The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Dunn County woman who is suing Dunn County and the sheriff's department. Rachel Slabey sued the county after she was assaulted by former Dunn County Jailer Ryan Boigenzahn. The Supreme Court will decide if the county and sheriff's department are liable for a failure to address allegations that Boigenzahn was likely to cross a line sexually or romantically with inmates and they didn't protect Slabey from the assault.
Another Democrat has entered the race to replace Ron Kind in the third congressional district. Dr. Mark Neumann of La Crosse made the announcement yesterday in Eau Claire. He enters a primary with 4 other candidates in the August 9th primary. So far, Derrick Van Orden is the only Republican running for the seat.
A former Minnesota firefighter has been sentenced to five years in prison for a hit-and-run crash in western Wisconsin. Thirty-four-year-old Andrew Endres had pleaded no contest to two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death connected to the crash in 2014. The Star-Tribune reports 41-year-old Richard L. Cobenais of Luck and 28-year-old Benjamin R. Juarez of Frederic were killed. Cobenais and Juarez had been fighting and they were hit when the fight spilled into the road. A witness told Wisconsin authorities she had heard Endres say he was drunk when he hit the men.
After the temporary changes to pesticide applicator certification requirements due to COVID-19, applicators will need full certification for 2022. This year the program will include online as well as in-person training. Pepin County in-person Private Pesticide Applicator Training sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, and Thursday, February 24, 2022. Classes will run from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm (including testing) at the Pepin County Government Center. Space is limited and pre-registration is required for these sessions. For more information, contact the Pepin County Extension Office.
The Federal Government will be spending $830 million for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program to modernize locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River according to Senator Tammy Baldwin. The money is coming from the recent infrastructure bill. Other river projects in Western Wisconsin include 350,000 for River Falls’ Kinnickinnic River Restoration to complete a feasibility study in Pierce County and $5.31 million for Arcadia to initiate construction on flood prevention projects.
The Department of Workforce Development reports Wisconsin's unemployment rate dropped to a record two-point-eight percent in December. The state's jobless rate was three percent in November. The total number of unemployed people in Wisconsin declined to a record low of 86-thousand-200. Total nonfarm jobs increased by 63-hundred last month while private sector positions rose by 53-hundred. D-W-D says the manufacturing sector fueled the growth by adding 48-hundred jobs in December.
Governor Tim Walz is announcing a series of proposals to expand economic opportunity in Minnesota. The supplemental budget proposals include delivering 700-million dollars in direct payments to Minnesotans through "Walz Checks." Walz wants to distribute checks of up to 350 dollars for Minnesotans. Single tax filers earning up to 164-thousand-400 dollars would receive a payment of 175 dollars. A married couple filing jointly earning up to 273-thousand would receive a payment of 350. More than two-point-seven million Minnesota households would receive a Walz Check under this proposal. The money would come from the state's projected seven-point-seven-billion-dollar surplus.
The Minnesota State Patrol is releasing photo and audio files from a drunken-driving crash involving Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson in December. Hutchinson was hurt in a single-car rollover about five miles east of Alexandria. He was traveling 126 miles per hour just before the crash. Hutchinson told witnesses and deputies at the scene that he wasn't the driver of the county-owned vehicle. But later in the day, Hutchinson released a statement saying he drove the vehicle after he'd been drinking and apologized for his actions. Hutchinson was charged with four misdemeanors.
If you happened to be staring at the sky shortly before 7:00 a-m you might have seen it. People living in eight states in the Midwest and Upper Midwest reported seeing a fireball. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences caught the meteor on video at 6:48 a-m. The American Meteor Society received 118 reports of sightings. A report from the Milwaukee Astronomical Society indicates the presence of meteor showers between now and February 8th. The most activity is expected January 27th and 28th. The fireball was spotted as far south as the St. Louis area.
A newly-formed committee in the Wisconsin Assembly will tackle the supply chain issues that pose big challenges for retailers. Speaker Robin Vos says getting answers about low supply volumes and rising prices will be good for businesses and families. The Republican Vos announced the creation of a new Special Assembly Committee on Trade and Supply Chain Wednesday. WisPolitics reports one of the tasks for committee members will be to examine the ways Wisconsin’s worker shortage is affecting the supply chain here in the state.
Four Democratic members of the Wisconsin Assembly have introduced a resolution to end what they call the “sham” investigation of the 2020 presidential election. State Representatives Mark Spreitzer, Gordon Hintz, Lisa Subek, and Jodi Emerson say the effort has wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. WisconsinExaminer-dot-com reports the resolution would eliminate the Office of Special Counsel. Spreitzer says the 2020 election “was open, transparent, and fair.” He says it’s time for Donald Trump and the far right to accept that he lost. Passage of the resolution isn’t likely in the Republican-controlled Assembly. Speaker Robin Vos has said he wants the effort completed by the end of this month.
The immigrant rights group “Voces de la Frontera Action” has filed a lawsuit seeking to quash a subpoena issued by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. He is demanding that the group surrender documents and internal communications related to the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin. Gableman was hired by Wisconsin Republicans to investigate the way the election was conducted last year. The legality of the subpoena is being challenged and a spokesperson calls it “modern-day McCarthyite political theater, according to W-D-J-T Television in Milwaukee.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says Minnesota's unemployment rate dropped two-tenths to three-point-one percent in December. That is the lowest level since 2019. The state lost two-thousand jobs last month, but the November numbers were revised upward by five-thousand jobs. DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said, "the good news remains that our economy is bursting with great job opportunities, and DEED will continue our proactive programs to Minnesota job-seekers across the state.” Officials say more people moved from unemployment into employment in December. The national unemployment rate was three-point-nine percent last month.
A bill passed on Thursday by the Wisconsin Assembly would allow people with concealed carry permits to have guns on school grounds. The author, Republican Shae Sortwell of Two Rivers, says permit holders currently must have their guns secured when picking up their kids at school. Most Wisconsin schools are gun-free zones and opponents say guns don’t belong on school grounds. The bill would likely get vetoed by Governor Tony Evers if it passes the state Senate.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has sanctioned a member of his Republican caucus. Vos noted Thursday that Representative Timothy Ramthun claims Wisconsin can revoke the 10 electoral votes it delivered to President Joe Biden. According to Vos’ office, Ramthun also falsely accused Vos of signing a deal with attorneys for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to authorize ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin. Vos has stripped Ramthun of his sole staffer at his Capitol office.
The Minnesota D-N-R is seeking public input on deer population goals in 28 permit areas in portions of southeast Minnesota, the Arrowhead, and north-central areas of the state. Population goals established in this process will provide direction for management in each goal-setting block for a 10-year period, with a midpoint review at the five-year mark. The D-N-R's Barb Keller says these goals are very important because they guide the annual decision-making process with regard to deer regulations and bag limits in each deer permit area. Minnesotans can provide feedback online beginning Monday through February 13th.
No comments:
Post a Comment