Advent Health of Durand has received a $916000 grant as part of the fiscal year federal budget. Wisconsin 3rd District Congressman Ron Kind announced the grant yesterday. The funding would help AdventHealth Durand modernize ambulance bays to enhance the safety of patients, improve the efficiency of emergency responders, and spare costly damage to emergency vehicles. Other local organizations receiving grants include a $1 million dollar grant to Tri-County Hospital in Whitehall to install solar panels on the roof of the hospital, and a $750,000 grant to Visit Eau Claire to install a pedestrian underpass to connect the west and east sides of Menomonie Street.
Declining state inventories continued to hinder sales while driving home prices higher. According to the Wisconsin Realtor Association's June Sales report, home sales in Western Wisconsin declined by 8.1% compared to a year ago. Pepin County reported 4 homes sold in June, Buffalo County 17, Pierce County 37, Trempealeau County 39 and Dunn County had 54 homes sold in June. The median price of a home in Western Wisconsin, $284,900. Home Inventories continued to slide. New listings were down 13.5%, and total listings for the state were down 14.4% in June compared to their levels 12 months earlier.
Menomonie police responded to a bomb threat at CVTC on Thursday. According to the department's social media page, a caller reported locating a bomb at CTVC, and gave the building and room number. The room number did not exist. Authorities say a similar threat was received at the Eau Claire CVTC campus and the incidents appear to be a swatting incident designed to bring a large police presence. Authorities are unsure if the two cases are related to other bomb threats made at Wisconsin schools on Thursday.
A carnival worker is in custody in the Chippewa County Jail for the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Investigators say 61-year-old Craig McPherson of Georgia was traveling through the area for the Northern State Fair. The 14-year-old victim and her 22-year-old sister were at the fair Saturday. They say they asked McPherson to give them a ride to a gas station and that’s where the assault happened. W-Q-O-W/T-V reports detectives handling the case say they will conduct additional interviews before referring any charges to the district attorney’s office. Those charges could be filed next week.
Lake City Residents may notice their water turning a reddish color after August 1st. The Lake City Public Works Department will be adding chlorine to the water system on August 1st. The addition of chlorine may cause the water to turn a reddish color and residents are advised to let the water run a few minutes before using it for cooking or cleaning. The use of chlorine can cause problems in fish tanks and bait shops and it's recommended those users find alternate sources of water. The chlorine should be clear of the system by August 10th
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is reporting another record-low unemployment rate for June. The state's jobless rate dropped two-tenths last month to one-point-eight percent. DEED says June's decline was entirely due to people moving from unemployment to employment as the labor force participation rate rose to 68-point-five percent. The state gained 100 jobs last month and the May numbers were revised upward by 75 hundred jobs. Minnesota has added more than 91 thousand jobs since June 2021.
Ethanol production is the focus of a roundtable discussion Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is hosting today (Friday 2:45 p-m) in southern Minnesota. Walz is first scheduled to tour the Guardian Energy ethanol plant in Janesville. The governor will then discuss E-15 and the production of the corn-based fuel with plant leaders. Farmer-owned Guardian Energy produces 110 million gallons a year and makes dried distillers' grain and corn oil.
Wisconsin's state butterfly is endangered. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed Monarch butterflies as endangered following a meeting on Thursday. The group estimates that populations have declined between 22% and 72% over a decade. That's due to a number of factors, including a loss of habitat and the use of pesticides. Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed plants.
Governor Evers says he’s a long way from a decision on a proposed new casino in Kenosha. The Menominee tribe and Hard Rock International announced a partnership Wednesday after the Bristol village board approved a land sale to the group Tuesday. Tribal officials say they want to provide resources for the growing needs of the tribe – one of the largest, but poorest tribes in Wisconsin. The Menomonie and Hard Rock tried once before to build a casino in the Kenosha area in 2015, but it was rejected by then-governor Scott Walker. Evers has the final say on any new gambling compacts in Wisconsin.
A 33-year-old Waupun man has been sentenced to prison for causing his grandmother’s death. Gregory Spittel will have to serve up to 13-and-a-half years. Prosecutors say the 75-year-old victim was found lying in a pool of blood at Spittel’s home in August of 2019. A jury found him guilty of second-degree reckless homicide and four other counts last May. Spittel had claimed members of a drug cartel killed Carole Foreman. Investigators said Spittel was angry with her for giving information to the police which resulted in his arrest.
Local and federal authorities are investigating a worker’s death near Palmyra Wednesday. A construction worker was killed when he fell from a scaffold and was impaled on a metal stake. When emergency responders arrived, they say the man wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse. The stake was cut, and life-saving measures were performed, but the worker died before they could get him to a hospital.
Charges against an Afghan refugee in Marathon County Court have been dropped. A count of misdemeanor 4th-degree sexual assault against Matiullah Matie has been dismissed after the 40-year-old completed court-recommended counseling. As a result, the charges are now considered not proven and have no legal effect- and Matie is presumed innocent. He had been accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a woman who was helping him and his family resettle after they fled Afghanistan. The case was on track for a trial later this month, but that was dropped from the court docket this spring because of a potential resolution.
The nationwide staffing shortages have impacted another industry. Area pharmacies have had to adjust their hours of operations due to not having a pharmacist on site to help with prescriptions. Executive Director of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association Sarah Derr says even before the pandemic, there needed to be a stronger push to promote other careers in the healthcare industry, including pharmacology. Derr says she understands the frustrations that occur with this disruption but advises working with your doctor to provide a secondary pharmacy to transfer your medications to, or even having them mailed to you instead.
Final preparations are underway for Saturday’s big soccer match at Lambeau Field. Bayern Munich from Germany, and Manchester City of England will meet in an exhibition they call a “friendly” in the soccer world. Soccer goals are being put up, and lines for the soccer field will be painted on the not-yet frozen tundra. The international match is expected to have a ten-million-dollar impact on the Green Bay-area economy. More than 75 thousand tickets have been sold, and a few tickets are still available. This will be the first soccer match ever played at Lambeau Field.
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