The National Weather Service will conduct a preliminary storm survey of areas in western Wisconsin today to determine if a tornado touched down near Sturm. Severe weather passed through the area Monday at 6:00 p-m, with damage reports first received from Trempealeau and Grant counties. Trees and powerlines were knocked down and a tractor-trailer truck was blown over. Earlier in the day, a possible tornado was reported near Plum City and Eau Galle, and no damage was reported.
Police in Minnesota are taking over the investigation into the deaths of four people found dead in western Wisconsin. The bodies of Jasmine Sturm, Matthew Pettus, Nitosha Lee Flug-Presley and Loyace Foreman III were found just over a week ago, in an SVU abandoned in a Dunn County farm field. St. Paul Police say investigators have determined the four were killed in that city. Two men, Darren McWright and Antoine Suggs, are in custody. A witness placed Suggs and three of the victims at a St. Paul bar in the early-morning hours of September 12.
The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes were a part of the severe storms that caused extensive damage in Minnesota and western Wisconsin last Friday. Meteorologists say all three tornadoes were rated E-F-Zero, meaning they had wind speeds of 65 to 85 miles an hour. Tens of thousands of people were left in the dark when that storm knocked down trees and power lines. In western Wisconsin, the Hudson Area Public Library suffered heavy storm damage. The Library Foundation is asking for online donations to help it rebuild.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association is reporting that in the Northwest Wisconsin Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition region there are no ICU beds available as of Monday. According to the Association, there are 26 hospitals in the Northwest Wisconsin Region with a total of 72 ICU beds and all of the beds are currently in use. As of Monday, 17 of the beds are in use for Covid-19 patients.
The “Return To School Road Trip” with U-S Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made three stops in Wisconsin Monday. He visited students and teachers at Locust Lane Elementary School in Eau Claire first to promote a safe return to in-person classes. Cardona then participated in an all-school pep rally before leaving for appearances at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in Milwaukee. The road trip will include visits to five states in the Midwest this month.
Leaders in La Crosse County are officially on the record as welcoming Afghan refugees. County Board Chairwoman Monica Kruse acknowledges that some people are wary about some of the refugees staying at Fort McCoy, but she says she doesn’t want to encourage fear or discrimination. It’s unclear just how many of the 13-thousand refugees staying at Fort McCoy will stay in Wisconsin, or where they will go once they leave.
The Minnesota Medical Association is cheering the news that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children. M-M-A president Doctor Marilyn Peitso says this is really going to help ensure that kids can safely stay in school for in-person learning this school year. this is really good news for families. Doctor Peitso cautions that it's important to wait and ensure the F-D-A does its due diligence on dosing and vaccine intervals. Pfizer plans to seek authorization for younger kids soon in the U-S, Britain, and Europe.
You may soon need to be 21 in order to buy tobacco products in Wisconsin. Anti-smoking advocates complain the bill in the Wisconsin Legislature has too many holes in it. Sara Sahli with the Cancer Action Network says lawmakers are letting a loophole for e-cigarettes continue. The Senate’s judiciary committee last week voted to send the proposal to the full Senate for a vote. A similar bill died in the State Assembly two years ago.
The head of the Republican-backed investigation into the 2020 Wisconsin presidential election says he will compel local officials to comply with his requests. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman released a six-minute video Monday on the subject. Gableman is saying he will subpoena election officials for what he wants. Milwaukee County election officials say they will oppose any efforts to gain control of election machines. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has told reporters he intends to give the investigation any subpoena it needs. Gableman says he wants to take a very hard look at how those machines work.
An Antigo man who was killed on December 7,1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor will be laid to rest on Saturday. Navy Fireman 1st Class Kenneth Doernenburg was aboard the USS Oklahoma when the attack occurred, causing the battleship to capsize. Doerneburgs remains were identified through the Defense Departments' program to identify the remains of missing military personnel and return them to their families. He will be buried in Antigo on Saturday with full military honors.
The number of people housed at Fort McCoy has grown again in recent days, although no planes carrying refugees have landed. A spokesperson says three babies have been born to Afghan refugees. That adds to the 12-thousand-500 already housed there. The military installation in western Wisconsin is one of eight bases in the country housing refugees who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took over last month.
Two people have been arrested in Monroe County after authorities seize drugs and firearms. Thirty-four-year-old Gabriel Wilcox and 28-year-old Ember Powell are in custody. Deputies conducted a search Thursday at a home near Ontario. They found more than two pounds of meth, plus smaller amounts of suspected heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, and prescription pills. They also found more than two dozen firearms – some of them possibly stolen. Wilcox is a convicted felon who couldn’t legally possess firearms.
The Wisconsin judicial system is still dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Courthouses were closed and most proceedings came to a complete halt starting in March of last year. Most activities were conducted over zoom and hearings and jury trials were put on pause. Now, some assistant district attorneys say they are dealing with caseloads two-to-three times greater than normal. At the same time, some offices like Portage County have more than a dozen openings for assistant D-As. That county has 32 trials scheduled between now and the end of the year. Portage County normally has no more than 10 trials in a year.
A Wisconsin cheesemaker has told members of Congress the milk pricing system needs to be changed. Bob Wills is the founder of Clock Shadow Creamery in Milwaukee. He testified before Congress Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Wills says he fears for the future of Wisconsin’s dairy industry, and he says he told the members of Congress that federal milk pricing guidelines need to be changed. Wills says it they are it could help save family farms while lowering prices for customers. Wisconsin has lost more than 11 hundred dairy farms in the last two years. Wills told lawmakers we have an unfair system that benefits large companies, foreign competitors, and non-dairy products like soy milk – at the expense of family farmers.
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