Local ambulance services may receive more money from Medicaid reimbursements under a new law. Assembly Bill 874, which was sponsored by representative Rob Summerfield was signed by Governor Evers last Friday. The law requires the Wisconsin Department of Human Services to submit a plan to allow Wisconsin EMS providers to take part in supplemental payment opportunities to help reduce the funding pressure related to Medicaid reimbursements. The plan would have to first be approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.
Today is National Grilled Cheese Day and the Pepin County Dairy Promotions Board will be celebrating by serving grilled cheese and tomato soup tomorrow for students in the Durand-Arkansaw School District. The lunch will feature cheese from Eau Galle Cheese along with donations of butter, milk, and cheese provided by the Pepin County Dairy Promotions Board.
A Menomonie man, who sexually assaulted and choked a woman on Water Street in Eau Claire last year is going to prison. 29yr old Larry Young was sentenced to 12yrs in prison, 10yrs of extended supervision, and 2yrs probation yesterday in Eau Claire County Court. Young was found guilty of attempted 2nd-degree sexual assault, and other charges in connection with the October 25th incident.
A Sparta man has been arrested on charges of possession of child pornography. Monday, authorities arrested 54yr old George Bradley and charged him with 71 counts of possession of child porn. Authorities were tipped off by cloud storage company Synchronoss about possible child porn images stored on Bradley's account. During an initial investigation, Bradley denied having the images but upon further investigation, Bradley admitted to having the images on the cloud and on his phone.
Two Rusk County men, accused of killing a Sheldon couple have pleaded guilty to the charges. Adam Rosolowski and Joseph Faulk plead guilty to two counts of being party to first-degree intentional homicide in the June 2020 shooting deaths of 73yr old Robert Rosolowskie and 70yr old Bonnie Rosolowski. Sentencing for both men will be July 27th.
Thousands of turkeys have been killed at the site of the state’s latest bird flu outbreak. Over the weekend, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a Barron County turkey farm owned by Jennie-O. According to DATCP the facility was “depopulated” on Sunday. All the birds - a total of 46,507 turkeys – were killed, and will be composted on site. The Barron County case was the fourth in Wisconsin as bird flu infections are being reported across the Midwest.
Gas prices continue to slowly fall. Gas Buddy says average gas prices in Minnesota have fallen five-point-six cents per gallon in the last week, averaging three dollars-83 cents a gallon. Prices in Minnesota are 13-point-three cents lower than a month ago. Diesel prices are also falling and likely will go back under five dollars per gallon this week. The national average price of gas has fallen seven-and-a-half cents per gallon in the last week, averaging four dollars, ten cents.
Fire departments from Southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin are donating fire gear to Ukraine. The Oronoco, MN fire department organized the drive and over 30 departments from Minnesota and Wisconsin donated turnout gear, helmets, boots, gloves, oxygen bottles, and more. The gear is set to be shipped to Ukraine by Chaplin Ministries International which uses donations to cover the cost of shipping.
Another member of the Wisconsin state Assembly won’t be seeking reelection this fall. Republican state Representative Tyler Vorpagel is the 17th member of the chamber to announce plans to retire, resign or seek another office. The 37-year-old from Plymouth was first elected to the Assembly in 2014. He didn’t indicate what he’ll do next. Six state Senators will be leaving that chamber. The departures top each of the last two sessions, which saw 20 lawmakers opt against running again.
A Madison-based non-profit is offering 15-hundred-dollar scholarships to technical college students. A spokesperson for Ascendium Education Group says the funding is available for students working and studying in the trades industry. W-M-T-V reports that Ascendium wants to inspire a new generation of skilled workers and address the current shortage in the skilled workforce. Five hundred scholarships will be provided this year. Recipients have to be enrolled at a Wisconsin technical college and work as an apprentice to be eligible.
The next step is up to the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Bipartisan legislation approved last week requires it to come up with plans to build a new corrections facility in Milwaukee County for youthful offenders. The location will have to be approved by the local Board of Supervisors. The new facility will replace the troubled Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake youth prison in Irma. When the young residents are moved that facility would be used to house adult offenders. The move is still several years away and the work is expected to cost at least 42-million dollars. The governor signed the bipartisan bill Friday.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court hears arguments in two high-profile cases this week. Justices will hear arguments about school gender policies and ballot drop boxes. The Tuesday case on gender comes from Madison, where a parent is suing over the Madison school district’s policy not to tell all parents in all cases when a child changes gender identity at school. On Wednesday, lawyers on both sides will argue whether or not ballot drop boxes will be allowed in Wisconsin elections in the future.
The University of Minnesota will provide more education-related financial support to student athletes this fall. The U-of-M says a recent N-C-A-A law change allows schools to offer additional incentives to students playing sports. Athletic Director Mark Coyle says they’re continuing “to look for ways to enhance the student-athlete experience and how best to prepare them for life during and after college.” Coyle says they are still finalizing the plans. He notes that Gopher student-athletes posted a school-record cumulative G-P-A of three-point-44 in the past year, and Minnesota had a 96 percent Graduation Success Rate, which ranks second in the Big Ten behind Northwestern.
As spring and summer approach, Xcel Energy is reminding customers to be prepared. Xcel’s John Marshall says before severe weather strikes, it’s a good idea to put together a home emergency kit, which includes, “flashlights, batteries… backup phone chargers, bottled water,” and “non-perishable foods.” Marshall also says if power outages occur, it’s important for customers to have access to the most recent updates about their power restoration. You can check with your local power provider for the latest on outages.
Finally, in news, today is a special day at WRDN. It was on this day in 2012, that WRDN returned to the air at 6am. Over the years we have upgraded our transmitter to broadcast in AM Stereo, added an FM Frequency, began video streaming of Durand Sports and other events, and this year started a new internet channel. We would like to thank all of our sponsors and each and every one of you for supporting us over the last 10yrs and we look forward to continuing to serve Durand and the surrounding area for years to come. Thank you.
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