Thursday, September 29, 2022

Local-Regional News Sept 29

A 4yr old Child was killed in a farm accident in Peru township on Wednesday night.  According to the Dunn County Sheriff's Department, emergency crews responded to the farm after the child was struck by a skid steer.  Emergency crews provided medical care at the scene but the child died due to the injuries.  He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dunn County Medical Examiner's office.  Preliminary investigation shows the skid steer was being operated by an adult family member when the child was struck by the machine.


The Durand City Council took no action on the bids for the Tarrant Park pool at last night's council meeting.  During the meeting Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren told the council there may be one or two more major donors for the pool and if they do contribute to the pool the council would have a special meeting next week to approve bids.  Milliren says if the donors don't contribute, then the pool project would have to be reorganized.   The council has until October 9th to approve the bids or they will lapse.


Firefighters from Menomonie battled a fire at the VFW/Great Escape bar early Wednesday morning after receiving a call from a passerby.  Flames were visible when firefighters arrived, covering a third of the building.   Firefighters were able to get the fire under control in about 20 minutes and no one was hurt in the blaze.  Damage is estimated at $150,000 and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.


The next hearing for the Chippewa County teenager accused of killing 10-year-old Lily Peters won’t be held until next August.  In court papers, he is identified only by the initials C-P-B to protect his identity.  W-E-A-U/T-V reports that he faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide and two additional sexual assault counts.  Five days of hearings are on the Chippewa County Circuit Court calendar starting August 7th.


There is a desperate need for blood in Chippewa County.  The county's health department yesterday said The Red Cross is looking to fill its blood bank.  The Red Cross is sending blood to Florida to help with the hurricane relief effort.  Here in the Chippewa Valley, that means they are looking for people with Type O blood.  


The Trempealeau County Dispatch Center is once again having a program to allow those that want car-killed deer to pick them up to have the meat processed.    The goal is to not waste the meat from the deer.  The center makes a list every year of people who want car-killed deer, and they are contacted if a deer is hit by a car and is still in good condition. Then they have a 1 to 2-hour window to pick it up.   You do not have to live in Trempealeau County to sign up for the program. If you are interested, call the county dispatch center at 715-538-4351. 


Xcel Energy is sending around 270 contract workers to Florida to help restore power knocked out by Hurricane Ian. The line workers are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas. Xcel Energy is part of a nationwide mutual aid program that assists other electric companies following major storms that cause significant outages. More than a million residents along Florida’s Gulf Coast lost power right after the storm made landfall.


Police in Black River Falls is turning to the public to help find whoever vandalized a brand new school there.  Investigators yesterday say they have several suspects for the damage at the Forrest Street Elementary building, they're now looking for evidence on social media that will tie the suspects to the crime.  Police say someone broke into the school just before it opened last month, sprayed fire extinguisher foam all over the walls and the inside of the recently built school.  Black River Falls Police say the vandals caused a million dollars in damage. 


Judge Jennifer Dorow has made it official – the man accused of killing six people in last year’s Waukesha Christmas Parade will be allowed to represent himself.  During a Wednesday hearing, the judge said Darrell Brooks Junior understands what he is requested.  He faces more than 70 charges for allegedly driving an S-U-V through the parade crowd, killing six and injuring at least 60.  His trial starts Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court.  Brooks had fired his public defenders.


 A bar owner accused of blowing up his own business has an October 26th court date.  Forty-three-year-old Heath Fjorden is charged with five felonies including arson of a building with the intent to defraud.  The charges are connected to a September 1st explosion and fire at Beagles Bar in Lyndon Station.  Investigators say they found gas cans and gas-soaked rags in the bar basement after the flames were extinguished.  No one was in the bar at the time but two upstairs apartments were occupied.  Fjorden has received treatment for burn injuries which he said were caused by a grilling accident.


Wisconsin gas prices normally fall in the fall, but that isn’t the case this time.  Triple-A Wisconsin reports pump prices jumped by 32 cents in just one week, pushing the state’s average price to three dollars, 87 cents a gallon.  That’s higher than the national average.  A refinery fire in Toledo is responsible for some of that.  It’s a large refinery that was knocked offline by a fire and it still hasn’t resumed operations.  Wisconsin’s average price of gas is 13 cents higher than the national average – something that hasn’t happened for three years.  Relief isn’t on the horizon.  The impact of Hurricane Ian will probably push costs up in the near future.


Two Wisconsin doctors fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine are now suing.  Two anesthesiologists, Doctors Kathryn Wolff and Douglas Grove allege the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals refused to take their Catholic beliefs seriously, in denying their exemption requests. The suit filed in Milwaukee County says they were placed on unpaid administrative leave and then terminated in November. The doctors are seeking back pay, front pay, court fees, and damages.  


Foremost Farms announces it is closing two of its locations, eliminating 100 Wisconsin jobs.  The central Wisconsin company says rising costs forced it to make the painful decision.  Operations in Plover and Milan will be shutting down by the end of the year.  Foremost says the workers will be given the chance to move to its other locations – or it will also offer job fairs for the people losing their positions.


 Court-ordered monitor Teresa Abreu says a staffing crisis at Wisconsin’s youth prison is causing the young people to be held in their cells for lengthy periods of time.  It’s also costing them classroom time.  Lincoln Hills had a 40-percent vacancy rate among its counselors last summer.  Those people work directly with the teenagers held in the prison.  The report says corrections officials haven’t been able to hire a social worker for the facility in four years.  At the same time, staffing levels are critically low the prison population has been growing – and it could be several years before the new prison in the Milwaukee area is ready.


Another strike involving health care workers is only days away. About 400 mental health care workers from the Twin Cities are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday, October Third. The strikes are targeting the U hospital, the Fridley campus of Mercy Hospital, and Allina Health’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Mental health workers are demanding better pay and benefits, and safety guarantees. There are currently more than 400 job openings for mental health workers, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.


A two-year federal grant program will provide $2.94 million to Wisconsin to bring together producers, distributors, community organizations, and food security partners to build a stronger local food distribution network.  About half of the funding will be used for education for producers and food businesses to support distribution, while the other half will be used to purchase food.  Partners in the plan, under the purview of DATCP, include the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, the Wisconsin Farmers Union, and Marbleseed, formerly known as the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service. Wisconsin’s tribal nations have a separate LFPA to work on similar systems specifically around tribal food systems.

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