The City of Durand is selling a vacant lot on Auth Street. Last night the council approved selling the corner lot across from Caddie Woodlawn School through a sealed bid. The minimum bid will be $10,000 and the auction will be 3weeks in length after the auction is published in the Courrier Wedge.
Mayo Clinic Health System says it is closing six clinics in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The locations include Elmwood, WI. All of the sites temporarily closed in March of 2020 due to the COVID. Mayo says that the clinic had limited services and low patient volume before the pandemic. Regional vice president Doctor James Hebl said, "given the fact that we have so many new ways to connect with patients that came about because of the pandemic, we felt as though this was the right decision in terms of long-term sustainability."
The Pepin County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating Joel Kraft. Kraft is believed to be a witness to a serious crime and is not a suspect in this or any other crime. In a social media post, the department says they exhausted all family and technological options for searching and contacting him. If you have any idea about his whereabouts, please send contact the Sheriff's Department via private message on social media or call the non-emergency number at 715-672-5944.
One of three people hurt in a crash involving a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle in Eau Claire County did not survive. Sheriff's officers say 66-year-old Charles Mills, Junior from Virginia died of injuries suffered in Monday's accident. Deputies say State Trooper Ashley Morales was in her squad car on Interstate 94 when she was rear-ended by Mills. The impact caused the patrol vehicle to hit the car Morales had pulled over. Mills' passenger, Janice O'Brien of Virginia, was hospitalized and Morales was treated and released for non-life-threatening injuries. The crash is still under investigation.
Wisconsin's unemployment rate inched up a tenth to three-point-nine percent in April. The Department of Workforce Development reports total non-farm jobs rose by 93-hundred last month and private sector jobs increased by 82-hundred. The state's jobless rate peaked at 14-point-eight percent last April as the COVID pandemic forced business shutdowns and layoffs. The national unemployment rate was six-point-one percent for April.
Republican leadership will have to contend with a new wrinkle in their plans to cut the Governor's budget: they might lose federal COVID-19 funds if they do. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said on Thursday that Wisconsin might not qualify for over 1 point 5 billion dollars in federal funds if Republicans decide to not maintain the budget for schools. Republicans had been planning to cut the state school spending to reflect the incoming federal funding, but this puts those plans in jeopardy. JFC Co-chair Mark Born says that the Governor shouldn't be accepting funding that prevents the Legislature from adjusting the budget. Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback says lawmakers wouldn't have a problem if they simply pass the Governor's budget as written.
Republican lawmakers are explaining their objections to Expanding BadgerCare. In a letter to Governor Tony Evers, they said broadening eligibility for the program would be too expensive. Republicans also argue there’s no coverage gap in Wisconsin because the federal exchanges allow people between 100-percent and 400-percent of the poverty level to get subsidized health coverage. Republicans Tuesday quickly gaveled in and out of a special session on BadgerCare expansion called by Evers.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is hiring investigators to review the November presidential election in Wisconsin. Vos said he recognizes President Joe Biden narrowly won Wisconsin and is not trying to change election results. In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Vos said he is hiring - at taxpayer expense - three former cops and an attorney to oversee them. He said that, as contractors with the Legislature, the investigators will have subpoena power. Vos said he wants to identify laws that should be changed, as opposed to people the investigators believe have broken the law but did not rule out the possibility some matters would be referred to prosecutors.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says the state plans to offer up swag in an attempt to get more people vaccinated for the coronavirus. Walz is planning a trip to a Minnesota state park Thursday to announce incentives that include state park passes, fishing licenses, and tickets to fairs and amusement parks. The first 100,000 people to get vaccinated between Memorial Day and the end of June will be eligible to pick prizes. Walz spokesman Teddy Tschann said the giveaways are meant “to ensure Minnesotans can enjoy the summer while staying safe and healthy.”
State health officials say nearly two-point-four-million Wisconsinites -or 41-point-one percent of residents - are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The latest data show more than two-million-735-thousand people in the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Department of Health Services reports just over five million shots have been administered in Wisconsin. The state has had 609-thousand coronavirus cases and almost seven thousand deaths.
The latest numbers show about 21 percent of Minnesota kids ages 12 to 15 have received at least one shot of the COVID vaccine. The state Department of Health says just under 61-thousand Minnesotans in that age group have gotten the Pfizer shot. Moderna is now seeking F-D-A approval for emergency use of its COVID vaccine for middle school-aged children. The figures will now be included in Minnesota's vaccination dashboard online.
The field of Wisconsin Democrats running for U-S Senate next year continues to grow. State Senator Chris Larson of Milwaukee filed paperwork Tuesday with the Federal Elections Commission for a 2022 Senate campaign. Larson is a former Senate minority leader and member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Millennial Action Project co-founder Steven Olikara said this week that he's forming a Senate exploratory committee. Other Democrats vying for the nomination are Wausau radiologist Gillian Battino, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, former Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. Republican Senator Ron Johnson hasn't confirmed whether he's running for re-election in 2022.
A building at the idled Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids went up in flames Tuesday evening. Fire officials in the city say it started in a fiberglass stack that was part of a hardwood digester, and eventually spread to one of the smokestacks, causing it to collapse. Crews were able to contain the fire to one building, but the extent of the damage is unowned at this time. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion. A few dozen employees have remained on the plant's payroll to perform maintenance and fill some small orders- A cooperative has been working on an offer to purchase the plant from Verso, but the company has remained hot and cold to selling the plant over the last year.
Republican lawmakers want to declare Wisconsin a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.” The bill would stop enforcement of certain federal gun laws in Wisconsin, and publicly push back against any federal gun registry or gun seizures. Democrats say the proposal is likely unconstitutional. Even if it gets enough votes to pass, Governor Evers will almost certainly veto it.
Minnesotans are ready to hit the road this Memorial weekend and put 2020 in the rearview mirror. The Minnesota D-N-R's Rachel Hopper says 93-percent of their campsites and cabin facilities are already booked for this weekend. Hopper says everybody kind of looks forward to Memorial Day weekend and to start the summertime outdoor fun. Last year Minnesota State Parks were closed over the long holiday weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A ten-year-old boy in Eau Claire has a whale of a fish story to tell his friends. Christian Severud was fishing with his grandparents in Phoenix Park Monday night when he reeled in a five- to six-foot sturgeon. His mother, Shannon, said Christian spent about 45 minutes trying to get the monster fish to shore. She says his dad had to come to the park and help and went into the water to grab the sturgeon. They took some pictures and then released it back into the river. Christian says he'd been trying to catch a sturgeon since his family moved to Eau Claire a couple years ago.
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