A Wisconsin hunter is not expected to face any charges after shooting and killing a cougar in Buffalo County. State Department of Natural Resources officials say the it happened this past weekend when the unidentified man was hunting deer. The hunter is said to have shot the cougar, which is a protected species in Wisconsin, because he was concerned for his safety. He then reported the deadly shooting to DNR officials.
Menomonie Fire Department announced over 30 "Stop the Bleed" kits will be going out to Menomonie District Schools. These kits contain medical equipment used to stop someone from profusely bleeding. Each school will have a kit mounted to the wall, as well as a mass incident bag stored somewhere else. Freshmen at Menomonie schools will take a 'Stop the Bleed' course as part of their health unit where the fire department will teach them how to use the equipment. They plan on installing the kits over winter break.
The Cairn House in Menomonie is ready to serve those experiencing homelessness in Dunn County. Because of a long waiting list, the shelter is already full to capacity. In the meantime, those at the shelter can stay between four to eight weeks, with a possibility of staying a little extra time for any arrangements that need to be made. The Cairn House is the only general homeless shelter in the entire county according to Heidi Hooten, manager of the shelter. The shelter was built at a cost of $1.5 million
Marshfield Clinic Health System is making big cuts as they struggles financially. Among them, are major pay cuts for upper-level management. The changes were laid out in an email sent to all employees Wednesday. Starting yet this year, senior-level leadership, which includes the CEO, all chiefs, presidents and VP's, will have their pay decreased by 15%. Directors' pay is going down 10%. The email said these changes will help the company "advance [its] financial turnaround strategy." In March, Marshfield announced they were laying of 3% of their employee base, impacting 346 of their 12,000-employee workforce.
More than 120 applications were received for rural broadband infrastructure funding in Wisconsin. The applications for the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program requested a total of more than 221-million dollars, but only about 42-million will be awarded. The ratio of requested funding to available funding is the highest since the first round of applications in 2014. Grant money will go toward projects aiming to provide high-quality internet in locations without adequate or affordable service options.
Our neighbors to the south felt the earth move Wednesday morning. The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 3.6 earthquake rattled parts of northern Illinois. The small quake was detected about 4:41 a.m. and was centered near Standard, Illinois.....a town about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Police say no damage was reported, but they had their hands full fielding calls from alarmed residents. A Geological Survey earthquake map indicated that the shaking may have extended into parts of southern Wisconsin, southeastern Iowa, and northwest Indiana.
A record number of apprentices have enrolled in Wisconsin's Apprenticeship Program. Governor Tony Evers says in a press release there are more than 16-thousand apprentices, breaking last year's record as the most the program has seen in its 112 years. Wisconsin Apprenticeship pairs on the job training with classroom instruction so apprentices can earn as they still learn. Wisconsin was the first U-S state with an apprenticeship program and is the only state requiring employers to pay their apprentices for time at work and in classroom instruction.
More officers and deputies will be patrolling than usual during holiday travel times. Madison Police are reminding drivers that it will be on alert while there are more drivers on the road, making sure everyone is buckling up and driving sober. The department says it's teaming up with the Dane County Sheriff's Office to put extra officers and deputies on the road. Police say someone in Wisconsin dies or gets an injury from a car crash involving impaired driving every two hours. The overtime to pay for extra law enforcement comes from a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will be re-activating its popular "eagle cam" today. The live camera was destroyed last spring when the nest it was monitoring fell, killing a baby eagle. DNR officials say the camera will show different areas and images initially. They are monitoring the eagles who used the original nest and plan to focus on them if they start a new nest near the camera.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is trying again to overturn his conviction in the murder of George Floyd in 2020. He says there is new evidence indicating he wasn't the cause of Floyd's death. He filed a motion on Monday claiming he would have never pleaded guilty if he knew about the theories of a Kansas forensic pathologist. Chauvin is requesting a new trial from the judge. He is currently in prison in Arizona, serving a 21-year sentence.
A bill to combat PFAS pollution passed the State Senate Tuesday. The bill creates PFAS contamination grants for Wisconsin cities, towns and villages, as well as private landowners and waste disposal facilities. The grants will be used to test for PFAS in water treatment plans and wells. The state’s Department of Natural Resources would be responsible for remediation at contaminated sites where the responsible party is unknown or can’t pay for the work. Opponents of the measure say it limits the ability of the DNR to hold polluting corporations accountable. Governor Tony Evers, who has said he shares those concerns, will likely veto the bill.
Two men from Minnesota are jailed after drugs and thousands of dollars in cash are found in their vehicle. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says on the morning of November 7th, a deputy pulled a vehicle going 97 in a 70 mile-per-hour zone over on I-39/90/94 in the Town of Dekorra . After probable cause was obtained, a search of that vehicle led to the discovery of over 400 grams of fentanyl and more than $100,000 in cash. The two men in their forties from Minneapolis who were in the vehicle were arrested and sent to the Columbia County Jail charged with possession with intent to deliver fentanyl greater than 50 grams.
An arrest and charges in a nearly four-decades-old cold case from western Wisconsin. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, 80-year-old Mary Josephine Bailey was arrested Monday in Maricopa County, Arizona, in the death of Yvonne Menke. The 45-year-old Menke was shot three times in the head and neck after leaving her St. Croix Falls’ home for work, the morning of December 12, 1985. The Polk County District Attorney’s Office charged Bailey with first-degree murder. She remains at the Maricopa County jail, awaiting extradition to Wisconsin. The sheriff’s office declined to provide additional comment.
Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group is getting sued. They are accused of using a faulty artificial intelligence algorithm to wrongly deny coverage for Medicaid patients who need rehab after being hospitalized. The lead plaintiffs are the families of two patients, who needed long-term care in post-acute facilities. The suit alleges that UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage health plans denied payments for claims from the patients medical caregivers, forcing up to 70 thousand dollars in out-of -pocket costs for continuing care.
President Biden will spare the lives of two Minnesota-grown turkeys when the White House holds its annual turkey pardon ceremony before Thanksgiving. This year's birds are being provided by Jennie-O and were raised on a farm in central Minnesota. They will travel to Washington, D.C. by private coach and stay in the Willard InterContinental Hotel ahead of the ceremony. After being pardoned, the turkeys will return to Minnesota to live on a University of Minnesota campus farm in St. Paul.
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