Firefighters from Durand, Alma, Township Fire Department and Mondovi responded to a fire at an old farmhouse at Hwy BB and Hwy 10 last night. The building was a total loss and there were no reports of any injuries. The Cause of that fire is still under investigation.
The Durand City Council has approved an agreement with the Rural Fire Department to lease a new ladder truck. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city will be a 30% participant in the lease. Milliren says it will cost the city approximately $53,000 each year of the 7yr lease. It is estimated it will take 18 months to build and deliver the ladder truck to the fire department.
Tomah Police have determined that suspicious objects found in a truck near the Tomah Amtrak Station Monday are fireworks. According to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicians the objects, which were initially reported to police as possible sticks of dynamite, are aerial fireworks. The area near the Tomah Amtrak Station was closed off from 10 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. Monday while law enforcement secured the objects and took them away from the scene to see what they were.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Wisconsin are headed in the right direction – down. Public health officials have said that hospitalizations, rather than overall case counts, have become the most critical indicators of how Wisconsin is trending. And while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is still quite high, it is headed downward. As of Wednesday, the Wisconsin Hospital Association dashboard showed 1,831 COVID patients, including 366 in ICU beds. That compares to an all-time high of 2,278 hospitalized COVID patients just two weeks ago.
A Clark County man has been sentenced to prison for a drunk driving crash that killed two. Trenton Bemis pleaded no contest to two counts of homicide by drunk driving in connection with a crash in December 17th that killed Michelle Kunze and Genie Schroeder after Bemis crossed the center line on Hwy 10 and hit their car head-on. Bemis was sentenced yesterday to 15yrs in prison.
Despite claims repeated thousands of times on the internet, the Wisconsin Legislature hasn’t recalled its electoral votes for President Joe Biden. W-I-S-C reports assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke says the idea is illegal and it will die in committee. Republican State Representative Timothy Ramthun introduced it. Steineke is also a Republican. He chairs the Assembly Rules Committee that received Ramthun’s resolution and he made it clear Wednesday it won’t even be discussed. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos disciplined Ramthun last week for allegedly spreading lies about his fellow Republicans. Vos told reporters Ramthun does have a right to his false beliefs about the election results.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources policy board voted Wednesday to name board member Greg Kazmierski as the new chairman. Kazmierski will assume the leadership position from Fred Prehn, who stays on the board. W-I-S-C reports Prehn’s leadership term ended last May and Governor Tony Evers appointed a replacement. That’s when Prehn refused to step aside and Republicans in the Senate never took the matter up. Prehn claimed he didn’t have to leave until the Senate confirms his replacement. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is reviewing the case. Oral arguments are to be held in March.
Governor Tony Evers will likely veto a pair of pandemic-related bills passed by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly. The legislation would require businesses to accept employees’ past COVID-19 infections as a substitute for vaccinations. Another would ban government-issued vaccine passports. There are no plans for such passports at either the state and federal level, and the Biden administration has withdrawn its vaccine and testing mandate for businesses. Evers is expected to veto both bills if passed by the state Senate.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is renewing his push to legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota, even though it has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, particularly in an election year. Walz says he's not encouraging people to use cannabis any more than over-indulging in alcohol -- but prohibition hasn't worked. The governor says, "It's taken a huge amount of police resources away from things that they should be doing, of fighting violent crime, and it's had a disproportionate impact on communities of color." Opponents warn legalizing marijuana will make Minnesota roads and workplaces less safe.
One part of the tough-on-crime package of bills approved in the Wisconsin Assembly Tuesday includes jail time for rioters when damage is done. A series of bills were passed in response to crowd violence in Kenosha and Madison in 2020. T-M-J-4 reports one new law would require at least 30 days in jail for anyone who knowingly attends a riot that ends with damage. Participants could be sentenced to 45 days in jail. Governor Tony Evers is expected to veto the package and Republicans don’t have the votes to override.
Republicans in the state Assembly have quashed a move to overturn the 2020 election. That motion by Representative Tim Ramthun was sent to committee as per Assembly rules, but Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke called it an illegal resolution that would never see a vote. This is Ramthun's second attempt to overturn the election. He recently had his only staffer removed from his office for spreading misinformation about the elections.
A pair of GOP Lawmakers are hoping to restart talks on legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin. Assemblyman Pat Snyder says that the state would retain strict control over the industry through a new rules commission. State Senator Mary Felzkowski is a cancer survivor and says that medical marijuana could have helped her through her treatments for cancer. She wants people to have natural options in their health care in the future.
The Verona Area School District is being sued for allegedly paying female special education teachers and a school psychologist less than their male counterparts. The U-S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit Tuesday. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the district is accused of paying a longtime female psychologist more than 10 thousand dollars less than a male psychologist who was doing essentially the same job. The E-E-O-C is asking for an injunction against the district through its filing in the U-S District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Lake Delton police are still working with state agents on the investigation of a large fire at the Wilderness Resort four years ago. No injuries were reported, but the damage estimate approached five million dollars. W-M-T-V reports investigators are still hoping somebody saw something early the morning of January 25th, 2018 – and that they will come forward with information. The new employee housing building was under construction and unoccupied at the time.
It’s called a 136-year tradition. The St. Paul Winter Carnival’s 10-day run starts Friday. President Lisa Jacobson with the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation says the annual event will again include everything from food vendors to the return of the warming house. Jacobson says one of the ice sculptors will return for his 50th year. Activities continue through February 6th. COVID protocols will be in place. High temperatures of 20-to-25 degrees are forecast for the first day.
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