Menomonie police will continue to search for a missing man today. According to authorities, at about 3:30 yesterday a 23yr old man was swimming at Riverside Park in the Red Cedar River and didn't resurface. The man's friends tried to rescue him but did not get to him in time and the man has not been located. The man's name has not been released at this time.
The Durand-Arkansaw School Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on new math, biology, and English textbooks, renewal of the long and short-term disability insurance for staff, and reports from the administration. Tonight's meeting begins at 6pm in the board room at Durand High School.
The Pepin County Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include annual reports from Emergency Management and Sheriff's Department, discussion and possible action on a budget modification for a homeland security exercise grant, and possible ratification of a tentative side letter with the Pepin County Communication Corrections Office Association. Tonight's meeting begins at 7 at the government center in Durand and will also be live-streamed via the county website.
The City of Durand has announced the swimming times for the Tarrant Park Pool. The pool will open on June 3 with lap swim until 1pm and open swim from 1pm-7pm. The pool will be closed during Fun Fest weekend. Family Season Passes for residents will be $80, and non-residents $120, while individual season passes will be $40 for residents and $60 for non-residents.
The Dunn County Sheriff's Department has announced it will join other law enforcement agencies on the click it or ticket enhanced enforcement program. The program will run from May 23 through June 5 and the department will have extra officers patrolling to make sure everyone is using seatbelts while in their vehicles. The goal of the program is to not hand out extra tickets but to increase the use of seatbelts and save lives.
Nestle’s plant in Eau Claire is stepping-up production to help with the nationwide baby formula shortage. A spokesman says the plant has significantly increased the amount of formula it’s making, but no word how much. The surge comes as stores say as much as half of their stock is sold, and parents say they’re having trouble finding the formula that their babies need.
Barron Police have updated the cause of death of three people in a house fire last week. According to authorities, two young children and their father died of smoke inhalation from the house fire. All three had no traumatic injuries unrelated to the fire and the department of criminal investigation is investigating the cause of that fire.
Police in New Richmond say the deaths of 42-year-old Brandon McNamara and 36-year-old Kelly Marks are consistent with a murder-suicide. Investigators say the bodies were found in a home Friday. W-K-O-W / T-V reports officers were called to the home by a report of a foul odor coming from the location. The two victims had been shot to death. Police say they don’t know how long they had been dead. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab was called in to help with the case.
A lawsuit has been filed against 10 “false electors” in Dane County Court. The Republicans who claimed to be presidential electors after the 2020 election and two attorneys who represented them are accused of breaking several laws. Among the defendants are Robert Spindell, who is a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. An attorney for the parties filing the suit says there need to be consequences for breaking the law. The plaintiffs are asking for up to two thousand dollars each in fines for wrongdoing and punitive damages of up to 200-thousand dollars each.
Minnesota House and Senate negotiators are trying to reach a compromise on a four-billion-dollar tax relief plan. Republican Senator Carla Nelson of Rochester says she and D-F-L Representative Paul Marquart from Dilworth will be working diligently at how to proceed. Nelson says they know the clock is ticking and their intention is to get something done soon. Governor Walz is calling for rebate checks while G-O-P leaders are pushing for permanent tax cuts.
One of the first jobs for the new chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison won’t be easy. Jennifer Mnookin has to make friends with Republican legislative leaders. Assembly Speaker Robin Voss calls the Board of Regents’ decision to hire Mnookin a “blatant partisan selection.” The vice-chair of the Wisconsin Senate Universities and Technical Colleges Committee, Steve Nass, calls her a “West Coast liberal.” The two lawmakers point out that she met with Hunter Biden three years ago and supported having him join the U-C-L-A faculty. Vos says her stance on Critical Race Theory and vaccine mandates aren’t in line with his party’s positions.
The budget agreement between Minnesota legislative leaders and the governor includes a billion dollars for public schools -- but how that’s parceled out is still to be determined with under a week remaining in the 2022 session. Senate Republicans are reluctant to beef up general aid to schools through the “education formula” -- with Majority Leader Jeremy Miller saying they’re “laser-focused” on student literacy and giving teachers better tools. As for the G-O-P’s longstanding push for “school choice,” Miller says it’s not “part of this agreement,” but it’s not excluded from it, either. Democrats call it “school vouchers,” saying taxpayers would be subsidizing private schools.
Tick season has been somewhat delayed, thanks to a cold, wet spring. Looking ahead, University of Minnesota professor Jon Oliver says it’s hard to predict how severe of a tick season it may be. He says, “insect repellants that work for mosquitoes will also work for ticks,” so he recommends using “anything that contains DEET” or “any other EPA-approved repellants.” Oliver says deer ticks and American dog ticks are common in Minnesota and both commonly bite people and pets. Though both species can potentially transmit diseases, Oliver says deer ticks are more concerning because they are often infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.
COVID infections are on the rise again in Wisconsin but there are new treatments to keep patients alive. Doctor Ryan Westergaard is the chief medical officer at U-W Health. Westergaard says therapeutics like Paxlovid are available and they are saving lives. He says the rate of COVID hospitalizations isn’t going up as rapidly as it did earlier this year, but it is rising. The doctor says that’s why people need to pay attention and take action so it doesn’t get back into the danger zone. Westergaard says anyone 50 or older, with underlying health conditions, should contact their physician immediately if they test positive.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is asking people to avoid burning due to very high wildfire danger across the state. Warm, dry, and breezy conditions make burning of any kind extremely risky. All of the state’s 72 counties had VERY HIGH or HIGH fire danger as of Monday afternoon. In the last week, 127 wildfires have burned nearly 100 acres, most of which were related to down powerlines, with some resulting from debris burning, equipment, and lightning. The DNR has responded to 450 fires burning over 630 acres so far this year.
One of Minnesota’s oldest citizens has passed away. Ruth Adler Knelman, also known as “Grandma Ruth,” died Monday at her home in Minneapolis at the age of 111, just five days before what would have been her 112th birthday. Knelman was known in Minneapolis for her volunteer work at Jefferson Community School, Temple Israel, and the now-shuttered Mount Sinai Hospital. According to the Gerontology Research Group’s website, Knelman was the second oldest living person in Minnesota when she died, two years younger than 114-year-old Erna Zahn.
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