US Senator Tammy Baldwin was in Durand yesterday touring Advent Health to discuss with Advent Health Leaders the $916,000 Federal grant the hospital received to build a new ambulance bay. Baldwin says the hospital is a critical part of the Durand and surrounding area, and it has outgrown its ambulance bay. Construction on the new ambulance bay and a new drive-in bay for the MRI Scanner will begin this spring and it is hoped to be completed by this fall.
The Durand City Council will revisit the assessment of residents who have ash trees that need to be removed. During this week's council meeting, residents continued to express concern over the plan to split the cost of the tree removal with the city. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the council has learned there may be some changes in how the 50-50 split from the DNR grant would work. The council agreed to take up the measure after the new city council was installed later this month.
The flooding of the Chippewa River is continuing. The National weather service says as of yesterday the river was at 15.1 feet in Durand. Because of the increasing snowmelt and rain in the forecast, the river is now expected to crest at 15.9 feet on Saturday evening. At 16.5 feet, the north approach to the Hwy 10 bridge may flood. The river is expected to fall back below flood stage by Wednesday morning.
The City of Mondovi has agreed to give a $15,000 donation to the new library fund. During this week's council meeting, members agreed to make the donation after it was learned the city could use ARPA funds. The donation will be matched by a private donor, and it will also allow organizers of the library fund to apply for additional grants that required a city donation.
The broadband internet expansion by Pierce Pepin Cooperative is moving forward. Over a year ago, the electric cooperative began SwiftCurrent Connect, with the goal of providing high-speed internet to all Peirce Pepin Cooperative members who did not have broadband access. During the annual meeting, CEO Nate Boettcher updated members on SwiftCurrent, and said in the first 18 months of operation, 600 miles of fiber have been completed. When Phase 2 is completed, the fiber lines will pass by 4,500 homes. There are currently 1,200 active subscribers and by the end of 2023, 3,000 subscribers are anticipated.
A dog and two cats didn't survive a house fire in Eau Claire. The fire happened yesterday at a house on Woodland Avenue on the city's east side. Firefighters say the people who live at the home made it out okay. Fire crews are not saying just what started the fire, though they say yesterday's high winds didn't make fighting the fire any easier.
Buffalo County had two wildfires yesterday. Mondovi and Durand Firefighters batted a wildfire just south of Mondovi at Hwy 37 and Hwy B, with firefighters from Cochrane responding to a fire along Hwy 35 and Hwy O. Hwy 35 had to be closed for a short time. No injuries in either fire were reported and there is no word on how they started. The high fire danger will continue today across the WRDN listening area. A burning ban remains in effect for Buffalo County and all residents in the listening area are asked to not do any burning again today. Rain this weekend should lower the fire risk.
The wildfire at Fort McCoy burned for another full day yesterday. The state's Department of Natural Resources says the fire has burned nearly three thousand acres so far and is still burning. DNR teams called in the National Guard, and fire departments from across the area have been working to contain the fire. As of about 7 p.m. last night, DNR said the fire was 50 percent contained. The fire threatened a number of buildings at the fort yesterday, prompting the state to issue an evacuation order for the area near Arcadia Avenue to U.S. Highway 12.
Over a thousand people attend a candlelight vigil Wednesday for two slain Barron County police officers. The vigil, held at Mosaic Technologies in Cameron had the chiefs of the Chetek and Cameron police departments sharing memories of the officer under their command. Chetek Chief Ron Ambrozaitis recalled Officer Emily Breidenbach by saying “Emily was the type of officer that it didn't matter what you gave her. It was 100% or nothing at all.” Cameron Police Chief Adam Steffen said about Officer Hunter Scheel, ”He came to work every day with a smile on his face, and I'm not talking about just a ‘Hey, chief.’ It was a “What happened today? What's going on? What can I go get into?” every day.” Governor Tony Evers signed Executive Orders Wednesday ordering flags across Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff this Saturday, the day the funeral for the fallen offers will take place at Cameron High School.
There is a new warning about two new phone scams in Wisconsin. The Better Business Bureau says scammers are pretending to be with Best Buy and PayPal, and are trying to steal banking information. The scam starts with an email from Best Buy's Geek Squad or PayPal asking about a charge or a new subscription. The BBB says when people call, the scammers get personal and banking information, then take money out of people's accounts. The BBB says never give out banking information over the phone, and always be wary of emails that you didn't sign-up for.
The Green Bay Packers pay respect to the two fallen Barron County police officers. As a part of the Packer Tailgate Tour, team President and CEO Mark Murphy and Packer players and alumni stopped by both Chetek and Cameron Wednesday to honor Chetek Police Officer Emily Breidenbach, and Cameron Police Officer Hunter Scheel who was killed during a traffic stop last weekend. The Packers also made $5,000 donations to each police department in remembrance of the officers.
The President of Xcel Energy says the company has learned its lesson after a radioactive leak in central Minnesota. Speaking before a state Senate panel, Chris Clark said last year's leak of radioactive water at the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant "didn't present a public health risk." However, he recognized local residents wanted to be informed about the leak sooner. The public wasn't told about the incident until this past March. Clark said the company will develop a better process to share information moving forward.
Wisconsin lawmakers are considering a plan that'd make it easier to shoot 'nuisance' animals at airports in the state. The Senate's Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing today on a proposal that would change some of the state's hunting laws to allow crews to drive away critters from airport runways. The legislation would make exceptions to Wisconsin's laws about hunting with a light, firing from the road or parking lot, and driving with a loaded rifle or crossbow.
Firefighters in Waupaca say a one-thousand-gallon propane tank leveled five buildings when it exploded yesterday. There was a fire at the home next to the tank, and fire crews say that led to the explosion. The two people who were home at the time were okay, but one of their pets died. Investigators are not saying what started the fire. Crews say it will take some time to clean-up and tear down what's left of the destroyed buildings.
Prosecutors say the Madison mom arrested on Monday left her kids in her car for at least an hour as she went shopping for shoes. Court documents say Meyberling Moreno Martinez's one-year-old and three-year-old children were found alone in her car in the parking lot of the East Towne Mall Monday afternoon. Police say they were alone for at least an hour. It was 70 degrees on Monday, but investigators say it was much hotter in the car. The court documents say Martinez told investigators she left the kids in the car because it was easier for her to shop without them.
Students from Sauk City High School, northwest of Madison, are teaching elementary school students about money. It's a tradition that started ten years ago at Grand Avenue Elementary. This year, one of the high school seniors teaching the younger students was herself one of the elementary students visited by high schoolers years ago. WKOW-TV reports Madeline Gassman and another high school student are teaching the fourth graders basic money concepts like saving money and opportunity cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment