After a delay of nearly 4 months, the Durand Police Departments' new Squad Truck has been delivered. The delay was caused by the chip shortage. Durand Police Chief Stan Ridgeway says the pickup truck helps the department haul larger items. The pickup was approximately $2000 cheaper than the traditional SUV Squads the department has purchased in the past.
Blues on the Chippewa will return for 2021. On Friday night of Blues, Main Street will be closed at 3rd Avenue West. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says event organizers plan to have a band downtown. Blues on the Chippewa will be August 6-7.
A Menomonie man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to charges of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 12, child sexual exploitation, and possession of child pornography. Judge Rod Smeltzer sentenced 25yr old Daniel Brooks to 33yrs in prison followed by 15yrs extended supervision. Brooks will also have to register as a lifetime sex offender when he is released from prison. Brooks was charged with 11 felonies last summer.
After a year off, the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days event returns to a farm field in Eau Claire County starting today. More than 500 exhibits are planned for the three-day event. Organizers say it took more than two thousand volunteers to make Farm Tech Days a reality. It’s being held at Huntsinger Farms just outside Eau Claire. Opening ceremonies will begin this morning (Tuesday) at 9:30 a-m. It’s called the largest agricultural show in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's average of new daily COVID-19 cases has increased for 13 consecutive days That's according to Department of Health Services data. The seven-day average of daily cases increased to 156 Monday, up 64 cases from a month ago. Hospitalizations were at 98 as of Monday, including 28 patients in intensive care, that's down 26 patients from a month ago. Public Health authorities continue to stress the importance of getting vaccinated. Among adults ages 18 and older, just over 59 percent are fully vaccinated, and nearly 62 percent have received one dose.
A second person in Wisconsin now faces fraud charges from last November’s presidential election. Four felonies were filed last month against a man who cast two absentee ballots. Twenty-seven cases have been referred by Wisconsin election officials to prosecutors out of the more than three million votes cast. District attorneys have announced they are not pursuing charges in 18 cases. The voter’s name and where he cast the absentee ballots haven’t been announced. Former President Donald Trump has alleged there was widespread fraud in Wisconsin after President Joe Biden won by just 21 thousand votes.
U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin is one of four sponsors of the Volunteer First Responder Act. The Wisconsin Democrat calls it bipartisan legislation that would give potential volunteers a greater incentive to step forward. The bill would provide financial housing assistance through the U-S-D-A single-family housing guaranteed loan program. It’s aimed at helping those volunteers take time off work to complete more than 60 hours of training. Often they find themselves having to leave work to fight a fire or serve as an emergency medical technician. The National Fire Protection Association reports 67 percent of all firefighters nationwide are volunteers.
The University of Minnesota is seeing a surge in freshmen enrollment for the upcoming fall semester after the pandemic forced more classes to go online for more than a year. The U of M reports freshman confirmations are up 14-percent at the Twin Cities campus, with in-state commitment up by ten percent. Administrators say a big reason for the larger freshman class is because many students deferred last year due to the pandemic, choosing to take a year off.
A federal jury has ruled for a Walmart sales associate who had sued the retail giant after losing her job. The case was brought to federal court by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Marlo Spaeth. She has Down syndrome and lawyers alleged that schedule changes complicated attendance problems that led to her being fired. The jury awarded her 125 million dollars, but federal law will limit that to 300 thousand. The jury also awarded Spaeth 150 thousand in compensatory damages when it ruled last Thursday. Walmart hasn’t said whether it will appeal yet.
Democrats in Congress are said to be working on ways to push states to expand voting access as a part of the infrastructure bill being considered. U-S Senator Amy Klobuchar chairs the Senate Rules Committee. The Minnesota Democrat says the priority continues to be passing the For the People Act, but her party could use a process called reconciliation to offer states financial incentives to adopt some voting reforms. Klobuchar and other Democrats say election systems are part of the nation’s infrastructure.
Wisconsin’s attorney general says money from the OxyContin settlement would be used to fight opioid addiction. Democrat Josh Kaul says Wisconsin could receive 65 million dollars from the nationwide settlement. Wisconsin is one of 45 states that sued Purdue Pharma, saying the company downplayed the risks of the drug. Kaul says the money will be sent to Wisconsin communities to help them fight the epidemic, funding treatment, prevention, and recovery efforts. A judge still has to approve the agreement.
Governor Tony Evers plan to use grants to get Wisconsin back to work won’t be activated any time soon. Evers says he doesn’t expect the biggest part of the 130 million dollar workforce initiative to be ready until the fall. He says it is expected to take that long to find partners for the grants. The governor is offering grants and subsidies to companies that are looking to hire people in Wisconsin. Business groups say Evers could get people back to work much sooner by canceling the 300 dollars a week in enhanced federal employment benefits.
Weekend hours of operation for the Dane County Fair were curtailed, following Friday night fights. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to stop several verbal and physical altercations between 7:00 and 10:00 p-m. At about 9:40, reinforcements of police officers from Madison and the Town of Madison were called in to help the seven deputies on the scene. Officials at the Alliant Energy Center decided to close the gates, the midway, and ticket sales at 7:30 p-m for the rest of the fair. All fair activities were wrapped up Sunday.
The family of former Stillwater prison corrections officer Joseph B. Gomm has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state. The suit argues Gomm’s murder could have been avoided if the Minnesota Department of Corrections had responded to warnings about staff shortages and threats made by the inmate who was involved. Gomm was attacked by inmate Edward Muhammad Johnson in the prison workshop in 2018. He was working alone because the prison was short-staffed. His family is suing MINNCOR Industries, operators of the prison workshop.
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