Monday, March 6, 2023

Local-Regional News March 6

 Wisconsin gas prices are back on the rise.  According to Triple-A the statewide average is three dollars and 22 cents a gallon.  That's up four cents overnight and up 12 cents since this time last week.  The average is 3.19 here is western Wisconsin, up 13 cents from a week ago.


The Wabasha County Board is meeting tomorrow morning.  Items on the agenda include approval of a new highway department technician, reject all bids in a concrete box culvert extension and approval of purchase of a plow truck for the highway department.  Tomorrow's meeting starts at 9am the Wabasha County Government Center.


We could get some more answers this week about layoffs at the Hutchinson Technology Plant. Eau Claire TV station WEAU reported on Friday that it had learned of layoffs at the company. No one is saying just how many people lost their jobs, or why. Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce President Dave Minor says we could learn more about the layoffs this week when the state issues a report.


Eau Claire's school board is going to look at the Montessori Charter School's contract tonight. The school board is deciding whether to renew, or change the contract with the charter school. Some board members worry there are too many white students at the school, and say the Montessori enrollment doesn't meet Eau Claire's equity goals. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is warning the school board, however, that making changes to the school based on race would be discrimination.


A suspect is dead after police say he opened fire at a Stillwater apartment complex.  Police responded to a report of gunfire in the 22-hundred block of Orleans Street West on Saturday.  Officials say the suspect had fired a gun inside and outside the complex before police arrived, injuring several.  Stillwater Chief Brian Mueller says the suspect shot at arriving officers who returned fire, hitting the suspect.  The suspect later died at the hospital.  No official word on how many were injured or their conditions.  The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is coordinating the investigation.


Wisconsin lawmakers are going to take a look at the state's vaccine requirements this week. The legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules has a hearing scheduled tomorrow morning to talk about the Department of Health Service's new vaccine rules. DHS made a handful of changes for schools and daycare this year, including changing the rules of chickenpox vaccines and when kids can miss school because of the chickenpox. DHS is not requiring a flu or COVID shot for kids this year, though the state does strongly encourage them.


Republicans on the legislature’s finance committee say raising the minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine products doesn’t belong in the state budget.   Governor Tony Evers included the language in his two year budget plan. Bills raising the purchase age passed the state Assembly with bipartisan support in 2020 and again last year, but failed to advance in the Senate. The state’s minimum age of 18 to buy nicotine, tobacco, or vape products conflicts with the federal Tobacco 21 requirement. 


A nearly 800-thousand dollar grant from the Defense Department will help prepare Madison for the deployment of F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field this spring.  The funding Senator Tammy Baldwin's office announced on Friday will go toward initiatives including town halls and multilingual education efforts.  It also will pay for a study to determine what the state's Department of Military Affairs can do for surrounding neighborhoods affected by the noise. 


Lawmakers want to know why it's so tough, and in some places so expensive, to find a home in Wisconsin. The Assembly and Senate committees on housing will hold a joining hearing tomorrow to hear from experts about Wisconsin's housing shortage. The experts include leaders from the state's realtors and home builders, and experts from the University of Wisconsin. The latest report from the Wisconsin Association of Realtors said prices are up across the state in-part because of a tight supply of houses for sale.

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A Jackson County nonprofit is raising money for equipment to be used for search and recovery of drowning victims.  Bruce's Legacy is trying to raise 40-thousand dollars for a slide-in camper that would make difficult missions easier.  The organization has recovered 45 bodies from lakes, rivers, and large bodies of water to provide families with closure.  The nonprofit is named for Bruce Cormican, who was a firefighter who died in a search mission.


A controversial Wisconsin attorney has been reappointed to a state committee.  Dane County attorney James Troupis will serve a second term on the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee, reappointed by the state Supreme Court’s four conservative justices. The three liberal justices dissented. Troupis was involved in the 2020 scheme to deliver Electoral College votes for former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and several other states. The nine-member committee was renders formal advisory opinions and gives informal advice to judges and judicial officers governed by the code of judicial conduct.


Another ethics complaint is filed against Michael Gableman.  Gableman is the attorney and former state Supreme Court justice who was tapped by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to conduct a taxpayer-funded probe into Wisconsin’s 2020 election. Attorneys with the liberal Law Forward firm filed the complaint Thursday with the Office of Lawyer Regulation. The more than 100-page complaint from attorneys attorneys Daniel Lenz and Jeffrey Mandell refers to "a shambolic, dishonest, and destructive campaign against Wisconsin’s democracy at taxpayer expense.”  This is the third known complaint filed against Gableman with the Office of Lawyer Regulation.


Wisconsin's governor is asking lawmakers for nine million-dollars to help build a new soccer stadium in Milwaukee. Governor Evers is including the cash in his state budget proposal. Milwaukee is preparing for a new soccer team, and looking to build a new stadium downtown. The governor said the state helped build Fiserv Forum, is looking to help the Brewers with American Family Field, and should help with the soccer stadium as well. Planners say the new stadium will cost about 45 million-dollars in all.


Around 55-thousand people with felony convictions will be able to vote next year in Minnesota.  That's because Governor Tim Walz signed a bill Friday that restores voting rights to ex-felons.  Previously, convicted felons would have to complete parole before being eligible to cast a vote.  The new bill ensures voting rights once they've served time.  It goes into effect on July 1st.


The Minnesota Senate is advancing a bill aimed at preventing catalytic converter thefts.  The bill would require those buying the part to keep detailed records about the purchase.  The House must now approve changes made to the bill by the Senate.  If the changes are approved, the bill will head to Governor Walz's desk

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