A Wabasha County judge says a southeast Minnesota man is competent to stand trial for killing his father near Zumbro Falls. Forty-five-year-old James E. Riley is charged with the second-degree murder of 73-year-old Edward Riley on March 5th. Investigators say Riley admitted to hitting his dad with a hammer and stabbing him before using a tractor to put his body in the trunk of a car. His next court hearing is July 7th.
Durand Fun Fest is this weekend and according to Durand Public Works Superintendent Matt Gillis, starting Tuesday, roads around Memorial Park will be closed for the event. Fun Fest will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Xcel Energy has approval from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to build the largest solar facility in the western part of the state. Xcel says the project will generate almost 30-thousand dollars a year in shared revenue payments for the Town of Gilman and Pierce County. The solar array will produce 74 megawatts of electricity. The Minnesota-based company says the solar facility will provide clean, zero-fuel cost energy while helping it meet its carbon reduction goals cost-effectively.
People working in the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s office say their boss has been making inappropriate comments. An outside investigator interviewed D-A Gary King in March and determined there was substance to the complaints. King is accused of making one female employee the target in the majority of the comments. The problem started in July 2019 and escalated until a complaint to H-R was filed last year. Only one district attorney has had a governor try to remove him from office in the last 25 years. Calumet County D-A Jim Kratz resigned before Governor Jim Doyle could do that in 2010.
A Chippewa Falls man has been arrested by the Wisconsin State Patrol for OWI 5th offense. According to the Patrol, troopers stopped 65yr old Steven Quien after a report he was weaving from one side of the interstate to the other and even stopped on the interstate at one point. Quien showed signs of impairment and failed a field sobriety test. After being arrested he was taken to the hospital for an evidentiary blood test.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is warning drivers to watch out for buckling pavement during a record-setting heatwave. Several roads buckled in the Eau Claire area last weekend when temperatures moved into the mid-to-upper-90s. An on-ramp to Interstate 90 in Columbia County was closed for repairs Saturday and more pavement was buckled that same day on Interstate 41 near Neenah. The Department of Transportation says pavement buckles when road temperatures warm quickly after being cool for months. The problem normally doesn’t happen in Wisconsin until the summer months.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Sunday incident in Sparta that left one person dead and two others suffering serious injuries. A 9-1-1 call brought deputies to the home shortly before noon. Two of the victims were taken to a hospital and the third was dead by the time deputies arrived. They had all been injured with what authorities are calling “an edged weapon.” The suspect was outside the home with a rifle and he had shot himself. Deputies say he was taken into custody. No names have been released. The sheriff’s office says the homicide case is under investigation.
A La Crosse man released on a signature bond admits he’s “mentally weird” for spying on his female neighbor. Thirty-year-old Robert Kautzman was arrested after he drilled holes in the wall of his apartment to spy on the woman living next door. The victim told investigators Kautzman broke in last month and stole her underwear. She says she confronted him while he was walking up her stairs and he left. He’s been charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor peeping and invasion of privacy.
Local and county parks departments could be getting a million extra dollars for maintaining ATV trails in the next state budget. Lincoln County forestry administrator Dean Bowe says usage is up over the last decade or so. Bowe says that bigger ATVs have hit the market over the past decade, meaning more people are using larger machines, which puts more strain on aging trails.
U-S Senator Ron Johnson says he doesn’t feel any pressure to make a quick decision about running for re-election. The Wisconsin Republican says he’s still undecided about going for a third term next year. During a virtual appearance from Washington at the Milwaukee Press Club Thursday he said he understands that President Donald Trump and others want him to run. He says his primary goal is to keep the seat he’s held in Republican control. Several Democrats have already launched campaigns and some Republicans are waiting to see what Johnson decides.
Edmund Manydeeds will serve as president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents for the next school year. Manydeeds is the first Native American elected UW Board of Regents president. The Eau Claire attorney was first appointed to the Board of Regents in 2010. Manydeeds said after being elected, "I think that I'm ready and prepared to deal with diversity of thought regarding political issues, regarding life issues, regarding issues that this board may face." Manydeeds was elected on a 10-8 vote over fellow Regent Michael Grebe. He will oversee the search for a new UW-System president. Regent Karen Walsh was elected vice president.
The Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines Wednesday, to address a bottleneck in meat processing with new positions in the state Ag Department. The JFC also voted along party lines to assist people with disabilities find employment. Republican members also continued to call on Governor Tony Evers to end enhanced federal unemployment benefits that add 300 dollars a week to the maximum state payment of 370 dollars.
After nearly 50 years, a Minnesota man is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl from suburban Chicago. Seventy-six-year-old Barry Whelpley of Mounds View is in custody and awaiting extradition to Illinois. Fifteen-year-old Julie Ann Hanson was reported missing on July 8th, 1972 after leaving her house to ride her bike. Her body was discovered later that day in a Naperville field. The girl had been stabbed 36 times and sexually assaulted. Whelpley, who was 27 at the time of the murder, used to live within a mile of the Hanson family home. D-N-A analysis recently connected Whelpley to the murder.
A coalition of conservative groups is in support of expunging certain criminal records in Wisconsin. Americans for Prosperity, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the Badger Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform yesterday all say allowing more people to clear their criminal records will give more people a second chance in life. A bill in the state legislature would allow people over the age of 25 in Wisconsin to ask for an expungement for non-violent crimes. Two Republican lawmakers remain opposed. Senators Julian Bradkley and Andre Jacque say people should not be allowed to hide their criminal pasts.
The Army is awarding a 942-million-dollar contract to Oshkosh Defense to update weapon systems on Stryker carrier vehicles. Oshkosh Corporation said in a statement, " this upgrade will provide precision lethality capability to the Army’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team." The company will "integrate a 30MM Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS) onto the Stryker Double V Hull Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICVVA1)." The contract was awarded by the U-S Army Contracting Command - Detroit Arsenal.
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