The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on a request to close Main Street on the evening of October 30th for the annual Trunk or Treat, reports from the Mayor and Department Heads, and the council will go into closed session to discuss an economic development loan for Rolling Greens Golf Course. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30pm at Durand City Hall and will be live-streamed on our YouTube Channel at Durand Broadcasting WRDN.
One person was injured in a UTV accident on Sunday in the town of Montana. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, 59yr old George Salwey of Montana was traveling down a farm road when it struck a large hole in the pasture causing the UTV to crash into a barbed wire fence and pinning Salwey. Emergency crews had to use extrication tools to remove Salwey and he was med flighted to an area hospital.
The old grotto at the Pepin County Government Center has been torn down. Crews removed the grotto earlier this week after the group attempting to raise money to move the grotto missed a July 31st deadline. The grotto was originally built when the building was the hospital.
The Fall Flu Season is just around the corner. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the Wisconsin Department of Health Services should be shipping flu vaccines soon and the county health department will be developing a strategy to distribute both the flu and covid vaccines. Stewart says people will be able to receive both the flu and covid vaccines at the same time and that if any residents have questions to contact the health department via the department's Facebook page.
A delegation of Wisconsin Democrats was briefed at Fort McCoy on Tuesday. La Crosse Congressman Ron Kind said he's confident of the vetting process Afghan refugees are undergoing. U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin said none of the refugees being housed at Fort McCoy have "any red flags." Congressman Mark Pocan and several state lawmakers were also part of the delegation.
A public meeting on the La Crosse flood mitigation plan is going to be held Wednesday afternoon. That will give people living in the city a chance to share their thoughts on what should be included. The city of La Crosse, members of a consulting firm, and the U-S Army Corps of Engineers will attend so questions from the public will be answered. The public meeting will start at 4:00 p-m at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center. People attending are recommended to wear face coverings.
A Wisconsin state senator is asking legislative leaders to file a suit against the University of Wisconsin System. Republican Steve Nass of Whitewater wants it to be determined if system leaders have to get legislative approval to enact COVID-19 restrictions. Nass sent a letter asking for the lawsuit to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos Tuesday. U-W System President Tommy Thompson has rejected the idea that lawmakers must approve the restrictions before they can go into effect. There has been no indication from LeMahieu or Vos whether they might file the suit.
A Rochester man is facing a federal prison sentence on child pornography charges. The U-S Attorney's Office says 26-year-old Arkady Pichurin pleaded guilty to producing sexually explicit images and videos of a minor. Court documents say Pichurin sexually exploited a minor between the ages of nine and ten between November of 2020 and last January. Pichurin admitted to using social media to contact the minor and lying about his age. Prosecutors say he used similar tactics to sexually exploit and produce pornographic images and videos of more than 20 children. Pichurin will be sentenced in January.
A state lawmaker says the Afghan refugees located at the base won’t be staying in Wisconsin. Republican Senator Howard Marklein says the eight thousand refugees are receiving health care and being kept in quarantine at the military installation for two weeks. After that, Marklein says the Department of Homeland Security will relocate the refugees to one of 19 cities on a list. None of those cities are in west-central Wisconsin. The number of refugees staying at Fort McCoy could go higher. Officials there say they have room for 13 thousand. However, no more planes will be arriving from the Middle East. Evacuees are being offered the COVID-19 vaccine at Fort McCoy.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday in Madison to discuss redistricting. This would be the first move toward drawing a new political map for the state. Updated political district boundaries will be drawn based on the 2020 U-S Census. The numbers were published last month. Lawmakers are supposed to finalize the new map in time for next spring’s general elections, but a political court fight is anticipated over the process.
A Milwaukee Democrat running for U.S. Senate is accused of misuse of campaign funds and false travel reimbursements from the city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee Alderwoman Chantia Lewis is charged with five criminal counts, accused of using money from her campaign account to attend a Florida worship conference, pay tuition for classes at a Bible college and go on a family trip to the Wisconsin Dells. According to the criminal complaint, Lewis defrauded the City of Milwaukee and her campaign, collectively, of more than 21-thousand dollars. Her attorney told the Journal Sentinel he would be filing a motion to dismiss the charges and believes the issues are better categorized as accounting errors.
Minnesota G-O-P donor and former campaign manager Anton "Tony" Lazzaro is now the defendant in a federal civil lawsuit. Attorney Jeff Anderson represents the minor and her family who brought about today's (Tuesday) lawsuit. Anderson alleges Lazarro had been enticing and engaging and conspiring to engage youth in his sex trafficking enterprise for some time. The suit claims Lazzaro attempted to silence the minor plaintiff and her parents to prevent them from reporting Lazzaro’s conduct to law enforcement. Lazarro is already charged with ten federal sex trafficking crimes for allegedly recruiting six minors to engage in commercial sex acts. His arrest led to the resignation of close friend and State Republican Party chair Jennifer Carnahan.
The Park Falls paper mill has a new owner, but local officials say that doesn’t mean it will reopen soon. The deal was completed August 31st. The new buyers are described by Park Falls Mayor Michael Bablick as “industrial liquidators.” The historic mill on the banks of the Flambeau River is currently in what is called “warm idle mode.” That means basic maintenance is being done to keep the plant ready to resume production, but without a follow-up sale, the mayor cautions the new owners likely wouldn’t keep the plant heated this winter. That could cause the pipes to burst and such an event would end any chance the mill would be back in operation. With the expiration of state unemployment benefits and the 300-dollar extra federal unemployment, many of the former workers won’t be able to wait to see if it resumes operations.
Congressman Scott Fitzgerald is supporting a new federal plan that would require all school districts to show parents what is being taught in the local classrooms. The Wisconsin Republican signed on to the Curriculum Review of Teachings Transparency Act last week. Supporters say they want to make sure parents know if their local school is teaching critical race theory. The C-R-T Act backed by Republicans would give parents a closer look at the lesson plans, textbooks, and other articles their children are being told to read.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he has granted another 71 pardons. Evers' office says that brings the governor’s total number of granted pardons to 263 since the Governor’s Pardon Advisory Board was announced in 2019. Former Republican Governor Scott Walker granted zero pardons during eight years in office. Evers' is on target to pardon more people in his first term than any governor in contemporary history. Evers also signed an executive order today (Tuesday), expanding and expediting the pardon process.
Stillwater Area Public Schools is taking legal action against the company that provides its bus service. Metropolitan Transportation is accused of breach of contract, while they are faced with a bus driver shortage. The bus company recently announced that it will cut service to 15 routes as pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students start in-person classes. The Stillwater School Board will hold an emergency meeting later today to address the transportation issue.
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