The WRDN listening area is under a moderate threat for severe weather today. A strong front will pass through the upper midwest today and will bring a round of severe storms. The Weather Services says there is the possibility of widespread significant wind damage along with large hail. The greatest threat for severe weather will be this evening between 5-9pm.
The Durand-Arkansaw School Board has approved a plan for re-opening this fall. All buildings will be open for students to attend in person. Remote learning will be available for students in grades 4-12. District Administration believes that in order for students in grades Pre-K-3 to learn best they need to be in the building learning from the teacher and interacting with their peers. Parent(s) who prefer to have their children in a remote learning environment, will be required to meet certain criteria for their child to participate in the remote learning environment. Masks will be optional this year, and students and staff will socially distance when possible, hand sanitizers will be located in buildings and electrostatic sprayers will be used daily to disinfect each classroom.
The city of Mondovi has approved a new funding package from USDA for the wastewater treatment plant. USDA increased the loan amount to $16.4 million dollars and the grant to $10.6 million dollars. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the new funding package is good news for the city. The council is expected to formally award the project to a contractor at the next council meeting.
The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and approval of issuing $3.075 million in bonds for the 3rd Ave East project, reports from the mayor, administrator, and department heads, and the council will go into closed session to discuss the sale of city property on Auth Street and to also have an employment review of the city administrator. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30pm at Durand City Hall.
The Wisconsin State Patrol will be conducting speed enforcement in Western Wisconsin this week. The Patrol will have aircraft over Trempealeau County today, Eau Claire County Thursday, and Dunn County on Saturday. They will be focusing on I-94 each day. When pilots detected speeders, aggressive or reckless drivers, they contact troopers on the ground to make a traffic stop.
The La Crosse Sheriff’s Office has identified two suspects in last week’s shooting that left three men dead. Authorities are searching for 41-year-old Khamthanet Rattanasack and 33-year-old Nya Thao. Both men reportedly have lengthy criminal records. Investigators say they have found the car used by the suspects when they killed Peng Lor, Trevor Maloney, and Nemo Yang near the entrance to the Milestone Minerals quarry. The shooting happened last Friday in the town of Hamilton.
More than two dozen Wisconsin cities will share 22 million dollars in community development block grant funding for public infrastructure projects. The grant money will be used for the repair and maintenance of streets, drainage systems, water and sewer systems, and sidewalks. Local governments in low to moderate-income areas will be getting the funding. The federal money is sourced from the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. Here in Western Wisconsin Mondovi is one of the communities to receive a CDBG grant.
This time the special session lasted a reported 30 seconds. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers had called lawmakers back to Capitol Tuesday to add funding for education. After Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and State Representative Tyler August met and quickly ended the special session, Evers said, “kids deserve better.” The Republican lawmakers who were co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee -- State Representative Mark Born and State Senator Howard Marklein – say they stand by their budget decisions. They accused the governor of “political posturing.”
Minnesota health officials have no plans to require face masks following the latest C-D-C guidance on indoor masking. Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says they strongly encourage people to follow C-D-C recommendations, "but at the present time, those are not in the context of mandates." Fourteen Minnesota counties fall under the new C-D-C guidelines that recommend children and even vaccinated people wear masks indoors where COVID cases are surging. Malcolm says they plan to talk about health guidance for Minnesota schools in the coming days.
Republicans failed in their attempt to overturn Governor Evers' veto of a bill that would have ended federal unemployment benefits in Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says it's unfair that businesses have to compete with the federal government. Vos said, "if you pay people over 17 dollars an hour tax-free to stay home and not work there are going to be fewer people working it's not rocket science." Minority leader Gordon Hintz says the numbers that Republicans and business leaders are quoting just don't make sense. Hintz says unemployment numbers continue to do go down and fewer people are filing for unemployment. Wisconsin's jobless rate is three-point-nine percent and well below the national average of five-point-nine percent.
Wisconsin Assembly Republicans will expand their investigation into last November’s election. State Representative Janel Brandtjen says she wants a full forensic audit of the vote count, how counties collected ballots, and how election officials used the internet to handle votes both last fall and last April. Brandtjen says the forensic audit is the next step in her investigation in how the 2020 elections were managed. She says the probe is meant to restore faith in Wisconsin’s electoral process, and not to change the outcome.
A St. Paul woman accused of driving an S-U-V on the Minnesota State Capitol sidewalk and lawn may face criminal charges. The incident happened Monday morning during a news conference by embattled state Representative John Thompson. The suspect drove across the Capitol grounds while waving a Trump 2020 flag from the window. The case is headed to the St. Paul City Attorney's office for possible charges, including reckless driving.
There are more signs that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over in Wisconsin. Public health authorities say the best way to stem the spread of COVID-19 is still to get more people vaccinated and to resume wearing facemasks in public spaces. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made that recommendation during a Tuesday briefing on the status of the virus in his city. And - in another breakthrough case of someone who's fully vaccinated - the Milwaukee Brewers announced they've placed outfielder Christian Yelich COVID-related injury list due to a positive test. Brewer's second baseman Jace Peterson is also on the COVID-IL because of contact tracing protocol.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office will be providing security during the Minnesota State Fair next month. The move comes after the State Fair Police Department was disbanded earlier this year, leaving fair organizers hunting for law enforcement options. The Ramsey County Board approved the move Tuesday morning, but officials made it clear the county's involvement is just a temporary fix.
Madison efforts to control the city’s goose population is getting some pushback. Opponents say the Madison Parks and Recreation Department killed about 70 geese at the Yahara Golf Course and Esther Beach this summer. Alliance for Animals says there should be an updated waterfowl management plan in place reflecting today’s health and science. Members of that group protested outside City Hall Monday. They say the focus should be on non-lethal methods of control like fences, strobe lights, and decoy predators.
A Bonduel police officer is being praised for pulling a driver from a burning truck Monday morning. Police were called to the scene of a crash at an intersection with Highway 117 a little after 11:00 a-m. When Officer Drake Feriancek arrived, a passerby named Todd Yancy was smashing out a window in the burning vehicle. Feriancek managed to pull the driver out just before it became engulfed in flames. Several emergency responders helped pull the driver a safe distance away, then he was taken to a hospital. The driver hasn’t been identified yet and his medical condition isn’t known.
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