The Durand Public Works Department is working on a plan to rebuild the Tarrant Park Pool. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says if the private donations are raised by March 1st the process to rebuild the pool would begin. The swimming season would be held next year with construction beginning at the end of the season with completion expected by June of 2023.
The snow from the winter snowstorm that impacted Western Wisconsin Friday night and Saturday morning is already melting. The storm brought a wide range of snow in western Wisconsin from 6-15 inches. The Wisconsin State Patrol says they responded to 39 vehicle run-offs, 20 property damage crashes, 1 personal injury crash, and assisted 31 other motorists. Warmer weather is expected the first half of this week with temperatures expected in the mid 50's on Wednesday.
Xcel Energy reminds customers to check their natural gas meter to make sure it is clear from snow and ice. The company says, clearing snow and ice from natural gas meters is key to avoiding the potential for dangerous natural gas buildup indoors due to vents becoming sealed when covered in ice and snow. Xcel Energy strongly recommends keeping the entire meter assembly clear by gently removing snow or ice from the meter, associated piping, and the roofline above the meter. Xcel Energy says to check often to ensure melting snow isn’t dripping on the meter from the roof or nearby trees. Use a shovel around a meter to move snow away; do not use a snow blower near a meter.
Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind has joined other congressional leaders in sending a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging the prioritization of funding for construction of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) on the Upper Mississippi River System with the $2.5 billion for inland waterways provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Originally authorized in Title VIII of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, NESP would modernize and expand certain outdated locks at the most congested lock locations along the Upper Mississippi as well as fund more than $1 billion in ecosystem restoration. A 2019 study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that rebuilding NESP locks would inject $72 billion additional dollars into the nation’s GDP.
A Rochester man is sentenced to nearly 90 years in prison for killing his pregnant girlfriend and her daughter. Thirty-one-year-old Renard Carter pleaded guilty to the murders of Kiona Foote and her two-year-old daughter, Miyona Miller, and her unborn child. They were found strangled to death in a Rochester apartment last September. Carter fled the state and was arrested in South Carolina. He tried to withdraw his guilty pleas, but the judge denied his request. He will serve the sentence at the St. Cloud state prison.
Last week’s decision by the U-S Supreme Court means Democrats will have a chance to continue their fight against redistricting maps drawn by Republicans. Democrats want the federal courts to establish political district boundary lines in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court refused to hear a lawsuit filed by Republicans who wanted the Democrats’ challenge to be thrown out. A ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected early next year, but Democrats will try to win their case in the federal courts.
Over 80 workers responsible for clearing and maintaining runways at airports in the Twin Cities Metro voted to strike on Sunday. The group includes workers at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. A reported 95-percent of the union workers approved the strike as they ask for higher wages and other concessions they say are in line with other airport union groups. The Metropolitan Airports Commission said it continues to negotiate with the workers in good faith. Mediation is scheduled to begin on December 28th.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez has delayed his decision on whether the mayors of Madison and Green Bay should be jailed if they don’t sit for depositions in the ongoing 2020 election review. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is spearheading the Republican-ordered investigation. During a Friday hearing, Ramirez put off any action until next month. He wants a Dane County judge to hear arguments in a separate case filed by Attorney General Josh Kaul fire. A ruling, in that case, would affect the Gableman lawsuit against the two mayors.
The state of Wisconsin has updated its sovereignty agreements with 11 federally recognized tribes. Governor Tony Evers attended a Thursday ceremony on the Oneida reservation Thursday to sign the agreements. The aim is to update a collaboration between the Wisconsin state government and the Native Nations so they can have access to resources. The agreements date back to 2004 when former Governor Jim Doyle first established them. They hadn’t been renewed since that time. A major part of the agreements centers on casino revenues which are shared with the state. The partnership keeps part of it with the tribes so they can use it locally.
Minnesota regulators have trimmed Xcel Energy's requested electric and natural gas interim rate increase. Public Utilities Commissioner Matthew Schuerger said "circumstances in Minnesota and the world today" necessitated it. Residential customers of Xcel will see average interim rates increase five dollars and 54 cents per month instead of the roughly eight-50 the utility requested. For natural gas, the average monthly rate increase is expected to be only about 60 cents. The P-U-C lowered the monthly increase by extending the amount of time Xcel customers will pay for last winter's spike in natural gas prices. The interim rate increases take effect on January 1st.
Federal Judge James Peterson has upheld voter I-D requirements for college students in Wisconsin. Peterson ruled Thursday on a lawsuit filed by Common Cause two years ago. The suit was an attempt to block some parts of Wisconsin’s voter I-D law as it related to what needs to be on a college I-D to make it valid for voting. The plaintiffs weren’t trying to overturn the law itself. The judge said college student IDs are no different than other forms of ID, and should not be held to a different standard.
The five-thousand-664 COVID-19 cases reported in Wisconsin Friday is the most in a single day since November 23rd, 2020. The Department of Health Services says the seven-day average is now three-thousand-183. D-H-S also reported 21 new coronavirus deaths. A total of one-thousand-634 COVID patients are being treated in Wisconsin hospitals and 436 are in intensive care units. More than 64 percent of eligible residents in the state are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is criticizing the University of Wisconsin System for waiving A-C-T and S-A-T testing requirements for two more years. UW officials allowed freshman applicants not to include their scores in 2020 due to COVID-19. The Board of Regents voted today (Friday) to extend the exemption through the 2024-2025 school year. Republican Vos said in a statement, "during the pandemic, students of every age have fallen woefully behind. Remedial class attendance numbers have been growing for years because high school students are unprepared for college as it is. Removing A-C-T/S-A-T requirements only exacerbates this." Vos says educational institutions should be reinstating benchmarks, not removing them.
The U-S Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is set to vote on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s nomination to become an ambassador this week. Several of President Biden’s nominations will be taken up at the important Wednesday meeting. If all goes well, the full vote in the Senate could have by the end of this year. Barrett met with committee members in early November. He was asked about working with Luxembourg on any issues that might come up with China and how he would deal with concerns about money laundering and tax evasion in Luxembourg.
A study by the D-N-R and state Pollution Control Agency finds since 1967, ice-in dates on Minnesota lakes have averaged about nine days later and ice-out has been four to five days earlier on average. M-P-C-A Commissioner Katrina Kessler blames climate change and says in the last 50 years, you're seeing on average between 10 and 14 days fewer of ice cover. Kessler says shorter lake-ice seasons are threatening some of Minnesota's most cherished traditions and hurting the recreational economy. She says bold action is needed "to save winters as we know them in our state."
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