One person was arrested Sunday after a high-speed chase on I-94 in St. Croix and Dunn Counties. The chase began near milepost 24 when a Woodville Police Officer attempted to stop a vehicle that had been driving erratically. The driver refused to stop and was driving in both lanes of I-94 and nearly hit another vehicle. In Dunn County at milepost 45, the Wisconsin State Patrol set up spike strips and the vehicle came to rest in the ditch near milepost 47. The driver refused to get out of the vehicle and a 3hr standoff ensued and the driver was arrested after the Eau Clarie Regional Swat Team removed the subject from the vehicle. The driver has been charged with felony fleeing, endangering safety, OWI first offense, and is on hold for a Minnesota Department of Corrections felony warrant. I-94 eastbound was closed for 3hrs during the standoff.
Last week, a semi-truck swerved to the right passing a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing on Hwy 85 nearly striking a student boarding the bus. Pepin County Sheriff Joel Wener reminds drivers when the yellow lights start flashing you should be prepared to stop. Wener says the Sheriff's Department is in contact with the trucking company and will be contacting the driver in the Hwy 85 incident.
Two people are dead after a multi-vehicle accident on Clairmont Avenue in Eau Claire on Sunday. According to Eau Claire Police, the accident happened on the westbound lanes of Clairemont Avenue at University Avenue. Police say 81yr old Elaine Lambrecht was pronounced dead at the scene while 61yr old Mary Socha died at the hospital. Clairemont avenue was closed for clean-up of the accident. That accident remains under investigation.
Electric vehicle (EV) drivers have a new option for quick top-off in their travels between Baldwin and Eau Claire. Dunn Energy Cooperative has installed a Level 3 Fast Charger at the 29 Pines/Eau Claire Travel Center at the intersection of Highway 29 and County Highway T in Chippewa County. On Monday, Dunn Energy Cooperative along with representatives from the Menomonie, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Falls area Chamber’s of Commerce, officially energized the EV charger for public use. According to PlugShare, this is the first public, universal fast charger along the Highway 12/29 corridor between Baldwin and Eau Claire. EV owners can use their credit/debit card or the ZEFNet app to pay. The current rate is approximately 25 cents per kW or approximately 15 cents per minute of charge time.
Wisconsin’s state universities are close to being 70-percent vaccinated system-wide. U-W Whitewater and U-W Oshkosh have hit the 70-percent vaccination threshold. That means they’re now eligible for some of the nearly half-million dollars set aside for coronavirus scholarships. U-W campuses in Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Milwaukee are already at 70-percent. UW-Madison is about 90-percent vaccinated, but Madison is not a part of the scholarship incentive.
More than 80 percent of University of Wisconsin System students who sought mental health counseling at their universities during the last academic year reported improvements in their well-being, and four of five who considered dropping out over the last eight years said counseling helped them stay enrolled. The latest Counseling Impact Assessment Report for the 2020-21 academic year shows the continued need for mental health services at UW System campuses – and the ongoing benefit to students, communities, and taxpayers. More than 18,000 students reported staying enrolled after counseling over the last eight years.
The Wausau School District is apologizing for a controversial history lesson that reportedly portrayed Native Americans in a disrespectful manner. The lesson called “Who Discovered America” was taught last Wednesday in a U-S History One class. Parents and students spoke out against the lesson. District leaders have promised they will update future lessons to better reflect current themes and applications. Those with remaining questions have been encouraged to contact the school district.
Amid the current wave of COVID-19 patients who tend to be younger and sicker, and in the hospital longer than last fall, Wisconsin Hospital Association CEO Eric Borgerding says health care workers are feeling the pressure. The state Department of Health Services has reported that the majority of hospitalized COVID patients are unvaccinated, and that vaccination remains the best protection against serious illness and death.
An Oshkosh man says when he told school board members, “we’re coming for you,” his message was misunderstood. Eric Lenz says he has been questioned by police but wasn’t detained. Lenz says he meant people opposed to the district’s stance on face coverings would try to defeat them in an election. He says he has no intentions of harming anyone. Police had investigated to determine if he was threatening violence during a virtual meeting last week. Oshkosh police say no charges will be filed.
The Wisconsin Senate has set confirmation votes on four nominees for Governor Tony Evers Cabinet for Tuesday. Randy Romanski, Craig Thompson, Missy Hughes, and Dawn Crim all received unanimous, bipartisan support as their nominations passed through legislative committees. Romanski would head the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection while Thompson is set to lead the Department of Transportation. If confirmed, Crim will be Evers’ Secretary of the Department of Safety and Professional Services and Hughes will head the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Confirmation of cabinet members has been a simple process in the past, but Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor have been engaged in a partisan battle since his 2018 election.
The red-hot Wisconsin Real Estate market may be slowed by a lack of inventory soon. Sales of existing homes have exceeded last year’s record pace so far in 2021. The Wisconsin Realtors Association reports more than 56 thousand homes have been sold in the first eight months of this year. The supply of available homes has been declining for years in Wisconsin. That has actually held back the pace of sales, pushing prices higher. The average home spent 88 days on the market last year in August – that figure is down to 65 days this year.
Amtrak passengers waiting for a train in St. Paul have been told it will be Tuesday at the earliest before they can board. A derailed train in Montana has left three people dead and seven hospitalized. Amtrak says service on the Empire Builder line will be interrupted until crews can clear the area after the Saturday accident near Joplin, Montana. The train was carrying about 141 passengers and 16 crew members at the time. All westbound Amtrak trains out of Chicago are stopping in St. Paul.
COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are now available for eligible Minnesota residents. Categories of people who can get the booster shots include those 65 and older, plus those 18-to-64 who have underlying medical conditions – or, whose work puts them at an increased risk of exposure to the virus. The F-D-A has given its approval to the Pfizer boosters. Just under 55 percent of all fully vaccinated people in the state got the Pfizer vaccine. Providers can be found online by using the Minnesota locator map or by visiting vaccines-dot-gov.
A Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputy happened to be driving past a home Friday when he spotted smoke and flames. The deputy says he saw a 66-year-old man and his 31-year-old son were trapped inside with the smoke and flames blocked their escape. He broke through a window and helped them reach safety. No names have been released. Investigators say a lawnmower sitting near the garage sparked the fire. State Highway 26 in the Township of Waupun was closed to traffic for five hours. No injuries were reported. The home is a complete loss.
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