Strong to severe storms moved through the area early Tuesday morning. Trees were reported down in parts of Pierce and Pepin Counties, near Elk Mound, Lake Halle, and Eau Claire. In Eau Claire the storms are believed to be the cause of a house fire on 4th Street where firefighters found smoke and fire in the basement. A firefighter had minor injuries. Quiet weather is expected for today with more storms possible later in the week.
The City of Mondovi has received a grant from FEMA to replace a fire truck. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the money will be used to replace a 40yr old Tender that was in need of replacement. The grant from FEMA was for $319,783 and the city will have to contribute $15,000 toward the new truck. Weiss says that the grant would not have been possible had it not been for the hard work of city staff searching and applying for the grant.
One person is dead and another injured after a lightning strike at a construction site in the town of Menomonie Tuesday morning. According to the Dunn County Sheriffs Department, a construction crew was working on a pole shed under a partial roof. The two employees were on ladders when lightning struck in the area. Both were knocked off their ladders. The crew had stopped working due to weather and when the weather broke they started working again. Shortly after starting work, the lightning struck. A 60-yr old male was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dunn County Medical Examiner's office. A 20yr old male was transported to Mayo Eau Claire with serious injuries. The names of the victims have not been released.
The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include reports from the Mayor, City Administrator, and Department heads. Fire Chief Jamie King will give a presentation on the proposed ladder truck for the fire department. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall. You can watch that meeting on our YouTube Channel at Durand Broadcasting WRDN.
The body found in a truck in Sawyer County has been identified as Arcadia-Glencoe Fire Chief Jeff Halvorsen. The Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department says the Sawyer County Corner John Fromel had positively identified the body. Halvorsen was reported missing last Thursday and his truck was located in a remote wooded area in Hawyard on Sunday. A ruling on the cause of death is pending and may take several weeks. Foul play is not suspected.
A female staff member working at the Prairie du Chien Memorial Library is talking about a loud encounter with a Republican congressional candidate earlier this year. Kerrigan Trautsch says it happened June 17th when Derrick Van Orden complained about a display of books in the library children’s section that dealt with homosexuality. Trautsch says Van Orden threatened and intimidated her over the gay pride display honoring Pride Month. She says Van Orden said the books offended him and he demanded to know who created the display so he could teach them a lesson. She says he took out a library card and checked out every book from the display – except one being read by a library patron.
Wisconsin 3rd District Congressman Ron Kind joined congressmen from Iowa, Illinois, Alabama, and Nebraska to introduce the Keep Physicians Serving Patients Act to improve Medicare reimbursement formulas that hurt rural health care providers. The bill would adjust the geographic practice cost index to accurately reflect the cost of labor and practice expenses in rural areas. The current formula underestimates labor and practice costs in rural areas and results in lower Medicare payments to rural physicians compared to their urban counterparts.
A three-day evidentiary hearing is being held this week in La Crosse County Circuit Court for a man who was found guilty of killing his wife. Todd Kendhammer is appealing the verdict in the hearing that started Monday. A jury determined that Kendhammer tried to cover up the murder of his wife Barbara by saying she died when a pipe fell off a passing truck and crashed through their car’s windshield. The guilty verdict was handed down in 2017. La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge Todd Bjerke is hearing the arguments.
A man employed by the Bloomer School District as a middle school special education paraprofessional is accused of sexually assaulting a student. Investigators say the victim told authorities about engaging in sexual activities with 22-year-old Noah R. Lane last month. The victim admitted the interactions were consensual. Authorities say the person was too young to give legal consent. The superintendent of schools in Bloomer says Lane is currently on unpaid leave while the case is investigated.
U-W System President Tommy Thompson says the universities will not follow rules set by the Republican-controlled legislature on COVID-19 protocols and restrictions. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted along party lines earlier this month to require the U-W System to seek its permission to implement measures including mandatory COVID testing and masks on campus. In a statement Tuesday, Thompson said that the effort to block the U-W System's authority is both wrong on the law and wrong as a matter of public policy. The former Republican governor and U-S Health and Human Services secretary also said, " Had this happened last academic year, the University might never have been able to set up community testing and vaccination sites, or even isolate sick students. It would have been a disaster."
U-S Senator Ron Johnson and five Republican state lawmakers will visit Fort McCoy today to hear about plans for housing Afghan refugees. Two military veterans who served in Afghanistan will accompany the politicians. A briefing by the 88th Readiness Division is expected. Fort McCoy officials say Afghans with special immigrant visa applicants, their families, and other people at risk began arriving at Volk Field Sunday. So far, it’s not clear how many refugees the military installation will host – or how long they will stay.
The health status of a state legislator remains unclear. State Senator Andre Jacque’s office declined again Tuesday to provide the Associated Press with an update on his condition. Last week, the DePere Republican was hospitalized with COVID-induced pneumonia. State Representative Shae Sortwell said Friday that Jacque was in "serious need of…prayers."
Best Buy's stock is on the rise after beating expectations in its latest quarterly earnings. The Minnesota-based company's revenue was just over 11-point-eight billion dollars. Analysts were looking for 11-and-a-half billion. Earnings per share also exceeded expectations by more than one dollar as sales in its fiscal second-quarter jumped nearly 20-percent. C-E-O Corie Barry said the company is better positioned for the future than it thought two years ago.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says a 39-year-old man from Black River Falls committed suicide during a traffic stop Saturday night. A deputy pulled Robert R. Goodbear over for speeding, driving without headlights, and failing to stop at a stop sign in the town of Brockway at about 10:00 p-m. The deputy says they were waiting for a second deputy to conduct a roadside sobriety test when Goodbear got out of his vehicle holding a gun. He shot himself while walking toward the deputy, then died Sunday in a hospital.
A second federal lawsuit has been filed over redistricting in Wisconsin. Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Voces de la Frontera, the Wisconsin League of Women Voters, and several voters argue another redistricting impasse is likely and notes that Republican lawmakers have already retained private legal counsel in anticipation of a redistricting suit. They're seeking an order from 7th Circuit Chief Judge Diane Sykes, a former state Supreme Court justice, to create a three-judge panel to hear the suit. Sykes has already created a three-judge panel in a federal suit filed by Democrats earlier this month.
K-12 students are returning to class across Wisconsin, with some districts requiring masks in school buildings, but others merely recommending them. Chief Medical Officer with the state Department of Health Services. Dr. Ryan Westergaard says the former is preferred. Many of the state's largest school districts, including Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, and Green Bay, will require masks indoors for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors.
The University of Minnesota is requiring COVID vaccines for students following the F-D-A's full approval of the Pfizer shot. U of M President Joan Gabel announced the new mandate Monday afternoon in a letter. It says students systemwide will receive an email to confirm their vaccination status this week. Gabel said, "receiving a vaccine is a testament not only to your own health, but the health and safety of your family, colleagues, and our entire University community." The Board of Regents had approved a mask requirement for students on all five campuses pending F-D-A approval earlier this month.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says mandatory chronic wasting disease testing will resume in some areas during this year’s deer hunting seasons. Staff members will man sampling stations during the opening weekends November 6th and 7th and November 20th and 21st. State officials say any permit area that was in a C-W-D zone last year will remain the same. Several more permit areas have been added.
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