A Western Wisconsin wildfire is now under control after burning 40 acres of land in Burnett County, just southwest of Yellow Lake. Known as the Perida fire, the Wisconsin D-N-R says three structures were also destroyed by the blaze. Minnesota firefighters also participated in the battle against the fire. Both Minnesota and Wisconsin remain under very high fire danger risks. The cause of the Perida fire is still unknown. Other smaller grass fires were reported in Pierce County, Eau Claire County, and also near Modena in Buffalo County.
Congressman Ron Kind says funding from the American Recovery Act will go a long way towards bridging the digital divide with rural Wisconsin. Kind says that without access to high-speed internet, Wisconsin's small communities are withering away. Kind says that high-speed internet is not a luxury, but a necessity in today's connected world, in order to take part in basic business growth, education, and health.
Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident in Burnside Township on Sunday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriffs Department, a vehicle was traveling southbound on Hwy 93 when it crossed the centerline and struck an oncoming vehicle head-on. The two people in the southbound vehicle and the driver of the northbound vehicle were all taken to the hospital. The names of those injured have not been released.
Authorities in northwest Wisconsin are investigating an early morning shooting that left one person dead. The Sawyer County Sheriff's Office says deputies found a 42-year-old woman dead in a home in the Stone Lake area around 12:30 a-m (Friday). Washburn County deputies and the Wisconsin Crime Laboratory and D-O-J are assisting with the case. The victim hasn't been identified and no other information is being released at this time. Investigators believe it is an isolated incident and there's no risk to the community.
No one was injured in a structure fire near Fall Creek on Friday. According to the Fall Creek Fire Department firefighters responded to a garage shed fire on Oak Noll Road Friday evening. The garage and shed were both destroyed while the home suffered heavy smoke and water damage. The family is being assisted by the American Red Crosse and the cause of that fire remains under investigation.
The Wabasha County Board is meeting tomorrow morning. Items on the agenda include a proposed management plan for control of the gypsy moth, approval after the fact fees for land use permits, the 2020 yearly report from the sheriff's department, and quarterly report from extension and 4-H. Tomorrow's meeting begins at 9am at the board room at the Wabasha County Courthouse.
A Springfield man being held in the Jackson County Jail is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Authorities say Gary Hughes fired shots at deputies when they contacted him at his home about a felony probation warrant. He told them he wasn’t going back to jail, fired at least one shot, and engaged deputies in a 15-hour standoff. He managed to sneak out of the home and get away, but was located again March 6th and was taken into custody. The 74-year-old fugitive had been on the run for nearly three days. Hughes faces more than a half-dozen charges.
Wednesday’s ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is going to cost the state almost 50-million dollars in monthly emergency food assistance. The court ruled Governor Tony Evers overstepped his authority by issuing multiple emergency orders. Now, the U-S-D-A says states without a health declaration no longer qualify for federal funding. That requirement was added when Congress approved the Families First Coronavirus Response Act last year. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates more than 242-thousand Wisconsin homes received an average of 234-dollars-a-month in emergency food benefits. Those families will now go back to 16-dollars-a-month.
The almost non-existent flu season is almost over in Wisconsin. The state Department of Health Services has only confirmed 68 positive cases, 14 hospitalizations, and zero deaths. That compares with more than 36-thousand flu cases, four thousand hospitalizations, and 183 deaths in the 2019-2020 season. Health officials believe that wearing masks, social distancing, and hand washing is preventing the spread of both COVID-19 and influenza. Vaccinations also contributed to lower flu numbers this season.
Congressman Mike Gallagher says President Biden’s infrastructure plan looks more like the “Green New Deal.” The Wisconsin Republican says the two-point-three-trillion-dollar plan would increase taxes to pay for “boondoggles and Green New Deal initiatives.” Gallagher says it isn’t really a serious proposal to fix our roads and bridges. He says the tax increases it would require would hurt middle-class workers and devastate the American economy. Gallagher’s comments were made on the Hugh Hewitt Show on talk radio. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she would like to vote on the big package by summer. Biden says no one making less than 400-thousand dollars a year would see a tax increase.
A candidate for the U-S Senate in 2022 says his campaign has raised more than a million dollars since mid-February – about six weeks. Democrat Alex Lasry is running for the seat now held by Republican Ron Johnson. His campaign had more than 770-thousand dollars cash on hand at the end of March. Lasry is an executive with the N-B-A’s Milwaukee Bucks and the son of a billionaire hedge fund manager. Johnson has said he might not make a decision about running for re-election until sometime next year. The only other declared Democratic candidate for the U-S Senate seat is Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. He hasn’t announced how much money his campaign has raised yet.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is reminding almost 114-thousand drivers that their licenses are invalid. The extension provided by the state to drivers whose licenses were going to expire during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t in effect anymore. It expired Thursday. The Driver and Vehicle Services Division says those people should renew their licenses right away. If your license expired less than a year ago and it was in good standing at the time, you won’t have to take the test. Drivers' licenses can be renewed online.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is demanding that the Corrections Department relax its COVID-19 protocols. The conservative law firm says the department’s no-visitors policy during the coronavirus pandemic violates the inmates’ right to exercise their religion. The institute says visits from ministers are protected under Wisconsin law and the U-S Constitution. The law firm says the Corrections Department will face a lawsuit if it doesn’t restore prisoners’ rights.
Stevens Point police say it’s not unusual for the spring snowmelt to reveal discarded items like trash, cell phones, or knives. It becomes a little more serious when two handguns show up. Police say the discoveries inside the city limits have been made over the last two weeks – one gun found in a city park and another on a lawn at the university. A message has been posted on the department’s Facebook page saying people should never touch knives, needles, or guns. Wallets, keys, and cell phones can be turned in at the police department, but – if you’re not sure if you should touch an item that shows up when the snow melts, it’s best to just call police.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue is busy reviewing and processing income tax returns. Commissioner Robert Doty so far they have received one-and-a-half-million returns - compared to one-point-seven million at the same time last year. Revenue officials have processed nearly 900-thousand refunds - which about three million fewer than 2020. Doty says despite the income tax filing deadline being extended to May 17th, the department is encouraging filers to file sooner rather than later. The grace period does not include individual estimated tax payments.
Alexandria Technical and Community College is adding competitive fishing this fall sports season. Alexandria will be the first two-year college in Minnesota to offer competitive fishing. President Michael Seymour said in a statement, "with access to more than 300 lakes in Douglas County, many with legendary fishing experiences, competitive fishing is an obvious next step for our athletics program." Alexandria will host its inaugural fall season in competitive bass fishing with the top competitors offered an opportunity to participate in regional and national tournaments in the summer/ fall of 2022. The school is also looking at winter fishing opportunities for students.
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