Friday, December 2, 2022

Local-Regional News Dec 2

 The western Wisconsin man who threatened to kill people in order to get his child back is looking at charges. Prosecutors in Buffalo County yesterday said charges will be coming against Samuel Holmes. He's the man arrested on Wednesday after the sheriff's office says he threatened employees of Buffalo County Health and Human Service, and after he called Lutheran Social Services in Eau Claire. His threat to kill people prompted LSS to evacuate its South Barstow Street office.


Strong winds are expected to move through our area today.  The National Weather Service says Strong winds are expected late this afternoon through tonight with gusts of 40 to 50 mph. This will be accompanied by a brief burst of snow that will result in a half to one inch of new snow, which could lead to patchy blowing snow. Wind chills early Saturday morning will drop to 10 below to 20 below zero.  A wind advisory is in effect for the entire WRDN Listening area from 6pm this evening until 3am tomorrow morning.


The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has identified the man injured during a use-of-force incident on Nov. 22 in Red Wing.  Steve Sutton-Brown was identified as the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office deputy who shot and injured Fernando Javier Carbajal, 24, while responding to a crash on November 22.   The call came in at 1pm and Deputy Sutton-Brown who was in training nearby responded first.  He was not in his standard uniform but had a sweatshirt that identified him as a sheriff's deputy.  Witnesses say Carbajal charged the deputy as he approached and the two engaged in a physical altercation.  Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings without recommendation to the Goodhue County Attorney’s Office for review.


Two Lake City men were arrested last week on drug charges.  According to the Wabasha County Sheriff's Department, sheriff's deputies, in conjunction with Lake City Police and the SE Minnesota Narcotics Task Force conducted search warrants in Lake City on November 23 and found over 30 pounds of marijuana, nearly five pounds of psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana wax and other drug products.  Authorities arrested 30yr old Zach Bleimeyer and 23yr old Noah Gernes.


Four dogs were killed in a house fire in Jackson County Thursday morning.   Hixton Fire & Rescue responded to a structure fire on Winger Rd and found a two-story home engulfed in flames.  he home is a total loss.  Fire officials said winds cause the fire to spread rapidly. Nobody was home at the time and there were no human injuries. However, four dogs were killed.  The American Red Cross is assisting the family.


Wisconsin’s US Senators voted Thursday for a measure to avert a nationwide rail strike. Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Ron Johnson voted ‘yes’ to send the measure to President Biden’s desk. The agreement will give rail workers a roughly 24 percent pay increase by 2024 and more sick time flexibility.  It does not include any new paid sick leave, the sticking point that could have resulted in a disruptive rail strike by the end of next week. In a statement, Johnson said the ‘cooling off’ period should have been extended to force railroads and unions back to the negotiating table while keeping trains rolling. But he said a shutdown would have harmed people and the economy.


Wisconsin's governor is looking to take the first step toward setting regulations for the so-called forever chemicals. Governor Tony Evers is expected to ask the Department of Natural Resources Board for permission to create standards for PFAS pollution. There are currently no state regulations at all because the conservatives who control the DNR board scuttled a proposal to set those limits earlier this year. DNR is hoping for better luck this time because the federal EPA recently set its own PFAS guidelines.


The D.A.s in Milwaukee, Madison, and Sheboygan want a judge to dismiss Attorney General Josh Kaul's lawsuit against Wisconsin's abortion law. The three prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to toss the case, saying Kaul doesn't belong in the case. Sheboygan County D.A. Joel Urmanski said in his argument that Kaul should be asking lawmakers to change the 1849 law, not the court. The other two D.A.s say Kaul has not been 'injured' by the old law. Kaul filed his lawsuit not long after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, and allowed Wisconsin's near-total abortion ban to go back into effect.


Madison Police say the suspect in Monday's shooting on Capitol Square should be considered armed and dangerous.  The city's police chief yesterday identified the suspect as 40-year-old Lamar Jefferson.  He has a lengthy criminal history in both Milwaukee and Madison, court records show he was cited by Madison Police earlier this week.  No one is saying what led up to the shooting.  The victim was rushed to the hospital and is recovering.


Wisconsin's election managers are waiting to see if a lawmaker is replaced before giving her information on the state's voter database. The state's Elections Commission yesterday voted to postpone any consideration of state Rep. Janel Brandtjen's request until after the new legislature starts. There's a thought that Brandtjen will no longer be in charge of the Assembly's Committee on Campaigns and Elections next year. WEC commissioners have called her request for a copy of the state's voter list, and any documentation regarding changing to the list 'insane.' Brandtjen led one of Wisconsin's two investigations into the Elections Commission and the 2020 election.


Add a Starbucks in Green Bay to the list of stores that have elected to join a union.  Workers at the Auto Plaza Way at Main Street store voted to unionize Wednesday. The eastside Green Bay store is the latest to make the move as workers across the country are trying to organize at Starbucks for more money and different hours. Starbucks has not yet sat down with any of its unionized stores, and it remains to be seen what the vote in Green Bay will mean for workers.


Nurses in the Twin Cities and Duluth are going on strike.  Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association voted Wednesday to authorize a walkout.  If there is no new contract in the next ten days, a strike will take place on December 11th and last until December 31st.  Nurses at St. Luke's hospitals in Duluth and Two Harbors opted for an open-ended walkout until a deal is reached.  The union's sticking points are improving staffing and better pay.


Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is extending a free training program to increase the number of certified nursing assistants in Minnesota.  The cost-free program will now run through February, giving more people the opportunity to train for open positions across the state.  The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says CNAs are among the highest in-demand workers across the state. 


A cat in Waukesha pulled a gator's head out of the lake, and the DNR thinks it's real. It happened this week at Wendy Wiesehuegel's house. She says her cat, Toast, came up with something in its mouth. At first she thought it was a fish, but it turned out to be the head of an alligator. She called the DNR which said the head is real, and not some discarded souvenir. Wiesehuegel says that means there was a gator in the lake, likely over the summer. DNR says there have been a handful of reports of gators sighted in Wisconsin lakes, pretty much all of them used to be pets that people released or that escaped.

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