A high service pump failed at one of the city of Durand Water Wells over the last month. Public Works Superintended Matt Gillis told council members last week that city crews were able to craft some parts to fix the pump, but that it would need to eventually be replaced. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city can run on one well, but the city will begin to budget for a new pump. Because of the pump's age, replacement parts are not available and that is the reason it will have to be replaced in the coming years.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association is reporting a tighter supply of properties and the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t keep the state from setting a record for home sales in 2021. The Monday report from the Association says there were more than 89 thousand closings last year. In Pepin County, 8 homes were sold in December, Buffalo County 13, Pierce County 34, Trempealeau County 38 and Dunn County reported 64 homes sold in December. The median price of a home in Western Wisconsin was $250,000 up 12%. Statewide, the median price was also up, rising more than nine percent to 240 thousand dollars. The busy market wasn’t statewide. The number of closings was up four-point-four percent in southeastern Wisconsin, but it dropped by almost six percent in the northern part of the state.
The first meeting of the Pepin County Board for 2022 has been canceled. There was no indication as to why the meeting was canceled or if it would be rescheduled for later this month. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on February 16.
After warm temperatures on Tuesday, much colder weather is expected for the rest of the week. An arctic cold front moved through the area overnight bringing a temperature drop of as much as 35 degrees. Wind chill advisories are in effect through tomorrow at noon as the weather service is expecting wind chills from 25-30 below.
A woman charged with vehicular homicide is in Chippewa County court this week. 23yr old Miranda Jo Miller of Edgar is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle after an accident in 2017 killed 46yr old Jeremy Goodwin of Chippewa Falls after authorities say Miller drove through a stop sign before hitting Goodwin's vehicle. That trial is expected to wrap up today.
A 26-year-old woman who crashed her car into an Eau Claire bar Sunday morning is accused of being drunk. Maly Khang was taken into custody just before 1:00 a-m. Police say Khang had been drinking at another bar before she drove to the Amber Inn. Officers say she had a five-year-old child in her car at the time of the crash and that child wasn’t secured in a car seat. No injuries were reported as a result of the accident.
The Bloomer School District is expected to have its elementary and middle school reopened today. The district was forced to cancel classes for the elementary and middle school on Tuesday after the district experienced significant staffing shortages due to covid and other illnesses and medical situations. As of last Thursday, the district had reported 133 students and staff were either in isolation or quarantine.
A half-million-dollar donation will be used to build a water research boat for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The school’s River Study Center is getting the money from the Paul Fleckenstein Trust. The boat will be used to study the Mississippi River. The environmental services and harbor management company J-F Brennan will store and maintain the vessel. A spokesperson says the company depends on science technology programs like the one at U-W-La Crosse for future workers. Scientists at the school say researchers will study the physical aspects of the river, plus biology and water quality concerns.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Western Technical College are using a donation from National Geographic to pass on learning materials to Afghan refugees living at Fort McCoy. The student workbooks, C-Ds, and D-V-Ds will help the refugees learn English as they get ready to move away from the military installation and into the general public. The learning materials are good for adults as well as children. Many teachers from U-W-La Crosse and Western Technical are leading classes at the base in Monroe County.
Authorities in southeastern Minnesota are still investigating a weekend medical call that left one person dead and two hospitalized. Olmsted County sheriff's deputies found three people unresponsive inside a garage Saturday in Eyota. The preliminary information suggests that carbon monoxide may have been involved. No word on the current condition of those in the hospital.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is making some changes to help the state’s school districts find more bus drivers. The D-M-V says it is doing all it can by removing barriers to more people will apply. A portion of the test that has stopped some candidates will be waived until March 31st. People who get the required license through the waiver would only be cleared for school buses – not trucks, motor coaches, or other commercial vehicles. W-M-T-V Television is reporting many school bus companies are offering employment incentives, bonuses, and bigger paychecks.
Everyone in the US is now eligible to get free COVID 19 testing kits. The registrations for getting those kits opened up on Tuesday, and are being distributed by the US Post Office. Every home in the country is eligible to get 4 free kits. Those will be delivered later in January once the Post Office gets people's requests for kits. You can sign up online at COVID Tests dot Gov.
More than half of all eligible people in Wisconsin are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. State health officials are calling it a milestone in the fight against the coronavirus in Wisconsin. The Department of Health Services says as of Monday, a little more than one-point-seven million people have had a booster shot on top of their initial doses.
A data scientist at the Mayo Clinic Kern Center in Rochester expects this state’s omicron cases to peak around January 23rd, then drop off. That’s a pattern already seen in New York State and Florida. Doctors in New York City and Miami have been dealing with record numbers, but now are reporting drastic drop-offs in the number of cases. Doctor Curtis Storlie says projections suggest Minnesota will see record case numbers over the next week – possibly three times as has as the worst previous surge. There may be a “honeymoon period” after the peak, but it isn’t clear what comes after that.
Preparations continue in St. Paul for the federal civil rights trial of three ex-Minneapolis police officers charged with the death of George Floyd. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Thursday for Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao. Kueng and Tou are charged with willfully depriving Floyd's civil rights for failing to stop fellow officer Derek Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Lane was seen on video asking whether Floyd should be rolled on his side. St. Paul police have closed streets around the federal court building. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in the case.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is proposing a two-point-seven-billion-dollar bonding bill for infrastructure projects across Minnesota. The governor says "the bonding bill that you've heard about is an investment much like your home, whether it would be replacing your windows, or roofs or adding an addition when your family grows, that's what we do in Minnesota." Lawmakers must prioritize borrowing and spending in the soon-to-begin legislative session. And they're starting with a roughly seven-point-seven-billion-dollar budget surplus. The 2020 bonding bill was one-point-nine-billion--the largest in state history.
Madison is listed among the safest U-S state capitals. WalletHub released its list Monday with Madison in third place. Wisconsin’s capital city was ranked first for quality of education and health and third for quality of life. Its worst showing came in affordability where it ranked 20th. WalletHub chose Austin, Texas as the safest state capital in the country. Raleigh, North Carolina was the only other state capital ranked ahead of Madison.
The toll is 250 dollars per vehicle to drive the 37-mile ice highway from Warroad to the Northwest Angle resort community. This is the second year the road has been built across the frozen surface of the Lake of the Woods. Backers say it costs an estimated 15 hundred dollars per mile for plowing and maintenance. The ice road lets people avoid a drive into Canada – or get to the Northwest Angle without using a plane or snowmobile. The ice road was first built last year when the Canadian border was closed to nonessential travel from the U-S during the coronavirus pandemic.
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