The Durand Lion's Club is again helping out the Durand Food Pantry. The club will match cash donations to the food pantry up to $1000 total during the month of May. All money donated will be used to purchase food to help local families in need. Donations may be sent to the Durand Area Food Pantry, 114 East Main Street, Durand WI 54736.
A registered sex offender is being released from a secure facility Friday to live in Dunn County. According to the Dunn County Sheriff's Department, 37-year-old Jamie L. Stephenson will live at N11311 570th St. in Wheeler beginning May 6. Stephenson’s release from the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston includes supervision. As a condition of his release, Johnson must follow all standard sex offender registry requirements, including GPS monitoring and lifetime registration as a sex offender. He is also not allowed to use the internet or have unsupervised contact with any children, other than his daughter. Stephenson was found guilty of 2nd-degree sexual assault of a child in 2009 and sentenced to two years in prison and four years of extended supervision in 2009. In 2012 he was committed to the secure facility in June of 2012 as a violent sexual offender.
The Pepin County Board has passed a resolution to establish a Sheriff's Department Bailiff Position. The Courtroom Bailiff will have an official job description and will work on an as-needed basis. Starting wages will be $19 an hour. In the past sheriff deputies and administrative assistants have acted as bailiffs.
A poll by a business group finds Wisconsin manufacturers expect to see bigger profits this year. Sixty-three percent of the companies contacted by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership were optimistic. W-M-E-P Vice President George Bureau says finding new customers isn’t the challenge it was six months ago. Today’s top concerns are finding and keeping employees and dealing with supply chain disruption. The poll finds only 16-percent of businesses say managing the impact of COVID-19 is still a major concern. Nearly 90-percent of the respondents say they are at least somewhat confident about the future.
Fishing Season opens on Saturday in Wisconsin and the DNR has announced new restrictions on the size and limit of walleye in several Wisconsin counties, including Rusk County. The new regulations, which are in effect for opening weekend, allow for anglers to keep a daily bag limit of three walleye between 15 and 20 inches long, or two walleye 15 to 20 inches long and one over 24 inches. It is hoped the regulations will increase the number of smaller fish available below that minimum length of 15 inches
Scientists say it’s normal to see mosquitoes this time of year, but recent rain and flooding conditions are making it worse. W-S-A-W / T-V reports that entomologist P-J Liesch says weather patterns are what shape the mosquito season. Liesch says there are about 50-to-60 different species of mosquitoes in Wisconsin. He says some of those species rely on floodwaters from heavy rainfall to live. Liesch says getting heavy rain during the spring months means we could see some big mosquito populations in June. He says it’s too early right now to determine had bad the season will be.
The Wisconsin Departments of Health Services and Natural Resources want you to avoid tick-borne illnesses this summer. Ticks are typically most active in Wisconsin from May to November. Infected ticks can carry Lyme disease and other illnesses, so it’s a good idea to take precautions. Use a tick repellent and wear appropriate clothing for outdoor activities. It’s important to remove attached ticks as soon as possible. The longer a tick is attached, the more likely it is to make you sick. Be sure to check for ticks after spending time outside. There’s more information on ticks at the DHS website.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is part of a group of 17 governors who are demanding action to protect abortion rights. A leaked U-S Supreme Court draft opinion reveals the court’s conservative majority is willing to overturn Roe-V-Wade, the landmark abortion ruling of 1973. Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the draft opinion is real while criticizing it being leaked. The governors are calling for immediate passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act. It passed the U-S House of Representatives last September but hasn’t made it through the Senate yet.
The E-through-12 education bill passed by the Minnesota Senate does not increase funding for public schools, focusing instead on students’ low reading scores. Rochester Republican Carla Nelson contends more money has not solved that problem after historic state education funding in 2019 and again in 2021. House Democrats and Governor Tim Walz have proposed significant funding increases for public schools. Both sides must try to reach a compromise with under three weeks remaining in the legislative session.
Police in Hillsboro say a 15-year-old high school student has been hospitalized for treatment of a head injury after an alleged assault. Witnesses say a 17-year-old student threw the victim to the floor Friday in a hallway between classes. No names have been released. W-M-T-V reports surveillance video shows the older student walked up behind the victim, punched him in the head, then grabbed him, picked him up, and threw him down on the concrete floor. The 17-year-old student was arrested and charged with felony assault.
Authorities in Adams County blame improper ash disposal for a fatal fire in a wooded area last week. One person was burned and died of their injuries. No names have been released. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports the person responsible for starting the fire was the one who died. Firefighters say about one-quarter of an acre of land was burned Friday afternoon.
The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate is saying “no” to a special commission that would recommend a new design for the state flag. New Brighton Democrat Mary Kunesh (COO-nesh) says perhaps it’s now time to consider updating Minnesota’s flag, so “that it does not include images that others and culturally-significant groups might find disrespectful.” Some say one part of the current state flag -- the image of an Indian on horseback riding into the sunset -- is an attempt to erase part of the state’s heritage rather than honor it. Republicans have had little comment on the proposal. But it’s in the House bill, so expect further discussion in conference committee negotiations.
A horse from central Minnesota is the favorite to win the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby this weekend. Jeff Drown of Clearwater owns Zandon, and he drew the number ten position at Churchill Downs Saturday. Zandon was a three-to-one favorite to win the Run for the Roses after Monday’s draw. Zozos, a horse owned by an Eden Prairie couple, opened at 20-to-one odds.
Prepare for a “Sizzling Summer with Scattered Showers.” The Farmers’ Almanac is calling for above-average temperatures toward the end of June and into the middle of August. Managing Editor Sandi Duncan says even though it’ll be hot, they’re “leaning towards near average rainfall to slightly below” average. In fact, Duncan says the Farmers’ Almanac is predicting a very warm and relatively dry summer for the entire continental United States. The good news, according to Duncan, is that the heatwave isn’t expected to arrive until late June and should break by mid-to-late August.
The balcony that collapsed last weekend during the annual Mifflin Street party is bringing on some worries about the aging homes near the University of Wisconsin campus. Some of the injured students are still recovering. Other students who live in the neighborhood say the homes there are more than 100 years old in some cases. They worry this won’t be the last time something like this happens. U-W senior Ross Reddington tells W-M-T-V the accident “is a testament to the state of housing on campus right now.” The city inspects the buildings but the accident happened anyway.
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