The Durand City Council has reached a consensus on moving forward with the Durand Rural Fire Department in purchasing a new ladder truck. According to Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren, the Rural Fire Department would lease the truck with the city making payments to the rural department at 30% of the cost. The city and the rural department are expected to finalize the agreement in January.
The National Weather Service says we should expect low visibility, dangerous travel conditions, and heavy snow today in western Wisconsin. Winter storm warnings will be in effect from noon until 6:00 a-m Saturday. Authorities say travel isn’t advised if you don’t have to. Areas in western to central Wisconsin could get from eight-to-12 inches of snow before the storm moves on eastward. Travel should start to improve by midday Saturday and warmer temperatures mean the snow will melt away next week.
The public is being encouraged to offer state officials some input on the design and construction of A-T-V and U-T-V trails in Wisconsin. The Department of Natural Resources wants to standardize all trails in the state. Local governments, trail advocates, and advisory councils are being asked for input. Public comments can be submitted by email to the D-N-R for the next two weeks. The state agency says it will develop common guidelines for making trails sustainable and ensuring that users have a safe and enjoyable experience. Pepin County is expected to discuss changes to the ATV/UTV ordinance during next week's county board meeting.
The Dunn County Sheriff's Department is asking the public's help in identifying a suspect in a burglary of the Pioneer Bar and Grill on Wednesday. The department posted images of the suspect on their social media page and says the incident occurred around 4:30 early Wednesday morning. If anyone has information on the identity of the suspect they are to call the Dunn County Sheriff's Department or Dunn County Crimestoppers.
The Dunn County Sheriff's Department is reminding residents that with the holiday season there are plenty of scams circulating. From receiving an email saying you ordered something to receiving a call that a grandchild is in jail and needs bail money, you're advised to just hang up or delete the email. Many of these scams request gift cards as a form of payment which does not happen with companies or law enforcement. The department says if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s latest recommendation on COVID-19 is raising eyebrows. The Wisconsin Republican, who’s made numerous discredited claims regarding coronavirus treatments and vaccines, was at it again this week, suggesting during a town hall that gargling with mouthwash “has been proven to kill the coronavirus.” While gargling can partially kill off parts of the virus in the mouth, health experts say most infections occur through the nose. A website run by Listerine says that the product “is not intended to prevent or treat COVID-19 and should be used only as directed.”
The sentence is 15 years in federal prison for a Rochester man who pleaded guilty to dealing methamphetamine. The U-S Attorney's Office says 36-year-old Tyler Batson was caught with about two pounds of meth driving from the Twin Cities to Rochester in March of 2020. Court records show Baston was part of a group that sold meth in Rochester and other southeastern Minnesota communities last year.
The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly refuses to say claims that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election are just conspiracy theories. Speaker Robin Vos does say that Biden is president. In an interview with Milwaukee television station W-D-J-T, Vos says many people legitimately believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump. He hired former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman earlier this year to conduct an investigation. Vos says Democrats are trying to smear Gableman but he’s not concerned about the way the investigation is being viewed by the public.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has rejected Republican claims and approved private grants. The grant money was used last November to help cities run their elections in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three courts have dismissed lawsuits centering on the grants. At the core of the challenges is an eight-point-eight-million-dollar grant the Center for Tech and Civic Life gave to local election officials in Wisconsin’s five largest cities. The Center is largely funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. Three courts and the commission have decided there is no evidence to suggest the grants were illegal.
The state of Wisconsin will receive almost 870 million dollars from the federal infrastructure bill passed last month. The money spread over the next five years will be invested in providing safe drinking water for all state residents. The legislation is being called the largest investment in water infrastructure in U-S history. The Evers administration says three main safety concerns will be prioritized – PFAS (PEE foss), lead, and nitrates. The Department of Natural Resources has already started the process of creating and enforcing standards for safe drinking water in Wisconsin.
Local governments in Minnesota are eyeing some of the state's whopping budget surplus that's approaching eight billion dollars. Bradley Peterson with the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities says during the budget session earlier this year, his group did not ask for an increase of local government aid to cities knowing the state would have challenges with COVID. Peterson said, "while those are still there, time has passed (and) inflation, as we all know, is becoming critical and it continues to put a pinch on local government budgets as well." Peterson says it is an appropriate time to ask for an L-G-A increase. Peterson suggests 90 million dollars as "a good starting point."
The Milwaukee County district attorney has ruled the police shooting of a woman in Wauwatosa last year was justified. Tinesha Jarrett was accused of repeatedly striking a squad car with a wooden stake and cracking its windshield. When she continued to be violent after being confronted by a police officer, the officer shot her. She survived. A review of the case determined that the use of force was necessary. Jarrett encountered the Wauwatosa officer just after she had left the Milwaukee County mental health complex.
Schools in Wisconsin that stayed open during last year’s coronavirus shut-down are waiting for extra pandemic stimulus money. The U-S Department of Education is pausing a scheduled 77-million-dollar payment to schools that were open for at least half the school year last year. Wisconsin lawmakers set aside the money as a reward. Republicans Howard Marklein and Mark Born say the feds, and Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, are playing political games with the money.
Nine teams from the Minnesota National Guard are ready to relieve caregivers at the state’s long-term care facilities. They could be deployed by the end of this week. In an effort to deal with staff shortages, the 400 Guard team members have trained as certified nursing assistants and trained nursing aides. The first three teams started work earlier this week. State officials say, so far, 42 locations, have requested the help. One state official says most of the requests came from central and Northwestern Minnesota, along with the Twin Cities metro.
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