The City of Mondovi is expected to close on the purchase of property from Schmidtknect Farms in early December. Last week the council approved amending the purchase agreement to have the closing in December as the certified survey map of the property was not completed until last week. The property purchase is part of the wastewater treatment plant project.
The Pepin County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting an open house next week for Pepin County elected officials and important decision-makers to come and experience a MILO M-STATS (Mobile-Situational Awareness Training System) simulator. The simulator is an evidence-based interactive learning solution that helps teach law enforcement officers how to navigate through the use of force continuum options safely and effectively. The system uses a system of computers, cameras, and display screens that allow for participants to utilize realistic pepper spray, taser, handguns, and rifles.
A one-and-a-half-million dollar purchase agreement has been reached for development in Eau Claire’s Cannery District. Plans call for the construction of 260 units in two apartment buildings. Rents for those apartments will range from 900 dollars to three thousand dollars a month. Acknowledging a need for affordable housing, 10 of the units will be priced at 60-percent of the median family income in Eau Claire County – or 900 dollars. The next step for the project is a vote by the Eau Claire City Council on the use of five-million dollars in tax increment financing next Tuesday. The developer hopes to start construction next summer.
The group Stepping Stones of Dunn County is working on plans for the construction of a new homeless shelter on property owned by the organization. The 5800 square foot building could house up to 20 people in single-bed rooms, and there would be a laundry room, secure storage, and a small kitchen and dining area. The building would also house a community resource office and staff offices. The cost of the project is $1.5 million and if the money can be raised construction would begin next year with the facility opening in 2023.
More than a thousand acres of wetlands are in the middle of the city, but Friends of the La Crosse River Marsh President Chuck Lee says that used to be much more extensive. La Crosse is said to be investing time and effort to restore the river marsh. Lee says the marsh has changed dramatically over the last 150 years. He says that has been caused by the intrusion of the growing city, but also due to climate change. The La Crosse Parks Department is working on a plan to restore the area to a more natural environment. Officials say that will hopefully slow the changes to the area. No timeline has been offered yet. It will depend on securing additional funding from outside sources.
Rep. Ron Kind announced that he joined over 50 of his colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urging the agency to take immediate action to enable U.S. civilian airports to use PFAS-free firefighting foam. The 2018 FAA Reauthorization bill made it so that as of October 4, 2021, FAA could no longer require that civilian airports use firefighting foams containing toxic PFAS chemicals. However, because FAA has not authorized the use of any alternative PFAS-free foams, airports are not currently able to make the switch. The letter clarifies that Congress’ original intent of Section 332 was to trigger actions by the FAA so airports would have the option to begin using PFAS-free firefighting foam by October 4, 2021.
There's a lot of talk about pain at the gas pump right now, but the average price is down two cents a gallon in Wisconsin this week. Triple-A said Friday the cost of regular unleaded is three-dollars-and-12-cents. The national average is 29 cents higher at three-41 a gallon. Drivers are paying three-12 a gallon in Milwaukee, three-oh-eight in Madison and Green Bay, and three-15 in Racine. The price at the pump is three-oh-two in Oshkosh, three-14 in Eau Claire, and three-18 in La Crosse.
A Jefferson County judge says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources violated the law by not immediately scheduling a wolf hunt when federal protections were removed. An injunction was issued last week by Jefferson County Judge Bennett Brantmeier. He ruled the state has to hold a hunt immediately any time the federal protections are lifted during the statutory hunting season that runs from November through February. Brantmeier’s ruling comes from a lawsuit filed by Kansas-based Hunter Nation. For now, wolf hunting in Wisconsin has been paused while a Dane County judge considers another suit filed by wildlife advocacy groups last summer.
The House voted on the two trillion dollar bill after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s eight-hour delaying speech. Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher says “the war on common sense has reached a new low with this crazy bill.” He cites a Congressional Budget Office report that Build Back Better will add more than 360 billion to the deficit. Democrat Ron Kind promised it will create millions of good-paying jobs, lower costs for working families, and rebuild the middle-class backbone of our nation – all without adding to the deficit.
Wisconsin’s largest business group says workers will quit if they’re required to get a coronavirus shot. Nearly 90-percent of businesses polled by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce say they’ll lose workers if President Biden’s vaccine mandate for large private employers is enforced. W-M-C says workers tell them they’ll either quit, retire, or find a job at a smaller business not covered by the mandate. W-M-C says the mandate will make Wisconsin’s worker shortage worse. Federal workplace safety regulators say they’re holding off on enforcing the mandate for now.
Minnesota House Democrats are outlining their plan to redraw legislative district boundaries based on the 2020 census. Representative Mary Murphy from Hermantown says we have to take the full population of the state of Minnesota and turn it into 134 House districts that are compact and fair. Republicans have much different ideas about how districts should be drawn. Analysts say because control of the legislature is split between the two parties, a final decision will likely be left to the Minnesota courts
Republican state Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt is accusing the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction of fudging the numbers on the report card for schools. Thiesfeldt is chairman of the Assembly Committee on Education. He says the D-P-I altered the accountability rating categories to make it easier for schools to earn a higher rating. Thiesfeldt accuses Superintendent Jill Underly and the agency of manipulating the numbers and misleading Wisconsin parents and taxpayers. In a news release, he says, “Students are best served when parents are told the truth.”
Wisconsin’s economy is doing a little bit better than first thought. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s revised numbers show unemployment in the state fell to three-point-four percent in September, and three-point-two percent in October. D-W-D originally put the unemployment rate at three-point-nine percent, which is where Wisconsin had been for months. D-W-D says a mix-up at the federal level based on numbers from Michigan caused Wisconsin’s jobless numbers to be off. September was the first month when enhanced unemployment benefits expired.
The 13th annual "Give to the Max" Day Thursday in Minnesota set a record for more than 64-hundred non-profits and schools around the state. The 24-hour online campaign raised over 34-point-three million dollars. Give M-N Executive Director Jake Blumberg says every year we are just blown away by the generosity of donors, not just across every county in the state of Minnesota, but every state and thousands of countries worldwide to support Minnesota causes. This is the sixth year in a row for record contributions.
One of the songwriters for Schoolhouse Rock is dead. The New York Times confirmed that St. Paul native Dave Frishberg died Wednesday at the age of 88. The cause of death is unknown at this time. Frishberg attended St. Paul Central High School and the University of Minnesota before making a name for himself on the Twin Cities jazz scene. His most famous works were the tune he contributed for Schoolhouse Rock, including the popular song "I'm Just A Bill."
The 2021 “State of Lung Cancer” report shows that Minnesota ranks fourth in the nation for the five-year survival rate after initially being diagnosed. The American Lung Association in Minnesota's Pat McKone says we are definitely making strides, but this is a marathon, and we can speed up the pace. Lung cancer kills more men and women than any other type of cancer. The five-year survival rate increased 14-and-a-half percent nationally to 23-point-seven percent yet remains significantly lower among communities of color. Only Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York have a better five-year survival rate than Minnesota.
The U-S Navy has approved changes to the littoral combat ships built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine. The changes were made after problems were discovered with gears in the ships’ propulsion systems. That is leading to a Navy decision to delay the commissioning of the U-S-S Minneapolis-St. Paul which was launched in 2019. Five more of the shallow-water ships are still under construction.
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