The Durand-Arkansaw School District saw an increase in high-cost transportation aid from the State of Wisconsin last year. The district received just over $239,000 which was $40,000 more than budgeted for. The aid is given to districts that have higher transportation costs due to the larger area of their school district.
The Mondovi City Council has approved the reconstruction of the sidewalks in the downtown as part of the Hwy 37 project. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says it just made sense to replace them when Hwy 37 is reconstructed. The city is also exploring making the sidewalk narrower to help improve site lines for motorists trying to cross Hwy 37.
The City of Durand has submitted a grant application to reconstruct Main Street in the Downtown. The grant would help cover the non-sewer and water replacement costs for Main street. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says once the city finds out if the grant is approved, the council will then look at the overall downtown infrastructure. The city should know by the end of August or early September if the grant was approved. The city has already received a similar grant for Madison Street.
The Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department is investigating a death in the town of Clear Creek. Deputies were called to the scene yesterday at 11 by someone who saw the body in the ditch on Mallard Road. The department believes the public is not in danger and it was an isolated targeted incident. The name of the victim has not been released.
The Post Office, stock and agriculture markets, and other businesses will be closed on Mondy to celebrate the newest Federal Holiday Juneteenth. The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is celebrated on June 19th. Because the 19th falls on a Sunday it will be officially observed on Monday.
The National Weather Service confirms that six tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin during the severe storms Wednesday. The strongest tornado was rated E-F-2 near Wyeville in Monroe County. Its peak winds were 115 miles per hour and it was on the ground for almost 21 miles. Tornadoes rated E-F-1 touched down in La Farge, Mauston, Seymour, and West Bloomfield. The strength of a sixth twister near Silver Cliff hasn’t been rated. The storm system did considerable damage in the state but no serious injuries have been reported. Mauston Mayor Dennis Nielsen issued a disaster declaration, saying the city will be requesting county and state assistance.
U-S Senator Tammy Baldwin says a vote on stricter gun laws could be imminent – maybe as early as this week. The Wisconsin Democrat says “the people of the United States are demanding action.” Baldwin says she stands on the side of taking action. The current push for new gun legislation comes after deadly mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. A framework of gun control measures was cobbled together by a bipartisan group of senators last week and they are now being written into legislation so lawmakers can vote on them.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reports Minnesota gained 66 hundred jobs in May. DEED Commissioner Steve Grove says that makes eight straight months of job growth. At the same time, the state’s unemployment rate took a dive to two percent -- another all-time low. Grove says the numbers are a sign of an economy that is working again. He says Minnesota is on course to continue adding jobs -- if employers can find the workers to fill them. The state labor force is still more than 75 thousand workers below the level seen before the pandemic began.
The nation’s largest ag cooperative says it will begin construction this summer on a state-of-the-art grain facility in northwest Minnesota. C-H-S plans to build a one-point-25-million-bushel shuttle elevator in Erskine, bringing total capacity at the location to four-point-55 million bushels. Executive vice president of C-H-S ag retail operations Rick Dusek says this is a key location in the flow of grain from the Upper Midwest to export terminals in the Pacific Northwest. The facility is slated to be operational in the fall of 2023.
A farmer is confronting high input costs head-on. Sam Ziegler grows corn and soybeans near Good Thunder in south-central Minnesota. He says he’s been “more aggressive on marketing for next year” than he’s been in the past. He also says, “if you can lock in five-and-a-half dollar corn and other things for over a year out, I think history has taught us what goes up must come down.” Ziegler is trying to price diesel and fertilizer for next year and the quotes he’s seeing aren’t very “attractive” right now. He says risk management is crucial with production costs at historic levels.
Some Minnesotans are asking, “does Governor Tim Walz really have a lake cabin in South Dakota?” Twitter activity ramped up when former Minnesota Viking Matt Birk, lieutenant governor running mate of Walz’s Republican challenger Scott Jensen, tweeted “Here’s a guy from Nebraska, who just bought a lake place in South Dakota, aiming to turn us into California, lecturing us about OUR Minnesota values.” But Walz’ campaign manager says neither the governor nor the First Lady own any property, let alone one in South Dakota -- adding that kind of dishonesty doesn’t belong in the governor’s office. Walz sold his Mankato home before moving into the Governor’s Residence. Property records and the governor’s most recent economic disclosure seem to support his no-real-estate status.
Alliant Energy says it is ready to begin construction on six new solar projects that will add nearly 414 megawatts of solar energy generation. W-M-T-V reports the newly-approved projects are part of Alliant’s Clean Energy Blueprint program. The utility says it is looking to add about 11 hundred megawatts of solar energy to Wisconsin’s power grid. A spokesperson says the six solar projects should be completed by late next year. Alliant Energy projects that the total of 12 projects overall will create more than two-thousand local construction jobs, provide an estimated 130 million dollars in local tax revenues over the next 30 years, and help customers avoid more than one-point-six-billion dollars in long-term costs.
With inflation and rising gas prices, Minnesotans may be more concerned with saving money. Kimberly Palmer from Nerd Wallet says managing money starts with your emotions and there are ways to keep these in check. One is called a “body check-in.” She uses real estate shopping as an example, saying someone “might have a physical reaction where you suddenly feel so stressed out, and you’re not really sure exactly why.” She recommends in that moment to take a break and maybe “go for a walk (to) get a different perspective.” Studies show eighty-five to 90 percent of our money decisions are based on our emotions.
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