Health Insurance costs for the Durand-Arkansaw School District are rising, but not as fast as other districts. Durand-Arkansaw Superintendent Greg Doverspike says the district will see an 8% increase for next year. According to Doverspike, the district usually budgets for a 10% increase in health insurance costs.
One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident in River Falls Township on Thursday. According to the Pierce County Sherrif's Department, 22yr old Kassidy Bauspies of Ellsworth was traveling southbound on Hwy 65, when she lost control of her vehicle and entered the west ditch. Bauspies was taken to River Falls Area Hospital.
One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident in Oak Grove Township on Wednesday. According to the Pierce County Sherrif's Department, 21yr old Hope Northagen of Maple Grove, MN was traveling northbound on Hwy 35, when she failed to negotiate a sharp curve, crossed the southbound lane, and entered the west ditch. Her vehicle came to rest at the bottom of an embankment. Northagen was transported to Region's Hospital in St. Paul.
One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident on Sunday in River Falls Township. According to the Pierce County Sherrif's Department, 41yr old Mason Hutter of Ellsworth was traveling southbound on Hwy 65, when he lost control of his vehicle, entered the west ditch, and rolled several times. Hutter was transported to River Falls Area Hospital.
A Monroe County Frac Sand mine project is dead. Wednesday, The Wisconsin Supreme Court turns down a petition from Georgia timber company Meteor Timber to build a frac sand operation in protected wetlands in Monroe County. The company was sued in 2018 by Clean Wisconsin, an environmental group, and other groups to block the DNR issuance of a permit to allow the construction of the processing and loading facility by Meteor Timber. In December 2021, an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling from Monroe County in 2020 that blocked the DNR permit.
Job numbers are looking incredibly strong for Wisconsin right now. The Department of Workforce Development's chief economist Dennis Winters says Wisconsin's unemployment rate hit a record low of 2 point 8 percent, and the total employed people also hit a record high. Winters says the state's gross domestic product also hit a record high in March, capping off the state's record productivity.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against a woman and her investment company for a fraud scheme that targeted the Hmong (MUNG) community in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Federal regulators accused Kay Yang and her hedge fund of raising more than 16-million dollars by “making false and misleading statements to approximately 70 investors.” The S-E-C says Yang promised her victims they could expect annual returns of up to 50 percent on their investments. Instead, she used their money to pay personal expenses, including “gambling, real estate, extensive travel, luxury automobiles and repayment of investors from a previous venture.” When the scheme collapsed the money was lost.
The state of Minnesota has continued showing job growth for a sixth straight month. The Department of Employment and Economic Development reports that 11-thousand-500 new jobs were added to the workforce in March. Commissioner Steve Grove says the growth rate in Minnesota was strong compared to what is being seen nationwide. Grove says federal officials rank Minnesota as one of the top states for job growth in the country. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is down to two-and-a-half percent – compared to the national rate of three-point-six percent.
Officials at the University of Minnesota do not believe cardinals, robins, and bluebirds in our backyards are spreading avian influenza. U-of-M Raptor Center Director Victoria Hall said during a webinar that “not having wild birds congregate right now is not a bad idea.” Hall says songbirds are not thought to be a major driver of bird flu, but at least a couple of chickadees were infected during the 2015 outbreak. The wild birds that are likely carrying avian influenza include ducks, geese, eagles, gulls, and ravens.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources urges people to avoid burning through the weekend due to anticipated high winds. The forecast indicates strong, windy conditions through Saturday. Easter Weekend is traditionally a popular time for people to be cleaning up their yards. The DNR asks the public not to burn debris since embers from any fire can easily escape control and cause a wildfire. This risk increases on windy days. There were nearly 60 wildfires, burning 175 acres in the last week. The DNR has responded to 126 wildfires burning more than 309 acres so far this year, most were related to debris burning.
Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court were asking some pointed questions to the leader of a group arguing against the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. Oral arguments were made Wednesday. Justice Brian Hagedorn pressed Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty President Rick Esenberg about the limits his organization wants. W-I-L-L seeks to prevent anyone from returning absentee ballots in any other way than mailing them in personally or delivering them directly to a staff member in the clerk’s office. Voting and disability rights advocates say disabled and elderly voters will be disenfranchised.
Plans for rerouting a controversial pipeline could mean hundreds of jobs for northern Wisconsin. A new 41-mile section of the Line 5 pipeline would go around the reservation that is home to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. That tribe filed a lawsuit three years ago to have the pipeline removed from its land. Canada-based Enbridge Energy will have to obtain permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to begin work. Rerouting the existing line is expected to carry a price tag of 450-million dollars and result in the hiring of 700 workers.
More than one-point-nine million Minnesotans have filed their income tax returns this tax season, with more than one-point-one million already receiving their refunds. Ryan Brown with the Minnesota Department of Revenue recommends that those who haven’t filed yet do so electronically and use direct deposit for any refunds that may be owed. He says it’s the most secure and convenient way to file taxes and to get a refund. The deadline to file this year is April 18th -- next Monday. Brown also recommends paying as much as you can by the due date and contacting the state’s Revenue Department as soon as possible to set up a payment agreement for the remaining balance.
A Portage County concentrated animal feeding operation is being accused of polluting nearby water sources. W-A-O-W / T-V reports the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is considering a modification to the permit for Gordondale Farms that would require groundwater monitoring. Owner Kyle Gordon insists the farm has always met the state nitrate standards. He says the monitoring wells could cost 100-to-200-thousand dollars. Testing of private wells in the Nelsonville area found nitrate concentrations higher than the Wisconsin health standard. A virtual meeting on the matter is set for May 12th.
A D-F-L lawmaker from Golden Valley wants to change the Minnesota state flag and the state seal. Representative Mike Frieberg is sponsoring a bill that would create a commission to design and recommend a new flag and seal, which would be adopted by May eleventh of next year. He told W-C-C-O/T-V that the current seal, which is in the center of the flag, has “racist undertones.” It depicts a white farmer plowing a field in the foreground and a Native American riding a horse in the background. Republicans have indicated that changing Minnesota’s flag and seal is not a high priority this session.
The Dane County Farmers’ Market kicks off its 50th season on the Capitol Square in Madison this weekend. W-M-T-V reports it started in 1972 with five farmers but now has more than 250 producers selling fresh goods. The market operates from 6:15 a-m to 1:45 p-m through November 12th. It moves to Breese Stevens Field July 9th to make way for the Art Fair on the Square. Patrons can park along the downtown streets or in city-operated garages and parking lots.
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