Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Local-Regional News March 15

 A man convicted of hiding a corpse, maintaining a drug trafficking house and delivery of narcotics in connection with the death of Gilmanton native Toby Cleasby has been sentenced.  Eau Claire County Judge John Manydeeds sentenced Roger Minck to 12yrs in prison plus 10yrs of supervised release yesterday.    In 2109, Cleasby went to Minck's house to buy drugs and died of a drug overdose.  Minck then hid Cleasby's body in his brother's house.


 Security Financial Bank is hosting three free shredding events this spring in Bloomer, Black River Falls, and Durand for all community members to attend. Securely disposing of your outdated and confidential documents is encouraged to reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft.  The event in Durand will be on May 7th from 9-11am.  Confidential Records will shred documents onsite at SFB during the event.   There is no cost to this event; however, there is a limit of three boxes or bags per person. Only paper items will be accepted. The following items cannot be shredded: black butterfly clips, hanging file folders, three-ring binders, hard drives, magnetic tapes, and any plastic items.


The investigation into Wisconsin's 2020 election made national news on 60 Minutes this Sunday.   60 Minutes covered the continued efforts to either investigate or overturn Wisconsin's 2020 elections. Reporter Bill Whitaker talked with Secretary of State Doug Laafollate, Republican State Senator Kathy Bernier and Wisconsin Elections Commission director Meghan Wolfe on the topics, and all three shared similar views that the Republican-led investigation needs to end. Neither Assembly Speaker Robin Vos who ordered the investigation nor Mike Gableman who heads the investigation agreed to speak with CBS.


A state Democratic lawmaker says Republicans are to blame for local city governments taking private money to help run their elections. Representative Jodi Emerson from Eau Claire tells Capital City Sunday that Republican lawmakers have continually resisted increasing local aid to cities and counties. Over 200 governments in Wisconsin took money from a group backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ahead of the 2020 presidential election.


The Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is losing its lone airline.  Skywest announced last week that it had filed a notice with the US Department of Transportation that it would be ending service to 29 regional airports, including Chippewa Valley Regional.  No flights have been canceled and Skywest said it would continue service until a new carrier is found.  There is no timeline as to when a new carrier would be found.


Wisconsin Democrats are planning to hold their first in-person state convention since 2019 in La Crosse.  W-K-B-T Television reports the event will be held at the La Crosse Center on June 25th and 26th.  If there are battleground states, then Western Wisconsin is something of a battleground region.  Voters in the 3rd Congressional District voted for Democratic Congressman Ron Kind while also voting for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2020.  Democrats like Governor Tony Evers and U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin also received majority support in that part of the state in 2018.


Wisconsin has its first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza since 2015.  The disease was found in a Jefferson County laying hen facility.  Labs are still working to narrow down which strain of the virus infected the Wisconsin flock. Commercial and backyard flock owners are being urged to do what they can to tighten biosecurity measures.


Starting this week, Wisconsin correctional officers and other state security officers are getting a pay increase of three dollars an hour.  W-B-A-Y reports the hike went into effect Sunday.  The state is pumping up the paycheck at a time the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and Department of Health Services are severely short-staffed.  State employees affected include correctional officers, sergeants, psychiatric care technicians, youth counselors, and supervisors.  More than five-thousand Wisconsin state employees will see bigger paychecks.


Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is suing two companies for failing to address PFAS contamination.  Kaul says the complaint against Johnson Controls and Tyco Fire Products alleges the elevated levels were first observed in 2013 but it was years before the companies notified the D-N-R.  Tyco has told WisPolitics-dot-com it plans to “vigorously defend this lawsuit.”  The Department of Justice acknowledges the companies have taken steps to resolve the issue by working with residents and communicating with state agencies.  The contamination comes from testing firefighting foam at a location near Marinette.


Global food giant Cargill is reducing its business in Russia as a response to the attack on Ukraine. The Minnesota-based company issued a statement saying that the people of Ukraine are living an unthinkable and horrifying reality since their country was invaded.  Cargill says it has a long history in Russia, but in a time like no other, is scaling back business activities there and has stopped investment.  It will continue to operate essential food and feed facilities in Russia, calling food " a basic human right"  that should never be used as a weapon.  Cargill says it is sending profits from its operations to Ukrainian humanitarian efforts and food programs.


U-S Senator Tina Smith says Minnesota will be getting 130-million dollars in federal funding to support several projects across the state. The include 500-thousand dollars for St. Paul College for a program aimed at supporting Native American student success. Smith says the federal money will help pay for more than 70 projects, including increasing access to workforce development, funding law enforcement training, and expanding broadband access.


For a limited time, the American Red Cross has resumed testing all blood, platelet, and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies.  Plasma from routine donations that have high levels of COVID-19 antibodies may be used as convalescent plasma to help meet the needs of COVID-19 patients with a weakened immune system. At the same time, the Red Cross blood supply remains vulnerable, and individuals are urged to schedule a blood or platelet donation. To make an appointment, use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).


Almost four months after three members and a volunteer with the Dancing Grannies were killed, the popular group made its comeback in Saturday’s Milwaukee St. Patrick’s Day parade.  The deaths came last November during the Waukesha Christmas Parade.  Darrell Books Junior is accused of killing six people and injuring 60 more by driving an S-U-V through the crowd.  The surviving members of the Dancing Grannies say they have brought on 20 new “Grannies in Training.”  They were met with plenty of support from the crowd.


Minnesota’s ethanol industry wants to help bring record-high fuel prices down. Tim Rudnicki of the Minnesota Biofuels Association says the state has incredible production capacity with 19 ethanol plants in the state. Minnesota’s ethanol production capacity as of 2021 is at just over one-point-two billion gallons. Rudnicki says the government could provide some regulatory relief to make 15-percent ethanol -- or E-15 -- more widely available. The ban on Russian oil represents about eight percent of U-S oil imports.


The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now accepting artwork entries for the 2023 Wisconsin State Park and Forest vehicle admission sticker design contest. The annual DNR-sponsored contest is open to all high school-age students in Wisconsin. Artwork entries should focus on animals, plants, or outdoor activities in Wisconsin. Rules, submission guidelines, tips for a winning design, and past sticker design winners are available on the DNR's website.


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