Authorities in western Wisconsin are working to identify a body pulled from the Mississippi River. The Buffalo County Sheriff's Office says the body of a white man was discovered around 10:45 Friday morning near Aghaming Park - right across the main channel from Winona, Minnesota. Deputies are asking the public for information about the man believed to be in his 60s.
Another phone scam to report, this time via text messaging. On Saturday, WRDN received a text message claiming there were changes to the Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Program and that if our "profile information" was not verified in 48hours our unemployment insurance would be ended. A link to "verify our information" was included in the message. This is nothing more than a scam and if you receive it, delete the message from your phone.
The Wabasha County Board is meeting tomorrow. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on a land transfer consideration between the Lakewood Cemetery and the Minnesota DNR, approval of a speed study request on County Hwy 2, and approval of the sale of Forfeited Land. Tomorrow's meeting begins at 9am at the Wabasha County Courthouse.
A Menomonie man, arrested in Chippewa County for OWI will spend one year in prison. 58yr old Eugene Volz pleaded guilty in Chippewa County Cort last week to OWI 6th offense. In June of 2020, an officer pulled Vilz over and he admitted to taking meth before getting behind the wheel. Along with the one-year jail sentence, Vilz will be under two years of extended supervision, must pay $2327 in court costs, and complete 300 hours of community service.
The Dunn County Highway Department will work on an asphalt overlay of 610th Street from Hwy 29 to 490th Avenue today from 6am till 6pm in the Town of Red Cedar. because of the project, 610th street will be closed and motorists will need to use alternate routes. That project should be completed by 6pm tonight.
A Pierce County citizen has been recognized by the Pierce County Sherrif's Department for actions that may have saved a deputies life. The department gave a citizen Commendation to Debbie Baire for her actions in December. A deputy was on a traffic stop where the subject exited the car and started fighting with the officer trying to disarm him. Baire witnessed this and called for help. Another deputy then arrived on the scene and the suspect was placed into custody.
A property tax cut that's part of the state budget put together by Republican legislators would save the owner of a median-priced Wisconsin home about a hundred dollars. That's according to a new report from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. L-F-B estimates the tax bill on a home just over 197-thousand dollars in 2020 would be three-thousand-214 dollars on the upcoming December tax bill, a decrease of 101 dollars from the previous year. In the next year, the tax bill on the same home would increase by one percent or 32 dollars. Those numbers are estimates for the entire state, and tax changes in individual municipalities would vary. The state Assembly and Senate will vote on the budget next week.
A state of emergency has been declared for people living in Crawford County. Heavy rainfall Saturday caused flash floods and damage. Several state highways and county roads were shut down to traffic. Emergency management officials say they have spent the weekend clearing the roads. County officials estimate public infrastructure damage will cost almost 300 thousand dollars to repair. Assessments of personal property damage are still being conducted. An estimated 12 inches of rain fell on the northern parts of the county Saturday morning.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed five budget bills into law on Saturday. The bills signed included provisions for transportation, higher education, agriculture, commerce and energy, environmental and arts funding. The signings mean at least part of the government will remain funded beyond the June 30th budget deadline.
State Senator Patrick Testin says he is “pleasantly surprised” by the support for his Star-Spangled Banner Act. It has passed the Wisconsin Assembly and is set for a hearing before the Senate Government Operations, Legal Review, and Consumer Protection Committee. Testin says his bill isn’t about forced patriotism – it’s about reminding everyone of what unites us as a nation. His measure would require the playing of the national anthem before all sporting events held in taxpayer-funded venues, but Testin points out that none of the languages says you have to salute the flag.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has hired two retired police officers to investigate possible “irregularities and-or illegalities” in last November’s presidential election. Vos says he is also going to hire a third investigator and an attorney to oversee the process. It’s supposed to take three months to complete, with investigators paid 32-hundred dollars a month. Former President Donald Trump lost by just 20-thousand votes in Wisconsin. There have been multiple claims of irregularities in the vote count, though lawsuits have gone nowhere.
Cases of COVID-19 variants continue to be identified in Wisconsin As of Thursday, the Department of Health Services' COVID-19 dashboard shows 36 cases of the Delta variant of concern have been identified in total. Forty-seven cases of the Alpha variant, originally identified in the United Kingdom, were reported for a total of more than 33-hundred in the state. DHS also notes the presence of other COVID variants here, designated as Beta, Epsilon, and Gamma. The presence of variants highlights the importance of getting more shots in arms. As of Thursday, just over 56 percent of those 18 and older were fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday, the Wisconsin state senate voted along party lines on a measure to delay implementation of city and county political redistricting until 2023. Democrats like Chris Larson of Milwaukee were opposed. Under the bill, municipalities would have until mid-May of 2022 to adopt new wards, while counties would have until February 2022 to adopt a tentative plan and until July to finalize their supervisory districts following the work of the municipalities.
Warnings from the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Association that there is a shortage of truck drivers could cost us. As consumers emerge from the pandemic and go shopping, somebody has to deliver the goods. Association President Neal Kedzie says a shortage of about 60 thousand truck drivers is expected over the next five years. More demand and fewer drivers could result in higher prices. Kedzie points out that 94 percent of all manufactured goods in the state of Wisconsin are moved by trucks. Diesel Driving School in Sun Prairie closed down last summer during the pandemic. Now, there aren’t enough students wanting to drive the trucks. Companies like Walmart are said to be offering as much as 80 thousand dollars a year to hire drivers with good driving records.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says he plans to end his COVID emergency powers on August 1st. Walz has already lifted most of his emergency orders and said Friday, "We have a handle on this," predicting the state would hit its goal by next Friday of 70 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older being vaccinated. Republicans have repeatedly demanded Walz relinquish his emergency powers. The G-O-P Senate Friday again passed a bill to do it, but the Democrat-controlled House is unlikely to go along with that.
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has approved spending one-point-six million dollars to add 220 acres to the state’s most-visited park. The land is located on the southwestern edge of Devil’s Lake State Park. It could be used for hunting and wildlife watching – or it could be developing into hiking and mountain biking trails. Devil’s Lake welcomed more than two million visitors last year. The park was created 110 years ago and covers about 92-hundred acres near Baraboo.
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