Those attending the Buffalo County Fair this weekend in Mondovi are reminded that if you go downtown, the city will be enforcing the no open container law. The 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction is tonight along with the truck and tractor pull.
Spring Valley and New Richmond continue to clean up after severe storms moved through Western Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Crews and residents continue to clean up downed trees and damaged buildings. The Spring Valley Middle School and High School lost sections of roofing and Crystal Cave reported damage. The National Weather Service has said an EF1 tornado touched down near New Richmond but cannot confirm if a tornado or straight-line winds were responsible for the damage in Spring Valley. St. Croix County has issued a state of emergency following the storms.
The Dunn County Aging and Disability Resource Center is announcing that Home Repair Financing is available from USDA Rural Development. As the last quarter of the funding cycle approaches, USDA has $455,000 in loan funds and $440,000 in grant funds allocated to Wisconsin. The Home Repair and Grant Program can provide up to $7500 in grant assistance to elderly households and $20000 in loan assistance to very low-income households for repairs to your home before winter. For more information on the program, contact your county Aging and Disability Resource Center.
The Mondovi City Water Utility will be flushing out fire hydrants and water mains in the month of August. During the work, residents may experience possible discoloration of their water. The utility recommends running the cold water for a few minutes to clear the discoloration. The flushing should be completed by the end of August.
Starting Monday those coming into Durand on Hwy F will need to use an alternate route. Constructions crews will begin repacing the sanitary sewer at the intersection of Country Land and Hwy F. This means the intersection will be closed to all traffic. Those using Hwy F to come into Durand will have to go to Hwy FF, then to Hwy PP to come into Durand.
La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf says three men were killed last week near West Salem over a 600-dollar debt. Authorities arrested Nya Thao and Khamthanet Rattanasack at two different locations in the shooting deaths of Peng Lor, Nemo Yang, and Trevor Maloney. Thao and Rattanasack were booked on charges including first-degree homicide and will appear in court Friday afternoon. Sheriff Wolf said a witness came forward who said she was there when the men were killed. The woman told investigators Rattanasack ordered the three victims to kneel on the ground and Thao shot them multiple times. One of the people interviewed said Rattanasack believed that Yang or Lor may have stolen some credit cards totaling around 600 dollars.
Proposed state legislation would allow more nurses to see more patients in Wisconsin. A Senate committee listened to hours of testimony Wednesday on a bill to give advanced practice nurses more freedom and more authority. The idea is to allow A-P-R-N’s to work without the direct supervision of a doctor. The bill also proposes letting A-P-R-N’s prescribe medicine. Nurses say it would give people more healthcare options. Doctor’s groups worry it might push physicians aside.
Now that the cleanup is underway following this week's severe storms, be sure to document everything that happened. Wisconsin Emergency Management spokesman Andrew Beckett says pictures and descriptions of the damage to your home or business are vital to local governments. Beckett reminds people to be safe and never clean up downed branches or trees if there's power line damage in the area. Make sure you get the all-clear before getting out there to work.
Minnesota is joining the White House initiative in providing 100 dollars to everyone in the state who gets a COVID shot by mid-August. Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota is ready to join the effort with the delta variant pushing up cases and kids going back to school. The governor said, "getting paid 100 dollars to keep your family safe is a pretty good deal – all you have to do is roll up your sleeves.” Walz says he will authorize up to two-and-a-half-million dollars in COVID relief funds for the program.
A G-O-P legislator wants to prevent the University of Wisconsin System from implementing COVID testing, masking, and vaccine requirements on its campuses. The proposal from Senator Steve Nass of Whitewater would require that health and safety measures implemented by the U-W system be subject to approval from the Joint Committee on Review of Administration Rules that he chairs. President Tommy Thompson said in a statement, "Given my experience as a former United States Health and Human Services Secretary, I know the biggest threat to in-person classes this fall would be actions that strip the U-W System of the tools it has so successfully used to date to address outbreaks and reduce the spread of COVID-19. " Nass says the committee will consider his proposal next week.
Ascension Health is the latest Wisconsin health care provider requiring employees to get the coronavirus vaccine. Ascension employees will be required to show proof of vaccination, even if they work remotely. The new mandate covers frontline healthcare workers, but also includes non-medical staff, and even vendors who do business with Ascension.
Setting a vacant home on fire will result in a Fond du Lac man spending two-and-a-half years in prison. Sixty-year-old Merlin Jolin was sentenced Tuesday. He had been convicted on an arson charge for the fire in Fond du Lac in December 2019. Witnesses told investigators about seeing Jolin leaving the home shortly after the flames appeared. He was taken into custody about a block from the scene of the fire. Jolin admitted setting it, saying he was trying to get warm.
A special working group that will recommend 250-million dollars in COVID bonuses to frontline workers is hearing from Minnesotans who have worked in high-risk settings during the pandemic. Minnesota Nurses Association President Mary Turner told lawmakers she was in an I-C-U for 45 minutes one night, "holding this tube together as the COVID germs are flying all over the room, and I'm wearing the same mask as I have now worn for my eighth shift." House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler says with 250 million dollars available "we have to decide if we're going to spread it out more thinly, or if we're going to narrow the scope, or make some effort to add additional funds. Those are kind of our choices." The goal is to have a special session in mid-September.
With 14 Minnesota counties listed in severe drought conditions, the state is taking steps to help. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed an executive order to waive trucking regulations. That’s aimed at helping livestock producers who need to access hay and other forage during the drought. Conditions statewide have resulted in a reduction of about 10 thousand acres of harvestable hay. Farmers and livestock producers are having to travel greater distances to get the hay and forage they need to feed their animals.
After a little more than two years on the job, the chairman of the Wisconsin State Republican Party is stepping down. Andrew Hitt says he will stay on until a successor is elected. That should happen by early September. Hitt is a member of an Appleton law firm. He says he is leaving to focus on his family and his career in the private sector. Hitt worked hard while he was on the job, collaborating with party activists, insiders, and officeholders, raising money, and serving as the public face of the party for the media.
No comments:
Post a Comment