Three people were injured in a multi-vehicle accident in Oak Grove Township on Saturday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, 59yr old James Schwan of Houlton, WI was traveling eastbound on Hwy 10 and was stopped while waiting for a car in front of him to turn left onto Hwy QQ . Schwan was sideswiped by another eastbound vehicle driven by 22yr old Abenezer Bekele of Farmington MN as he tried to avoid the two stopped vehicles. Bekele's vehicle struck a westbound vehicle driven by 35yr old Trista Duffy of Prescott and overturned in the north ditch and started on fire. Bekele had to be extricated from his vehicle and was med-flighted to Regions Hospital. Duffy and a five-year-old passenger were transported to Regions hospital, while Schwan was uninjured.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has awarded a grant to Pierce-Pepin Cooperative Services to expand broadband internet in Western Wisconsin. The nine projects the Co-Op submitted were approved for the grants and will cover 460 miles of broadband reaching nearly 2,400 homes and businesses in Pierce and St. Croix Counties. Pierce-Pepin worked with the Pierce County Economic Development Corporation, the towns of River Falls, Oak Grove, Trimbelle, and Ellsworth to bring fiber internet. The projects will begin in 2022 and are to be completed by the spring of 2023.
The Pepin County Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on amendments to the Pepin County ATV/UTV Routes, county aid to the Town of Pepin for Bridges and Culverts, and discussion of a temporary suspension of November Annual Meeting Requirements. Tonight's meeting begins at 7pm at the board room of the Government Center in Durand and will be available via zoom at the county website.
U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan bill to research and manage the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a contagious, neurological disease affecting cervids – deer, elk, and moose – that is always fatal. There is no known cure for CWD and it’s unclear how the disease is transmitted. As of August 2021, CWD has been confirmed in 25 states, and there are serious concerns that the disease will continue to spread to herds across the country. The Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act will support state and tribal efforts to develop and implement management strategies as well as fund research into methods to better detect and prevent CWD.
The Pepin County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit is in the running to win a $5,000 grant. It’s an annual contest from Aftermath, a biohazard removal company. Visit the aftermath website and go to the midwest region and do a search for the Pepin County Sheriff's Department. Grant funds will be provided to the winner of the competition by Aftermath Cares, which awards funds to support K9s annually. According to Aftermath’s website, you can vote once per device every 24 hours from now through Tuesday, Oct. 26. The winners will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 28.
A 53-year-old Eau Claire man has entered a guilty plea for his role in the U-S Capitol breach on January 6th. Kevin Loftus appeared by video in a federal courtroom in Washington, D-C Tuesday. Loftus reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on charges of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The misdemeanor conviction includes a sentence of up to six months in prison, but his plea deal doesn’t include a recommendation. Loftus will be sentenced on January 31st.
Henry Repeating Arms is planning to expand its operations in Ladysmith. The firearms manufacturer will add an 84-thousand square-foot building on a 13-acre plot of land. Officials with the gunmaker say that expansion will result in 100 jobs to be added over the next three years. The new property will mean Henry Repeating Arms has 350-thousand square feet of manufacturing space with more than 600 employees. The company says more expansion in the future is possible. It makes more than 200 models of rifles and shotguns.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos defends his decision to not release documents from an ongoing partisan investigation into Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election. The Republican leader ordered the taxpayer-funded probe and hired former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to conduct it. Vos has been ordered by a Dane County judge to release records requested by a liberal group, American Oversight, under the state’s open records law. Vos told Wisconsin Public Radio on Tuesday that he wants to wait to release the documents to avoid giving liberals an "advantage." Vos also said he believes the election was “tainted” but that President Joe Biden won.
Viroqua police have decided to remove a “Thin Blue Line” symbol from a new patrol car. Mayor Karen Mischel says the move was made after concerns were raised by people living in the community. The emblem of a black-and-white American flag with a blue line is associated with the support of police officers. In a highly charged political time, it means something else to others. Mischel says it has been co-opted and is now used in many racist and inappropriate ways. Discussions between the mayor, Police Chief Rick Niedfeldt, and Viroqua’s Diversity Board led to the removal.
The long M-E-A weekend is one of the busiest times of the year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Spokesman Jeff Lea says they expect to see a doubling of passenger traffic on some days this week compared to 2020. Lea says Thursday will likely be the airport's busiest day. He's urging air travelers this week to arrive two hours in advance of a domestic flight or three hours ahead of an international flight.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says the death of a horse in Crawford County is the first confirmed case of West Nile Virus in a horse in more than two years. The nine-year-old Belgian-Standardbred gelding was unvaccinated for the virus. Horse owners have been asked to look out for the symptoms in their animals. The D-A-T-C-P urges them to consider getting their horses vaccinated.
Afghan refugees living at Fort McCoy have been informed about the rules of travel, where they will be resettled, and their point of contact when they get there. Pre-departure briefings were held at the military base last Thursday as part of Operations Allies Welcome. Fort McCoy officials say transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support is being provided for at least 50 thousand refugees nationwide.
An investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice has confirmed a Madison police officer was shot by a fellow officer last week. Police were trying to take an armed man into custody at the time. The Department of Criminal Investigation says it is still reviewing the evidence. Originally, police said the officer was wounded by an armed 19-year-old Fitchburg man who was trying to evade arrest. The D-C-I says a loaded gun was pointed at officers, but it was Madison Police Officer Keith Brown who fired the shot that wounded his colleague. The wounded office is recovering at home following hospital treatment.
A legislator attacked during riots in Madison last summer testifies he thought he was going to die. Milwaukee state senator Tim Carpenter told jurors in Kerida O'Reilly’s trial Monday that he was sucker-punched, then swarmed. Carpenter suffered a concussion and a broken nose. Police say O'Reilly and another woman led the attack on Carpenter because he was taking pictures. O'Reilly's lawyers say no one can prove she was the one who punched Carpenter. She’s expected to testify in her own defense Tuesday.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan are running for another term next year. Walz released a re-election video Tuesday morning saying, '" during the unprecedented challenges of the last two years, I’ve seen Minnesotans from all walks of life come together in order to fight the virus, save lives and get our state on the path to recovery. We’re not done yet, but Peggy and I are excited to continue that fight with you." The Democratic governor has been under fire from Republicans for business and school closures and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The list of candidates seeking the G-O-P nomination for governor includes Senators Paul Gazelka and Michelle Benson and former Senator Scott Jensen.
State consumer protection officials say they've been seeing fewer and fewer credit card skimming devices while inspecting gas station pumps. State Weights and Measures director Joe Smith says increased awareness and better security tools have helped thwart criminals. Smith says there are ways to protect yourself if you're really worried about your card being copied, such as prepaying inside or looking for those tamper-resistant seals.
The Racine Badger driver-less shuttle has been introduced. It is a fully autonomous, all-electric, zero-emission shuttle operating in the city’s downtown area. Officials say it’s really more of a computer than a car. Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson says it shows the future is now. He and other officials attended a Monday kickoff event in Racine. Officials say a complicated system of geo-mapping, numerous censors, cameras, and algorithms help the van drive itself. Mayor Cory Mason says Racine wants to become a laboratory for experimentation on this emerging technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment