Forecasters are using terms like "historic" to describe the snow Durand and the Chippewa Valley could see today. The National Weather Service has the entire area under a Winter Storm Warning until noon tomorrow. Forecasters expect as much as 13-17 inches of new snow today. That's in addition to the snow already on the ground, and the 45-mile-per-hour wind gusts that have been howling. The Weather Service says travel is not recommended, and says people should just stay home today.
The Durand City Council is still scheduled to meet tonight. Items on the agenda include a presentation from the state of Wisconsin honoring Pit Plumer, discussion and possible action on the design engineering services proposal from Cedar Corporation for the Madison Street Reconstruction Project, and reports from the mayor and department heads. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall.
The Cities of Durand, Wabasha, and other communities are under a snow emergency. In the city of Durand, that means no parking on city streets until your street is plowed from curb to curb. For those that live in downtown Durand there is parking available in Memorial Park and at the boat landing. In Wabasha, there is alternate off-street public parking for downtown areas located under the bridge on Main Street and Second Street and across from the Public Library. Expect the snow emergencies to remain in effect today and into tomorrow.
United States Postal Service is asking customers to clear snow and ice from sidewalks, stairs, and mailboxes. Customers receiving door delivery should make sure their sidewalks, steps, and porches are clear. Customers receiving curbside delivery should remove snow piles left by snowplows to keep access to their mailboxes clear for letter carriers. Delivery service may be delayed or curtailed whenever streets or walkways present hazardous conditions for letter carriers or when snow is plowed against mailboxes. Any mail not delivered will attempt to be delivered the next day.
Xcel Energy is warning folks to prepare for any outages due to the winter storm. Residents are urged to have an emergency kit ready to go, be careful with space heaters, and keep natural gas meters clear. The utility also said it's a good idea for everyone to keep their thermostats at 68 degrees or below.
Two people were injured in a two-vehicle accident in the town of Arcadia on Tuesday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, a truck was traveling eastbound on Lewis Valley Road toward the intersection of Hwy 93 and attempted to stop but slid through the intersection, hitting a southbound vehicle on Hwy 93 head-on. The two occupants of the second vehicle were taken to the hospital.
The Town of Eagle Point has suspended its EMS services because it no longer has a medical director. Dr. Ethan Young officially resigned on Monday. Eagle Point's mayor says Dr. Young stepped down after complaining that EMS providers were not following proper protocol. State law requires a licensed medical director to oversee EMS operations. Eagle Point will now rely on Tilden and Anson and ambulance services from Cornell and Chippewa Falls until the town can find a new medical director.
The race for state supreme court has been narrowed to two. Milwaukee County judge Janet Protasiewicz and former State Supreme Court justice Dan Kelly are advancing to the spring election. They defeated two other judges, Waukesha County Judge Janet Dorow and Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell. Political spending in the race topped over 9 million dollars, for what is ostensibly a nonpartisan race. If Protasiewicz wins the seat, it will shift the balance of the court from conservative to liberal ahead of major decisions like the state's ban on abortion.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is suing over the Biden Administration's new rules for socially aware investing. WILL filed a lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee yesterday accusing the Biden White House of breaking federal law with its ESG investment rules. That rule allows retirement plan managers to consider things like environmentalism and social justice when making investment decisions. WILL says that directly violates a federal law from the 1970s that requires investment managers to try and get the best returns possible for their clients.
The Minnesota National Guard, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and state troopers are helping coordinate the response to the severe storms hitting Minnesota. Governor Walz issued executive orders yesterday to mobilize the state agencies to deal with the storm. The groups began prepositioning equipment yesterday and put some guard members and staffers on alert. Some National Guard armories are being set up as shelters from the storm. The governor encouraged residents to stock up on essentials and be prepared for power outages.
Governor Tony Evers insists he’s confident his shared revenue proposal will survive the state budget process. Evers promoted his plan during a stop in Wausau and Eau Claire on Monday. He’s proposed using 20 percent of the state's sales tax for shared revenue to local governments. There is some bipartisan support for that in the new two-year budget, which is currently in the hands of the legislature's Joint Finance Committee.
Wisconsin is in the top ten when it comes to high property taxes. That's according to WalletHub, which ranks Wisconsin seventh-highest when comparing real-estate and vehicle property taxes. WalletHub says Wisconsin's effective real-estate tax rate is one-point-seven-three percent. The state with the highest property taxes is New Jersey and the state with the lowest is Hawaii.
A coalition of groups wants driver's licenses for people in Wisconsin without documentation. At a Capitol press conference on Tuesday, the Safe Roads for Wisconsin Coalition, which includes Voces de La Frontera, demanded lawmakers keep a provision in Governor Tony Evers’ budget to allow those undocumented people to get driver’s licenses. Proponents claim that will make roads safer for everyone. Republicans pulled a similar provision out of the last budget.
A special school board meeting in Kenosha turns into a standoff. The Monday night meeting was called to clarify the situation with Kenosha school board member Eric Meadows. The Kenosha Unified School District plans to end Meadows’ term on the board in April after the Wisconsin Elections Commission found a clerical error in January showing the seat Meadows won was only a one-year term, rather than a three-year term voters believed it to be. The school board members, who planned to take public comment, walked out of the meeting after audience members refused to take campaign signs supporting Meadows off school property. The board later returned to announce the meeting was suspended and would be rescheduled for a yet-to-be-determined date.
Governor Tony Evers wants to spend some of the state budget surplus shoring up pay for prosecutors and public defenders. The plan is to hire 50 more of both prosecutors and defenders, and State Bar President Margaret Hickey says the state is hurting for justice. Evers also wants to raise the base pay for prosecutors and defenders by over 7 dollars an hour to 35 dollars an hour. It's unclear if that proposal will make it through the budget process.
There's a new push to legalize sports betting in Minnesota. DFL Representative Zack Stephenson introduced the bill today. It would allow the state's tribal groups to run all operations and has the support of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. Thirty-six other states and Washington D.C. have made the move in the past five years.
The Kids From Wisconsin are auditioning for this year’s tour. Talented Wisconsinites ages 15 to 20 are eligible to be a part of the state’s legendary performing group. The performers chosen through auditions around the state will receive room and board along with a weekly per-diem payment plan, as well as be eligible for a scholarship. February and March auditions will happen in Madison, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Milwaukee, Manitowoc and Eau Claire. More information, including audition dates, can be found at “Kids from W-I dot org.”
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