Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Local-Regional News May 16

 City of Durand residents may notice their water a rusty color as city crews will begin flushing the water mains.  Durand Public Works Superintendent Matt Gills says the flushing of the mains may loosen up minerals and cause the water to look a rusty color.  If that happens, just run your cold water for about 5 minutes.  The water main flushing is expected to continue into June.


Eau Galle Cheese Factory is one of 21 Wisconsin dairy companies that will receive a Dairy Processor Grant in 2023 from the Wisconsin Department on Agriculture.  The purpose of these grants is to help foster innovation, improve profitability, and sustain the long-term viability of Wisconsin’s dairy processing facilities.  Eau Galle Cheese will use the grant to invest in a wastewater treatment plant.  A total of $400,000 was available for this year’s Dairy Processor Grants, with a maximum of $50,000 allowed for each project. Grant recipients are required to provide a match of at least 20 percent of the grant amount.


The United Way of Dunn County (UWDC), the Local United Way serving Dunn and Pepin counties, announced yesterday that Jennifer Thatcher has stepped down after three years as Executive Director.  UWDC Board Chair, Tim Bartels, thanked Thatcher for her service, “We are grateful for Jennifer’s service and are working towards a smooth transition to ensure continuity to meet the needs of our community members, partner organizations, and donors.”


It's 101-years in prison for the Minnesota man who dumped four dead bodies in Dunn County back in 2021. A judge in St. Paul yesterday sentenced Antoine Suggs to just over a century behind bars for the murders of the four. Police never gave a motive, but witnesses told investigators that Suggs says he snapped and shot four people. The four bodies were found in an SUV in the town of Sheridan. Police later said they were killed in Minnesota, which is why Suggs was tried in St. Paul.


There is a warning about high or very high fire danger for just about everyone north of Highway 29. Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources yesterday issued a fire weather watch yesterday for the northern third of the state. DNR says warm temperatures, dry brush, and some winds all made for a dangerous combination. The DNR asked people not to burn brush and suspended all prescribed burns until next week. Wisconsin has seen nearly 300 wildfires so far this year.


Five people were injured in a two-vehicle accident in Galesville last Wednesday.  According to Galesville Police, 52yr old Ted Suchla of Coon Valley was traveling on Hwy 54-93 when he rear-ended another vehicle waiting to make a left-hand turn onto Wolfe Run Lane.  The four people in the 2nd vehicle went to the hospital for unknown injuries while Suchla suffered minor injuries.  Suchla was arrested for OWI 6th offense and several drug charges.


A former Western Wisconsin Republican lawmaker says there's a statewide benefit to saving the Brewers' ballpark. Former state Senator Dan Kapanke of La Crosse wrote an op-ed yesterday that said keeping the Brewers in Wisconsin will help with the state's tax base, as well as provide baseball memories for everyone who enjoys the game. The Brewers are looking to state lawmakers to help pay for at least 300-million dollars in renovations and maintenance at American Family Field. There is some support at the Capitol, but many lawmakers outside of the Milwaukee-metro aren't too keen to send state dollars to a stadium that doesn't help their folks back home. Kapanke says losing the Brewers, and being stuck with an aging American Family Field is not just a Milwaukee problem. He said it's a 'Wisconsin problem.'


Wisconsin is going to have slightly less money to spend over the next two years.  The Legislative Fiscal Bureau yesterday said tax revenue is expected to dip by 755 millions-dollars over the next two years, taking Wisconsin's record budget surplus to just under seven billion-dollars.  Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the news is not surprising. He blamed President Biden's policies and inflation for the downturn in Wisconsin.  Still, LeMahieu said, Wisconsin is in better financial shape than many other states.  Wisconsin lawmakers are writing a new state budget, and deciding just how to spend that record budget surplus.


Students and staff at Webb Middle School in Reedsburg are honoring a student that lost their life last week.  Thirteen-year-old Evelyn Gurney was hit and killed by a truck while getting on the bus last Friday morning.  Today her classmates and teachers are wearing blue in her honor.  They're also placing memorial items in the school's trophy case that will be displayed until the end of the school year.  A GoFundMe has been created to support her family and it's raised over 75-thousand dollars.


A Portage recycling center is a total loss after a Sunday evening fire there.   Officials say the blaze at the Columbia County Recycling and Waste Processing Facility likely started from something in the garbage.  The fire then spread throughout the building, with firefighters moving the garbage outside and away from the building to prevent a further spread of the blaze. The Portage Fire Department says the development of hotspots is likely and could have to be put out again Monday morning.


Police in Grafton arrested a seventh-grade teacher.    The department there says the unidentified John Long Middle School teacher is accused of making threatening statements toward students after finding swastikas in his classroom.  A news release from Grafton Police says the teacher, who is Jewish, said he would 'send his daughter to their homes with a baseball bat,' 'go scorched earth on them,' and 'wished pain upon the students and their families.’ The teacher was arrested for terrorist threats and exposing a child to harmful material, descriptions, or narrations, which are felonies.  Police took the teacher to the Ozaukee County Jail.


Wisconsin lawmakers may be ready to add something to the new state budget this week. The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee is set to meet tomorrow to talk about the costs for the court system in the state. That includes the budget for prosecutors and public defenders. Both D.A.'s and defense lawyers in Wisconsin say they need more money to be able to properly deal with a growing backlog of cases. Some communities in Wisconsin have seen their D.A. offices shrink because lawyers can make more money elsewhere, and defense attorneys say there are so few of them that Wisconsin is looking at a constitutional crisis. The Joint Finance Committee's meeting earlier this month was focused on paring down the governor's proposed budget.  A new budget is due on Governor Evers' desk by the end of next month.


The ex-wife of the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd is pleading guilty to tax evasion.   Kellie Chauvin was accused of not reporting more than 400-thousand dollars of income over a six-year period. The former spouse of Derek Chauvin was ordered by a Washington County judge to serve 20 days in jail and be placed on supervised probation for three years.  The Chauvins owe the state of Minnesota close to 38-thousand dollars.


You might need to replant some of your veggies. Dane County Extension horticulture expert Lisa Johnson says the false spring we had earlier this month could have damaged your plants.  You'll want to get that done soon, to have your peppers and tomatoes ready for the end of the season as well. You can start planting things like eggplants, beans, and root plants at the end of May. 

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