There is just one more day of heat for Durand and the Chippewa Valley. The National Weather Service is leaving a Heat Advisory in effect til 7 p.m. tonight for folks from the Twin Cities down to La Crosse. Temperatures will once again be in the 90s, with the heat and humidity making it feel even hotter. After today, temperatures return to normal and even cool down into the 70s over the weekend.
The city of Durand will begin the bidding process for the new Tarrant Park Pool Today. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the bidding will be open for a month. The city will open the bids on September 26th. Meanwhile, the new sewer line at Dollar General is now installed and according to Public Works Superintendent Matt Gillis, Prospect Street should be re-opened later today after the road is paved where the line was installed.
The City of Mondovi will hold a groundbreaking ceremony this Saturday for the new library. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the project will be great for the city. The Groundbreaking Ceremony will be Saturday morning at 10.
Some downtown business owners in Eau Claire say they may have to close their doors if the city moves ahead with paid parking. Erin Klaus, co-owner of Tangled Up in Hue, said making people pay to park downtown could be the make or break point. Eau Claire city engineer Dave Solberg says the city is considering parking meters. He says the goal is to create some turnover in downtown parking spots, as well as to raise money for the city. No one, however, is saying just what the paid parking will look like, or how much it would cost.
A Western Wisconsin man, who went missing during the Korean War was laid to rest in Fairchild yesterday. U.S. Army Corporal Donald "Donny" DuPont of Alma Center went missing in action on December 2, 1950, during the battle near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. His remains were returned in 2018 and identified earlier this year by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
A Minnesota city that lost its entire police force just a few weeks ago has decided to let the county sheriff's office for its law enforcement needs. The mayor of Goodhue announced yesterday that the city has signed a contract with the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office. The city will pay 43-thousand dollars for law enforcement services through the rest of the year. The city's entire police department resigned on August 11th, just two days after the police chief announced his resignation to take another job. Pay and recruitment of new officers were among the concerns that led to the resignations.
A Mayo Clinic in Rochester will now bill patients who ask questions through the patient portal. The clinic said the hospital will bill a patient if the question asked requires a doctor to make a diagnosis or clinical decision. However, appointment and prescription refill requests won't be billed. Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association say they plan to testify against the billing because it can compromise resident's access to health care.
It was a day of tough questions for members of Wisconsin's DBR Board. A senate committee yesterday pressed board members for answers about wolves, Sandhill Cranes, and PFAS contamination. The answers they got were vague. Wisconsin's DNR is finalizing a new wolf management plan, and is inching toward an agreement on PFAS pollution. Republicans disagree with Governor Evers on all three issues, but it remains to be seen what they can do to stop the governor.
Wisconsin is going to study AI. Governor Evers yesterday created a blue ribbon commission to study artificial intelligence, and how it could be used in the state. The governor says he wants the commission to figure out how to adapt to and capitalize on AI for the state's workforce. The governor wants to have a report from the commission and plan to vote on by 2025.
Republicans in the Wisconsin senate are asking the state Supreme Court to remove one of their own from the coming case on redistricting. A dozen Republican state senators yesterday asked the court to remove Justice Janet Protasiewicz from the case because of her comments during last spring's election. Protasiewicz called the maps 'rigged' and 'unfair,' and said she'd give them a second look. The Republicans say she prejudiced herself with those statements. Progressive groups have asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to redraw the maps, which they say are too favorable to Republicans.
Minnesota's cannabis market tax revenue is surpassing expectations. The Department of Revenue told the Star Tribune it had received nearly 600 thousand dollars from 571 businesses for July's sales. Officials say residents and visitors spent at least six million dollars last month on legal hemp-derived THC gummies and drinks. The new Minnesota marijuana law imposed a 10-percent tax on all sales. Analysis say the state's cannabis market is expected to grow significantly once licensed marijuana dispensaries open.
Minnesota Congressman Brad Finstad says he'd like to see changes in the way the federal SNAP program is administered. The First District Republican was in Rochester yesterday speaking to members of the Chamber of Commerce at Two Discovery Square. The congressman said limitations placed on the use of SNAP benefits are sometimes confusing, noting that foods like rotisserie chicken and sliced apples can't be purchased with those benefits. SNAP benefits are part of the Farm Bill, which must be re-authorized this year. Finstad says the bill is one of his top priorities when Congress resumes after Labor Day.
Child care in rural Wisconsin will be affected, as the federal funding for Wisconsin’s Child Care Counts program ends next year. Ruth Schmidt with the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association “family care,” operating out of homes, has already been declining. Governor Tony Evers wants lawmakers to provide additional money for child care providers and has called a special session of the Legislature for next month.
Teacher turnover significantly increased in Wisconsin this year. A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum found in the most recent school year, 15.8% of teaching jobs in the state turned over. That number includes moves of teachers between districts or leaving the profession altogether. Between 2009 and 2023, an average of 11.5% of the state's teachers turned over each year. Solutions to stop the trend include providing financial incentives to hard-to-staff classrooms, schools or districts; supporting teachers' working conditions and allowing opportunities for teachers to make decisions and grow as leaders.
Investigators said William Pinkin was working as a security guard at a gas station on Milwaukee’s north side when he spotted 29-year-old Isaiah Allen taking the Little Debbie cakes without paying for them. Prosecutor Arthur Thexton read the description of the shooting from the criminal complaint, which refers to Allen by his initials. Pinkin, who was convicted of first-degree reckless homicide in 1990, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is turning down a plan to raise pay and protections for rideshare drivers. But he did announce a deal with Uber over pay minimums. The plan was passed by the City Council last week and the mayor believes it needs more work. Mayor Frey says Uber has agreed to raise the effective pay of drivers in Minneapolis to at least minimum wage. The rideshare company also agreed to pay drivers a minimum of five bucks for every ride, regardless of how short.
A western Minnesota teen is getting high praise after making an unusual catch at Lake of the Woods. Fourteen-year-old Connor Halsa was fishing at the lake during his family's summer vacation when he managed to reel in a wallet containing two-thousand dollars. The family found a business card inside the wallet and called the number, which eventually led them to Iowa farmer Jim Denney. Denney lost the wallet in the lake a year earlier and thought he would never see it again. Connor turned down a cash reward, but Denney did talk the teen into accepting dinner and the gift of a personalized cooler. Denney also said he'd be proud to have Connor as a grandson and "would fight for him any day."
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