor Vehicles extension of the deadline to renew expires May 21st. The D-M-V says many drivers will be able to renew their licenses online, but others will have to appear for an in-person renewal.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services hasn’t said anything about resuming the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Over the weekend, neighboring states like Illinois and Iowa announced they were adding J-and-J shots to their coronavirus vaccine supplies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had paused the use of that vaccine to examine some blood-clotting problems. About 15 patients among the eight million who had the single-dose shot suffered the bad side effects and one person died. The C-D-C cleared the Johnson and Johnson vaccine for use Friday.
Some state and federal lawmakers are hoping to change the legal principle of qualified immunity. The practice largely protects police officers from most civil lawsuits. Representative Jonathan Brostoff (BROSS-toff) is a Milwaukee Democrat behind the proposal. He believes this step would result in a reduction of physical encounters and use of force incidents. The proposal is similar to what New York City did last month, becoming the first city in the U-S to eliminate qualified immunity for police.
The Good Samaritan who rushed to help a shooting victim Sunday afternoon outside a restaurant says he’s not a hero. The drive-by shooting reportedly happened at about 4:00 p-m. Police say the victim was hit in the leg, arm, and hip. A witness says a person living nearby didn’t hesitate, ran up and tied off the victim’s wounds, and called 9-1-1. The man has asked to remain anonymous. He says he hopes someone would do the same for him. He says the shooting outside Magnolia’s Restaurant is another example of the rising crime in the area. He says he’s putting his house up for sale and moving his family away.
A Minnesota Senate committee heard from youth sports leaders Monday about the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on kids and sports. This comes as the group Let Them Play Minnesota updated a lawsuit against the Walz administration alleging they have provided no evidence to back up claims that youth sports have been linked to rising COVID-19 case counts either now or in the fall. Health officials continue to point to youth spots as a source of community spread.
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