Residents along Drier Street, parts of 3rd Ave East, Auth Street Lee Street, and Lanville Road were evacuated for a short time yesterday after construction crews struck a gas main. The incident happened at approximately 8:30am while crews are working to replace the sewer and water mains as part of the 3rd Avenue East Reconstruction project. The main was repaired and residents were allowed to return home by 10am.
A bill authored by Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature would bar state government or private businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Representative Treig Pronschinske of Mondovi said "Requiring people to show a vaccine card to get into businesses or government entities at this point is jumping the gun. This bill prevents that from happening." Governor Tony Evers has already said the state government will not be imposing vaccine requirements - but that private businesses are another matter. The bill had a public hearing in an Assembly committee on Wednesday. Sixteen states have banned vaccine passports. Two - New York and Hawaii - have adopted app-based systems that allow individuals to show their vaccination status.
Methamphetamine is becoming a problem in the city of Durand. Last week Durand Police Chief Stan Ridgeway told council members that the department had arrested 16 people on felony charges in the last three months. During an interview with WRDN yesterday, Ridgeway said that number had increased to 22 over the weekend. Ridgeway says most of the arrested are related to meth. The meth use has led to other crimes including thefts of vehicles, Ridgeway recommends residents make sure their vehicles and homes are locked.
One person was killed in a motorcycle accident in the Town of Hale on Tuesday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, 74yr old Gary Heath of the Town of Hale was traveling northbound on Hwy O when he struck a deer. Heath lost control of the motorcycle and was ejected. Heath was airlifted to a hospital but died from his injuries.
A Dunn County woman convicted of stealing more than $40000 from a veteran and veteran's home was sentenced yesterday. Nola Tyrrell was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation for charges of theft. Tyrrell must also pay restitution and other costs totaling $44560. Police said she admitted to using a victim's debit card at ATM's, retail stores, and the casino at Turtle Lake.
Officials with Taiwan-based Foxconn say they will announce by July 1st if they will be making electric vehicles at the new plant in Mount Pleasant. The tech giant hasn’t formally said what it will be building there. Foxconn originally said it would hire 13-thousand people to make large television screens at the plant. It was to get billions in tax breaks from the state as part of a deal reached in 2017. Now, it’s estimated about 14-hundred-50 jobs will be created. Curious people will get a virtual look at the inside of the big globe structure built on the site starting today
All COVID health orders in Dane County expired Wednesday including the mask mandate and limits on gatherings. Public Health director Janel Heinrich said, "restrictions were necessary steps to keep Dane County safe and healthy, and after a difficult year of sacrifices, we are all seeing the results of those difficult decisions." Seventy-six percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. Public Health recommends that unvaccinated people continue wearing masks indoors. Everyone is still required to mask up in health care facilities in Dane County.
He hasn't officially announced he's running for a second term, but the Tony Evers campaign has made some new hires. Those include a campaign director, finance director, and communications director, all of which point at Evers' intention to run for reelection in 2022. A campaign press release said the new team and "supporters across Wisconsin are ready to continue building support for the governor’s Badger Bounceback plan and keep Wisconsin moving in the right direction." As of yet, no Republicans have announced they're running for governor.
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The line will be moving once again at the J-B-S meatpacking plant in Green Bay. The world’s largest meat-packing company shut down production Tuesday and planned to start up again four hours late Wednesday. The delay came after a weekend hack of the company’s headquarters in Colorado. No one is saying what information was hacked, or how it impacted production in Green Bay.
The C-E-O of Wausau-based North Central Health Care has been placed on leave. The action involving Michael Loy was taken after a closed session held by the North Central Community Services Program Board. That board had authorized a review of practices related to compensation and benefits received by N-C-H-C employees earlier this year. Details of that report are going to be released. Loy has been the organization’s C-E-O since October 2017. Chief Financial Officer Jill Meschke will serve in the interim.
Mask-wearing is no longer required for visitors to the Wisconsin state Capitol. The change went into effect Tuesday and it includes most other state facilities. It comes after a change in recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal health authorities have said people who are fully vaccinated can go without masks and can forget about social distancing in most activities. The new Wisconsin recommendations indicate all unvaccinated people, including state employees and members of the public, should continue to wear face coverings while they are inside state buildings.
Minnesota's hospitality industry is welcoming customers back now that COVID restrictions have been lifted. Hospitality Minnesota's Ben Wogsland says it was a rough year for many businesses as rent, utility and vendor payments piled up. He says "many restaurants and overnight accommodations and hotels have significant debt and it's not a certainty that they're going to make it." Wogsland says more than half of operators say they're in jeopardy of collapse in the next six to 12 months and it will likely take several years for the industry to bounce back--even if they see a lot of traffic this summer.
These are uncertain times for about 37-thousand Minnesota state employees who could be out of work by the end of the month. They have received layoff notices that their jobs could be in jeopardy if the Legislature doesn’t pass a state budget by then. When the legislative session adjourned in the middle of May no agreement had been reached on the details of the 52-billion-dollar budget. If they don’t work things about the stage could be set for a state government shutdown. Legislative leaders say they are still committed to passing a budget before the end of June, but there were government shutdowns for this same reason in 2005 and 2011.
Deputies in Barron County are giving a tongue-in-cheek credit to their “bovine unit” for finally ending a long pursuit. Deputies say they had chased a Chevrolet Cavalier for about 13 miles, from Barron to Cumberland, when the fleeing driver found he couldn’t get through a group of cows. The driver’s name hasn’t been released, but he was taken into custody and spent the night in jail. Authorities say no one was hurt during the pursuit, not even members of what the deputies called a “moooving blockade.” The sheriff’s office didn’t say what started the pursuit in the first place.
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