Severe storms moved through Pierce and Dunn County on Friday. The National Weather Service said winds of up to 75mph were reported in areas of both counties causing buildings to lose roofs, trees down, and power outages. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is asking those that plan on filing an insurance claim to notify Pierce County Emergency Management at 715-273-6751.
A Pepin County Farm Group called Farmers 4 Health is working to improve the soil and water quality in Pepin County. Pepin County Ag Extension Agent Mike Travis says the group is targeting 4 areas to improve the farm, soil, water quality, and quality of life. The group is open to anyone who is interested in improving the soil and water quality. Visit Farmers 4 Health on Facebook or contact Pepin County Extension Service.
The Joint Finance Committee is continuing to work on the next state budget. 93rd Assemblyman Warren Petryk believes the budget will have great funding for schools and roads in Western Wisconsin. Joint Finance has proposed a 2% increase in transportation aids to communities in each year of the two-year budget.
The Buffalo County Agriculture Fair Association is looking for volunteers for this year's Buffalo-Pepin County Fair. Volunteers are needed to clean up around the beverage garden each morning before the fair opens and will be paid $500 for the weekend event. Plus the volunteers will be able to keep the aluminum cans for recycling. The fair also needs volunteers to help track events including the Garden Tractor Pull, Skid Steer Drive, and track prep for the pull. For more information, contact the fair at Lisa Kees at yahoo dot com.
A Wisconsin Congressman wants to create a federal definition of 'natural cheese'. Congressman Ron Kind calls the bill the CURD Act or Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions. Kind wants to ensure that the only things that are labeled as 'cheese' on store shelves are made from cow's milk and not from other products. It's part of a series of continued efforts to differentiate dairy products from nut or vegetable products that typically also get called 'milk', like soy or almonds. Senator Tammy Baldwin has introduced a similar bill in the US Senate.
The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee is going to extend the state’s land stewardship program for four years, but that’s less than what was requested. Democratic Governor Tony Evers had wanted a 10-year extension. Members of the Joint Finance Committee also voted Thursday to provide only half of the funding that Evers wanted for the program. The committee is controlled by Republicans. The Department of Natural Resources uses stewardship funds to buy land for the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is winding down operations at six community-based COVID vaccination clinics as the need for vaccinations declines. D-H-S announced the clinics in Barron, Douglas, La Crosse, Marathon, Racine, and Rock counties, will gradually reduce hours of operation beginning Monday, to one to two days per week. Hours and days will vary by clinic. To schedule an appointment and for hours, go to "vaccinate-dot-wi-dot-gov" or call toll-free at 1-844-684-1064.
Minnesota legislative leaders spent the weekend trying to hash out the last disagreements over major budget bills ahead of the special legislative session set to being today. Headed into the weekend Governor Tim Walz expressed confidence lawmakers would finish by July 1st and avoid a government shutdown. Issues hampering negotiations include COVID-related emergency powers, changes to emissions standards, and police reforms. Late last week compromises were reached on some budget items including health and human services and education.
The Minnesota State Fair is officially "full speed ahead" in 2021--according to state fair general Manager Jerry Hammer. The fair will return August 26th through Labor Day, September 6th. Fair officials do not expect any daily attendance. And proof of vaccination will not be required for guests, staff, or state fair vendors. Pre-fair discount admission tickets, on sale through August 25th for all ages, are 13 dollars. Admission at the gate for adults age 13-64 is 16 dollars; kids 5-12 and seniors 65 and older will be admitted for 14dollars; children four years old and under are able to enter for free.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he “most likely” will veto legislation that would end the 300-dollar-a-week federal unemployment supplement payments. More than two dozen other states have stopped them saying they were contributing to worker shortages. Appearing on the Sunday W-I-S-N television program “UPFRONT” Evers said he is reluctant to “take a very important benefit away from people when there’s no data to support that it’ll fix the problem.” Businesses in tourist areas like Door County and the Dells say they have been forced to operate this summer with smaller staff sizes due to a lack of job applicants.
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More than 8-and-a-half million dollars in attorney’s fees have been billed to taxpayers, by leaders in the state legislature over the last three years. The costs are contained in a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Assembly Democrat Evan Goyke of Milwaukee requested details on the spending, which has included challenges to Governor Tony Evers pandemic response. Republican leaders hired the attorneys without consulting other members. Democrats on the finance committee on Thursday proposed requiring the Legislature to vote on hiring attorneys, but their motion failed.
Managers at two central Wisconsin furniture stores say they have started offering incentives for new hires because traditional recruiting hasn’t turned up the number of workers they need. Furniture and ApplianceMart and Ashley HomeStore say they have about 65 open positions and they are willing to sweeten the deal for people willing to work. The incentives are said to be worth thousands of dollars. The idea is gaining some traction. Those managers say the response so far has been promising.
Nearly 100-thousand people in Wisconsin who haven’t voted in years are getting a reminder about their voter registrations. Instead of removing them from voter rolls, the Wisconsin Elections Commission will send postcards to lapsed voters. The reminders will first go out at the end of the month. They’ll ask voters to either confirm that they’re still living at that address or register at a new address. The postcards are the latest in the protracted battle over trimming Wisconsin’s voter rolls.
A federal judge in Wisconsin has issued a temporary restraining order, halting a Biden administration program. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued on behalf of two Wisconsin farmers and a dozen others. Their lawsuit says the loan forgiveness program that targets African-American and other minority farmers breaks federal law by making race a factor in deciding who gets government money. The Biden Administration announced the program earlier this year as a way to right past wrongs. WILL’s lawsuit says the federal government can’t discriminate, even with good intentions.
The former head of the D N R's sturgeon unit is being fined for his role in a clandestine caviar ring. Ryan Koenigs pleaded no contest to one count of obstruction of a warden in Winnebago County Court. Koenigs was implicated in a scheme where sturgeon eggs that were collected by the DNR from spearfishers for testing purposes were instead being turned into caviar. Koenigs will pay a 50 dollar fine after the judge ruled that the loss of his job with the DNR was punishment enough.
A caller to a hotline operated by Minnesota-based 3M helped stop the sale of more than a million fake N-95 face masks. At one point earlier this year, the counterfeit personal protective equipment had made it to frontline health care workers in Minnesota. The company says it was able to work with the U-S Marshals Service and get the fake respirators seized at an operation in Kentucky. 3M is the country’s largest producer of respirator masks and the N-95 is sometimes called the gold standard for filtering out pathogens. Forty-one million fake masks have been seized globally, so far.
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