Northern Wisconsin should brace for more snow Monday into Tuesday. The National Weather Service says areas to the north and west of Wausau could see at least six and as much as 16 inches of snow into the Lake Superior snow belt in several waves. Here in West Central Wisconsin, we could see 4-5 inches of snow before it ends, while parts of southwest Wisconsin could see some ice and sleet accumulation as well. Drivers are reminded to stay safe on the roads and don't travel unless they have to until the roads are clear.
While other school districts across the country have been experiencing learning loss among their students due to the pandemic, that has not been the case for the Durand-Arkansaw School District. Superintendent Greg Doverspike says the staff and students have worked hard and the district has continued with in-person learning. One area the district is still working on is the social, emotional, and mental health of the students due to the pandemic.
A semi-truck rolled off Interstate 94 near the Minnesota/Wisconsin border Saturday and narrowly missed ending up in the icy St. Croix River. The Wisconsin State Patrol released a photo that shows the truck completely rolled over down an embankment that led directly to the river. Rescue crews were forced to extricate the driver from the cab. He was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
A UW-Eau Claire student faces felony charges after he allegedly caused thousands of dollars in damage to a dorm basement. Prosecutors charged 21-year-old Zachary Cunningham of New Richmond on Thursday with felony burglary and criminal damage to property. The damage was discovered on February 2nd and included several doors, two card swipe readers, and wiring that had been ripped from the ceiling.
The Wisconsin State Patrol reports 10 people were injured in a 39-car pileup on U-S Highway 51 in Marathon County. The chain reaction collision happened at about 4:30 Friday afternoon. Investigators say the severe winter weather was a factor. Extrication equipment was used to remove some victims from their cars. They were taken to local hospitals where their medical conditions haven’t been reported. The crash shut down traffic in both directions on the busy highway near Wausau for about four hours.
A state appeals court has overturned a conviction for a man accused of dealing meth. Wood County deputies arrested Jere Meddaugh in April of 2020 after he was spotted riding his bike behind a school in Wisconsin Rapids. Meddaugh didn't stop when asked and was chased down by officers, who found around seven thousand dollars worth of meth on him. But his attorneys argued that there was no probable cause for that stop in the first place. The appeals court agreed. The state will now have to retry the case without the evidence from the stop.
Bacterial infections in four babies, including one in Minnesota, prompted the recall of infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition. The F-D-A says the recall impacts Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare powdered formula. The recall is limited to containers with an expiration date of April 1st, 2022, or later, where the first two barcode digits are numbers 22 through 37, and the full bar code contains K-8, S-H, or Z-2.
The union representing food service workers at Minneapolis Public Schools could become the latest Twin Cities Metro area education-related union to authorize a strike. The leadership of S-E-I-U local 284 said they will announce a date of their own strike vote on Monday. The union says they are frustrated with the lack of what they view as a fair agreement with district leadership, noting the workers they represent are mostly hourly employees who work multiple jobs. Already this week teachers in Minneapolis and St. Paul voted to authorize their own strikes.
The Legislature will take up a Republican package of election bills this week. One of them would require the Wisconsin Elections Commission to submit all guidance to the Legislature for approval. Another would give the Legislature the authority to fire employees and reduce funding for the commission if lawmakers determine any of them violated election laws. The Wisconsin Senate is scheduled to take up the measures Tuesday, followed by the Assembly Thursday. Governor Tony Evers is expected to use his veto pen on the package. He vetoed a similar package of bills last June.
A group of nurses who want to unionize say they will picket outside next week’s U-W Health Board meeting Thursday. They say they will conduct an informational picket for safe staffing, quality care, and a union. The nurses say they have been called essential heroes, but the hospital doesn’t try to retain them or include them in meaningful decision-making on issues that matter to them. They say they have suffered from extreme physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion during the pandemic. They say 15-hundred nurses have signed cards demanding union recognition and U-W Health hasn’t responded.
One of the most popular politicians in Wisconsin history says he will decide in April if he will run for governor once again. Tommy Thompson will step down as Interim University of Wisconsin System President next month. The Republican says he will make his decision after that. The state’s Republican field for governor is already crowded with Rebecca Kleefisch, Kevin Nicholson, and state Representative Tim Ramthun campaigning for Wisconsin’s top statewide elective office. Thompson has been elected governor four times. He left office 20 years ago to serve as U-S Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration.
New legislation approved by the Wisconsin Assembly Thursday would put a cap on unemployment benefits when the state’s economy is strong. How long you could receive benefits would be tied to the unemployment rate. Now, benefits can last up to 26 weeks. The new bill would cut that to 14 weeks when the state’s unemployment rate is two-point-eight percent – as it is now. Republicans say the package of bills is a way to keep people in the workforce. Democrats are less enthusiastic, saying the measures punish people who are still looking for work.
Judge Regina Chu sentenced former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter to 24 months in prison in the April death of Daunte Wright. Chu said Friday this was the "saddest" case in her more than 20 years on the bench and she called the death of Daunte Wright a tragic mistake. A Hennepin County jury found Potter guilty in December of first and second-degree manslaughter in Wright's death. Judge Chu got emotional after announcing a 24-month sentence for Kim Potter, saying police risk their lives every single day in public service and Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically and she never intended to hurt anyone.
A 29-year-old St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in Dakota County. Nicholas Alan Taylor was accused of aiding and abetting in the death of 55-year-old Chris Lafontaine in Greenvale Township last year. Taylor will be sentenced June 2nd. He’s being held in the Dakota County Jail without bail. A 9-1-1 caller reported a burglary in progress last July. When deputies responded they found Lafontaine dead in a bathroom.
The Department of Natural Resources is asking for your help spotting bear dens this spring. The DNR is looking for black bear dens in order to collar the animals for a new research study. They're trying to more accurately predict the reproduction rate of the bears, and the more bears they can track the better. If you spot a bear den, don't get too close, but contact them on their website at D N R dot W I dot Gov and search for bear dens.
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