One person was injured in a motorcycle accident in Nelson Township on Wednesday. According to the Buffalo County Sheriffs Department, 49yr old Melinda Peasha of Plymouth, MN was traveling northbound on Hwy 35 when she went over a bridge and lost control causing her to crash. The front end of the motorcycle broke off and was found about 50 yards from the crash scene. Peasha was med flighted to a Rochester hospital with serious injuries.
A Red Wing man is jailed on two-million dollars bond for the alleged killing of his girlfriend in a Hastings motel. The Dakota County Attorney's Office charged 32-year-old Kyle S. Williams with the second-degree murder of 36-year-old Kelly Jo Kocurek. Hastings police found her unresponsive on a motel room floor May 18th with several cords next to her. The criminal complaint says there was blood on her, she had a bruised and swollen face and marks around her neck. She was hospitalized for five days in a coma before dying May 23rd. Williams told officers that Kocurek strangled herself. But the autopsy revealed Kocurek's death was a homicide and she died of asphyxia due to strangulation.
The Pepin County board has approved the new district maps. There will still be 12 districts in the county, each with a population near 610 people. Because the population of the Village of Pepin declined by about 100 people, District 10 had to be extended into the town of Frankfort to make the 610 population mark. All county board members will still have the same districts with the new map.
Pepin County is holding a surplus sale today and tomorrow at the old highway shop. The county will be selling surplus chairs, desks, file cabinets, and other items today from 9-6 and from Saturday from 9-Noon.
The FDA has given approval for the Phizer Covid vaccine booster shots for those 65 and older. So when will they be available in Pepin County? Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the health department is waiting for approval from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Once approved, those 65 and older, essential workers, health care, and long-term care workers will be eligible for the booster. Stewart says, however, the booster will be for those that received the Phizer vaccine. There is no word yet on a booster for those that received the Moderna or Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
The father of an Arizona man accused of killing four Minnesotans is now charged with helping dispose of the victims' bodies. Fifty-six-year-old Darren Osborne McWright faces one felony count of aiding an offender along with charges of hiding a corpse. His son, 38-year-old Antoine Suggs, faces four counts of second-degree murder in Ramsey County. Suggs is accused in the shooting deaths of Matthew Pettus, Jasmine Sturm, Loyace Foreman III, and Nitosha Lee Flug-Presley. Investigators believe the victims were shot in Minnesota. Their bodies were found on September 12th in an abandoned S-U-V in Dunn County.
Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature don’t want the state’s new political maps to be drawn based on the current boundaries. Party members are criticizing a resolution passed by an Assembly committee Thursday calling for the new boundary lines on those maps to be as close to the old ones as possible. The full Assembly will vote on the resolution next week. Democrats say the existing maps were gerrymandered and unconstitutional and the new boundaries should be drawn from scratch. Both parties expect the final version to be determined in the courts.
The latest U-S Drought Monitor map shows the benefits of recent rainfall in Minnesota. The precipitation pushed the last remaining pockets of "exceptional" drought off the map. Improved conditions were seen in the areas around Hutchinson, St. Cloud, Brainerd, and along Interstate 35 north of the Twin Cities. The northern half of Minnesota remains in "severe" drought or higher. The southern half of the state is in "moderate" Drought or below while the southeast and southwest are no longer listed in any of the drought categories. Here in Western Wisconsin, Western Pierce County is listed as Moderate Drought while Western Pepin County is listed as abnormally dry. Dunn, Buffalo, and Trempealeau Counties are not listed in any drought category.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports hundreds of its workers have returned to the office this week. About four thousand of the 61 hundred workers at D-H-S had continued to work at seven locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake says her department knows what it takes to stay safe after living with the virus for a year and a half. Those workers will be required to wear face masks at all state facilities and either show their vaccination status or take regular tests.
Fort McCoy is Wisconsin’s most-vaccinated community. Fort officials say 97-percent of the Afghan refugees who are living there have gotten their coronavirus shots. They’ve also been vaccinated against measles and other diseases. Several news accounts put the refugee head-count at Fort McCoy at 12-thousand, 500.
Verso is reportedly listening to a holding company’s purchase offer that would include the idled Wisconsin Rapids Paper Mill. The company says Atlas Holdings need to make a "Meaningful increase" from their current offer of 20 dollars per share if a purchase is going to come together. Atlas is attempting to purchase all of Verso and its assets, which still includes the Wisconsin Rapids mill- though it's still much too soon to know if a purchase would mean that the paper would start flowing from the facility again. The mill has been idle for nearly 15 months now- crews are working to repair a portion of the facility that was struck by lightning this summer and other bare minimum maintenance.
Ripon College will conduct a nationwide search for a new leader after its president steps down at the end of the fall semester. President Zach Messitte has held the position for more than nine years. The school issued a Wednesday announcement saying he is returning home to Washington, D-C in January. Messitte helped lead the “Imagine Tomorrow” fundraising campaign that became the most successful in the college’s history, producing 67 million dollars. He has also encouraged faculty members to start the process of reimagining the Ripon College curriculum for the first time in more than a decade.
The University of Wisconsin System is reporting that enrollment is down by about one percent when compared to last year at this time. Nine of the 12 four-year campuses are showing a deficit. The flagship campus in Madison is up by more than 25-hundred students – or about six percent. Campuses in Green Bay and Superior are also showing growth. Preliminary enrollment figures were released Wednesday. U-W-Platteville reported the largest decrease at 11 percent.
Governor Tony Evers is proclaiming this week 'Ryder Cup Days' in Wisconsin. Evers welcomed the 43rd Ryder Cup to the state today (Thursday) at Whistling Straits. This is the first time Wisconsin has hosted the golf competition between the U-S and Europe. A cast-iron eagle that once sat atop the flagpole at the State Capitol is on display for the Ryder Cup. The governor said he hopes the eagle will encourage Team U-S-A to work hard, aim high and take home a Ryder Cup victory. Celebrities were on the course today and the tournament officially begins Thursday. The Europeans have won seven out of the last ten Ryder Cups. The U-S last won it in 2016 at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota.
The berries have achieved just the right shade of red and Wisconsin’s cranberry harvest will begin next week. This year is expected to be a good year for the crop. Du Bay Cranberry manager Dave Hansen tells W-S-A-W Television he monitors the marsh temperatures all yet to make sure the cranberries are cared for properly. Probes powered by solar panels check the temperature, sending an automatic warning to him when it gets too cold. Ocean Spray has taken a sample of the berries, using a machine to calculate the color and determine when the product is ready to be harvested
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