There are formal charges against the man accused of stabbing his mother in the neck in Barron County earlier this week. Prosecutors filed attempted first degree intentional homicide charges against 30-year-old Michael Townsend yesterday. The Barron County sheriff says Townsend stabbed his mom in the back of the neck Monday morning after the two argued about money. The mom was flown to Mayo in Eau Claire, Townsend was arrested. He's being held on 50 thousand-dollars cash bail.
The 60th Annual Durand Fun Fest begins today in Durand. Returning this year is a fireworks display on Saturday night. Fun Fest organizer Mike Norby says the committee wanted to do something special for the 60th annual event. The fireworks are scheduled at dusk on Saturday night.
Menomonie is the latest community to worry about watering your lawn. The city sent out a note yesterday reminding people that alternate-side irrigation restrictions went into effect on June 1st. The idea is to limit the number of people watering their lawns each day. Menomonie, and most of Wisconsin have been abnormally dry to start the summer. You can read more about the alternate-side rules on the city's website.
Another western Wisconsin pool is looking at a delay. The city of Black River Falls yesterday said it won't be able to open the Hoffman Aquatic Center this summer because of a leak. The leak is draining about 18 thousand-gallons of water each day, and the city said it'd have to pump one-point-six million-gallons this summer in order to keep the pool full and clean. Crews say a large crack in the piping that feeds two of the pool's slides is to blame. The news comes after Chippewa Falls said a leak at its city pool is delaying its opening for at least a week.
Authorities say a body found in rural Minnesota is that of a missing Winona woman. At a press conference yesterday, a medical examiner confirmed that Maddi Kingsbury's remains were discovered in a wooded area near Highway 43 yesterday. They arrested her ex-boyfriend and father of her children, Adam Fravel, on suspicion of murder a few hours later. He hasn't been formally charged as of Thursday. Maddi was reported missing over two months ago.
It's the latest snapshot of Wisconsin's fight against fentanyl. A new report from Forward Analytics says fentanyl is the number one killer of people ages 25 to 54 in Wisconsin. More than 4,300 people died from fentanyl between 2015 and 2021, with over half of those deaths coming in 2020 and 2021 alone. The report says there were 614 fentanyl deaths in 2015. That jumped to over 14 hundred in 2021. Fentanyl now kills twice as many young people in the state as car crashes and kills more older people in Wisconsin than liver disease.
A federal judge is making it clear that he will not stop the Lac du Flambeau tribe from blocking roads to and from their reservation. The roads are in the middle of a back-and-forth over money and access. The tribe closed the roads last winter, cutting off a number of non-tribal members and their homes from the Lac du Flambeau community. Judge William Conley said at a hearing Wednesday that he believes the tribe has sovereign immunity, and has broad powers over the road. The tribe and community are talking about payments for the roads, but there's no deal yet.
There is a warning from the DNR about drugs and guns in some state parks. The Department of Natural Resources' Lieutenant Chris Shea says they've made several arrests at High Cliff in Calumet County. Shea says most of the arrests have been for 'shenanigans,' but says they did have to arrest someone for taking target practice on state land. Shea says most state park visitors behave themselves, but he's warning those that don't that the DNR will not tolerate misbehavior.
It's another sign of summer in western Wisconsin. The Chippewa Valley Festival Grounds are getting ready. The grounds in Cadott will host Country Fest in two weeks. Organizers expect over 100 thousand-people to show-up for the three day festival. After that, Rock Fest will come to town in mid-July. Tickets for both are on sale now.
Republican lawmakers at the Wisconsin Capitol want to change how kids in the state read, but the state's public school boss isn't on-board. A group of lawmakers yesterday introduced what they are calling the Right to Read Act, which would focus on making sure kids can read at grade level by the time they reach fourth grade. State Senator Duey Stroebel says 70 percent of Wisconsin fourth graders cannot do that right now. The plan would re-teach the teachers, then spend 50 million-dollars to hyper-focus on reading in elementary schools. Wisconsin's state superintendent of schools, however, opposes the plan because it might end with some kids being held-back in the future.
Wisconsin is seeing worsening drought conditions. Yesterday's U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 25 percent of Wisconsin is seeing moderate drought conditions, with abnormally dry conditions being reported here in Western Wisconsin. None of the state was seeing moderate drought last week.
A deal on a “transformational” shared revenue bill has been reached in Madison. Republican state Representative Tony Kurz says Milwaukee County and city will be able to raise sales taxes without a referendum, to pay off pension obligations. The deal also includes historic investments in the state’s school choice program as well as public schools and increases state-shared revenue to local units of government. Republican leaders expect this compromise they reached with the Evers administration will pass and reach the governor’s desk for his signature.
A Wisconsin congressman is fighting a change on serving flavored milk in schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a ban on elementary and middle schools serving chocolate and strawberry milk, or allowing it with a modified amount of sugar starting in the 2025-26 school year. Northern Wisconsin Republican Representative Tom Tiffany tells WDJT-TV in Milwaukee he’ll introduce a bill this week that would require all schools to offer flavored milk. Tiffany said the "Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids Act," or MILK Act, was a response to what he considered to be overreach by the Biden administration.
A mother and son from Green Bay have been indicted on drug and money laundering charges. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced the grand jury indictment against 20-year-old Moises Gonzalez-Rodriguez and his mother, 52-year-old Blanca E. Rodriguez, charging the two with allegedly conspiring to sell fentanyl, and the mother with laundering money earned from the drug sales. If convicted of the drug charge, the two each face a minimum of ten years in prison, with the mother also facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the money laundering offense.
There was an unintended potato roast in Columbia County Wednesday morning. The Wisconsin State Patrol reports a semi-tractor trailer hauling a load of spuds caught fire along I-39/90/94 southbound near Lodi. A release from the agency says lanes of the interstate were closed while crews extinguished the fire, removed what potatoes were left on the truck, and got the semi off the road. The State Patrol says the scene was cleared by late afternoon and no one was hurt. It’s unclear how the fire started.
Minnesotans can visit state parks and recreation areas for free this Saturday. The State Department of Natural Resources says entrance fees and vehicle permits will be waived at all 75 parks and recreation areas across the state on June 10th. It's part of the agency's Free Park Days program.
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