The Durand-Arkansaw School Board has approved Academic Standards for the upcoming school year. According to Superintendent Greg Doverspike, this is just an annual exercise required by state law. The standards will be posted on the district website.
The pool at Tarrant Park is set to close on August 7th. The City of Durand made the announcement on social media last week. On Wednesday, the city is expected to announce the winner of the bids for the new pool during the city council meeting. After the pool is closed on August 7th, the old pool will be demolished and construction on the new pool is expected to begin. The new pool is scheduled to be open next summer.
A wide stretch of weekend storms has caused damage spanning the state from one side to the other. Xcel Energy crews were busy restoring power to hundreds of customers Sunday. W-E-A-U/T-V reports the most significant damage was done in the Village of Stoddard. Severe weather sent early arrivals for the E-A-A AirVenture seeking shelter inside the aviation museum Saturday. One airplane was flipped onto its nose and strong winds damage the main gate while blowing down exhibit tents. The same storm delayed the start of the pro soccer match at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. No serious injuries were reported from the storms.
A former school employee in Cashton faces charges for making a hit list, then leaving the note in a hallway. The Monroe County District Attorney says 40-year-old Michelle Herricks is charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer. W-K-B-T/T-V reports she is scheduled to make a court appearance next month. Surveillance video captured her placing the note inside Cashton Elementary School. It had the names of two students and several teachers, plus the phrases: “SHOOT EM, STAB EM, BLOW EM UP.” Police say she told them her son had problems with one of the students named, but she denied any involvement herself.
Congresswoman Angie Craig is hosting a Farm Bill listening session today (Monday 10 a-m) in Minnesota’s 2nd District. Members of the U-S House Agriculture committee are holding these meetings to gather input from local producers on what improvements should be included in the 2023 Farm Bill. This session is on the Brian, Bruce, and Chris Peterson farm in Northfield. Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos is chairing the hearing.
Wisconsin’s governor says he is open to discussion about the temporary suspension of the state’s gas tax. Drivers pay 31 cents a gallon for fuel tax when they fill their tanks. Governor Tony Evers tells W-T-M-J/T-V that any gas tax holiday would have to be temporary because the revenue is needed for building and fixing roads. Gas prices have dropped significantly this month but they are still about a dollar higher than they were this time last year.
A man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for killing his grandmother in 2015. Timothy Steele had been found guilty of second-degree intentional murder by Dakota County Judge Jamie Cork last year. Steele’s attorney then asserted that his client was not guilty by reason of mental illness. A trial on that defense was held in February, but Judge Cork ruled Steele had failed to meet the burden of proof on April 1st. Farmington police responded to a call for medical assistance on October 15th, 2015. They found the body of Agnes Marie-Wagner Steele. Her grandson told them he had killed the victim by hitting her in the head seven to eight times.
Wisconsin election officials are not backing down in the latest fight over absentee ballot rules. The Wisconsin Elections Commission says it will not abide by a legislative committee’s decision to stop telling local election clerks they can fill in missing information on absentee ballots. Majority Republicans on the Joint Rules Review Committee say clerks can only add information to absentee ballots after speaking with voters. If not, that ballot must be set aside. But an Elections Commission spokesman says state law also requires a 4-to-2 vote from Election Commissioners before that guidance can be reversed. Observers say the disagreement could be headed to court
Wisconsin State Representative Janel Brandtjen from Menomonee Falls is calling on the Wisconsin legislature to de-certify the 2020 election results in Wisconsin. President Joe Biden won Wisconsin in 2020, but Brandtjen has criticized the way the election was run. Brandtjen is the leader of the state assembly's elections committee and says she plans to sign on to a resolution led by state Rep. Tim Ramthun (R) to decertify the election.
A report from Wisconsin Policy Forum indicates the state’s job numbers and unemployment rate are almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Some areas in the economy are still lagging. The report released Tuesday says retail jobs and restaurant jobs are still trying to catch up – particularly in Milwaukee and Madison. The food and drink sector in Dane County is down more than 13 percent. Transportation and warehousing are thriving. Those areas grew by six-point-three percent over the last two years. The opening of Amazon fulfillment centers in Kenosha and Milwaukee played a big role.
A southern Wisconsin company that provides phone captioning services for the deaf and others with hearing loss says it is laying off hundreds of workers. Notice from CapTel was filed Wednesday with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. CapTel says it plans to permanently lay off 276 employees at its offices in Madison and Milwaukee starting in September. The laid-off workers will get information about unemployment benefits and E-A-P services in the weeks to come.
A clerk's alleged refusal to sell condoms to a Minnesota couple at Walgreens in Northwest Wisconsin has gotten national attention. Nate Pentz said he and his wife, Jess, had stopped at the store in Hayward on July 3, and the clerk refused to sell her condoms, citing his faith. Pentz said the clerk offered to have another employee check out the items, but the situation caused his wife much embarrassment in front of other customers. A spokesperson for Walgreens told national news outlets that company policy allows cashiers to refuse to sell items on moral or religious grounds, but they should refer the customer to a manager or other clerk to complete the purchase. On Twitter yesterday, Pentz said due to this incident, he is looking to get a vasectomy.
The latest Marquette Law School poll shows Republicans are much more enthusiastic about voting in the fall elections than their Democratic counterparts. Poll director Charles Franklin says the gap is significant. Sixty-three percent of Republicans say they are enthusiastic, while only 45 percent of Democrats say they are. Both parties are using the U-S Supreme Court ruling on abortion as a focal point for the November vote. The numbers in the most recent poll show a gain of eight percent among likely Republican voters and three percent among likely Democratic voters.
Officials in Marathon County say an injured horse seen in a viral social media post isn’t being mistreated. Public Information Officer Sarah Severson with the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office says an investigation found that the owner has been properly caring for the horse’s wound. The owner cooperated when deputies and a veterinarian showed up. Severson says the photos circulating on Facebook made the situation look much worse than it really was. The horse was being treated for a cut to its leg.
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