Monday, July 18, 2022

Local-Regional News July 18

 Two people were injured in a two-vehicle accident on Hwy 10 in Waubeek Township on Friday.  According to the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, 39yr old Scott Gurklis of Thorp was stopped on Hwy 10 waiting to make a left turn onto South Kirk Road, when his straight truck was rear-ended by a westbound truck driven by 24yr old Caleb Greger of Strum.  Greger reported that he dropped his GPS unit on the floor and took his seatbelt off to retrieve it. Before he looked up, he had already struck the rear of Gurklis' truck pinning him in the truck. Both Greger and passenger 44yr old Michael Ciruzzi were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries.   Inattentive driving appeared to be the cause of the crash. Greger will be referred to the Pepin County District Attorney’s Office for a charge of Operating While Suspended – Crash Causing Great Bodily Harm. 


A motorcycle passenger is dead after a near-collision with a deer in southeastern Minnesota. The Wabasha County Sheriff's Office says 44-year-old Brock Kahn swerved to miss the deer while riding Saturday night and suffered minor injuries. Deputies say his passenger, 40-year-old Rebecca Kahn from Plainview, died at the scene.


An Arkansaw man was injured in a motorcycle accident last Tuesday in Waterville Township.  According to the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, 33yr old Shaun Hartung was traveling southbound on Hwy D when e swerved to miss a deer in the road.  Hartung lost control of the motorcycle and entered the southbound ditch and was ejected from the bike.  He was taken to Advent Health in Durand with unknown injuries.


A Superior police officer is on administrative leave after a rear-end crash early Friday left a 23-year-old man from Eau Claire dead and two others injured.  The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says Sergeant Greg Swanson was off duty at the time and arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle.  The Douglas County Attorney's Office is requesting that a special prosecutor be appointed from another agency to review the case because of its previous work with Swanson.


One person is dead after a motorcycle accident on Interstate 90 near Tomah Saturday.  According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, a 68yr old man from Pigeon Falls, swerved to avoid another vehicle that entered his lane of traffic and hit another vehicle.  The man was pronounced dead at the scene while his 67yr  old female passenger was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.    I-90 was closed for nearly two hours due to the accident.


The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is accepting applications for 2023 Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants through September 16, 2022. These grants are awarded to producer-led groups to help support and advance farmer participation in local watershed conservation efforts.  Applicants must be groups of at least five farmers whose farms are in the same watershed. Each farm must have produced at least $6,000 in gross farm revenue last year, or $18,000 over the past three years. Each group must partner with a county land conservation department, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, or a nonprofit conservation organization. New and established groups are eligible to apply.  For more information on the grants contact the Pepin County Extension Office.


A second La Crosse teen has been arrested in connection with a May shooting in La Crosse.  17yr old Jackson Greengrass was arrested on Friday and is facing attempted first-degree intentional homicide.  Authorities say Greengrass and 18yr old Sage Hicke got into a fight with 15yr old Storm Vondrashek on May 22  and multiple shots were fired.    Vondrashek was shot and killed in the incident.     


Spring garden harvests are coming in now, and if you've got more vegetables than you were expecting, you could can them... or you could donate them. UW Extension Food safety specialist Barbara Ingham says plenty of food pantries could use those veggies.   If you're looking for good ways to preserve those veggies outside of donations, the Extension has a number of safe canning recipes online at Extension dot W I S C dot E D U.


Charges have been dismissed against a Fall Creek woman who had been accused of stealing from the charity she founded, Helping Hands for Our Children.  W-E-A-U/T-V reports that 52-year-old Shauna Hanson was originally charged with felony theft by false representation.  That charge was reduced to a misdemeanor when prosecutors could only show a 22-hundred dollar discrepancy in the charity’s funds.  Later, prosecutors told the court they could only show that the money donated to the Weighted Blanket Program wasn’t only used for that program.  Hanson was charged when authorities thought she had deposited more than 63 thousand dollars intended for the charity into her personal account.


 The site selection committee is recommending Milwaukee as the host city for the 2024 Republican National Convention.  The panel unanimously picked Milwaukee on Friday.  Host committee chair Reince Priebus said in a statement, "Wisconsin is a battleground state, Milwaukee is a fabulous city, and the people of Wisconsin are the best in America."  The plans still need final approval when the Republican National Committee meets in Chicago in the first week of August.  The convention could bring 50 thousand visitors to the Milwaukee area and generate 200 million dollars for the local economy.


 The top Republican in the Wisconsin Senate is warning the state’s Elections Commission about its new rule for filling-out ballots.  Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the Elections Commission needs to follow the state law on ballot curing.  Curing is when an election clerk fills in missing pieces of a ballot, the Commission has told local election managers that they can use their judgment as to when they should complete a ballot as opposed to tossing it aside.  LeMahieu says lawmakers are ready to come back to the Capitol as early as next week to override the Commission’s guidance.


Wisconsin is set to receive 50 million dollars a year for five years to replace lead pipes.  The money comes from the federal infrastructure law passed last November.  White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu was in Milwaukee Wednesday.  The city reportedly has replaced five-thousand lead laterals in the last five years.  That leaves more than 61 thousand.  When Wisconsin tested kids under the age of six for elevated lead levels in their blood two years ago more than 21 hundred were found.


 The head of the nation’s largest ag cooperative is encouraging farmers to prepare for propane shortages this fall. C-H-S C-E-O Jay Debertin (DEH-ber-tin) says the foreign export market for propane has grown by leaps and bounds, and that farmers can’t afford to wait until they know with certainty what propane drying needs are going to be like at harvest. He says by then it might be too late to put supply plans in place. Debertin is more confident about fall fertilizer supplies but says prices could remain elevated.


Amazon Prime Day may be over, but scammers aren’t calling it quits yet. Con artists have been known to send phony emails and texts that look like messages from major retailers, instructing you to redeem the reward points accrued during your shopping days. Bao Vang with the Better Business Bureau (B-B-B) of Minnesota says to “beware of fake lookalike websites -- check the U-R-L, watch for bad grammar, research the age of the domain, and search for contact information.” Vang recommends you just hit “delete” on any suspicious phishing messages.

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