Durand is joining other communities in being shorthanded on the police department. Durand Police Chief Stan Ridgeway says the staffing shortage is serious. Right now, communities around Durand are also hiring, and many of the law enforcement academy graduates are finding jobs immediately upon graduation.
Sign up for level one swimming lessions began yesterday in Durand. The Level One Lessons will be June 14-17 in the evenings at the Tarant Park Pool. The class is limited to 20 students, and Durand Public Works Superintendent Matt Gillis says if there is a need for additional level one classes the city will consider scheduling more. Those interested in registering must send an email to dchall@nelson-tel.net. Registrations will NOT be accepted in person or via Facebook messenger.
The Dunn County Health Department is announcing new updates to the COVID-19 gathering guidelines. The Health Department is recommending mass gathering sizes of not more than 100 individuals indoors and 250 individuals outdoors. “Mass gathering” is any planned or spontaneous, public or private event or convening that will bring together or is likely to bring together 100 or more people in a single room or single confined or enclosed space at the same time.
An angry father in Cudahy now faces several felony charges after threatening a middle school basketball coach. Text messages from Michael Yumang’s cell phone to his son’s basketball coach included pictures of a gun and a threat that he would kill the coach. The problem started December 14th when the volunteer coach told Yumang he would have to leave the gymnasium before practice. That was based on a COVID-19 policy by the rec department. When the coach reported Yumang’s threatening text, a search of the man’s home turned up four loaded magazines and drug paraphernalia, plus a plastic bag containing a suspicious substance.
A group of Republican lawmakers wants to prevent Wisconsin schools from teaching so-called 'critical race theory'. Representative Chuck Wichgers (wickers) says his pending bill would give parents the right to issue open records requests on school curricula and inspect them. Speakers at Thursday's rally say students are being harmed by hearing that racism is still a problem in American society. State law already allows for open records requests on teaching materials and to petition school boards to change locally taught topics.
The School of Education at U-W-Platteville is offering to help pay off the loans taken out by its students. The Loan Repayment Assistance Program applies to the federal student, parent PLUS, and private alternative loans. Incoming freshmen students majoring in elementary and middle education are being told that if they graduate, the school will pay off a portion of their loans until they are making a salary of at least 48-thousand dollars a year. This is reportedly the first offer of its kind at any public institution in the U-S. It’s aimed at helping some rural school districts find teaching candidates.
State park admission fees, fishing licenses and trail pass costs will all be waived this weekend as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources holds its Free Fun Weekend. All state parks will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., though the agency noted that some areas may hit their pre-determined capacity limit due to high demand. The properties will close if this happens until some visitors leave, reducing the capacity to allow more in. Drive-up windows, playgrounds, bathrooms and observation towers will be open for visitors, plus concession facilities will be at 50% capacity.
As of June 1, one-quarter of Wisconsin is experiencing some form of drought. According to the latest drought monitor from USDA, approximately 25% of the state is experiencing at least moderate drought conditions, including at least part of 30 of the state’s 72 counties. Included in that total is 5% of the state, including at least parts of nine counties in southeastern Wisconsin, currently experiencing severe drought conditions. Record warm conditions are expected this weekend and our next chance for rain will be next week.
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Netflix and the producers who created the “Making A Murderer” documentary. Former Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Andrew Colborn says the series about the homicide trials and convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey falsely depicted him as framing Avery, who is serving time for the murder of Teresa Halbach. U-S District Court Judge Brett Ludwing ruled late last month that Colborn adequately pleaded claims for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress under Wisconsin law. The judge did toss out a negligence claim.
Republicans on the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee have blocked another attempt to legalize medical marijuana. Democrats introduced a measure Wednesday to make the use legal and provide funding to regulate the drug. Co-chairman Senator Howard Marklein ruled the motion was out of order since the budget-writing committee had already removed the medical marijuana provision from the two-year state spending plan.
Even though public health orders were allowed to expire this week in Dane County, the relaxed recommendations don’t apply everywhere. Some hospitals and schools still require people to wear masks. Leaders at S-S-M Health say they are still masked and will be “for some time.” Eight county health organizations are on record as supporting universal masking in a health care setting. Local authorities advise that if you’re going to a business, hospital, or church, it’s a good idea to check ahead of time to learn what the rules are for that location.
Minnesota health officials are keeping their fingers crossed as key indicators of the COVID pandemic continue trending in a positive direction. Kris Ehresmann (AIRZ-man) with the Minnesota Department of Health says they're also waiting to see what happens four weeks after Memorial Day weekend and a month after Minneapolis and Saint Paul dropped their mask mandates. Ehresmann said, "our hope is that, with the increasing vaccination coverage that we're seeing, that...that should help to moderate any potential blips." The seven-day average for COVID test positivity is three-point-four percent - below the five-percent "caution" threshold.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is asking the public for its help in finding a 62-year-old predatory offender. Authorities say Donald Dean Christiansen was last seen at a Target store in Rochester. They say Christiansen removed an electronic monitoring device Monday and failed to return to his placement location. A felony escape custody warrant has been issued for his arrest. Anyone who sees Christiansen should call 9-1-1 or the B-C-A at 651-793-7000.
Fight the bite of the Lyme disease-bearing deer tick this summer. If you do get bitten, remove it right away. Rebecca Osborn is a vectorborne disease epidemiologist with the state Department of Health Services. You can protect yourself from tick bites by using repellent on skin and clothing and wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts. About 200 cases of Lyme disease are reported in Wisconsin each year, but that number probably vastly underestimates the true number of cases.
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