Gas prices are once again rising after months of declines. The latest data from Triple-A shows the average price for regular-unleaded in Wisconsin is three dollars, 47 cents a gallon -- that’s three cents a gallon higher than it was a week ago. The cheapest gas on average in Wisconsin is in Sheboygan County at three-36 a gallon, while the most expensive is in St. Croix County at three-70 a gallon. Here in the Durand area gas was averaging $3.54 a gallon. The current national average is three-68 a gallon.
The Durand-Arkansaw School District signed an agreement with the Elmwood School District for an Elmwood Chemistry teacher to teach two periods of chemistry to Durand-Arkansaw students. Superintendent Greg Doverspike says the districts had been talking about how they could share resources to provide opportunities for students. While the teacher will have the class remotely, Doverspike says she wants to be a part of the community. During the remote class, a para-professional is in the room with the students and another science instructor assists with running the labs.
It might as well have been an open-campus day for insurance adjusters at UW-River Falls yesterday. The school says nearly 80 cars were damaged by Tuesday's thunderstorms, specifically by the huge pieces of hail that fell from the storm. Most cars saw their windshields busted out. UW-River Falls says there was another 100 thousand dollars or so in damage to the campus. There are no reports of any injuries.
A pair of Chippewa Valley parents are facing neglect charges after the state says they continue to ignore their three kids. Prosecutors in Eau Claire County this week filed nine counts of neglect against James and Holly Hasledalen. Investigators say child protective services has been to the couple's home in Eau Claire dozens of times over the past few months. Each time they found the couple's three kids, ages eight, two, and nearly five months old, filthy and unsupervised. Investigators say the oldest child tested positive for being exposed to meth. The judge allowed the Hasledalens out of jail, but has banned them from seeing their kids without supervision.
The latest piece of Wisconsin's coronavirus stimulus money is going to EMS services across the state. Governor Evers yesterday announced 32 million dollars in grants for over 440 local emergency service providers. The money can be used to buy new equipment or simply stock-up local first responders' needs. Locally departments receiving grants include Boyceville, Ellsworth, Elmwood, Mondovi, Pepin, Spring Valley, and Waumandee
The U-S House has passed an electoral reform bill that seeks to prevent presidents from trying to overturn election results through Congress. The Presidential Election Reform Act, written by Representatives Liz Cheney and Zoe Lofgren, explicitly cites the January Sixth Capitol attack as a reason to amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887, “to prevent other future unlawful efforts to overturn Presidential elections.” The bill passed on a 229-203 vote. Just nine Republicans joined Democrats in supporting it, none of them from Wisconsin’s delegation.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission wants to change the rules for election observers. The commission voted 5 to 1 on Wednesday to start the rules process to change how observers can interact with voters and poll workers on election day. There are concerns that poll observers may become disruptive in the future, and the commission wants to set firm guidelines for conduct. The process could take a year or two and won't be in place for the November elections.
A new national campaign encourages veterans considering suicide to seek help and for everyone else to lend a hand. The American Legion's campaign in Wisconsin and nationwide will be seen on billboards and in T-V and radio P-S-As called "Be The One." It encourages veterans to be the one to reach out and ask for help. The Veterans Administration says there were 95 suicides among Wisconsin veterans in 2019. Veterans who use the new national Crisis Lifeline should dial 9-8-8 and then press "1" to be connected to a veteran-specific counselor.
Canceling most student loan debts in Wisconsin would cost about six-point-eight billion dollars, according to the U-S Department of Education. That figure is tied to those eligible to have up to ten thousand dollars of their student debts forgiven, and there are more than 685 thousand people in Wisconsin that fall under that category. The costs will likely be much higher, though, because there are over 400 thousand people who qualify for the 20 thousand dollars in Pell Grant loan cancellations as well. That would cost an additional eight billion dollars.
A former Minneapolis police officer will serve three years in prison for his role in the death of George Floyd. Thomas Lane was sentenced virtually this morning for a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. He is currently serving two-and-a-half years in Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colorado. Lane will serve his new state sentence in federal prison.
Police in Madison can still use tear gas and pepper spray to ward off rioters and protesters, but will now have to notify the Common Council after each incident in which they are used. That’s the center of a substitute proposal passed Tuesday night by city aldermen. The council had been scheduled to vote on banning the use of tear gas and pepper spray altogether, a move opposed by Madison police and other law enforcement agencies. The substitute ordinance will also require the city’s Independent Police Monitor to review within 30 days each time tear gas or pepper spray is used for crowd control.
Officials at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (M-C-P-A) say the “wrong words” were used and they deleted a tweet that said Minnesotans should try “Meatless Mondays” because meat production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Some House Republican lawmakers say it shows Governor Walz’s agency and Democrats are out of touch with the fact that ag production accounts for under five percent of greenhouse gases. Starbuck Representative Paul Anderson says it’s surprising that an agency in an agriculture “powerhouse” state like Minnesota would come out with such a message on social media. M-P-C-A officials say the tweet does not reflect the agency’s “steadfast commitment to building stronger relationships and partnerships with Minnesota’s farmers and ag producers.”
Union workers at Molson Coors’ brewery in Milwaukee are talking about going on strike. Members of United Auto Workers Local 9 walked a picket line at the Miller brewery Tuesday. The union wants more money, more time off, and it wants the company to hire more people. Molson Coors says it’s working on a new deal with the union and hopes to come to terms quickly.
A new study is out revealing which North American airports travelers find the most and least satisfying. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport came out on top with a score of 800 on a thousand-point scale. The airport with the lowest score was Newark Liberty with a score of 719. As travel continues to ramp back up, overall satisfaction among passengers has dropped 25 points to 777 from last year.
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