The Pepin County Land Conservation Office is asking for the public's help. Over the last few days, someone cut the lock on the payment box at Holden Campground and took what was inside. Only one check was in the box as the county is now using an online reservation and payment system. If anyone has any information, they are to call the Land Conservation Office at 715-672-7242 ext 167.
The Durand-Arkansaw School District will have a balanced budget once again for the upcoming school year. Durand Arkansaw School Superintendent Greg Doverspike says decisions the board has made over the years have helped. The budget will be finalized by October after the district receives the yearly state aid.
Expect increased traffic in Durand over the next few days and Blues on The Chippewa begins today. The three-day event will features blues acts from around the country performing at Memorial Park and at downtown Durand establishments. Streets around Memorial Park will be closed during the event.
The Village of Elmwood has extended the hours of the brush site. The site will remain open for the rest of the week so residents can drop off tree and brush debris from the severe storms that moved through on Tuesday.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Pierce and Pepin Counties is turning one. The Library was brought into the counties by Pierce Pepin Co-Op starting in late 2020 and opened in August of lat year. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is open to every child living in Pierce or Pepin County, from birth to age five, regardless of financial status. Each child enrolled in the program receives a free, age-appropriate book via the United States Postal Service every month. The Dollywood Foundation pays for the books and Pierce Pepin Cares pays for the postage.
The Buffalo-Pepin County ADRC is expanding its transportation program. ADRC will start group bus trips for shipping, outings, and lunch. For those interested in getting on the list for the program, you are to call ADRC at 866-578-2372. You can also find out more about the program during a get to know us before you need us event in Durand on August 9th from 10-11:30 at the Durand Public Library and August 11th from 1:30-3 at the Roger Marten Community Center.
Residents of Chippewa Falls will be voting on a referendum for nearly $1.3 million to fund the city's emergency services. The Chippewa Falls City Council approved the referendum question on Tuesday. The money would be used to hire new police officers, and firefighters and increase pay and benefits to attract new people to both departments. The final language of the referendum will be determined at the next city council meeting on August 16th.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission deadlocked Wednesday on whether to undo a 2016 ruling that allows local clerks to correct mistakes on absentee ballot envelopes. Commission members have been pressured by Republicans to change the guidelines, but they took no action following a three-to-three vote. The Legislature’s joint rules committee voted last month to end an emergency rule that allowed ballot curing during the 2020 and 2022 elections. That committee couldn’t eliminate the full guidance without a vote by the Elections Commission.
Mining company officials have faced some pointed questions about their plans for an operation in Marathon County. Several residents showed up to speak during the public comment portion of a hearing held Tuesday by the county’s Committee on Environmental Resources and the Committee on Metallic Mining. W-S-A-W/T-V reports Greenlight Metals board member Steve Donohue told the crowd its past drilling efforts in the region didn’t cause any contamination and the company is taking steps to make sure it stays that way.
A Richland County deputy has been arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a prisoner. Thirty-one-year-old Timothy Buckley has been placed on administrative leave. A charge of second-degree sexual assault is expected to be filed. W-K-B-T/T-V reports the Wisconsin Department of Justice is handling the investigation. Buckley has been a deputy in the county for just over a year. Sheriff Clay Porter asked for an independent investigation to see if there are additional victims in the jail.
Appointments to get a monkeypox vaccine are filling up quickly as more cases are reported in Wisconsin. The Department of Health Services says that 22 people have tested positive for suspected monkeypox. The disease is spread by coming into direct contact with others with rashes or blisters. As of last week, Wisconsin had around 750 doses of vaccine for monkeypox on hand, and vaccination clinics in Madison and Milwaukee have been filled all week.
Wisconsin is now part of the nationwide robocall task force. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul says the task force plans to bring multi-state lawsuits against robocalling firms that ignore do-not-call laws. Those laws are hard to enforce because many robocalls originate from overseas. Kaul says he and other state attorneys general plan to crack down on the U-S-based service providers and others who work with robo-callers to skirt the law.
The latest numbers show the Marshfield Fire Department is spending more than 600 thousand dollars above its budget. So far, that’s okay because it had a surplus coming into the fiscal year. The problem is, that the surplus is shrinking. W-A-O-W/T-V reports Fire Chief Pete Fletty has sent a letter to the Marshfield City Council and Police and Fire Commission detailing the issues his department faces and offering some solutions. Fletty says his main concern is that he hasn’t been a part of the conversation when it comes to talking about the budget. City Administrator Steve Barg says there could have been some miscommunication, saying there was no intent to leave anyone out of the loop.
The latest plan for Dane County’s new jail removes another floor and 100 beds. Supervisor Dane Pellebon of the county board’s Black Caucus had argued the push for so many beds in the new facility assumes that the severe racial disparities in the criminal justice system won’t be addressed. The jail plan had already had one floor shaved off. W-I-S-C/T-V reports that now, the jail will have room for 200 fewer residents. Statistics show Black residents of Dane County are incarcerated at more than double the rate seen nationwide. The white and Hispanic populations are jailed at less than the national rate. Money savings from building a smaller jail could be used to expand community services, supporters say.
The biofuels issue sparked brisk debate between U-S House candidates during a forum on Farmfest’s opening day. Second District D-F-L Congresswoman Angie Craig said during Tuesday’s forum that she was the first member to “ever, in the history of this Congress, pass a bill that would allow for year-round sales of E-15.” Republican challenger Tyler Kistner (KIST-ner) fired back, asking “wasn’t it Trump that passed E-15 year round?” He then blamed the courts for getting rid of it. The U-S House race in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District -- the Twin Cities southeast suburbs and portions of southeast and south-central Minnesota -- is considered one of the tightest in the nation.
Cases of COVID-19 are climbing again in the U-S. The B-A-5 omicron variant is behind the majority of new cases -- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The booster shots are not holding up well against the new variant, according to Doctor Susan Kline with the University of Minnesota Medical School. She says, “the virus has changed to the point where the mutations confer resistance to immunity from previous vaccines, and even from previous infections.” But Kline says it’s still better to be boosted and vaccinated than not when it comes to combatting the virus. She also recommends continuing to wear masks in crowded public spaces.
Expect long lines for award-winning treats at the Wisconsin State Fair. The State Fair honors the best midway food choices each year with “the Sporkies.” This year’s first-place prices goes to the Peño Pretzel Popper Brat. That’s a pretzel bratwurst covered with jalapeno peppers. The Sconnie Slugger brat took second. It’s a brat and cheese curds, fried like a corn dog. If you have room for dessert, try the third-place Brandy Old Fashioned S’more on a Stick. It’s made with brandy old fashioned-flavored ice cream.
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