Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Local-Regional News May 17

 A Wabasha County man faces 36 years in prison for the killing of his father last year. Prosecutors say 46-year-old James Riley of Millville pleaded guilty Friday to the March 2021 second-degree murder of 73-year-old Edward Riley. James told investigators that he hit his dad in the head with a hammer, stabbed him several times, and put his body in the trunk of a car. The criminal complaint says Riley was upset that his father didn’t name him as an heir to the family farm. He will serve 432 months under a plea agreement.


One person was injured in a motorcycle vs vehicle accident in Isabelle Township on Saturday.  According to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department,  68yr old Dale Degross of Burnsville, MN was traveling southbound on Hwy 35, waiting for traffic to clear the intersection of Hwy 35 and Hwy D, when his motorcycle was rear-ended by a southbound vehicle driven by 53yr old Benjamin Schmid of Marshall, MN.  Degross was taken to Mayo Hospital in Red Wing. 


The Pepin County Courthouse Museum Courtyard will be hosting a civil war live day today.  From 9-2 students from Durand Middle and High School will be at the event touring learning stations about the war between the states.  Every 40 minutes a cannon will be fired for the students to switch stations.  The event will be open to the public after 2pm and is free.


The Buffalo County Board of Supervisors is seeking one community member to serve on the County Board of Supervisors District 8 (Ward 1 and 2 City of Alma).  Residency in the City of Alma is required to be considered for this vacancy.   The appointed individual will serve on the Buffalo County Board of Supervisors and various Committees for the remainder of the term which ends April 2024.  Members will be appointed by the Chairperson of the Buffalo County Board of Supervisors and confirmed by the full County Board of Supervisors.    Those interested are to contact the Buffalo County Clerk's Office.


The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has identified cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in backyard flocks in Dunn County.  The birds from the flock will be depopulated.  Domestic flocks in 13 Wisconsin counties have now been infected with HPAI. Flock owners are strongly encouraged to continue practicing biosecurity measures to protect their birds from the virus. This includes washing hands, disinfecting equipment, restricting access to birds, and separating new birds from existing flocks for at least 30 days. Poultry owners are asked, when possible, to keep their birds indoors.


 An Eau Claire Republican announced his bid for the State Assembly on Monday.   Josh Stanley will be running for the 91st Assembly District seat, which primarily represents the city of Eau Claire. Stanley said he is running because he wants to be involved in the process of helping his community.  If there is no primary for the seat, Stanley will face off against Democrat Jodi Emerson who has been representing the 91st Assembly district since 2019.


Three airlines have submitted bids to the US Department of Transportation to serve the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport to replace SkyWest Airlines who announced in March they would drop service to the airport.  WEAU-TV reports that Sun County is proposing flying from Eau Claire to Minneapolis twice a week,  Southern Airways Express would offer daily flights to Minneapolis and Chicago, and Boutique Air would also offer daily service to Minneapolis.  The airport is seeking public comment on the proposals.  There is no word on when the DOT would make a final decision.


The La Crosse County Medical Examiner reports two people have died in fatal overdoses in a three-day period.  W-K-B-T / T-V reports Doctor Tim Candahl says both deaths involved fentanyl mixed with cocaine – a rarity in the La Crosse area.  Both of the victims were in their 30s.  Their names haven’t been released.  Candahl urges anyone with loved ones struggling with addiction to take steps to prevent an overdose.  Those steps would include having Narcan available in case of an emergency.


Parents, beware of online baby formula scams.  Amid the nationwide shortage, the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau is warning of social media scams preying on parents. The pitch goes like this – scammers post on social media sites that they have formula available, showing photos of formula to potential buyers via chat or direct message. The buyer makes a payment through a platform such as PayPal or Venmo, but the formula never arrives. Lisa Schiller with Wisconsin BBB, said scammers follow the news and there are bound to be victims in Wisconsin.


Minnesota Housing’s Home-Help-M-N program opens for applications today (Tuesday). It aims to provide relief to homeowners who have been impacted by the pandemic and who owe past-due mortgage payments and other eligible housing expenses. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho says funds for the program are limited and the need is expected to be high. She’s urging homeowners to apply early. The application process is open until June 17th.


Both sides agree the lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg’s Center for Tech and Civic Life will eventually wind up in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  The Thomas More Society is appealing a December decision by the Wisconsin Elections Commission that dismissed complaints about how the Center worked with local election officials in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha during the 2020 presidential election.  There are allegations that the C-T-C-L broke several Wisconsin election laws and crossed an ethical line.  Lawyers for both sides are scheduled to be in court today for a hearing.


A Wisconsin man is scheduled to appear in District of Columbia Federal Court next month to face charges for his part in the January 6th U-S Capitol riot.  Twenty-one-year-old Conlin Weyer of Plover made a Friday appearance in federal court in Madison.  Prosecutors say Weyer was seen on video surveillance inside the Capitol Building.  They say cell phone records from the day also tie him to the events.  He has been charged with disorderly conduct in the Capitol, entering and refusing to leave a restricted building, and pandering, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol.


The master framework agreement for hosting the Republican National Convention could be ready next week.  Milwaukee and Nashville are the two finalists for the 2024 convention.  Republicans are expected to make a final decision later this summer.  VISIT Milwaukee President and C-E-O Peggy Williams-Smith says the R-N-C wants everything ready to go before it makes its pick – the hotel package, the venue package, and a final agreement with the city.  Milwaukee may be farther along in the process than Nashville because it went through this when it won the bid for the Democratic National Convention in 2020.  That event became mostly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Governor Tim Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller have an agreement on a bipartisan budget plan. It includes a four-billion-dollar investment in education, public safety, and health care -- plus four billion in tax relief. Governor Walz credits the agreement to “the camaraderie and the good spirits and just the decency of how these negotiations are going.” Miller says he believes he and House Speaker Hortman can “strike a deal on a package of bills that could pass the House and the Senate with strong bipartisan support.” The governor’s office says the plan will also allow four billion dollars to be left “to help the state manage future economic uncertainty.”


 Wisconsin Elections Commission chair Anne Jacobs calls plans for the commission voiced by gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels “absolutely absurd.”  The Republican Michels wants to replace all three Republican and all three Democratic members of the commission, repeal all guidance issued to local election clerks, and terminate all senior staff.  Jacobs says that shows that Michels lacks understanding of how elections are run, how complex the process is, and the importance of maintaining the current commissions.  She says Michels idea is “terrible” and isn’t the way modern elections should be run.  Three other Republican candidates have called for abolishing the commission completely.


 A political newcomer is the Minnesota Republican Party’s choice for Attorney General. Jim Schultz got the G-O-P’s official endorsement, beating out a field of rivals that included their A-G candidate last time around -- Doug Wardlow -- plus former state Senator and District Judge Tad Jude. Schultz accuses Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison of supporting moves to de-fund the Minneapolis Police. But Minnesota D-F-L Chairman Ken Martin calls Schultz “a hedge-fund lawyer with no experience in a Minnesota courtroom.”


The University of Wisconsin in Madison has its next chancellor.   Jennifer Mnookin is the unanimous choice of the U-W System Board of Regents. Mnookin is Dean of the UCLA law school in Los Angeles. Mnookin has a long history has an educator. She's been a professor at UCLA since 2005, and before that, taught law at the University of Virginia, and was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. She becomes U-W Madison's 30th chancellor, after Rebecca Blank's departure to Northwestern. Blank's last day is on May 31. Provost John Karl Scholz will serve as interim chancellor until Mnookin starts in August.

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