One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident in Milton Township on Sunday. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, 50yr old Jeffrey Jandl of Fountain City was traveling on Bechly Road when he struck a bridge abutment. Passenger 21yr old Jacob Jandl of Fountain City was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the accident and that accident remains under investigation.
The Pepin County Sheriff's Department has a new member. Sherrif Joel Wener announced that he and Deputy Lowenhagen met and picked K9 Deputy Vegas. Vegas is a German Shepherd and was born March 16, 2020, in the Czech Republic. Deputy Lowenhagen will begin training with Vegas in the coming weeks and it is expected K9 Deputy Vegas will be on duty in Pepin County by this fall.
The Durand City Council has approved the funding for the 3rd Avenue East-Drier Street-Laneville Road Project. At last night's city council meeting, members approved the bonding issues related to the projects. The City also approved borrowing 700,000 to refinance a 2015 State Trust Fund Loan. If the city can get a decent rate on the $700,000 loan, it would proceed with the refinancing of that State Trust Fund Loan.
The state Assembly has passed a "2nd Amendment sanctuary" bill from Mondovi Republican Treig Pronschinske. Proponents say the bill is needed despite the state constitution's protections of gun ownership. Governor Tony Evers is expected to veto the bill if it gets to him.
Eau Claire police say two local men are charged in an April shooting incident. Lefon Cantrell and Xavier Luce face several charges, including first-degree recklessly endangering safety. Police were responding to a report that shots had been fired from one vehicle in Eau Claire, aimed at a second one. Cantrell appeared at police headquarters last Friday to speak to investigators, but police say in the middle of the discussion he took off running and jumped into the Chippewa River. After three hours of negotiating, he finally came to shore and was taken into custody.
Western Wisconsin officials are projecting that the River Point District redevelopment project could eventually provide a 110-million-dollar tax base. City planners, engineers, and construction crew members have started work on the 60-acre plot of land at the Black, La Crosse, and Mississippi River confluence. Additional housing, business locations, and river access are all part of the big project. Planning meetings began seven years ago over what to do with the property formerly owned by Mobile Oil Company. Construction of business at the location could begin by 2023.
A Minnesota Department of Corrections officer charged with two sex crimes for inappropriate contact with a detainee will spend 120 days in jail and seven years on probation. Dakota County prosecutors say 54-year-old Randy Beehler of Foley was sentenced today (Wednesday) for having sexual contact with a female detainee he was transporting. Beehler must also participate in sex offender treatment and register as a predatory offender.
The Wisconsin Legislature has voted to end the 300-dollar-a-week federal bonus payments for people drawing unemployment benefits. Twenty-five other states have already done the same thing. Most Republicans say the extra federal money makes it harder for local business owners to hire new workers because they’re making more by staying at home. Democratic Governor Tony Evers has already indicated he will veto the measure. The federal payment is scheduled to end on September 6th.
Republican attempts to toughen Wisconsin's elections laws have made it out of the state Senate. The Senate bills would address a number of complaints from Republicans from the November elections, including restrictions on absentee voting and voter IDs, and completely banning the use of private funding to help clerks' offices run elections. It also prohibits clerks from sending out absentee ballot applications unless voters specifically request one, and would strictly limit how and where communities are allowed to use ballot drop boxes. Governor Evers is unlikely to sign the measures.
New drivers in Wisconsin may no longer have to take a behind-the-wheel driving exam under a proposal from Gov. Tony Evers approved by the Joint Finance committee. The committee voted to allow the state Department of Transportation to provide waivers for the test effective next year. The department last year initiated a pilot project in response to the coronavirus pandemic to reduce the number of people needing an in-person driving test. From May 2020 through April 2021, there were 48,100 drivers who obtained their license without taking the traditional drivers test, according to budget papers prepared for the committee.
Minnesota Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says falling hospitalization and infection rates for COVID-19 mean it's time for Governor Tim Walz to give up his emergency powers. The governor indicates he'll do that if the legislature leaves him with the ability to vaccinate Minnesotans and accept 45-million dollars from the federal government to do that. Walz also said if lawmakers could fix the eviction moratorium, "I think the answer would then be yes." Gazelka said in a statement there is simply no reason for Governor Walz to continue his "one-man rule."
A Rochester man is accused of punching a female Walmart employee in the face. Police say 30-year-old Denard Ellis wanted to get a check cashed and became upset because the Walmart service desk was closed. Officers say Ellis punched the 53-year-old woman in the face and she fell into a clothing rack before hitting her head on the floor. Ellis was arrested Tuesday and charged with third- and fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct. The victim received stitches at the hospital.
Fourteen Wisconsin businesses are sharing 300-thousand dollars in grant funding as part of the 2021 Buy Local Buy Wisconsin campaign. Ryan Dunn with DATCP says the funding will go towards improvements at ag and food-based businesses across the state. That money is going towards a wide variety of projects. 45 Mercantile in Antigo, B and E Trees in Viroqua, and Vesperman Farms in Lancaster will be spending it on new marketing campaigns, and the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Association is improving its website and newsletters to potential members.
Parents are urged to get their teens vaccinated for COVID-19 this summer. Deputy Health Services Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk says about one-third of 16-to-17 year-olds and about 22 percent of 12-to-15 year-olds have received the first dose, so the effort has a long way to go.
Republican state Representative Shae Sortwell is getting some heat for a Facebook post-Friday that compared a children’s museum mask policy to the Nazi Party. The Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum in Stevens Point posted its policy online last week. Sortwell responded with the post: “The Gestapo wants to see your papers, please.” That social media post is generating outrage and multiple calls for Sortwell to apologize. The museum post said masks would be optional for people who showed vaccination cards and mandatory for everyone else.
Republicans working on Wisconsin’s next state budget want to expand Interstate 94 west of Milwaukee. The Joint Finance Committee approved plans Tuesday to add more lanes to I-94 as part of the state’s transportation budget. It will cost Wisconsin 82-million dollars just to plan for the project; the work itself is expected to cost more than a billion dollars. Budget-writing lawmakers also cut mass transit funding to Madison and Milwaukee by 41-million dollars. Some of the savings would be spent on local road projects.
Madison’s new electric-powered fire truck has already been used on a few calls since it went into service last month. The vehicle was developed by Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton and its parent company, the Oshkosh Corporation. Madison Fire Department leaders say it will reduce emissions, minimize fuel consumption and make less noise. This is a way, Fire Chief Steven Daniels says, for the city to continue its “green” focus without sacrificing fire-fighting capacity. Madison has a goal of being 100-percent renewable and sustainable by 2030.
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