The Tarrant Park Pool passed its first test for the 2021 season. Durand Public Works Superintendent Matt Gills reported to the city council that the pool was filled and the circulation system tested and everything was working properly. Gillis said the boiler and the rest of the water system for the bathhouse will be tested in late May. So far the city has hired 3 bath house employees and 2 certified lifeguards. There are 5 other candidates for lifeguard that will need to pass the lifeguard class before being hired. The pool is expected to open in June.
The Mondovi City Council has approved a proposal from the Mondovi Business Association to bring a circus to the fairgrounds this summer. The circus will be held on July 23rd and the Business Association will continue to work with the City and Buffalo County Health Department to follow any covid guidance for a safe event. The cost of the circus is $12 for adults and $7 for children.
A new executive director for the Farm Service Agency. The Wisconsin Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that Liz Hilts was selected as County Executive Director (CED), effective March 14, 2021. Liz Hilts will supervise and administer commodity, price support, disaster, and conservation programs for the Buffalo, Pepin & Pierce County USDA Service Centers. FSA provides a strong safety net of programs to assist producers when market prices decline and disasters strike. The agency also provides conservation programs to assist in conserving natural resources.
The Dunn County Sheriffs Department is asking for the public's help after 15 cats were found shot to death near the Dunnville Bottoms in the town of Spring Brook. According to the Humane Society, someone abandoned the casts on the side of the road next to a pile of food and 15 of the cats were killed. A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information is to contact the Dunn County Sheriffs Department.
A La Crosse man has been found guilty of homicide by intoxicated driving and other charges in connection with the death of Scot Miller the owner of the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax and Dave Howe owner of Menomonie Transportation in 2018. According to authorities, Albert Shores struck the SUV Miller and Howe were traveling in on I94 near Wisconsin Dells, causing the SUV to go into the ditch and roll. Shores was drunk at the time and also had cocaine in his system. He will be sentenced in September.
Rochester police say the girl struck by a school bus Monday afternoon will survive her injuries. Officers say the 14-year-old suffered a broken femur, road rash, and a cut on her foot. She was walking her bike in a crosswalk when she was hit by a Rochester Public Schools bus. The 86-year-old driver is cooperating with the investigation.
Some Wisconsin school districts say almost a full year of virtual learning has left them searching for students who just disappeared. Information from the state reveals there are 27-thousand fewer students enrolled in Wisconsin schools now than there were last year. It’s not just public schools. The Department of Public Instruction says the state’s parochial schools are reporting about 10-thousand fewer students in class. The D-P-I says 96-hundred students are being homeschooled, but there are still thousands unaccounted for. Social workers are handling the difficult job of tracking them down.
More than 36-thousand Wisconsin utility customers are said to be struggling to pay their overdue utility bills. The state is planning to use 21-million dollars in federal funding to help them. The money for the initiative comes from the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and will be distributed by the state. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission voted unanimously last month to let the statewide moratorium on utility disconnections expire on April 15th. Earlier this month, the governor signed a bill to fund the Citizens Utility Board as it helps lower utility costs in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin State Fair is returning to West Allis from August 5th through 15th. Chairman John Yingling said, "In January, the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board approved a goal to have a fair this August and we are pleased to confirm we are well on our way to meeting that goal." The State Fair is still more than three months away and health and safety protocols will be determined closer to the event. There is already increased sanitization throughout the 200-acre fair park. The 2020 Wisconsin State Fair was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
Republicans who control the Legislature's budget committee claim work on the next two-year state budget is being complicated, because Governor Tony Evers hasn't detailed how he'll allocate all of the 3-point-2 billion dollars of federal coronavirus relief the state is getting. Senator Jon Erpenbach is a Democrat on the Joint Finance Committee said "So here's the deal. Obviously, we want to know where the money's going to go. But the federal money doesn't really have anything to do with the state budget. This is one-time federal funding, and it's up to the governor to get it out the door as quickly as he possibly can, which he can do without going through the legislative process." Evers has already announced he'll spend some of the federal money on small business and tourism support, infrastructure and broadband access, and pandemic response measures, but has provided little detail.
We can expect another large drop in the number of Wisconsin residents getting a COVID-19 shot this week. The Department of Health Services reported a little more than 31-thousand vaccine doses were administered this week, as of Tuesday afternoon. Some of that is because it’s early, but some of it is because fewer people want the shot. State health officials say doctors and nurses gave 292-thousand doses last week, that’s down from a peak of almost 420 thousand doses during the first week of the month.
A man from Ohio is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Winona while she was having a medical emergency. The victim told police that she had a seizure Sunday afternoon and when she was coming to a man she knew was sexually assaulting her. The woman said she yelled, pushed him off her, and called the police. Twenty-four-year-old Brantley Longacre from Troy, Ohio was arrested for third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Investigators say Longacre admitted to trying to have sex with the woman but claimed that she was asking for it.
After years of trailing peer universities, U-W Madison faculty are getting paid better over the past several years. Last year, average salaries for full professors ranked 5th out of 12, up from 10th place the previous year among a longstanding peer group. Before that, average salaries for full professors had been in the last place since 2004. The average pay for associate and assistant professors also improved. UW Madison's average salaries for full professors now rank 17th out of 36 public research universities nationwide.
Four Midwest dairy groups are backing a Federal Milk Marketing proposal to help farmers recovery. The Dairy Business Association, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, Minnesota Milk, and the Nebraska State Dairy Association say the “Class Three Plus” proposal is aimed at long-term stability in the industry – and helping cover the losses by dairy farmers due to the coronavirus pandemic. The groups say the up-and-down of dairy product prices also affects customers. The proposal would lock in milk prices and help farmers be able to afford contracts.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is launching a review of sexual abuse allegations against clergy. Survivors of alleged abuse by Catholic priests are praising the state investigation into instances of sex abuse and allegations of cover-ups. Kaul says it is important that survivors reach out to his office. He says the state review is long overdue and it won’t focus only on the Catholic Church. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm is part of the effort. The Milwaukee Archdiocese released a statement pointing out that Kaul is talking about a review of historical cases and not any new reports or cases.
An advisor at Middleton Travel says the availability of COVID-19 vaccines has people thinking about vacation travel again. That change is welcome after a year of canceled flights and refunds for trips not taken. Mary Miller says the Spring of 2021 is like night-and-day when compared to 2020. Miller says one customer was in her office looking at brochures when she stopped and said, “I don’t care where I go.” A Triple-A survey finds 46-percent of Wisconsin residents feel comfortable traveling and 62-percent expect to take a trip this year. A Triple-A spokesman says people are still exhibiting caution, with outdoor destinations leading the list of places people want to go.
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