One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident in Salem Township Wednesday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, 53yr old Martin Wright of Maiden Rock was traveling westbound on Hwy 10 when he lost control of his vehicle on a curve, crossed the centerline, and entered the ditch. Wright was taken to Mayo Hospital in Red Wing.
Two people were injured in a two-vehicle accident in Oak Grove Township on Wednesday. According to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, 82yr old Dianna Ristow was traveling eastbound on Hwy 10 and attempted to pass another vehicle near the intersection of Hwy 10 and Hwy QQ when she collided with a vehicle driven by 70yr old Dwight Nelson of River Falls that had turned off of Hwy QQ onto Hwy 10 westbound. Nelson did not see Ristow making the passing maneuver and hit Ristow's vehicle on the driver's side. Ristow and Nelson were both taken to Regions Hospital.
A Menomonie man will spend 81 months in federal prison for his conviction on gun and drug offenses. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin says 34-year-old David Hartwig tried to run from undercover officers when they approached him last year. While he was trying to get away he showed a pistol to his pursuers. When they caught him they also found heroin packaged for sale and a small amount of meth. At the time, Hartwig was on community supervision for previous convictions.
A former Eau Claire County treasurer has been told to hire an attorney before his petition for early release from prison can be considered. Larry Lokken appeared by Zoom Thursday from Thompson Correctional Center in Deerfield. Lokken is serving a nine-a-half-year prison sentence for stealing 625 thousand dollars from taxpayers in Eau Claire County. He is scheduled for release in 2025. He told the court his attorney could no longer represent him during Thursday’s virtual hearing in Eau Claire County Circuit Court. Judge Jon Theisen told him he has to have an attorney representing him before another hearing will be scheduled.
A 42-year-old La Crosse man was arrested Wednesday for an attack in March that put a man in the hospital. Cory W. Tharpe was charged in April with substantial battery, disorderly conduct, and felony bail jumping. The victim suffered a broken arm, a cracked skull, bleeding in the brain, and cuts on his face. A 9-1-1 caller told police a man was lying in the street and another man was kicking him. When officers arrived, Tharpe gave them a false name and address.
The release of detailed numbers from the 2020 Census will start the Wisconsin battle over political district boundaries. The state population grew by about four percent meaning it keeps its eight congressional districts. The final local numbers are expected to show losses in rural areas and a growing diverse population in urban areas. New district lines will be drawn for the congressional districts, 99 Assembly seats, and 33 Senate seats. Republicans are in charge of the process, but Democratic Governor Tony Evers will be able to veto their maps if he doesn’t like them. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he’s confident his party will draw a map that Evers will sign.
The effort by a Republican chairwoman of an Assembly committee to force local election clerks to turn over ballots is running into some obstacles. State Representative Janel Brandtjen is investigating the 2020 election results in Wisconsin. She issued subpoenas last week to clerks in Brown and Milwaukee counties, citing two state laws supporting her action. For a second time, attorneys for the Wisconsin Legislative Council have said only Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Chief Clerk Ted Blazel can authorize those subpoenas. Vos isn’t a supporter of Brandtjen’s investigation.
Election officials in Clark County are defending themselves against claims by the "My Pillow" man that their voting machines were hacked last fall. The county clerk says voting machines are not connected to the internet, and therefore, can’t be hacked. Entrepreneur and Trump supporter Mike Lindell has claimed the machines could be hacked after the fact. Republicans in Clark County say they want a full accounting of their votes, just to make sure. Local Democrats say there isn’t any evidence of election tampering.
The Pepin County Sheriffs Department, Land Conservation, and Durand Fire are working together to purchase some drones. The drones would be used by the Sheriff and Fire Departments in search and rescue, tracking criminals trying to flee, and will be equipped with a thermal imaging camera. Land Conservation would use drones for mapping the county. Its hoped the drones will be in service after the first of the year.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow rapidly, meaning a decision on a vaccinate mandate for Wisconsin state workers could come as soon as next week. Governor Tony Evers announced Thursday his administration is still considering the imposition of a mandate. Evers say all options are being considered. During the news conference, he and officials with the Department of Health Services emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated and wearing masks while indoors. The seven-day rolling average for new cases as of Thursday was 11 times higher than at this point in July.
UW-Health is taking part in a study on how to safely administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to children. Dr. William Hartman says the important question is safety and effectiveness. The trial will be split up into three groups depending on the age of the children involved, from 12 years old down to six months. Hartman says the project is vital seeing as newer variants of COVID-19 seem to be more contagious in children.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reporting 294 agencies across wrote 17-thousand-205 speeding citations during the month of July extra patrols and awareness efforts. That's up more than one thousand from last year's campaign at the same time. During the campaign, 55 agencies reported issuing citations for speeds of 100-miles-an-hour more compared with 40 agencies during last year’s campaign.
The latest Marquette University Law School poll finds a majority of Wisconsin residents think government – state and national – is broken. The poll released Wednesday discovers lower approval ratings for Republican U-S Senator Ron Johnson and steady ratings for Democratic Governor Tony Evers. Those responding to the poll give President Biden a 49-percent approval rating, Evers gets 50 percent, Johnson 35 percent, and Democratic U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin 40 percent. Poll takers say people who responded showed a growing feeling that Wisconsin is on the wrong track.
U-S Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has visited a farm in Cannon Falls to see the effects of drought on Minnesota. Vilsack was joined Thursday by U-S Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, plus Congresswoman Angie Craig. A Callister Farms south of the Twin Cities visitors say dust is plentiful and rain is well short of normal. Farmer Chip Callister says he thinks, as bad as it is, you can find areas that are a lot worse. He says his hay supply this year is one-seventh what it has been on this date in the past. Vilsack says the federal government is ready to help.
The fiscal outlook for state government is getting better. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau says Wisconsin is on pace to end the current budget cycle with a record one-point-seven billion-dollar surplus. That’s the largest surplus in Wisconsin history. The fiscal bureau says the budget will also end with one-point-five billion dollars in the state’s “rainy day” fund.
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