On Sunday, one person was injured in a one-vehicle rollover accident in Pepin County. According to the Pepin County Sheriffs Department, 63yr old Kay Halopka of Stetsonville was traveling southbound on Hwy 85 when her vehicle left the roadway near Hwy T and Weissinger road. The vehicle struck a ditch embankment, causing the car to roll multiple times. Halopka was med flighted to an Eau Claire Hospital with serious injuries. Preliminary investigation indicates that Halopka fell asleep, causing the accident.
One person was injured in a semi vs SUV accident in St. Croix County near Wilson on Friday. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, 55yr old David Searles of Eau Claire was traveling westbound on I-94 approaching a construction zone, when he ran into the back of a semi driven by 59yr old Sheryl Hackel of Chippewa Falls. Searles had to be extricated from the vehicle and was med flighted to Mayo in Eau Claire with life-threatening injuries. Speed and inattentive drive may be contributing causes to the accident. The crash remains under investigation.
A convicted sex offender is expected to be released back to Pepin County, tomorrow. According to the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, 54yr old Allan Owens will be living at W5433 Hwy V lot 46 in Durand. According to Pepin County Sheriff Joel Wener, Owens will first meet with his Department of Corrections officer and Law Enforcement before being released. Wener reminds citizens that citizen abuse of this information to threaten, intimidate or harass registered sex offenders will NOT be tolerated.
A chemical distribution company is expanding its operations in Chippewa Falls. The expansion at ChemCeed will add office space and the warehouse will be enlarged next year. A groundbreaking event was held Thursday in Chippewa Falls. ChemCeed first opened in Chippewa Falls 10 years ago. Company officials say the size of the warehouse could be increased by anywhere from three to 10-thousand square feet, depending on the need. The work will be done in two phases with phase one work starting now.
La Crosse police say a second man has been arrested for the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old high school student last month. W-E-A-U/T-V reports that 18-year-old Sage Hicke turned himself in last Friday. Hicke and 17-year-old Jackson Greengrass are currently in custody. They are suspected of shooting Storm Vondrashek to death May 22nd. The victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds and he died before he could be rushed to a hospital. La Crosse County prosecutors haven’t filed formal charges against Hicke and Greengrass yet.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the Dollar General store in Baldwin for endangering the safety of their employees. OSHA inspectors responded to a referral from local fire officials in December 2021 and found emergency exit doors closed and padlocked on the inside with a bike lock and a board. Boxes of merchandise blocked the exit. In an emergency, these conditions would prevent workers and others from exiting the store through these emergency exits. OSHA determined that Dollar General allowed the door to remain in disrepair since September 2021. Fire officials inspected the store 11 times in 2021 and ordered the facility closed six times due to hazardous conditions. OSHA issued four willful citations for blocking emergency routes, exits and fire extinguishers and failing to leave adequate space around electrical panels. The agency proposed penalties of $435,081. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with each of OSHA’s area directors, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Wisconsin Democrats say Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels shouldn’t have his name listed on the August primary ballot. They claim Michels doesn’t have enough valid signatures on his nomination petitions. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is backing a challenge filed by a voter who says an error on the header of several pages of signatures means only 345 are valid. Michels needs two thousand to be listed on the ballot. The Michels campaign disputes the claims. It has until Tuesday afternoon to file a formal response. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is meeting Friday to certify the names that will appear on the August ballot.
The price of gas in Minnesota jumped 35 cents over the last week, one of the largest week-over-week spikes in the country. The average price to start the week in Minnesota sits at four-59 per gallon according to Gas-Buddy-dot-com. Early last month drivers were paying just over four dollars per gallon on average. Gas prices have steadily risen nationwide since January of 2021 and in Minnesota are at their highest levels since 2013.
Four people have been sentenced for killing a Dakota County man in his home last year. Thirty-year-old Nicholas Taylor of St. Paul will serve 21 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Authorities say 55-year-old Chris Lafontaine was found dead in the bathroom of his Greenvale Township home last July. An autopsy showed he had been asphyxiated. Thirty-six-year-old Timothy Tuit of South St. Paul, 23-year-old Ryann Smith of White Bear Lake, and 26-year-old Stephanie Peabody of Welch will also serve prison time for their roles in the killing.
Former President Donald Trump is making an endorsement in the Republican primary for Wisconsin governor. Trump is endorsing Tim Michels over front-runner Rebecca Kleefisch, Kevin Nicholson, and others. Michels says getting former President Donald Trump’s endorsement is a tremendous boost, but won’t change how he campaigns. Rebecca Kleefisch says grassroots support is her path to victory. Kevin Nicholson says endorsements won’t win the race.
A man who caused a fatal crash by driving his car into the back of an Amish buggy has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. W-S-A-W/T-V reports 35-year-old Skyler Opelt entered a no-contest plea Thursday in Taylor County Court. Opelt admitted taking drugs before getting behind the wheel last December and hitting the buggy, killing a 36-year-old mother and injuring several of her children. Authorities say they had to use Narcan to revive Opelt at the accident scene. He will be sentenced in August after his plea on a charge of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and four counts of reckless driving.
A 72-year-old Taycheedah man is charged with a felony for allegedly threatening Wisconsin lawmakers. W-B-A-Y/T-V reports authorities in Fond du Lac County say James R. Stearns sent two emails last month saying he would shoot lawmakers if they passed a bill allowing teachers to be armed with guns. Stearns is accused of writing, “I am more than willing to go down in a blaze of glory.” He’s charged with one count of terrorist threat-interruption of government operations. In one of the emails, he told a lawmaker they would be dead within 60 days after passing the legislation. Stearns signed the emails and included his address.
Wisconsin’s Democratic lawmakers are demanding that their Republican counterparts act on gun safety. They want measures like universal background checks and Red Flag orders passed. State Senator LaTonya Johnson of Milwaukee says it’s time for her colleagues “to do their job.” Madison Senator Melissa Agard calls it a “dereliction of duty” when elected officials fail to act. The background checks and Red Flag orders were part of a special session called three years ago, but no bills were passed and the session was gaveled out in less than two minutes.
A spokesman for GasBuddy-dot-com says some stations in Wisconsin have pump prices higher than five dollars a gallon and he doesn’t expect them to come down anytime soon. Patrick Dehaan points out that the wholesale price of gas is up 61-cents a gallon since last week in the Great Lakes region. Dehaan says the price you’re paying keeps going up because the cost for retailers has skyrocketed. Wisconsin is actually below the national average at four dollars, 64-cents a gallon – that’s compared to four-72 a gallon nationwide. The expert says if supplies remain low and Americans keep driving and buying gas there won’t be any relief.
The National Eagle Center in Wabasha is reopened following seven months of renovations. The center began welcoming daily visitors Friday after Phase One of a 27-million-dollar renovation has been completed. Phase One upgrades include expanded eagle care facilities, updated exhibit spaces, and bigger spaces for public eagle displays. Phase Two will include work on an outdoor amphitheater and other exterior expansions. Work is expected to wrap up by fall.
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