Two people were injured in a one-vehicle accident in Oak Grove Township on Sunday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, 16yr old Fletcher Wheadon of River Falls was traveling westbound on Hwy 29, when he lost control of the vehicle, entered the north ditch, and rolled over. Wheadon and passenger 16yr old Davis Wheadon were taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
A Mondovi man has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of sexual assault charges. In October, a Buffalo County jury found Rex Bigger guilty of sexually assaulting a girl numerous times between 2011-2013. Bigger was sentenced to 35yrs in prison Monday in Buffalo County Court.
The Durand City council is still reviewing possible projects for the ARPA funds that were received last year. City Administrator Rassmuesson told council members that clarification of the rules for the funding has been released by the Treasury Department. The city could use the funds for a capital project like sewer or water line replacement or even a revenue loss adjustment. The city received just under $180,000.
Beginning today face masks will no longer be required but instead recommended inside Eau Claire High Schools and Middle Schools. School officials said with a lowering COVID-19 case rate, availability of testing, and vaccine availability for students, they are now leaving the decision to wear a mask up to families. Elementary schools will have the changes begin next Monday. Masks will still be required on school busses and those that return to school between days 6 and 10 after a positive Covid-19 test or exposure.
Three people died in snowmobile crashes over the weekend, including a 71-year-old man has in Polk County. It happened Saturday in St. Croix Falls Township when an unidentified man lost control while driving his snowmobile along a marked trail. The Wisconsin DNR reports the man was ejected from his snowmobile and suffered fatal injuries. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether alcohol played a role in the fatal crash. DNR Wardens are reminding everyone to obey speed limits, wear their helmets and get safety training.
The Evers administration is offering grants for K-12 teacher training and recruitment. The will state offer one million dollars through the Teacher Training and Recruitment Grant program. That’s according to a Monday announcement from the office of Governor Tony Evers. Nonprofit organizations can apply for funding to recruit, train and license teachers, to meet state Department of Public Instruction guidelines for serving low-income or urban area school districts. The grants were made available through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
State Representative David Steffen has suspended his effort to do away with the Stadium District in Green Bay. Fox-11 Television reports the decision comes after Steffen met last week with Stadium District Chairman Chuck Lamine and executive director Pat Webb. The Republican Steffen says they agreed the Stadium District should expand and enhance the transparency and financial oversight of Lambeau Field expenses covered by taxpayers. He has proposed late last year to dissolve the Stadium District. The Green Bay Packers had threatened legal action if that happened.
Thirty-two schools and bus companies in Minnesota are getting state grants to install stop-arm camera systems. The state Office of Traffic Safety is awarding more than three-and-a-half million dollars as part of a joint school bus safety effort with the Minnesota State Patrol. Traffic Safety director Mike Hanson says the camera grant project is a significant effort to keep kids safe, hold selfish or inattentive drivers accountable, and change dangerous driving choices.” Law enforcement in Minnesota cited 769 drivers for stop-arm violations in 2021.
U-S Senator Ron Johnson says it is unfortunate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to isolate himself from the West. The Wisconsin Republican spoke Saturday night at the Eau Claire County Lincoln Day Dinner. Johnson says the best way to lead in a situation like this is through strength, but he doesn’t feel President Joe Biden is doing that effectively. He says things wouldn’t go easy for Putin if he decides to invade Ukraine. Johnson says Russia would pay a very high price. He doesn’t expect American troops to be sent to Ukraine if Russia does invade. Johnson would expect major sanctions to be put in place against the invaders.
The family of plane crash victim Deb Velleman says credit for the recovery of her body should go only to Keith Cormican, a diver from Black River Falls. Velleman and another woman went missing when their plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama last month. Velleman’s husband, the pilot, and another passenger were rescued – but two bodies were still missing. Cormican is the founder of Bruce’s Legacy, a nonprofit dive organization. He flew down and – despite some Panamanian government interference – was able to recover the two bodies.
Governor Tony Evers wants to release a list of bars, restaurants, and other businesses that had coronavirus cases. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide if that can move forward. The high court heard arguments from the governor’s people and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Monday. W-M-C sued the governor last year after he announced plans to release the list as part of his push to keep people safe from the virus. W-M-C and other business groups say releasing the names would scare customers away; creating a huge disadvantage for many businesses in Wisconsin.
Dane County’s indoor mask mandate is set to end. Public Health Madison Dane County announced Monday that the mask mandate will end on March 1st. Public Health Director Janel Heinrich said the decision “signals that we have made it through the Omicron surge and are entering a new stage of the pandemic.” Vaccinations, she says, have proven highly effective in protecting against severe illness, hospitalization, or death due to COVID-19. The Dane County mandate was put in place last August when the delta variant of COVID-19 was the dominant strain causing an uptick in cases. The final extension went into effect on February 1.
Some Minnesota home buyers are having a hard time finding homes to buy. Minnesota Realtors C-E-O Chris Gallen says lack of inventory is a problem right now. Home sales in the state were down by almost 10 percent in January when compared to last year. Gallen says if there was a better inventory supply sales numbers would be significantly higher. The median home sales price in the state rose eight-and-a-half percent to 295-thousand dollars. Gallen says when you have more buyers than sellers it drives up the price.
The Thorp Police Department got a welcome phone call late last week when the U-S Marshals Service said it had taken a fugitive into custody. Forty-year-old Glen Fifer was wanted on several charges including child sexual assault, resisting or obstructing an officer, O-W-I, operating while revoked, and failure to install an ignition interlock device. The U-S Marshals say Fifer was living under a fake name 75 miles away in Warrens at a property owned by a family member.
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